Page 19 of Love Me Back (Diamond Creek #2)

Jessie

“Jessie, stop!”

“No, Ellie. I can’t stay.” I had stayed long enough. I spent the night with Ellie and the girls. I snuggled little Sebastian and said my goodbyes. Okay, so I didn’t actually say the words, but they were there, in my heart.

But now it was morning, and it was time to go. So I packed my bag, and now Ellie was blocking the door. She glared at me with her arms crossed over her chest. She knew I would never hurt her, which meant that if I couldn’t talk her down, I would never get out of here.

“You can’t just sleep with him and run. That’s what guys do. Women are better than that. You’re better than that.”

“I’m not. I never should have given in.”

“Why?”

“You know why!” My hands flew in the air, and I dropped into the kitchen chair. I couldn’t put him at risk. He’d already been hurt once.

“Jessie, maybe if you talk to him, really talk to him, and tell him how you feel about Grayson, he won’t interfere.”

“You don’t know him.”

“Jessie.”

“Just forget it, Ellie. This is my life. This was the life I chose to be free.” My head hit the table in despair.

I was being dramatic. I knew that. But Ellie was the only person I let see my dramatic side.

She got it all. My despair, my anger, my tears, my joy.

She was my safe place. The one person I could be myself with and know I wouldn’t be judged.

“Morning, Ellie. Oh, hi, Jessie. ”

“Avery, I’m so glad you’re here. Jessie and I are going to go downstairs to the shop.”

“No problem. Just point me to that baby!”

I chuckled at Avery’s enthusiasm. She’d had a huge crush on Ryder when she worked as Chrissy and Tabby’s nanny and thought that she would lose the kids when Ryder married Ellie. Ellie, being who she was, assured her they would still need her for Sebastian and any other children they had.

Rumor had it, Shotgun had taken a liking to Avery, but Ryder was blocking that connection every opportunity he got. I respected him for looking out for Avery. Not every attraction was meant to be.

“Let’s go.” Ellie grabbed my bag and walked through the house to the door that led downstairs directly into the bookstore. I followed behind her, and when we made it to the front of the store, I understood why she had brought my bag.

“What are you doing here?”

“The question is, what the hell are you doing here?” Grayson rolled toward me, and I stood my ground, hands on my hips as I glared at the man who was too handsome for his own good.

“Hi, Jessie.” Addie waved from behind her brother. All I could do was smile briefly before returning my gaze to Grayson.

“I want you to come home.”

“Grayson—”

“Ryder, could we use your office?”

“Sure,” he answered with a grin. I narrowed my eyes at my best friend’s husband and mouthed the word traitor. He shrugged as if he didn’t care. I knew he did though.

I pivoted and marched back the way I had just come. I thought about going further, back up the stairs and through Ellie’s apartment, but Ellie called out behind us, “Avery has the door locked.”

My shoulders slumped, and I scowled at my best friend. Grayson followed me into Ryder’s office, and I closed the door.

“Why?”

I closed my eyes. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have, especially with him.

“I can’t stay.”

“Fuck that. What we had last night wasn’t a one and done. Jesus Christ, Jessie, I’ve been chasing you for months.”

“And you also told me to leave when I stood at the end of your hospital bed.” Grayson gazed at me, his eyes sad. I held my emotions as best I could, but I was on the verge of losing it if he didn’t stop.

“I didn’t tell you that because I didn’t want you.”

I scoffed and moved to the sofa. My eyes roamed the room, looking everywhere but at him.

“Jessie, I was ashamed of what the doctor had told me. That I might never walk again. I didn’t want you to be tied to a cripple for the rest of your life. I thought letting you go was me being noble, but now I know it was me being scared.”

“I guess I know what you think of me.”

“Don’t fucking do that.” He placed his hands on my knees and scooted as close as he could. “You’ve been running since the day I met you. You never gave me anything, Jessie. If you didn’t want me when I was whole, why would I think you would suddenly change your mind when I couldn’t walk?”

“If you thought I didn’t want you, then why keep pursuing me?”

“I thought I could change your mind. I’ve spent my life with skittish horses, so I know all they need is a little love and acceptance. That’s what I wanted to give you.”

“Why do you have to be like this?” I asked as I swiped an errant tear that slipped out.

“Be like what, Jessie?” Grayson reached forward and cradled my cheek. I leaned into him without thinking. “I love you, Jessie. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you standing on that mountain with your back to the view.”

“You don’t know me,” I said. He didn’t know anything about me. You can’t love someone just by looking at them. He barely spoke to me that day, giving all his attention to Ellie.

“I know more than you think I do. I know that you’re beautiful, inside and out.

I know that you’re loyal to the people you love.

I know you’ll fight for those you feel deserve it, whether you have a relationship with them or not.

I know that despite being afraid, you went for a walk every day and visited my horse.

