Gone Away Home (Bringing Home Trouble)

CHAPTER 9

DUSTIN

There are certain things about Jasper Ridge I’ve always loved. Like right now, as I look around the town square where the giant Christmas tree is being put up while the space is being decorated, everyone is coming together and helping. People are all over the place with smiles on their faces and it’s getting me in the mood for the next holiday even though Thanksgiving was only a few days ago.

When I see Jasper, I give him a chin lift because if it weren’t for him keeping the range closed then I probably wouldn’t be able to be here with my woman. Finding Zayla in the crowd is easy for me. My gaze keeps gravitating toward her, no matter what heavy shit I’m being asked to carry or how high I need to go on a ladder to get something hung exactly right.

She must feel my eyes on her because she turns and gives me a bright smile and blows me a kiss. Fuck, this woman and what she does to me. I wink back at her and hope she can see how I’m just counting down the minutes until we can get out of here and I can bury myself inside of her.

After the disaster Thanksgiving turned into, at least at our parent’s house, I wasn’t sure if Zayla would still want to come down here today and help. She told me she’s been helping for years, but this year is different. Dad’s reaction to us being together hit her hard.

She tries to put on a brave front, but I can see how it’s hurting her. I hate it and I’ve tried to keep her mind off it as much as possible. I was hoping she could use this little decoration party as a way to keep her mind off everything, but I was mentally preparing for her to choose to stay home.

I warned her I wasn’t going to hide our relationship like we’re doing anything wrong because I needed her to be ready for that. The sooner everyone can get over themselves and realize they don’t get to stick their noses where they don’t belong, the better.

When I asked her last night, my arms wrapped around her and our naked skin pressed against each other after I filled her with my cum, she turned toward me with her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. “Of course, I’m going down and helping out. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Remember what I said,” there was a warning in my tone.

She still sounded confused, “About you not hiding our relationship?”

“Exactly. If I’m close enough to you, I’m going to pull you to my chest and kiss you. I’ll be watching you and this,” I snaked my hand down her body and gave her ass a squeeze, “sexy ass all day. I won’t take my eyes off you.”

That precious blush stole its way across her cheeks and instead of allowing her to answer me, I kissed her hard. My cock hardened and I knew I had to be buried inside of her again.

After I had rolled us so she could ride me while giving me the best view ever, her hands ran over my chest, and she moved her hips against mine with my cock trapped between us. Her skin was covered in goosebumps, and she moaned softly whenever my length brushed against her clit.

“I appreciate you looking out for me and warning me, Dustin,” her voice was breathy, and it was clear she was having an issue stringing together complete sentences, “but I want to go and help. I don’t expect you to or want you to hide anything either.”

As she lifted up on her knees, I gripped the base of my cock as her entrance kissed the tip. “You want me to show everyone that you’re mine?” My voice was a taunt, and my dick throbbed when her body shuddered above me. “I’ll make sure there’s not a single person there confused about what is going on between us. They better be glad I won’t lay you down in the middle of town square to claim you for everyone to see. I’ll never share you, the sexy as fuck sounds you make, or will ever let anyone see how gorgeous you are when you come.”

“Oh fuck,” she groaned as she slid down my cock until I was buried balls deep inside of her.

The walls of her pussy were pulsing around me and making it hard for me to stay in control. My hands gripped her hips, hoping the contact would ground me even though I knew it would only make me feel closer to the edge. It’s what her soft skin always does to me.

She rode me hard, chasing her orgasm and pulling me over the edge with her because I didn’t have a choice in the matter. Not with the way my dick loves my woman.

Zayla’s body was draped across my chest, my cock still inside of her, and I was running my hands up and down her spine. “People might try and talk shit,” I told her gently, the worry about her being hurt by stupid, small-minded people riding me hard and pushing me to confirm she knew what could happen.

