Page 16 of When It Reins (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #5)

mitch

I don’t want to be here, but after being summoned, I was unable to avoid it.

When I enter our war room, I’m unsurprised to see Mick and Loki waiting for me. I am about to get scolded, and I am pretty sure I know what they are going to scold me about.

“What’s up?” I ask casually, leaning against the wall.

Loki looks at me with anger in his eyes. “What the fuck is your girl up to?”

Since he called me the other day, accusing her of things I had no knowledge of— had being the primitive word here—I hadn’t bothered to call him back.

Probably not a smart move, but I did it anyway.

“Nothing.” Anymore. “She went over to that area to visit a friend.”

“Really?” Loki lifts a brow, trying for sarcastic, and I glance at Mick to see him covering a smile. “I had no idea that she was friends with my mother.”

I pause thinking over what to say to that. “I didn’t know that either. I’m not her keeper.”

Mick laughs, and Loki scoffs. “Could have fooled me. It’s not like you hide the fact that you’re into the chick.”

I bite my tongue, more because I don’t need to get into it with my VP, but also because what am I supposed to say to that?

“What’s going on with her boyfriend? Does she have any information?”

Sighing, I say, “I’m pretty sure they broke up.”

“Fuck, we could have used her for information,” Loki says, sitting back in his chair and looking at our president.

“Nah. We can’t do that to her. We don’t know how unstable this fucker really is,” Mick says before I have to. Thank fuck. Because I wasn’t about to put Juniper in harm’s way. I don’t care how many people it would help.

Maybe that was selfish, but I don’t really give a shit.

“Either way, you should keep an eye on her.” Mick’s tone is a lot calmer as he stares me down. “She’s kind of in the middle of this whether we like it or not, and I wouldn’t trust this mother fucker as far as I can throw him.”

I nod my head, agreeing with his assessment. “That all?”

“That’s all. Go find your girl.” Mick dismisses me, and I march out of the war room.

I haven’t spoken to Juniper since Sunday, wanting to give her some space, but after that conversation, space is the last thing I want.

After texting Annmarie to see where Juniper is, I find out she is down the mountain with Felicity, recording some music.

I could have waited for her to get back to town and then went and talked with her, but I couldn’t wait, so I find myself driving my bike down to go and get her.

I was thrilled to hear she was working with Felicity, one of the best people I know and someone who will take care of Juniper when it comes to the industry she is destined to be in.

I don’t think even Juniper knows that her future should rest in the music business, but she is too damn talented for it not to.

I was also thrilled because I know Felicity, and she is a good egg. She always had a good head on her shoulders, and though it sucked back when we were kids that she and Jax broke each other’s hearts, she did the right thing.

Not that I would ever tell my brother that. He probably wouldn’t agree, even though they are married with a baby now.

The ride down goes by quickly, and right as I pull my helmet off outside the studio, the doors open, and I see Ezra, Felicity’s security, opening the door for the girls.

Juniper pauses for a minute when she sees me, obviously shocked to see I am here, but then my heart lifts as her grin stretches across her face, and she marches toward me with purpose.

I have just enough time to dismount the bike before her arms are around me, pulling me into a hug I don’t see coming.

I wrap my arm around her, ignoring the two people staring at us, and my helmet bumps her guitar case.

“Hey, Little Starling.” I whisper the words into her ear, feeling my heart rate slow as I sink into her hug. Fuck the people watching. I don’t really give a shit anymore. This, this is all I want and need.

“What are you doing down here?” Juniper asks, pulling away to look me in the eye. Hers are sparkling with happiness and excitement. I’m sure it is mostly from the work she was just doing, but I can’t help but hope that it has a little to do with me.

“I came to get you.” I look over at Felicity, and she nods her head.

“Yeah. I’ve gotta go do some things, so I asked Mitch if he wouldn’t mind taking you back home.” Her response is so quick that I could kiss her for it.

“Oh.” Juniper lifts a brow in surprise. She looks at the guitar in her hand, then looks at my bike. “How do I?—”

“I got it. I’ll drop it off at your place later.” Ezra takes the guitar case she holds out from her hands and stores it in the SUV. I’m surprised by the quick response of Ezra, but it’s becoming more obvious than not that Juniper and I must be a topic of conversation.

“Okay, thanks.” Juniper’s reply is quiet and slightly confused, but she allows it anyway.

