Broken Trouble (Broken Storm Book 1) Page 14

  He blinked first. I took the opportunity to blink several times, relief flooding my eyes as they watered. I didn't want him to think I was crying, so I looked over at Starre, hoping it would hide my blurry eyes. Starre was watching the exchange like it was a show on TV. Place a container of popcorn in front of her and she'd be right at home.

  Gavin didn't speak, but I could see his thumb stroking the puppies fur.

  Aha, so he did like the puppy.

  "I can take him back if you don't want him," I offered, reaching out to take the puppy from him. He gave the exact reaction I wanted him to.

  "Get your fucking hands away from him," Gavin growled, moving the puppy away from me and out of my reach. "He's probably already scarred for life from you bringing him here."

  "I'm glad you like him."

  "I didn't say I liked him. I'll have to rehabilitate him so he doesn't have nightmares," Gavin grumbled, but for once I could finally see under his tough exterior. It was like chipping away a piece of a rock to find a fuzzy duckling, instead of more rock.

  I smiled, "Of course."

  "Smartass," Gavin grumbling as he turned away and sat the puppy down.

  Smartass was definitely an upgrade in insults.

  Polly came through the door with Dylan and Landon, and headed straight for the kitchen. I noticed Dylan sliding a new epipen into his back pocket, his eyes momentarily on mine. Had Polly taken him to the hospital after our date? I hadn't really paid much attention in the past when someone used their epipens, so maybe it was something you were supposed to do.

  Landon stopped and looked us over. When his eyes landed on the puppy scrambling around on the floor, his eyes illuminating as he yelled, "Puppy!" and he darted towards it. He knelt on the floor, using his hands to rough up the puppy’s fur, then moved his hand around as the puppy tried to play fight him. I saw the puppy sink his teeth into Landon's hand several times, but he seemed so into playing that he didn't even notice.

  Polly appeared at the doorway, looking down at the puppy, then exchanging a look with Starre. She didn't seem surprised, almost as if she already knew they would be bringing him home. Maybe Starre had texted Polly and told her.

  "Landon, go ring the bell. Gavin, wash up. I'll fix the puppy a plate of eggs," Polly ordered, then gestured to me and Starre, "Girls, can you set the table?"

  "Of course Polly," Starre said, and I nodded.

  Starre grabbed a stack of plates and I grabbed a bunch of forks. We were out of earshot from Polly and the guys as we set the table. Starre turned to me, "Oh my gosh, the tension between you and Gavin?" She fanned herself with a plate. "He was kind of a jerk though."

  I frowned. "Yeah, at least he didn't tell me off this time."

  "Girl, you need to just keep working at him. He's crumbling like he's been turning to sand."

  Before I could respond, the puppy darted into the room with Gavin following behind, one hand holding a bowl of potatoes and the other holding a small plate of eggs.

  Both Starre and I paused from setting the table to watch Gavin bend down and set the plate on the floor. "Here Mutt," he said, frowning at the puppy as he waited for it to start eating the eggs.

  The puppy waddled up to the plate, sniffing at the eggs, then grabbed the edge of the plate, gnawing on it, and trying to tug it across the floor. Gavin grunted, grabbing the plate and pinning it to the floor. The puppy growled and launched himself at the plate, using his front paws in a digging motion to fling the eggs off the plate.

  "Stupid Mutt," Gavin grumbled, snatching up the eggs and putting them back on the plate.

  As we watched the puppy fling the eggs back off the plate again, both Starre and I couldn't help but laugh.

  "You got me this thing just to torment me, didn't you?" Gavin growled, his eyes searing into mine.

  Grinning, I placed the last fork beside a plate. "Yep."

  "I hate you," Gavin's eyebrows scrunched down and I heard the slightest huff. His voice didn't hold the same venom as it usually did. It wasn't really filled with hate, just annoyance.

  Maybe Starre was right, maybe I was making progress with him. Or maybe he's really just playing nice so he could hurt me later on. People did that to me plenty of times. They would wiggle their way past my walls with false promises and emotions, then attack, and rip me apart from the inside out like a rabid dog.

