By the time lunchtime rolled on, I was in a pretty good mood. My cock remained hard as a rock, but still.
“Mr. Morgan, it’s nice to see you again, sir,” a deep voice boomed through the barn as I walked back in from the pasture. Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I stopped in my tracks.
A tall, handsome fella stood pumping Jimmy’s hand up and down, a big smile spread across his face that looked as fake as Pamela Anderson’s tits. Once I got closer, I realized I’d seen that face before.
In an alley, slamming his cock into another man.
“Brock, good to see you, too. You practicing today? I was surprised you didn’t show up yesterday,” Jimmy said, pulling his hand away.
“Yes, sir, gonna do a full run for the next few days leading up to the competition. I had a photo shoot for Wrangler yesterday. It’s hard to juggle all this stuff,” he said, shrugging casually. “My agent is doing the hard work, trying to schedule all the interviews and commercial shoots with my practice schedule.”
“I hear ya,” Jimmy replied, chewing on a blade of hay. “But remember, son, if you don’t practice, you don’t win. If you don’t win, those ad folks ain’t gonna have hide nor hair to do with ya.”
“Mr. Morgan, are you losing confidence in me?” he asked, with a wink.
“My confidence is in consistent practice. I’ve seen it time and time again where too many distractions can take a man down in the ring. You just make sure and watch yourself, so you don’t end up with a hoof in your back and a clump of dirt in your mouth, son.”
I grabbed a broom and began sweeping up the aisle of the barn, trying my best to get the vision of this guy plowing that other guy in the alley out of my head. I had nothing against being gay. If that’s what he was into, so be it. Who was I to judge, anyway? I was just surprised to see him here, is all.
To each their own, my dad would say. I suppressed a groan when I thought of my dad. I couldn’t go there right now.
“Mr. Morgan, is Lily alright? She hasn’t returned my calls in a few days,” Brock asked.
“She hasn’t? Well, that’s not like her. As far as I know, everything is just fine. She’s in the house right now having lunch with her Mama. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind a little impromptu visit from her boyfriend.”
Her boyfriend? My ears perked up at that. Lily told me she had broken up with her boyfriend. Please, for fuck’s sake, I thought to myself, please don’t let this fella be the guy that broke her heart.
“You’re right, Mr. Morgan. I’ll go in and say hi. I’m sure everything is just fine, just some mixed signals,” he smiled that smarmy smile again and my skin crawled. What a snake, I thought, instantly feeling protective of Lily.
He walked out of the barn, glancing at me quickly before disappearing into the bright sunlight.
I watched him walk away with disgust in my eyes. Lily deserved so much better than a prick like that. Gay or not, cheating on Lily was not okay.
A woman like that deserved a loyal, devoted partner. Someone that would look out for her, not for himself and his own selfish needs.
Unfortunately, as far as I could see, besides her Daddy, there wasn’t anyone else around these parts that fit that description.
But I wasn’t about to kid myself and pretend that it was me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
LILY
I was standing at the kitchen sink when I saw Brock come around the corner and head straight for the house.
“Oh, shit!” I said, turning off the faucet and drying my hands quickly.
“What’s wrong?” Mom asked. She was sitting at the table reading the morning paper.
“It’s Brock!” I said, “Mom, will you please tell him I’m not here?”
“What?” she asked, “Seriously? Whatever for, Lily? He’s your boyfriend!”
“Yes, seriously! Please? I’ll explain later.”
“Well, okay, but honey, he’s going to see your truck…” Her voice faded away as I ran to the upstairs bathroom and locked myself in.
I couldn’t face him. Not today. Maybe not ever. He’d humiliated me for the last time, and I wasn’t about to give him a chance to try to change my mind. I’d heard his empty promises a million times before. I’d fallen for them a million times before.
But not anymore.
This was the last straw.
I could hear the arrogance in his voice as it drifted up the stairs. I was surprised I couldn’t hear the puckering of his lips as he kissed my mother’s ass so hard.
God! What was I thinking ever getting involved with him? He’d charmed me with his good looks and smooth talking right away. I was ashamed that I had fallen so hard for it.
In the beginning, he was sweet. He treated me well.
But that was before he won the Texas State Championship. Once they placed that ridiculously enormous belt around his waist, everyone started telling him how much they loved him and started throwing money at him, courting him with corporate sponsorships. Skoal, Wranglers, Stetson, Tony Lama…they all came out of the woodwork, hoping for a piece of him. Pretty soon, he was spread so thin there was nothing left of him but some translucent figure that only resembled the man he used to be.
I’d heard rumors he might be cheating on me before, but I never wanted to believe them. I guess now that he’d called me another woman’s name, that was pretty much proof.
The front door slammed and I heard my mother’s footsteps on the stairs. She knocked at the bathroom door and quietly called my name.
“He’s gone,” she whispered.
“Thanks, Mom,” I muttered.
“Lily, is everything okay? I really don’t like lying for you.”
I opened the door and faced her. She was so beautiful, even at sixty-five. Her bright green eyes, my eyes, were the exact color of fresh Spring grass and they looked right through me.
“What’s going on, sweetheart?” she prodded.
“We broke up,” I shrugged.
