Stables (Black Gulch Ranch #2)

22. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Char

I keep meaning to fix that darn gate. But I know I’ll have to sink a new post to do it.

Now that I’m pretty much healed up, I might move it higher up my priority list.

Buddy sticks his dark nose out of his stall and nods his head up and down as I pass through the dim barn.

I have this place memorized, so I don’t need the lights. The soft glow of the huge halogen out front casts enough illumination I’ll be able to see.

The dark void of several stalls pass me.

Weird, they usually come up to greet me.

Maybe it’s because Dixon has been feeding them the last few days.

Oh, there’s Juniper. And Ginger.

“Hi, babies. I’m sorry, no grain tonight.” I’m going to have to move Jade to the maternity ward soon along with Sammy.

Where is she?

Huh. The gate that usually falls open is closed up tight. Where is the thumping coming from?

Following the sound, I find the main pasture closure hanging wide open, with something white fluttering on the front.

My stomach drops when I see a knife holding the paper to it.

What the fuck?

Grabbing the handle, I yank out the blade, then squint to inspect the faded copy.

A registration form for Whiskey.

With Matt’s name still on the bottom beneath mine.

It’s circled in red ink with the words I came for my horses scrawled along the side.

No!

Frantic, I start running from bay to bay.

Six! He stole them!

He didn’t. I never bothered to have his name taken off the logs, I couldn’t afford the paperwork.

I’m so stupid.

I never thought he’d want them.

Pain rockets through my body as I run into their pasture, frantic and clinging to the hope that my beautiful babies will be there.

“Whiskey! Sammy! Avabelle!” I scream into the night, hoping to hear their hooves work through the thick mud.

They’re gone.

How am I going to pay my bills? Whiskey was my big hope.

She was going to set records. I know she’s even faster than Misty.

I only had another few weeks of training left.

What am I going to do?

My legs give out as the rain drenches me.

It hurts so badly. Tears mix with the water to smear down my face.

The cold soaks into me, but the pain still exists.

Why?

My fingers grow numb, but cinch tighter around the wounding note.

A final letter.

The critical blow.

I’m going to lose the farm. He’s made sure of it.

It will take selling half of what’s left just to bring in what Whiskey was going to make me.

I’m an idiot for putting all of my eggs in one basket.

Maybe I’ll just…give up.

“Char? Where are you?” Dixon’s deep voice carries through the driving rain, but I just don’t have the strength to answer him.

I’m empty.

“Answer me!” he booms.

I can hear the panic in his voice.

He’s the only one who cares. He doesn’t deserve someone like me.

I have nothing.

“Char, are you hurt?” His hot hands work over my arms before he drops his jacket over my shoulders.

All I can do is shake my head.

“Come on, you need to get inside.” He works his calloused palms under my thighs and around my ribs to lift me to his chest.

“Leave me. I’m not worth the hassle, Dixon.” I’m a burden with no end in sight.

Useless.

A growl emanates from the depths of him. “Let me be the judge of that. What the hell happened?” His brisk walk carries me across the barnyard.

“He took—” My throat feels like it’s closing. Struggling, I manage to swallow down the lump that formed. “—Matt took them.” Weakly, I wave the wet paper against my knee.

“What did he take?” Dixon kicks the door closed after he carries me through. “You’re soaked, Char.”

The chill finally hits me and my teeth start chattering. “My horses. He has Whiskey.”

He cups my jaw, tilting my face so I can only see him. “You think because of some animals, I’m not going to want you?”

Fresh tears spill over my cheeks, following his thumbs down to collect in the corners of my mouth. “They’re all I have.”

Darkness flashes through his chestnut eyes. “They aren’t what’s important to me, Char. It’s you. It’s always been you.”

I need him to fill this hollow black hole that’s sucking my very will to go on.

“Dixon, please.” The paper flutters to the floor as my fingers curl behind his neck.

“Anything,” he breathes, pulling my body close against his.

“Please.” My head falls backwards into his palms. “Want me. Ruin me.”

His lips crash over mine with bruising force.

I embrace it, wrapping my arms behind his head and squeezing him so tightly against me I can’t tell where he stops and I begin.

More. I have to have all of him.

Make the world disappear.

The fire in his kiss begins to thaw the ice that clings to my heart. This time, he isn’t tentative, but owns my lips, explores every corner of my mouth with his tongue, and steals every exhale until I fall weakly into his grasp.

“Char, you’re so fucking cold. Come on.” He strips the heavy jacket from my shoulders and picks me up as he kicks off his boots.

