AlexMy feet felt like I had cement blocks attached to the bottom of my boots. I was dog tired. Dead. Dog. Tired. I couldn’t remember ever working so hard. It felt good and awful at the same time. Wayne’s farm had been in desperate need of serious attention. I hadn’t stopped working since I had shown up two weeks ago. My body felt it.“Knock, knock,” I called, opening the screen door and going into the house. I was staying in a spare bedroom in the house. With the early mornings and late nights, it made sense to sleep at the farm. It allowed me an extra hour of sleep each night by not having to drive out to the farm from town.“In the kitchen,” Wayne called back.“I’m hitting the shower,” I hollered.“I’ve got dinner almost done,” he answered.I smiled, shaking my head. Instead of going down the hall to my room, I went into the kitchen. “Wayne, you don’t have to cook me dinner.”“I’m cooking me dinner and I just happen to have plenty for the both of us,” he said with a laugh.He’d bee
AlexI smiled. “No. I guess you could say I left him.”“Oh no, don’t tell me you left him to come out here?”I shrugged. “Yes and no. It was over before it ever started.”“Why?”“Wayne, I feel like I’m talking to my therapist.”He laughed. “Call me Dr. Wayne. What happened?”I blew out a breath. “I was working on a farm. The owner passed away and left it to his grandson. The grandson showed up from New York with his son. We kind of hit it off. I really like the little boy.”“Is he a bad guy? Abusive? Vulgar?”“Absolutely not,” I said quickly, defending him. “He’s a great guy. He’s funny, charming, and very handsome.”Wayne was smiling and nodding. “I see. So, what’s the problem?”“He’s from New York for one, and for two, I don’t do relationships.”He took another bite, nodding as he chewed. “But you like this guy.”“He’s a little arrogant. I think he’s bossy and he inherited a farm he hasn’t stepped foot on in thirteen years. I don’t even know if he’s going to stick around. He’ll prob
DamionI was going about my usual, boring routine in the silence of the barn when I heard a truck rumbling down the long driveway. My mind immediately went to Alex. I knew it wouldn’t be her. Why would it? It had been over two weeks and I had not heard one word from her. I hadn’t seen her around town either. I was confident I would have bumped into her if she was back. The void her absence left was huge.I took off my gloves, telling myself it wasn’t her. I didn’t want to have my hopes up. It wasn’t her. She was gone. I walked out of the barn, and no matter how many times I had told myself it wouldn’t be her, the disappointment when I found it wasn’t her was difficult to deal with.“Hey,” I greeted Justin as he hopped out of his old truck.“Hey, yourself,” he said with his usual lopsided grin.“What brings you out this way?”He shrugged. “I’m off today and thought I’d come by and sharpen those blades. That old machine could use a little tune-up as well.”I nodded, not sure how much I
DamionHe nodded. “Yes. She worked out here a lot. I’d come by to check on Oliver and she would be here. Oliver always talked very highly of her. Talked about how well she did with the farm and that one day, she deserved to have a spread like this one.”That was news to me. “Did she think she was getting the farm?” I asked.It would certainly explain her immediate dislike of me. Maybe she resented me. Maybe the sex and pretending to like me and Oliver had been fake. She wanted the farm, not the man. I started to rethink everything I had come to know about her, replaying every meeting with her.“I don’t think she thought that at all. From what I hear, she kind of got stuck with the place. She was asking around about the new foreman Oliver hired before his death. No one knew anything about it. She turned down a job to stick around and watch the farm until the new guy showed up. I’m guessing you were the new guy.”I nodded. “Yep. That’s me.”“I’m not trying to be a dick, but why are you
AlexI looked around the bedroom in Wayne’s house, making sure I hadn’t forgotten anything. I checked under the bed, looking for any stray socks. It had been exhausting, being on the farm, but I felt confident the place was back on track. Wayne could handle things going forward. Wayne and the team I insisted he hire. The man was going to work himself into an early grave. Although he was convinced it wouldn’t be early at all.I had gotten the sense the man was lonely. More than just lonely. He had essentially given up. He was tired and weary. He missed his wife and was convinced that she was in heaven waiting for him. I couldn’t begin to understand what he felt. I had never felt that kind of love. He didn’t want to live without his wife. It was sad and sweet at the same time.During my time with Wayne, he had regaled me with stories about her. I felt like I knew her. I almost wished I did. Hearing about his great love had made me think about my own life. I had a feeling that was his in
Alex“I appreciate the offer—”“Before you completely shut it down, take some time to think about it. You don’t have to make a decision right now.”I didn’t want to reject such a special gift. I couldn’t possibly accept, but I would let him have the satisfaction of me waiting a few days before I politely turned down his offer. “I will think about it,” I told him.“Thank you. Drive safe.”“I will do that. Take care of yourself Wayne and let those guys do the heavy lifting.”He smiled before giving me a wink. “I have no intention of working too hard. Think about my offer. I won’t put an expiration date on it, but God might have an expiration date on me.”“I will think about it. Goodbye.”I gave him a last hug before heading out to my truck. I was looking forward to sleeping in my own bed. I was not looking forward to the long drive to get there. I was hoping to do it all in one day again. It seemed silly to drive six hours, get a hotel, and then drive another four. It would make for a l