“What? Why? Does he know that? Because he didn’t seem to.”
“I told him, but knowing Brock, he probably didn’t hear me.”
“Well, what happened?”
I groaned. The last thing I wanted to admit to my mother was the truth.
“I don’t want to talk about it, Mom. But it’s over. Brock and I are broken up and I promise you we are not getting back together.”
“Okay, honey, whatever you say. Does your father know?”
“I haven’t told him yet. Does it matter?” I was irritated. Irritated and annoyed that Brock had put me in this situation. I hated lying to my parents, I tried my best not to ever do that. And now, I had no choice.
“Well, no, dear, I suppose not.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m just on edge today.” I said, kissing her cheek before walking out of the bathroom and into my room. I needed space. Time. When she followed me into my bedroom, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
“You know, honey, no relationship is perfect. Your father and I have had our rough patches, too. But if it’s good, then it’s worth fighting for.”
“I know, Mom. Brock and I haven’t been good for a long time. It’s not worth fighting for. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”
“Okay, sweetie,” she said, her eyes filled with pity as if I’d just told her I had cancer or something. “But let me know if you want to talk or if I can do anything. Maybe your father could talk to him?”
“No, Mom!” I said, my voice rising. “It’s over. Done! There’s no talking to anyone. Just let it go.”
“Alright, alright. All I care about is you being happy, Lily. You’re a good girl and you deserve a good man. If I’m being perfectly honest, I always thought Brock was a bit of a kiss-ass anyway.”
I looked at my mother in surprise and burst out laughing.
“Thanks, Mom,” I said, shaking my head and pulling on my boots. “You always know the right thing to say.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
LEE
It gave me a reason to look at Lily without being creepy or obvious and I welcomed the chance to do so. She’d been on my mind so much this morning. Hell, if I’m being honest, then I’d say she hadn’t really left my mind since dinner last night.
Her green eyes had haunted my dreams and I’d woken up with the biggest, most painful erection and my head and my heart full of thoughts of her. I tried to push them away, but it was hard to do that, almost even harder than this constant aroused state she’d put me in.
Not that she’d done one purposeful thing to do so. She’d been nothing but the picture of sweet innocence. No, it was my own dirty mind that was filling in the pieces, my own distraction thirsty brain that was just aching for something to think about besides all the painful shit that I kept pushing away.
Of course it went to sex first.
But I tell you, that plump little mouth and her tight little ass swaying in those jeans definitely stoked the fire, whether she was aware of it or not.
She was a hot little package, but more than that, she was sweet as honey pie. It was a deadly combination for a man that liked his sex with a side of sugar. A man like me.
A man like me. Fuck, what did that even mean?
I didn’t even know who I was anymore. I didn’t know who I was supposed to be now, or who I was in the past. I felt like everything I thought I knew about myself was a goddamned lie.
If I wasn’t a Haggard, then who the fuck was I?
Hell, I’d grown up believing I was left-handed because my Pa was left-handed. I thought the reason I sneezed every time the sun got in my eyes was because it was something I’d inherited from my Pa. I thought we had the same gait. The same hands. The same penchant for baseball.
I thought it was all hereditary, the very fabric of my being.
But it was all a big, fat, fucking lie.
And what was I left with? Nothing but a question. A question that probably didn’t have an answer and probably never would.
I thought about my brothers - Beau and Finn. My half-brothers now, I guess. And then I thought about Crit, Seth and Jesse Hope. Who were now apparently my half-brothers, as well.
It was all so fucked up.
It was so much for me to wrap my head around that it was overwhelming to even try. My thoughts flashed to my last bottle of whiskey waiting for me in my truck and I couldn’t wait for the day to be over so I could just lose myself in it.
It was a lot easier to drown your sorrows in a bottle than it was to face them. Okay, so maybe it was the coward’s way out, but fuck it. I’d be the courageous asshole some other time.
Lily and Charlie trotted up to us, her strawberry blonde curls bouncing around her face. I swallowed hard, concentrating on looking at her face and not her full, round breasts which were also bouncing.
“How was my time?” she asked. Jimmy was her coach, and I watched them together, feeling a pang of envy as he smiled up at her lovingly.
“That was one of your best. Thirteen point twenty six,” he replied. “You gotta get Charlie to hug those barrels a little tighter and you can shave a little time off.”
“Yeah, I’m trying,” she said, turning her head to look over at me. “Hey, Lee.”
“Hi, Lily. Good run,” I said, reaching up to rub Charlie’s face. He was a sixteen hand black appaloosa with white spots on his rump and he was beautiful. He leaned into my hand, bumping it with his nose. “Good job, boy,” I whispered into his ear.
Lily smiled down at me and our eyes met. Her gaze was so direct, so calm, so fucking kind, that it made me want to pull her out of that saddle and throw her over my shoulder and run off into the sunset with her.
“Well, alright, enough fartin’ around, get back out there!” Jimmy barked, interrupting our eye-gazing. She smiled at me and nodded to her dad, before pulling Charlie around and trotting away. I watched the way her hips moved as he broke into a run and my cock swelled in my pants.
