“I’m sending you the pictures, just don’t freak out. If you do, call me and I’ll come right down there.”
“Okay,” I sigh.
“All right, talk soon?”
“Soon,” I agree.
Ending the call, I stay in bed, tucked beneath the sheets as I wait for the photographs to come through. Rolling my lips together, I watch as they download on the text screen.
They’re bad.
Really bad.
Heat creeps throughout my entire body at the sight of them. They’ll have to be censored, but I have no doubt the uncensored ones will be leaked everywhere.
Tears fill my eyes at the sight of them.
I’m on my knees, Sebastian is behind me, his hand is wrapped around my throat lifting me slightly. My breasts are on full display, every pierced inch of them. My diamond-studded bars twinkling.
Fuck.
I’m America’s Sweetheart. I’ve never even had a true nude scene. Nobody knows my nipples are pierced, or that I have a tattoo right under my right breast. It’s a simple scroll, nothing bold or big. It just says, breathe. I know its cliché as hell, but it’s just for me.
Shit.
I call Grace, immediately. Biting the corner of my bottom lip, I wonder if this is going to be the end of my image. And then I wonder if I care. The wholesome, sweet image was something that just happened. It’s not something that I was trying to have, or become, it’s just what I fell into.
It could all be over now.
What are people going to say?
What are my fans going to think?
Shit.
FORD
Climbing up on Starlight, my finicky-as-fuck horse, I click my teeth and gently snap the reins. She whinnies before she begins to trot toward the pasture. She knows what we’re doing this morning, it’s what we do every morning. We check the cattle. We could both do it blindfolded.
My straw hat firmly in place, I look out over the horizon and wonder just how fucking lucky I was to be born into a cattle ranching family. Mama and Daddy would be proud of the little ranch I have now.
I grin at the sight of one of my prized Texas Longhorns. He snorts at me, but is too fucking lazy to stand. He’s a big fucker with a spread of at least eight-feet between his horns. He’s worth a fortune, but I can’t seem to part with him. I even named the motherfucker.
Otis.
Leaning forward, Starlight speeds past Otis and toward the rest of the herd. They’re all grazing, too content to even notice my arrival. I scan the cattle, counting the heads, and once I’m satisfied, I ride over to the stock tank to make sure the pump is working and my animals have plenty of water in this Texas heat.
It's not time to move them closer to the other water areas, but soon.
Next, I decide to do a perimeter run of my fencing, just to make sure everything is intact. I still have the North fence to repair, it’s older than dirt and hanging on by a thread, one good windstorm and it’ll be destroyed.
I have to get it fixed in the next few weeks, a project I’ll probably start up tomorrow. It’s coming up on stock show season and I know I won’t be home for a while. Cattle need to be sold and since this is a one-man farm, aside from the seasonal help that I hire, I’m the only one who can do it all.
Starlight pulls back, shaking her head. I know what that means. She wants to run. “You wanna go, girl?” I ask as I lean down closer to her ear.
She whinnies again and I click my tongue against my teeth twice before she takes off. I let her run, enjoying the way that the warm wind feels against my face. Lifting my hand, I hold on to my hat as she flat out hauls fucking ass.
When she’s done, she lets out a neigh as she slows down to a comfortable trot. We’re near the front gate of the property, almost running the entire length of my land. Sitting up, I look out at the county road, one that almost all of my friends live off of, all but Rylan and Channing.
A black fancy car drives by slowly. Frowning, I sit up a bit taller as I guide Starlight closer to the entrance gate. I’m careful to keep her away from the cattle guard, but walk us up to the fence line.
Aiming my eyes toward the car, I watch as it slows