"That ends today," he whispered, and then he pulled a gold wedding band out of his pocket and put it on his left ring finger. "This town's going to fight you every step of the way," Curtis said as he looked at me and Brooks. "Don't you boys let them beat you," he said firmly. "Just don't."
Brooks’s fingers tightened on mine and I saw him smile. But it wasn't one of his soft, sweet smiles. No, there was a determination in it, the strength that I knew he'd always had within him but had been afraid to accept.
"Bring it on," Brooks said simply, and then he looked at me. "Just let them try to take what's mine." The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and suddenly I couldn't wait to get my man home so we could once again show each other what we’d both known from the moment we’d met over ten years ago.
That I was his.
And he was mine.
Always mine.
Chapter 23
Brooks
"Uncle Curtis," I murmured as I entered the kitchen. My eyes were still glued to the most recent bank statement in my hand. I’d finally managed to get my uncle to track down all of his bank statements for the past year, and I’d been slowly working my way through them to try to reconcile them against the accounts I’d created in the banking software on my laptop. Things had gone surprisingly well as I’d begun the process and I’d been able to match things up relatively easily. It'd been a testament to all the hours and hours I’d put in just getting the data entered into the computer. As soon as I finished the bank statements, the last step was to start running some reports so I could look for trends and determine how the money was coming in and going out for the ranch.
"Babe, come eat," Xavier called from the table. "Jules is on the verge of feeding your pancakes to the dogs since you, and I quote, care more about your precious numbers than you do about my hair which is soaking up the bacon grease smell like a sponge end quote."
I looked up to see Xavier with a plate of pancakes in front of him and another plate stacked full sitting next to him. My heart did the normal twisty thing it always did when I looked at him. We ended up staring at each other across the room and my mind automatically went to the night before when we’d made love. We’d had our own unique version of another riding lesson going on and once again, Xavier had been a very bossy mount. Which I loved, of course. I would never get tired of the man giving the orders and making demands in bed, even when I was supposed to be the one in control.
Something snapped against the pages in my hand, startling me from my lust-filled daze.
“Hey! I'm wilting here," Jules snapped as he waved a greasy spatula in front of my face. "Go eat, then you guys can go fuck each other’s brains out." He looked at Xavier and added, "Can't you get him a gag or something at night? Those of us who aren't getting any should at least be able to get some sleep."
Uncle Curtis laughed from his spot at the table. But when Jules turned his eyes his direction, my uncle snapped his mouth shut right after he shoved a mouthful of pancakes into it. He made an appreciative humming noise that had Jules smiling.
I still didn't know what to make of the fact that Jules had stuck around, but I didn't question it either. I loved having my friend in Wyoming, and despite what he'd experienced in Eden, as well as his apparent lack of male company, I'd never seen him look as satisfied. He’d taken it upon himself to cook most of the meals for us, as well as the ranch hands. I’d been worried that some of the men on the ranch might show the same behavior that Jules’s attackers in town had, but so far all of the hands had been nothing but respectful to Jules. He’d even gone back to wearing makeup and colorful outfits that matched his bright personality. But there was one ranch hand in particular that, for whatever reason, Jules didn't seem to get along with.
Flynn, the man who’d helped us track down Xavier, seemed to rub Jules the wrong way and whenever the two men were in each other's company, they seemed to fight over absolutely nothing in particular.
"I'm going," I said as I hurried to the table. I used a napkin to wipe at the grease on the bank statement, then dutifully shoved some pancakes into my mouth. Xavier used that exact moment to settle his hand on my thigh and squeeze. I nearly choked on the pancakes. I managed to swallow them and glared at him. His response was to kiss me hard and deep, not caring that we had company.