Damn, I thought, shaking my head and turning away. She’s the boss’s daughter. I should probably stay far away, if I want to keep this job.
Unfortunately, only my brain was listening. The rest of my body was ready for anything.
“Time for me to get back to work,” I mumbled, walking away from Jimmy. I felt his eyes on my back, but I dare not turn around. If he saw the look in my eyes when I looked at his daughter, he’d fire me on the spot, if he didn’t take me behind the barn and shoot me.
I walked out of the arena to head back to the barn. I was almost out of the door when I saw Brock walking to his car, his cocky ass swagger almost too much to bear with a serious face. I didn’t even know this guy, but I had a serious hatred beginning for him. He barely glanced my way before starting up his truck and barreling down the driveway, kicking up dirt behind him.
I shook my head as I set off back to work, wondering what a sweet girl like Lily ever saw in that arrogant asshole.
***
“Lee? Is that you?” I turned around when I heard my name called and came face to face with Crit Hope and his fiancé Ruby. I wasn’t ready for that. I hadn’t really prepared myself to face my family yet, and I certainly wasn’t sure how to handle seeing these two.
But here they were. Front and center.
“Hey, guys,” I said, taking off my gloves and shaking their reached out hands. Crit pulled me in for a hug, patting my back hard as he did.
“So good to see you, Lee! What are you doing here?”
“Picking up some extra work during the busy season,” I replied.
“What brings y’all out here? Getting ready for the competition, I imagine?”
“Yep, yep,” Crit said, “came into town a few days early to get settled. Gonna be practicing in Morgan’s arena while we’re here. Seth and Jesse are heading up tomorrow. Georgia’s coming up with Beau, too.” Crit tipped his hat at me, his lip protruding from a pinch of chew in his mouth. Crit was the largest of the Hope brothers. I’d always noticed in passing that his bright blue eyes were a lot like mine, but that meant something new to me now. I tried not to stare at them. There were no answers there.
“You know Jimmy from Sugar Hill, Lee?” Ruby asked.
“Nope,” I replied. “Just met him at the store a few days ago. Ran into him and his daughter Lily there. She remembered me from high school, struck up a conversation and I mentioned I was looking for work,” I shrugged. “Just good timin’, I guess.”
“Lily’s a sweet girl. I remember her,” Ruby said.
“She sure is,” I replied.
Crit’s eyes squinted curiously. “Why you moving to Houston?” he asked.
“Just wanted a change of scenery,” I replied, “Sugar Hill was getting a little too small for me.”
“Yeah, I bet,” Crit said, lowering his voice. “Listen, Lee, we heard about your Pops. About the tumor. We were just devastated to hear about it. I just want you to know that me and Ruby and George and the boys are here for you and your Ma and your brothers if y’all need anything, you hear? You family was so wonderful when we lost our folks. Your Pa especially, he helped us out so much. I’d have been lost if it wasn’t for him. And well…what you did for Jesse, man. You know I can never repay you for that.”
“Thank you, Crit,” I replied, trying my damnedest to ignore the lump in my throat. “I appreciate that.”
“Seriously, Lee, don’t you hesitate to call us, okay?” Ruby insisted.
“Sure, sure,” I mumbled. “Good to see you guys. Guess I’ll see you around, huh? Have a good practice today, Crit,” I put my gloves back on and turned my back, hoping they didn’t see the turmoil in my eyes, because I couldn’t bear to look at the pity in theirs a
second longer.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
LILY
“No, Brock, I told you, it’s over,” I hissed. He’d cornered me after lunch in Charlie’s stall. I was bent over cleaning out Charlie’s back hoof, or I would have spotted him before he spotted me. As it was, I had no escape route. He was in the stall and hovering over me before I knew it.
Of course, he started right in on me.
“Baby, come on, can’t we talk about this? I said I was sorry, a million times…I can’t stop thinking about you, Lily.”
“No, we can’t talk about this. Were you thinking about me when you were cheating on me? Who the fuck is Alex anyway? Forget it, I don’t want to know! I have nothing to say to you anymore, Brock,” my voice was quivering and it pissed me off. I didn’t want to be effected by him any more and yet here he was, throwing my whole system into chaos.
“Lily, my love,” he leaned in close, pushing a curl out of my face. I twitched and pulled away from him. Everything about him repulsed me now. The sound of his voice. The smell of his breath. The feel of his fingers touching my skin. “You can’t just throw away years of work on one mistake.”
“That’s the thing, Brock,” I seethed, my voice finding strength that I didn’t know I had. The quivering stopped and the anger rose. “It isn’t the first mistake. You’ve treated me like shit for years now, ever since you became famous. You’ve abandoned who you really were for a shell of your former self. You’re so superficial, so shallow, so…fucking full of yourself, Brock. And frankly, it’s disgusting. I should have left you a long time ago!”
“Oh, come on!” he said, raising his voice. I wanted to walk out, but he was blocking the door of the stall. “I’m still the same person!”
“No, Brock, you aren’t,” I said, taking one last look at him. He was still as drop-dead gorgeous as ever, but I found him so unattractive it was unbelievable. “Please move.”
THE HOPE BROTHERS: The Bad Boys of Sugar Hill Page 32