by Hope Ford
Whatever I did to piss karma off, I hope I’m done paying the price already.
I make an instant cup of coffee and take it and a cinnamon roll to the back porch. I can sit here for hours and that’s exactly what I do, watching as the sun starts to set. The view is breathtaking, and it has nothing to do with the man on horseback galloping through the pasture. At least I tell myself that.
4
Michael
Unable to sleep after tossing and turning most of the night, I get up before the sun comes up. Pulling on my jeans, boots and T-shirt, I grab my hat on the way out the door.
I saddle up Mr. Blue, a thoroughbred horse that I saved from a ranch that was being foreclosed on, and gallop out to the far edge of my land. After years of starting my days at five am, you’d think I would want to sleep in, but I don’t. To me, there’s nothing more relaxing than riding out on my land. My land… a part of me still can’t believe that I did it. I may only be an hour from the city, but it’s like a whole different world out here. I may not be exactly where I want to be, but I’m getting closer every day. I can feel it.
After watching the sun come up, I ride through the pasture and stop in the middle of the field, like I always do, looking around at my land. Doing so, I notice Juliette standing on her back porch, watching me. I lift my arm and wave at her, but as soon as I do, she hustles back into her house.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a more nervous person in my life.
I’ve noticed she’s on edge and uncomfortable around me both times I’ve talked to her. And really, I’m not used to that. I pride myself on putting others at ease, especially those I like.
I trot Mr. Blue toward the barn, but my thoughts still stay on Juliette. Why doesn’t she like me? Does she have something against people from the city? Maybe my hired hands working the ranch are harassing her when I’m not around.
I’m not sure, but I don’t want to be on the wrong foot with the curvy new neighbor. There’s got to be something I can do.
Juliette
I manage to avoid my back porch the rest of the day. I’m so embarrassed because I was caught red handed ogling him. Could I be any more pathetic?
The next day, I go into town to grab more ink and paper for my home office. That is something I’m definitely thankful for. If I hadn’t started my copywriting business when I was married, I would be in a world of hurt right now. It took time to build up, but I’m finally at a point where I’m making money and not having to rely on my ex for alimony. Some of my friends said it was stupid on my part, but I didn’t want to rely on him for anything. I wanted to stand on my own two feet.
I grab the items I need, plus some I just want. I could spend hours in a home office store looking at all the pens, post-its and stationery. I thank the cashier, grab my bag and am walking out of the store when I decide to run to the co op store next door. I go in and grab what I need and as I come around the end cap, I’m reading the package in my hands and run smack dab into someone tall and hard who smells good. His hands go to my shoulders and my nose is buried in his chest. “I’m so sorry,” I start to mutter and when I pull back, I realize I just ran into my handsome neighbor.
He laughs and even though I’m fine, he’s fine, his hands stay on my shoulders as if he’s trying to stop me from running away. “I saw you. Yesterday on your back porch. You went in as I was waving at you.”
I wasn’t expecting him to call me out, and I stutter the first thought that comes to mind. “I wasn’t watching you.” Which makes it sound like I totally was, and well… I was.
I can feel my face go hot and I want to hide it from him. The smirk on his face tells me exactly what he’s thinking. He knows I was watching him.
He points at the package in my hands. “You don’t have any horses, do you?”
Oh heck! Of course, now I’m really caught. “I uh, well, your horses sometimes come over and visit me at the fence line and I’ve been giving them these apple wafers. I hope it’s okay. I’m sorry. I should’ve asked you first.”
His eyebrows rise. “You’re buying these for my horses?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Well, yeah, I mean, if that’s okay. Your one black horse, it’s so pretty I’ve never seen anything like him, well, really likes them. He usually talks me into giving him two.”
He shakes his head, like he still can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Yeah, that’s fine. I bet he does really like them.” He takes them from my hand. “I’ll buy them, since they’re for my horses and all.”
I shake my head. “No. Really. I can buy them. I want to.”
