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“Okay, girls. You two be good. I gotta get to work.” She gives me a hug, and we say our goodbyes.
Once she’s out the door and out of earshot, Maize speaks up. “Guess you better find yourself a ranch hand to procreate with very soon.” She smirks.
I narrow my eyes at her and walk toward the door, flipping her the bird. “Fuck off.” Then I turn around before leaving. “Tomorrow night. Come and hang out. Drinks are on me.”
Maize breathes in sharply through her nose, then exhales. “Fine. But you promised me fresh man meat, so you better deliver.”
I snort and wave goodbye.
Checking my phone as I walk to my car, I shoot Diesel a text.
Rowan
My mother wants more grandchildren.
Diesel
Now? Meet me in the barn. Haystacks.
Rowan
OMG, you animal!
Diesel
Only for you, baby ;)
Rowan
You’re lame.
Diesel
You adore me.
Rowan
Sometimes.
Diesel
You gonna come visit me or what?
Rowan
Where are you?
Diesel
Just got out of the shower.
Rowan
You’re done with work?
Diesel
We had extra hands on deck today, so I bailed early since someone’s been keeping me up all hours of the night.
Rowan
Then you should take a nap. I can come over later since I have the day off.
Diesel
Hell no! Get your luscious ass over here right now.
Rowan
On one condition…
Diesel
…what?
Rowan
You actually go to bed early. No more working on three hours of sleep.
Diesel
I’d sleep a helluva lot better if you were in my bed with me.
Rowan
Play your cards right, Cowboy and MAYBE.
Diesel
DEAL.
Though we’re not rushing into sex, there are times I’m tempted to rip off our clothes and give in to the emotions swirling between us. I gave in to my desires last week when I got down on my knees in the bar office. It was hot as hell and perhaps a little reckless, but the memory of it makes it hard for me to continue to take things slow. It’s not that I don’t trust him or my feelings, but once we cross those lines, there’s no going back. If something bad happens, and we break up, it’d be impossible to be just “friends” and pretend nothing ever happened. I know I’m over Nick, but it doesn’t mean I’m over how he violated my trust. Diesel would never intentionally hurt me like Nick did, but I still need to be cautious. My heart is still fragile.
I also know the moment Riley finds out, he’s going to be red-hot angry. Even though Diesel’s reassured me he’ll get over it, I don’t want to be the reason their friendship blows up. Since we were younger, Riley’s been clear about me being “off-limits” to his friends. While I’m not a child anymore and can make my own decisions, I only hope he’s not as mad as I think he’ll be when he finds out.
I drive toward Diesel’s house but don’t park in front of his cabin. Instead, I leave my car near one of the barns, then walk the rest of the way. Before I go up his porch steps, I look around and make sure none of the ranch hands are working close and can see me. There’s no doubt it’s weird for me to be at his house.
Once the coast is clear, I knock, and within seconds, he whips it open.
“Hey—” Before I can finish my sentence, Diesel has me wrapped in his arms and shuts the door behind me. Then he pushes me against it and covers my mouth with his. After a moment, I suck in a breath and laugh. “What the hell was that?”
He flashes a lopsided grin. “Didn’t want anyone to see you.”
“I checked before I walked up the porch,” I tell him, smiling. “Mmm…you smell good.” I clench my fingers in his shirt and pull him closer, inhaling his scent. “Really good.”
“Fresh outta the shower.” He winks, sliding his hand down to squeeze my ass. “I missed you today.”
“You just saw me last night,” I remind him.
“With a bar between us and a dozen pair of eyes on you.” He growls. “I hate that all the guys stare at you.”
“They do not.”
“Trust me, they do. I want to go all caveman on their asses and claim you publicly so they know you’re mine.” He holds me tighter.
“Oh yeah? And then what?”
“Then we get hitched, knock you up, and raise our ten kids on the ranch.”
My eyes go wide at the seriousness of his tone. Pulling back, I look at him wide-eyed. “Okay, that’s my cue…”
He grabs my wrist before I can slide out of his grip. “Okay, fine. I’ll compromise. Five kids.” Then he winks, and I burst out laughing.
“Why do I feel like you’re actually serious but downplaying it for my sake?”
“I don’t wanna scare you off, so…” He casually shrugs.
“Have you ever done this before?” I ask as he leads me into his living room. It’s half covered with tarps from his remodel.
“Done…what?” he asks, pulling me onto his lap when he sits on the sofa.
