Rough Country (Tannen Boys 3)

He grunts, taking his finger away and holding me tight to his mouth as I come. My hips buck over and over, searching for the release only he can bring me.

Before I’ve even finished coming, I’m flying through the air to land face down on the bed. Bobby’s hands grip my hips, pulling them back so that my cheek is pressed to the pillow and my ass is lifted back toward him. Panting for breath, I manage to gasp as he shoves inside me.

“Yes,” he hisses as my body gives way to his welcome invasion.

I bounce against him, his hips slamming into my ass with every thrust. It’s rough and powerful, but his words are sweet. “You and me, Willow. Nothing will ever change. You and I are going to tackle the world. Tell me, sweetheart.”

“You and me, Bobby. I love you.”

He grunts out a sound that I think is ‘I love you too’, and then he takes me harder and faster. The bed slams against the wall, and I’m thankful that Brody and Rix aren’t here tonight, not that I would stop Bobby even if they were in the hallway listening in. I can’t. I want this too much.

We’re making promises with our bodies, writing vows with our hearts. He’s getting his dream come true, and I’ll chase it with him because I’ve already got mine.

Bobby. Unc being okay and our family reconnected. My photography work. Home. Friends. So many things I didn’t even know I was missing. But now that I have them, I can’t imagine life without them.

We come at the same time, jumping off the cliff into the free fall of the future to fly together.

Chapter 28

Bobby

“Holy fuck.” I stare at the piece of paper in my hands in disbelief. “I’ve never seen that many zeroes. I don’t know what to say.”

Head down, elbows on my knees, I run a finger over the numbers and then the words, trying to feel them. The paper is smooth beneath my touch, but I can feel the importance of what this means.

Willow drops to her knees on the floor next to me, looking over my arm. “You earned it. Every penny. You heard what Stephen said.”

I did hear him when he called earlier this week. I just didn’t exactly believe him.

Promise me the big time, and I’ll be the fool for trusting you.

I signed that contract with Outlaw Records three months ago, and my life has changed since then in so many ways. And it somehow stayed the same in others. It’s an odd twist of fate.

On one hand, almost immediately after signing, I’d gone back to Nashville with Willow by my side. We’d had a week of fun—making music, taking pictures, and making love in lots of places that we’ll never, ever tell anyone.

Willow had sat by Miller’s side while we recorded every song I’ve ever written. Stephen said that would give us lots of options for the album and to release to radio. We’d chosen Dig Down Deeper as my first single, and it’d been an instant hit.

The first time I heard it on the radio, I’d pulled over, yanked the door open, and danced with Willow on the side of Main Street. My voice coming through the radio had been a surreal experience.

I’ve had another single make the top ten list since then, and yesterday, I gave my first radio interview from the kitchen table. Weird doesn’t begin to describe that. The DJ had laughed when I said I had to go because my brother was waiting on me to harvest a batch of pumpkins. I’d been serious, trying to talk about my music while Brutal glared at me from the doorway, occasionally glancing at his watch and then out the window at the height of the sun in the sky.

“Holy fuck,” I say again. When Stephen had told me what my share of the profits were, I’d laughed aloud, thinking he was shitting me. But here it is, in black and white.

“You sure about this? We could take this and go anywhere, do anything.” Dream talk of ‘what would I do if I won the lottery’ has become seriously fucking real with this piece of paper in my hands.

She turns my chin so that I meet her eyes and gives me a small smile. “Why would we go anywhere else, do anything else? This is home, yours and mine.”

Her mood-ring eyes swirl with happy light, and that she understands what this place means, not just to me but to my entire family, is nothing short of amazing. I don’t know what I did to deserve this woman, but I pray I can keep on doing it every day.

I bury myself in her arms, in her heart. In our future.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

The dinner table is loud and boisterous, as usual. Cooper is telling a story about the school’s fall festival, and Brutal keeps jumping in to add details from the several times he’s heard the story before. Cindy Lou is screeching, “Mama, more!” no matter how fast Sophie loads her plate with tiny, cut-up bits of carrots. James and Mark are fighting over the best cuts of pot roast, and I’ve got my woman’s hand in mine, smiling as I take it all in.