DamionI had seen the truck on the side of the road and was already going to stop. It was what people did out in the country. Back in New York, I would have been less inclined to stop on the side of a dark road to offer help to a complete stranger, but not in Montana. I likely knew the person.When I got close enough to see it was Alex, I was both thrilled and sad. She hadn’t even bothered to let me know she was back in town. Then again, she owed me nothing. Why would she tell me she was back? It still hurt a little to know she hadn’t bothered to say hi. I pushed it aside. My own sore ego didn’t matter. She needed help.“Flat?” I asked the obvious, feeling a little dumb for asking such a dumb question.“Yes. Flat.”“Do you need help changing it?” I asked.“No, I don’t need any help,” she snapped.It was like I was meeting her for the first time. Our first meeting—hell, our first several meetings—had gone something like this. She talked to me with disdain and I got pissed. I wasn’t goi
DamionI got the tire off and quickly put the new one on. “Oliver missed you,” I told her and immediately regretted it.I wasn’t trying to make her feel guilty. I didn’t want to use my son as a weapon.“I’m sorry I didn’t call,” she said in a quiet voice.“You don’t owe me anything,” I said.“You didn’t call me either,” she went on.I looked up, finding her staring down at me. “No, I didn’t. I didn’t think you would want me to.”She shrugged. “You could have.”I didn’t know how to answer that. I focused on getting the tire put back on. The sooner I got it done, the quicker we could go our separate ways. I had been looking forward to the day she came back. I wasn’t sure what I had thought was going to happen when she did come back. I had let myself believe she would come back, we’d kiss and make up, and life would be great.I couldn’t explain why I had let myself feel like that. She had made herself very clear about what she was looking for—which was nothing.I finished tightening the
AlexHe winked at me. “I was thinking I might get me a little place in Montana.”I felt tears well in my eyes. I fanned my face. “Wayne, that would be amazing.”“Yes, it would,” Damion chimed in. “We’ll have a house built for you on the farm.”“Damion!” I blurted out.“Oh no, I can’t ask you to do that,” Wayne said.“You didn’t ask. I offered. We would love to have you around. We’ll need a guest house eventually anyway.”I could see the emotion in Wayne’s eyes. “That’s a very kind offer. I’ll think on it. I don’t want to put anyone out.”“Wayne,” I said, reaching across the table and grabbing his hand. “It would be an honor to have you around.”He smiled. “You drive a hard bargain, missy,” he teased.“I certainly do.”“Montana is a great place to live,” Damion said. “I wish I would have realized it earlier. I wasted a lot of time. I don’t intend to do it again.”“Good, because I won’t let you get away from me quite so easily.”“I’m not going anywhere,” he said with a grin. “Montana is
AlexThree months laterI carried the big bowl of homemade potato salad to the back patio and placed it on the table. Betty popped her head up from where she was curled up on her bed in the corner and out of the way. She would get her leftover treats after the dinner, even though I told Wayne he shouldn’t feed her people food. My favorite men in the world were sitting around the table, chatting and talking about the early fall. I smiled at each of them before going back into the kitchen of Wayne’s house to grab the tray of burger toppings.We had driven down to spend the weekend with him before school started and our schedule got a lot less flexible. Damion had offered to buy plane tickets, but I couldn’t do it. I actually liked the drive. We all got to hang out and just talk. There was no escape when you were locked in a car with someone.My life was good. Better than good. The final puzzle pieces of my life had slid into place. I felt settled. I didn’t feel the need to run. I hadn’t
AlexI opened eyes I didn’t realize had been closed. I stared into his light blue gaze as he rose over me. My hands slid up his forearms and over his biceps, rubbing over the skin that was hot under my touch. He was just as affected as I was.His cock slid over my slick pussy before he carefully nudged forward, breaking through the folds and finding home. He pushed once, and our eyes locked as he joined his body with mine. I felt a tear slide down the side of my face as he pushed himself all the way inside my welcoming body.“Oh, Damion,” I breathed his name before my eyes slid closed and my body finally gave in to the need that had been holding me in a firm grip since his kisses started.“That’s it,” he coaxed, kissing the tip of my nose as my body arched and bucked under his. “That’s my girl. All mine. You’re mine.”I opened my eyes and found him staring at me from just a few inches away. He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me until I could no longer think at all. I only felt. I
