Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) (8 page)

              An alarm clock buzzed beside my bed, the ringing piercing my skull and making me groan.

              I smacked the top of the clock to shut it up, the numbers 4:06 barely visible in my blurry vision. I was insane for even thinking about getting up early, let alone actually attempting it. Why did I even want to get up this early?

              For Storm.

              Why Wyatt couldn't have chosen a reasonable time to do the lesson, I had no clue. Why not during the day, or even after breakfast? I'd be perfectly happy with a night time lesson. Didn't cowboys know that a girl needs her sleep?

              I lay there, enjoying the warmth of my bed for a couple more minutes, letting my mind wander as I tried to get my body to move. Last night had been really nice. Way more than nice actually, it had been incredible. Dancing with Dylan had brought me into a different level of thinking. One that had my cheeks warming with a blush and my thoughts lingering on the warmth of his arms and gaze.

              These thoughts were dangerous. Before last night, I had thought I would just have some fun with the guys, but after last night, I realized just how easily I could fall. I didn't want to get hurt, and I didn’t want to hurt them either. I sighed and sat up, rubbing my eyes and fisting my hands in my hair. It was way too early to think about these kinds of things. It was too early to really think of anything.

              I stumbled out of bed and across the room, digging through my drawers, searching for a change of clothes. They were all gone.

              Had I really worn all of them already? I knelt on the floor, searching for the clothes I had left in the floor, wondering if I could find something that wasn't too dirty to wear. I didn't want to turn on the light and blind myself, so I crawled across the floor, feeling around to try and find the clothing that way. After a few minutes, I still hadn't found anything, only managing to smack my head on the dresser.

              I got up and turned on the light, groaning as my eyes blurred even more.  I forced my eyes open against the blinding light to take a quick look.

              There was nothing there.

              Where the heck did all my clothes go? Had I moved them and forgotten?

              I sighed, but resigned to the fact that I would just have to wear the same clothes and look for the others later. I took a quick shower and brushed my hair, tying it back to keep it out of the way, then headed outside. The house was quiet but some lights were on, so I assumed that there were other people up already, which was crazy. I felt like this whole place was just a crazy dream I was walking through, awaiting the moment I would wake up and realize that the few weeks were just a long, crazy, magical dream.

              I headed to Storm’s corral, yawning and wishing I was still in bed. Even the bugs were still making their noise like they always did at night. Storm better appreciate this.

              When I stepped into his corral, he was standing on the far side, facing away from me. His ears flicked back at me, but that was his only response. I saw Wyatt sitting in the corral, leaning his back against the fence with his hat low over his face, his breathing deep and even.

              I stood over him for a minute, wondering if I should play a prank on him to get him back for offering this lesson so freakishly early. What would freak out a hot cowboy? I could howl like a wolf, though I'd probably end up looking completely stupid. Maybe something small like knocking the hat off his head. Weren't cowboys particular about their hats?

              My train of thought was cut short by Wyatt's voice. "You came," he spoke, not moving from his completely relaxed position.

              "I said I would. What's your lesson, oh wise one?" I asked, a bit crabby from sleepiness. I knew I should be nice, but I really couldn't help it. I wasn't a morning person. When I got hungry or had to get up way too early, then I was unreasonably grouchy.

              Wyatt lifted his hand to his hat and tilted it up, his eyes scanning my face in an appraising look. "Sit."

              I sat down beside him, leaving plenty of space between us as I tried to rub the sleep from my eyes.

              Wyatt reached beside him and pulled and a canister and two mugs, pouring hot steamy liquid in both. The smell of coffee hit my nose and I scrunched my nose. I didn't like coffee at all and I had heard about a cowboys coffee and how strong and gritty it was supposed to be. I really hoped one of those mugs was for Storm or that Wyatt liked to drink two cups of coffee at once.

              He moved one cup over and sat it beside me before shifting to set the canister aside and grab something else. He pulled out a candy cane and stirred his coffee with it, leaning back and glancing at me.

              Crap, he expected me to drink the coffee. I tensed, trying to figure out how to tell him I didn't like coffee without being rude. A cold chill was in the morning air and the cup of coffee was steaming hot. So, I grabbed the mug and wrapped my hands around it. If anything I could use it as a hand warmer until he wasn't looking, then pour the stuff out.

              This seemed to satisfy Wyatt and he relaxed, gazing out across the corral at Storm. I sat there in the silence of the early morning, wondering if he had fallen asleep with his eyes open. Only the occasional blinking and sipping of coffee told me he was still awake. Finally, he shifted slightly and started to speak. "When I first came here, I hated it. Gavin especially hated it. We were always waiting to be sent away or hurt, always expecting bad things to happen. Months went by and we still hadn't settled, just waiting for the right moment to leave. We had made it on our own before and we didn't need to be here," Wyatt paused and I stiffened. The similarities in their past position and mine wasn't lost to me. I waited for him to continue, wondering where this was going.

              "Christmas came around and we planned to escape then while the others were spending time together. That never happened. A pack of coyote attacked the cattle and we all rode out to scare them off and gather up the cattle. My horse spooked and dumped me in front of the pack and they saved my life. Later on, we all sat around the fire, drinking coffee to warm us up, with peppermint in it to calm our nerves. That was the night I decided to stay, it was the first time I had ever felt like I belonged anywhere but my brother’s side." Wyatt dipped his head down, his eyes distant as if he was still there, sitting by the fire.

              I sat in shocked silence. I couldn't believe Wyatt could actually talk so much, his responses were usually limited to one word at a time. Yet here he was, talking away and telling me an intimate part of his past. He cleared his throat and sat up, looking at me.

