“Never,” I murmured truthfully.
“Even if I wear Mexican pointy boots on the red carpet?” His lips spread wide and I laughed.
“Who knows, you might start a trend. But then again, it might draw too much attention. I’ll be fighting women off left and right.” We both laughed at the thought.
His face turned serious. “I need you to do me a favor.”
I nodded. “Anything, just name it.”
“Be patient. I don’t know what it’s like to be with someone like you, to be followed around and hounded constantly. And you know my ranch isn’t the fanciest of places, but it’s home for me. It’s just not what you’re used to.”
I placed a finger to his lips. “I don’t need fancy or lavish, Blake. All I want is my dirty ol’ cowboy, some hay for us to roll around in, and a horse to ride off into the sunset. I’ll even clean out the stalls and go hiking every day if you want me to. That’s where I belong . . . with you.”
Pulling my hand away, he covered me with his body and kissed me. “I love you, Hadley. So much it fucking hurts.”
“I know the feeling.”
“Are you ready for this?” I asked.
Blake groaned. “Not really, but it’s now or never. I’ll just cover my ears when she screams.”
“She already is . . . I can hear her all the way from here.” She was probably yelling at Nick because he wouldn’t tell her what happened. I wanted him to wait until Blake and I were in there with him.
Thankfully, all of Blake’s tests came back normal. We had both been discharged from the hospital, but we stayed around so I could keep an eye on my dad and also wait for Felicity. We weren’t going to be able to stay long because the more people who saw me at the hospital, the more rumors were going to start circulating.
“All right, here we go.” When I opened the door, she was still yelling. Nick smiled the entire time and his grin got bigger when he saw us walk in.
“What the hell are you smiling about?” Felicity snapped. “There’s nothing funny about getting shot . . . again.”
“Maybe if he knew what the fuck he was doing, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Blake joked.
I smacked him on the arm and he laughed. Felicity huffed and glanced quickly over her shoulder and then did a double take, mouth gaping wide.
“Surprise,” I announced nervously.
She stared at me in horror and then backed up to the wall with her hand over her heart.
Her body was shaking all over. “How? How is this possible?”
“It’s a long story, and thankfully, Nick and Blake were there to help me.” Nick held out his hand and he pulled me over. “You doing okay?” I asked him.
“Great. Ready to play some hockey.” He rolled his shoulder and winced. “Or maybe I’ll give it a few days.” He laughed.
Felicity sidled over, reaching out her hand until she touched me. Eyes wide, she squeezed my arm. “Is it really you?” Tears streamed down her cheeks. When I nodded, she flung her arms around my neck. “Don’t you ever do this to me again!”
We fell over onto Nick’s bed and I laughed. “Believe me, I don’t plan on it.”
“Wait,” she growled, pulling away from me and glaring at Nick. “Did you know she was alive this whole time?”
His smile faded. “No. Evans and I didn’t find out until we were in Burnsville. Then we had to plan a rescue mission. I’m talking guns, mafia, you name it. They could make a movie out of this shit. Actually, they probably will.”
“Are you serious? Did anyone get killed?”
Nick and I both stared at each other and I knew he felt the same betrayal I did. Blake was the one who answered. “A few people did, including Tristan. He’s the one who was behind everything from the very beginning. He killed Scott and shot Nick, all in hopes of getting Connor put in as her bodyguard. That way he could have access to her.”
“Fucking Tristan? Tristan Doherty? What the fuck? What about that Dane guy?” she asked, focusing on me.
“He was a regular ol’ stalker and ended up being at the right place at the wrong time. He was innocent, except for trespassing on my property. Tristan admitted to being the one who broke in that night though.”
She fell down in the chair, her mouth open in shock. “I can’t believe this. This is some serious stuff right here. Do you realize how many people are going to want to talk to you when we get back? I’m talking the news, talk shows, et cetera. You’ll be booked up for months.”
I glanced up at Blake and he put his arm around me. “What do you think?” I asked him. She was right, there were going to be a lot of people who wanted to talk to me.
Blake squeezed my shoulder and sighed. “It’s up to you, princess. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”
Felicity’s brows furrowed. “Something you need to tell me?” she asked.
Smiling wide, I wrapped my arm around Blake’s waist. “I’ll stay in town until everything calms down. Then afterward, I’m going home . . . to Wyoming.”
She gasped. “You’re leaving us?”
Nick nodded in understanding which gave me the courage I needed. I was so afraid of losing him as a friend, but after everything that happened, I felt like we were closer than ever. He might have even won Blake over in the process. I could dream, anyway.
“I am, but I’m still going to sing. So schedule up my concerts and do your thing. I’ll be there,” I promised.
“What about your producer? Recording your music?”
“I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I get to it.”
Hadley
Nick and Felicity left to go back to California and ever since being back, they’d been the main headline on every single news station on TV. My time was going to come. There were people parked outside of the hospital to see us, but I hadn’t left the building. For two days, Blake and I stayed hidden in the hospital, waiting for my dad to fully wake up. I couldn’t leave without him.
We had tried to eat lunch in the cafeteria but there were reporters everywhere pretending to eat lunch. Luckily, Dr. Reese took pity on me and let us hide out in an empty room, just down the hall from my father.
“Is Tyla okay with taking care of everything while you’re gone?” I asked.
Blake finished taking a sip of his soda and nodded. “She has Jerrod to help her in the mornings. Nightshade will be glad to see us come back though.”
“What about the new horse you’re supposed to be training? Tyla doesn’t mind putting in the extra work?”
He snorted. “She’s getting paid for it. Trust me, she’ll be fine. I have ten million in my bank account to help with that.”
“You deserve a whole hell of a lot more, after doing what you did. My dad will be indebted to you, as am I.”
He winked. “There’s plenty of ways for you to pay me back. As soon as we get home, I’ll start collecting.”
I leaned forward and rubbed my hand up his thigh. “Do we have to wait until we get home?”
“Don’t start something you can’t finish, princess.” He growled and grasped my hand, pushing it over the bulge growing rapidly under his jeans.
I pulled my hand back and frowned. “You’re right, it would be risky here.” I stood up and walked over to the door. “I mean, anyone could walk in at any time.” Pulling my sundress up and resting it on top of my ass, I turned to give him the view. Spreading my legs apart, I placed my hands on the door. “If only there was a way we could do it quickly . . .”
Looking over my shoulder, I saw his darkened eyes staring at my ass, mouth slackened in disbelief. I wiggled it a little and said, “Whatcha waitin’ for, cowboy?”
“Fuck, baby. Are you serious right now?” He stood and stalked toward me, unzipping his jeans and freeing his cock. Pumping it a few times, he came up behind me and grabbed my ass cheeks. Rubbing his length between them, he groaned. “I can’t believe this is happening. You’re so fucking hot.”