He only sets me down once we’re in the narrow bathroom. Taking a seat on the toilet lid, he pulls me onto his lap as he starts the water.

While the tub fills, his burning lips trace my jaw, and his strong hands tug off my shoes.

He pauses over my blouse, tilting my chin up to look at him.

Those chocolate eyes, like my favorite truffles, meet mine with a naked gaze of caring. “I don’t want you to be afraid of me. I’ll never hurt you.” His thumb traces my temple, leaving a scalding path over my cheek, then he skims the rough pad over my sensitive lips so lightly I can barely feel it.

“You need to trust me,” he husks over the running tap. “If I ever do anything you don’t like, or you need a break—” His jaw ticks making his mustache twitch.

My own palm brushes down his stubble. Why does the pain in his gaze make me want to cry again? I can see the emotion through his stoic facade, the raw intensity that makes me want to both cuddle and ravage him.

“I do trust you,” I whisper, with as much conviction as I can spill into those simple words.

His focus flicks past me to the floor, then locks back onto my mouth. “Daisy,” he growls. “If you need me to stop, say ‘daisy’.”

“Like the rug?” I feel a smile tug at my lips. “If I say it, will you stop talking and kiss me again?”

His fingers tighten in my wet hair and he tugs hard enough to arch my throat, exposing it to his ravenous mouth.

Marking a hot trail beneath my ear, his teeth skim over the taut skin, followed by the press of his tongue. Each nip sends a jolt of electricity through me, each taste stokes the coals that flame within my belly.

It’s as if he’s plucking the strings and I’m his instrument. The song of my moans rise as he moves down.

The first button on my shirt falls open, and his wandering lips follow the path of his fingers.

Another, then a third give way to his nimble touch.

He’s going painstakingly slow. I want him to hurry, but am also loving every breath he pours across me.

When the last clasp falls, he peels the damp fabric away from my quivering belly, exposing the threadbare bra.

Heat flushes my face when he sees it.

It’s embarrassing. I haven’t been able to afford anything new in so long.

But his mustache tickles over my chest and his strong hand cups my covered breast, kneading it until his fingers tighten on my nipple beneath the cotton.

The spark it sends through me makes me spasm on his lap.

With a mischievous smirk, his hand leaves and trails through the filling tub. “Ready?” With wet fingers, he lifts me from his legs to stand me in front of him.

His breathing comes in ragged pants as he finds the top button of my jeans.

A flash of panic races through me.

He’s going to see.

“Um.” My palm covers his thumb just when he lowers my zipper.

“What’s wrong?” He doesn’t wait for my reply, but leans forward to nip the fleshy roll beneath my belly button.

I may have lost the baby weight after having Paisley, but the stretch marks have persisted.

He tugs the hem of my pants lower until they’re past my hips.

I can’t help it. Flattening my hand over my stomach, I try to turn away.

Dixon’s grip is firm as he grabs both of my wrists and moves my arms to the side.

“Is this what bothers you?” He presses his nose below my navel, then kisses along the hem of my panties. “You know it’s still one of the greatest mysteries of science how perfect you are at creating life.” The burn of his mouth moves lower as he tugs the clothing down. “Is it so wrong I want to fill you up with more babies?”

The thought makes me gasp. Me? He wants to stay with me and have a family?

“Why?” I have nothing to offer.

He doesn’t answer, but peels my jeans over my feet. The chilly air sends a wave of goosebumps over my body.

When he stands and takes his shirt off, it nearly presses me against the wall in the tiny space.

Gripping my waist in his broad hands, he lifts me easily into the hot tub, then steps in behind me where he lowers us both into the nearly scalding water.

“Dixon? You have your Wranglers on,” I giggle before leaning into his bare chest.

Fuck, it does feel good being nestled up against him.

“I need to keep them on a little longer, I don’t want to scare you off quite yet.” His words vibrate into my spine and resonate through me.

I don’t think there’s anything he could do that would dissuade me now.

He cups the water and lets it drizzle over my arms while his lips work across the nape of my neck.

“You asked me why? Because you love your little girl with ferocity. That’s how every child should be raised, knowing their parents would do absolutely everything to make sure they are nurtured and cherished.” He reaches down and spreads his palms over my lower belly so I’m completely surrounded by him. His thighs hug my hips and I can feel his bulging crotch digging into my lower back.

“But the best part—” His voice drops into a low rumble. “—is every time I make your beautiful body swell, we’ll both know how hard I made you come to do it.”

Heat burns through me at his words. As if to emphasize himself, his fingers slip under the water and beneath the edge of my panties to find the slick slit of my pussy.