Righting Our Wrongs (Paths To Love)

by Grahame Claire

  Lights glowed from the first floor of the old farmhouse as I pulled up. On a deep breath, I cut the engine. My hand trembled as I took the key from the ignition. This was crazy. Who in their right mind would show up to their ex-boyfriend’s house at six in the morning with no plan at all? What if he didn’t want to see me? What if I couldn’t speak?

  No. I couldn’t do this. I wasn’t ready. I jammed the key back in the ignition. The porch lights flipped on just before the front door of the house burst open. Mrs. Jacobs appeared, squinting before she waved in recognition.

  Busted.

  Reluctantly, I shoved open the door of my Accord.

  “I thought I heard a car out here,” she said, standing at the top of the steps. “He’s out in the barn. But if you want breakfast first, come on inside.”

  Food…ugh.

  “Thank you, ma’am. I’ll just go look for Mitch.”

  “Come through the house.” She held open the door for me, and I was immediately assaulted with memories of study sessions, prom dates, and suppers in this house.

  Right by the staircase was the latest family portrait, one I’d been included in at their insistence. We’d had a barbecue out back that day. I’d had this feeling Mitch was going to ask me to marry him, but he hadn’t.

  “You sure you don’t want something to eat?” Mrs. Jacobs asked as I followed her into the kitchen.

  “I—I’m not hungry.”

  Her smile was sympathetic. “We’re glad you’re home, Juliana. All of us missed you while you were away.”

  “I missed you too.” My teeth sank into my lower lip. “Even Mulaney.”

  She laughed. “That girl grows on you after a while.” Pure affection for her daughter threaded her voice. “If you don’t find Mitch in the barn, check the pasture just behind it.”

  “All that muscle, and I still do more work than y’all.”

  I’d hoped Mitch would be alone, but that was too much to ask for. I stepped into the barn, nerves spiking, as Mulaney was needling her brothers as usual. She didn’t like me, and her brash way intimidated me a little bit…ok, a lot.

  It wasn’t too late to leave. I could just pretend I hadn’t found him if Mrs. Jacobs asked later. Even on the walk out here I hadn’t figured out exactly what I wanted to say.

  “Juliana. I didn’t know you got up this early,” Mulaney said before I had a chance to change my mind.

  “I’m still on Paris time.”

  Mitch’s jaw twitched. So that wasn’t the best way to start a conversation.

  “You come to help us out this morning?” Stone said, offering me a kind smile. “We could always use another hand.”

  “How’s Blue?” I asked.

  “Take a look for yourself,” he said, motioning toward her stall.

  As if she knew we were talking about her, the horse poked her head out. I rushed over to her, thankful to be able to put off for another minute whatever conversation I’d come here to have.

  I felt Mitch’s stare as I stroked Blue’s nose, and I suddenly got self-conscious about my appearance. In my haste to leave the house, I’d pulled on boots over my sweatpants and hadn’t thought to brush my hair. It remained in the messy knot I’d slept on.

  “I’m sorry about your baby,” I whispered to the horse. She nuzzled me in response, and then she nudged me like she knew I was procrastinating.

  When I turned around, Mitch and I were alone in the barn, save the animals. My throat went dry. He had on a long-sleeved T-shirt, and his jeans and boots were filthy. His brow was slick with sweat underneath hair that was sticking up all over the place.

  My heart flip-flopped as intense eyes stared at me. Not that long ago he had been my best friend, but now I was at a loss for words.

  He leaned on the shovel he’d been using. “If you don’t have anything to say, I need to get back to work.”

  Chapter Ten

  Mitch

  The thundering in my ears grew louder the longer she stood there. Why was she here at this time of day?

  I waited, and she fidgeted. Like we were strangers. I’d never seen her so uncertain, except when she’d delivered her Paris news. As twisted as things were between us, I hated that she was uncomfortable around me.

  “Jules, what’s going on?” For all my tough guy act, I caved. She was my strength and weakness.

