Chapter 12

Zeke

Paisley hands me Buster’s leash, winks at me, and heads back to her room. She’s already dressed, so this better not be a test to see if I can handle her horse.

Me and the pooch have been in this stand-off for the last five minutes. Yeah, that’s right, me and a dog…eyeballing each other, all because we want the same girl.

“If you bite me… know this, I will bite you back,” I tell the dog. The dog blinks and licks its chops. “Hey, it’s not my fault that I think your person is the hottest girl I’ve ever known.”

I get on my knees. This has to be the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever done. “I can see why you think I’m a threat, but I can assure you, I’m a nice guy. I mean, ask my mama. She will tell you what an angel I am.”

He lifts his paw, and I back off, then start again sometime later. “Okay, fine. Mama’s not a great character reference since she has to love me, but I promise I won’t hurt her…not intentionally anyway.

“I’ll admit, I’m an asshole sometimes, so there’ll probably be times she wants to gouge my eyes out. But I will do my best to limit those to not more than once or twice a month.

“Other than that, I plan on making her smile at every possible moment.”

Yeah, I’ve lost my damn mind, talking to a dog.

Buster lowers his head and allows me to attach the leash. “I’m glad we worked this out,” I tell him.

Between the girl and the dog, I’m likely to spend a few years with a wardrobe that snaps in the back.

“I’m ready.” Paisley comes out of the room.

We walk hand in hand out of the building to the grocery store for snacks and bottles of water.

I give her some money…or I try to give her some money. In return, she gives me the stink eye and waves a wad of cash in my face.

I shoo her inside and tell her to meet me at the bar. It’s mid-afternoon, and I’m sure the guys will be holding down a stool or two.

“Where the hell did you go? I have been trying to get hold of you all day!” Caleb all but roars at me, then steps back as Buster plops down beside me. “And what in God’s name is that?”

He points a finger toward the dog, who bares his teeth. Caleb jerks his finger behind his back.

“Let’s just say some shit went down, and I ended up with a donkey… We good?”

“You know they frown upon beastiality,” Jay hollers from across the room.

~Fuck. My. Life.~

“I do love a good pussy though,” I snipe back, and everyone laughs. Overgrown pup Buster barks and bounces around. “What’s up with you guys?”

“Well, seems we’re on break… Let’s party hard and fuck harder,” Blake sings as he sets four glasses of beer on the table.

“And just where do you plan to hold this party?” I ask him.

“Don’t know yet, but that’s not really important. What say we start on Friday and drink our way through to Sunday? A full-on weekend bender to relive our start.”

Jay raises his glass to that, and Caleb nods.

“I was just thinking that very same thing.” Blake looks from me to Jay. “Ooh. Creepy twin vibe.” His eyes widen.

“Sure, I’m in, but I gotta get going…got plans right now. Just let me know when and where.”

The bar door opens, and Paisley and London both enter. My eyes connect with Paisley’s, and I smile. My whole body stands at attention, admiring the beauty she is.

“Hey guys, are we interrupting?” London speaks.

“Only holding back the inevitable, kitten. You and me are going to find ourselves locked together in a room together, and I’m gonna worship every inch of you,” Blake responds before anyone else has a chance.

London inhales sharply, and a fire burns in her eyes. She lifts a hand to settle over her stomach, before clenching them into a fist by her side. Oh, yeah, she has it bad for my boy…very interesting.

“Been there, done that…wasn’t worth shouting about,” London counters before heading behind the bar.

We laugh. It isn’t often someone hands Blake his own ass.

“Never mind, buddy. Plenty more fish and all that jazz.” I slap him on the back before making my way to Paisley. “Hey.” My voice is low and husky, and her eyes dilate as she bites her lip.

“He-hey.”

“You’re not going shy on me now, are you, baby girl?” I mock tease, and she shakes her head, still biting her lip.

I laugh and take her hand in mine. With the leash still clasped in my other, I turn toward the guys.

“Catch y’all later. Keep me posted on the party,” I call out as we head out the door, not waiting for a reply. “Okay, baby girl. Let’s go on our date.” I smile down before planting a kiss on her temple.

“Where are we going?”

“Somewhere where everyone can enjoy themselves. C’mon, we have to jump in the car for a little drive.”

During the ride, we laugh and joke about how Blake and London have been acting with one another.

The countryside changes as we move closer to Zilker Metropolitan Park. It’s at that moment, I realize that we have grown closer.

I smile wide, loving that intimacy and the realization of how much I love spending time with some chick, not just any chick though…it has to be Paisley.

I watch her out of the corner of my eye, and a pure genuine smile spreads across my lips. However, it isn’t long before I’m frowning when I see the pain in her eyes.

“Baby girl…”

“I’m okay, I promise… I was a little girl when my daddy brought me here the first time,” she tells me when the car stops at the park.

I squeeze her hand. I need to get her to talk to me, but right now, she’s too raw, too close to the edge.

Hand in hand, we walk to a quiet spot. I spread out a blanket, and Paisley empties the bag of snacks.

I set Buster up with a bowl of water, then take his leash off to give him a little freedom. Every so often, I toss a ball for him to retrieve.

Stretching out on the blanket, I pull Paisley over so she can rest her head on my lap. Buster potters around, probably in sensual overload with all the different smells of the park.

“Okay, Paisley Smith, you know a lot more about me than I know about you. Time to give it up, girl. Who is Paisley Smith?”

She shrugs and closes her eyes.

“Come on, now. You said your daddy used to bring you here?” I know she doesn’t want to talk about it, especially since she’s pretending to snooze, but I honestly think it will do her some good.

I rub lazy circles over her thigh…in the hope it’ll relax her somewhat. “Come on. Let me know you.”

She blows out a loud breath. “Okay. When I was younger, Daddy used to bring me here to play. Every time we came into the city, we’d always find ourselves here.

“Some days we played hide and seek, some days we swam or fished in the creek. It was our spot, but as the years went on, it was hard to find the time.

“Daddy finished the ranch, then on the last day I spoke to him…” She flicks away a single tear, and I squeeze her thigh, hopefully giving her the strength to go on with the story. “He said the ranch was mine.

“He gave me Buster and the keys to my own home. It’s out in the sticks away from all the hustle and bustle, somewhere where I can be me. Somewhere I can live the life I wanted—to raise my own family…to be free of the pain.”

I lean down and kiss her forehead. This is my girl, through and through.