“It’s not like she’s a mind reader or a fortune teller, she utilizes strong empathetic abilities to focus on what others are thinking and feeling.”
Tossing her a wink, he reached for the door. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll attempt to keep the visions from last night out of my head.”
“One more thing. My mom’s very—” Ember caught his hand, tangling her petite fingers with his. “—beautiful.”
“Seriously, Ember?” Humor jumped in his chest. Nash shook his head, features twisting into an appalled knot. “I’m fairly certain I can handle your mother, good looks, mind reading capabilities, and all.”
“That’s not what I meant.” A small note of apology shined in the hues of honey surrounding her irises. “She is beautiful inside and out, but I was going to add that she may come across as flirtatious, even by Texas standards. Seriously, she’s even more touchy feely than me. Some people confuse her endearments with flirting.”
“I can hardly imagine.” Giving a slight jiggle to her fingers, the smirk teasing his lips tripped to concern. “You all right?”
“Sorry, I’m just a little nervous. She can be a little intimidating. Not that you’d be intimidated by her, but in the past—”
“Sweetheart, it’s okay. And as much as I’m dying to know where you come from and what makes that gorgeous brain and heart of yours work so hard, I can wait to meet your mom, if you’re going to be this nervous.”
Did I just say I want to meet her mom?
Yes, you fucking did.
Ember wrapped her arms around herself, mindlessly rubbing the chill from her upper arms. The frenzy in her eyes diminished leaving nothing but sweet honey. “It’s not you, Nash. It’s just…I haven’t introduced anyone I’ve dated to my mom since high school. I’ve been in California the last few years and before that I opted not to. My mom is amazing, and I value her opinion, but sometimes I think it’s better if I figure things out for myself, no matter the repercussions.”
“This is unchartered territory for me too. It’s not like meeting a woman’s mother is high up there on my bucket list. It’s not. Ever. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious to find out what makes you so—” His gaze softened, coasting over her features fully intrigued. “—extraordinary.”
A beautiful pink glow kissed the bridge of her nose. Ember pushed to her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips. “Just know that if you’re vague or try to hide behind a façade, she’ll focus more on what’s underneath.”
Slipping a curled index finger beneath her jaw, he gently pinched her chin with his thumb. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I don’t hide behind a mask.”
Looking up, she draped her arms around his neck, eyes searching for some sort of hidden hesitation to come forward.
“All right.” Her soft exhale floated across his mouth. “Let’s do this.”
Nash sifted his fingers through her hair retrieving a stray piece of grass. “No need to leave this as a first impression.”
“It won’t matter. She’ll take one look at me and know we had sex all night.”
“As long as she knows it was phenomenal sex,” he joked, giving a quick double tap to the end of her nose before reaching for the door handle. Catching a whiff of a distinct earthy, pungent aroma, Nash tipped his head toward Ember. “Do I smell—"
“Yes, you smell weed.” Lifting her nose, Ember took a sniff. “And sage.”
Ember cringed shaking her head, eyes rolling back to half-staff. Any apprehension left in her shoulders, now abandoned to the crescendo of embarrassment raising the hair on her flesh to sharp points.
Nash sucked in his fourth or fifth large breath, filling his lungs with the herbal aroma.
“If you keep doing that, you’re either going to pass out or catch a buzz.”
“It’s been a long time, but I’m sure I could manage.” His eyes darted around the kitchen as if searching for a pillar of white smoke. “What’s with the sage?”
“It’s for smudging.” Taking note of his blank stare, she continued. “It’s a way of cleansing a space of negative or stagnant energy.”
Though he gave it a small attempt, there was no way to hide the confusion taking up residence in the deep groove notched between his eyes. “I don’t get it.”
“If you’re feeling down or in a rut or have drama in your life, or if you’re moving into a new place, lighting a sage stick helps purify a living space and dispel negative energy. It’s also a way to invite positive energy into your space.”
A frown stretched across his brow. “Do you smudge?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“All this woo woo shit is beyond me.”
