Page 20 of When It Reins (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #5)

mitch

Leaving town was something I was highly accustomed to. Between my work with the club and the work I used to do, traveling from rodeo to rodeo, it wasn’t unusual for me to pick up and go.

But traveling on a private plane to play a concert with the woman who ran through my mind nonstop was not something I was accustomed to.

“Okay, so Ezra will be in the attached room to you guys, so if you run into any trouble, he’s on the other side of your door,” Jax explains, handing me a key card after checking us all in.

Felicity is hanging out with Juniper, Luella, Ezra and their one-year-old son, Lawson, by the private elevators.

“City and I will be in the connecting room with Luella.”

“Part of Logan’s stipulations?” I ask, referring to our niece’s rooming assignment.

“Nah. She watches Law, so it’s easier. Plus, I prefer she be where I can hear her myself.”

I stare at my younger brother, wondering when I missed the part where he became more responsible than any of us.

“All right, let’s roll.” Jax waves his hand, and we grab our bags, Juniper and I grabbing our guitar cases and following the pack.

The elevator ride is full of Luella gabbing about being back in LA. I guess this was one of their stops on tour when she went with them last summer.

Juniper rolls her lips into her mouth, rubbing them back and forth over and over with nerves. I know this because I can’t stop staring at her damn lips.

I never claimed to be a saint.

We follow the others to their doors, and I set the bag I am carrying for Luella down inside her room for her, given that she is carrying the baby. I walk to my room, wondering where Juniper is going to be staying.

Turning to her, I see her standing unsure behind me, her eyes dancing from mine to Felicity.

“Oh!” Felicity says, pointing at me. “You’re bunking in the same room. Is that okay?”

My heart jumps in my chest. Sharing a room. Hell.

“Oh, yeah. That’s great. Thank you,” Juniper says, following me down the hall.

“We’ll meet you guys for dinner in a couple of hours. Sound good?”

We agree, and I place the card against the reader, hoping like hell I can get my hand to stop shaking long enough to get us in the room.

It clicks unlocked, and I push it open, holding the door for Juniper to enter behind me. She smiles at me, and I let the door fall shut. As we walk into the room, I notice one thing, and only one thing.

One. Fucking. Bed.

Now, I could pretend that my sister-in-law is not diabolical, but I know better.

“Oh,” Juniper says softly, staring at the bed in thought. She doesn’t look mad, just confused. “One bed. Do you want to see if we can get a different room?”

She looks at me innocently, and I stare back. This feels like a trap, like something I am supposed to say yes to even though I have no desire to do so.

I shrug and look at her. “Only if you want to.”

“Nope.” Her confident answer makes me chuckle, and I nod my head, settling my guitar down against one wall and my bag on a chair.

“Wanna go over a couple of songs?” She twists her hands nervously and looks at her stuff. She is acting a little off, but I’m sure this is all really big for her.

“Sure,” I answer, grabbing my guitar out of the case and walking to where she sits on the bed, boots discarded on the floor beside her. Settling on the edge of the bed, I start to strum a few chords, getting a rhythm for some of the songs we worked on.

We are doing three songs that are hers and a cover.

It isn’t anything she hasn’t done before. Her sets at the bar were far longer than this, with multiple moving parts.

This is just a bigger venue.

My only goal for this weekend is to be the person she can rely on for help, to soothe her nerves, and to keep her calm when she feels like she is out of control.

An hour later, after going through the set a couple of times and talking about cues and changes, she sets off to get ready for our night out. According to the text Jax sent me, we are having a fancy dinner at an upscale restaurant and then going out afterward.

It feels like Juniper and I are being set up, not that I care. This is what I want. I just haven’t been able to make that leap yet.

I’m adjusting the collar of my white button-down shirt in the mirror, my hair and beard combed and my cologne on, jeans clean and boots shiny when the bathroom door opens, and Juniper walks out.

Her long brown hair is made into big curls. Her makeup is more extensive than I’ve ever seen before, but she looks stunning. She’s got on a black dress that hugs her tight and necklaces drape over her. Her black cowboy boots nearly meet her knees, but it’s her eyes that hold me captive.

“Starling,” I start, my feet making their way to her of their own accord. I stop just inches from her, and she looks at me with a smile on her face. “You are beautiful.”

