down, stopping right in front of my entrance. I wait, wondering who the fuck it could be and why would they stop right in front of my place?
Tilting my head to the side, I wait for them to get out, whoever it is doesn’t. I watch as they turn around and speed off down the road.
Turning Starlight around, I head back to the barn. I don’t have time to sit around and wonder who the fuck came driving down the road, I have about a million other fucking things to do before the sun goes down.
The rest of the day, I focus on working, but I can’t keep that mysterious black sedan out of my mind. Who the hell would come down here, stop, then turn around? Anyone who makes their way this far down the county road usually knows exactly where they’re going.
Picking up a towel, I wipe the sweat off of my face as I reach for a bottle of water and take a healthy drink. Deciding I need a break, I walk over to a small barrel next to the barn and sink down.
Leaning back against the side of the barn, I let out a sigh, then groan as my phone alerts me to a new text message.
BEAU: CALL ME.
Frowning, I touch the phone icon and call him.
“You sittin’ down?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I drawl.
He lets out a grunt. “There’re pictures of Stephanie surfacing,” he murmurs.
“Annnd I care because?” I ask, unsure why he’s bringing it up to me.
I suppose it’s no secret that I still feel something for Stevie. I’m not sure anymore how to define what I feel, if it’s love, hate, lust, or straight-up confusion, but the truth is that I do feel something for her.
“It’s bad, brother,” he grunts. “It’s sex pics. I don’t know how they even got them. They aren’t grainy either, they’re crystal fucking clear and they are everywhere.”
I stay silent for a moment. Something fills me and I don’t know exactly what it is, but I don’t like the way it feels. My stomach twists at the thought of anyone seeing Stephanie like that, anyone at all, let alone the whole fucking world.
“I gotta go,” I grunt.
Without another word, I open up the Safari app on my phone and I search for nude pictures of Sterling LaRue. They show up as the first option. And Beaumont was right, they are crystal fucking clear. My eyes widen at the sight of her. She’s gorgeous. She also has her nipples pierced.
Fuck—it’s hot as shit too.
Chapter Three
STEPHANIE
My phone has been ringing nonstop. So many people have called me that I’ve silenced it and then decided to go for a drive. Damion and Grace are the only two people I’m answering calls from and thankfully, they believed me when I said that I was okay and after several calls and reassurances, they’re finally leaving me alone—for now.
Turning down a county road, a road that I know almost as well as my own childhood street, I sigh. I don’t know why I’m driving down here, maybe to feel a sense of nostalgia. I’m surprised by how many more driveways there are on each side of the road then there used to be.
Some of the entrance gates are clearly expensive, not to mention gorgeous. It makes me wonder who is living out here these days? I know they can’t be a local. Nobody from Gallup has money like that.
My breath is stolen from me when I finally see it. On the right-hand side of the two-lane, unlined road. The two tall pieces of wood, with another going across the top. There is a piece of metal hanging down that’s new, FBM. My heart twists at the sight of it. It’s his initials.
There’s a metal gate with just a padlock and chain to keep it closed, that isn’t new, in fact, I think it’s probably original from Ford’s granddaddy.
Old horse fence is attached to each side of the wood entrance, and I know that the fence surrounds the entire property. I also know that Ford is the one who has been repairing it on his own since he was thirteen-years-old.
I remember riding on the back of his horse to check the fencing when we were young, then we’d picnic under a tree and I’d watch him work in the hot Texas sunshine. More times than not he’d peel his shirt off and work in just his Wrangler jeans and straw cowboy hat.