Page 9 of Devoted Enough

“I didn’t mean to do that…I got carried away, and it just happens with guys.”

She spun around and stared at me; her mouth dropped open. “Oh my God. You, of all people, to say that to me. Wow. Thanks for making me feel even better. I’m glad to know that any woman can make you hard, and want to fuck her with your fingers. Oh, except for the girl who is tainted.”

Her harsh words felt like a slap, and I stepped back. She slowly shook her head. “I would have given myself to you, Nathan, willingly without regret. I will never make thatmistakeagain.”

I closed my eyes. I couldn’t stand to see the hurt on her face. The sound of her car door opening caused me to look at her again.

Stop her. Tell her how you feel about her. Tell her it has nothing to do with what happened.

Opening my mouth to say something, I quickly shut it. When Haven slammed her door closed, I jumped.

I stood frozen in the same spot as I watched her back out and drive down the driveway. Once her car was out of sight, I stumbled back and reached for something to steady myself. I wasn’t sure what in the hell I was feeling, but there was one thing I knew for sure. I could never…ever again…kiss or touch Haven Larson.

Chapter One

NATHAN

Present Day

Lightning lit up the darkening skies while thunder rumbled through the valley. The storm that was predicted to move in later this afternoon was making an early appearance, and I wasn’t the least bit disappointed about that. I loved storms, especially fall storms. Something about the thunder echoing off the mountains made my heart feel happy.

“Looks like this one is going to be a big one!” my cousin Josh called out over the increasing wind.

I nodded and shut the gate, ensuring it was locked securely.

“I hope we don’t get any lightning strikes in the valley. Everything is still dry from the summer,” I said as I jumped into the ranch truck and shut the door right before the heavens opened and rain poured down.

“I’ve got a good plan in effect if anything does happen,” Josh said from the truck’s driver’s side. He quit his job as a firefighter not long ago and started working full time on the ranch. I wasn’t sure why he gave up his dream job of firefighting, but I knew our grandfather’s sudden and unexpected death had something to do with it. One thing he did do, at the request of our oldest cousin, Blayze, was come up with a plan in case of fire. A fewyears back, a wildfire had burned a few hundred acres of the Shaw Ranch, and Blayze never wanted to see that again. Fires were something you couldn’t control, but you could have a plan of action to keep the damage to a minimum, and that was precisely what Josh had been working on. The first thing he did was start working on clearing the entire fence line of the ranch. It’s not a small feat, but we got it done. Our cousin, Beck, who a few years ago had been a recent addition to the family, was in charge of the clearing. The guy was a Shaw, for sure. He was out there with the workers clearing and hauling brush. He was our Uncle Beck’s son, but he never got the chance to meet him since he died before Beck was even born. Originally from Texas, after Beck’s mother died, he found the name and information for his father’s family. One trip to Hamilton and Beck fell in love, not just with Montana, but with Avery Littleton, our cousin, not by blood. The rest, they say, is history.

“We need to swing by my folks’ place. Mom and Dad aren’t back from Las Vegas, and I need to make sure Lady is stable.”

“Have you called Lily?” Josh asked.

Lily was my sister and was married to Maverick, who worked as a horse trainer for my mother and father. He was more of a horse whisperer, working on the more troubled horses. They lived in the small house on the back of my parents’ spot on the ranch. I knew they would ensure everything was in order, but I wanted to swing by and check myself.

“I did, no answer. She and Mav might be rounding in the horses; I’m not sure. I tried to text Maverick also and no reply from him either. Lady is afraid of thunder if left out to pasture. It doesn’t seem to bother her when she is stabled for some reason.”

“That horse is one of the strangest horses I’ve ever known.” Josh laughed. “Does Haven still come and ride her?”

I nodded even though he wasn’t looking at me. The rain was coming down so hard it was hard to see even with the wipers going at top speed.

“Yeah, at least once a week, according to my mother and Lily.”

We drove silently for a moment before Josh said, “I think they’re getting close to getting the loan sorted. Haven and Sophia aren’t happy with the contractor, though.” He glanced out the window up at the sky as if he could see anything. “If we keep getting rain like this, they won’t break ground anytime soon.”

“I’m surprised they’re not waiting until after winter to start on it.”

“They’ve still got some time to get things done, and according to the girls, they want to be open by late spring or early summer.”

“Makes sense,” I replied.

Josh’s girlfriend, Sophia, was partners with Haven. Originally, she was going to work as Haven’s assistant, where she would do administrative tasks, which she does now, but after hearing Haven’s plans to open a dog park, she was on board and offered to be her partner. Haven jumped at the chance to have Sophia on board, and both women were a force to be reckoned with. Currently, Haven runs a dog walking service where she picks up dogs in a van and brings them to locations where she can let them all off-leash and walk. She does that twice a day, five days a week. And when she isn’t doing that, she volunteers either at the animal shelter or helping out with displaced animals. She had also placed a few horses with my mother and father in hopes that they, Lily, or Maverick, could help them so they could be adopted.

Josh looked out the windshield again. “It’s crazy how fast this rain is coming down.”

“I have a feeling we’re going to have a crazy winter.”

“Yeah, I do as well. We could use the snow, though, after the little bit of rain we got last spring and this past summer. Plus, last winter was pretty mild.”

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