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Some decisions were made for a person whether they liked it or not.
She realized she didn’t feel anger, sadness, or frustration. She felt relief.
~~~~~
Nothing about his connection to Parker made sense to Raven. After the exchange in the barn, he felt as wired as a stolen car.
Resting his chin on the back of his hand draped over the top rail of the fence, he stared out over Ryde Hard Ranch and felt a release of pride. To his left, cattle grazed in the plush pasture dotted with tufts of grass. On the other side of the narrow dirt lane, horses foraged in the evening sun, their tails swishing joyfully. He spotted hands tending to the last of the day chores, mending fences, painting barns, and mowing the grass.
Dean, who leaned precariously on one crutch, had demanded he come out on the property today and was busily fiddling with a latch on a gate. Raven chuckled at the sight. His brother could barely stand but was determined. He hammered the metal enthusiastically, glad that he was no longer cooped up.
A little further down the grassy slope were a few more of his brothers. Bend and LB were heatedly discussing ranch business. They liked to challenge one another.
Standing back and watching, everything moved like a well-oiled machine. Nothing was amiss except for the ticking of his heart.
Something had happened to him, especially over the last few days, that swept him up in an eye of a hurricane. He couldn’t deny that he wanted Parker—not just a roll in the hay in some barn, but he wanted night after night of exploring talking, and becoming so much more to each other. Hell, he couldn’t remember ever feeling like this—turned upside down.
He'd always prided himself on protecting his heart, keeping himself guarded, and staying focused. He’d failed. Royally. Because he’d totally lost a part of himself to a woman who had pranced her high heeled way into his life and would be high tailing back out once her business concluded.
He'd been anxiously waiting for her to call, text, or come by to see him.
He reached for his phone and checked for any missed calls. Nothing. So, he decided to call it a day and headed for the house. He didn’t make it far before the call he’d been anticipating came.
Parker wanted him to come to the Bonner Farm.
A part of him wanted to tell her that he was busy, but who was he kidding? He arrived at the farm as the sun started to set. The hands had left for the day. Raven had hired a couple and planned to add more once they bought more livestock. For the best interest of all considered, including his family who were going into the endeavor together, they came up with a plan to rent the land so they could expand their livestock. To make sure Bonnie was well taken care of they agreed to pay her double. She’d been slap happy to have the weight of the farm off her shoulders. If in the future she decided to sell, the stipulation would be that Ryde Hard Ranch got first dibs on buying the land.
The lights were off in the greenhouse so he followed the path around to the barn and stepped inside the dimly lit space. It took him a second, but then he saw her as his eyes adjusted. His jaw dropped and he felt his knees weaken. If there was ever such a thing as a goddess her name was Parker. She had her back pressed against a beam, her hands on her hips, one knee bent, and foot resting on the wood. That was sexy enough, but it was the shirt that drove him wild. She wore the button-down he let her borrow the first day he met her and the top half of the shirt was loose, exposing the tops of her firm breasts, and nothing else but cowgirl boots that were finally starting to show some wear.
Her jeans hung on a hook close to her head.
He inhaled sharply. “Is that my shirt?”
She grazed her fingers over the deep V at the neckline and smiled. “I wanted to keep it safe for you.” The tip of her tongue flittered out over her bottom lip.
The tease.
Raven wanted to drag her over his knee and swat that delicious bottom.
She reached down and picked up a full bottle of whiskey, uncapped it, and brought the mouth of the bottle to hers. She didn’t take her eyes off him while she sipped. With a swipe of her hand over her lips, she held out the bottle. “Want some?”
“Do I ever.” He wanted something alright, and it wasn’t in that bottle. “You okay?”
Her big eyes absorbed the vestiges of the golden light streaming inside. “Today is a day of celebration.”
Not wanting to miss a single damn expression, he lit a lantern and hung it close to her. “What are you celebrating?”
“My resignation.” She still held the bottle out.
If the remainder of the contents of the bottle told him anything, she’d only started celebrating moments ago unless she was a very slow drinker. He finally accepted the offering and took a long swig, feeling the burn all the way down his esophagus. “That’s the expensive stuff.” He looked down at the label and saw it was top of the line. It had a smooth and harmonious taste, with different flavors such as sweetness, spices, and fire. All the same characteristics that reminded him of her.
“No other will do,” she said softly.
“Can I join your solo party?” He took another nip then set the bottle aside.
“Parties are always better with two.” Her eyes twinkled as she lowered her propped up foot and she struck an unintentional sexy pose.
“Am I allowed to ask why you’re not wearing pants?”
