by Vivian Arend
“We’ve been talking about something for a while, and it looks as if we’re ready to move ahead,” Walker said steadily.
Ginny glanced around the house. “Renovations? Additions?”
A gentle snort escaped Ivy. “Definitely additions. We want to adopt.”
“Oh my God.” Ginny shot to her feet and scooted over to give Ivy another hug. “That is so exciting. Really? When, who?”
“No timeline yet,” Walker said before accepting a hug of his own. He waited until Ginny resumed her seat to continue. “We’ve spent the past while researching and really talking out what we can handle. The next part will be the legal steps. A lot of social work visits. Getting everything into place.”
“You know Alex Thorne? Ranch hand at Silver Stone?” Ivy asked. When Ginny nodded, she continued. “He grew up in the foster system, and he has a sister who is actively fostering, so we talked to him about what he thought.”
“Fostering always sounds really difficult,” Ginny said, a little nervous because while Ivy was physically delicate, Walker had the gentlest heart of anyone Ginny knew. “I don’t think I could do it.”
“After talking to Alex, we think it would be too hard for us,” Walker said slowly. “The people who can offer that kind of support are wonderful, but we need something different.”
Ginny put it all together and made a guess. “You’re not adopting a baby, are you?”
Ivy shook her head. “We want to take older kids. Siblings, if possible.”
“Part of what we’re doing with that dreaming Caleb offered is to get things rolling. When it happens, I’ll come home full-time until I can move back up to part-time hours,” Walker said. “Ivy can’t get out of her teaching and principal job at the drop of a hat, but I can easily be replaced at the ranch.”
That was absolutely not true. “You are irreplaceable, but I do agree you guys will make a great mom and dad,” Ginny assured them.
“We’re excited,” Ivy said. “And having a blended family doesn’t worry me—it’s all I ever knew.”
That’s right. Ivy and her three sisters had all been adopted.
“Well, remember Auntie Ginny is always available to help.” She shook a finger at Walker, who looked as if he was about to turn down her offer. “I spent six months helping Dare take care of her kids. Loved every minute of it—no, that’s a lie. I didn’t like the poopie diapers. But since you will have older kids, and poopie diapers should not be a part of it, I am very much looking forward to helping you as well. I love you. Both of you, and your future kids.”
Ivy’s eyes were a little watery. “You’re a wonderful little sister.”
Sisters. Ginny nearly gasped. “Your sisters must be over the moon. And your parents. And your grandma.”
Walker and Ivy laughed. “Yes, there are a whole lot of people who will be very excited. We’ve just begun the journey though. In the meantime, we dream.”
It seemed an appropriate moment for a change in focus. Ginny swung her legs to the floor so she could lean forward. “So. Living arrangements. What’s the master plan? Renovations on this place, or are you moving?”
The conversation shifted into Walker and Ivy’s more immediate needs for upgraded space to accommodate a bigger family. As the afternoon passed, Ginny offered suggestions and gloried in the reflected happiness of her brother and his wife.
Coming home to this new future was important. Ginny was so glad to be a part of the excitement and hope filling their home.
Tucker enjoyed a late lunch with his uncle, getting caught up on recent changes at the ranch. It was late afternoon when he excused himself to head back to the trailer to deal with everything involved in switching jobs.
Contacting his current boss offered another surprise.
“You just saved me from breaking bad news,” the older man shared. “Inspector went through the buildings and threw us for a loop. To meet code, we’ve got to rewire the entire system, which means the only thing we can legally board are a dozen horses in the one new barn. Which means, we don’t need any workers for the next while.”
“You mean you were about to fire me?” Tucker asked with a laugh.
“You’ve got every positive reference I can offer,” Raymond promised. “The only thing I can’t give you is a job. I’m glad you got something new lined up. I’ve appreciated having you around.”
Forward motion was always great. “I will need to come back for my stuff. Any timeline on that?”
“The sooner the better,” his now ex-boss said quickly. “When I said the entire system, that also means the lodging. I could use help getting all the animals moved into the temporary quarters or shifted to new boarding situations.”
Well, damn. Tucker need to take a road trip. “Let me check the weather for the next couple of days. If there’s an open window, I’ll come back and get started on that right away.”
“That would be a hell of a lot of help. While you’re here, we can finish up your final paperwork.”
After hanging up, Tucker sat at the table and took a deep breath. Seems he was now officially unemployed. Temporarily, but still. Nothing official had been signed yet with Silver Stone.
How unlike him to just roll forward without stopping to get everything lined up first. Ginny’s impulsive ways were finally wearing off on him.
Her mischievous expression flashed to mind.
Shit. Tucker glanced at his watch. Four thirty, on Boxing Day. What were the chances that he could still make it to a store in time to buy condoms?
He had to try. He scrambled to his feet and pulled on his coat, shoving open the door and nearly knocking Ginny off the steps.
“Whoa there, cowboy. You chasin’ down some doggies?”
He automatically accepted the bag she handed him, backing out of the way as she crowded forward. “I would say I needed to hit the store, except you’ve probably been brilliant, haven’t you?”