  She pushed off the stall and charged at me. Slender arms tangled around my neck as I caught her. Soft lips plowed against my rough ones. I groaned at the feel of her exactly where she belonged.

  I wove my fingers in her silky hair and spun us so that her back was against the wall. Her whimper of need had my dick pressing against my jeans. It had been too long since I’d heard that sound. Too damn long.

  She tightened her legs around my waist. “Mitch.”

  My name on her lips was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard.

  I tore my mouth from hers and cupped her face. Her skin was smooth under my calloused palm. And those moss green eyes…I got lost for a minute.

  I tipped her head back and tasted her neck, getting drunk on that sweet smell that was only hers. Her fingers dug into my shoulders as I nibbled along her jaw. She writhed against me, making a growl of pure need rumble from my throat.

  I carried her into an empty stall while I kissed her senseless. Kicking the door closed with my boot, I backed her against the wood slat wall. She pulled at my shirt until it was over my head and discarded. Those hands I couldn’t get enough of traced the muscles of my back with familiarity and exploration. How had I ever survived without her touch for so long?

  Regret for lost time threatened to crack the surface, but I shoved it down and enjoyed the victory of having her tight body against me again. I slid a hand under her sweatshirt, my dick punching to be released at the feel of her.

  I yanked on a clean blanket that hung on a nearby hook and tossed it to the hay-covered floor. Without bothering to completely spread it out, I lowered her on top of it. She wriggled out of her sweatshirt, exposing her bare breasts.

  I ran a thumb over her taut nipple. Faint tan lines reminded me of the many summer days we’d spent together on Lake Travis. Her looking sexy as hell, me trying to disguise a hard-on. I didn’t hide it now, nudging against her center despite our clothes. It wasn’t enough.

  Closing my mouth around her stiff peak as I palmed her other breast, I flicked my tongue, and a little cry of pleasure escaped her. I smiled in satisfaction. Her fingers plowed into my hair, tugging, begging me for more.

  Our bodies recognized one another despite the months of separation. All the parts of me that had been dark without her lit up. I sucked on her other breast until her hips lifted off the floor.

  “I’ve missed you. So much,” she breathed, a gentle hand stroking my cheek.

  My throat closed, cutting off all the words I wanted to say. I’d have to show her how much I still loved her. How living without her had nearly killed me.

  I moved until our lips were inches apart, my chest pressed into hers. For so long, I’d dreamed of having her again.

  “Are you real?” I rasped as I went for her mouth.

  She kissed me in response, slipping her tongue between my lips as my fingers trailed down her body. I rolled onto my back, straw poking at me through the blanket, though I barely felt it. Juliana straddled my hips and planted her palms on my chest. I captured her wrist, needing to have her against me once more. A smile ghosted her face as she slid backward. She pried her arm from my grasp, delicate fingers creeping under the waistband of my jeans.

  In seconds, she had me free, her fist wrapped around my shaft. “Jules, wait.” She squeezed, and I groaned, already leaking. “I wanted to taste—” The protest died on my lips when she leaned forward and took the head of my dick into her mouth. Warmth surrounded me. I hissed through my teeth as she grazed hers along the sensitive skin. “You first,” I finished weakly.

  “Then you shouldn’t have put me on top.”

  There was the girl only I kne
w. She was tender and sweet, yet saucy and strong. I’d never love anybody the way I did her.

  I couldn’t stop staring as she dove down my cock, taking me halfway in before I hit the back of her throat. She pumped the base as she sucked, and my eyes crossed it felt so damn good. The vision pushed me close to the point of no return.

  “You gotta stop. I’m too close,” I said hoarsely. She didn’t immediately let up. I cradled her head, half pushing, half pulling, and completely out of my mind. When she came up for a breath, I took advantage, rolling back on top of her. A startled squeal escaped her, lust-glazed eyes staring up at me.

  I kissed down her stomach and got her out of those sweatpants, ones that used to be mine I noted with pride. Pale pink silk was all that separated me from her. I willed my fingers to steady as I peeled the fabric down her legs. It took me a second to get myself together at the sight of her.

