Chapter Twenty-Seven
Brady
I woke up with Sloan lying in my arms. She was still fast asleep, and I could feel the rise and fall of her chest as she slept. She looked so peaceful, and I wondered why she was here. I was curious, but at the same time, I knew I didn’t really care why. She was here, and that was all that mattered. I’d been a loner for most of my life, and I assumed that I would always be a loner. The fact that some woman had managed to find her way into my heart, still surprised me. Especially since that woman was a famous actress from New York with a very different background from my own. I knew that she wasn’t going to be here forever. Soon, I’d go back to being a loner. But it was nice having her around for now. And the fact that she had chosen to come and see me when she could’ve gone anywhere in the world made me happy.
I felt her stir, and when she turned around, she smiled at me.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” I whispered.
“Morning, cowboy.”
“Sleep well?”
She nodded. “I did.”
“Good. Take your time getting up. I’m going down to make up some breakfast.”
“Thank you,” she said, and I could see she was still half asleep.
I went downstairs and started the breakfast. I decided to make her bacon and eggs, as I’d received a fresh batch of eggs the previous morning. I toasted some farm bread and got the coffee ready.
“Oh, this smells incredible,” she said as she walked into the room.
I grinned at the sight of her. She was still wearing my t-shirt, and she’d put on a pair of socks. She looked incredibly cute, and I liked that she hadn’t rushed to put on makeup or get dressed. That was the Sloan from before. This Sloan trusted me enough to be herself.
“That t-shirt really suits you,” I said.
She tugged at it slightly and smiled. “It’s so comfortable.”
I placed all the food on the table, and we both sat down to eat.
“This is delicious, Brady,” she said as she took a bite of the buttered toast.
“I’m glad you like it. Nothing more important than a hearty breakfast.”
She grinned. “And nothing quite like farm bread. You know, when I was in New York I tried to order a sandwich from the café. I was with my friend for lunch, and she looked at me as if I’d gone crazy.”
“For ordering a sandwich? What’s wrong with that?”
“Carbs, darling,” she drawled in a posh New York accent.
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously?”
“Oh yeah. Apparently, I’d be the talk of the town for eating bread. In the end, I just ordered a salad to keep the peace.”
I shook my head. That was a life that I just couldn’t understand. I don’t think I would ever understand it. “That’s very sad.”
“Yeah,” she said sadly. I could see that there was something on her mind, but she still wasn’t saying anything.
“Unfortunately, I have to go to work today,” I said to Sloan. “I would love nothing more than to spend the day with you, but I feel bad leaving Harold in the lurch. And the other guys that work there are all so unreliable. I hope you don’t mind.”
She smiled. “I love Harold. Of course I don’t mind.”
“Unless you want to come with? I don’t mind if you join. Even though you will be a rather big distraction for me,” I said as I remembered the time in the barn the day before.
“Nah, I better not. Poor Betty has seen enough. Honestly, I’ll be fine. You go to work. I’m quite okay with just staying here. I wouldn’t mind a day of doing nothing for a change.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure,” she said.
After breakfast, I made my way to the ranch and found Harold walking around.
“Sorry I’m a little later than usual,” I said when I got to him.
He laughed. “You’re still earlier than everyone else. Honestly, it’s not a big deal. So, how’s Sloan?”
“She’s okay. She speaks so highly of you, by the way.”
“She’s a lovely girl.”
I smiled. “Yeah, she is. Anyway, thanks for the day off yesterday. I really appreciate it.”
“No problem at all. Why don’t you take the week off, Brady? I’m sure you want to spend some time with her, and I don’t mind. It’s just one week.”
“Thanks, Harold. I appreciate the offer. But I know that there is a lot of work to be done here, and if I take the week off, then I’m only going to make things worse for me next week. Anyway, I think that she’ll be fine at the house. I think she just wants a bit of time to herself. I invited her to the ranch, but she wanted some alone time.”
“Okay, sure. I understand. But the offer still stands if you need it.”
“Thank you.”
“Is everything okay, Brady?”
I shrugged. I had no idea what was going on. “I don’t know.”
He nodded. If there was one person that understood me, it was Harold. He wasn’t the kind of guy to push for details, either. “Okay. Well, you look after her. And look after yourself.”
“I will.”
“And go home a little earlier at least today.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
I set out to work and tried not to think about Sloan sitting all day in my house. I wondered what she was doing all day. It was strange to think of her there and to know that I would be going home to see her again. I kept picturing her sitting outside on the balcony looking out onto the field and drinking coffee. I desperately tried not to think about her, but it wasn’t easy. Especially when I found myself in the barn. I kept looking at the floor to where we’d had sex, and the images kept flashing through my mind. I looked at Betty and shook my head.
“She’s a difficult one to stop thinking about, Betty. What am I going to do?”
I was cleaning the horses when my phone rang. I rummaged through my pocket to get it. I thought it might be Sloan in trouble, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that it was just Ryan.
“Oh hey, Ryan. What’s up? Phoning because you miss me so much?” I said.
He laughed. “Yeah, it’s very difficult for me here. Every day I wake up and wonder how I’m going to get through the day without you. It’s the first thought that I have in the morning and the last thought that I have at night.”
“I don’t doubt it. So, no training today?” I asked.
“Are you kidding? There’s training almost every day. I’m leaving in half an hour for a big training session. We have one of the top guys coming for our lesson today. It took a long time to schedule an appointment with him, but it’s finally here. I’m a little nervous, but at the same time I’m looking forward to it.”
“I will never understand how you can look forward to getting thrown around.”
He laughed. “I know, I can totally understand why people find it so strange, but it’s a very addictive thing, strangely enough. I can’t get enough of it. I’m sure that even when I’m too old to be an MMA fighter that I’ll still be involved in it somehow.”
“Yeah, I don’t doubt it. It’s your life now. I can’t even hear the words MMA fighting and not think of you. Oh, I saw that video of myself being thrown off that bull. It was so strange watching it and knowing that I went through that. It looked rough.”
He chuckled. “I’ve watched that video so many times. Have you been on the bull again since then?”
“I haven’t. But it won’t stop me from going on him again.”
“Yeah, you’re not a quitter. Hey, so seeing as though you were on the internet, you must’ve seen everything that they’ve been saying about Sloan. I mean—”
“No,” I said and stopped him before he could say anything more. “I haven’t seen anything. I didn’t look anything up, and I haven’t listened to what other people have been saying. Honestly, I don’t want to know.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. It’s her life. Not mine.”
“Okay, I guess you’re right. It’s probably better not to know, anyway. But just be careful if you ever see her again, okay?”
“Of course I will. You know me, I’m always careful.”
I decided not to tell Ryan that Sloan was staying with me. Nobody needed to know that. Right now, she needed as much time away from the world as possible.