Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Rae
A small red two-door coupe pulled up to the curb in front of where I was sitting, surrounded by shopping bags I'd paid for on auto pilot after Zach ditched me in the middle of a grocery store I'd never been to before in a town I wasn't familiar with. The driver side door opened and Lennix climbed from behind the wheel. "Hey. Everything okay?" she asked as she rounded the hood and met me on the sidewalk. "Zach just called and said you needed a ride, but he hung up before I could get a word out."
I stood up and dusted the seat of my pants off, still trying to piece together what the hell had happened earlier. "I... don't know, honestly. He insisted on driving me here when we both discovered I didn't have a clue how to drive a standard transmission. Everything was fine, we were shopping and joking around, then it was like he just shut off."
Lennix's brow furrowed deeper, concern for her older brother carved into the planes of her face. "Shut off? What do you mean?"
I shook my head, not fully understanding it myself. I wasn't sure if I should be worried about him or mad that he'd bailed. "It was the strangest thing. He was fine one moment, and the next it looked like he'd seen a ghost."
She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth, biting down hard as the worry on her face grew. "But you didn't see anything out of the ordinary? He didn't say anything?"
"No. He just said that he suddenly remembered he had to do something, then he took off, leaving me here by myself."
I watched as she worried her bottom lip between her teeth. I could practically see the wheels turning in her head before she seemed to shake everything off and reach down to grab some of my bags. "Let's get this stuff back to your place before it spoils."
The two of us loaded my groceries into her trunk then made the drive back to the ranch. This time the silence was nearly unbearable. The tension was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.
With each passing minute, the uncertainty of how I was supposed to feel swayed closer and closer toward concern as I recalled the fear etched into every line of Zach's strong frame.
As soon as Lennix parked in front of my cabin, I said a quick thank you for the ride and grabbed all my bags from the trunk, looping the handles over my arms so I only had to make one trip. I gave her a wave over my shoulder and rushed inside, making quick work of putting everything away. I stuffed the food into the fridge and cabinets in no particular order before heading out the door once again.
As I got closer to Zach's house, I noticed his truck parked out front. The windows were dark as I made my way up the porch stairs to the front door, but I knocked anyway, my heart racing and my throat growing tight. I needed to make sure he was all right. After a minute passed with no answer, I pressed my ear to the wood, straining to hear signs of life on the other side, but there was no noise coming from the other side.
"Zach?" I called out, anxiety gripping at my chest as I knocked again, but I still got nothing. With a sigh of defeat, I started back in the direction of my cabin, but instead of going inside, I passed right by it and headed toward the barn instead. I knew if I went home I'd just pace the floor and worry. Fortunately, Sassy had a way of leveling me out when my day wasn't going as planned .
Her head peeked over her stall door as I entered the barn and flipped the lights on, her big black eyes landing on me like she had been anticipating my arrival.
"Hey there, pretty girl," I said gently, rubbing a hand up her muzzle to her forehead as she snuffed around my waist, trying to get at my pockets for the peppermints I always kept on hand whenever I came to visit her. "I'm sorry. I forgot your treats today."
She made a chuffing sound like she understood what I said and was making her displeasure known.
I smiled when she butted me with the side of her head and tugged at my hair with her lips. "You really are living up to your name today, aren't you, sassy girl?" Another bump of her snout had me holding my hands up in surrender. "All right, fine. I give in. Let me see if I can find any peppermints around here."
I moved through the barn toward the feed room to see if Hal had anything stashed back there. Sure enough, there was a big bag of individually wrapped peppermints sitting on a shelf along the far wall. I grabbed a handful and started back out to Sassy's when a loud thunk from a couple stalls down drew me up short.
I moved in the direction the noise had come from, glancing over the door to Roam's stall. "Zach?" I grabbed the latch and yanked the door open. "What the hell are you doing?" I demanded at the sight of the man sitting on the floor of his horse's stall.
He looked up at me with a goofy grin on his face, his eyes bloodshot and bleary. " Heeeey , pretty lady."
I moved toward him, giving Roam a pat and a gentle shove out of the way so I could get to his owner. "Why are you on the floor?"
He looked around at his surroundings like he was just noticing where he was for the first time. "I think I fell down."
As soon as he spoke, I reared back at the stench of cheap, stale booze on his breath and leaching from his pores. "Oh my God, you smell like a dumpster that's been drenched in gasoline and set on fire."
Zach lifted the bottle clutched in his hand. It was that same brand of disgusting bourbon that I'd found stashed in my cabin. He put it to his mouth and took a giant swig before I was able to grab it out of his hands.
"All right, I think you've had enough." I gagged when I was hit with another whiff from the bottle. "I didn't take you for a fan of cheap booze that would burn a hole through your stomach lining." I shook the bottle in his face, my top lip curling up in disgust. "This stuff is terrible, Zach. If you're going to tie one on, at least do it respectfully. What, you didn't have any battery acid on hand? "
He lifted a shoulder in a shrug and listed to the side, nearly toppling over. "It's some shit Hal left in the tack room," he slurred. "Stuff's awful, but it'll get the job done."
I wanted to pry, to ask him why he felt the need to get shit-faced after running out on me in the grocery store, but there were more pressing matters at hand, such as getting him off the floor before Roam accidentally stepped on him and went out of the barn.
"How full was this when you got a hold of it?" I asked, inspecting the bottle that was barely a quarter full.
Zach's hands came up before flopping back down at his sides. "Dunno. A lot."
Something in his eyes tugged at my heart, creating an ache I couldn't rub out. There was a sadness lingering behind the haze of alcohol. A pain I couldn't even begin to understand.
