Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
“I’m not the only one who’s going to need strength,” I tease in response and press a quick kiss to his lips before I grab the supplies. I’m gone before he’s even realized I’ve moved, and I hear him swearing under his breath as I leave the garage.
The campfire is already going when I walk down to it. Cord and Flint are arguing over whether Godzilla or King Kong would win in a fight.
“Where’s Ridge tonight?” I ask them when they try to convince me to get involved with their argument.
“He’s—” Flint starts.
“He’s running an errand for me,” Bronco interrupts, coming up behind me He says it so firmly, so harshly that it makes me think he’s hiding something.
“Well, that’s not suspicious at all.”
“What can I say? I’m a man of many secrets and many talents.” Bronco says as he settles to begin cooking over the fire. I don’t know if it’s ranch life or being outdoors, but the food just tastes better here.
The rest of the evening passes easily and joyfully. I chat with the boys while Bronco grills endless burgers and hotdogs for any cowboy who wants one. I toss Menace bites of my food.
Finally, Cord takes over the grill, and Bronco can rest. The first thing he does is settle into the chair right beside mine then tug me onto his lap.
“Don’t you want to eat?” I protest, my cheeks going warm. Not that it matters. None of the cowboys are paying attention to us. No one is acting like it’s odd for me to be on his lap with his hardness pressed against me. It’s everything I can do not to rub up against him in a shameless display of need.
“I can eat like this,” he insists, taking a bite of his burger with one hand. His other hand rest possessively on my hip. I like the way he’s not ashamed for anyone to see us together, the way he holds me so tightly.
My phone buzzes, and I manage to pull it from my pocket. The moment I see the notification, I gasp. “Bronco, we did it! The auction is fully funded! Every cent we needed came in!”
Tears fill my eyes as shock and gratitude fill my heart. I was so afraid to even hope this idea would work, and now it has. The community center is saved. Dozens of residents will continue to live out their best years in comfort and safety with the loving people of Courage County watching over them.
The cowboys around us let out cheers as he smiles down at me. “I’m proud of you. You were the one who figured all of this out.”
“I’m just so happy!” I put my hands on his face and pull him close, giving him a kiss. I mean for it to be a quick peck since we have an audience, but he doesn’t care. Bronco takes control of the kiss, turning it into a passionate display of just how much he wants me.
“You promised me a good time later, cowboy,” I remind him quietly when I can finally breathe and think again. After a kiss like that, I’m not even sure I have the strength to walk into the house.
“And I will deliver that good time every time,” he says as he kisses me again. His tongue plunders my mouth and makes me slick between my thighs. His kiss has me so distracted that I never hear the truck door being slammed nearby or the crunch of gravel under boots.
But I do hear a voice, one I thought I’d never hear again, yell, “What the actual fuck, Bronco?”
Chapter 12
Lauren
“What the actual fuck?” A familiar voice yells. A shiver goes down my spine as I realize who that voice is. It couldn’t be. It can’t be.
Even as I tell myself that my brother is long gone, and that I’m never going to see him again, I still turn my head to look toward the sound. To my amazement, I find myself overwhelmed to see Vale standing in front of me. He’s fifty pounds lighter than when he left, all lean muscle and scraggly beard with a haunted look in his eyes.
He’s here. My brother is here.
I scramble out of Bronco’s lap and race toward Vale, terrified that he’s going to disappear like a mirage in the desert.
I’m running toward him in the space of a heartbeat. I have to touch him to know he’s real. Have to feel my arms around him so I can trust what I’m seeing. He catches me when I throw myself at him, just like he would when I was little. He was a lanky teenager back then, never too cool to hug his little sister. He was my biggest protector and my best friend.
When he wraps his arms around me, it’s like the pain of the last three years is suddenly gushing out of my eyes as I sob into his chest. I tell him how I thought I’d never see him again. How I’ve missed him and thought of him every day that he’s been gone. How I never forgot him and prayed every night for his safe return.