Page 14 of Love Me Back (Diamond Creek #2)

Jessie

Days flew by as Grayson and I settled into a routine. He still needed my help to get into bed each evening before we did his exercises, but in the morning, he was often up before me, either Hudson or Emerson helping him in the shower.

I was beyond thankful for that. I’d never survive Grayson, naked in the shower with droplets of water sliding over the muscles of his chest and back, slipping between the crevices of his abs.

UGH! My thighs squeezed together as I took a sip of my morning coffee. I looked up and found Grayson staring at me as I licked my lips, thinking about my tongue being in places it didn’t belong.

I would not survive another two weeks living in this house, staring at the man across from me every time we sat down to eat a meal. Every time I looked at him, I wanted to eat him up. Ten times a day, the idea of climbing into his lap assaulted me.

Would he push me away? Would he hold me close? There was no way of knowing where his head was at.

You could ask him!

Like that would ever happen. I had been doing my best since the day I met him to make sure he didn’t see the desire and lust on my face. I wore a double padded bra so he couldn’t see the way my nipples reached for him every time I got close.

And the exercises at night? Good God! I only hoped he thought embarrassment from him being hard was what caused the blush and not me crawling on the bed to kneel at his feet.

God, I wanted to kneel at his feet! I didn’t care whether he was standing or sitting. I just wanted to look up at him and see the desire in his eyes. Desire for me.

“Jessie, would you like to walk the grounds with me today?”

“What?”

“Would you take a walk with me after breakfast?”

The boys had finished the ramp days ago, but Grayson still hadn’t been outside. I studied him carefully. He kept his gaze from mine as he asked, and I wondered what he was up to.

When he finally looked at me, there was something in his eyes.

It looked almost like a plea. Like he was begging me to spend time with him.

I guess I had been ignoring him unless there was something specific we needed to work on.

In my defense, it was self-preservation.

The more time I spent with Grayson, the more I wanted to be with him.

“Sure.”

The rest of breakfast was subdued; quiet conversation sputtered around me as I wondered what Grayson’s motivation was. I helped Addie with the dishes, like I did after dinner. I was so thankful she was here for two reasons.

One being that it meant I wasn’t the only woman living in the house at the moment.

The other was that Addie could cook. I was hopeless in the kitchen.

My mother gave both my sister and me lessons on how to cook.

Justina took to it like a duck to water.

I, on the other hand, promptly drowned and would die of starvation if it weren’t for takeout. And Ellie.

“Ready?”

I turned and found Grayson right behind me. His smile was mischievous, and I wondered again what he was up to.

“Sure.” I grabbed my shoes and slipped them on. “Is this the first time you’ve used the ramp?”

“Yea. The first day home coming out of the barn, I ended up on the ground when the chair flipped.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” I asked, my frustration with his pride overtaking my temper.

Grayson shrugged. His demeanor was that of a scared little boy, and my anger at him diminished. I had to remember that it wasn’t always easy to ask for help. Especially for men .

I knew from Addie that Grayson had been running the ranch since his parents passed away. They all relied on him to take care of the ranch, them, their legacy. That was a lot of pressure to put on one man’s shoulders.

“Okay, let’s work on going up and down the ramp, then we can take a walk.”

We spent the next hour teaching Grayson how to maneuver his chair at an incline and decline. One of the ranch hands was working suspiciously close and ran over to help the few times Grayson had tipped the chair until he finally got the hang of it.

“Where would you like to walk?” I asked when a 4WD Gator drove up and parked. It had two seats and an open truck bed, similar to a miniature pickup truck.

“I need to check on my horse.”

“Boss, not sure taking Jessie to see the demon horse is a good idea.”

“We’ll be fine, Hank, just help me get in the truck. Jessie, think you can drive this thing?”

“Yeah, I can drive it,” I said, rolling my eyes at Grayson. “But I thought we were taking a walk?”

“The chair won’t do well over the terrain.”

He was right. Between the two of us, we would have a rough time walking to the barn. I jumped in the driver’s seat and waited for Hank to fold Grayson’s chair and place it in the back.

“Will there be someone out there to help you get out and into the chair?” Hank asked.

“I can help him. Despite what he might think.” I put the vehicle in drive and sped off, Grayson holding tight to the roof to avoid being thrown out of the doorless truck. “Where are we headed?”

“The main barn,” he said through clenched teeth. “Maybe slow down a bit. I’d like to make it in one piece.”

“You take the fun out of everything,” I mumbled as I slowed down.

We pulled up to the barn, and the doors were wide open. I hopped out and quickly pulled the chair from the back and unfolded it, pushing it around to the passenger side and locking the brake.

