Page 14 of Wild and Unruly (Three Rivers Trevors Ranch #3)

bonnie

What the hell was I doing?

I stare at myself in the bathroom mirror, my hair perfectly curled and my makeup done. Hell, I even cleaned my nails and put a shine on them to make them sparkly.

I put on a long floral maxi dress over my nice boots, and now I’m looking at it in doubt. This was too much.

I worry about showing up and him in a T-shirt and jeans, looking at me like I was putting in too much effort. I worry about how big my arms look in the sleeveless dress, how my stomach fits, and if it looks like I’m trying too hard to squeeze into this dress.

My phone vibrates, and I smile at the text from Stetson telling me he is in the lobby. I look at myself again and sigh. He is a guy—it wasn’t like he was going to pick apart every piece of my outfit like I did. I was my harshest critic, and I knew it.

I quickly grab my leather purse with the detailed flowers etched into it and throw it over my shoulder, grabbing my keys from inside and stuffing my phone in there.

I lock my door and make my way to the lobby.

I haven’t explored this place enough, but I’ve heard other patrons talk about the breakfast they have each morning and vow to try it tomorrow morning.

I was far too rude to the girl at the front desk, and I’m pretty sure the manager, Amelia, hates me after that. But I vow to fix that too.

Stepping into view of the lobby, I see Stetson standing by the front desk, laughing with Amelia. He’s got on a straw cowboy hat, his shirt is a nice blue button-down with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and his jeans are a dark blue settling over black boots.

He dressed up for our date.

The sight sends another rush of nerves through my belly, and I take a deep breath before walking toward him. Amelia sees me first and gives me a knowing look, smiling to herself. Okay, maybe she doesn’t hate me. That was good.

“Hey,” I call out, and Stetson turns to face me, showing his newly shaven face, and smiles at me.

“Hey,” he says, reaching for my hand and looking me over as he pulls me close. He presses a soft kiss to my lips and says, “You look incredible.”

“Thank you,” I say quietly, shy now that everyone in the vicinity is staring. Which, to be fair, was mostly Amelia and a couple of bystanders from The Lodge I didn’t even know.

“I love that dress, Bonnie,” Amelia says, giving me a kind smile.

I grin and look down at it, stuffing my hands into the sewn pockets. “Thanks, it even has pockets!”

She cracks up at the comment and looks between the two of us. “I had no idea you two were… ”

“Well, she just can’t keep her hands off me. So, I figured I’d put her out of her misery,” Stetson quips, making me gape at him.

Amelia laughs. “Oh, I’m so sure.”

“Um, excuse me, it’s you who can’t keep your mouth off of me.” I burn as I realize what I just said out loud. “I mean—I—Well—Ugh, stop making me do that!”

Stetson laughs lightly and tucks my burning face into his chest for a moment before letting me go. “Never. That’s one of my favorite things about you.”

Amelia smiles at me and raises her hands. “I heard nothing. You two have fun.”

“Oh, we definitely will,” Stetson says, making me pinch him in the stomach and wonder what the hell I’ve gotten myself into.

Stetson’s truck allows us to sit side by side. Being older than mine, it doesn’t have the new consoles in the middle. I have to appreciate his just a little bit more when he’s able to rest his hand on my thigh as he drives.

By the time we get to the restaurant, his stories have me half distracted enough to actually be relaxed. I was a terrible dater. I never could say or do the right thing on dates, and rarely did they lead to second ones, which was fine with me.

For the last several years, I’ve been a casual dater, allowing myself to be free with whoever I want. Now, though, with Stetson as the man next to me, I couldn’t quite find that relaxed approach I once had. Something about him made me take this more seriously than I ever would have before.

We’re led to our table, and I’m relieved to see that this restaurant is a casual place, with nostalgic sports gear along the walls, trophies, and pictures of different teams scattered throughout. It gives off a homey feeling.

“Hope this is all right,” he says, unfolding the napkin and laying it in his lap. I smile at the move and nod.

“Oh yeah, as long as it’s not poison. I’m not picky about what I put in my mouth.” Of course, right as the words leave me, the waitress steps up to the table, grinning broadly at me.

I hide my face in my hands as I hear Stetson chuckle and order us some waters. She leaves and I lift my head, glaring at Stetson.

“Hey,”—he raises his hands and smiles—“I didn’t say anything.”

“Yeah, but you wanted to.”

“Of course I wanted to!”

His grin makes my smile break, and I give in, letting myself laugh along with him. “See,” he starts. “That’s what’s cool about you, though. You know how to laugh at yourself.”

I shrug and roll my eyes at myself. “Well, I couldn’t learn to keep my mouth shut, so I had to learn to laugh about it.”

He nods his head, his eyes roaming over my face. I’m enjoying the sight of his face without the stubble he normally sports. “That’s a good quality to have. I know a bunch of people who can’t laugh at themselves. My brother Mitch is one of them.”

I frown and tilt my head. “Have I met him yet?”

He nods. “Yeah, he’s the surly bastard that hasn’t said a word to anyone.”

“Ah.” I nod my head. “So, three sons, huh? How did your parents handle that?”

The waitress arrives and sets down our waters, then asks if we’re ready. We order quickly, and I stick to ordering something simple I can pronounce and eat without embarrassment.

“Well, four, actually,” Stetson says, jumping back into the conversation. I turn my gaze back to him. “My brother Jax is on the rodeo circuit, so he’s always gone. He actually has quite the online following.”

“Ah, okay. Is he older?”

“They all are.” He grins at me then. “I’m the baby.”

I sit back against my seat and fold my arms. “Of course you are.”

He nods. “And to answer your question, my dad left us when I was young, so it was mostly our mom raising us boys.”

My eyes widen. “Your mom raised four boys all on her own.”

