Page 25 of Love Me Back (Diamond Creek #2)

Grayson

I woke up with Jessie in my arms, and while more and more feeling had come back to my foot and leg, even if I never walked again, I would survive as long as I had this woman in my bed.

My toes wiggled under the blanket, and the feeling was surreal. It was amazing the number of things that were so easily taken for granted as you lived your life day to day. The smallest movements you never thought about because they were so rote that your body just moved the way it knew it should.

Tingling had begun in the other foot. It was a good sign, but I refused to get my hopes up until I saw the doctor next week. First, I needed to get through this weekend with Armando Garcia, the head of the Mexican cartel and Jessie’s uncle.

Talk about a fucking plot twist. But everything made sense now about why she kept pushing me away. She didn’t want me to know. Well, now I did, and I wouldn’t let her push me away any longer.

I rolled my head to the side as I watched her sleep. She was so damn beautiful. There was nothing more on earth I wanted other than my ring on her finger and my baby in her belly. I knew the first moment I saw her that she was it for me.

“Why are you staring at me?”

“How do you know I’m staring if you have your eyes closed?”

She popped one eye open and glared at me. “I can feel it.”

I twisted my upper body, so I was turned toward her, and pulled her against me. “I’m staring because you’re so fucking beautiful I can’t take my eyes off you. I’m afraid if I do, you’ll run.”

“You know everything now. I’m waiting for you to run. ”

“I can’t run,” I whispered through my grin. She smacked my chest and sat up.

“I’m serious, Grayson. My family runs the Mexican cartel. It puts your family at risk just having me here. I couldn’t live with it if your brothers and sister were hurt because of me.”

“No one is getting hurt. Have you seen what Tyson can do with a gun?”

“He isn’t always here. And besides the physical danger, if the Feds get wind that I’m here, they will get a warrant to tear this place apart looking for drugs.”

“They can look all they want. They won’t find anything.”

“You don’t know my uncle.”

I used my hands to push myself up so I could sit against the headboard and pulled her back against my chest. “Hey, I don’t want you to worry about that.”

My head dipped to her shoulder, and I let my lips trail over her skin. I loved the way she smelled. Like coffee and adrenaline.

“We have a big day today. I want to enjoy these quiet moments with you. And I want to wake up every morning with you in my bed.”

She twisted her neck around to smile at me. “I really want that too.”

“So no more running?”

She heaved a heavy sigh and snuggled back against me. “No more running.”

I kissed her neck, and planned on a lot more, but we were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.

“Come in.”

“Grayson!” Jessie hissed and pulled the blanket over her head.

Tyson opened the door and looked at the lump next to me. Shaking his head, he said, “Garcia and the other two are here. Ready for the tour.”

“Of course they are. We’ll be out soon.”

Tyson opened his mouth, and then quickly shut it. I didn’t know what he’d planned to say, but I was glad he kept it to himself. He nodded once and shut the door .

Jessie whipped the blanket off her head and frowned at me. “I don’t know why he hates me.”

“He doesn’t hate you. He’s worried I’m chasing a dream I can’t catch. It’s what we all worry about with each other. The only thing our parents ever asked of us was to do what made us happy. It’s why Carson and I didn’t interfere when Ty wanted to join the club.”

“What were they like?”

“My parents?” She nodded, and I thought about the best way to describe them both.

“My dad was tough. He was a cowboy through and through. He worked for Pops. That’s how he met my mom.

He was about seven years older than her, but he loved her to pieces.

If us boys disrespected her in any way, he was on us immediately.

He used to tell us that our mom brought us into the world and if we didn’t show her the respect she deserved, he would take us out. He meant it too.”

“He sounds wonderful.”

“He really was.” I missed my parents so fucking much. The first few years they were gone, we all barely survived. Hudson was the worst. He barely spoke. Got up before dawn, worked the ranch, and didn’t sleep until sometimes well after dark. We thought he was trying to follow them to their graves.

Emerson was barely eighteen. He never really got a chance to sow his oats. We were all too busy taking care of Tyson and Addie. And Pops, even though he thought he was taking care of us.

“What about your mom?”

“You remind me of my mom.” Her eyes widened, and I chuckled. “She was a pistol. Mary Powell spoke her mind and didn’t care who she upset. She always said, the truth didn’t have time for feelings. Pretty words never got the work done, and life was too damn busy to sugarcoat it.”

“She sounds like my mom.”

“Tell me about her.”

She shook her head. “Maybe later. We shouldn’t keep my uncle waiting.” She crawled out of bed and walked to the bathroom. With a hand on the doorway, she looked at me over her shoulder. “If you hurry, I can help you shower.” Then she winked and walked away.

I threw the blankets off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I was tempted to launch myself onto the floor and crawl to the bathroom. But I didn’t want her to have to lift me into the shower. So I moved as fast as my broken body would let me and met her in the bathroom.

With two of us in there, it might have taken a little more time than it needed to. Though I had to say, shower sex was a little less dangerous when you sat on a chair and let your woman ride your cock while she made herself come.

