“That’s exactly what you’ll be if you go anywhere near her or her things.”
“Come again?” I can see now that it’s the older brother as he takes an aggressive step toward my back deck. He’s too high to be properly afraid of me.
I chuckle and scrub at my beard. “You heard me. Harass her again and I’ll paint my driveway with your brains. You won’t be the first man I’ve killed, but you could easily be the last.”
It’s the younger one who pipes up now. Possibly the smarter one. Likely the more sober one. “She owes rent! She pays it and you guys won’t hear from us again.”
I click my tongue. “You Jansen boys must be as dumb as everyone says if you think that I, of all people, am going to negotiate with terrorists. Get off my property.”
“You just—” They start to argue with me, but I don’t let them get far.
I pick up the gun and pretend like I’m taking aim, which is when they scramble. I almost want to laugh. These two fuckers are addicts, petty thieves—not criminal masterminds.
But they’re just troublesome enough that I know they’ll pick on Bailey as long as she’s here. They’re too lazy to follow her anywhere else. She’s just an easy target for them here in Chestnut Springs.
Well, she was an easy target.
Not anymore.
“You’re fucking insane!” one of them calls back as they run into the dark river valley.
“Yeah, buddy. You have no idea!” is all I call back as I watch them scamper away. Eventually, I hear cussing and splashing as they make their way back across the creek to their land.
Idiots.
I don’t like them on our river, where Bailey and I first spent a night together. It seems like an intrusion, so I’ll be running electric fencing along that side of my property too. With a labored sigh, I stand and head inside. I check every door and window on the main floor and set my barely ever used alarm system before trudging upstairs to the girl who feels like she’s the part of me that’s been missing for too damn long.
When I get to my room, she’s standing at the window, looking ashen.
“Thought I told you to stay on the bed.”
She nods. “You did.”
“And yet, there you are, at the window.”
“I wanted to watch.” She shrugs. “And you’re not my boss anyway.”
I smirk. “Yeah, I am.”
She rolls her eyes before letting the curtain go and making her way back to the bed. I meet her there, lifting the covers so I can tug her closer and cradle her in the curve of my body where I know she’s safest.
Silence surrounds us until she whispers, “Paint your driveway with their brains?” A soft snort leaves her, and her shoulders shake on a laugh. “That is so romantic.”
I pull her tighter against me and huff out an exasperated breath. “I meant it, Bailey. You asked me how I know I love you? That’s how. I’ve got anyone who wants to hurt you in my crosshairs, and I won’t feel bad about taking them down, either.”
That statement makes her quiet for a few moments.
She kisses my hand and presses back on me. “Should we call the cops?”
“Nah, I got this.”
“Thank you,” are her final whispered words before her breathing eventually goes deep and even.
But me? I stay up listening.
Until the sun comes up and I know she’s safe.
37
Bailey
We fall back onto the bed in a tangle of sweaty limbs. My head is resting on Beau’s quad when he bites my inner thigh, leaving yet another mark I’m sure, since that seems to be his thing.
I yelp and roll off him, pretending I’m trying to get away. But he knows better. He grabs me and hauls me back against his body.
“Starting to think you ask me if I’ve ever tried something just to make me show you how, sugar. Such a needy little brat.”
I laugh against his chest, biting his pec in response. “Sixty-nine just seemed so confusing. I needed some coaching, sir.” I can’t say it without giggling. I swear I’m giddy all the time now.
Sex with Beau is hot, and fun, and emotional all at once. I can’t get enough of it.
“Bailey,” he groans in that exasperated way he likes to say my name, but his dick twitches beneath my leg where it’s slung over his naked body.
Does it make me a brat that I get a real thrill out of saying things that shock him? I don’t know. But I don’t care because I get a kick out of it.
I also get a lot of orgasms out of it.
And a lot of feelings. Big feelings that I’m not sure what to do with. Big feelings that make me still wanting out of this town very confusing. I was so convinced that sex was just sex, but with Beau, it’s so much more. Everything feels so different now.
We snuggle, me plastered over him and his arms snug around my waist as the morning sun filters in through the window. He woke me up getting ready for work, and I took advantage. I’m tired and want to go back to sleep, but he must be tired too, considering he still sits at my bar four nights a week guarding me.
He hums contentedly and then carries on to make a fake snoring sound that has me smiling against his chest. “I’m sorry. You must be so tired.”
A broad, calloused palm slides up and down my back. “All good, baby. It’s worth it.”
“You can’t keep this up.”
“What?”
“Staying up all night with me and working on the ranch all day.”
“Sure I can. I sleep through 2:11 like a baby with you here.”
I roll my lips together, weighing my words carefully. “We need to talk about what we’re doing at some point, Beau. We basically fuck, cuddle, and then you watch me work.”
“Yes, it’s perfect.”
“You can barely keep your eyes open.”
“It’s not my fault you’re so horny all the time. You wear me out. I’m old. It’s hard to keep up.”
I can’t help but laugh. “You don’t seem to struggle with keeping up. Like, at all.”
“Was talking to Mitch Henderson, the fire chief, the other day while I gassed up.”
“Oh?”
He nods, his chin bumping up against the top of my head. “Yeah. He told me to come down any time, and he’d slide me into the next training group. Thinks I’d be perfect for the job.”
I know he doesn’t mean anything by it, but his comment chafes. A casual conversation at the gas pump gets him an in with whatever job he wants. Meanwhile, I struggle to stay afloat at a job where it’s taken years for me to work my way up. And truthfully, I don’t know how they haven’t fired me yet. And now I have another job with a woman who thinks we’re about to become sisters-in-law.
It feels unfair, and I go rigid in his arms as I wrap my head around what he’s just told me. I’m happy for him.
I am.
I’m not happy for me. He’s putting down roots here, and I’m still planning my exit strategy. I’m going to be the first person in my family to attend university. I have plans for myself because I don’t want to be Chestnut Springs Bailey. I’ll always be a Jansen here, no matter what. The fact Beau thinks he still needs to watch over me constantly is proof. And whether or not he wants to admit it, he can’t keep it up.
“You would be great at that, I agree.”
“Then when you go off to school, I’ll have a regular schedule that we can work around if need be.”
“Oh.” I don’t know why I assumed he hadn’t planned for this.
“Long distance. To start with.”
“Long distance.” Even I can hear the surprise in my voice as I repeat his idea. “We could do long distance. And it’s not that far. An hour? That’s child’s play.”
But what does to start with mean? That he expects me to move back to Chestnut Springs?
“Of course we can.”
God, I’m an idiot. He probably isn’t even thinking that far ahead. I should just enjoy the moment. Trust that Beau has got this.
I squeeze him and suck in a deep breath of his citronella scent.
Long distance.
I’ll miss this, though. Having him every day. I’ve only had it for a week, and I already know I’ll have a hard time going without.
And that prospect terrifies me.
“Bailey.”
“Yeah?”