Stetson smiles. “Yes, she sure did.”

“She’s a saint.”

“Yes, she sure is.” He laughs and shakes his head.

“It’s funny, growing up, we were all super close.

We’d do everything together. We’d ride, play football, go hunting, all of it.

Then, they all started getting older and going off on their own.

” Stetson’s eyes leave mine, and I can tell there’s something there he’s remembering.

“Then Logan’s daughter came, and we all realized we had to be good for her, and he became a dad, so he wasn’t as much fun anymore.

” He smiles and shakes his head. “Which was great because we got Lue out of it.”

I smile, and he continues. “Then, one by one, my brothers started to leave. Mitch was first. The minute he was eighteen, he joined the rodeo and left. Jax was pissed,” he laughs, but there’s a huge tinge of sadness to his words that makes me want to wrap my arms around him and take it all in.

“He and Mitch were the closest out of all of us. When Mitch left, he felt betrayed. But not long after that, Jax took off for the same thing.”

“And then you were alone?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

Stetson smiles, shaking off the memory. “Nah, I wasn’t alone. I still lived at home with my mom, and Logan and Lue stayed for a while until she was old enough that he could handle it alone. And they were always over anyway.”

It’s not quite what I meant, but he covers it up, and I don’t want to push like I normally would. “Well, that’s wild. So where is Jax now?”

He squints and says, “Mm, somewhere down in Kentucky, I think? I’m not sure, honestly. He’s a shit communicator and I haven’t checked his stuff lately.”

I keep my gaze on his and reach across the table to grasp his hand. “I’m sorry.”

Stetson seems to realize he’s gone down memory lane and shakes his head a little. “Ah, nothing to be sorry for. It’s all good. I’m happy to be where I am right now.” He squeezes my hand.

Our food arrives, saving him from more of my interrogation, and we eat for a while, talking in between bites and telling each other much lighter stories. I steer away from topics about my brother’s accident, sticking to times before that when everything wasn’t so dire.

I’m terrified that I’m going to slip up and tell him everything. Which, tempting as that may be, I can’t. If he found out, he may try to stop me, and while that’s sweet and all, the man who is responsible for my brother and several others getting hurt is still being allowed to do it.

I shake the thought from my head as the waitress comes by the table. “You two should head out back if you’ve got the time. There’s a cornhole game going.”

I lower my brows and glance at Stetson. “I’m not sure I’ve ever played cornhole.”

He grins. “It’s been a while.” He nods his head in the direction she pointed out. “You wanna go check it out?”

I nod, and we stand, him handing the waitress cash for our meal, leaving her a nice tip. I smile at her grateful look, and he nods his head, not making a big fuss about it, before he holds his hand out to me, and we venture outside.

The evening is cool for the beginning of summer, with the sun still just peeking over the mountain ridge and giving us a little warmth.

Right away, we get pulled into a game. Another couple needed someone to play against, and we take our stance.

“So, the objective is to literally throw this into the other person’s hole.”

I smirk and say, “That’s what she said.”

Stetson cracks up, and I blush, smiling broadly. Some days, I absolutely hate that I have no filter, and then there are days when it actually works. “Holy shit, you’re amazing.”

I stand to the side, letting him take the first throw, and shrug my shoulders. “So I’ve been told.”

He aims his bag and tosses it, landing just on the edge of the board and earning one point.

“Ah,” he says, shrugging and backing away from our ramp. The other guy throws it, and it sinks right into the hole. I blink in shock.

“Wow.” I clear my throat and take my place, rolling the bag in my hands and letting my arm roll back, launching the bag at their board and…missing by a foot. I frown at the bag on the gr ound, and the other team gathers the bags, handing them back to us.

The woman steps up to her place and launches the bag herself. It hits our board too high, then slowly slides down and, poof, disappears into the hole.

I stare in disbelief as I hear them cheering over the other teams playing, the music in the background doing nothing to disguise their glee.

I feel Stetson step up behind me, his hands on my hips, and his lips hit my ear when he asks, “How competitive are you?”

“Very,” I answer, a little bit of fire in my words.

He squeezes my hip and says, “Good.”

After a few more rounds, we finally start getting good at this game. It’s not hard at all, but we’re both determined to get better and better. As a joke, Stetson starts to hold my hips when I throw, laughing about keeping me from falling over.

More drinks arrive, and I note he switched to water so he can drive us home. If I wasn’t already into him, he was proving himself over and over on this date. It was probably the best first date I’d ever been on.

I was always too awkward to really date, too loud, couldn’t stop talking, and put my foot in my mouth several times during the dates—just plain weird. But with him, I felt confident, I felt relaxed, and I felt free to be myself.

Maybe it was the fact that we’d already been intimate with each other, or maybe it was just him.

The thought both terrifies and excites me. It makes me thrilled to be here with him, hopeful for the future, but also scared that I’m going to mess it up.

I really feel inclined not to mess it up.

“Your turn, Bo!” Stetson says, smiling broadly at me, and for a second, I just stare at him. His smile falters a little, and he steps up to me, wrapping his hand around my waist. “What is it?”

I shake my head, that twitch to my lips not leaving my mouth. “No one has ever called me Bo before.”

“Really?” He frowns, his eyes glancing between my own. “What did they call you?”

I laugh and shrug, shaking my head. “Bonnie.” Mason had sometimes called me Bobo growing up, but I wasn’t about to say that out loud.

Finally, I manage to keep my mouth shut.

“Well.” He clears his throat, his head angled down to look at me as he pulls me in closer. I let my hands rest on his arms. “Bonnie is a beautiful name. But I kinda like Bo.”

I bite my lip, looking up at him. “I kinda like Stetson.”

His gaze softens, and he bends down, taking my lips for his own, and I feel my heart give a terrifying little flutter.