Natasha Madison continues her Dream series next week with a single dad, workplace, enemies to lovers, age gap romance, and I have an awesome excerpt for you.
Excerpt
Emmett
“Okay, so we have another load coming in in two weeks,” Charlie informs me as I sit in his office with the clipboard. “We will have to move twenty horses to the other barn.”
“Building that extra barn was a great idea.” I smile at him since it was my idea to expand. We never thought it would happen, but the business is just taking off.
“Yeah, sometimes you have some bright ideas.” He gets up from his desk. “But those are few and far between.” I shake my head, not bothering to answer him as I get up and follow him out of his office. “Let’s go through the barn and see who we can transfer over there.”
I don’t say anything as I walk into the barn and toss the clipboard on my desk. I already know who I will transfer and who will stay. Fifteen years ago, I finished my second tour and decided that was it for me. I put my life on the line twice, and it was time to get on my path. The path that sent me to the Barnes farm, working side by side with Quinn. I loved the program he created to help fellow soldiers returning home and suffering from PTSD. They come and train with the horses, riding them and caring for them. Giving these soldiers a place to go every day if they are alone, which most are. That was me. I was one of them until I was part of the Barnes family.
When they started talking about expanding, I was the first one to put my name on the list to go with them. I had no roots where I was, so it was easy for me to pack up and leave. Now here I am in charge of handling everything the barns have to offer. I make sure the horses are exercised and brushed out. I make sure there is a rotation with the horses used during the day. I make sure the horses are ready to be ridden. I run the staff of over fifty people who work in the barns, two shifts a day. Charlie is the one who gets the horses ready, making sure he rides every single horse that comes in. Assessing them and telling me how to proceed with making sure they are ready for people. Most of the horses are rescued themselves, so it’s a great company to work for.
We walk down the stalls, and I look over at Rosy, knowing I would love to send her to the barn, but she isn’t ready. We make a list of fifteen horses that can be transferred, and I’m standing next to my desk when I hear her voice.
“Bye, guys,” Lilah says, sticking her head into the barn. I look over, seeing her smile at Sammy and then Bobby, who holds up his hand at her. My jaw gets tight as soon as she looks at me. “Bye, Emmett.” I don’t say anything to her. Instead, I silently grunt as I give her a chin up and watch her walk to her car.
Her tight jeans hug her ass perfectly as she looks to someone at the side and gives them a smile and a wave. I inhale deeply before I take my eyes off her car. “You okay there?” Charlie asks when he comes into the room.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I snap. I’m not fine. Anytime Lilah is around me, I feel like my whole body is alert. Like one touch and I’m going to explode. No matter how often I tell myself I should walk away from her when I see her, I do the complete opposite. Like this morning when I got here and saw her riding Rosy, the new horse. Instead of letting her be, I stood there for fifteen minutes, watching her on that horse. My cock was hard like a rock and straining in my jeans, and then she stopped. Just like a million times before, my chest seized just by looking at her, which pissed me off, so I made sure I snapped at her. Fuck, I was a dick. “Why?”
“I don’t know, I heard you yelled at Sammy?” His eyebrows go up as he waits for me to say something.
“I didn’t yell at him.” I roll my eyes. “I simply told him he’s not allowed to let her get on a fucking horse without anyone around. You were the one who made the rule.” I point at him, and he nods. “It’s not safe, and she’s careless with the horses, pushing them until they look like they’re going to collapse. She has to stop being reckless.” My mind wanders back to the first time she got here. She was so scared of everything. Every little noise scared her off, except the horses. I saw her go from a scared little bird to a fucking hawk soaring through the sky. Over the years, I have had to remind myself that she is just a girl, and the last thing she needs is an old man. Especially an old man who has nothing to give her.
“You done?” Charlie asks, and I glare. Was I done? No. I would never be done when it came to Lilah. “One, you know she’s better than that. Fuck, she’s been riding horses since she was five years old. She can ride better than some of the stable guys, and you know it.”
“Whatever,” I bark, annoyed that he’s right, but there is no way I’m going to admit it. “I’m done for the day.” I get off of my desk. “I’m going home, showering, and we’re going to hit up Thatcher’s.”