It’s one thing I don’t like about Jasper Ridge. People think they need to be in each other’s business when it’s really not necessary. Usually, people getting involved unnecessarily only made things worse. There were times when everyone thought they should have an opinion and be able to express it. But why should they when it didn’t impact them at all?

“I know,” she murmured, her voice heavy and right on the edge of sleep. “I don’t care. There is no reason for anyone to judge us and if they do then they have shit they need to examine about themselves. I’m not hiding my happiness, not after waiting for you to come home for so long, even though I tried to convince myself I wasn’t waiting.”

“You’re so strong, sweetheart,” I praised her, my hands never leaving her and my touch lulling her into sleep.

Damn it, now I’m hard and this is the worst fucking place to be sporting wood. It’s not like I can do anything about it. What I told her is true—I’ll never share those parts of her with anyone else.

She’s mine.

I glance over at one of the women helping set-up and my dick instantly deflates. Yeah, a sneering face and a lot of hate directed at my woman will do that to me. My vision takes on a red hue around the edges as I look at her.

When we first arrived, there were some curious looks, but it was to be expected. There were also a lot of hugs and greetings for me since I hadn’t been making my presence in town well known. People thanked me for my service and expressed their happiness about me making it home safely. Even though I wasn’t thrilled about the attention, I took it in stride because it was coming from a good place.

I was prepared for people to try and look down on us, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised for the most part. A few people didn’t say anything to us, not a hello or a negative word, but that’s fine. If they’d prefer to keep their bullshit to themselves, I’m good with it.

As long as nothing is said to upset Zayla, I’m not going to complain.

Mr. and Mrs. Lang have big smiles on their faces as they approach me after they’ve finished wrapping large boxes to make it look like there are presents under the tree. They’re nice folks and it’s good to see them again.

While they have a son, Hollis, who is now playing professional football in Denver last I heard about him, they also kind of adopted the two Parsons boys. Hollis was best friends with Slade Parsons whose parents weren’t the kind of people who should be parents. Gannon, Slade’s older brother, was a few years ahead of me in school.

I remember when he enlisted and left. Over the years, when I would call and catch up with Dad, I heard he came back to Jasper Ridge to live on one of the mountains surrounding our little town. I can see why he chose to go that way. Sometimes people are too much and when that’s compounded by some of the shit you can see while serving, it’s easier to just retreat from society.

My heart aches when I think of my dad and how he tried to keep me updated on what was going on in my hometown. I didn’t always listen intently, even while soaking up his words because I missed him. It was hard being away while knowing my heart was walking around and living without me.

It’s why I never asked about Zayla. I couldn’t.

And now Dad’s the one who thinks being with her is disgusting and wrong.

I hate it and I wish I could talk to him about it, but if he’s not willing to give, then I’m not going to invite the possibility of Zayla being hurt into our lives. No way in hell.

“Dustin,” Mr. Lang greets me and pulls me into a hug, “it’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you too, Mr. Lang,” I tilt my head toward his wife, “and Mrs. Lang.”

The older woman blushes sightly as she smiles. “You’re an adult now, I think it’s about time you call us Elaine and Albert.”

“He doesn’t need to call you Elaine,” Albert grumbles. “Then he’ll be using your first name to sweet talk and flirt with you.”

Zayla tries to walk past me, but I’m not going to let her walk by without soaking up her nearness, even if it’s only for a moment. I simply can’t help myself.

Elaine pats Albert’s chest like he’s being cute as she giggles softly. “I don’t think he’ll be flirting with me,” she admonishes her husband before turning her appraising eye my way. “Isn’t that right? Not with this,” she makes a hand motion to indicate my woman and me, “going on. It’s good to see you two finally together.”

I open my mouth to tell her thank you, relieved they don’t seem to have an issue with our relationship. Since this is the first time we’ve talked since we started working, I wasn’t sure if they fell into the camp where they couldn’t say anything nice or if they didn’t care either way.

“We’re together,” I confirm and look down at my woman to find so much love in her eyes as she meets my gaze.

