Page 7 of Spring Forward

“Yeah,” he grins at me before his face turns serious. He nods toward August, his voice low, “Is there anything I need to know to make sure your brother stays safe?”

I stiffen and my eyes narrow, I try to keep my voice neutral, but it comes out more like an accusatory hiss, “What do you mean?”

Noel isn’t bothered by my reaction, his face remaining open instead of becoming shuttered. “I noticed his limp and how he takes a little extra time sometimes when he speaks.” My glare must go from skeptical to downright murderous because he raises his hands in surrender. “I’m not judging you or him and I don’t need to know his whole history right now.” Something unsaid lingers with his words. “I just want to be able to keep him safe,” he assures me.

I deflate and nod slowly. “Sorry,” I whisper, but there’s nothing demanding in Noel’s expression. “He was in an accident eight years ago, the same one that killed our parents. There was a lot of rehab and relearning that needed to happen. Thankfully, he was only four, but it still left some scars, both internal and external. He’s great with horses and has been traveling with me for a long time. He’s not a liability and even if he is, it is covered in my contract.”

Noel looks over at August and I watch as a soft smile lifts his lips. “A liability is the last thing that boy is.”

I blink a few times, unsure of what to say for the first time in a very long time. So much is left unsaid in the silence that stretches between us, but I’m almost afraid to fill them with words.

I’m in a daze for the rest of the tour, unable to shake Noel’s words. It wasn’t just the care and empathy, but there was something else there too. Something deeper. Something that should make me run the other direction as quickly as I can. But at the same time, I desperately want to find out if the promises I see in Noel’s eyes whenever he looks my way could be real.

“August, buddy,” Noel slides a door open and nods inside, “this room is for you. It used to be Carson’s room. She’s our sister but is now a tattoo artist in Denver.”

“Cool,” August exclaims after walking inside and when I stick my head in, I chuckle at the neutral room dotted with drawings depicting the ranch as well as some old tack and horseshoes. It reminds me of my room when I was growing up. “This is great,” he muses and collapses back on the bed.

Noel chuckles and then points down the hall. “Huxley is on the other side of the house, so you don’t have to worry about him,” the hard edge in his voice surprises me. When I look at him his jaw is clenched and he’s looking at me possessively. “This is you,” he tells me and opens the door, “it was mine until Fletch built his house and I moved into the primary.”

Without thinking about it, I blurt, “Where are your parents?” I slap my hands over my mouth, knowing how dangerous the words are that I just put out there so carelessly. “I’m sorry, that was nosy,” my words are muffled by my hands.

Noel’s dark brown eyes soften. My entire body starts to buzz when he reaches over, grips my wrists, and pulls them away from my face. I barely keep standing as his thumb brushes over the smattering of freckles running over the bridge of my nose and across both cheeks. What is it about this man that does me in so thoroughly?

“It’s okay, Freckles,” he assures me softly. “When they handed Limitless over to Fletch officially, they bought an RV and have been touring the country to see all the places they always wanted to visit but couldn’t because of responsibilities here. They’ll be coming back soon since Fletcher and Eden’s wedding isn’t far off.”

“Oh,” I whisper, relief filling me.

I wonder why I see the echo of sadness and loss in Noel’s eyes at times then. While studying him, I tilt my head slightly and bite my lip. As much as I want to know, I’m not going to ask.

“I’m right there,” he points toward the room right next door, and I gulp, “if you need me. Dinner will be in about an hour,” he informs me before winking and leaving me standing at the door of the room which is going to be mine for the next little while.

I should go in and check it out before unpacking and checking on Auggie. But I can’t seem to tear my eyes away from Noel’s door.

How the hell am I going to survive being this close to him? It feels far too dangerous.

CHAPTER 4

NOEL

When the sun starts to rise, barely winking above the horizon and bringing color to the dark night sky, I sit up on the edge of my bed. I don’t think I slept at all; I couldn’t. It was impossible to sleep knowing Delaney was right next door.

All night I struggled with staying in bed. My hands flexed and released so many times I lost count. I’ve never had to use the amount of self-control I had to use last night.

Everything in me wanted to storm to her room, throw the door open, and pounce on Delaney. My Freckles.

She’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen, and something settled inside of me the moment she arrived. The feeling was slow to come on as I saw her driving toward the main house, but then she got out of her vehicle, and it slammed into me. It was deeper than peace, it was a rightness that wrapped around me and forced the dark memories I’m always fighting torecede into the corners of my mind.

Her brown hair, a soft mahogany color with strands of gold and red that glinted in the sunlight, was piled on top of her head in a way that made me wish I could see it down around her shoulders. Or wrapped up in my fist as I force her to arch her neck and look me in the eye.

Fuck. My cock went from interested to ‘that’s my fucking woman and I’m hard enough to pound nails’ in less than a second. Thankfully, my brothers were with me because I was afraid that I was going to stumble for a moment. It would have been embarrassing to have my brothers catch my ass on the way down, but it would have been better than falling flat on my face.

I think.

Maybe.

Her curves are to die for and the leggings and sweatshirt she was wearing, clearly going for comfort while she drove, did nothing to hide every single one of them. My mouth watered the moment I was able to take her all in. I’m still not sure how I held myself back from jumping the porch steps to throw her over my shoulder, and disappear into the acreage of the ranch to find a secluded spot to claim every inch of her right then and there.

I’m not sure how I was able to stop myself from grabbing her and kissing her while showing her around Limitless. August being there with us certainly helped, but even more of a deterrent was the wariness on her face whenever she looked at me. Seeing that tempered with heat and want gave me pause.

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