Broken (Broken 1)

“Yeah. When I told my father I wanted to move to Llano, he flew here and looked at property. There was a house right on the river that he fell in love with. He sent me pictures, and I loved it, too. So, my parents bought it for me with the plan that I would pay them back. ”

She gave me the address.

“You live in the old Peabody house? That place is beautiful. ”

She smiled as she tilted her head and looked at me.

Jesus, I like when she looks at me like that.

“Yes, it is beautiful. My dream has always been to buy an older home and restore it. I fell in love with the sandstone. I love that house. ”

“It’s a good thing since your dad picked it out. ” I pulled up and parked in front of her house. “Why didn’t you come down with him? That’s a lot of trust you put in your dad to let him pick out your house!”

Her smile faded, and her eyes filled with sadness. “I, um…I had some things to take care of in New York City. ” She gave me a slight smile.

I knew it. She’s from New York City.

I nodded. “Gotcha. Well, Miss Reynolds, it has been…an experience, meeting and getting to know you. ”

She tried to look pissed but ended up laughing. “Are you going to be a Southern gentleman and help me carry this stuff inside, so my neurotic friend can eye you up properly? She’s been dying to see a real cowboy,” she said as her eyes moved up and down my body.

I laughed and jumped out of the truck. I grabbed two boxes while she carried a few other items. As we walked up to the front door, I could already see the changes she’d made to the house. She had added potted plants, and the landscaping in front of the house was amazing.

“You painted the front door red. I like it with that stained glass,” I said.

She turned and gave me a proud smile. “Thank you. I’ve always wanted—”

The next thing I knew, the front door swung open, and I was looking at who I was guessing was Courtney. She smiled, and I couldn’t help but look her up and down. She had on the shortest shorts I’d ever seen along with a Texas A&M T-shirt. She was about five feet five inches with blondish-red hair and sky-blue eyes. She was breathtaking but not as beautiful as Whitley.

She has nothing on my CG.

Wait—what? What in the hell is going on with me?

“Ah…” I stood there, just looking back and forth between them.

“Shit, Court, can you get the hell out of the way, so he can come in and drop off my stuff?”

Courtney smiled, and I swore I’d never been eye-fucked so openly before.

City girls.

She moved out of the way, and when Whitley walked by, she whispered something in her ear.

“Shut up, Lollipop. You’re an ass. ”

I took a quick look around. The living room was in the process of being painted, and the wood floors were covered up, but I could tell they had been refinished.

“Layton, this is my best friend, Courtney. Court, this is Layton Morris. ”

Courtney flashed me a grin, and her eyes lit up. “My first official cowboy. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Morris. ”

I laughed and shook my head. “Please call me Layton, and the pleasure is all mine. ”

They both peered at each other before turning back to look at me.

“Well, CG, it was a pleasure. Hope to see you around,” I said with a wink.

“Yep, back at ya, cowboy. ” She gave me a wink back.