CHAPTER 20
Axel paused at the door of the bedroom. Haley lay half twisted in the sheets, a long silky limb peeking out. Awareness stirred in his bones. God, he’d love nothing more than to crawl back into bed and tumble her under the covers. But this morning he was taking the interns to visit with Hope again. She’d just come back from another natural horsemanship training and was eager to share what she’d learned.
As much as he wanted to wake her with kisses, he should let Haley sleep. They’d both been short on z’s lately. Haley’s confession three weeks ago had been a turning point for them, and now they were spending all their time making up for ten years of lost time. Only it was better than when they’d been kids in college. Deeper. Axel wasn’t quite sure what to make of it, but he liked it. Felt closer to her than he’d ever felt to anyone. Although a part of him was still a little bit scared to trust it… trust that she wouldn’t bolt at the first sign of difficulty. He couldn’t let himself think about what might come next. Or what he’d do if she decided that she was going home at the end of her assignment.
“Hey there, handsome,” she called sleepily from the bed. “Where you headed today?”
“Taking the interns to learn some more from Hope. She got back from Cali last night.”
She stretched and yawned. “Sounds good. I need to get online and look at the overnight weather balloon soundings. There was talk about putting us in the risk zone today. Can you be ready to go out this afternoon?”
He nodded as he crossed the room in three steps, and sat on the edge of the bed. “You going to try to intercept?” Someone from her team had brought the repaired drone back the other day, and it was back in the car waiting for deployment.
“Someone will. It depends on how the setup looks.” She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat, sheet falling to her waist. Axel’s attention dropped to her full breasts. He brushed a finger across the satiny top, enjoying the goosebumps that flared in its wake. “You sure know how to distract a man,” he said gruffly.
“Mmmm,” she purred, looping her arms behind his neck. “I could say the same for you.” She pulled him in for a kiss, tongue teasing across his lower lip. “Sure you don’t have a few more minutes?” she murmured as she rained little kisses across his jaw.
His cock had more than a few minutes. He groaned as she ran a hand up the inside of his thigh. “Later. I promise. Gunn’s already been ribbing me for being late to chores these last few weeks.”
“I know. A man’s work is never done,” she teased.
“In bed, or on a ranch.” He grinned remembering how this exchange had been a running joke with them years ago. He pressed a kiss into her temple, inhaling her sweet scent of floral shampoo, and that extra something uniquely Haley. “See you sometime after lunch?”
She nodded, giving him a little push on the shoulder. “Get outta here before I tackle you and pin you down.”
“Promise?” He waggled his eyebrows at her and stood to leave. At the door he paused and turned. “Oh, ma sent down a package you ordered from Amazon. It’s out there on the table.”
“Thanks. And Axe?”
She smile she gave him lit him up to his toes. “Yeah?”
“Have fun. You’re great with those kids.”
Her praise warmed him from the inside out. Couldn’t it be like this always? Good morning kisses and words of encouragement? A partnership based on love and mutual respect? He felt like a better man around Haley. More confident, more capable. Able to do anything he put his mind to, including talking to his dad about implementing some of Hope’s training tactics with their new horses.
Axel stepped out into the warm morning air with a spring in his step. A little breeze danced and teased as he made his way to the training pen where Hope and the interns were waiting for him. But it wasn’t enough to slake the sweat which had begun to run down the back of his neck. Yeah, it definitely felt like the type of morning that would morph into afternoon storms.
By the time they broke for lunch, everyone was covered with a fine layer of sweat and dirt. He’d need a shower before he left with Coop to intercept any storms that developed. His mouth curved at the thought of getting her into the shower with him. Just the other morning they’d lingered so long there, the water ran cold.
“That’s the smile of a man goofy-eyed for his lady,” Hope teased as she looped the lead line through her hand.
So. Busted.
Was it that obvious to everyone?
Or was it just that Hope was newly married and in love? “Why do you say that?”
Hope rolled her eyes. “For starters, it’s not often – as in ever – that I see my big brother staring off into space with a shit-eating grin plastered on his face.”
Oh.
“It’s nice to see you happy for a change, Axe.”
“But I’m always happy.”
“Not like this you aren’t. You’re downright giddy.” Hope shot him a grin over her shoulder as she gathered the other small obstacles scattered around the pen. “It’s sweet.”
Axel picked up a large crate and started for the small shed he’d constructed for Hope’s training tools. Hope followed, arms full.
