16
TATE
“From the Ground Up” by Dan + Shay
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“He’s not gonna bite,” Quinn jokes over her shoulder, laughing softly under her breath when Maverick’s eyes narrow even more toward me.
“Not sure that his bite is what I’m worried about at the moment, Grease,” I tell her, right in her ear, which makes her shiver in my arms.
We just got to her house not even five minutes ago and, after another hot-as-fuck kiss on her front porch, walked inside to find her brother staring daggers at the two of us from his position just inside. Thankfully our clothes dried off a lot on our drive back to her house—but I wouldn’t mind getting this over with so we can get her changed and head to my place so I can do the same.
“You big baby,” Leigh huffs in exasperation, slapping Maverick’s shoulder playfully. “You’re the one who told her not to fight it, remember? Actually, if I recall correctly, you said fightin’ it would be pointless and what’s meant to happen is gonna happen no matter what. So, Cowboy, suck it up and let it be.”
Maverick finally looks away from where I’m standing, Quinn attempting to block me the best she can with her tiny body. Thankfully, with her standing guard the way she is, her brother can’t see the raging fucking hard-on I’ve been sporting since the kiss outside the front door, giving me the time I needed to get control of the situation.
“Just cuz I said it doesn’t mean I wanna see it.”
“That holds no logic whatsoever, honey,” Leigh continues, smiling up at him.
“Doesn’t matter if it does or not,” he mutters sullenly.
She rolls her eyes at him and gives both of us her attention, ignoring the giant daggers of anger Maverick’s eyes are shooting in her direction now that she’s clearly discounting his feelings.
“It’s good to see you again, Tate. It’s been a long damn time,” she greets, playfully shooing Quinn away and wrapping her arms around me in a friendly hug.
“I’d say too long, Leigh. Feels damn fine to be back.” I look at Quinn before finishing. “Like comin’ home.”
Quinn blushes, much to my surprise, as I’m not used to seeing her do that. I give her a wink before turning back to Leigh. “It’s good to see you, too, and congratulations on y’all’s engagement,” I tell her earnestly.
Maverick grunts.
“Would you stop?” Leigh jokingly snaps over her shoulder before stepping away from me and whipping her head toward him. She must have mouthed something to him, because his scowl gets just a little bit harsher.
“Soooo . . .” Quinn sings. “What are y’all doin’ here?”
Maverick grunts again and Leigh sighs, clearly knowing her man well enough to realize that any attempt to pacify him at this point will just fall on deaf ears. She looks back at Quinn and me and gives us a wink before walking back to his side. His arm immediately comes up and around her shoulders to pull her back against his front.
Guess he’s not too big on sharing the attention of any female in his life.
“After your call this mornin’, I couldn’t keep the big guy away. He said someone needed to be here to make sure everything was all fine and dandy. With Clay busy dealin’ with the vet check and the farrier down at the stables all day, he felt it was his brotherly duty and all that.”
Quinn snaps her fingers. “Shoot, I forgot about that. I needed to ask him to have the farrier look at Daisy’s back shoe—she’s been actin’ like it’s botherin’ her.”
“Already took care of,” Maverick grumbles. “First horse Rodney looked at when he got here. Nothin’ wrong with that high-maintenance princess. Trimmed her hoof wall and now she’s prancin’ around like the queen of the stables again.”
Quinn barks out a laugh. “That’s my girl.” She turns and smiles up at me. “Daisy’s the best horse you’ll ever see. None of those high-dollar thoroughbreds of Clay’s come close.”
“Don’t let him hear you say that.” Leigh cackles. “Especially since these ‘high-dollar thoroughbreds’ have a pedigree that Daisy damn sure doesn’t.”
“Doesn’t matter that she’s not special on paper,” Quinn huffs, immediately protective of her beloved horse. “She’s still the best damn thing in the stables.”
“You just say that because she’s yours.” Leigh laughs.
Something tells me this is a long-standing debate among the close-knit bunch. Instead of dwelling on it as another thing I don’t know about Quinn because of the time we lost, I vow to make sure I can soon be one of the people all the Davises consider one of their own, soon enough—never missing moments that build jokes like this again.
