Chapter Five
May Twenty-Sixth
Tucker
I look across the table at Hadley and smile. She looks so fucking pretty that I’m tempted to take her out to my truck and eat her pussy instead of the steak I just ordered. The waitress could serve me the best damn T-bone in the world, and it wouldn’t hold a candle to my woman’s sweet little cunt.
It’s been just over a week since I slid into her the first time, and I’ve had her every day since. Like I thought, I still haven’t got my fill of her. I’m pretty sure that is never gonna happen. My life would be complete if it was spent every day with my head buried between her legs.
Hell, I wouldn’t even mind just spending time with her. Granted, she’d have to let me in that tight little pussy from time to time, but I’m happy just having her by my side. We’ve been together every day since we met. I bring her to the farm when I can. We ride or she just loves all over the horses. When the farm needs my attention, I spend the night taking her out to eat, hanging out with my brother, or just shooting the shit with her. No matter what we’re doing, we’re having a good time.
“I have to leave this weekend,” Hadley whispers, bringing a quick death to my wandering thoughts.
My eyes shoot to hers, finding a tear rolling down her cheek. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Dad called last night, and he wants me at the lake house by Sunday,” she says, reaching up to wipe a shaking hand over her cheek. “I tried to talk him into letting me stay longer, but he wants me there with them. He said if I don’t do as I’m told, he won’t pay for next year’s tuition.”
My brain is spinning so fast that I can’t make sense of the words coming out of her mouth. “What the hell are you talking about, Hadley? I thought your parents were in Paris.”
“My parents are in Paris, just not France. They bought a lake house in Paris, Tennessee. I’ve tried to explain this to Willow a dozen times, but she won’t listen.” She reaches for her glass and runs a finger over the rim. “Neither one of them mentioned a thing about me coming down there to see them until Dad called yesterday.”
I don’t know if I should be relieved she is not planning to go to another country or pissed that she even thinks I’ll let her go to another state. Either way, that shit is not happening. Fuck her dad! I’ll pay for her damn tuition myself. Hell, I had already planned on talking to her about transferring to Western to be closer to me.
“Dad is remodeling the master bedroom as an anniversary present to my mom. He wants me to help strip off the old wallpaper and put up the new,” she explains with a touch of hurt in her chocolate-colored eyes. “He says, when it’s done, I can come back.”
In other words, the fucker doesn’t want to see his daughter. He just wants to use her as free labor. Well, that shit isn’t gonna happen if I have anything to say about it.
“I’ll pay for someone to come in and do the remodel,” I reply as the waitress sets our plates down in front of us.
She goes through the usual spiel of asking if we need anything else. I shoo her away and look back at my woman. Hadley’s teeth are biting down on her bottom lip as tears continue to pool in her eyes. Right now, I’m not sure if the tears are because she thinks she has to leave me or the fact her father is an uncaring bastard.
“You can’t do that,” she says with a shake of her head. “If Dad found out about you, he’d never let me come back here again.”
“Why the hell not?” I ask, feeling my temper grow to a boiling point.
“He doesn’t want me having a boyfriend before I graduate college. He’s afraid if I start seeing someone, I’ll let my grades slip,” she answers with a delicate shrug. “My parents aren’t very happy to be paying for me to go to college. If they find out about you, they’ll quit giving me a penny.”
At that moment, it finally hits me how young she is. Granted, a lot of people start living their own lives by the time they’re nineteen. Hadley, though, is still stuck firmly under her parents’ thumbs. That wouldn’t be a bad thing if her parents were decent people. By the sound of it, her father is a fucking dickhead. Even though she hasn’t mentioned her mom much over the last week, I’m guessing she’s a bitch who doesn’t give a shit about her daughter.
“I’ll pay for your tuition,” I say with a forced smile. “I’d prefer you transferred to Western, though. It’s only forty minutes away from the house, so you could drive back and forth.”
“You know I’m not staying at your house.” She rolls her pretty brown eyes, the same thing she does every time I mention her staying at my house. “I’m definitely not letting you pay for my education.”
“Why not?” I ask, reaching across the table to wrap my hand around hers. “You’re my woman. I should be the one paying for your shit, not your parents.”
Saying the words out loud, I realize how true they are. I want to be the one taking care of my woman. Over the years, a lot of women have chased me around for my money. I may not be rolling in dough, but our farm keeps my pockets pretty well lined. The bitches seemed to be more interested in my money than me. It never really bothered me; I got what I wanted out of the deal. With Hadley, though, she doesn’t ask for anything. That alone makes me want to give her more.
She jerks her hand from mine and crosses her arms over her perky tits. “That’s not gonna happen.”
“Again,” I growl, grabbing her arms and forcing them apart. “Why the hell not?”
“It’s bad enough you won’t let me pay for my own meal. There is no way you’re paying for my college tuition,” she forces out through clenched teeth. “It’s not like we’re married or something.”
As soon as the last of her words leave her mouth, a blush covers her cheeks. I don’t have time to enjoy watching it spread down her neck. Instead, I’m stuck on the word married. Could one simple ceremony solve all my problems? Of course it could.