She blushes and looks me up and down. I suddenly hope that she likes what she sees when I usually don’t care what other people think. “You clean up nice, Hero.”

I shake my head. “I’m not Hero tonight. Just Mitch.”

Juniper smiles wider and reaches forward. I let her take my hand willingly, and before she can, I tug her to me, loving her little gasp of surprise. “Well, just Mitch, shall we go have some fun?”

“Let’s do it.” I grab my blazer off the bed and sling it on just as a knock on the door sounds.

We make our way into the hallway, seeing Felicity, Jax, Ezra, and three new bodyguards standing in the hall.

“Ready for some fun?” Felicity asks excitedly, and I catch her eye, lifting a brow. She knows what I’m saying just from the look on my face, but just grins wider and shrugs like she’s Miss Innocent.

The restaurant we end up at is far fancier than anything I’ve ever been to in my life, and I laugh internally at how comfortable my little brother is here in this setting.

He talks to the waiters with knowledge about meat and wine pairings and settles everyone’s choices with us.

I keep my big brother barbs to myself, trying to enjoy the fact that we are in a private VIP area, and I am sitting next to the most beautiful woman in the world.

Life was surreal.

During dinner, everyone chats around me, letting me add in the bare minimum to keep myself in the conversation. It is refreshing to be sitting with the people who know me the best, who know that I am better off just listening to the conversation.

Juniper launches into a story about her childhood, and I feel myself hanging on to her every word, smiling at her when she laughs at certain parts.

I’ve only met her other two sisters a couple of times, but it sounds like when they were younger, they got into all sorts of trouble, just like me and my brothers.

The stuff we used to get ourselves into gave our mom more heart attacks than she would have liked, and I’m sure we were the reason she started dying her hair to hide the gray as early as she did.

I think about my brothers and mom and how they’ve been trying to reach out to me since I’ve been home. I haven’t made it easy on them, but keeping the secret of my trade with the MC, to hold our biological father back from messing with them, weighs heavily on me.

Knowing Juniper knows that about me makes her even easier to be around than normal. She is the one person in the world who knows almost everything about me and never judged me for it.

Felicity blows out a breath, slapping her napkin onto the table. We all fell into a quiet calm as we ate our dinner, and the sudden slap makes Juniper jump. I place my arm around the back of her chair, letting my thumb brush lightly over her shoulder.

I watch as goose bumps raise on her skin and hide a smile at the way her body reacts to mine.

“I say dancing,” Felicity says, looking at Jax with mischief in her eyes. I must have missed the start of the conversation, my eyes and attention on Juniper.

“How can you even move after that meal?” Jax asks playfully, rubbing his hand over her back. “I’m so full.”

“Come on!” She grabs his other hand, tugging on it and then looking at Juniper for backup. “What do you say, Junie? Dancing?”

Juniper laughs and nods her head. “Hell yes. I’m up for it.”

“Yeah! That’s my girl!” Felicity cheers and turns to Jax, pouting out her lip and batting her eyes. I chuckle as I watch my little brother crumble. “Come on, Jax. Lawson is asleep. How often do we get to go dancing!”

It’s not a question, and everyone at the table already knows what Jax is going to say before he says it, but we wait in silence for it, anyway.

“Fine,” Jax grumbles, slapping a credit card on the table. I reach for mine, and he waves his hand at me. “Nah, man. Let me, please.”

I frown. “Dude, let’s split at least.”

“I can contribute too,” Juniper says, grabbing her bag. “This was so nice. Let us help.”

I turn my head and frown at her. “No.”

It was one thing to let my brother pay, but Juniper sure as hell would never pay when I was around.

“Guys, please. We picked the place and wanted to treat you both.” Felicity’s statement snuffs the fire that was kindling out, and I nod at her, putting my wallet away.

“Well, thank you. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a nice meal in my life,” Juniper says, putting her purse away.

“Well, let’s roll then.”

We head out of the restaurant, security surrounding us and people staring at Felicity.

When we step outside, flashes start, and people start yelling with excitement.

Felicity’s and even Jax’s names are being shouted as we head to the car.

I reach out, grabbing tight to Juniper’s hand, hating the way we are surrounded by people.

She smiles at me over her shoulder, and I squeeze her hand tighter. Fuck if I was going to be able to let go now.