Pushing the thought aside, I look over at Maverick and attempt to engage him in conversation. With any luck, I can get him to calm the fuck down long enough to have the same conversation I had with Clay already. I probably should have just called them both over when I talked to Clay, but if facing one of them is intimidating, together they’re a menacing force if you’re on the wrong side.
“How many Thoroughbreds is he workin’ with these days?” I finally ask Maverick, using the topic as a bridge to broach the subject I hope to discuss but also because I’m genuinely interested to hear about the changes here at the Davis ranch since I’ve been gone—seeing as it means maybe all that time I forced myself to stay gone, without the woman I love in the process, I also kept them safe from my father and in turn gave them the time they needed to thrive.
“Got two mares of his own right now, but only one was inseminated in February. Savin’ his breeder mare until he can find the right stallion to pair her with, which is why she’s not pregnant right now. Just got a new stallion, Major, a few weeks ago, bringin’ Clay’s total count up to ten. With the retired ones he’s rescued, though, he’s really up in the twenties. You’d have to ask Clay about the stud end of things here and how many mares he accepted to breed earlier this year. Clay’s focus is on the stallions with some of the most impressive pedigrees around, so I wouldn’t be shocked if that number was up there due to the fact there’s a high demand for his horse’s lineage. He works his boys hard, but he’s selective about how many he accepts, booked full on a few quickly so he doesn’t breed them irresponsibly.”
Out of the corner of my eye I see the girls look at him in shock. Hell, I’m just as shocked that he answered me—at length, moreover—and that he didn’t seem to mind doing so. Maybe it’s because talking shop pulls his focus off the fact that his sister’s getting hot and heavy with the person he knows hurt her once. Either way, I’ll keep this shit going if it means his anger is distracted.
“He’s still breedin’ this late in the summer?” I say, pleased as fuck when some of the harshness in his face disappears.
“Stopped in June. Now he’s takin’ care of his stallions, the pregnant mares, and his rescues. Doesn’t get any less busy for him, but at least he’s not doin’ the round-the-clock matin’ games.”
I nod, thinking about how much work is involved in running a stud farm. I can’t imagine how crazy things are here for the first six months of the year.
“Look, they’re getting along,” Quinn whispers to Leigh, doing a shit job of keeping her voice down. Clearly, I’m not the only one that thinks so either, because the calm expression that had taken hold of Maverick while he was explaining the breeding vanishes and his eyes narrow again.
Fuck.
Well, the reprieve was nice while it lasted, at least.
“Should have kept your big mouth shut, Q,” Leigh hints, doing an equally shitty job at keeping the volume of her words down.
Maverick gives me another nasty glare, and it’s the tipping point for my patience.
Fuck this.
“Look, Maverick, with all due respect, I’m not really interested in wasting more of my first date with Quinn waitin’ to see who blinks first. It’s my first day off since startin’ at the practice and a day that was goin’ pretty damn perfect until just now. It’d probably be easier on you if you’d just get whatever it is you want to say off your chest so I can move on with my mornin’. I get that you’re protective of your sister, and I respect the hell outta that, but you standin’ here tryin’ to intimidate me isn’t somethin’ I would prefer dealin’ with when I’d rather be spendin’ my time showin’ your sister that she’s not gonna regret givin’ us another go. In the end, it’s her opinion that matters most to me.”
“That so?” he asks mockingly.
I hear Quinn make a low, distressed noise, and I break eye contact with Maverick to check on her. I don’t give a flying fuck if it makes me look weak to him, breaking from our staring contest of intimidation, because she means more to me than being top dog.
“What is it?” I question.
“I don’t want y’all fightin’,” she mumbles.
“Who said anything about fightin’, Grease?”
I try to make light of it, but to be honest, I would gladly let her brother throw some punches if it made him feel better about accepting our relationship without causing her grief. In his mind, all I am is the person who broke her heart, and as her brother he’s in protection mode. I can’t fault him for that. It’s what I expected from Clay when we talked, and I have a feeling if Maverick knew what I had told Clay already, he wouldn’t be acting like this right now. I really should have gone out of my way to talk to him before now, but taking on both of the Davis brothers at the same time was the last thing on my mind. Maverick has always been a hothead too. Bottom line, I need Clay’s backing if I have a chance of getting Maverick’s.
Guess I should have thought twice about that one.