“It can also be good for insomnia and anxiety.” Ember meandered toward the kitchen, calling out, “Hello! Mom?”
“Is that my girl?” June’s balmy voice carried through the house like a lone dandelion seed parachuting through a summer’s breeze.
June glided into the kitchen wearing an aura of relaxation, a warm smile, and a pair linen overalls. Her sea green eyes, filled with brilliant vitality, immediately locked on Nash.
“Oh, hello there.” June’s bright eyes filled with surprise. “I wasn’t expecting company.”
“Funny, me either,” Ember riddled, wrapping her mom in a loving embrace. “You should’ve called so I could’ve been here.”
Eyes never faltering from Nash’s, June tucked an unruly wisp of dark chocolate layers behind her ear. “You’ve been on my mind, so I decided it was time to visit.”
“You mean you didn’t call because you didn’t want me to tell you not to come?”
“That too,” June confirmed. The smile touching her eyes turned more concerning, reaching for his hand. “I’m June…and you must be Nash.”
Taking hold of her delicate hand, Nash couldn’t help but notice the family similarities. Dark wavy hair, big white smile, oval face, and an equal amount of unmeasurable allure dancing in their eyes. Except for a few additional inches in height, honey-brown eyes, and her father’s dimples, Ember was a carbon copy of her mother.
“I’m Nash Harris. It’s nice to meet you, June.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Nash noticed Ember balk. Her typically calm and collected demeanor gained an edge of alertness.
“How did you know his name?”
June rolled a small shoulder, humor dancing in her sea-green eyes. Her sweet laughter drifted through the quiet house. “Bee answered the door this morning. We had a wonderful conversation over a cup of tea. She’s a doll, that one. She even offered to make me breakfast.”
Ember’s fingertips scrubbed circles over her eyelids. “Please tell me you didn’t smoke in front of Bee.”
“Don’t be silly. Of course not. I stepped outside.”
Ember shook her head, retrieving ingredients from the fridge and a loaf of bread from the pantry.
June’s head tilted and eyes tugged into a squint. A slight crinkle held to her dark, thin brows. Nash was unsure if her intrigue was due to recollection or examination, but every ounce of her visual focus settled on him. For the first time in three months, he finally understood what Ember meant by being able to feel someone else’s energy. However, he couldn’t put his finger on the sentiment.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt your weekend. I’ve been wanting to check out Walker Ranch and see how you’re doing under all the pressure, so here I am.” June spoke to Ember, but her soft gape held to Nash. “You look so familiar to me. Have we met before?”
“No ma’am. Not that I can remember.”
His response only deepened the confusion spreading over June’s petite features. Rattled by something, her concern shifted to what he thought felt like panic, fidgeting with the polished amber stone hanging from a thin leather chord at the hollow of her throat.
“Are you a cowboy, Mr. Harris? Do you work for Walker Ranch?”
He got the feeling she already knew the answer to her question, but he’d play along. “No ma’am. I’m
in oil and gas.”
“Roughneck?”
“No. I’m the CEO and Founder of an independent oil and gas exploration company NBH Exploration.”
“Hmmm.” Fingers loosely caged over her mouth and chin, June tapped her index finger to her lips, pondering.
Peeling her attention from Nash, June moved around the kitchen island, circling it several times, almost as if she were pacing. Nash ambled toward the coffee pot, starting a fresh brew.
“Surely you have a horse though.” She mindlessly waved a hand in the air mid stride. “Or at least had one growing up.”
Spinning to face her mom, Ember’s eyes bulged holding up a spatula. “Mom, he grew up on the ranch next door, so of course, he had a horse. It might be easier if you try asking Nash whatever it is you’re trying to figure out. I’m making French toast with blueberry syrup. How many slices are you up for?”
June waggled a hand back and forth throwing out a peace sign indicating two pieces.
“I have two horses. I grew up riding an appaloosa named Sugar.” Nash paused, half expecting June to blurt out a description. “Growing up, she was my loyal companion.”
