Holiday Hire (The Cartwright Family #2)

Chapter 21

21

Alexander

T rojan nuzzles into my chest, blowing air through his nose.

"Do horses get colds?" Phoebe asks.

I arch my eyebrows. "They can. Why do you ask?"

"They seem to sneeze a lot."

I chuckle. "Trojan's just happy to see you."

He nuzzles deeper into my chest, then snorts loudly.

She teases, "He looks like he's into you."

"You're stalling. Time to get on him." I reach for the stirrup and order, "Put your foot in here and swing your leg over the saddle."

Her eyes dart between Trojan and me. She says, "Why don't we let him rest in case he has a cold."

"He doesn't have a cold. Come on. The snow doesn't come often."

She takes an anxious breath and then puts her hand on my shoulder and left foot in the stirrup.

I say, "On three, boost yourself up. I'll help you."

"You're sure about this?" She bites on her lip.

"Yep. One, two, three." I grab her ass and push.

She shrieks and swings her leg over the saddle. She leans forward and hugs Trojan's neck. She squeezes her eyes shut and begs him, "Please be nice to me."

I put my foot in the stirrup and jump up behind her, then put my arm around her waist, pulling her into a sitting position and closer to me. I murmur in her ear, "Don't worry, Pheebs. I won't let anything happen to you." I grab the reins and make a clicking sound with my mouth twice.

Trojan moves.

"Whoa!" Phoebe exclaims.

I tug her closer to me. "Stay calm. Relax into me." I steer Trojan out of the barn and over the blanket of snow. I keep a slow pace, letting the horse get used to the cold, wet ground.

When we get near the woods, Phoebe's body finally relaxes.

"See, not so bad, is it?" I ask, surprised I finally got her on a horse with me.

She turns her head and smiles. She softly confesses, "No. It's...it's nice."

Happiness surges through me. I give her a quick peck on the lips.

She furrows her forehead.

My heart races faster. She might have been drunk last night, but she told me she doesn't want to be with Lance anymore. She claimed she wanted to be with me.

My intoxicated self didn't work too hard to keep my feelings secret either. I freely told her I wanted to be with her and hated our agreement to just be friends. Yet I don't think she remembers our conversation.

She begged to stay in my bed, but I forced myself to say no since she was so intoxicated. I didn't want her to wake up and regret me. So I kept my clothes on and stayed with her until morning, then crept out of her room.

I blurt out, "You made my day, admitting you aren't hating this ride."

She beams, then faces forward. "You were right. It's nice."

"Do you trust me enough to go a bit faster?" I question.

She takes a deep breath, lifts her shoulders, then affirms, "Yes, I trust you. A little faster will be okay."

I lightly kick Trojan and click twice.

He picks up his speed. A fog circles in the air from his breath.

I can tell he wants to run until he's sweating, but Phoebe's not there yet. The last thing I want to do is scare her or freak her out so badly she never wants to ride again.

I put the reins in front of Phoebe, asking, "Want to steer him?"

She shakes her head. "Nope!"

I chuckle. "Okay, then." I steer left on the trail, and we trot through the path of frozen trees.

"It's really beautiful," she claims.

"I thought you'd love it. We don't get to see this often. I assume you don't have many opportunities in California to see a frozen forest either?"

"No. Thanks for making me come with you," she says.

I tighten my arm around her, my heart beating faster. "You should let me take you out more often."

She turns, wiggling her eyebrows. She teases, "Like on a horse date?"

I stare at her, inhaling her floral scent, my dick hardening.

Her cheeks turn red. She refocuses on the path, offering, "Sorry. It was just a joke."

We need to talk.

"Hold on," I order, clicking twice and kicking Trojan.

He picks up speed, and I veer out of the woods and across a small field.

"What's that?" she asks, pointing to an old cabin.

"It's the old ranch hands' bunkhouse," I inform her, stopping Trojan several feet from the porch. "Want to go see the inside?"

"Sure."

I jump off Trojan and instruct, "Put your foot in the stirrup, then swing your leg over."

She masters the task perfectly, and I praise, "Look at you go!"

She beams. "I did okay, didn't I?"

"You did." I loop the reins over the post, then grab her hand. "Come on." I lead her up the steps and open the door.

"You don't lock it?" she questions.

I chuckle. "The ranch is secure at all times."

"I know, but still..."

Amusement fills me. I've never felt anything but safe on the ranch. It's fenced and has a gate. Plus, no one would ever attempt to mess with my family.

So I tease, "You aren't in California anymore."

"Guess not," she says.

I flip the light switch, and a lightbulb flickers a few times before staying on.

"It doesn't look or smell abandoned," Phoebe comments, glancing around the room.

I admit, "That's because I come here quite a bit."

