My parents, as well and Reed and Courtney, bought out our neighbor’s ranch and spilt it between me, Liza, Walker, and Ava. We each received a little over twelve hundred acres.
“Jase, this house is plenty big enough for you to stay here. There’s no rush in moving out.”
My father shook his head as he pulled my mother closer and kissed her on the head. “I’m going to guess our son would like a little privacy.”
“Well, you have privacy here!” my mother said sitting up and giving me a serious look.
All I could manage to say as I looked at my father was, “Um.”
It wasn’t like I was planning on bringing a girl home anytime soon, but if I was moving on with my life and letting Taylor go . . . I needed to have my own place.
It must have clicked with her because she blushed and said, “Oh, I see. Well we’ll do whatever you want to the cabin to get it fixed up for you.”
With a nod to my parents, I grinned and said, “Thanks. I should probably be heading out. Rick will be waiting for me.”
“Have fun, sweetheart. Don’t drink and drive.”
“I will and don’t worry, Mom. I have no intentions of drinking.”
Drinking only ever led me to trouble. The last thing I wanted to do was get hammered and end up with Jill in the backseat of my truck.
My phone buzzed in my pocket as I got to my truck. Pulling it out, it was a text from Rick.
Rick: Dude where are you? The band has brought fresh pussy in. The girls in this bar are beyond beautiful. I’m in absolute heaven right now.
Sighing, I got in the truck and shut the door. I sent him a quick reply and prayed I made it through this night.
Me: I’m leaving now. I’ll be there soon.
By the time I got to Joe’s, Rick had called three times. Each time I ignored it. Walking into the bar, my eyes widened in surprise. What once was a small country bar looked like a full-on club. The dance floor was huge with the stage straight ahead. The band was covering “Moonlight Crush” as half the bar seemed to be dancing.
“I was really hoping I’d run into you tonight.”
Turning on my heels, I came face to face with Jill Gates. “Hey, Jill. How are you?”
Her eyes moved over my body with desire. Looks like she hadn’t changed much.
“I’m doing much better now that I see you. I was hoping you hadn’t decided to become a city boy.”
With a light laugh, I pushed my hand through my hair. “Yeah, well at one time I thought I wanted something different, turns out ranching is in my blood. Besides, I really enjoy working with Walker and my dad.”
With a polite grin, she tilted her head. “So . . . are you going to offer to buy me a drink?”
And so it begins. “Sure. Sorry about that.”
She waved off my rudeness and walked past me and up to the bar. The band was taking a break and a DJ was taking over as I ordered myself a Coke and Jill ordered some fancy-ass drink that caused the bartender to shake his head as he walked away.
“What have you been up to since you graduated?” she asked, taking a sip of her fruity looking concoction.
Glancing around the bar, I took in the new place. Rick was right; it was bigger and for sure catered to the young crowd. I took a drink and looked back at her.
“Went to Paris, then pretty much started working full time for my father. Went to Montana for a bit, other than that, haven’t been up to much. You?”
“Well, I met someone in college. We got engaged and he decided he liked sticking his dick in other girls. By the time I found out, I’d already moved to Seattle with him and we had rented a house. I had a great job at a great school district that I had to walk away from.”
“Why did you have to walk away from it?”
Her lips parted as she stared at me like I had just grown two heads. “Well, I couldn’t very well move out and get my own place on my salary. New teachers don’t make that much, ya know. Daddy said I could come home and stay with them until I could afford to buy myself a nice little house. That’s my plan.”