June released a short, mechanical laugh. “I suppose with a name like Sugar, her buckskin hide is blanketed with white splotches.”
Holy. Shit.
Nash wasn’t sure if he should be fascinated, nervous, or terrified, but at the moment, fascination was hands down winning the race.
“As a matter of fact, that’s exactly how she got her name. She reminded me of the teakwood sugar bowl my father used to keep beside his coffee pot.” Nash took a breath waiting to see if June could add any details. “I’ve been in the saddle with Whiskey for almost six years now. She’s a real beauty with an elongated star marker between her eyes.”
“Well of course she is.” June’s laugh turned strained.
The creaking of the back door opening drew their attention. Bee entered the kitchen, pixie gray hair peeking out over an arm full of towels and bedding.
“Mornin’. Don’t mind me.” She gestured hello with a wave. “It’s been a long time since I’ve made up the guest room, I had to wash linens.”
June looped her arm through the crook of Bee’s elbow, steering her toward the hallway. “No need for you to go to all that trouble. I can handle that. How about if we drop these on the bed and then you can take me on that tour we talked about.”
Bee frowned. “Tour?”
Nash rested a hip against the granite watching June unleash her charm on Bee.
This ought to be rich.
“Yes, you mentioned the barn earlier and I’d love to see it.” June’s tone hyped up her enthusiasm, but her close-lipped smile pressed into a hopeful grimace.
Bee’s gaze widened with understanding. “It’s a beautiful morning for an ATV ride. Let’s leave these in your room and I’ll introduce you to Walker Ranch.”
Ember cast a probing look over her shoulder. “You’re not going to join us for breakfast?”
June scurried over and pressed a big kiss on Ember’s cheek. “I had a bite before leaving Austin early this morning, and as Bee mentioned, it is a glorious day.”
The fleeting look in Bee’s eyes teetered between guilt and excitement as they waved and walked out the door. Nash couldn’t tell if Ember sensed something strange about June’s quick-witted departure, but he doubted she was so absorbed in homemade blueberry syrup not to notice.
However, she played it off well.
Lifting the tip of her index finger covered in the sweet concoction, she hummed, “You want a taste?”
The chaotic pounding in his heart had nothing to do with the breakfast and everything to do with the beautiful woman standing before him. He drew in a deep inhale, teasing his senses with the faint aroma of lavender still dancing over her skin and hair from the night before.
Nash curled his tongue around her finger, sucking it into the heat of his mouth. Gaze turning lazy, Ember’s shoulders slumped, leaning into his gravity. Her perfectly pink lips parted on a breath forming the shape of an O.
“Sweetheart, I want more than a taste.”
Chapter 21
Ember
There’s no avoiding the worst-case scenario. If it happens, you just have to roll with it.
Earthy scents of patchouli and cannabis rode along the soft breeze as she made her way toward the barn, instantly reminding her of home. She found her mom sitting on a saddle blanket, meditating in an open field behind the barn.
Ember grabbed another wool blanket and wandered out to join her.
Face to the sun, June sat cross-legged with the back of her hands resting on her knees, soaking up the day’s energy.
“Did you have a nice visit with Bee?” Ember tossed the blanket on the ground in front of her mom. Emotions burned the back of her throat not wanting to ask the next question. “Or is Nash really that bad?”
Ember knew her mom had no interest in seeing the barn. Within two minutes of meeting Nash, she couldn’t get out of the house fast enough. Though Ember hid her reaction from Nash, it crushed her. And it wasn’t as if Nash didn’t sense an issue. He most definitely did. He simply opted not to open up a discussion about it.
Ember wanted her mom to like Nash, but it was more than that.
Much more.
“Sit down, Ember. We need to talk.”
Any remaining hope concealed in the corners of her heart vanished. Whether it was a bad boyfriend or a friend who wasn’t a great influence, her mom’s warnings regarding the dealings of the heart had always been spot on.
Pacing in a circle, tears needled her nose. “I can’t sit. Just give it to me straight.”
