Heart & Hope (Rosewood Ranch #2)

Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

RUBY

I wasn’t expecting to not be able to breathe when Reed pushed through that tent flap. But that is exactly what happened.

I am so screwed.

Or maybe I’m the luckiest woman on the planet. Time will tell, I guess.

I run the sponge over his shoulders as he studies my face, like it’s been so long he needs to rememorize every part of it.

“Why are you here, baby?”

“I want to be here.”

He tilts his head and raises his eyebrows, and for the first time since we met, confusion and concern twist his gorgeous face. “That so?”

“Yes.”

I switch hands and wash his other shoulder. All I want to do is settle over his lap and wreck that handsome face of his with each smooth stroke I make with my body wrapped around his. But this is a communal bath.

So I tamper the heat swelling in my belly and clear my throat.

“Olive wants me to sort out the mess with Mary-Sue at the inn. Also, she insists that we finish out the events. And?—”

“She knows?” Reed’s face scrunches further.

“No, not from what I can gather, but she is uptight about me being out here and I...”

“You need to go back.”

“I will be here for your Thanksgiving opening, that I do know. But I’m not sure what will happen after the event for the inn.”

He doesn’t speak, simply taking my face in his hands and touching my forehead with his. “Whatever you need, Ruby Robbins, ask.”

I swallow, tears prickling the bridge of my nose. For someone who gets shit done and doesn’t do personal, I have been more emotional in these last six months than in my entire life. Can humans have emotional deficits? If so, I’m absolutely sure mine has finally caught up to me. Between Reed and his ma, Addy, and this town, I swear I’m a mixed bag of hot and cold. Sad and happy. Determined and at the same time desperate to spend my days slow with Reed. And I haven’t cried this much since... well, ever.

Yup. Totally fucking screwed.

Rules, who?

We wash up and dry off. Reed smells divine once again as he pads his way to an oversized enamel bowl and jug. I sit by the small table as he shaves with a single-blade razor. Like something you would find in an old western. Minutes later, he is clean-shaven and dressed, and we head from the tent to find the others.

Mack strides over, grinning like the cat who got the cream. “Rubes! Nice surprise.”

“Hey, Mack. How was your week?”

“Oh, you know, same as everyone else’s. Slow, cold, and tiring.”

“Aren’t soldiers supposed to be tough?”

He chuckles. “Something like that, little lady. Be seein’ ya.” He slips through the tent flap, pulling off his hat. Louisa sure has drilled the manners into these four boys. Reed hugs me into his side as we approach Harry and Lou.

“Come to make sure your client is in one piece, darlin’?” Harry says with a wink.

“Actually, I was wanting to help, if I can.”

Reed rubs his thumb over the back of my hand before letting me go and moving to help his mom.

“The easy part’s done, but you can help Louisa. Catering to this bunch is the hardest task, especially after the last seven days we’ve had.” Harry folds his arms, eyes tracking his wife.

“What happened? I mean, apart from that last bit.”

“Had a few run-ins with some wolves. Same pack, too. They get more brazen every year.”

“That’s why you carry the rifles?”

“Sure is. Every beast counts. But I don’t need to explain bottom lines to you.”

“No, business is pretty standard, no matter what industry. And it’s always hard to make ends meet.”

“You got that right, darlin’.”

“We will make this holiday ranch a success, Harry, I promise you.”

He turns, locking his gaze with mine. His mouth tips up in a smile. “I know you will.”

He walks off, heading toward Louisa. With orders to help her, I follow. His words replay in my mind. Was that a compliment from Harry Rawlins? Hope the devil’s still got his snow boots, because he’s gonna need them with hell freezing over and all.

The last of the soft furnishings for the cabins were delivered to the house yesterday. I stand in the living room by the fire, doing a last-minute inventory check before Reed is back to help me deck out all three of the new structures. Hudson and Mack are busy converting the largest barn into something we can use as a function room, with a dance floor, bar, and small catering kitchen included.

I’m beyond excited for this opening. I’ve shattered the Ruby Robbins Rule List, and so far, nothing dire has unfolded.

Give it time.

I keep telling myself this is a test, to discover how life works without the rules. Maybe I have been too rigid for too long. Have I missed opportunities and people that could have enriched my life if I hadn’t been so stuck on six arbitrary rules?

