23. WYATT

23

WYATT

"Lenny, you done with your chores already?" Ford asks when Lenny shows up where we've been planting all morning.

"Aunt Wren is getting the eggs but I finished everything else," Lenny says. I don't correct her that Wren isn't her aunt—probably because I like the sound of it too much.

"Can she do it by herself?" I ask. Last I heard, Wren still isn't on the best of terms with the chickens.

"I showed her the other day. She said she could handle it." Lenny shrugs. Ford looks at me to see what I think.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." No sooner do I get the words out there's a scream from the chicken coop. We all turn to see Wren fly out of the coop with her hair all over the place.

"I'm okay!" she shouts over to us. Then pushes her hair out of her face and walks proudly back to the house with her basket of eggs.

"Told ya she'd be fine." I grin at Ford and Lenny.

"I'm going to go check on her. She may need my help," Lenny says, then runs off to the house.

"I think Lenny likes her," I say .

"The whole family does, Wyatt. I'd say you more than like her." My brother Ford. Always so observant.

"It doesn't matter. She's not mine to like forever. Not like that." Saying it out loud doesn't make it feel any more true. She feels like she's a part of me, like someone I'm going to be missing a whole hell of a lot in a few months.

"I thought maybe the two of you were getting closer."

"We are." It's all I'm willing to say about Wren. Every day I feel myself getting more attached to her. And I think she is feeling the same way. You don't shed tears over someone leaving if you don't care.

The more I think about what she said last night. I know she's right. I can choose this. I've had it in my head for so long that baseball was the only way. But maybe she's right.

"What's got your mind turning?"

"What's next." I wipe sweat off my forehead with my shirt and adjust my hat. "I keep thinking about what's next for me."

"You're going to get drafted and play baseball." He moves to the next section of dirt with another tray of plants. The planter broke down again forcing us to do everything by hand until Colt can get it fixed.

"And if I didn't?"

"Then you work the farm with us. Unless you've got Georgia on your mind." His lip tilts in a grin.

"Is it that simple?" I ask, ignoring his Georgia comment.

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Do you think Mom and Dad would feel the same? They won't be disappointed that I'm wasting my talent? All the time and money they spent. I'll be washing it down the drain."

"Everything they've ever done has been for us. To see us succeed. To see us happy. I sometimes think about Lenny growing up and leaving. Maybe she wants to be an astronaut."

"If anyone would try, she would."

"No shit. I'd have a hard time seeing her leave but I'd give her everything I had to make sure she was prepared to go."

"And if she decided to stay here and help run the farm?"

"I'd count my lucky stars. You'd give up the majors to muck stalls and bale hay?"

"In a heartbeat. I love the game but not more than I love being here. I don't know if I'm meant to live that life. I like nights under the stars more than I do stadium lights."

"Whatever you decide, they'll support you. They just want to see you happy."

"That's what Wren said too."

"She's a smart girl."

Wren and Lenny come strolling out of the house toward the old barn we're going to transform into a temporary store front. They both have clipboards in their hands and look like they mean business.

"I wonder what they're up to?" I ask.

Ford glances up to watch the girls walk past the barn into an empty field. "Lenny Land," he says, with a smile. "Wren asked her to draw up her plans. They are working on a presentation and proposal to show everyone. You're not the only one who's going to take a hit, if she doesn't stay. Figure out how to keep her around."

If I knew how, I would. I'm not sure I'm enough for a girl like her to stick around for. All I've got is dirt for miles and a dimpled smile. It's nothing like the life she has planned for herself back in Georgia.

Ford cleans up all the empty trays and heads back to the greenhouse for another load leaving me to my thoughts. Not really where I feel like being right now.

"What are you doing in here?" I lean against the open barn door. Wren is sitting on her knees with a piece of white poster board in front of her. She looks at me over her shoulder. I'll never get tired of having those eyes looking at me.

"I'm trying to map out the layout for the shop. Willow and Colt gave me a list of what needs to go in here but I'm not sure it will all fit."

"It'll fit. It always does. You just got to work it in." I thrust my hips back and forth.

"Do you have to make everything sexual?"

I pull her up from the ground and into my arms. "With you? Always." I give her a kiss that ends too soon for my liking. "Do you want any help?"

"Are you going to actually help me or just stare at my ass?" She raises an eyebrow.

"I can multitask. Ain't nothing going to stop me from looking at you." I push stray hairs off her face. Wren's hair has a slight wave to it now that it's being dried in fresh air and sunshine. No more slicked back ponytails. I find a feather and snag it out of her hair.

"Things got a little out of hand in the coop this morning. We have an understanding now."

"You and the chickens?" I'm trying hard to keep a straight face.

"Yes. They're going to enjoy a nice snack outside their coop in the morning while I retrieve all the eggs."

"What happened with this one?" I twirl the feather between my fingers.

"She missed the first memo. Lenny warned me that Pancake doesn't listen very well. I don't understand how she can tell them all apart."

"That's Lenny for ya. I'm glad you and the chickens are getting along now, birdie."

"Just in time to leave in a couple days." She steps out of my arms and back to her plans on the floor.

"They'll still be here when you visit." I'm planting ideas, hoping they'll grow wild in her head.

"They will probably forget our arrangement by then."

"I'll remind them while you're gone," I say.

"So, you're staying?"