She arches her eyebrows. "You do?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

My chest tightens. I take a few moments, then confess, "I love my family, but sometimes, I need to be alone."

She briefly studies me, then states, "That makes sense."

I put my hand on her cheek. "All I've wanted to do since the morning I woke up with you in my bed is bring you here."

She swallows hard and then opens her mouth. Nothing comes out.

My pulse pounds harder. I slide my thumb over her chin. "I think we need to talk."

She takes a deep breath, a flush growing on her cheeks. "Alexander…" She bites on her lip.

"I think we made the wrong decision and need to talk this through."

She blinks a few times, her chest rising and falling faster.

Fuck this.

I slide my hand through her hair, tug her against me, and lean down. Her hot breath hits mine, and I quickly slide my tongue against hers.

She gasps, then kisses me back until we're both breathless.

I retreat a few inches, murmuring, "We need a different arrangement."

She whispers, "Arrangement?"

"Yeah. You and me."

"You and me..." She looks away, furrowing her eyebrows.

My stomach flips. I turn her chin so she can't avoid looking at me. "I like you."

"I don't think it's about that," she states, then shivers.

I lead her to the couch. "Sit."

She obeys.

I place a blanket over her and declare, "I'm going to start a fire and then we're going to figure this out." Before she can object, I step in front of the fireplace, arrange the wood, and grab the box of matches off the mantel. I light several until the kindling catches. When I'm confident it'll continue to burn, I join her on the couch.

She blurts out, "I don't think we should discuss this."

The air in my lungs turns stale. "Why not?"

She tilts her head, her expression neutral. "I thought you didn't want to disappoint the boys."

"I don't."

She looks away and taps her fingers on her thigh.

I grab her hand. "Pheebs, you don't understand what I'm saying."

She turns toward me, her eyes in slits. "I understand perfectly, Alexander."

My heart pounds so hard against my chest I think it might explode. I demand, "Then tell me what you believe I'm trying to say."

"You think I should be your friend with benefits until my two months are up," she declares, her cheeks turning fire-engine red.

I jerk my head back. "Why would you ever think that?"

Her lip quivers.

This isn't going the way I wanted it to go.

I tug her across the couch and onto my lap. "Pheebs, tell me why you think that's what I want."

She blinks hard and turns away.

I softly state, "You have the wrong idea."

She turns back. "You slept with me. When I woke up, you pointed out I'm from California, and you're from here. You actually stated that you have your life, and I have mine. You made it clear you only wanted a fun night. Well, we had fun. Then it was over. Let's not rehash why you think I'm a bad idea."

"Bad idea? I never called you a bad idea."

She scoffs. "You might as well have." She pushes off me and goes to the window. She crosses her arms. Her voice shakes when she says, "Why are you even talking about this? I thought we learned our lesson. Everything has been back to normal between us."

I rise off the couch. "It wasn't last night."

She spins, scrunching her face in horror and confusion. "Last night?"

I close the distance between us. "You wanted to stay with me all night."

She gapes, the bright-red flush dancing once again on her cheeks.

I put my hand on her cheek and push her against the wall. I lean in an inch from her lips, searching her expression, wanting her to remember everything she admitted to me.

She takes a shaky breath. "What are you talking about?"

I glance at her lips, revealing, "We both agreed this was hard, and we shouldn't fight it anymore."

She freezes, holding her breath.

I graze my thumb over her mouth. "It's true. We're both miserable. Let's admit it."

She stays quiet, her lips quivering under my touch.

"I'm sorry I made you feel bad. I never meant to. And I thought we had gotten past that when we agreed to be friends."

"We did. But now…"

"I'm telling you that you mean more to me than a friend. And I know you still have feelings for me too. So let's stop fighting it," I state, locking my gaze on hers.

She narrows her eyes. "What about Cheyenne?"

"What about her?"

Anger fills Phoebe's expression. "I'm not going to be one of your girls, Alexander."

I scoff. "I don't have a bunch of girls. And I meant, what about her? I've not seen or thought about her since before you stepped foot on the ranch. And I'll add that I have no desire to either."

She stares at me.

I question, "You don't believe me?"

"Should I?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" I ask, feeling offended she thinks I would lie about such a thing. I'm not one of those guys who sleep with multiple women at a time and then lies about it.

She admits, "No, you haven't."

Hope fills me again. "Then I think you should give me the benefit of the doubt."

She sighs. "Okay. You're right."

I press closer. "If Cheyenne isn't an issue, what other objections do you have?"

She closes her eyes, breathing slowly.

I kiss her lightly, murmuring, "I've missed you. Now, be a good baby girl, and tell me how much you've missed me and my stallion."

She bursts out laughing.

"That's more like it. I hate seeing you upset," I admit.