  Protecting myself had become my goal. I didn't think I could handle anymore emotional scars and the only way I knew I could do that was to keep people at a distance. I hadn't let anyone in for years, because I knew better. Didn't I?

  "Feeling's mutual," I muttered, rolling my eyes and turning my back to him as I headed to the kitchen. I really had no idea why I was going to the kitchen, other than to get away from him.

  Polly turned and smiled at me when I entered the kitchen, her voice low to keep the others from hearing. "I'm so glad ya got him that puppy, Honey. He needed something else to focus on, and I have the feeling that puppy will do the trick. It was such a nice thing for ya to do."

  "It was Starre's idea." It didn't feel right to take the credit for something that hadn't been my idea. "Plus, he's in an oddly good mood today, I'm sure tomorrow he'll be back to his grumpy self."

  Polly's mouth tipped down as she thought over what I said, then spoke with such certainty I knew it had to be the truth, "Gavin may not show how much he cares, but he does. That's why he's the way he is, Honey. He’s just trying to learn how to accept you."

  We were interrupted by Jayden and Trevor walking into the room. I didn't even know that Trevor was at the ranch, so it surprised me to see him there. I wondered who Trevor was friends with, he seemed to hang out with everyone, so maybe he was friends with them all. Other than Trevor being Starre's boyfriend, I really didn't know that much about him. His dark eyes landed on me as he nodded in a silent greeting, then looked to Polly, who was directing us on what to take to the table.

  Dylan smiled shyly at me when he caught my eyes, a smile automatically rose to my lips.

  Polly turned and handed me a basket of rolls to put on the table. On my way, I saw Gavin pinch off a bit of chicken and toss it to the puppy, who sniffed at it before finally eating it. It was obvious the puppy is going to be spoiled.

  We all took our places at the table and Chili said the prayer, then we all started digging in.

  "Hey Dylan, you never told me what all happened on the date," Jayden smirked, his eyes mischievous and I knew he must be up to something. I had thought they would ask Dylan all of those kinds of questions while I had been out with Starre. Why hadn't they?

  Dylan glanced up at me, looking a bit nervous about responding and I knew he was thinking about being stung by the bee. "It went well, I think." The corner of his mouth lifting as his eyes flickered to my lips briefly before returning to his food. There was no denying what he was thinking about the kiss now. I blushed at the memory, glad Dylan was keeping that part of our date a secret. The other guys had already been pushy on a chance for a date, I didn't look forward to their reaction to Dylan and I kissing.

  "It was great. The scenery was very nice too," I flirted, not just talking about the land. Dylan was definitely pleasant to look at.

  Dylan blushed and smiled at me, which made Jayden's eyes narrow. "Nice huh? When we go on a date, nice will definitely not be the first word on your mind," he said with not-so-hidden innuendo, a dark smirk pulling at his lips.

  "Well, I guess I'm glad we're not going on a date then," I stated, turning his words around on him.

  "I doubt you can resist going on a date with me Sweetheart. Dylan's not that good," Jayden leaned over the table, his eyes darkening as he did so, "and I'm bad in the best kind of way."

  My face heated up as I tried to think of a comeback. After spending the morning with Dylan, Jayden's intensity was a bit overwhelming, especially when he was basically undressing me with his eyes.

  Before I could respond, Starre spoke up, "Did I ever tell you how Trevor and I met?" Her eyes were bright,
but I could tell she was trying to change the subject.

  "Not again," Gavin grumbled from his spot at the table as he fed the puppy more food.

  "Don't feed the dog under the table Gavin, he'll grow up with bad habits," Polly scolded.

  "The mutt's hungry," Gavin stated, as if that made it acceptable.

  Polly sighed, "Then feed him after dinner."

  "Fine," Gavin grumbled, going back to eating. A few seconds later, when Polly wasn't looking, I saw him throw the puppy some more food.

  I smirked.

  "Thinking of how pleasurable going on a date with me would be Sweetheart?" Jayden asked with a cocky grin.

  "Actually, I was just thinking about the different ways Starre and Trevor could have met." Good comeback? Who knew, but at least it switched the conversation away from dates. I was grateful when Starre took it as her signal to tell her story.

