Chapter 7

Alex

I woke the next morning feeling better than I had in ages and for a moment I couldn’t remember why, until I looked at the bed and saw the rumpled pillow on the other side and smiled as I recalled the previous night.

God only knew how much I had wanted to fuck her from the first moment I saw that she was back in town. She had grown even more beautiful over the years we had been apart, and finally, I had tasted her delicious body once again.

The first time was faster than I would have liked it, but we needed each other. There was something I could feel between us that needed to be satiated. A deep need that must have been gnawing at each of us over the years. I had been with other women, but none that made me feel things the way that Maddy did. It went beyond fucking and touched a part of me that I almost hated to admit existed. I liked to think of myself as a stronger guy than that, but she made me want her in a way that felt like nothing else could ever make me happy. A taste of her and I was addicted, reminded of the way it had been with her and seeing now that it could be better than it had ever been in the past.

She was gone now, and I was certain it was because she had to get to work, so I didn’t worry myself about that at the moment. All I wanted to do was lay there and remember in vivid detail everything that had happened the night before. Relishing in the sweet taste of her and the way she felt when she shuddered around me. I could feel the blood rushing to my dick, and I wished she was there, right that second, so that I could grab her and make her come over and over.

I reached out for my phone and swiped to unlock it. There was a message from Maddy already.

“Sorry to leave you so early this morning. Didn’t want to wake you because you looked like you needed the rest :) I’ll be on a few calls today, and then I’ll be in town for the fireworks tonight. Stop by if you want. I’ll see you later!”

I tossed the phone aside and groaned, closing my eyes. But closing my eyes and wishing didn’t bring her back. I knew she had things to take care of today and I didn’t want to be a distraction, but damn if I wasn’t going to think about fucking her every second of the day until I was back in her presence again.

I would have to keep myself busy all day until I could see her and I knew there were plenty of things around the ranch to keep me occupied. First thing on my list was calling the couple in Texas to see what they thought about Pineapple and her baby.

Drawing up the necessary energy, I got out of bed and padded barefoot to the shower, hoping the cool water would be enough to wake me and drive the images of Maddy’s naked, writhing body from my mind.

“What’s up?” Pete asked as I entered the office area of the main house. “Did I see an SUV parked at your place at the crack of dawn this morning?”

I smirked. “Thought she was gone by then.”

Pete chuckled. “Nope. You’re lucky Emma didn’t see. I don’t want to have answer questions about you having ladies over quite yet. But if you’re going to have one spend the night, it might as well be Maddy. So…is it some kind of thing between the two of you?”

I shrugged, truly uncertain. “I’d like it to be, but I don’t know where she is with things. And I’d like to talk to you more about her land situation, but I know now isn’t the time. Trying to keep myself busy and distracted today. I need to make a phone call to Texas and talk to them about Pineapple.”

“Good idea. I was about to head out so you can feel free to use my phone.”

Once my brother was gone I plopped down behind his desk and picked up the phone, looking through his database for the number of the couple who were planning to purchase the filly.

The conversation didn’t go quite the way I had hoped it would, but it was no big surprise to me. They had signed up to buy a filly and didn’t expect her to fall pregnant at such a young age.

“Terminate it,” the man said over the phone.

“I’m afraid that’s off the table for now. The sire is a valuable one, and we’ve had a number of good race horses out of him. He’s been slow to produce over the past couple of years, and we’re not sure how much he has left in him, so we’re not going to risk losing this one. The foal is ours, as is Pineapple at this point if you’re no longer interested in following through on the deal.”

I could hear the man grumbling on the other end of the line. “So you’re willing to risk the life of the filly in order to see if she might produce a good horse for you?”

“Don’t misunderstand me. I’ve had her checked out by a vet who thinks it is safe to go ahead with the pregnancy. I understand that there are risks, but Pineapple is going to be watched and checked regularly. Our vet is one of the best around, and I trust her judgement?”

“Her? You’ve got a woman up there doing this?”

I thought my eyes were going to roll out of my head. Old fashioned, sexist opposition to women vets amongst some of the older ranchers was still baffling to me.

