Flawless Surrender (The Surrender Trilogy, #2)(36)

Clint stopped his horse, and his brown eyes bored into hers searching her gaze for something. “Angel, you couldn’t have uttered a more perfect phrase. I knew you were perfect for me.”

“Ha! You’re just getting to know me. Trust me, I’m not always an angel.”

A wicked glint appeared in his eyes as he laughed, “Good. I can’t wait to see you let the devil loose. I bet she’s a lot of fun.”

Zoey laughed with him, and brushed off his sensual teasing. “There are so many things about me that you guys don’t know yet.”

He observed her silently for a few moments, all hint of laughter gone from his eyes. “I remember you from when we were kids. I might have been five years older than you, but Stone River is a small place. Everyone knew about your family situation.”

She grimaced and then huffed, “Yep, everyone knew, and yet no one did anything to help me.”

“I wish I could have helped you back then. I remember seeing you walking home one day in the dead of winter without a coat and thinking you were a silly girl. I said something to my mama as we drove home, and she scolded me. She explained to me that not everyone had the same luxuries that I did, and fed me a heaping helping of humble pie.”

Zoey’s throat tightened, “You! You and your mama gave me that green coat didn’t you?”

Clint’s cheeks grew ruddy when he realized that he had given up his secret, and he had trouble meeting her eyes. “We went that night and bought it. Left for school thirty minutes early to make sure it was there for you to find.”

Zoey could remember that moment as if it was yesterday. It was late November and the weather had just turned seriously cold. She had outgrown her previous coat by a couple of years and it was so frayed and tattered it did her no good anyway. Each morning she spent twenty minutes trying to get just the right about of layers in order to avoid freezing to death on the two mile walk to school. One morning, as she walked out the front door with her books in hand, she was stunned to find a winter coat hanging on a tree limb in her front yard. It was hunter green and a small white tag hung from it like a price tag. Instead of an amount, it simply read, “For: Zoey.” Until this moment she had never known where it came from.

Biting back a swell of emotion, she smiled at him, “Thank you.”

He shrugged and winked back. A wealth of unspoken words passed between them, and Zoey barely managed to keep her tears in check. The whole way back to the ranch she held an inner battle with herself over whether or not she had led him on. It wasn’t as if she was super experienced at juggling multiple men, and in this case, she wasn’t even sure if she had two or three on the hook. But the more time she spent with him and his brothers, the more she learned about them, and the deeper her attachment grew to all three of them. How hard was it going to be to give them each equal pieces of herself, without losing her heart?

By the time they arrived back at the barn, it was lunchtime and the temperature had risen dramatically. Clint took her mare from her to unsaddle and she gratefully smiled and headed for the air-conditioned house.

A deep voice stopped her halfway up the porch steps, and she turned to find Tanner coming around the corner of the porch.

“Nice ride?”

“Yes, actually. I haven’t been on a horse for a long time, and it was great to see more of the ranch. You boys are so lucky to have such a beautiful place to call home.”

Tanner nodded, “Did he take you to see the glowing tree?”

“The what?”

“I guess that answers my question. It’s a special place on the ranch, but he might have forgotten about it. It’s been a decade since he was there. If you want I’ll show you sometime.”

Zoey stood there in shock. Was this the same man who left her bedroom pissed off last night? When he frowned at her hesitation, she nodded, “Yes, I would love to see it.”

His wide shoulders seemed to relax and he gave her a half smile. “I better let you get inside to cool off.” His eyes skimmed down her body taking in the sweaty t-shirt that clung to her breasts, and her skin tight jeans. Even from six feet away her skin tingled as if he had touched her.

When she couldn’t make her tongue function to speak, she just turned on her heel and bolted into the house, leaving him standing on the porch. She went about the motions of showering and changing, but no amount of cold water seemed to reduce the burning in her body. Hopefully tonight’s date would culminate in something more touchy feely than the horseback ride had.

Zoey managed to entertain herself for the rest of the day and didn’t see any of the three Keegan brothers until almost dinnertime. She was just about to search the cabinets for dinner supplies when she heard Dalton and Clint on the front porch.

The two brothers came into the living room, and her mouth went dry. They were both shirtless, bareheaded, and carrying their boots in their hands. Their jeans were soaking wet, with muddy hems, and they were laughing like hyenas.

“What on God’s green earth happened to you two?” she asked, planting her fists on her hips as she stared at the mess they were creating on the floor.

Clint snorted and looked to Dalton who just shrugged, “Attacked by the horse trough.”

Zoey nodded, struggling to hold back a laugh. “And I take it the trough won?”

“Something like that,” Dalton answered with a laugh. “We’re going to get cleaned up and then we can start our date, pretty lady.”