By the time she peeled off her coat, he’d peeked in the bag, sighing happily as he pulled out the extra-large box of condoms.
She stole it from his fingers. “Those are mine.”
Dear God. This woman. “Okay. I want to see you put them on.”
The heat that flashed in her eyes scalded him. “Oh, you can totally watch.”
This conversation just went five hundred degrees hotter and a completely different direction than it needed to. “Hold that thought.”
She hesitated. “Really?”
“Trust me, we will put your purchase to good use soon enough, but there’s something I need to tell you.”
By now she had her boots off. She grabbed him by his belt buckle and hauled him into the living space. “Something serious enough you’re putting a pause on sex, even though it’s been years? Okay, I’m all yours.”
Which was pretty much everything that he’d ever hoped for. Now to start working on making it true.
“You said you wanted to fool around for the two weeks I’m here on vacation.” When she nodded but didn’t say anything, Tucker went for it. “Other than going back to Winnipeg to pack, I’ll be staying at Silver Stone for longer. In fact, I’m pretty much staying for good.”
He could all but see the gears turning in her quick brain as she put two and two together. “If you’re not going home, that means you have a job here, yes?” Her eyes got big. “I bet it’s Ashton. Holy crap, is he actually retiring?”
“I’m really kind of complimented that you jumped to me taking over for him that fast,” Tucker admitted.
Ginny waved a hand. “Hell, yes. I mean, yeah, there’ll be things you need to learn, but you’ve spent more time at our ranch than most of the workers on the current payroll. Is Ashton sticking around to mentor you?”
“That’s the plan.” The fact she wasn’t freaking out about him staying in the area—that was a hopeful sign, wasn’t it?
She collapsed back on the couch, totally relaxed. “Congratulations. That’s gotta be really exciting.”
He linked his
fingers through hers. Jumping in a little farther. “Thanks. Now I need to prove that I can actually do it.”
He rubbed his thumb against the back of her wrist. Her eyes widened slightly as she lifted her gaze to his. But instead of something about extending their two-week sexing relationship, something totally different came out of her mouth. “Me too. The prove it thing.”
It was such a change of direction from being about to ask her to date him that Tucker stalled. He pulled it together fast enough he hadn’t sat there silent for too long.
“What do you want to prove?” he asked.
She stared into space. “The whole time I was away I kept picturing what I would do when I got home that would make a difference. From stuff to grow to make money, to making sure everybody had the fresh fruits and vegetables they wanted—and now Caleb says some of that’s not needed anymore.”
“But some of it is still hugely valuable,” Tucker pointed out. “There’s a reason why people go to the farmers market. There’s a reason why people buy organic. If that’s something that you want to do, that’s valuable.”
“It is.” Ginny nodded slowly. “I’m still wrapping my brain around this. I’m not sitting here thinking oh, woe is me, there’s nothing I can do. I’m more sitting here thinking about what should I do.”
Which was far better. “That’s a very good thing to pick what you want to work at.”
“And that’s what I want,” Ginny insisted. “Work. I don’t want the good fortune the ranch received to be an excuse to get lazy or complacent.”
He squeezed her fingers until she met his gaze again. “Goddess, get real. The last thing you’ve ever been is lazy.”
“Good, so there’s no reason to start now,” she said brightly. “I think we should make a pact to work together.”
Now they were getting somewhere. “I agree.”
“If I do one thing, it would be to somehow show my family how important they are to me. Every one of them.” She stared off into space again, thinking hard.
“I think they know,” Tucker said softly. “Truly.”
She smiled. “Thanks.”
A moment later she’d closed the distance between them. The familiar position of her ass resting on his thighs as she straddled him woke every anticipatory nerve in his body.
Ginny stroked her fingers through his hair. “Operation Prove It is now in place. You will spend the next however long it takes showing your uncle, my brothers, and the ranch hands how brilliant you are.”
“Jesus, I wasn’t scared to death until you put it that way,” he complained.
She chuckled evilly. “I will spend the same however long it takes coming up with some new ideas of how to make a difference. How to make Silver Stone an even better place for my family, and my community. Gah.” She contorted her face into a terrifying visage. “Simple, really. Starting from scratch with nothing and no directions, not even IKEA ones written in Swedish, with mislabeled bags of nuts and bolts.”
Tucker decided he was more amused than alarmed. “And how do we keep track of Operation Prove It?”
She considered even while she began to drive him wild, teasing her fingers up and down the placket of his shirt. Unbuttoning one, two, three buttons…
“Once a week we will check in. We will report on our biggest failure, but also celebrate our biggest success. That will let us bitch about the things that didn’t go well and still keep things in perspective, because any forward motion is good motion, right?”
“Right,” he agreed, leaning so she could push his shirt off his shoulders. He was more than willing to help her strip him naked.
“Is it a deal?” She stuck her hand into the narrow space between their bodies.
He wrapped one hand around her nape, the other pressed to her lower back so he could pull her closer. “It’s absolutely a deal.”
She sighed into his mouth, melting against him as their tongues connected. A deep, slow kiss that ignited the banked fire inside him far too quickly. He still needed to clarify their relationship, but hell if he could resist doing this first.