  I slid my index finger up her seam. Her back arched. I couldn’t wait any longer. Pressing her thighs apart, I licked at her center. She tasted like home, and I savored being with her again.

  Her clit throbbed under my tongue as I made slow circles around it. I eased a finger inside of her as I sucked. She stiffened and yanked on my hair before her body gave in to the pleasure as she shouted my name. Her beauty threatened to pull me under. She possessed me, completely owned me, and the overwhelming need to be inside of her got the better of my control.

  “I need you,” she whispered, echoing my own thoughts.

  I shucked my jeans and boots, and nudged her entrance with the tip of my cock. From somewhere in the haze of lust, sense broke through.

  “I don’t have protection.”

  Hurt flashed in her eyes. We hadn’t ever had anything between us, and I didn’t want to now, but the truth was, we’d spent a lot of time apart.

  “I haven’t been with anyone else,” she said quietly. “And I’m still on birth control.”

  I sagged in relief. I hadn’t realized how tense I’d been over the possibility she’d been like this with someone else.

  “I haven’t either,” I promised and pushed inside, finally feeling whole again.

  Chapter Eleven

  Juliana

  In one swift thrust, he claimed me.

  But then again, he’d always had me. I clung to his shoulders, met his thrusts with equal passion. Tears stung my eyes at finally being connected with him again in this way.

  Pressure built as he drove into me, tender and powerful. His muscles bunched under my fingers. Raw pleasure molded his face. Blue eyes reflected all the emotions I felt back at me.

  I locked my legs around his hips, desperate to keep him exactly where he was. That we’d ever been apart seemed foolish now that we were fused together again.

  He slowed his pace, his gaze penetrating to the depths of me. “Can’t live without you, Jules.”

  My heart exploded as he nuzzled my nose. Underneath that hard exterior was the sweetest soul I’d ever known. With one more thrust, he pushed me over the edge. Everything stopped for a split second before bursting into a frenzy of pleasure.

  I pulsed around his cock, which swelled before he spilled inside of me with a grunt of my name. He collapsed on top of me, chest heaving as he touched his forehead to mine.

  We lay like that for a long time, neither of us wanting to part. His weight on me was welcome, a tangible sign that he was really with me. I stroked his back, and he gathered me in his arms, rolling us over.

  “You cold, sweetheart?”

  “I’m okay.” I nestled against him, holding him tight.

  He kissed the top of my head, and I sighed, content for the first time in so long. I propped my chin on his chest.

  “You aren’t really thinking of not going to vet school?”

  He looked away from me. “I’ll decide later. It’s not like I need to go anyway. I’m coming back to the ranch regardless.”

  I sat up. “Mitch, you can’t give up on your plans. I know this is where you want to come back to, but part of that is obligation to your family.” He opened his mouth to protest, and I put a finger over his lips. “Don’t say it’s not.”

  “Fine, but I don’t care to go anywhere else. Crazy as it sounds, Burdett is where I want to be. Since I never had any intention of opening a practice or taking over Doc Isaac’s, there isn’t any sense in me going to school.”

  “Stop it. I won’t listen to you minimize your dreams.”

  “What about yours? And what are you gonna do in College Station while I’m in school?”

  “Get a masters in something?” I offered him a smile he didn’t return. “Somebody’s going to have to know how to run this ranch one day.” I realized how presumptuous that sounded. But before I went to Paris, we’d talked about these things. And after what just happened, we were back together, weren’t we?

  “You’d be perfect for it.” He buried his face against my neck.

  I pulled away. “Promise me you won’t give up on school. You’re meant to be a vet. These animals need you.”

  “What if it happens again? I—I can’t handle losing them.”

  His words twisted my heart. His compassion for animals was exactly why he was meant to care for them.

  “I’ve never seen anyone like you with animals. They respond to you because they feel how much you care.”

