Page 12 of Love Me Back (Diamond Creek #2)

Grayson

She’d stormed off, pissed at what I’d said, and I couldn’t blame her. I was a jackass. I couldn’t help worrying that she’d get lost somewhere on the ranch. The boys were supposed to be building a ramp today. Until they did, I was stuck in this house while she was out there unprotected.

I rolled around the kitchen until Addie shooed me out. She said I was messing with her peace. Well, she had messed with mine by bringing Jessie into our home.

Since I couldn’t be outside, the only other option was my office. I had plenty in there that would keep me occupied. Bills still needed to be paid and schedules needed to be kept.

I had a landline in my office, attached to an old-school answering machine. The same number and phone that my mother and grandfather both used.

It took a few frustrating minutes to push the desk chair out of the way and roll myself up to my desk.

I sat a little lower, making things harder to reach considering the desk was so large.

It had been my great-grandfather’s desk, back when furniture was built to last. It was solid oak, and heavy as fuck.

I hit the button on the answering machine to listen to the various messages left since the accident. The office was purely my domain, and Hudson and Emerson only came in here if they needed to speak to me. They both acted as if they were allergic to paperwork and accounting.

Most of the calls over the last few days were from clients checking up on me.

Carson must have gone through and called them to let them know things were on hold.

There were also more than a few solicitation calls; this was the reason I kept the landline.

I didn’t need companies calling my cell phone night and day trying to sell me shit I didn’t need or want.

The last call that came in last night caught my attention. I wrote down the number and then called it back.

“Hello, Grayson.”

“Mr. Garcia, it’s a pleasure to speak with you. What can I do for you?”

“Please call me Armando. I am looking to purchase some horses, and I hear yours are the best.”

Armando Garcia was the current head of the Mexican cartel. At Christmas, Alejandro Vasquez had been taken out, and Armando was quick to step in. I wasn’t one to keep tabs on much of the underworld, but it had been all over the news.

Tyson was the one who’d told me about Garcia taking over. Any time you cut the head off a snake, another one always slithered in to take its place.

I wasn’t sure Garcia was the type of man I wanted to work with. I didn’t sell my horses to just anyone.

“I am glad to hear my name garners such praise, but I am sure you also know I don’t sell my horses to just anyone who asks.”

“ Si , si , your integrity is one of the many reasons your stock is so coveted. Money is nice, but a man’s soul is priceless.”

“I couldn’t agree more. What purpose would the horses serve?”

“They are for my grandchildren. I have plenty of horses to work the land. However, my family deserves only the best. There is nothing more important than family, would you agree?”

“I would very much agree.” I got the feeling there was more to this conversation than horses. “Was there a number you had in mind? And when would you like to come for an interview?”

“Interview?”

“As I said, I do not sell my horses to just anyone.” I needed to be careful.

Armando Garcia was not a man to be crossed.

“I’d like to invite you to come here for dinner.

My family made a decision long ago to get to know everyone who inquired about our horses.

Please bring your wife.” You could tell a lot about a man by how he treated his wife, not just his horse.

“You can tour the ranch and see what’s available.

If you don’t find any to your liking, we can discuss breeding. ”

“And if you find I am not to your liking?”

“Then we will part ways after a delicious meal.”

“Do you know who I am, Grayson?” His voice was lower, darker when he asked the question. Gone was the cordial man who had answered the phone.

“I do, Armando.” My voice was equally stern. If he thought he could intimidate me, he was wrong.

Armando laughed into the phone. A loud, boisterous laugh I was sure came from deep inside him. “I like you, Grayson Powell. I think you’ll do just fine!”

Armando and I worked out a date. He had asked to come for the weekend.

It wasn’t unusual, and it was one of the reasons I had kept up the cabins.

Danny and Dante were in Lincoln for the foreseeable future, so I wasn’t worried about them being around.

I’d have King send over a few guys to patrol while Garcia was here.

I’d have to decide whether to let Addie and Jessie stay. Maybe I’d send them to the clubhouse for a few days. They would both hate it, but their lives were more important than worrying about them being mad at me.

I’d just rolled into the kitchen when Jessie walked back in. I had to find a way to keep my ego in check and call a truce. Allow her to do what she was here to do without causing her more pain.

And absolutely find a way to keep my hands to myself.

My resolve to keep my hands to myself should have included her keeping her hands off me as well.

I hadn’t thought about the fact that she would need to touch me in order to teach me the exercises I needed to do.

I also had somehow neglected to realize that I couldn’t do the exercises myself when I couldn’t move my fucking legs.

