Page 12 of Chasing Bandit

“I’ve had better.” I responded as I flipped off the raft and submerged under the water, desperate to put some space between us. When I reemerged next to the float, Wylie was scowling down at me.

“Would you like me to remind you of the ways your pussy likes being wrapped tightly around my cock? The way you purr in my hands when I stroke your cunt?” he murmured, his voice was so low and raspy I was glad I was in the water to cool off from the heat that immediately flooded my body.

Regardless of what I had imagined when I moved down to Lonestar Junction temporarily—some heated fucking with Wylie, maybe even a few fun drunk nights—everything changed ten minutes ago when I found out he needed someone to marry to keep his beloved ranch. Any notion of romance or flirtation was off the table, even if my legs trembled under the pool water thinking about how wet I was.

I rubbed my chin pensively for extra theatrics, "Now that I think about it, Nash inheriting the ranch works in my favor. My sister gets another multiple thousand-acre ranch for nothing because you can't find someone willing to marry you." I laughed, "Good luck, Wylie."

I swam to the edge of the pool and hoisted myself up over the ledge. Walking over to the pool chair, I grabbed my towel, and wrapped it tightly around my body before swiping the baseball cap that Wylie had been wearing and pushing it down over my wet hair.

“And I’m taking this for the road,” I called out to Wylie who was still smiling at me his hands placed behind his head in a relaxed posture, that thick meaty cock still on display as he rested on the raft.

“There’s my little Bandit. You keep stealing my shit, soon, I’ll be stealing your heart.” He shouted out after me as I slid open the living room door.

“Please stop, Wylie. You’re embarrassing yourself.” I shouted back before flicking him off and slamming the sliding door shut.

Chapter 8 – Stevie

“So how many farms and ranches have you received a commitment from?” Jovie asked.

“Two and I plan on going out and meeting with the others we located over the next few weeks to try to secure at least ten who can commit to being our suppliers for the co-op year-round," I responded.

She nodded in agreement. "I think that's a solid start. We can always expand once we get established. For now, monthly deliveries from ten farms and ranches should meet the initial demand from the community. We should get the sign-up out soon to gauge community interest."

“What do you think of this design for the site where individuals can sign up for deliveries?” I asked, turning my tablet around for Jovie to see the mock-up I'd created.

Web design wasn’t my strong suit, but I was learning on the fly and loving it. The unpredictability of the process of starting Nourish injected new life into my otherwise mundane routine in Houston. To my surprise, I found that I was better at building a business from the ground up than I had anticipated and hoped to leverage this experience in whatever I did next once I went back home.

“This looks amazing, Stevie.”

I smiled proudly as I slid the power button on the tablet to off and then gestured towards the kitchen. “Come. Let me show you the new appliances I picked out with Clay. He dropped them off this morning.”

We headed to the back of the facility where I showed Jovie the new gas oven, microwave, and rice cooker that Clay had helped me install earlier this morning and then back towards the large, walk-in freezer we'd cleaned out where we'd be storing produce that was perishable. When we finished, we went out to the main area where folding tables were perched in preparation for the permanent assembly tables that I'd ordered and would be delivered this week.

“So, how are you feeling about everything? This is a lot to take on between your new job, a wedding, and a twin pregnancy,” I asked.

She nodded and sunk into one of the folding chairs in front of me. “It’s still early in the first trimester but the morning sickness is kicking my butt. Thankfully, it’s been isolated to mornings only so far. I would be so overwhelmed if I didn’t have you here. I feel like I'm not doing much for the co-op, but it doesn't bother me since I know you're involved. I’m so glad you agreed to this. I wish I could convince you to stay longer.”

“I’ll come back for the birth of the twins and be here to support your post-partum for as long as you want me to stay.”

She smiled as she took a sip from the water bottle that she'd brought in and kicked her feet up on the table. “Or you could marry Wylie and stay for the next year.”

“Oh gosh, he got to you too, huh?” I retorted as I sat down across from her.

“Nash told me he has to get married before we do, or he loses ownership of Cameron ranch. A year isn't that long, plus you'd get to spend a good chunk of that with your new nephews...” Her voice was teasing but I knew there was a hint of seriousness in her tone.

“Something's wrong with you," I said chuckling. "You moved to Lonestar Junction, fell in love, and started drinking the Ashwood well water. I think it's turned you insane.”

“Wylie's not that bad plus it wouldn’t be a real marriage.”

“Do you hear yourself?” I demanded as I pointed my water bottle at her. “What would I be getting out of this ‘marriage’,” I put the word in air quotes with my fingers, “we can’t stand each other most of the time, and it’d benefit you if he didn’t get the ranch anyways. Why not give it to Nash? I actually like Nash and he’d be great at managing both properties.”

She sighed and sat back, “Nash is amazing, but truthfully, he knows as well as I do, Wylie knows Cameron ranch better and he’s really good at what he does. He doesn’t want to take his birth right from him any more than Wylie wants to give it over to Nash. Wylie deserves Cameron ranch despite some antiquated clause in a deed.”

“You’ve gone soft, JoJo,” I teased, using the nickname that Wylie had affectionately given her since moving here.

She smiled and stood, smoothing down her dress and those curls that matched mine in a different shade.

"I love you, and I would never ask you to do this for me, or for Wylie. God knows Wylie was tough on me when I first moved down here, eager to inherit Ashwood ranch if I failed. But over time, he's become like a big brother to me. He isn't as bad as he seems. That said, marriage means something to us. We saw how much dad and mom loved each other, and I want you to have a great love like that someday. I'm mostly teasing, though I'd love for you to stay here longer. I just hope he finds someone who won't try to take the ranch from him. At least this way, the ranch would stay in the family."

---