              "If you want Storm to settle in and relax, then you have to do so yourself. A horse can sense how you're feeling, if you're unsure or scared, that's how he'll feel. It goes both ways."

              I bit the inside of my lip, staring into his eyes as he watched me. This wasn't just a lesson on horses, he was trying to tell me he had been where I was, He was letting me know that things could work out. Who knew cowboys could be so intuitive?

"What if I can't settle in? I don't have much time left here before I go back. Where would that leave Storm?"

              "This place has a way of making you lose track of time," Wyatt stood up and placed a candy cane in my coffee mug, "It's all up to you. You don't have to make a decision now, but you should give it your best shot. Storm's ready to find his home whenever you are and this place isn't so bad." Wyatt walked off into the darkness. A few minutes later I heard the squeak of the screen door of the ranch house as he went inside, leaving me alone to mull over what he had said.

              I leaned back against the fence, sighing heavily. Wyatt knew nothing, and yet everything about me. We barely knew each other, yet there he was, suggesting I stay. I looked down into the mug of coffee, trying to place myself in the memory he had shared as I took a sip off the coffee. The sweet taste of peppermint slid over my tongue, only a small aftertaste of coffee lingering on my tongue. It was actually really good coffee, not gritty or strong like I thought it would be, only sweet and calming. As I took another sip, I wondered if this place would be as surprising as the coffee.

              Maybe it would be worth a shot.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

              I spent the morning with Storm, thinking things over. By the time the sun was starting to rise up over the horizon, casting a variety of colors across the sky, I had long since finished the peppermint coffee. Though the sun was rising and it was starting to warm up, goosebumps were still scattered across my arms. I headed inside to warm up and find the rest of my clothes.

              When I reached the doorway to my room, I paused, eyeing a basket in front of it. Inside lay all my clothes, clean and folded neatly.

              There could only be one reason that my clothes had disappeared dirty and reappearing clean. Polly had washed them. I mentally wrote on a sticky note and placed it in the back of my mind so I would remember to thank her and help her with laundry sometime in return. I wasn't used to people doing things for me, but it was a nice change of pace.

              I headed into my room and nudged the door closed with my boot, setting the basket on the bed as I worked on picking out my clothes for the day. I had never gone shopping with another girl before with the intent of actually buying things and having fun. Usually we would shoplift a couple things we needed before making our way out the door, so it was important to wear a large, baggy sweater that would hide the stolen goods well enough to get away.

              This time though, I wouldn't be stealing anything and Starre didn't seem like the type of girl to steal, meaning I didn't need to wear a sweater. Not that I could wear the sweater even if I had wanted to, I had lost it in one of the previous moves, which left me indecisive about what to wear. I sighed and grabbed my black skull lace shirt along with my corset top and a pair of shorts, knowing even though it was cool now, later on today it would be hot.

              I quickly changed from my skinny jeans to the shorts and then pulled my shirt off to change my shirt. I felt a breeze of air hit my back and I glanced behind me to find that Gavin had swung my door open.

              Of course, the one time I forget to brace the door with the chair just happens to be when I'm changing and also the first time someone walks in on me. Thank God my back was to him.

              Gavin stood there, his eyes scanned down my half naked body before snapping to the floor, irritation smothered his surprised expression. Whatever he had been about to say before his eyes landed on me was lost. He finally settled on a disgruntled, "Breakfast is done." He was gone as quick as he'd appeared, the door closing behind him. At least he hadn't decided to insult my back after walking in on me.

              Thank God it wasn't one of the other guys, I think Dylan would've had a heart attack, Landon would've flirted and teased and Jayden would've clung to me like a monkey in heat.

              I stood frozen for a minute before throwing on the black lace shirt with my corset top over it. It was the best thing I could come up with that wasn't exactly the same thing I'd wore before. I did my makeup and brushed my hair, not knowing if I'd have a chance to come back upstairs before Starre arrived.

              When I headed downstairs, I could already hear a commotion in the dining room, so I headed there, hoping they weren't waiting on me again.

              "I'm just saying, I'm not doing it again. This is why I didn't want her here, I don't want to open a door and walk in on some bitch with hardly any clothes on. Girls don't belong here, especially not her," Gavin's angry voice reached my ears, causing me to stop abruptly and hide behind the wall at the doorway to the dining room.

              Here we go again.

              "Do you realize how stupid you sound right now?" Landon chuckled, finding his rant funny instead of serious.

              "Who wouldn't want to see that hot piece of-" Jayden's voice paused before continuing, obviously exchanging a word for another. "-pie?"

              "Gavin, she's not the only woman living in this house and you've never complained before," Polly's calm voice rang out clearly.

              "You're like a mother to me, she's different," Gavin growled, trying to argue his point.

              "Yes, she is. Nova is a young lady who needs her privacy for as long as she's staying here. I expect all of ya to be courteous and respectful of her. Gavin, all ya had to do to avoid that situation was to have knocked," Polly's tone changed at the end, chastising Gavin for not knocking without actually saying the words.

              Gavin grunted and the sound of chairs moving as everyone sat down filled the air. I waited a couple minutes, then took a deep breath and walked into the dining room.

              "Morning Sweetheart," Jayden greeted, his eyes smoldering as they swept over me as I took a seat beside him. He may not have been the one to walk in on me this morning, but that didn't seem to keep him from imagining it as he practically stripped me with his eyes. I blushed and shifted my gaze around the table to find Landon smirking and Dylan eyeing my chest. How could I forget, the corset top was his favorite, though I was thankful that I had put a shirt under it this time.