Dinner had been subdued. Conversation flowed between Jessie and Addie, with Hudson and Emerson interjecting here and there. I was quiet, only speaking when asked a question.

My mind was caught up on the idea that I would be lying in bed, Jessie at my side with her hands on me. Never did I think I’d wish for my cock to be broken, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep him contained once she was touching me.

My eyes trailed her as she moved around the kitchen, washing dishes and wiping down the counters. She talked and joked with Addie, and for the first time in my life, I was jealous of my baby sister.

I rolled myself down the hall. I’d been in sweatpants all day. No point in fighting with a pair of jeans when all I could do was sit in this chair. One thing I had accomplished today was getting my ass out of the chair to the fucking toilet. I couldn’t even piss standing up like a man.

I stared at the bed. The current bane of my existence. I watched countless videos today trying to figure out how to get from the chair to the bed; they all made it look easy. But there was one thing those videos didn’t take into account. My bed was a few inches higher than the chair.

I was confident I would be able to get out of the bed and into the chair in the morning, though I hadn’t actually practiced it. But I wanted to be in this bed before Jessie came in to help with the exercises.

I pulled out my phone and called Emerson.

“What’s up?”

“I need you to come down and help me get onto the bed.”

“I thought that’s what Jessie was here for?”

“Get your ass in here now,” I growled.

“I’m coming. Calm the fuck down.”

I hung up the phone and tossed it onto the nightstand. Emerson walked into the room followed by Jessie, and I groaned .

She glared at me, her hands on her amble hips. I had to close my eyes against the sexy woman. I would never survive this.

“I thought we agreed that I was here for a reason and you would let me do my job?”

“And I will. But I am too fucking big for you to lift me out of this goddamn chair.”

She inhaled slowly as she stared at the ceiling. Emerson stood off to the side, his face a combination of concern and amusement.

“Emerson, stand at the end of the bed, please,” Jessie ordered politely. I could tell she was trying to hold back her anger, but it still came through as strong annoyance.

My brother, always willing to do the bidding of a beautiful woman, proudly stood at the end of my bed, facing Jessie. She stood in front of him and bent slightly, wrapping her arms around his legs just below his ass. Which put her head too fucking close to his junk.

“What the f—” My question was cut off by surprise as Jessie lifted him off the ground and all but tossed him on the bed.

“Jesus Christ, did you see that?” my brother asked, still lying on the bed with his head turned in my direction.

“Get the fuck out.”

Jessie lifted an eyebrow at me in defiance as Emerson scrambled from the bed. His laughter followed him down the hall as he called out to our sister. No doubt to tell her what Jessie just accomplished.

“Fine.”

“There’s a word no human ever wants to hear.” Her mumbling made me grin. She wasn’t wrong. But it was the best that I could do. I still wasn’t convinced she could help me into this bed. At least not without getting hurt.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Lift yourself with your arms.” When I did, she stepped in front of me and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Let go,” she ordered.

Only I couldn’t do it. If I let go, I would fall.

Falling backward meant her arms would get caught between me and the chair.

Forward meant she would be crushed beneath me when we hit the floor. “Grayson, let go.”

“Put me down.”

She pulled away, and I sat back in the chair. “You’re too small.”

“I am not going to lift you the way I did Emerson. I am only giving you stability to turn your body to the bed. I’ve done this with bigger men than you.”

My scoff made her angry.

“Fine, sleep in the damn chair.” She turned and headed for the door.

“Jessie, stop! I’m sorry.”

She didn’t turn around. She didn’t look over her shoulder. Instead, she stood in the doorway, her back ramrod straight, and spoke, “You said you would let me help.”

“I’m trying.”

“You’re not!” She spun around, waving her arms in the air. “I get it; you don’t trust me. But I’m what you have. So make up your mind, Grayson, because I won’t stay where I’m not wanted. I’ll give Addie back her money, and I’ll leave.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

Her eyes softened, and her shoulders slumped. All the fight left her body as she walked over to me. “I’m not some fragile piece of china that has to be put on a shelf and admired from far away. I spent years studying and learning how to do things like this.”

Her eyes pleaded with me. If I had any chance of winning her over—if I got my legs back—then I had to take a chance.

“Okay.” I lifted myself up off the seat, and when she wrapped her arms around my waist, I let go of the chair.

“Now straighten your back.” For a brief moment, I stood on my feet, with Jessie wrapped around my body, and I got a glimpse of what forever could be. She spun me, and when my ass hit the bed, I wrapped my arms around her and fell back, taking her with me.