“If it keeps your ass from fuckin’ up again, maybe that’s not a bad idea.”
Quinn’s eyes flash with pain and she looks visibly upset at his words, and now I’m no longer content with letting him continue his macho shit in front of her.
“Outside,” I fume at her brother. If his bullshit is going to make her revert back to the girl that was almost too scared to give us a go, I’m going to make damn sure this is a fight he doesn’t fucking win.
“You guys,” Quinn wails, but it’s too late. The challenge has been issued. And no country boy worth his salt ever backs down from a challenge.
“Keep your ass inside,” Maverick calls over his shoulder on the way to the door. It isn’t clear which woman he’s speaking to, but to be honest, I only care about one of them right now.
I let him pass, focusing on Quinn, framing her face with my hands and tipping her head up gently so she’s looking at me and not her brother’s departing back. “I know you don’t want us to fight, baby, but I need you to trust me right now and not give me any trouble ’bout goin’ out there. You have my word that I won’t get physical with him, just words, Grease. As much as I hate doin’ somethin’ you don’t want, I need to give your brother a chance to get this off his chest so he can step aside and let this happen.”
She starts to shake her head, her still-wet hair falling some from the knot she’s got it in on top of her head.
“Trust me,” I stress.
She swallows—I feel it against the heel of my hand—and closes her eyes. I give her time, knowing that with those two words I’m asking her to do a whole lot more than just trust me to go outside and talk to her brother. If she decides she still doesn’t want me to go, I won’t fault her. Her trust is something I have to earn back, and I’m not stupid enough to think that can be gained in just a few days.
Then she shocks the shit out of me.
“I do.” She sighs. “I do trust you, Tate. What happened between us before—that’s not about lack of trust anymore, now that I know the reasons behind it. I just . . . I just got both of you back, even if he’s been back for longer. The two men I’ve dreamt about returning to me are finally where they belong, and if this ends with me having to choose between you both . . . that thought is a killer.”
“I’ll never ask you to make that decision, Quinn.”
“You won’t have to.”
We both turn when Maverick speaks, standing just inside the front door.
“Love you, Hell-raiser, but let me talk to him and stop worryin’ about that shit.”
“Maverick,” Quinn breathes. “This is goin’ to happen regardless of your talk.”
“Good. Then you won’t mind me havin’ my say.”
She exhales and I bend to kiss her temple. “Go get changed. We’re headin’ out as soon as I finish this.”
She nods, and I turn to follow her brother outside.
He moves to the end of their long front porch, looking off toward the stables set a good distance away from their house. I can feel the unanswered questions vibrating off of him.
“Go ahead, Maverick. Say what you need to say and get it out, because I’m not going to have this shit come up again. Not when it hurts her like this.”
He flinches, the most minute of movements, but I see it. He doesn’t like hurting her, so for him to force my hand means there’s no way he’s touched base with Clay since I talked to him. Or . . . or maybe he has and he just doesn’t give a shit.
Not waiting for him to speak, I lean my ass against the rail and look through the window in front of me to see Quinn watching us. She hasn’t moved from the spot I left her in, not that I expected her to actually listen to me. I push my frustration-born anger aside and give her what I hope is the face of a confident man trying to reassure the woman he doesn’t want upset.
I’m rewarded with the worry fading from her face before her shoulders move as one when she sucks in a deep breath.
I blow her a kiss, not giving one shit if anyone witnesses me acting like a lovesick fool. I am, so might as well own it.
She has just enough time to return the gesture before Leigh pulls her through the house—hopefully to get changed so we can get the fuck outta here when I finish this bullshit.
“Wasn’t here that last summer,” Maverick says, his gravelly voice, low and edgy. “But I heard about the depression my sister went through when you stopped takin’ her calls. She thought she hid that shit well from Clay, but there wasn’t shit that got past him. Each time she would email you and get an ‘undeliverable address’ response. When her letters to your folks’ house got sent back with a nasty scribble note sayin’ no one lived there by that name. Each fuckin’ time, I heard about it, and there wasn’t shit I could do to fix it. I was fightin’ my own demons, Tate, so don’t think I don’t get not being ready or whatever the fuck happened between you two, but if there’s even one little part of you that thinks you aren’t ready now, you need to end this instant.”