  "Well, I had gone to the movie theater in town to watch Tangled, which is an amazing movie that we really need to watch together sometime, Nova," Starre said, then her voice got all dreamy. "I bumped into him after the movie and he said 'I know not who you are, nor how I came to find you, but may I just say... Hi. How ya doin'?' and then he gave me the famous Flynn Rider smolder," Starre paused, her eyes starry, as if she was experiencing the moment all over again and was fangirling over it. "It was so perfect!"

  Gavin and Jayden made gagging noises and Landon started laughing, both Wyatt and Dylan smiling.

  "You guys have no sense of romance!" Starre exclaimed to them.

  "Thank God," Jayden exclaimed.

  "You all need to take note from Trevor! Then you might be a little better at getting a girl," Starre said.

  "I have no problems getting a girl," Jayden commented, leaning back in his chair.

  Starre narrowed her eyes on him before turning to me and continuing her story. "I think that was the moment I fell for him. We went and to lunch across the street, talking about the movie and just about everything else."

  "Some guys don't need to talk to make a girl’s day perfect," Jayden smirked.

  Trevor leveled his gaze on Jayden's. "Who has the girlfriend?"

  I saw a flash in Jayden's eyes, but he stayed quiet, causing the entire table to sit in an awkward silence for a few minutes.

  Chili was the first to speak, "When do you boys think you'll have the truck fixed?"

  I relaxed slightly, glad he was changing the subject.

  "I was working on it this morning, it's about fixed," Gavin spoke, then inconspicuously dropped another scrap of chicken on the floor. I heard movement as the puppy gobbled it up.

  So, it had been Gavin outside this morning. It was kind of awkward knowing he had been the one to see me bawling my eyes out in Storm’s corral, though I wondered why he hadn't brought it up. Today he was uncharacteristically friendly, especially at dinner, when he would usually cause a scene and tell me off. The puppy wasn't the reason he was being so nice. The only thing I could think of that had happened right before his mood change was my freak out last night and being an emotional wreck this morning.

  Did he think I was too broken to bother fighting with anymore? Did he think there was nothing left for him to destroy? I didn't need to be pitied, if that's what he was doing. I really wished I could see into his mind just a bit to figure out what was going on in that head of his. I doubted that I would like what I’d find, even if I could.

  Maybe I was better off not knowing.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  After dinner was done, I followed Wyatt outside to help him feed the horses. I was glad to help; it gave me the chance to get away from the other guys for a little while. It always felt comfortable to hang out with Wyatt, even if he didn't talk much.

  He led me into a corral, skipping over the other horses for the moment. It felt like he was specifically taking me there on purpose, making me wonder why. We approached a horse with a golden colored coat, which shimmered in the late afternoon sun. It was a different color than Brooks though, with a lighter gold coat and black mane, tail, and stockings. When the horse turned its head towards me, it nuzzled my hand with her black nose.

  "This is Sweetheart," Wyatt stated as he adjusted a bucket that was hooked on the fence. The horse nickered and perked up. I couldn't help myself, I had to pet her. It was like her calm disposition was drawing my hand towards her and forcing my fingers to stroke her coat.

  "Hey Sweetheart," I greeted, then paused, remembering that it was the same as the pet name Jayden used for me. Kind of odd, but the horse was pretty and sweet, so I couldn't really take it as an insult.

  "Sweetheart's pregnant, and Polly's excited for her horse to have her first foal," Wyatt stated, looking at me. "You don't know what you're missing in life until you see a foal being born or watch as it takes its first steps into the world," he added and I had the feeling he was trying to suggest something without actually saying it outright. I didn't understand what he wanted. Maybe he was suggesting that I be here when she gives birth?

  "Foals are pretty cute," I didn't really know what else to say. I didn't know what he wanted from me, but for some reason I wanted to make him proud by doing the right thing.

  Wyatt only nodded, then handed me a bucket. "You can go get her some grain, add an extra scoop."

  That was it. The moment was over. I missed whatever he was trying to get across to me.