“Ember.” June’s quiet, stark tone grabbed her attention. “This has nothing to do with Nash. It does, but not what you think.”
Ember’s hand flew to her chest, fingers fanning out over her sternum. Her face crumpled. Air puffed her cheeks, slowly releasing the breath she’d been holding as she dropped to her knees, shaking out her trembling hands to dry the perspiration coating her palms.
“Thank God. I thought you were going to tell me something horrible.”
June’s dark hair spilled over one shoulder as she leaned to the side to get a better look at Ember’s expression, apprising, “If it helps, I can tell that you’re in love with him.”
Sentiments she’d been lingering over for weeks rose to the surface in tears. Ember nodded hotly. “I’ve never felt this connected to a man, to anyone. Not even close.”
A warm, prideful smile engulfed June’s mouth reaching all the way to her eyes. “He cares for you too.”
Relief washed over her, spurring her heart into an erotic rhythm, filling the fissures in her spirit with rays of sunshine. The feel of her mom’s fingers encircling her hands captured Ember’s attention.
“There’s something I need to tell you. It’s about your father. I know you’re going to be upset with me, but I…I just didn’t realize—"
Ember yanked her hand free from her mom’s, features turning as rigid as her posture. “If you tell me that this man wasn’t my father, I’m going—”
“That’s not it. Ben Walker was your biological father and there’s no changing that.” June’s eyes turned soft, verging on dreamy. “Your father, he was quite a man.”
“Then what is it?”
June stood, padding barefoot over the long grass in a repetitive circle. Crimson blotches began to take form on her chest, inching up her neck. Snatching her hands free from the pockets of her vintage linen overalls, she clamped them to her hip bones.
“I’ve had the same damn dream for twenty years,” she snapped in a self-scolding manner. “I thought it was a sign.”
The muscles of Ember’s face knotted with confusion. Her voice calmed to an eerie murmur, “What dream?”
Their eyes caught. Ember had never seen her mother look so lost, so…contrite. Tears pooled beneath the threads of vibrant green in her eyes.
“When you were about four
or five, I started having dreams. I just assumed it was your father. His face…the man’s face is always hidden, and I thought—"
Digging through the top pocket of her overalls, June retrieved a lighter and a half smoked joint from a small, aluminum cylinder. Ember had never seen her mom so rattled.
“Mom, why don’t you slow down and tell me what’s going on?”
Flicking the lighter, June pulled a long hit into her lungs, expounding a cloud of white.
“I’ve had visions of you with a man on a horse, a buckskin horse covered in splotchy white markings. His face is never fully recognizable, but I…I’d wake up in hysterics, covered in sweat with this…this undeniable heaviness in my heart…like I was going to lose you.”
“I don’t understand what you’re trying to tell me.”
“I…I knew, with every fiber of my being, that he would take you from me.” Looking out into the distance, June’s voice clung to the shallows, and her brows tugged tight as if talking to herself. “How could I have possibly known it wasn’t him?”
Ember’s patience wore thin. “Mom, please.”
“When you were in kindergarten, I started having dreams about you. The same man, same horse up until a few years ago, but always the same feeling of losing you. I didn’t know a lot about Ben, but I knew he was a rancher with means.” As if being pulled from a trance, June’s eyes swung up to meet Ember’s. “I’m sorry, baby girl.”
A chill washed over her entire body prickling her exposed flesh. “Sorry for what?”
“My worst fear was losing you. I was scared…terrified that if he found out about you, he’d take me to court and take custody.” June dropped her gaze to her feet, seemingly searching for courage, before locking eyes with Ember. “The dreams, they made me even more protective of you. Protective enough not to go out of my way to search for your father.”
Ember sat in silence. Processing.
“It was always the same buckskin appaloosa and then a few years ago it morphed into a pretty brown horse with markings on its face. I assumed the change meant something, maybe your father got a new horse, but by then, you were grown. I wasn’t worried about having you taken away from me.”
Catching Ember (Buckle Up Series Book 1) Page 23