Standing in front of the chair, I waited for Grayson. His focus was on the barn, a confused look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked as I followed his gaze.

“I don’t know. Something feels off.”

“You want me to go check the barn?”

“No!” Grayson grabbed my arm and pulled me against the side of his leg. “Let me call the boys.”

Grayson scanned our surroundings as he held the phone to his ear. He instructed Emerson and Hudson, as well as Hank, to meet us at the barn. He never let go of me while we waited for his brothers and foreman to arrive.

I heard the roar of a truck and the pounding of hooves. The tension in the grasp Grayson had of my arm finally eased. I didn’t know what he was sensing, but something had spooked him. It made me think of the last day I saw the horse, when something invisible spooked him in the paddock.

“What’s up?” Hudson asked, walking over to where I stood with Grayson. He wasn’t quite as tall as Grayson, but almost equally handsome. He was also still single, and not for the first time, I wondered how these men hadn’t found women they wanted to spend their lives with.

Emerson arrived with his brother. At breakfast, they’d said they would be checking fence lines. I’d assumed it meant they would be out in the far pastures, but maybe they hadn’t gotten very far before Grayson called them in.

Hank was the last to arrive. He climbed out of the truck and walked over. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know. But something isn’t right.” The look on Grayson’s face told me how hard it was for him to admit that he wasn’t a hundred percent right now. “I won’t put Jessie at risk.”

I helped him into his chair and grabbed the handles on the back.

“I need you to stay here,” Grayson said, looking over his shoulder at me .

“I’m not staying out here.”

“Jessica,” he sighed.

“I can take care of myself. I want to see the horse.”

“I don’t want you at risk. I have no idea what is going on in there.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re right; you have no idea anything is going on in there. Besides, how are you gonna stop me?”

“That’s a low fucking blow, Montoya.”

“Then don’t be an asshole.” I stormed past him and followed Hank and Hudson into the barn. I walked down the center aisle to the stall with the horse I had been visiting every day. I hadn’t seen the grumpy old man since that first day, but I never came at the same time either.

When I got to the stall, it was empty. He must have been outside. I clicked my tongue like I had been doing to call him, but there was no answer. Usually, he would rush inside looking for whatever treat I brought him.

“Jessie, that horse isn’t friendly,” Hank called out.

“He is with me. I’ve been visiting him every day. He usually comes in as soon as I click my tongue.”

“This is where you’ve been coming when you go for a walk?” Grayson asked.

“Yea. It was by accident the first day. I was mad at you and just started walking. It was hot, and the doors were open, so I came inside, and he was the only horse here.”

“He’s my horse. His name is Thunder.” Grayson watched me as he told Emerson to check outside.

“That makes sense. He’s as prickly as you are.”

“What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” I turned back to the stall door and stepped up on the rung, clicking my tongue again.

“He’s not out there,” Emerson said as he ran back into the barn.

“What do you mean, he’s not out there? Where the fuck is my horse?” Grayson shouted as he wheeled around to face his brothers.

“I don’t know. No one is stupid enough to get near him. I barely get him fed in the morning,” Emerson explained.

“Maybe the hand took him out for a ride.” All four men turned and stared at me.

“What hand?” Hank asked.

“None of the hands work with Thunder. He won’t let anyone but Grayson get near him,” Hudson said.

“The second time I came out here, there was a hand in here. An older guy who walked with a limp. He yelled at me for being out here.”

“Pops?” Emerson asked.

I shook my head. “No, I know Pops. He wasn’t that old.”

“Jessie, first of all, you can come into this barn anytime you want. And if one of my guys treats you badly, you fucking tell me.” Grayson’s eyes were cold as steel. “Second, tell me exactly what he looked like.”

I looked at Hudson and Hank behind Grayson. Emerson had entered the stall looking for something, but I wasn’t sure what.

“He was average. Tall, of course; everyone is tall compared to me.” I was only about five foot three. Taller than Kytten, Cash’s new old lady, but not by much. “He wore jeans and a cowboy hat and boots. Like every other man on this ranch.”

“Hair color, eye color? Any scars?” Hank asked.

“Couldn’t really see his hair under the hat, so he was either bald, or it was cut really short. Clean-shaven, no scars I could see, just the limp. The way he was walking, I would say it was an old knee injury.”

“We don’t have any older hands with a limp.”

Hank confirmed what I was starting to suspect. That the man I met was the one who didn’t belong here.

“I’m sorry, Grayson. I should have said something.”

“This wasn’t your fault.”

Grayson pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly dialed a number. “Hey, King. I need Tyson to come home.” He looked up at me before adding, “And I’m calling in that favor.”