Page 13 of Bailey-Rose: The Complete Duet

“Roger that,” I answered, giving him a thumbs-up.

He dropped a kiss on my head before he left with Crew following. I was really proud of them for leaving me after an episode like that. Normally, I would have one of them glued to my side for another few hours just to be sure.

When I returned my gaze to the men who appeared to be my Alphas, I sheepishly smiled. “Welcome to life with Bailey-Rose.”

It was amazing to me how she could just sit there so relaxed with her legs crossed, hugging a pillow as she watched us take our seats once again. The sheer terror that hit me at the thought I’d done something to cause her harm nearly sent me into a tailspin of dark, intrusive thoughts. Taking precautions, I sat directly across the room from her so I could stay in her line of sight, but there would be no chance of causing another problem.

“Why don’t we try this again,” Bailey-Rose suggested. “Let’s start with you…” she decided, pointing her finger at me, “… tell me your name, what you do for work, and one thing that’s your favorite. It can be anything… food, music, movie, literally anything you would tell someone is your favorite something. Then let’s round it off with something you dislike.”

Shit, I hated these kinds of icebreaker questions. You always find yourself struggling to figure out the best way to give the person what they’re looking for in the answers you give.

“I’m Gareth Watson. As for work, my family owns Watson Ranch, the largest beef cattle ranch and meat distributor. My role is to ensure we keep our cattle happy, healthy, and slaughtered in the most humane manner possible. We need meat to eat, but the experience for the cattle going through the process doesn’t need to be minimized because they’re animals,” I shared.

Her mesmerizing dual-colored eyes grew wide with awe at my words. It would seem she was a person who agreed with me on this matter, which was genuinely nice to know.

“As for my favorite…” I started then paused and pulled up my pant leg, “… would have to be these boots. I’d be lost if they stopped making them since this has to be my tenth pair.”

Shooting off the couch, Bailey-Rose hurried over and grabbed my ankle, pulling it up so she could get a better look. While the woman might be tiny, she was sure stronger than she looked.

“Doc Martens makes work boots?” she gasped. “How cool is that?”

“Not what you would expect from a cattle rancher, is it?” I teased.

It was fun to see how people expected you to be a country bumpkin just because you worked in agriculture. I hated country music. I was more of a heavy metal, hard rock kind of guy. I didn’t wear a baseball cap or a cowboy hat either, although I’ll admit I was partial to Wrangler jeans, but that’s because they were hands down the best.

“The unexpected is always more fascinating,” Bailey-Rose answered as she perched on the sofa next to me. “Now, what I want to know is if your dislike is as equally unexpected?”

That had me frowning as I thought about what I disliked. Telling her something like I hated raw onion or the way people sniffle incessantly was stupid. She was asking this question to get to know who I was. If I answered her with the most truthful fact, I wasn’t sure how she would react.

“I don’t think this will be unexpected, but it is the one thing I can’t stand. My dislike, as you called it, would have to be when you give a warning or rule for the person’s safety, and it’s disregarded. Everything about my job is to ensure humans and animals have the safest environment to work and live in. When I create a rule or post a warning which is ignored, causing someone to end up hurt has to be my biggest dislike,” I shared.

Bailey-Rose cocked her head to the side, causing some hair to fall into her face. Without a second thought, I reached out and tucked it behind her ear, letting my finger trail along her neck’s soft, smooth skin. A hum of pleasure emanated from her, making me smile to see my touch was welcome.

“Gareth, that was definitely an unexpected answer,” Bailey-Rose commented. “I assumed you’d go for the easy choice and pick a food. Yet you chose to give me a rather personal response which I greatly respect and value. Were you underestimated a lot as a kid?”

Startled by the question, I blinked at her a few times. “Why would you ask that?”

“I don’t mean this to sound creepy, but I tend to study people. Each person has a different way they move, act, or express themselves. Learning to see these nuances is what gives life to my paintings,” she explained. “I feel like you’re used to people assuming one thing about you when you’re rather the opposite. You were so shocked that I enjoyed your innate contradictions to the labels people would put on you, so I took a guess.”

Part of me didn’t know how to feel about this woman seeing me so clearly after having just met her. While another side found it liberating not to be forced into a box I didn’t want to be in.

“I have two older brothers who run our family business who match the label of rancher to a T. When it came to me…” I shrugged, “… I don’t know if it’s because I’m the youngest, but I wanted to forge my own path. I have a master’s degree in ethics and sustainability, which is the opposite of what people would think of someone in the cattle business. However, my whole goal has been to ensure our company does the best it can for the product we produce and, on the same hand, the people who consume it.”

To have Bailey-Rose’s full attention focused on me as I spoke with an authentic interest in what I was saying made it hard to concentrate. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her and snuggle her close as I breathed in her sweet scent. It was like my Alpha brain hadn’t learned anything from what happened moments earlier. I needed to take this slow and learn what she could handle safely before just throwing caution to the wind.

“I think that’s rather inspiring,” Bailey-Rose shared, reaching out to take my hand. “You have pride in what you do, and it’s a noble cause people don’t think about but should. Thank you for sharing that with me. I feel like I can see the type of man you are.”

“Is it a man you think you’ll be fine having in your life forever?” I asked before I could stop the words from coming out of my mouth.

Why the fuck would I ask her that? God, put the damn woman on the spot, asshole.

“Gareth, we’re scent-bonded, meaning we were made for each other,” Bailey-Rose stated like that should be all the response I needed.

Once more, my body betrayed me as I wrapped her up in a hug. My family had never thought less of me or given me any reason to feel like I didn’t measure up to my brothers. Yet I sometimes struggled with being the odd man out and accepting that’s okay. Now here I was with my scent-bonded Omega, wondering if she’d think I was enough, only for Bailey-Rose to cut through the bullshit and say it like it is.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t really believe it when people said shit like that,” I murmured into her hair, not really wanting the others to hear me. “But it turns out they might be right.”

Bailey-Rose let out a soft giggle as she hugged me back. “I didn’t believe it either… seems like we were proven wrong.”