“Not sure,” he says, picking his baseball hat up and scratching his head, “depends on the wife.” Charlie and Autumn just got their happily ever after, and it came out of the blue. When Charlie lost the love of his life in a car accident, he blamed Autumn for it since her boyfriend was drunk while driving them, and she knew about it. He went into a downward spiral after that happened, and I’ve stayed close by him since then. He’s become my brother, or at least the closest thing to a brother I would ever have. I would lay down my life for him, and I know he would do the same for me. I wouldn’t let him, though, especially not now that he has a baby boy to take care of.
I nod at him, turning and walking out of the barn. I get into my old pickup that has seen better days but can’t seem to part with yet. Even though I know it’s a matter of time before she dies. I park on the gravel by the side of the house, getting out and walking up the two steps to the black front door.
The house is at the edge of the property between both barns. Entering the code on the door before opening it, I step into the big house. Without telling me, Casey built me a house when we were building the barn. When he tossed me the keys, I threw them back at him, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer. One does not say no to Casey Barnes. I was fine living in the trailer I had, but he said it was time I put roots down, find myself a wife, and start my family. I didn’t tell him that was never going to happen. I was never going to settle down with a woman, and I especially was never going to have children. It wasn’t in the cards for me, and I’d come to terms with that when I was fifteen and setting up in one of the foster homes I was in. Over the years, I’ve hooked up with women for a couple of months here and there, and as soon as I felt them getting too close to me, I moved on. There was no point anyway since it always led to them wanting to have children.
Kicking off my dusty boots at the door, I walk past the open-concept living room and kitchen toward my bedroom and straight to my shower. Tossing my shirt into the laundry basket, I watch it sit on the top before my jeans join it. After my shower, I fire up the grill, making a steak and a baked potato. Then I get dressed in another pair of jeans and a light brown T-shirt and run my hands through my hair. “You need to get a haircut,” I tell my reflection as I try to tame the top of it.
I’m slipping on my new boots when a horn honks for me to get outside. I walk out, seeing Sammy and Bobby waiting for me. “Boys,” I greet them, getting into the back of the cab as we pick up Hector and Elijah. The five of us walk into Thatcher’s and take a table on the side.
A couple more guys join us by the time the first round has come. I’m sitting with the glass of whiskey in my hand when I look over at the door. Everything in me stops except the blood flowing down south. She walks in with Caleb at her side, but my eyes are on her, always on her. She wears a white dress with sheer long sleeves and little blue flowers all over it. The hem of the dress hits her mid-thigh, while the neck plunges down lower than it should be, showing her perfect silky skin. “Fuck,” Bobby says from beside me, “she cleans up good.” I turn to look at him, my eyes for sure in slits, and he holds up his hands. “I’m just saying she’s pretty.”
“You work with her,” I point out. “Don’t shit where you eat.”
He takes a sip of his whiskey when I hear Sammy call her over. “Lilah.” She turns toward us, and I see her eyes taking us all in. She smiles and says something to Caleb before they make their way through the crowd to us.
“Hey, guys,” she says once she gets close enough. I see the little ruffles on the dress and also see light pink flowers between the blue ones. “I want to say I’m shocked to see you guys here.”
“Are you guys staying long?” Sammy asks. “We can move over and make a place.”
“No, that’s okay,” she replies, looking up at Caleb. “We’re going to get our own table.” The words hit my stomach like poison when she turns toward him. “Get a table. I’m going to be right back.”
“Will do,” he agrees. She turns and walks away, and I catch the back of her dress or, better yet, the lack of the back of her dress. Her shoulders are covered, and the material looks like it’s crossed over, but it’s all open until the base of her back shows you that she isn’t wearing a bra. My hand grips my glass so tight it’s a miracle it hasn’t shattered.
“Have a good night, boys,” Caleb says before turning and finding them a table. A table that is right in my line of sight. This is what I get, I think as I take another sip of the whiskey.
