Page 43 of Promise You Forever

“What are you thinking about?” he asks quietly, rolling from on top of me to the side.

“How much I still hate when you ask me that question.” My lips quirk up in a half smile. He’s going to have to work harder than giving me a couple orgasms if he wants access to my thoughts like that again.

“Fair enough.” He stands from the bed, lifts me up into his arms while he pulls the sheets down, and then sets me back down. “I’ll be right back.”

He disappears into the bathroom, and I hear the sink running. Part of me knows I should get up and go to my own room, that sleeping with him in the same bed will only make it harder to keep my emotions in check, but when he comes out and cleans me with a warm washcloth, I decide to tell that part of me to be quiet. One night of sleeping beside him isn’t going to change anything.

He puts the washcloth back in the bathroom, and when I pull the covers down beside me, he holds up a finger. I watch in confusion as he goes to the bedroom door, opens it, and calls for Charlie. A second later I hear her prancing from my room to his and then she’s up on the bed at my feet.

I look at him, touched, but don’t say anything.

“We’ll all sleep better if we’re in here together.” He kisses the top of Charlie’s head and then climbs in beside me, pulling my back flush against his front. “Don’t overthink it tonight, Sunbeam.”

Luke’s alarm goes off at the ungodly hour of five a.m. He gets up almost immediately after pressing a light kiss to my shoulder. I don’t know how to act or what to say, so I lay still, keeping my breathing even so he thinks I’m asleep.

I doze off while he’s in the shower. Fitful dreams about work and Luke and Grandpa keep me from getting any type of restful sleep. Charlie jumps off the bed and follows Luke downstairs. She’s always loved going to work with him, so I’m fine letting her go.

After a few minutes I hear his truck start up and drive away. The house is eerily silent with just me inside. I sit up in the middle of his bed and look around his room. It’s all furniture and decor that Grams picked out, he hasn’t personalized anything aside from a photo of him with Sam and Janey at their wedding. They got married on a whim at the county courthouse, Luke, Linda, and Colt were the only ones in attendance.

A little pang of regret hits me that I missed it. But in the end, after the tumultuous ride they had, they deserve it. I’m happy everything worked out the way it should have from the beginning. I just wish I could have celebrated with them at the time.

The urge to snoop is too powerful to ignore, so I slide open the bedside table drawers. I’m not sure what I’m looking for, but there’s nothing juicy stashed inside. Just a phone charger and some loose change. I scoot over to the other side of the bed and pull it open, wondering if he has condoms stashed away in there, but there’s nothing aside from a notebook and his wallet. Curiosity tempts me to open them both up and look through but that feels like too much of an invasion of privacy.

I deserve a gold medal for that restraint if I say so myself.

My shirt and panties are nowhere to be found, so I grab the closest thing, one of his t-shirts, and pull it over my head. It’s so soft and swims on me, hitting nearly to my knees. Is it improper to keep it? I had his cum running out of me last night, I can probably keep a shirt as a souvenir. Been there, rode the ride, have the shirt to show for it type of thing.

It’s still early enough that I have a ton of time before my first work meeting. I want to check on the goats and make sure they’re okay after everything that happened last night. That could have been so bad for all of us.

Seeing that mountain lion come out of the shadows like that was the most terrifying experience I’ve ever had. I grip my stomach as I recall watching Charlie charge the animal. She was fearless, and I was frozen, overcome by terror. I’ve never seen Luke move so fast either.

Which reminds me, I need to ask where the gun came from. I know Grandpa had a safe somewhere, but I would think it’d take longer to get a rifle than it seemed to take Luke. As scary as the whole ordeal was, I’m glad he just fired warning shots.

I shake all the troubling thoughts from my mind as I dress. After I make sure the goats are okay, I’ll come back to shower and eat before I start my work day. I glance out the window to see a bit of snow fell overnight, so I grab an extra pair of socks and sweater.

There’s no sign of any animal prints as I walk across the yard to the goat pen. All their heads pop out of the shed as soon as they hear me at the gate. Blanche and Dorothy are looking large and in charge, but maybe I’m just thinking that now that I know they’re pregnant. I give them all scratches and then walk into the shed to make sure they’re good on everything and that their water isn’t frozen over.

Blanche head butts my leg, so I move to give her space, thinking she’s annoyed by my presence as usual. But then she does it again and presses her body against me the way she does to Luke. I lean down and run my hand down her side, causing her to give a happy bleat. She even wags her tail.

“What’s gotten into you?” I crouch down to look in her eyes. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

The only answer I receive is a blank stare and more tail wagging. It’s honestly very cute, and I’m soaking in the friendliness from her while Dorothy eats from the hayrack. If they keep it up like that, I might need to remind myself to bring another bale out before it gets dark.

I stay out with them as long as possible, soaking up their affection. I feel guilty that I didn’t even think of going to check on them last night when they don’t have a dog watching over them. Maybe that’s something I should discuss with Luke, finding another livestock guardian to keep in their pen. Maybe even one for the pigs, if pigs need one.

There’s so much I don’t know about ranch life. It can be overwhelming if I let myself focus on it for too long. As I leave the goats, I catch sight of Sam, Colt, and Luke leading a few of the horses out to pasture. At least I have the three of them to help me on this journey.

I decide to keep myself busy today, that way I don’t spend the entire day overthinking what happened last night. The sex was great, obviously. It always has been. But there’s so much happening in my life right now. Resigning from a job with a steady and reliable income to take over a ranch is a huge feat. Now is not the time to even consider a relationship.

Not that I am evenconsideringit.

The sex is so good though. Maybe we can just sleep together casually. It worked last time. Until it didn’t.

Focus.

So much for keeping my mind occupied with work. There’s only one thing to do. Call for backup.

Eighteen

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