“Yes, and if you’ve got a problem with it, you can take your business elsewhere. Who we have attending to our horses is our business, and I really don’t need you trying to put your oar in on this.”

There was more grumbling and hesitant agreement. “Fine, but if there’s a problem, then this is all on you.”

“I understand. Have a good day.”

I hung up the phone and muttered a curse under my breath. His sort was the worst to deal with and especially considering the filly was still ours; I thought he was a little ridiculous to start making demands about termination. If Maddy thought things were going to be fine with Pineapple, then I was happy to follow her advice and let the horse carry to term.

The day passed by slowly, but eventually, the clock ticked to five, and I was able to head out from the ranch and into town, passing by Madison’s father’s place on the way. I only saw one vehicle there so I didn’t bother stopping, not that I would have even if she had been parked there. Her father definitely didn’t want to see me, and I didn’t want to be the cause of any additional stress on the man. In all likelihood, he and my father would never make up which was a damn shame when I considered the sort of friends they had been all those years ago.

But was that really true? My father wasn’t the kind of man that many would want to be associated with, but I assumed it depended on the sort of person you were. If you wanted to get ahead and thought Sean Killarny could help then sure, it made sense. But I wasn’t sure that I would have anything to do with the man if he wasn’t my father, not after what had happened to Maddy’s dad.

I wished that there was a way I could turn things around. Things were out of my control for the most part, just like they had been when my father first made the rotten deal with George Graston. The man had lost his wife at the end of it all and still had to lease his land back from us for the use of it. I had a hard time understanding why my father wouldn’t have a change of heart after he lost his own wife, but I knew that it wasn’t as simple as all that. My father had a lot of pride and even if he had seen the light on something it could be very difficult to sway him into doing the right thing.

When I made it to town, I found Maddy’s car parked in front of the office, and I parked just behind her, strolling into the open office to find Lorna behind the desk.

“Hey Lorna,” I said with a smile. I tried to see if she had any idea of what had happened between Maddy and I. The two of them were best friends and I knew they talked, I didn’t know how much they shared though. The smile on Lorna’s face made me think that she knew a little bit more than what was discussed in polite company.

“Hey, mister. How are you?”

“Fine,” I said. “Just looking for Maddy. Are you all done for the day?”

She nodded. “I was about to head out. Maddy went upstairs to change, and I think she’ll be down soon. She was planning on going over to the square for the cookout and then the fireworks I think. I’ll be down at the roadhouse later if you all would like to join us.”

“Maybe we will,” I said, but privately hoped that we could just head back to Maddy’s place.

As soon as Lorna had stepped out, Maddy came walking down the stairs and smiled as soon as she saw me.

“Fancy seeing you here,” she said with a grin as she came over and gave me a peck on the cheek.

I gave her a quick squeeze. “Want to head over to the square and see what’s happening?”

“I’d rather go upstairs and make something happen,” I turned on my heels and steered her back toward the door.

Maddy let out a laugh. “Okay, I shouldn’t have said that. I promised some people I’d be at the Fourth of July celebration tonight, so that’ll have to wait until later.”

“You are a tease,” I said as she took me by the hand and led me toward the part of town where the festivities were taking place.

“So how was your day?” Maddy asked as we approached the center of downtown.

“Well, I made that call to the folks in Texas about Pineapple.”

“Uh oh. I don’t like the sound of that. What did they have to say?”

“They weren’t too happy at the thought of their filly being pregnant. The guy wanted me to go ahead and terminate, but I told him that was off the table because of Nevada Rebel.”

Maddy looked at me, concern written all over her face. “Honestly, Alex, if it’s a problem then we can do it. It is standard procedure for young ones on some ranches. But in my experience, I don’t think it’s really necessary with Pineapple. She’s young, but she’s very healthy. I think she’ll be fine. I don’t want it to cause trouble for you though.”

I shook my head. “No, we’re not doing it. That guy thinks he can call the shots, but it’s not about him. We have to think about our horses as well, and any foal from Nevada Rebel would draw twice the price of Pineapple. Not that I am saying her welfare doesn’t matter, but I trust your judgement on this. You know what you’re doing.”

“As long as you’re happy with the decision,” she said, and we walked toward the celebration that was already in progress.