Page 31 of Wrangling Nash

“They're gone,” he said shrugging, “and I’m still hard. Let me eat you for breakfast and then bury this cock inside of you.” He said winking.

I pushed his hand down. “Absolutely not.” Though the thought of Nash eating me like he had last night caused heat to immediately spread between my thighs.

Nash sighed but relented. He moved to turn on the coffee pot and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge.

“Catch you by the pool? I should help these guys grill before they burn Clarence’s whole house down.”

I chuckled but smiled, “I’ll make some drinks and meet you out there.”

Ten minutes later, I was finishing up my grandma’s sweet tea recipe and margaritas when the front door opened and closed. I turned around to find an incredibly angry woman standing there that I presumed was Lana. She had blonde hair piled on top of her head like a bee's nest, dark sunglasses perched on her forehead and piercing brown eyes just like Clay had described. Today, she was wearing a short red dress that barely covered her butt, and I guessed she hadn’t changed since last night.

I wasn’t judging, though, I was wearing the same thing I had on last night too.

“Hi, you must be Lana,” I said, smiling and reaching out my hand to the woman who had just entered my home uninvited. I didn’t have any reason to dislike her; this was my first time meeting her, and I figured I should give her the benefit of the doubt. Lana, however, must not have felt the same.

She looked at my hand and then back up at me as she crossed her arms. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing here but keep your grubby paws off of my Wylie.”

I did my best to withhold the eye roll that comment warranted. The only Cameron boy I was interested in woke up naked in my bed this morning.

“You don’t have to worry about that,” I said, keeping an even tone. “I’m here to work on my grandfather’s ranch and plan on leaving in eleven more months.”

“I wasn’t worried. Wylie would never go for your type,” she scoffed, looking me up and down. “And by the way, just so we’re clear, Wylie and Nash placed a bet on how long you’d last here before Wylie gets to take your precious little grandfather’s ranch over for free. And when he does, he’s going to marry me, and I’ll become a millionaire overnight.”

Not in your dreams, honey.

“I wish you both the best,” I said, forcing another fake smile. I decided to cut this lovely conversation short as I grabbed the drink pitchers to head outside.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing with your fake little snarky comments, but they won’t work on me, bitch!” she shouted over my shoulder, and I finally let out the eye roll I’d been withholding right before I ran into Nash in the doorway.

“Whoa. Are you okay?” he asked, his eyebrows knit together as he looked at my face.

“When were you going to tell me that you and Wylie made bets on how long I’d last before you got my grandfather’s ranch?” I breezed past him and out to the deck, determined to reach the table. But Nash grabbed my elbow and guided me back inside to the living room that Lana had just left.

“Hey, look at me,” he said, placing two fingers under my chin and tilting my face upward. “That was before I knew you and saw just how determined you were to learn about this place and put in the work. I see now that I was completely wrong about you.”

My eyes narrowed, and then I let out a sigh. “It doesn’t change anything though; there are still some days that I’d like to go back to my life in Houston where things were simpler. With my friends and sister and a job that I was actually good at.”

Nash’s hands dropped to his side as he listened to me and then nodded his head. “That’s understandable. What else did Lana say that’s gotten under your skin?”

“Just to stay away from Wylie. Didn’t have the heart to tell her it was a different Cameron boy I needed to stay away from,” I gave a sad smile as I looked at Nash, who grinned back at me.

“You ain’t gotta stay away from me, Jovie. I think it’s you and those daisy dukes I should watch out for.”

I didn’t want Nash to stay away from me. Last night had been the best I’d been fucked in my life. It felt like every guy before him hadn’t been doing something right, and now that I'd had it, I didn't want it to end.

But there was still something big keeping us apart. I wanted – needed – to feel that passion and intensity from him again but the lines were becoming blurred between what was wise for me to engage in while living here and how to protect my heart. I was here for 11 more months, and that was a dangerous amount of time to be around him. Would it be possible for me to indulge my desire for him and yet keep him distant enough not to fall helplessly in love?

Chapter 26: Jovie

The rest of our Saturday pool day unfolded just as I’d assumed. Wylie brought a speaker from his house and played loud country rap music all afternoon.

The brothers engaged in a riveting game of water tag, splashing half of my grandfather’s pool over the lawn while swapping pulls from the bottle of Johnnie Walker I’d opened a few weeks ago.

Around 5 in the evening, Wylie and Nash hopped on the grill to make burgers and hot dogs. Even Lana joined in on the meal but kept to herself mostly, texting on her phone or floating on a raft while yelling expletives at Wylie each time he splashed her.

By the time we all finished eating, we were too drunk to get more alcohol and one of Lana’s friends had come to pick her up. Clay decided to fill us in that he’d stashed his homemade bottle of watermelon moonshine we’d indulged in two weeks ago under the bathroom sink in one of the guestrooms. Wylie cheered while he attempted to remain perched on his float while Nash rolled his eyes.

“So, what’s up with Clay and this moonshine?” I asked.

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