Cowboy Up(47)
“Clayton,” I breathe, not knowing how to respond to him.
“I’ve got an idea about the store, but I need to check some things out before I get your hopes up. Until then get the place in Wire Creek on the market, check out of that goddamn hotel for good, and get your sexy ass where it belongs.”
“It’s too soon,” I weakly argue.
“Then put your clothes in one of the guest rooms instead of mine!”
“But—” I start, only to stop speaking when his hand covers my mouth.
“I wouldn’t be sayin’ it if I wasn’t sure, Caroline. You don’t need to be in that motel. You didn’t want to stay with Luke and Lucy, and I think we both know that under this roof is where you belong.”
“I . . . okay,” I agree, not letting myself look for reasons to keep arguing against this.
“Okay,” he parrots with a grin that makes my heart pick up speed.
“If you change your mind though—”
“No way in hell that’s gonna happen, sweetness.”
“This is insane.”
His chest rumbles as he laughs low and deep. “I think we’re pretty good at doin’ things with a little insanity, darlin’. That’s half the run of our ride together. I never know what’s comin’ next and I’m not findin’ it a bad thing to give up control if I’ve got you with me doin’ so.”
There aren’t any more words after that as his mouth takes mine in a doozy of a kiss. By the time he has me passing out from exhaustion, there isn’t a single concern on my shoulders anymore, and I go to sleep with a smile on my face all because of the man who is slowly becoming my everything.
14
CAROLINE
“Happy People” by Little Big Town
“Let me get this straight,” Quinn says, folding another baby blanket and placing it on Leighton’s coffee table. “Clay, my allergic-to-anything-resembling-commitment brother, is not only in a super-committed relationship, but also livin’ in sin with his girlfriend?”
Leighton snorts, throwing some tiny yellow baby socks at her best friend’s head. “You make it sound so scandalous, Q.”
“And you aren’t shocked?”
“Well, no, not really,” Leigh answers, looking down at her lap, but not before I see the smirk on her face.
“It’s only been two months!” she exclaims.
“So what?”
I stop petting Leighton’s giant cat, Earl, and chime in. “We’ve technically known each other our whole lives. I had a crush on him before I started datin’ John. I guess it’s just our time now.” At my words, they both look over at me with jaws wide open.
“You had a crush on him back in high school?” Leigh questions with a smile.
“You hussy!” Quinn laughs. “He’s six years older than you.”
“What?” I blush. “He’s the most handsome man I’ve ever known.”
“That’s so sweet.” Leigh sighs dreamily, wiping her eyes as they fill with tears.
I gape at her in shock when she starts crying harder. Hoping to find some sort of help from Quinn, I’m utterly flustered when I see her crying as well. “Uh,” I hedge.
“What the fuck is goin’ on?” a voice thunders behind me.
At the sound of her husband, Leighton waves him off and sniffles loudly. “Stop growlin’, cowboy.”
“Did you hear?” Quinn cries toward her brother.
“Hear what?”
“Caroline moved into the ranch house.”
Maverick stops in his path and turns slowly to assess me. I haven’t gotten very close to the middle Davis child, but I also haven’t spent tons of time around him since Clayton and I stated dating. The few interactions we had were brief, and he studied every move his brother made with me. What I hadn’t gotten in the months since Clayton and I started dating was his younger brother smiling freely in my direction. It’s so shocking I can’t do anything but stare at him.
“Well, I’ll be,” he finally says, his grin growing even wider. “I bet that bitch Jess isn’t too happy about this news.”
I shake my head.
“What’s that mean?” Quinn questions, sniffling loudly.
“Just what I said, Hell-raiser.”
“Why would what Jess thinks even be relevant right now?”
“You must not have been hearin’ the gossip flyin’ around town. I know Leigh told you about it because she said you were goin’ on and on about how nasty Jess is.”
Quinn looks at Maverick like he’s grown a second head. “She mentioned Jess was sniffin’ around Clay, not details! I’ve been stuck at home on bed rest for a whole week, asshole. How am I goin’ to get the good gossip when I can’t even waddle my ass into town?”