Page 58 of The Cowboy's Cabaret

Jasper’s looking at the ground fighting a smile, but I can see the subtle upturn of his lips.

“Tell us more, damn!” Stone shouts.

“Stone, calm down. The man is gonna blow a gasket. What does this mean for us? For the orchard?” Lorraine eagerly asks.

The anxiety threatens to crawl up my throat, but I feel Wes’ firm hand on my knee steadying me. “We’ll have a meeting with the organization to finalize the details and how we’ll receivethe money, and then it’s time to get to work. I finish school at the end of this month, so there’s a lot to do between now and starting.”

“You’ll have to move here, won’t you, Dahlia? This is wonderful! I’ll have to start fixing up Wes’ cabin.” Stone is going a mile a minute and I’m somewhere between hysterical laughing and crying.

“Hold up, everyone. We don’t need to rush. Dahlia doesn’t have to move—well, obviously I would love to be roomies, that’s not the point. We’ll figure it out in due time.”

“Mom, Mom, Mom! Can we have a snack?” Emmett is waving a lollipop around and Amber hushes him before bargaining with him to eat his dinner first. The chaos of it all feels like home. The possibility of living here isn’t that far-fetched, is it? There will be so much to do in the next year and it would make everything significantly easier if I was down in Wes’ cabin rather than an over an hour away.

Jasper looks at me with a head nod, before loading up his plate with chili and cheddar cheese. It’s not a groundbreaking gesture by any means, but for Jasper it might as well be a kiss on the forehead. At my side, Daphne is fidgeting. She almost looks nervous? I lean over to nudge her out of her reverie. “You good?”

“Of course. I’m so happy for you, really. It’s all so exciting. A lot of change to come.” She doesn’t meet my eyes and I know a bigger conversation needs to happen about what this means for me and this place, but also Daphne. Would she come with me? Would she even want to? Maybe I’m being presumptuous, but I know she’s not necessarily happy where she is. She’s contented, complacent, even, but happy? I’m not sure.

The dinner table is filled with the excited chatter of family and my frayed nerves start to soften. I hold Wes’ hand under the table while I devour the most hearty bowl of chili, before I steal the last cornbread muffin. Maybe it’ll be okay after all.

FORTY-FIVE

the best graduation day accessory is a creampie

Wesley

That night,Dahlia and I curl up in my bed, her head against my chest. Her soft hair tangles between my fingers as I brush my fingers along her scalp. This moment feels so perfect, I’ve never felt this at ease with another person, let alone myself.

There’s so much I want to say to Dahlia, so much I want her to know in this moment. My mind whirs trying to think of what to say to convince her to stay for good when she speaks. “What does the future look like for us?”

“Whatever we want it too, I think,” I reply.

“Tell me what you see for us.”

My throat tightens with unexpected emotion, swallowing becoming a chore. “Well, I think I see us, happy and in love. I see the farm thriving, maybe the orchard is on its way to redemption. I see you changing lives with this therapy program,running something to help a lot of lost souls. Lost like I’ve been.” I press a kiss to her hair.

“I see you walking towards me, flowers in your hair, ready to promise me forever. I see you chasing our babies around the yard, and I’m running right behind you. I see a home that’s safe and a family that’s loving. You, at the center of it all. You’re my future, baby. You’re all I ever wanted and something I didn’t even know to wish for.” I can’t help the tears falling down my face at the images playing in my mind like a movie reel. Dahlia looks up at me, her red eyes matching mine. We both choke out wet laughs at the scene.

“Buncha fuckin’ saps the two of us, huh?” I joke.

“Hard not to be when you tell a girl everything she wants to hear. I see it all too. I’ve let myself fall for you and I don’t ever plan to let you go. There’s still school to figure out now, but maybe after graduation…” She trails off. “Maybe after graduation, I could come stay out here? With you. We’ll be business partners after all.” She starts pinching my nipples and I yelp.

“Damn girl, leave my nipples out of this. Are you asking to move into the cowboy castle, Princess?” There are so many memories laced between us, the thought of the many more we’ll have ahead warms me to my core.

“I think so, Cowboy. You wore me down after all.”

I pop up and lean over her, dragging my mouth all over her chest and neck, tickling her with my beard as she starts cackling. “I love you. I love you more than I could ever express in words.” She stops my assault with a chaste kiss, that ultimately leads to much more than kissing. The late night trickles on as silence blankets the cabin and we fall asleep, wrapped up in each other.

Movementto my left has me trying to turn on my side to cradle the warmth next to me when it suddenly shifts and I’m pushed flat.

In this dreamy, half-conscious state, I flop onto my back and reach for sleep again when I feel the soft tickle of hair along my thighs. Warm hands settle against my hips before cold air has me hissing as my morning wood springs from my boxers. The crown of my cock is enveloped in a hot, wetness that has me bucking up and groaning before I open my eyes. Sinful brown eyes peer up at me as Dahlia blows me wholeheartedly.

My hands grip the sheets on either side of my body. “Goddamn, baby. What a fuckin’ way to wake up.”

She pops off my cock with a giggle. “Figured I would give you a preview of our future, roomie.”

“What a future that is. Choke on my cock, Princess.” I move a palm to the back of her head and before I can even press down, she takes me to the back of her throat with a gag. “My beautiful cockslut, you’re real good at this.”

Dahlia’s eyes are wet with unshed tears as she works to suck the life out of me. When her hands cradle my heavy balls, I squeeze my eyes shut in pleasure. The groans coming out of me are primal as I pant my way to release. “Mmm, slow down. As much as I want to fill your throat with my cum, I’d much rather fill your pussy. Climb up here and turn around.”