Page 4 of Long Hard Ride
“They’d be crazy not to accept you, sweetheart.” Gramps sends me the same grin that’s warmed my heart since I can remember. “Now, on to more important matters, the sleeping arrangements.”
“I’ll take the couch,” Shane offers quickly.
“You’ll do no such thing.” Gramps is back to snarling again. “I have the biggest room in the house, and I can move that hospital bed into the guest room—it has wheels. Then you two can move a bed in there.”
Sharing a bed? My mouth dries up like it’s packed with cotton. “Ah, no,” I squeak, shooting my hand up. “That’s not happening, Gramps, and I won’t hear of you changing rooms.”
“Neither will I. You need the space.” Shane’s deep commanding voice backs me up. He shoots me a look, and damn if my heart doesn’t twitch. Shane is so much more manly than I remember. It’s overwhelming.
Even if he wasn’t six foot whatever, I’m sure his presence would take up all the space in any room he walked into. My nipples are ready to do tricks on command, practically waving at him through my bra. I fold my arms over my chest, hoping he won’t notice.
“Well, Ethel has the other room, and there are only two twin beds in the guestroom.” Gramps shakes his head. “I guess you can push them together and make one big marital bed.”
When will he stop? “I don’t think that will be necessary.” I gulp, side-eyeing Shane, checking his reaction. I think I detect a twinge of discomfort. “I can make room for your clothes, by the way,” I offer quietly. “You don’t have to keep them in the gar—”
“See?” Gramps says with a shit-eating grin. “That’s the spirit. You’re working it out already.” He lets out a long sigh. “In all seriousness, you two have made me a very happy man. I know it wasn’t the ceremony you’ve probably dreamed about, Brooke, but you two will have a lifetime together to get it right—”
“Six months,” I remind him. “Let’s not get carried away.”
Chapter Two
Fix the hay baler andcheck the feed trough in pasture five for rot. Inspect the new cattle and make sure the ticks are gone. My to-do list runs on a seamless loop in my brain. I roll over another lump in the couch and feel a spring dig into my shoulder. It’s been a fucking nightmare of a day, and I’m determined to get at least a few hours of sleep before starting the next one.
I try to forget my never-ending inventory of tasks, and focus on the peaceful image of the cool stream behind the paddocks in the east field. Something grabs my leg.
“What the hell?” I bolt upright, ready to grab the gun I have stashed in the cushions. Then I see the shiny wheels. “What the fuck, Chuck?”
“Good. What the fuck is right. We’re seeing eye to eye, then.” The wheels take off to the side table, and a lamp clicks on, filling the space with light.
“What’s going on?” I grumble, snatching my phone off the coffee table. “It’s two fucking thirty.”
“And you’re not following the rules. First day and you’re already going off the rails.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I guess I should’ve specified that living together under the same roof means sleeping together.”
