Page 26 of Saving the Rain
I was taking notes on his ride so I could give him hell about details he needed to improve upon the next time I see him.
I was watching to see if he’s bothered to hone his talent, or if he’s still fucking around like when he was younger.
That’s all.
I shake my head and stride off toward the barn. Lucas Rhodes had better have those horses harnessed up and ready to go, because I’m very much in a mood to get the hell out of here, leaving behind a cloud of dust and fuck knows what that was taking hold of me.
“How are they looking?”
Beau’s voice echoes in my ear as I do the final check on the horses for the night. It’s damn late, and I’m beat, but I know he was wanting to hear how the new mares have settled.
“They’re happy, eating plenty, and have been super relaxed. Even got the Duchess’ approval. She gave them a good sniff through the fence and seemed perfectly fine about having new friends to get to know.”
He laughs. “As long as they don’t try to buddy up to her boyfriend, she’ll tolerate them.”
I can’t help but smile to myself, leaning on the door of Pepper’s stall. She comes over to cautiously inspect my jacket sleeve.
“You’re not wrong there. But I’m confident they’ll fit right in. I’m planning to spend a bit of extra time with them in the coming week, see if either of them have any traits we need to be mindful of, and I’ll run them in the neighboring pasture until everyone gets more familiar with each other.”
“Sounds good, Raine. You just keep me updated if there’s anything you need.”
“Will do.” I give Pepper a chance to run her soft nose over my outstretched palm. She snorts, followed by a humid sigh on discovering there aren’t extra treats on offer.
“I’m not gonna hold you up, just wanted to check in. But I am gonna tell you to call it a night. It’s late, and I can hear those horses snorting in the background.” Beau clears his throat. “Unless you want me to set Tessa on you...”
I chuckle. “Nah, I’ll stay away from the wrath of a pregnant lady who would love nothing more than to tell me she knows best.”
“You’ve learned fast.”
“She’s persistent.”
“That, my sister absolutely is.” I hear a muffled noise in the background. “Right, I gotta run. Go the fuck home to bed, man. I don’t want to find out you’re sleeping curled up in the stalls.”
“You betcha.”
We say our goodbyes and hang up, which is my cue to drag my ass out of there. Not that I have far to go. Hooking a hard right out ofthe main doors, the stairs up to my flat run along the side of the barn.
It’s fully dark out, with only the glow of a full moon in the sky to see by, hanging plump and golden above the mountains. Over toward the main house, light spills from a handful of guest cabins, but the majority are darkened at this late hour.
It’s peaceful around the place, with the faintest hint of a breeze rustling through fall leaves yet to be shed. However, the seemingly idyllic country scene doesn’t do anything to soothe the tension still thrumming in my veins.
I hate that I haven’t been able to kick my strange affliction from earlier today. I fucking detest this unease that lingers and lurks, unwanted.
Maybe I should have just fucked that girl from the Hog on the weekend. Obviously, all this bottled-up angst is getting to me because I’m strung tighter than ever before, and even after a full day’s work on the ranch, I can’t seem to settle.
My apartment is gloomy as I step inside, shades of gray and inky black, lit only with the glow of moonlight flooding in through the windows. I don’t even know if I can be fucked with getting the place warm since I’ll only be here to rest my head until dawn creeps over the horizon. Flipping on a couple of lights, I ditch my jacket and boots, then hang my cap at the hook by the door.
While crossing to my bedroom, I’m already stripping out of my shirt, and the bunched flannel gets tossed to the floor as I reach the shower. It’s been a long-ass day of handling horses, and I’m ready to wash all the grime and restless thoughts the fuck away down the drain.
The shower takes a minute to heat, with wisps of steam slowly making themselves visible while I wait. As I unbuckle my belt and set to work on my jeans, I catch my reflection in the mirror. The black and gray scene of a wolf howling at a cold moon sits over my pec, surrounded by swirling cloud formations covering my collar bone and the front of my shoulder muscle—only I know how that ink conceals the divots embedded there from his cigarette burns.
The last ones he gave me before he realized he couldn’t fuck with me like that ever again.
Stepping out of my jeans, I move under the water, and my shoulders finally drop from being up around my ears nearly all goddamn day. Warmth rushes over my skin, trickling a serene, ease-filled line down my body, wetting my hair to plaster against the back of my neck.
With both hands, I scrub my face, discovering the lengthening stubble that I’ll have to trim sometime soon. Otherwise, I’ll wake up one day to discover a full mountain man beard going on.
Rivulets of water track over my stomach, and in the process of reaching for the soap dispenser, I look down and curse. My goddamn dick is hardening and demanding attention. Like it knows I’m on edge and needing one hell of a release to rid myself of all this pent-up tension I’ve been lugging around.