Chapter Twenty-Three

James

 

I browsed through the latest stockyard news flyer, surprised not to see any mention of my ranch. I couldn’t remember a time before that my ranch wasn’t mentioned, or at least given a small as space. What the fuck is going on here?

It was like I was already gone, that I’d lost the case and condominiums were breaking ground where my cattle grazed. Fuck!

My fist slammed down on the table hard, rattling my coffee cup and spilling the contents onto the court document Evelyn had given me.

As soon as her name crossed my mind, it appeared on the screen of my phone. I took a deep breath to calm myself before answering so she wouldn’t hear the stress in my tone.

“Hey, sexy,” I flirted.

“You won’t fucking believe this,” she broke in.

Hearing her use that hard language turned me on. I loved how powerful she could become when pushed.

“Try me,” I chuckled.

“The car that hit the judge was driven by no other than John Jasper,” she ranted.

“Wow, how the hell does that make any sense?” I questioned.

“I thought maybe, just maybe, they were all headed to the courthouse, but I don’t think so. According to Axel, John was alone when he ran a red light and t-boned the judge,” she spat.

“Why would he be here if it wasn’t for court?” I asked, still extremely confused.

“Exactly,” Evelyn spewed.

“So, you don’t think the sisters were driving separately and headed to the hospital when they either heard or saw the accident?” I asked.

“Axel said there were no signs of the sisters, on the scene, or at the hospital. He has a nurse he used to, well, that he knows, and she said he had no visitors,” Evelyn explained.

“So he hit him on purpose, but why?” I tried to sort out the confusion in my head.

“I think they know you will win, so they are doing whatever they can to sabotage things until they get an upper hand again,” she sighed.

I couldn’t believe they were going to such lengths to cheat me out of what was rightfully mine.

“So, John was charged, but let off easy,” Evelyn growled.

“These kids are really starting to scare me,” I admitted.

“Well, I have a date set for Tuesday, so be ready,” she roared.

“You’re so damn sexy when you’re charged up,” I flirted.

“I’m certainly charged,” she laughed.

“You could come over here and work out your frustrations on me,” I offered with a chuckle.

My cock twitched against the denim of my jeans at the thought of Evelyn’s touch.

“I’ll call you later,” she quickly brushed me off.

Ugh!

I shifted in my seat, adjusting myself as I stood. That little redhead is gonna be the death of me.

The sun soothed my soul as it beat down on my face. Queen was eager to be out, ready to run as she took me to the front entrance of the lane. I sat on her back proudly as I looked up at the newly painted sign.

My throat started to itch as I looked down the length of the land, a red painted fence bringing a new life to the place. I knew Jasper would’ve loved it if he was here to see what the red did to give the ranch a personality.

I cleared my throat and pushed the thought of possibly losing the place out of my mind as I noticed Pedro and Kyle on the south side of the field.

“C’mon girl,” I squeezed my ankles against Queen’s powerful midsection and guided her towards the ranch hands that were hard at work.

“Holy hell, you two have almost got er’ licked,” I hooted as I took in the nearly completed fence.

“We knew it meant a lot to you,” Kyle smiled as he set his paint sprayer down to greet me.

Pedro lit a cigar and leaned against a tree. He looked over my shoulder and then to me with a grin.

“Where you girlfriend?” he asked.

I laughed at his comment, my embarrassment taking control quickly.

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I stammered.

“Uh-huh, well, you want her,” he added with a wild gleam in his eyes.

Kyle laughed at the old man’s boldness.

“I can’t deny that,” I chuckled.

“So, where is she?” Pedro pushed.

“She’s working on saving this ranch,” I smiled.

Pedro nodded, a wild smile still spread across his face as he puffed on his cigar.

“You need to lock that one down,” Kyle teased.

My cheeks started to burn, and my throat began to close. I was instantly taken to that weird place where my stomach rumbled, my heart raced, and my skin began to sweat.

“I’ll let you two get back at it,” I choked out, guiding Queen back towards the house.

My head was in the clouds as I rode blindly daydreaming of Evelyn. Girlfriend. I liked the sound of that. I wondered if she considered herself to be my girlfriend, or if she would consider it, if I asked.

A thump sounded loudly, almost as if it were from inside my own head. A sharp pain followed, my forehead burning and my hat on the ground. Queen reared back as I pulled on the reins. What the fuck?

I looked back at my hat in the dirt, and then to Pedro and Kyle. They were laughing, still not far enough away that I couldn’t hear them.

As I climbed off Queen to retrieve my hat, Pedro called out “You in love,” and made me wonder if maybe that were true.

“Why did you let me do that?” I reprimanded Queen, pointing to the low tree branch that just made contact with my head.

Queen snorted, her front leg kicking out as if to mimic a hand slapping laughter.

I growled as I climbed back onto her and kicked her a little harder than usual to get her going once again.

After brushing Queen and cleaning her coat, I went inside to think about how I might actually feel about Evelyn. I’d never become so distracted by a woman before.

The more I thought about her, the more concerned I became over the Jasper kids, and what they were capable of doing. I didn’t want Evelyn hurt, not because of me, not because of this ranch. This was my battle, not hers.

I dialed Axel and immediately started rattling about my concerns as he answered.

“Slow down,” he demanded.

I took a breath, stopped for a moment and let him talk.

“Do you really think they would do anything to hurt Evelyn?” Axel asked.

“They just t-boned a judge’s car,” I gasped.

“But,” Axel started to say.

“Look, I don’t know what they are capable of, that’s the problem. They seem to be just doing whatever they can to sabotage the case, and their greed is making them dangerous,” I interrupted.

“I get it. Okay. I’ll watch Evelyn, keep a close eye on her,” Axel promised.

“Thank you. But, if they so much as threaten her, the case is off,” I growled.

“Wow. You really have it bad for her,” Axel chuckled.

“I just don’t want her to get hurt on account of me,” I rebutted.

  After hanging up, I immediately called Evelyn. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get her out of my mind, so I might as well have her in my arms.

“How about coming out here and teaching me how to make one of delicious steaks?” I suggested as Evelyn said hello.

“Really?” she laughed.

“I’ve got two big steaks thawed and ready to hit the grill. All I need is a master griller to show me how to do it,” I pleaded.

“You’re too nice,” Evelyn sighed.

“I just really miss you,” I admitted.

There was silence on the other end of the phone. My heart raced as I waited for a response, fearing that I may have crossed a line. We never spoke about our feelings, even though it was obvious that we both had strong ones.

“I miss you too,” she finally replied.

My pulse stabilized from the sound of her response and then skyrocketed when I realized that she’d finally admitted having feelings for me, even if the gesture was a small one. It was a start.

“What are you wearing?” I whispered.

Evelyn giggled.

“Clothes,” she teased.

“Oh darlin’, why don’t you let me help you with that problem,” I groaned.

“I didn’t know it was a problem,” she giggled.

“Oh, it’s a problem,” I insisted.

“I’m finishing up with some paperwork now,” she hesitated.

“Okay, so that means you’ll be over after?” I pushed.

“Just dinner?” she questioned.

I growled into the phone, letting her know I wanted more, much more.

“What are you proposing?” she giggled.

“I’m proposing you go home, pack a bag of clothes, and come stay with me,” I purred.

“I thought I didn’t need clothes,” she teased.

“Oh darling, you better hurry,” I groaned.

A sweet giggle sounded in my ear, and then she whispered “I’ll see you soon,” before ending the call.

My entire body ached for Evelyn….