I guess I’ll never know.

The front door opens to a grinning Reed. The space between us collapses the instant his gaze finds mine, and he scoops me up, planting me on his waist.

I waste no time smashing my mouth to his. Every day we are closer to the opening for R & R Ranch.

Every day is a day closer to me going back to the city.

His hands wander through my hair as my fingers tangle in his shirt. I bite his lower lip and he groans, pushing my back against the wall by the stairs.

Each day that creeps closer to my final two events in Montana, the air thins a little more. I devour Reed at every chance I have, like he’s my oxygen and I’m starving for it.

He’s my last meal.

And now I can’t breathe.

My eyes are already shut, so I scrunch up my face and rub a hand over my breastbone, trying to coax air into my ever-shrinking lungs. I can’t do this. I can’t be here with him, like this. Like he’s my entire world.

But . . . I don’t belong here.

“Put me down,” I rasp.

“Rubes?”

“Please,” I rasp, “let me down, Reed.”

“Okay,” he says, lowering me to the floor, worry and hurt creasing his face.

Fuck.

I’m certain that face didn’t exist on this gorgeous man before I came along.

“I have work to do.” My words are breathy and weak. As if my whole existence is warring against pulling away from him.

“You still want me to help?”

I turn back to find him standing lax, hands hanging by his sides, his eyes searching my face.

“No, I’m good.” I walk for the door, swiping up a tape measure from the small side table I bought for the front entrance.

In the sunshine, I stride for the first of the cabins. I’ll double-check the measurements and then come back for the items when I can pull a solid breath back into my lungs. Right now, I need a minute. Space between Reed and me, so my body can settle down, my heart can stop racing. To redirect my head to where it should be.

Why am I so hot and cold about this?

Guests will be arriving tomorrow. Thanksgiving. The debut for R & R Ranch has to be epic. First impressions count, and if I’m truly honest with myself, Harry is who I want to impress. He’s the pinch point that needs to be overcome to make Reed’s life, from this event onward, better.

Crossing the grassy spans between the house and the first cabin, I step up the three steps and onto the wooden porch. Painted white with red R & R brand colors accenting the trim and eaves, the cabins look magnificent. The men did an amazing job.

I push through the screen door and open the red door with a silver number one smack bang in the center. Inside, the bare bones have been dressed up with farmhouse-style trim on white walls with dark hardwood floors. The windows on either side of the front of the cabin and the central living area have cream-colored cotton drapes that touch the floor. The new house smell is rocking the space, along with the cathedral ceilings and stained crossbeams that run through the entire cabin.

I measure the front room and swipe out my phone to check the numbers I got first time around. Yep, same as last time. Next, I pore over the master that’s accompanied by a generous en suite finished with white subway tiles and black hardware. The measurements are correct, as I knew they would be, and I lean against the cool tile, dragging in a rough lungful of air, trying desperately to separate myself from this place and the man it represents.

“I can do this. Get back on track. It’s not like we will never see each other. Friends is a smart compromise.” I rub my hand over my heart. I don’t believe a word I’m saying. I doubt anyone else is going to. Especially not Reed.

The screen door swooshes open, snapping shut. Boots work their way into the empty cabin with a sullen echo. “Rubes?”

I wipe my hands over my face, set my shoulders back, and force a smile. “In here.”

He is through the en suite door and leaning against the opposite wall a heartbeat later, one boot crossed over the other foot. Those green eyes burn into mine. “What ya thinkin’, baby?”

I huff a laugh. “Don’t go accusing me of thinking, Rawlins.”

I drop my eyes to the floor between us. The tile pattern is subtle, understated but elegant greys and white. Huddo did an amazing job, as always.

Reed drops his head, looking up from under those lashes that are enough to make any woman melt. I roll my eyes at him in an attempt to keep this casual.

But I know it’s not going to work.

Emotion is rising in my throat already.

Fuck .

“Tell me, or I will torture it outta ya,” he says, pushing from the wall slightly, arms folding across his chest.

He would, too.

Reed’s version of torture would have me on the brink of unraveling on his face.