Her laughter fades.

I kiss her again. This time, I wait for her to return my affection, then retreat. "We're more than friends, Pheebs."

"What about the boys? You just said you don't want to disappoint them."

"I don't."

"Then—"

I put my finger over her lips. "All I've done all day is think about this. And I don't want to hurt them. They already love you. I know they do, and I've never brought any woman around them before. So I don't know how to do that. But I also know no one gets together and thinks they won't stay together. So maybe we take it slow. We keep things between us until we're both sure about whatever this is."

She stays quiet.

My heart races. "Pheebs, I'm trying to be a responsible adult. Trust me, if I could be an irresponsible one, I would. But I can't. I'm their only parent."

Another moment passes. She reaches for the side of my head, softly replying, "I know you are. And I would never want to hurt them."

"So we can stop pretending about how we feel and see how this goes?"

"You mean in secret? Pretend to everyone else we're platonic but secretly we're not?" she cautiously asks.

I groan. "That sounds so bad."

"But that's what you're asking me to do, right?"

I grind my molars. It doesn't sound fair. I know it doesn't, but I'm unsure how else we can explore whatever this is between us and still protect my boys.

"I'm not saying I blame you for asking me to keep it between us for now," she offers.

"You don't?"

She shakes her head. "No. I wouldn't want to hurt the boys either."

"So..."

She licks her lips, then bites on the bottom one.

I ask, "Are you good with it, or do you want me to never make another move on you again?"

She giggles. "Make a move? Is this your move?"

I pull her toward my lips, answering, "No, this is." I slide my tongue into her mouth and grab her ass, holding her against my straining erection. I kiss her with everything I have, not remembering ever wanting someone so much and feeling like I might never get them.

Her knees buckle. She grips my head and shudders.

I retreat, staying close to her mouth, ordering, "Tell me we're on the same page, baby girl."

Her lips curve. "Okay."

"Yeah?" I say enthusiastically.

She laughs. "Yeah."

"Good—"

My phone rings, cutting me off.

I groan.

Amusement fills her expression. "Should we take a bet which one of your family members is calling?"

"No, I don't have good odds on that," I state, then answer, "Hello."

"Dad, where are you?" Ace inquires.

"I'm teaching Pheebs how to ride," I state.

Excitement fills his voice. "She got on a horse?"

I grin and peck her on the lips. "She sure did."

"Awesome!"

Evelyn's voice interjects, "Tell him why you're calling."

The hairs on my arms rise. I sternly ask, "Ace, why are you calling me?"

A moment of silence fills the line.

Disappointment overpowers my happiness. "Don't make me ask you twice."

He moans, confessing, "I'm kind of in trouble."

"In trouble?"

Phoebe's eyes widen.

I kiss her on the forehead, then ask, "Why are you in trouble?"

He hesitates.

"Tell him," Evelyn orders.

He answers, "I might have put something in Wilder's drink."

I freeze.

"What's wrong?" Phoebe whispers.

I put it on speakerphone and warn, "Ace, you have five seconds to tell me what you put in his drink."

"He dared me to do it to Uncle Jagger, but Wilder picked up the wrong glass," Ace states.

Phoebe's eyes widen.

My gut dives further. "Ace, what did you put in his drink? And I'm not asking again."

He admits, "It's Wilder's fault! He took the eyedrops from the medicine cabinet and double-dog dared me to put it in Uncle Jaggers's drink!"

Horror fills Phoebe's expression.

Anger fills me. "You could kill someone doing that!"

Ace's voice cracks. "I didn't kill Wilder! I swear! He's just pooping a lot!"

Phoebe's hand flies over her mouth.

I try to control my annoyance as I ask, "Why would either of you want to do that to Uncle Jagger?"

"He says he has a stomach of steel. Wilder bet him he was wrong," Ace claims.

I burst out, "You did this over a bet?"

Evelyn's voice comes across the line. "Are you coming back soon? The doctor said Wilder should be okay since Ace admitted it was only two drops, but he's been in the bathroom for a while."

I shake my head, mouthing "Sorry" to Phoebe.

She shrugs, smiling.

I tell my sister, "We're on our way." I hang up and say, "I'm sorry."

Phoebe lets out a giggle. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't laugh."

"They're both grounded." I kiss her on the forehead and put out the fire. I meet her near the door.

She opens it.

I slam my hand against it and shut it.

She jumps and spins to face me.

I eliminate the distance between us, fist her hair, and tilt her head.

Her eyes light on fire.

I stare at her lips and warn, "You better always be on the lookout when we're back at the house."

"The lookout?"

I nod, dragging a finger over her jawbone.

She shudders.

I warn, "The moment I find a dark corner, I'm dragging you into it."