"I think I am. I still need to talk to my folks. I can't imagine being anywhere but here." Except wherever Wren is. I can always see myself beside her.

"I'm proud of you for choosing what you want," she says, not taking her eyes off the drawing in front of her.

"Whatcha thinking, birdie?"

"Nothing." She's got her creepy fake smile painted on her face. "We should get started if we're going to have this done before dinner."

I tip her chin up. "I'm here when you're ready to talk about all those nothings that are bothering you." I kiss the top of her head.

Wren lets out a deep sigh that resets her back to her robotic factory setting. She directs me around the barn taking measurements and mapping out the different parts of the store. Once we're ready, Colt and Mason will build the checkout stands and flower arranging tables out of scrap wood we have lying around.

"What did Willow say she wanted over here? We were just talking about it this morning." Wren stares at the corner of the barn. "It's on the tip of my tongue. Damn it. I knew I should have written it down."

"I've got something for the tip of your tongue," I mutter to myself as I finish taping off where she wants the cutting station to go.

"What was that?" She whips around in my direction. I stand up, holding the roll of tape.

"Nothing. Don't worry about it."

She steps closer to me. "No, I want to know." Her palm meets my chest, branding me through my shirt.

A long sigh escapes me. She's not going to let me walk away from this one unscathed. Maybe if I flip my hat backwards, I can distract her. I've done it before and it's worked like a charm. Her eyes trail up my biceps as I lift my arms, removing my hat and shaking out my hair, before flipping it on backwards.

She bites on her lower lip, then raises an eyebrow. "Nice try. What." She takes a step forward and I move back one. "Did." Again, she moves closer to me until she has me pinned in the back corner of the barn. "You. Say?"

The scent of wildflowers nearly suffocates me as she pushes her body against mine. Her blue eyes are a shade darker than usual. Is my little bird turned on?

"I said. I have something for the tip of your tongue."

Her eyes rake over my body. "Prove it." She takes a small step back and waits.

"You want me to whip out my dick?"

"If that's what you intended for my tongue? Then yes." She puts her hands on her hips. I glance at the front door of the barn. "They've seen it before, buckaroo." She smirks.

"I'm going to kill Colt for telling you about that." With a sigh, I unbutton and lower the zipper on my jeans. Then whip my dick out like I would if I were taking a piss except I'm rock hard at the moment.

Wren steps forward and drops to her knees. Her hands stroke up my thighs until she reaches the waistband of my pants and underwear. She looks up at me for consent before pulling my jeans and underwear down around my ankles.

One of her hands caresses my bare thigh and my dick grows harder in my palm. Her eyes go wide and she licks her lips. Taking my dick in her hand she strokes me gently, before licking from root to tip. "Fucking hell, birdie."

"I licked it so it's mine. That's the rule, right?"

"Yeah, it's yours, birdie. What are you going to—" Fuckity. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck . Wren wraps her lips around my dick and sucks me down whole. Her hands roam over my thighs and my ass while her mouth and tongue work me over.

I pull her hair out of the band and add it to the other one of hers I wear on my wrist. Collecting all of her hair, I wrap it around my hand and hold the back of her head.

"Do you know how many times I pictured those lips around my cock?" I ask. She responds with a whimper. "I jerked off more than once to the thought of your pretty eyes staring up at me like this."

Her eyes water as she bobs her head on my cock. I wipe them away when they fall on her cheeks. Hollowing her cheeks, she sucks me down faster. My grip tightens on the back of her head and she slows down, edging me back from my orgasm. I grin down at her.

"Are you going to let me cum down your throat, birdie?" I ask. She responds by running a finger down the crack of my ass and massaging my balls. Fuck. She's too good at this. "I'm close," I warn her. She nods the best she can.

My muscles tighten and I groan out her name. She slides her hands up and down my thighs as her mouth swallows every last drop from me.

When I'm done, she silently tucks me back into my briefs and buttons my jeans. I wipe the moisture from her eyes and fix her hair back up in the messy bun thing she had earlier. "Birdie." I pull her in my arms and kiss her soft and slow. She clings to me like she's desperate for me.

"Wyatt," she pleads with me.

"Do you need me to take care of you?" I kiss her down her neck and bury my face in her chest. "Did sucking my cock get you all worked up?"

She nods and scrapes her nails down my back.

"Come on. I can't do what I want to do to you in here where anyone can walk in." I take her hand in mine and start walking us out of the barn. "I can't believe you just did that."

"Are you complaining?"

"Fuck no! But the next time you do that, I want you naked and sitting on my face."

"You're pretty confident there will be a next time."

I stop in my tracks halfway to the house. "Did you not like doing it?"

"No. I enjoyed it very much."

Such a Wrenism. So polite. I enjoyed it very much . "Anytime you want to enjoy yourself, the pleasure is all mine. But now, the pleasure will be yours." I race us back to the house, passing my brothers on the way.

"Where's the fire?" Colt asks .

"Probably going to have another one of their talks. Is that what you're doing, Wren?"

"Yes. Very important things to discuss. Probably need to have the same conversation two or three times."

"For fucks sake," Colt curses. "This is too much information!"

"See you at dinner," she says with a wave.

God, I love this girl.

The thought should freak me out. Weeks ago it would have. But fuck, I really do love her. She's nothing like me, but fits me perfectly. She pushes me and challenges me.

I love her and it's going to hurt like hell to let her go in a few months.