AlexI didn’t think I had ever been carried. Not like that anyway. I felt like a precious gift with the way he was looking at me. His gentleness was so much different than our usual way. It was strange and sweet at the same time.I watched as he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it to the floor before stepping out of the shorts he was wearing. I could truly look at the man’s body all day. His thick cock stood loud and proud, promising great things.He was perfect in my eyes. Tall and now very tanned after all our long days working together at the farm. His muscles were more defined than what they were when he first showed up in Geraldine. He had changed. I had changed.“Looking at something?” he asked with a soft smile.“Just admiring the view from down here,” I answered.He reached down, not getting on the bed as he undid the button on my shorts. He pulled them and my panties down my legs before reaching for my arms and pulling me to a sitting position. My shirt was lifted o
DamionI smiled. “I don’t think the money will change me. At least, I hope it doesn’t. It hasn’t so far.”“What do you mean?”“I mean I had the money before I came back.”Her mouth dropped open. “What? You have it? I thought you said you had to wait six months.”I nodded. “I did. Or so I was told. When I went to Harvey to ask about the will and where the farm would go if I turned it down, he told me you and he had talked. He said you told him you were impressed with what I had done and that I was taking it seriously. I told him it didn’t matter and had him draw up the documents to give you the farm. I told him to give the money to charity or whatever. I was in New York when I got the documents in the mail saying the accounts had been transferred to my name. A rather large check was included.”She shook her head. “You turned down the money?”I nodded. “I did.”“But you have it now?”“I do. I’ll admit I bought the SUV with cash. It didn’t make sense to carry a loan and pay interest.”Sh
DamionI heard the knock on the door and walked out of my bedroom to answer it. Sadie was standing on the other side, a soft smile on her face.“Hi,” she greeted.“Hi,” I answered, pulling the door open for her. “I was just folding the last bit of laundry.”“You’re folding your own laundry?” she asked.I groaned. “She told you.”“She did. Of course, she did. There’s a reason I offered to babysit Oliver without you asking. You two need to talk and I’m here to make sure that happens.”“I appreciate it. And yes, I do my own laundry. I also clean toilets and sweep the floors. I’m still the same man I’ve always been.”“I believe you. Now you need to convince her of that.”I shook my head. “You make it sound like it’s easy.”“I think I smoothed the way for you, but if you screw it up, that’s on you.”I laughed. “Good to know. Oliver is in his room. I’m going to toss a load in the washer and then I’ll head out.”“Take your time. My schedule is clear. This could take a while. Don’t give up to
Alex“Sadie, this is real. I’m not kidding. He inherited a fortune. The only reason he is here is to get that fortune.”“Did he say he wanted to leave?”“No, but—”She held up a hand. “Exactly. He came back for you.”I slapped a hand on the table. “This is what I’m trying to explain to you. He didn’t come back for me. He came back for the money.”“Do you honestly think he would jerk his kid back and forth across the country for the money? I don’t know him half as well as you do, but even I know he lives and breathes for that boy. He isn’t going to do anything that would hurt Oliver. He knows Oliver likes it here. Oliver couldn’t stop talking about how much he missed you when they were gone. How much Damion missed you. It’s real, Alex. Very real. Before you push him away, ask yourself if you’re really being rational.”I leaned back in my seat. “You’re being harsh.”“I’m sorry, but I have to be. I can’t let you ruin this. He’s so good for you. You don’t see how different you are with hi
AlexI glanced in the bathroom mirror as I washed my hands and face. I looked like hell. I wasn’t interested in showering. Not yet. I piled my hair on top of my head in a messy bun. Not cute messy but legit messy. I slid my slippered feet along the floor as I made my way to the kitchen. I needed coffee. A lot of coffee. I hadn’t slept much at all. Two nights of no sleep was wreaking havoc on me.There was a knock on my door just as I was starting my coffee. I slowly walked over to see who it was.“I see you,” Sadie called.“You can’t see through wood,” I told her.“Open the door.”“I’m not decent,” I retorted.“No shit. Open it anyway.”I sighed, unlocking the door and pulling it open, expecting the comments about the state of my appearance. “What are you doing here?” I asked.“Wow. This is a bad one. Have you showered this week?” She curled her lip. “I can flip you on your head and mop the floor with all that oil in your hair.”“That’s really not very nice,” I retorted.“You don’t lo
Damion“With that kind of money, I think you can certainly buy love.”“Not real love. I didn’t want some woman faking it.”“Do you think Alex is like that?” he asked, his tone slightly accusing.“Not at all,” I answered. “She’s the real deal. I know she loves Oliver and he loves her.”He was quiet for a few seconds. “Does she know you already have the money?”I shrugged. “I’m not sure. It seemed like she thought I had it or was going to be getting it soon.”“You didn’t tell her you had it before you came back the second time?”I slowly shook my head. “No. It seemed pointless. Alex is stubborn. When she gets something in her head, there’s no dislodging it. I didn’t see any point in arguing. She wasn’t going to believe a word I said. She’s convinced I’ve been lying to her from day one. Anything I said was going to be rejected. I didn’t want to stick around and listen to her insult me or what we had. I didn’t want to get mad and say something I would regret. I left.”“You do that a lot,”