He doesn’t waste any time getting down to the point of his anger, which I’m thankful for, even if this is the last conversation I want to be having right now.
“There wasn’t ever a time I wasn’t fuckin’ ready for her,” I force through my tight jaw.
“Sure have a funny way of showin’ it, runnin’ off and disappearin’.”
He hasn’t talked to Clay, then. “I couldn’t fuckin’ do anything but disappear!”
With a fortifying breath, I start at the beginning and tell my tale again. By the time I finish my woe-is-me recap, Maverick’s looking at me like he’s seeing me for the first time. The protective-big-brother intimidation vibe that had been radiating off him snaps, vanishing instantly. The way he’s looking at me now, though, is just as unnerving.
With pride. Pure fucking pride.
Just like Clay did. The two men that I feared would never understand why I dropped off the face of Quinn’s world, giving me something I’m not sure I deserve without any hesitation at all.
Well, fuck me.
After a few minutes of silence, Maverick speaks. “You know why I left?”
I shake my head.
“The old man beat the shit out of me. Not just with his fists—he liked tearin’ down a man’s soul just as much as he liked hurtin’ his body. Put up with that shit for too long, and all I ever wanted to do was ride. Found out he didn’t support my ridin’ because my real father was a pro my mama’d slept with on the side. But I ran because I couldn’t face his shit anymore. It would have been him or me, but one of us would’ve fuckin’ killed the other, and honest to fuckin’ God, I’m not sure I woulda been able to go through with it. Took that woman in there—the one that owns my fuckin’ heart like it’s hers—and made sure I crushed her good enough she would have to let me go. Saw no other way and ran like a coward, not comin’ back until the old man died right along with my rodeo career. And you know what?”
I cough, playing off the shock of his words. “What’s that?”
“I’m not sure how long I woulda stayed gone either, if my career hadn’t been shot to hell and the old man hadn’t kicked it. I can tell you eventually I wouldn’t have been able to resist the urge because it’s fuckin’ impossible to resist the kind of pull you feel when you’re meant to be takin’ a different path than the one you’re on. Your life will always overcorrect your steps for you until you’re finally on the right one.”
Understanding dawning, I straighten off the porch railing and open my mouth, only Maverick beats me to it, speaking up again.
“I was wrong about you. Thought you were like me, but you’re no fuckin’ coward. You’ve been fightin’ for her every step you took, even if she didn’t know it. Not just her, but you fought for her family—my family—and that is somethin’ I’ll forever be indebted to you for. I wasn’t here to do it, Clay was doin’ his best, but you made sure a blow that would have crushed them all never came.”
“You don’t owe me shit. I did it because I love her, not for any other reason.”
I’m not sure who’s more shocked when the seriousness on his face vanishes, one big-ass smile, so like his sister’s, taking its place a moment later, him or me.
“You love my sister?”
My own smile grows, and I’m sure if Quinn was watching now she would be about to shit herself with curiosity. “Accordin’ to her, we’re gettin’ to know the adults we’ve become. You ask me, though, I’m just showin’ the only woman I have ever loved and will ever love that we’re the same people we’ve always been.”
He bellows out a loud bark of laughter at that. “Reckon that’s not gonna be a hardship for you, Tate.”
“You aren’t wrong,” I confirm, my mouth still tipped up in a grin.
“I told her before she decided what to do with you that she wouldn’t be able to resist the pull she’d feel. I said that based off what I remember of you two, young as fuck, fightin’ your feelin’s. Said that before I knew just how serious those feelin’s got when I left. Now I’m tellin’ you to enjoy the ride, because gettin’ that back is the best fuckin’ feelin’ you’ll ever experience.”
He holds his hand out and I don’t even think before slapping my palm against his and tightening my fingers around his grip. His hold on my hand is just as firm. His brow goes up before he gives one hell of a tug and pulls me into a backslapping hug.
“As pointless as it might be to say, I’m gonna do it anyway because it’s my fuckin’ duty as her brother: if you hurt her again I’ll fuckin’ kill you.”
I laugh, but I don’t say a word.
I don’t say a word because not only will I do whatever I have to do in order to make sure that never happens, but also because if I’m unfortunate enough to have it actually happen . . . I hope he does.