“What I want to know,” she said when she caught up with Axel at the shed door, “is what you plan on doing about it?”
That was the million dollar question Axel didn’t have an answer for. He leaned back against the wall while Hope bustled in and out, placing her equipment on the hooks and shelves inside. “So tell me something. How did you know Ben was the one?”
Hope gave a little laugh. “When I kept walking into walls every time I thought about him.”
“Be serious. How’d you know?”
Hope’s expression grew sober, and she leaned back against the door jamb. “When it no longer mattered what you or anyone else thought about us being together.”
“Wait. So you worried about what we thought?” She’d always seemed so sure of herself where Ben was concerned. Even when they’d had a serious misunderstanding, Axel could see she still loved him.
Hope let out an exasperated groan. “Duh. You might make my life a living hell at times with your teasing, but jeez, Axe. Our two families had been feuding until a year ago. Of course I was worried. But ultimately, I realized that it was time for me to make my own family. And you would either support that or you wouldn’t. And if you wouldn’t, then all the mumbo-jumbo you men spout about family being forever was just a bunch of hooey.”
Axel kicked at the ground while that sank in. They’d grown up with the idea that family was forever, no matter what. But he’d never tested what that meant the way Hope had. He’d always been too afraid to find out.
Hope continued. “It really hit home after I fessed up about getting kicked out of school. You know how Pops cares so much about our impeccable reputation, and I felt like I’d brought so much shame to the family name. I was convinced he’d disown me.”
“No way.” Shock ricocheted through him. They’d all been stunned when Hope had confessed why she’d been kicked out of her veterinary program. And Pops had been fit to be tied. But after the initial surprise had worn off, they’d all rallied around Hope.
Axel hadn’t even considered for a second that Hope should somehow be cut off. In fact, he was thrilled she’d stuck around Prairie and now lived a stone’s throw away on the Sinclaire spread. He loved being able to see her nearly every day. Those years she’d lived in Kentucky… a little part of him had been lonely for her.
“Way.” She cocked her head, studying him intently. “You know, I think Haley’s good for you. You’re more… you.”
“You mean more of an asshole?”
“Shut-up and be serious for half a sec. You carry yourself differently. With more authority. I can see it in the pen too – the way the horses respond to you. You’re more… connected.”
The urge to confide in his sister overwhelmed him, and before Axel had a chance to reel the words back in, he blurted out. “Pops expects me to be his ‘yes’ man. Just take his orders without question. I-I feel like with the interns I’ve had a chance to be my own man. Figure out some things I’d really like to change around here.”
Hope’s eyes grew soft. “Where do you think you’d be today if you’d implemented your idea about raising Iberian Pigs?”
“You remember that?” It had been a passing idea he’d tossed out in a Christmas conversation four or five years ago. “Given the price of imported Iberico, and with all the acorns in the river bottoms…” He shrugged, making a quick calculation. “Using the contacts the Sinclaires have with high-end restaurants, and promoting natural, humane methods of raising livestock… hard to say.” He shot her a grin. “I don’t think I’d be a millionaire, but I’d be doing okay. Better than okay with additional income streams.” The weight of that admission sank in. Maybe he should have pushed harder. “But I’d’ve had to leave the ranch… and I wasn’t ready. I love the ranch. It’s my home.”
“You know Pops is old fashioned. I think he needs to be challenged on his B.S.” Hope took a quick breath, hesitating. “He needs to retire from ranching. Even Gunn knows it. Gunn’s as anxious as you are to take the stables in a new direction.”
Axel fisted his hand against his thigh. “Gunn’s always been the golden boy. I’m sick of feeding my ideas to Gunn and having him run interference.”
“You think he likes that any more than you do?” Hope’s expression hardened. “It’s time for you to take the bull by the horns, brother dear. No more letting someone else fight your battles for you.”
His breath came hot and heavy. “That’s horse shit, Hope. No one’s fighting my battles.”
She raised an eyebrow and cocked her chin. “You sure?”
Was he?
How many times had he gone to his father with some idea or another only to be shot down? But how many more times had he just bypassed Eddie and gone straight to Gunn, pushing him to talk to their dad? Not once had he ever given Pops heavy pushback on an idea. He’d just rolled over and done what he was told in the name of keeping the family peace. Because deep down he’d rather be here and unhappy, than shunned and alone. But what if he was looking at it all wrong? What if Eddie had been waiting for him to push back this whole time?