I turn and unstrap the extra helmet on the back of the bike and strap it onto her. When she’s ready, I mount the bike and wait for her to do the same.

“Hold on to me. Scoot down.” I reach back and grasp her under her knees, pulling her toward me until she’s flush against my body, and I feel her arms snake around my waist, holding tightly. “Just relax and move with me. You’ll be all right.”

“I trust you” is her reply, and my eyes close briefly at the words, feeling them down to my core.

I strap on my own helmet, see Ezra pull out and onto the road, and then we’re off.

I’ve dreamed of this very moment right here. Of Juniper on the back of my bike, trusting me to keep her safe. Of us going on road trips, just the two of us, and enjoying life together.

She’s the only person who I’ve ever really let myself have that fantasy about, and now it feels like it could happen.

A while later, we’re curving through the mountains, and I have a wild idea. I don’t ask her permission, mostly because I don’t want to hear the word no, but I skip the exit I should have taken and make it to the next one. She doesn’t say anything, just trusts whatever I’m doing.

When I wind my bike off the highway and up a hidden driveway a while later, I pull the bike into the driveway of my cabin and shut it off.

I feel Juniper loosen her grip and immediately miss the way her arms felt wrapped around me.

“Where are we?” she asks, dismounting with the help of my shoulder and unstrapping her helmet.

“This is my place,” I tell her, avoiding eye contact.

“Your place?” Juniper looks around at the woods surrounding the cabin, probably confused. “I thought you lived at the clubhouse.”

“No,” I answer, climbing off the bike and taking her hand in mine. The amount of relief I feel when she lets me lead her into my home is off the charts.

I have to get myself to calm down, or nothing productive would ever happen here.

“Wow.” Her voice is quiet as we enter through the front door, and I let her walk around, checking out my space. I rarely let anyone ever come here, and the only people who know about it are my brothers, their wives or girlfriends, and my mom.

But I don’t like having people in my space if I can help it.

Juniper…Well, that’s a different story altogether.

She moves around the space, probably looking for pictures or tokens or knick-knacks. All of which I don’t have.

The living room is just big enough for the couch that’s shoved up against one wall, then there’s a small dining table that is in the space right before the kitchen, which is also small. It has the basics: a stove, sink, and fridge.

“This is cozy.”

I smile at her words, setting our helmets on the small bench by the door. Most people may have said that sarcastically, but she’s being completely serious. “I don’t need much.”

She looks over at me, her eyes studying my every move, and frankly, making me more nervous than I have a right to be. Nothing is happening here, nothing is going to happen. I just…need her safe.

“No, I didn’t think you did,” she says, eyeing my guitar in the corner of the room. Her gaze meets mine, something resembling surprise in them. “You play?”

“You know I play.” She’s seen me strum some chords at family dinners for her to sing to.

“No, I know. It’s just…” She looks at the setup, at the notebook sitting on the armrest, and the guitar stand on the floor next to it has a pack of picks. “I thought you just knew some chords, but you actually play for a hobby.”

I shrug my shoulders, leaning against the small table and watching her. Truth is, I play to relax, to help fight the shit that’s always in my head that I wish I could banish.

She turns to me, having checked out all the spaces that are mine. Well, that I’m ready to share with her for now. “So what are we doing here, Mitch?”

I sigh and scratch at my head, wondering how to put into words what I want to say. “Just thought you might want a change of scenery.”

She crosses her arms and steps closer to me. Her hair, still wild from the wind, makes her look more reckless than normal, but I love that. Love that she looks free, wild, and happy.

“That’s all?” She looks up at me, something in her eyes telling me that this is a challenge.

Do I take this challenge? Am I ready for that? If I can’t answer that simple question in my own head. I don’t know what I’m going to say to her.

“I can make you dinner,” I say, my words low and quiet and cowardly.

Fucking kiss her, idiot. Pull her to you and make every doubt she’s ever had about you vanish.

Before I work up the nerve, Juniper’s lips curve into a gorgeous smile, and she says, “You cook?”

“I cook.”

Half an hour later we’re sitting at my small table, eating steak and potatoes. It’s simple, and all I eat on the regular, but Juniper grinned and thanked me when I set it in front of her, lighting my chest up with happiness.

“This was so good,” Juniper says, finishing off her last bite and sitting back in her chair, satisfaction across her face.

I nod my head in thanks and take a sip of water.