"Come on, big guy." I pushed to my feet, holding my hand out to him. "I think it's time we get you to bed, yeah?"
He heaved out a sigh and dropped his head back, thumping it against the rough wooden wall. "You look like an angel," he slurred softly. "Did you come to save me? "
"Do you need saving?" I asked, tilting my head to the side in concern.
"Who the fuck knows? But I'll tell you what I do need. More booze."
He reached for the bottle I was still holding, but there was no way I was letting him have it. It was already going to be a struggle to get his drunken ass back to his house. One more sip and he was liable to pass the hell out. Sure, I had a crush on the guy, but that didn't mean I wanted to sleep in a freaking barn just so I could make sure he didn't choke on his own vomit in the middle of the night. I might not be living with the same comforts as I had in L.A. but a girl had to draw the line somewhere.
"Not a chance in hell." I exited the stall just long enough to throw the bottle in a nearby trash can before going back for my drunken boss. "You're done for the night." I grabbed his hand in both of mine and let out a grunt as I tried to pull his considerable bulk off the floor. "Work with me here, would you? I can't do this all by myself." I heaved again to no avail. Instead of trying to help, he started singing some country song, and even though I didn't recognize it, I was pretty sure he was getting at least half the words wrong. "Damn it, Zach." I let out a frustrated huff and blew a strand of hair out of my face. "Get your feet under you, or so help me God, I'll let you spend the night out here with Roam. "
The horse in question whinnied like he wasn't a fan of the idea of sharing his bed with anyone else. And given the way Zach smelled just then, I didn't really blame him.
It took two more tries, but he finally cooperated and wobbled to his feet as I yanked on his arm. Roam nudged at him like he was worried for his owner. That made two of us. Still, I assured the big, gentle giant. "It's okay, big guy. He'll be fine. He just needs to sleep it off. He'll be good as new tomorrow." Depending on how bad the hangover was.
His arm lay heavy over my shoulders as I began to shuffle us out of the barn, nearly tripping over my own feet when I felt his nose nuzzle into my hair and inhale deeply.
"Mmm," he hummed pleasurably, a deep rumble that made my belly swoop and my core squeeze. "You smell so good." He inhaled again. "Always smell so good. It drives me crazy."
I let out a shaky exhale, telling myself that these were just the drunk ramblings of a guy who'd gone through something earlier that day and not to take anything he said to heart. It would lead nowhere good, that was for damn sure.
It took double the amount of time it should have to get from the barn to Zach's house, and more than once, I was afraid he was going to fall right over and squish me underneath him. "You know, when you decide to tie one on, you go big," I grunted as I struggled to keep us both upright and shuffling in the right direction. "You barely had an hour to get this drunk after you left me at the grocery store."
A pained sound expelled from his chest as he leaned harder against me. "I'm so sorry, Hollywood. Never should've left you there," he slurred.
I tried to remember to lift with my legs as I hefted his weight more firmly on my shoulders. "It's all right."
"It's not. Was a dick move."
I cut my eyes sideways to look up at him in the deepening twilight. The sun hadn't quite lowered all the way just yet, but the moon and the stars were already starting to put on their show. The whiskers on Zach's jaw were longer this time of day. His eyes were dark, smudges of purple underneath that normally weren't there.
"Stop being so hard on yourself. At least you called Lennix to come get me."
He grunted, but I couldn't tell if it was in agreement or if he was still beating himself up. My cabin came into view just then, and Zach nearly threw us off balance when he turned, heading in that direction instead of his own house.
"Whoa, big guy. Come on. I need to get you home. "
"Don't want to go there," he grumbled, digging his boots deeper into the ground to fight against my pull. "I'll stay with you."
My mouth dropped open, a sputtering sound coming out before I was able to form words. "But... there's nowhere for you to sleep, Zach. There's only one bed."
"Then I'll take the couch."
It was as if he was going out of his way to make this harder on me. "My couch isn't big enough for a grumpy cowboy your size. You'll wake up with a sore back and neck on top of the hangover you've already assured yourself."
"Don't care," he grunted. "I don't wanna be alone tonight."
God, he really was breaking my heart.
Letting out a sigh, I set us on the path to my cabin. I could have kept arguing, but I knew he still would have won in the end, so I didn't bother wasting time. "Let's get you to bed, then."
The muscles that I had been pushing to their limit gave out just as soon as we shoved through the cabin's door. I held out long enough to dump Zach onto the couch before my knees buckled. I plopped down on the coffee table.
Zach let out a sigh. "Smells just like you in here," he mumbled. "Could drown in that smell. "
I did my best not to let his words affect me as he rested against the back of the couch, snuggling in like he wanted to surround himself with my scent. Drown in it like he'd just said.
I bent forward, lifting one of his legs up to pull his boot off. Of course, he didn't make it easy. I got one off and moved onto the next just as he leaned in so close he was all I could see.
"God, you're pretty," he said with a dreamy smile. "So damn pretty. Thought that the day you showed up. So goddamn pretty it hurt to look at you."
A flush crawled up my cheeks at the same time a million butterflies took flight in my belly. "All right, smooth guy. Time to pass out. Let's lie down."
I tried to shift him, but his hand came up, tangling in my hair and holding me in place, our faces so close our noses almost touched. "God, I've wondered what you taste like every day since you got here."
"Zach," I said, my voice pleading, though, I wasn't sure what I was begging for. For him to stop, or to close the last inch between us.
"Been dyin' to kiss you. Don't think I can wait another second."
With one hand in my hair, he used the other to tilt my chin up and sealed his lips to mine.