Satisfying a hunger that had been left unchecked for far too long.
9
Watching Ginny strip away her top shirt was a visual feast, made even better when she tugged at his T-shirt until it escaped his jeans. Together, they worked until they were both naked from the waist up and Tucker had access to those glorious breasts once again.
Goddess, indeed. A wanton earth mother with tits that made his mouth water. Tucker filled his hands as he kept their lips together for a little longer. Kissing her until she quivered, each quick inhalation rocking her chest so her breasts rubbed his palms.
He hauled her higher, taking hold of one nipple and sucking hard enough that she gasped. When he would’ve let go, she made it clear that wasn’t what she wanted, clutching his head to keep him in place.
“More,” she demanded.
“Where’s the condoms?” he spit out in the scarce second he took his lips off her skin.
She gestured to the side.
He patted his hand along the couch blindly, continuing to enjoy and lick and nip.
Somehow, they got the box open. Somehow, he got his zipper down and his cock out and covered. Ginny had lost her pants and underwear in that time and, gloriously naked, crawled back on top of him to rock her heat-slick pussy over his length.
Sex between them was always good. No, it was always spectacular, but today, even more, Tucker savoured the moment when they connected. His tip slipped between her folds, and then her strong thighs flexed as she slowly dropped onto his length.
So hot, so fucking right. Tucker groaned in amazement.
Ginny leaned their foreheads together, grinning at him. Then her eyes widened. She jerked upright, which pushed him even deeper, and both of them reacted with a soft moan.
But her expression—somewhere between panic and oh my God this was not going to end well mischief.
“Oh. You’re staying. At Silver Stone.”
Tucker held on tight, because no way was he letting her get away from him, not now. But at the same time, amusement bubbled up until laughter burst free.
“Hold that thought,” he commanded, even though the words echoed with his delight. Then he picked her up, shuffling until he’d kicked his jeans off his feet. He brought her into the bedroom and settled on the mattress, stretching out with her over him.
This was not the time for conversation.
Using her hips as an anchor, he rocked up into her. Relishing the slide, the mind-blowing pressure. The way that they fit together.
Ginny moved with him, helping where she could, but when she cupped her breasts, a shudder shook him from top to bottom. “Give them to me,” he ordered.
It was more a growl than clear words, but somehow, she understood. She leaned over and pressed one nipple to his mouth, and he sucked it in, multitasking in one of the best possible ways. He was about to lose his mind, lose himself, definitely lose control, which considering that it had only been a couple of minutes, was pretty damn pathetic.
He slid his fingers between her legs to where they joined, catching moisture and drawing it up to her clit. Stroking in solid circles until she moaned, “Yes.”
Bingo. Slowing everything down half a notch, Tucker teased until she was ready to break. The heat rising between them was everything he wanted and needed. He urged her forward again to press a kiss to her breast. A kiss to her heart.
“Going to work you until you come,” he promised, switching up his hand motion the slightest bit. A little quicker now with a hint of a pinch between forefinger and thumb on every stroke.
“Oh my God. That, that,” Ginny moaned, fingernails biting into his shoulders as she rocked her hips hard against him. Riding him, rising over him like the goddess she was.
He couldn’t last. Her sex wrapped tight, and her nails scratched his skin. Her lips dropped to meet his as she all but ground on him as if trying to weld them together.
He swallowed her trembling cry, followed her over the edge, and came hard.
Holding her body against his as pleasure rolled on for a while longer—thank God he was lying down, because otherwise he might have fallen over and passed out, it had been so good.
Ginny slowed her restless motions, stroking a hand over his chest in a soothing caress. “Wow.”
And his amusement was back. “I’ve rendered Ginny Stone speechless. I feel quite proud.”
She bounced the edge of her fist off his chest but then cupped his face with her hand. “Thank you for taking care of me,” she whispered sweetly before offering him a gentle kiss.
Always. Forever.
But those weren’t the appropriate words to say right now, and he knew it.
Still, he enjoyed the kiss and offered one more of his own before breaking them apart and rolling her to one side. “Let me clean up, and then we can talk.”
“Deal.”
He grabbed his clothes and took them with him. By the time he was back from the bathroom, Ginny had gotten dressed and was poking around in the refrigerator.
“You hungry?” she asked.
“Always,” he said truthfully. “Luke said he left food for us. For me.”
Ginny snorted. “Tamara also loaded the fridge. She must’ve shown up first, or she would have wondered why there were supplies here already.”
“Which kind of leads well into answering that question you had.”
She closed the fridge and eyed him full on. “I don’t remember asking a question. I remember realizing how completely clueless I had been to how much you sticking around changes things.”
Tucker braced himself. “I want things to change. What we’re doing, I mean.”
“Oh.” She got herself busy, digging back in the refrigerator and giving him her back. “Okay, I guess. If that’s what you want.”
Oh hell. Tucker put a hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him. “Don’t jump to conclusions,” he warned. “I don’t want to just fuck around with you, Ginny. Only we’ve never been in the same place at the same time when more was appropriate.”