The morning was spent driving over the ranch. I showed Garcia the horses we had available to go now, as well as the yearlings that weren’t fully trained yet.

We moved to the breeding barn, and he looked over the stock we had. He had options as far as horses went. He only had to decide whether he wanted them now, or wanted to wait until the younger horses were trained. The other option was having a horse bred specific to his needs.

Though he wasn’t fooling anyone. I knew horses weren’t the reason he was here. And when Jessie went back to the house to help Addie get ready for the cookout, he made it known.

“You have an impressive operation here, Grayson.”

“Thank you. Though we both know you aren’t really here to buy horses.” I crossed my arms and waited for him to deny it.

“On the contrary, I would like to purchase a few for my grandchildren. I do not make it a habit to lie, especially when it concerns business.”

“We want no part of your business. Jessie is mine, and I plan to make her my wife. That is not a door that you can open to expand any part of your dealings.”

Garcia smiled at me; it was not a pleasant smile that said he was happy. Quite the opposite. It was a smile that men shared when they struggled to keep their temper in check. King had a similar smile. I had seen it on more than one occasion.

Jessie’s father, Dario, glared at me, while her brother, Jamie, looked away and coughed into his hand. Two of these men thought they could intimidate me. They assumed I would be easy to scare. They were wrong. I might be broken, but I wasn’t weak.

“I have no intention of pulling my niece into any part of my business. We do not involve our women. But I will concede that I had a reason beyond the horses to come here. I wanted to be sure she was happy and well provided for. She may not believe it, but she is very important to our family.”

“She is equally important to mine.”

Garcia nodded without a word. The moment was awkward as no one spoke again for several minutes until Hudson found us.

“Gray, King is here.”

“Gentlemen, if you will follow me, I will introduce you to Kingston O’Rourke. The president of the Silver Shadows MC.”

“Lead the way,” Garcia said with a smile.

We made our way back toward the house, where bikers filled the yard. They worked together seamlessly with our men, setting up tables and chairs.

“King, I’d like to introduce you to Armando and Dario Garcia. Jessie’s uncle and father.”

He held his hand out and shook Garcia’s hand, then Dario’s. “Welcome to Diamond Creek. This is my VP Cash, and his old lady Kytten.”

They each shook hands, and Dario eyed Kytten.

“Hello, Kytten.” Cash stiffened next to his old lady and glared at Dario Garcia.

“It’s good to see you, Dario. Please excuse me while I help the others.” Cash leaned down and kissed her heavily before letting her go .

“Your woman is a remarkable young lady,” Dario said.

“Yes, she is.”

“King,” Garcia began. “I have heard great things about you.”

King didn’t answer. He waited for Garcia to continue.

“Your father tells me—”

“My father died when I was ten years old.”

“I apologize for my insensitivity,” he said, his hand on his heart as if that proved his sincerity. “I only meant that O’Malley is very proud of the man you have become. He isn’t an easy man to impress.”

“His impression of me means very little, as does yours. I am not here to garner allies. I am here to enjoy good food and good friends. If your trip here has anything to do with connecting with me, let me assure you now, that won’t happen.

If you want to sit down and share a beer and talk about life in general, I would be more than happy to. That’s what today is for.”

Garcia nodded. King turned and looked at me. “Can I speak to you for a moment? I spoke with the sheriff.”

I closed my eyes. I figured he would. Declan wouldn’t keep his brother out of the loop.

“Certainly, let’s go to my office. Excuse me, gentlemen. Make yourselves at home.”

King motioned for Gunner and Cash to follow us, as well as Tyson.

Tyson had been angry when he found out after everyone else about the first woman that had been found on the ranch.

I’d understood why Declan had asked us to keep things quiet.

Ty said it felt like a slap in the face.

Like he wasn’t included in the family shit anymore.

He’d calmed down when I explained that Carson and Pops hadn’t been told either.

Everyone on the ranch knew now, as well as all the Silver Shadows. The mayor asked us to keep it quiet from the town for as long as possible. Though with the discovery of a third body, Declan had a decision to make. Continue on his own or call in the Feds.

Once Gunner closed the door, King began, “Dec doesn’t want to call in the Feds just yet. He has asked us to put a few teams together to search the ranch, if you’re agreeable to that.”

“I’m fine with that; I want this person found as much as anybody does. When word gets out, my family will be the prime suspects in town. I don’t want them to go through that.”

“How are things with Garcia?”

“Sketchy, but I didn’t expect anything less. Knowing he’s Jessie’s uncle threw me for a loop. Did you know before Tyson called you?”

“I did. I had Nav investigate her after she said something in the hospital. She’s pretty adamant that your accident had nothing to do with the war that’s escalating.”

“She thinks it was her uncle?” I asked.

“Not sure, but I don’t. After your horse was stolen, I don’t think our shit or her family had anything to do with it. I think you’re dealing with good old-fashioned greed,” King explained.