Making up my mind, I pull out my wallet and throw some money on the table. “Come on, darlin’. We’ve got shit to do.”
“Where are we going?” she asks as she watches me stand up and walk around the table. “We haven’t even eaten yet.”
Pulling her out of her chair, I wrap my arms around her. “We’re going to go buy you a ring. Then, I’m gonna make you Mrs. Tucker Brady.”
“We’ve only known each other for a week,” Hadley says, trying to pull out of my hold. “We can’t get married.”
“I don’t give a shit how long we’ve known each other,” I say, brushing my lips over hers. “I know I want you in my bed every night and my ring on your finger. There’s no time like the present to make that happen.”
When she just stares at me, I start dragging her to the truck. She stays silent as I buckle her up and crawl in beside her. The silence reigns as I drive through Bowling Green, heading for the mall. Only when I pull into a parking spot does she even move.
Placing a shaking hand on my arm, she looks up and asks, “Are you sure this is what you want?”
I nod, feeling more than sure that I’ve made the right decision. “Like I said, darlin’. I want you in my bed every night. I want to go to sleep beside you and wake up the same way. Nothing would make me happier.”
Her eyes start to fill with tears, something that seems to happen more than it should. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Is it what you want? Do you want to be my wife, Hadley?” I ask, even though it’s still happening even if she says no.
Again, she nibbles on her bottom lip. “I think so.”
“Good enough,” I reply, opening the door and stepping out of the truck.
After helping her get out, we head inside. It only takes a minute or two to find a jewelry store, then a minute more for a salesman to start showing us rings. He pulls tray after tray out of the display. Hadley looks at one and then another, asking the prices of both.
“Price doesn’t matter,” I growl, losing my patience. “Just get what you want.”
When she goes all quiet, I start looking. It takes me only a second to realize the shit the guy is showing us isn’t right for my woman. I leave him talking to her and start studying the displays. Nothing really catches my eye, until I see a case sitting in the corner of the store. There is a solitary ring on display, sitting in a red velvet box.
“What about that one?” I ask, looking at her over my shoulder.
Hadley walks over and looks down at the ring. “It’s beautiful.”
The little sigh she lets out just sold the ring. I smile, leaning down to brush my lips over hers. What was meant to be a quick kiss becomes deeper in an instant. My cock takes notice, cutting into the denim of my jeans. The thought of dragging her back to the truck and fucking the hell out of her crosses my mind, but I shake it off and look back to the salesman.
“We’d like to take a closer look at that one,” I say, nodding my head to the ring I want on my woman’s finger.
As the man walks closer, he looks down at the display case and back up to me. “Sir, are you aware of what you are looking at?”
“It’s a ring,” I reply with a shrug.
“Yes, it is, but it’s not just a ring,” he explains as he pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the display case. “This ring was special ordered from our home office in New York for a prominent businessman in town. By the time the ring was delivered, his engagement had been called off. He sold it back to the store, and we’ve been holding it until it could be shipped back to New York City.”
I’m not sure why in the hell he is telling me all this shit, so I shrug. “Okay, are you telling me it’s not for sale?”
“It’s for sale, but this ring is nothing like the ones the lady was looking at in the other case. None of those were more than two carats total,” he says, pulling the ring out of the case and placing its box on top of the glass. “This is a special channel-set platinum engagement ring with an exquisitely clear three-point-two carat diamond solitaire, and another carat and a half of equally as beautiful diamonds embedded in the band.”
I nod, not understanding a fucking thing he just said. “Let her try it on.”
Hadley looks at the ring and then up at me, shaking her head. “I couldn’t. That thing has to cost a bundle.”
Before I can tell her again that money doesn’t matter, the little fucker that is about to lose a sale opens his mouth. “Approximately forty-nine thousand dollars. The matching wedding ring will be an additional six thousand, because it has another carat and a half of diamonds embedded in the band.”
Well, fuck. That thing costs damn near as much as what I made on Stardust’s last colt. I could get myself some new breeding stock for that much money, but horses come and go. Hadley is here to stay, and I want her to have a ring that makes a statement. The statement being, I’d kill any motherfucker that even thinks about looking at her.
Shooting the bastard a glare, I paste on a smile and look down at my woman. “Let’s see how it looks on you.”
Her hand is trembling as she lifts it up to the salesman. Before he can slip it on her finger, I jerk the ring from his hand and slide it on. It’s a tad loose but not by much. Other than that, it’s fucking perfect. We could look all damn day and not find anything that would suit my Hadley half as well.
“We would have to take it down a size or two, but we could have that done before closing time if you’re ready to purchase today,” the salesman says, finally realizing that he could end up with a fuck-load of a commission if he plays his cards right.
Smiling down at her, I ask, “Do you like it?”
“Of course, I do. It’s beautiful,” she says, a sheen of tears in her eyes. “But I don’t need anything like this, Tucker. I just need you.”
If the sigh wasn’t enough, her words just sold the ring. “We’ll take it.”