“He’s a good guy,” Sammy says. “He likes her a lot.” I turn my eyes to him as I try not to listen to him talking about Lilah and Caleb. I also try not to see her walk back to the table, but I fail miserably as I see her pull out the chair and sit down. She crosses her legs, showing you her legs with little strappy heels on her feet. She looks better in boots, I think to myself as my head laughs. She’d look better with her feet bare and in your bed. I shake my head to make the vision of her in my house, naked and waiting for me, leave. Instead, I finish the whiskey in my glass, pushing the desire down and burying it where it’s supposed to be.
I finish and try to ignore everything that is Lilah. Instead, I have two more whiskeys and then order a third when I see Caleb get up and hold out his hand for her to dance with him. There isn’t even a dance floor in the bar, but a couple of people are standing by their tables, moving to the soft beat of the music. The server puts the third glass in front of me, and instead of nursing it and making it last, I finish it in two gulps. I stupidly turn my head and watch her do some two-step dance with Caleb, teaching him the moves, all the while he has his hands on her hips. I think about breaking every finger he has, snapping them like twigs, in two or three pieces. “I’m going to get going,” I declare, getting up, not wanting to watch anymore. “Who else is leaving?”
Sammy gets up. “I’m leaving,” he says, looking at Bobby, who nods. I walk over to the bar and toss down my credit card to cover my tab and the drinks for the guys before walking past her and out the door into the warm air. I wait on the sidewalk as I watch Sammy going to Lilah and saying bye to her. She stops dancing for a second to smile at him before she waves to the guys. I look up at the black sky as I wait for them, not wanting to look back at her.
The drive back to my house is quiet. The windows are open as the warm air runs through the cab. I hold my hand up to the guys. “Thanks,” I say before I walk into the house and kick off my boots. I walk to the kitchen and take the bottle of whiskey Brady gave me last month, the new apple blend. I take two gulps, putting it back before placing my phone on the bedside table and collapsing on my bed. Looking up at the white ceiling, the pressure in the middle of my chest feels like someone is sitting on me. My eyes slowly close, too heavy to open them. The image of Lilah smiling at me is the last thing I see before I’m sucked under.
My phone ringing interrupts my dream as I open my eyes and look over at the bedside table where the sound is coming from. My eyes blink a couple of times before I roll over and snatch it. “Hello,” I answer, closing my eyes shut tight for a second before I force them back open.
“I’m sorry, is this Mr. Clarkson?” the strange voice asks. I look over and see it’s almost two o’clock in the morning. Who the fuck is calling me at two o’clock in the morning?
“Who is this?” I ask, sitting up in the middle of the bed.
“I’m sorry to be disturbing you,” he says. “My name is Mr. Graham, and I’m calling from Barrowhaven.” I listen to the words. “Is this Mr. Clarkson?”
“This is.” I clear my throat. “I’m not sure why you are calling me, though.”
“I’m calling you because… There is no easy way to say this. I’m calling on behalf of a Ms. Paige Drowery.” The name makes the hair on the back of my neck stand. The last time I saw Paige was close to nine years ago. She came to Montgavin and worked at the diner. We hooked up a couple of times, and when she pushed for a relationship and I laid it out for her, she left town.
“Okay, I haven’t seen her in over nine years.”
“Yes,” he continues, “I’m sorry to be the one to inform you of this, but Paige has passed away.” I close my eyes.
“Fuck. I’m sorry.” I pinch my nose.
“I’m sure you are wondering why I’m calling to tell you this,” he says before I ask him. “I’m Paige’s lawyer, and she made some arrangements a couple of months ago.” I wait for him to tell me what this has to do with me. “Paige gave birth to a daughter a little over eight years ago. She listed you as the father.” My shoulders lock into place, and the floor feels like it’s ripped out from under me. “I know this may come as a shock to you. She said it would.”
“I’m sorry.” My mouth goes dry. “What did you say?”
“You have a daughter.” He confirms what I heard before, but nothing could make my blood run cold like the next words out of his mouth. “And right now, she’s being held in foster care.”
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Dream - Recommended Reading Order
(standalone stories with interconnected characters)
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