And he let you. My brothers can’t get within ten feet of that horse without Thunder wanting to trample them.

If I hadn’t loved you before, that would have told me everything I needed to know about you. Come home, Jessie. Please?”

“There are things you don’t know. Things that when you learn them might make you change your mind.” Like finding out my uncle was the head of the Mexican cartel, and my father and brother worked for him.

“There is nothing you can tell me that would make me love you less. Come home with me. Sleep in my bed. Be mine, Jessie.”

I took a deep breath. The pleading in his eyes was far worse than the tone of his words. It was the reason I gave in.

“Fine, I will come back to the ranch. But I am sleeping in my own room.” I pushed his chair back so I could stand.

Grayson grabbed my hand and yanked me into his lap.

His mouth landed on mine, and his soft, firm lips devoured me.

While his large hand on the back of my head held me in place, the other one held me hostage on his lap.

Once again, I found myself giving in to this man, and I wrapped my arms around his neck. A knock on the door had us both pulling back slowly. His smile sent a warmth through my body.

“We have guests coming tonight. Clients who want to purchase some horses. They’ll be staying through Sunday, and we’ll have a big cookout with the Silver Shadows tomorrow.

Which means Pops will need his bed. You’ll be in mine.

” He pecked me on the lips and called out, “Come in,” before I could answer him.

Addie stuck her head through the door and smiled brightly when she saw me on Grayson’s lap. “We need to get back so I can finish getting dinner ready.”

“Let’s go.” Grayson wheeled around and rolled us toward Addie.

“Wait, I need to get up.”

“Not a chance.” Grayson narrowed his eyes and said, “If I let you go, you’ll run.”

I placed both hands on his cheeks. “I promise I won’t run.” When he found out who I was, he would make me leave. There was no getting around it. Instead, I would enjoy whatever time I had with him until then.

I hopped up and followed Addie to the front of the store, Grayson trailing behind. Did I put a little extra swing in my step? Maybe. Did he notice? The groan told me he did, and I smiled.

He had potential clients coming tonight and staying for the weekend. I would do my best to help in any way I could. And after they left, I would tell Grayson the truth.

We got back to the ranch, and Hudson was waiting for us. He stood with his hands in his pockets, a stern look on his face.

“What happened?” Grayson asked as soon as he was out of the car and in his chair.

“We saw him.”

“Who?”

“Thunder.”

“Thank fuck! Where?” Hudson looked at me before focusing back on Grayson.

“In one of the back fields.”

“Which one?” Addie asked.

“The west field. The one you can only get to on foot. Or on horseback.”

“He’s hiding. He knows none of the vehicles we have can get back there, which means whoever let him out can’t get back there either. Alright, let’s go,” Grayson said, rolling toward the barn. Hudson grabbed the handles of the chair, stopping him. “You can’t go, Gray.”

“Why the hell not?”

“You can’t walk, and you certainly can’t ride a horse,” Hudson explained. I knew what he was saying, though I wasn’t sure Grayson would agree .

“I’ve been on the back of a horse since I was two fucking years old. I’m the only one who can get near him, and I’m not leaving him out there alone any longer.”

“You’re not the only one,” Addie offered. I’d forgotten she was still here. Hudson nodded, but Grayson shook his head.

“No, absolutely fucking not. I won’t put her at risk.”

“It’s the only chance we have, Gray,” Hudson argued. “She can ride out with me and ride him back.”

“She’s never even been on a fucking horse, and he’s not wearing a saddle!” Grayson shouted. People gathered around as the brothers argued.

“Then she can walk him out. The point is, she’s the only other person that’s ever gotten close to him. She can carry fucking sugar cubes in her pockets.”

“You know, I expected you to be the sensible one. This is something Emerson would suggest.”

“Gray,” Hudson warned.

“Alright, both of you, enough!” I shouted, getting between the two men. “Who are you talking about?” I had a suspicion, but I needed to be sure.

“Jessie, you are the only other person Thunder has let near him, other than Gray. I think if we take you out there, loaded down with treats, you could walk him out to where we can at least get Gray out there with a truck. Once Thunder sees Gray, he’ll follow him home.”

“Okay, then let’s go.”

“What?”

“He’s right. You can’t ride a horse yet.

” I kneeled down in front of Grayson. “If you don’t get your legs back, you will ride again.

You’ll have to learn to adjust to not being able to use your knees to guide him and there will be some equipment needed to get you on and off the horse.

But there isn’t enough time to do all that.

Thunder has been out there for days. We need to get him home. ”

“You’re afraid of heights,” Grayson whispered as he leaned in close. And that was why I loved him .

“I am, but like Hudson said, I can feed him treats so he’ll follow me, and we only need to get him to where you are.”

“I don’t like this.”

“It’s the only option. And hey, I have been working on conquering my fears for months. This is just one more fear to overcome.”