  I thought about what Wyatt said, trying to decipher his meaning, while I scooped grain into Sweetheart's bucket. I heard a movement behind me at the door, but ignored it. It was probably Wyatt, checking in on me.

  I jumped a little when I heard Jayden's voice rumble in my ear, instead of Wyatt's. "Hey Sweetheart."

  Turning my head, I watched as he moved closer, his bare chest pressing into my back and his eyes darkening. "We're going on our date on Saturday. Be ready." Even though his tone wasn't arrogant or cocky, he spoke with surety.

  It was as if I’d already agreed to go. Which I hadn't.

  At least he accepted that I was going on dates with several of them pretty well. As long as they didn't get into any major fights, then it would be okay for now, right?

  Still, I hadn't agreed to go on a date with him and I didn't want him to think he could just walk up to me and act as if he could control me just by saying so. Plus, I'm pretty sure it was common courtesy to ask a girl out for the first date.

  "I never told you I would go on a date with you."

  "Sweetheart, you don't have to say anything, I can see your answer in your eyes. Plus, you'll need a man to show you just how incredible a date can be."

  I rolled my eyes. "Well why don't you watch what my mouth says instead?"

  Jayden's eyes slid down so he could stare at my lips. "Good idea."

  He snatched my chin with his fingers, then ducked his head down to land a hot trail of kisses across my neck. I flushed, trying to keep my mind clear, but his assault on my neck was quickly causing me to lose any thoughts of resisting. What Wyatt had said had definitely moved to the back of my mind, making room for my desire for Jayden.

  "Say it," he murmured.

  I tried to focus on what he was asking, but was drawing up a blank. Who knew his lips could be so distracting?

  Jayden held my face again, his mouth hovering just a breath from mine, his eyes searing into mine. "Say you'll go out with me, Sweetheart."

  His heated gaze was melting any resolve I had left, leaving me unable to resist him. "I will."

  Chapter 15

  I woke the next morning before dawn again. I blamed my early start on all the thoughts bouncing around in my head, but it was most likely becoming a habit. If I was forming habits on the little things like sleep, then it meant I had settled in more than I'd thought. Maybe that's why I had caved so easily to Jayden last night. I was slowly losing my hard shell, the boys slipping right through it with their good looks and sweet comments.

  It was infuriating.

  Stupid girl hormones.

  I got up and headed
outside to see Storm. I had just seen him yesterday morning, but it felt like ages ago. I passed by the broken down truck on the way and saw the puppy chewing on a stick near one of its tires. I had a nice view of Gavin's butt as he leaned far underneath the hood, but averted my eyes. It seemed I was always either staring at his butt or dealing with his personality’s equivalent of it.

  He didn't look up from his work as I passed, and I didn't hang around.

  When I entered Storm’s corral, his ears perked up and he trotted directly up to me. He reached out with his nose to sniff at my hands and pockets, looking for Sugar Straws. Storm snatched a few between his teeth, then jerked his head up high as he pranced away with his stolen prize in his mouth.

  I couldn't help but smile at him as I watched. Day by day, I was watching him change and become a happier horse. He opened up to me more and more as his spirit lifted.

  I approached Storm to open up the packets, but he darted away from me each time, even giving little bucks. I put my hands on my hips and shook my head at him, watching as he bobbed his head up and down. It made me wonder how old he was, because he was acting like a playful colt.

  When his ears flattened a moment later, I knew someone else had made an appearance at his corral. Wyatt opened the door and Storm snorted, like he was annoyed that someone had interrupted.

  "I thought you could try grooming him," Wyatt stated, sitting a container of brushes and combs on the ground.

  "Do you think he's ready for that?" I asked. Just because Storm and I had gotten pretty comfortable with each other didn't mean we were ready for the next step.

  "I think you'll know when you're both are ready," Wyatt tipped his hat, closed the gate, and was gone.

  I knew nothing about horses. What made Wyatt think that I would know when Storm was ready to be brushed? He had more experience with horses than I did, which meant he wouldn't have given me the brushes without thinking Storm was ready. Maybe this was some kind of test from him, to see if I would push Storm to do what I wanted or if I was patent enough to wait.