“Fine. I was thinking about what I need to do when I go back to the city.”

The half smile that had grown on his face in anticipation falls. “Yeah, right. I mean...” His voice is tires on gravel.

“We still have the dinner tonight and the inn’s opening gala. But after?—”

He bolts forward, closing the space between us, hands on either side of my head. “Until then, we make every second count, beautiful.”

“I don’t know anymore. It’ll make leaving harder, Reed.”

He trails kisses down my neck.

The air leaves my lungs and doesn’t return. When he reaches my collarbone, I drag a shoddy breath inward and flatten against the wall. Cursing my body for responding to his so intensely, heat trickles through my core, lightning sparking up my spine.

“Reed.”

“Stop thinkin’, Rubes.”

“Why?”

“Cos.” He straightens up, green eyes drilling into me. Now devastation lines them like I’ve never seen before. “Thinking about you leavin’ fucking hurts .”

I try to tamper the sob that claws upward, my face twisting with the effort. His hands are around my face, his lips brushing mine.

“Don’t cry, baby.” His jaw feathers fast, face strung out like a man on the edge of something incomprehensible.

Deny, Ruby.

Deny.

I shake my head too fast, dislodging tears.

Who am I trying to kid?

I’m so far gone, there’s no coming back.

With Reed, I feel everything . Like he’s turned on an emotional faucet that I can’t wrench shut.

And I’m scared.

But I can’t turn back.

Not now.

I grip his collar and pull him closer still. His hands are under my ass, lifting me up the wall. I wrap my legs around his waist, plucking at the buttons on his shirt. He nudges my chin with his nose and covers my mouth with his. I open and take him in.

Hungry doesn’t even cut it.

We are starving.

Desperate.

I tug at the hem of my shirt, and he leans back as I pull it up and over and toss it to the tile floor. With a groan, he sinks his face between my breasts. Quick, rough hands release my bra, and it joins my shirt. Dark blond hair tickles my collarbone as Reed’s mouth finds my peaks. I arch, still not close enough to him.

Never will be.

“Reed?” I rasp.

“Yeah, beautiful?” The words reverberate through me, sending me higher and the heat in my belly lower.

“Clothes. We need to lose the clothes.”

“Agreed,” he growls, setting me onto my feet. He makes short work of his shirt and jeans, and my breaths shallow out as I take him in. No matter how many times I see this man bare for me, hard for me, it hits hard, every single time.

I rest a hand over his heart, letting it slowly trail downward. He watches my hand slide lower and lower.

“I love this part of you,” I whisper, running a finger over the abdominal muscles that are honed to cowboy perfection. I trace the V that sits central to his hip bones. “And this.”

Every breath burns with each second my finger stays on his skin. When I finally reach the rigid length and velvety soft head of his hard cock, I close my eyes and hold the last inhale in my lungs.

I count to twenty, trying to tame my wild, shattered nerves that are sending me lightheaded.

“My turn, baby,” Reed drawls, stepping a little closer. His hands start on the top of my head. I huff a breath. Trust him to start there.

“This soft, gorgeous golden hair gets me every time.”

His hands glide down my neck, and his fingers wrap around my neck. I meet his gaze. The heat that had me consumed before roars to a bonfire, eating up the last of my control.

“This here. Mine.”

His hand continues, light and gentle, to my breasts. “Now these are fucking priceless, Ruby Robbins.”

I roll my eyes at him, and he growls a little, shaking his head with lowered brows. His hand reduces to a finger as he curls his fist and tracks it toward the clasp of my Levi’s.

“This is where I show you how much I fuckin’ love you.” His voice cracks and fades, and he sucks in a short, abrupt breath. He plucks the clasp open and pushes my jeans and panties to the floor. “And I will love you for as long as I damn live, Ruby Jane Robbins.”

He drops to his knees and grips my hips. I slide my hands into his hair and lean my head on the wall, tilting it up so the tears that formed with his declaration don’t spill.

When his hands push my thighs open further and the first strong sweep of his tongue runs through my soaked center, I scream his name.

Now, there is no turning back.

Completely resuscitated by the kindest, most genuinely loving man to ever exist. And, I have no idea how I will make this work.

But to lose Reed?

That would break me beyond return.