But Seth would not accept that right now.
Seth shakes his head, ready to argue some more.
“Why don’t you guys go spend the day together?” I suggest softly. “Go fishing, or ride the horses or something.”
“I hate horses and fishing,” Seth insists, crossing his arms over his chest.
Josh is a tense ball of fury, sitting silently next to me, letting his brother handle the young boy, and I have a newfound respect for the man who constantly needs to be in control.
“You love those things, Seth,” Zack reminds him calmly.
“Not with you,” he spits out, and runs out of the house, Thor following close behind.
We sit in silence for a few long minutes, not sure what to say.
“Well, that went well,” Zack finally says, and roughly rubs his forehead.
“He’ll come around,” I murmur. “He just needs to punish you for a little while before he’s ready to hear you out.”
“It’s working.”
“Can I make you guys breakfast?” I offer.
“No.” Zack shakes his head. He grabs his keys and wallet from the kitchen counter. “I’m going to go take care of some business in town, give Seth some space.” He waves and slams out the front door, fires up his Mustang, and speeds off toward the highway, the rear tires kicking up gravel as he drives away.
“It’s just us,” I mutter to Josh.
“I want to take you somewhere today.” His face is perfectly serious, and I’m instantly curious. “Let those two circle around each other. I finally get you all to myself.”
“Where are we going?”
“I want to show you my ranch on the ATV today because I don’t think you’re ready for a full day on horseback.”
“It’s going to take us all day?” I ask incredulously.
“A good portion of it.” He nods. “I’ve packed a lunch and some supplies. I want to share my home with you.”
“You have been.” I walk to him and sit in his lap, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I press my lips to his softly. “You have been sharing your home with me.”
“There’s so much more than what you’ve seen.” He leans his forehead against my own and sighs. “Let me show you.”
“Okay, let’s go.” I lean back and grin down at him. “Do I get my own ATV?”
“Hell no, you get to sit behind me and wrap those sexy arms around my waist.”
“We’ll see.” I bounce up to go get dressed. “Maybe you’ll sit behind me and hold on to my waist.”
“You’re feisty this morning.” Josh laughs and pivots in his chair, watching me with humor-filled brown eyes.
“You haven’t seen feisty yet!”
* * *
He wasn’t kidding when he said it would take all day. I had no idea Josh and his family owned so much land.
“This place is huge.” He’s parked the four-wheeler beside a row of cabins and cut the engine, giving us a chance to sit and look around. “I didn’t know you offered hunting cabins in the winter.”
“You’re not much of a hunter, are you?” He tucks my hair behind my ear and kisses my forehead.
“Uh, no. Not unless it’s a spider that needs to be killed.” I glance back at the well-kept, simple cabins. The sun is shining brightly, making me thankful for my tank, but I long for my shorts rather than the long blue jeans that Josh insisted I wear today. My hair feels heavy on my neck and my brow sweaty.
“Like I said earlier, the ranch is more than beef cattle. We offer these cabins for tourists who want to hunt, along with a guide. I’m hoping Zack will want to guide this winter.” Josh throws me a grin that says that he’ll talk his brother into it.
“Do you get a lot of customers?”
Josh nods. “We’re booked solid through next hunting season.”
“Wow, good for you.” I rub my hand up and down his back, ridiculously proud of Josh and his family. “Maybe Seth would like to join Zack and the hunters this winter? He’s old enough to take hunter’s education this fall.”
“You’re right. I’ll mention it to Z. Seth would love that.”
Josh starts the ignition again and I happily link my arms around his middle and snuggle up against him.
“I have a special place I want to show you.”
He rests one hand on my thigh and drives us through the brush with one hand, leading us behind the cabins and into the woods again. The canopy of evergreen trees gives us a reprieve from the hot summer sun, and I sigh in relief.
“Getting too warm?” he asks.
“A little.”
“Good thing we put sunscreen on you.”
I blush furiously and bury my face in Josh’s back as I remember his slathering the coconut-scented lotion on my arms, shoulders, neck, and face right before we left the house.
Only Josh can turn basic skin care into an erotic event. I’ve been turned on all morning, damn him.
I can feel the vibrations from his laughter against my cheek as he pulls the ATV to a stop and kills the engine, whose sound is replaced by the sounds of water and a light breeze blowing through the trees overhead. Birds sing as Josh and I stay where we are, sitting on the four-wheeler, me leaning against him, breathing in the fresh air.
Finally, I kiss his back and lean away from him, swing my leg over, and hop off, and he follows suit.