  Disbelieving eyes met mine. “I—”

  The sound of boots thudding against the floor cut him off. A gasp escaped me, and he held a finger up to my lips even.

  “Mitch? You in here, son?” His granddaddy’s voice was just outside the stall.

  I froze, panicked we’d be caught. We’d done this before, but never when everyone else was doing their chores.

  Mitch immediately rolled us back over so he was covering me like a shield. He didn’t respond to his grandfather. The footsteps drew closer. Tack landed on the stall door.

  When boots came into view, I held my breath, praying Mr. Jacobs wouldn’t look over the door.

  “Did you find him?” Mitch’s father asked from somewhere farther away.

  I clutched his sides, and he stroked my back, though I could see his concern in the set of his jaw.

  “Naw. I don’t think he’s in here. Let’s go check the pasture.”

  I deflated against him as the footsteps retreated. As soon as the barn was still, we scrambled to put our clothes on.

  “I better go see what they want,” he said, wrapping his arms around me, kissing my forehead.

  I nodded. “I should get back home.”

  “Drive careful.”

  “I will.”

  I bolted back to the car and grinned as I sped down the dirt drive. Mitch and I were back together.

  Chapter Twelve

  Mitch

  “Where’ve you been?”

  Mulaney sauntered into the kitchen with an armload of grocery sacks. “The correct greeting would have been ‘let me help you with those’.” She dropped them on the counter, and Stone came in behind her with more. I stood, but she waved her hand at me. “Sit back down. Your brother caught me at the truck and helped me carry everything in. This is all.”

  Mama came in from outside, the screen door slamming behind her. She shivered. “It’s freezing.”

  I helped her out of her coat and hung it on a hook beside the rest of ours.

  “Got everything on the list,” Mulaney said proudly.

  Mama kissed her cheek. “Thank you, baby.” She hugged Stone too. “Now y’all get out of here so I can get supper on the table.”

  “Want some help?” I offered. My sister scowled, and Mama softened.

  “I appreciate that, but Ruby’s on her way.”

  Right on cue, Grandmama blew into the kitchen, immediately offering her cheek to me. Dutifully, I kissed it. She reached up and patted mine.

  “Ruby, you got anything to drink over at your house? These two have cleaned us out.” Mulaney cast an accusing look over to Stone and me.

  “Uh, I don’t think s
o, big sis. You drink me and Mitch under the table.” Stone gave her a playful shove.

  “I was trying to score some moonshine,” she said under her breath, though it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “Nobody is drinking moonshine before dinner,” Mama scolded.

  “After?” I asked hopefully, shrinking back a step at her admonishing look.

  Stone grabbed a few beers from the fridge and headed for the back door. I snatched our jackets off the hooks and followed him, Mulaney on our tail.

  She rushed for the swing, and I sat next to her. Stone waited on us to put on our coats before he handed us each a bottle.

  “You ain’t said much about what happened with Juliana earlier.” He twisted off the cap and flicked it toward the end table beside his rocking chair.

  I tensed. We hadn’t really had a chance to finish talking, but as far as I was concerned we were back together. I shrugged noncommittally, not ready to share that with my siblings.

  “We talked a little bit.”

  “She apologize?” Mulaney asked.

  “Not really.” She picked at the label on her bottle and swung her feet. “What is it?”

  My sister was a lot of things, but the nervous type wasn’t one of them. Whatever she had to say, she usually had no filter. Yet she wouldn’t meet my eyes, staring off at the backyard.

  “I saw her at the store.” She took a long swig of beer and finally looked at me. “With her boyfriend.”

  “He isn’t her boyfriend,” I protested, though I didn’t know that for certain. Jules had said she hadn’t been with anyone else, and I believed her, but she had been awfully cozy with him. Maybe she hadn’t completely called things off. I shook my head. No. Juliana wouldn’t do that to me or to him, if they were dating.

  “No? Then why were they kissing in the parking lot?”

  I stopped the swing with my foot. Mulaney grabbed the armrest to keep from falling off.