It takes my breath away when she looks at me like this. Everything around us starts to fade away, but before I can be lost in her brown eyes completely, I’m yanked out of serenity and faced with the woman who has been sneering at us all day.

“You shouldn’t be supporting this,” there’s fury written all over her face. “It’s an outrage. They’re related. Them being together is a disgusting abomination.”

I curl my lip at her to show just how much she’s pissed me off. It’s a warning for her shut the fuck up. I have a feeling she won’t listen, though.

“Marnie,” Zayla’s voice is cold and cutting, “you really shouldn’t speak about things you don’t know about.”

“I know you’re related,” Marnie’s voice is raised, probably just for the purposes of attracting attention.

“No, we’re not,” Zayla states firmly. “Our parents got married when we were teenagers. We lived under the same room for three years, but that’s it and we were not close during that time. We’ve done nothing wrong.”

“It’s amazing how you don’t even see how filthy and wrong this is,” Marnie shouts.

Zayla arches an eyebrow and crosses her arms across her chest, her eyes cold and hard as she looks Marnie over. “For someone who is laughed at behind her back for being a town bicycle, one of legends, calling someone filthy and disgusting for being in love is kind of rich. Don’t you think?” Marnie’s face pales, but Zayla isn’t done; I’ve never seen anything more glorious. “And let’s not forget one of the ways you became such a legend involves the entire baseball team running a train on you during your senior year.”

A slow clap starts not far from us, and we look over to find Jade, Jasper’s little sister, standing there with pride shining in her eyes as she looks at Zayla. Elaine is covering her mouth, but from the twinkle in her eyes it’s clear she’s trying not to laugh.

Marnie lets out an undignified sound before turning around and practically running away. Good riddance.

I kiss Zayla’s temple and murmur, “Proud of you, sweetheart.”

“That was amazing,” Jade gushes. She groans and shakes her head, “I remember when that happened with the baseball team. Coach was not happy, and they talked about morality agreements for players because they were afraid some sexually transmitted infection was going to ruin their chances of being state champions.” She looks at Elaine and Albert and winces, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” a small giggle escapes Elaine before she takes a breath and composes herself, “that was highly entertaining. People in glass houses and all. Clearly, she didn’t learn that lesson.”

“I’m kind of glad for it,” Jade deadpans, “or else we would have missed out on the show. If only I had popcorn.” She winks at Zayla. “I, for one, am glad you two are finally together. I approve. Not like whether I approve matters or was even asked for.”

“I appreciate it all the same,” Zayla grins and pulls Jade in for a quick hug.

“The only thing that matters at the end of the day is if you love each other, and that you’re going to fight for each other when times get tough. And they will get tough because life needs ups and downs,” Elaine’s voice is filled with sage wisdom.

“I’ll fight every single day for Zayla,” I tell Elaine honestly.

“Good,” she nods, clearly relieved. “Some days I’m not sure how I can still be surprised when people talk about things they don’t really know about. You know,” she leans toward me and her voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper, “Hollis and Slade share a woman. They love her with all they are, and she’s their biggest cheerleader. It works for them and I’m glad it does. It’s unconventional, but they’re happy. Far too many people choose appearances over happiness and it’s sad.”

I blink a few times at the woman because while I may have gotten updates here and there about the residents of Jasper Ridge, this particular detail was never shared with me. I’m curious as hell about it, but it’s not my place to ask for or look for answers.

“They’re happy?” When Elaine nods, I shrug. “You’re right, it’s all that matters. Life is too short to worry about people judging you.”

She pats my hand and the comfort in the gesture makes me feel seen and loved. After Dad’s reaction, I welcome the feeling without a second thought.

Marnie keeps her distance the rest of the day and I’m grateful for it. I’m not in the business of hitting women, but she was challenging my long-held belief.

Taking my woman home after a long as hell day, is all I can think about. She stood up for me, for us, today and didn’t back down.

Talk about a huge fucking turn on. But, then again, everything Zayla does turns me on.