I sit and stare at his gate, wondering why he hasn’t added a nicer one. Why he hasn’t updated the entrance at all, it is completely frozen in time, except unlike the inside of my parents’ home, it hasn’t been kept up at all, oh and he added a metal piece hanging down of his initials.
My phone rings next to me and I reach for it, grateful for the moment of distraction before I attempt to walk down Ford’s bumpy ass dirt driveway. I smile when I see that it’s Damion on the other end.
“Hey,” I greet softly. He groans, and that’s when I know that this isn’t a happy call, this is going to be more bad news. “Sock it to me,” I mutter.
“The pictures aren’t going away. The tabloids haven’t backed down, they want interviews. It was leaked that Sebastian was the one who sold the photos to the press. Everyone is having a fucking field day, and he’s been everywhere, talking to everyone,” he emphasizes.
Closing my eyes, I drop my head, my forehead banging against the steering wheel as I let out a whimper. “Why, Damion, why?” I grumble.
“Because he’s a washed-up has-been. The only reason he was up your ass was because he wanted to ride your coattails, the second he got a tiny bit of popularity from that, he was off fucking those nasty assed whores. When you dumped his ass, even if you didn’t go public with it, everyone knew and his prospects dried up. So, here we are,” he snaps.
“Thanks for not holding back on how stupid and naïve I was,” I mutter.
Damion hums. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Trusting people is really hard, and you thought that another actor would be a good choice. He understands your life, wouldn’t get jealous at the hours and grueling schedule. It made sense on paper. Plus, he’s really pretty, so there’s that.”
“I don’t want pretty,” I whisper.
He laughs softly. “You want your cowboy and, honey, you should take him.”
“He is so angry at me,” I admit.
Damion clears his throat. “He’s not. Angry at how shit went down? Possibly. But not at you, for wanting to find your happiness. You were both eighteen years old,” he points out.
“I’m sitting in front of his ranch gate right now, trying to decide if I’m going to walk down his road or not.”
“Oh my God, it’s seriously like a song. Are you going to walk barefoot down his dirt road, tell me you are,” he squeals.
I can’t hold back my giggle, it pours out of me. Throwing back my head, I let it out, loving the way that it bounces off the sides of my car interior. Once I’ve calmed down, I shake my head. I really like Damion, I just wish that he liked me for me and not because he’s forced to since I pay his wages.
“Okay, you’re going to go to him, straddle him and have some fucking fun,” he snaps. “But before you do that, we need to set up interviews.”
“I don’t want to do them,” I grunt.
“Grace will be calling you this afternoon and she’s going to set them up for you if you don’t tell her who you’re willing to talk to. And you know Grace, she’s going to have you everywhere, some of those people are fucking assholes.”
“Okay, I’ll think about who I want to talk to,” I sigh.
“Good, and you’re going to ride that cowboy?” he asks.
“Hanging up now, Damion,” I say. He laughs as I end the call.
A smile tips my lips as I open my car door and throw caution to the wind. Today, I’m wearing another pair of tight jeans and a button-up silk blouse tucked into the high waistline of my jeans.
On my feet are flat booties, instead of high-heeled ones, and I put my hair in a high ponytail again. As I was putting it up, I told myself it was because it’s hot as hell in Texas, but the real reason is because I loved the way that Ford wrapped his fist around it, the way he pulled my head back by my hair as he kissed me.
I loved it, more than I ever thought possible.
I unwind the chain from the gate, opening it just enough to slip my body through, then wrap it around again to keep the animals from escaping. I look ahead along the road and tilt my head to the side.
I can’t even see the house from here, I don’t remember not being able to see the main house from the gate, but then again, there’s a lot I don’t remember about this place it seems or maybe I’ve just forgotten.
Walking down the road, I have to keep my head down, he wasn’t kidding when he said that it would completely fuck up my car. The dips and bumps are the worst I’ve ever seen before. Why would he spend so much time on his fencing and his barn and apparently no time on his road?
Sweat trickles between my breasts as I make my way toward the barn and house. When it’s finally in view, I freeze in my tracks. I hadn’t looked at the house before, it’s gorgeous. It looks like the perfect white farmhouse, like something you see in a magazine, or in a movie. But that’s not what has me frozen in my spot.
Ford has a fucking ax in his hand and he’s chopping wood—shirtless.
Fucking shit, the way his muscles flex with each swing of that ax has my thighs trembling, my knees knock together and I’m completely unable to move.
“Shit,” I whisper to myself.
Damion might be right. I might have to ride that cowboy, because I don’t think I’ll be able to think straight until I get this pent-up need out of my body.
Chapter Nine
STEPHANIE
“You standin’ way over there watching me for a reason?” Ford calls out.
My entire body jerks and my feet finally unstick from the dirt before they carry me closer to him. Inhaling a deep breath, I try to calm my racing heart.
Why? Why do I feel like this around him?
I can’t even remember the last time that I was nervous around a man. Yet, here I am, a ball of nerves around a man that I have known longer than any other on this earth.
“Can I help you today?” I ask, my mouth completely dry as he continues to work, the sweat dripping down his chest.
He stands, facing me, his eyes roaming over my body as his lips twitch into a smile. My eyes travel down to his chest, pausing at the thick scar that travels down the center of his chest, stopping before it gets to his belly.
Taking a step forward, I bite the inside of my cheek. “What happened?” I breathe.
He dips his chin, taking another step toward me, dropping the ax to the ground before he closes the distance between us and is only a few inches away from me.
“Ford?” I ask, my eyes unable to leave the thick scar, one that I’ve never seen before.
He doesn’t speak right away. “Don’t, Stevie.”
“Stephanie,” I murmur.
“Huh?”
“I’m not Stevie, not anymore,” I say a bit louder.
He nods, his finger touching the underside of my chin, tipping my head back. Lifting my eyes from his scar, I look up into his gaze. He smirks, his lips tipping up on one side as his gaze searches my own.
“Okay, Stephanie, then. You sure you’re not Sterling?” he asks.
Reaching out, I touch the center of his chest, his scar, but I don’t look down. Keeping my eyes on his, I shake my head slightly. “I know who I’m not and I’m not Sterling either,” I say, trying to sound strong.