He ignores my request, instead asking me, “Do you like to ride?”
“Actually, I’ve never been around them, well except to feed yours treats,” I admit to him.
With his hand on my back, he walks with me to the front counter. I can feel the eyes of every person in the place looking at us. “I would love to teach you how to ride. Why don’t you come over in the morning? Or better yet, are you available this afternoon?”
I’m stunned by his offer and from the gasp I hear somewhere behind me, I can tell someone else is just as surprised. “I dunno,” I start, but he stops me quickly.
“C’mon. I wouldn’t ask if I really didn’t want to do it. Trust me, being on the back of a horse, with the wind in your hair—You won’t regret it.”
I want to tell him yes, but I know I need to say no. I can already feel the place buzzing all around us waiting for my answer. If I tell him yes, it will be all over town before I even go to his place. Right when I’m about to say no, he says, “You know you want to. I can see it in your eyes.”
“I’ll think about it,” I mutter.
I can tell he wants to argue with me, but finally he nods his head. “Well, at least it’s not a no.”
When we get to the counter, he sets the treats down and pulls out his wallet. I try to pay for them, but he stops me.
As the clerk is handing the change back to Michael, she looks at me. I’ve known her for years, probably since I was little, which is why her words don’t bother me. “I can’t imagine you on the back of a horse, Juliette. Are you going to go?” It’s an innocent question, but I can feel how much she wants to know my answer.
I look over at Michael and see the hope on his face. Staring into his light blue eyes, I whisper, “I just might.”
His face lights up and that smile stays there until he’s walked me to my car, handing me the bag of apple wafers. “I’ll be watching for you.”
He doesn’t give me time to back out and I sit there and watch him walk over to a truck and get in. Catching me staring at him again, he waves as he backs out of his space and drives away.
5
Michael
Hours later, I’m sitting on my front porch when I see Juliette walking down the road to my driveway. I’m happy that she agreed to take me up on my offer. Since I left her earlier, I was afraid she would find a way to back out. I get up and meet her halfway, looking forward to spending some time with her.
I can’t wipe the smile from my face. “I’m glad you came.”
She smiles at me, but she doesn’t comment. I can tell she’s nervous and it makes me want to put her at ease. I talk to her about the farm and how I glad I was to find it.
“I heard you were a city boy. What made you want to move into the country?” she asks me.
A deep chuckle leaves my chest. I had forgotten how small towns talk. “Well, I wasn’t always a city boy. I was actually raised on a farm, a lot like this, but growing up, I always wanted out of there. I wanted to leave the farm and country life behind. But, well, you know how the saying goes, the grass is always greener. It seems the last several years, I’ve been trying to find my way back to the ranch. This place is actually perfect. I can still run my company when I need to go into the city, but I can escape here whenever I need to. What about you? Always been a country girl?”
“Always,” she says. “I never wanted to leave. Even now, I wouldn’t thin
k of moving. I love it here.”
I want to ask her what she means by “even now,” but I don’t. She points off in the distance at Mr. Blue grazing on some hay. “What’s his name?”
“Ah, that’s Mr. Blue. He’s beautiful, isn’t he?”
“He is. Mr. Blue, huh? That’s a perfect name. He’s black but I’ve always thought it looked almost blue sometimes.”
I tell her about the horses and as we draw closer to the barn, Mr. Blue comes our way. The ranch hands are working, but besides a quick hello, they leave us be.
I run my hand along the back of one of my favorite horses and introduce him to Juliette. “This is Vladimir, Vlad for short. He’s really laid back and I think he’ll be the most docile for you to ride.”
Her hand shakes a little as she pets him, and I can tell she’s nervous. I can’t resist reaching out and covering her hand with mine. “Don’t be nervous, okay? I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She’s staring at our hands and only when I lift mine does she acknowledge what I tell her. “Okay, yeah, sure.”
“Maybe we’ll start with grooming so it will give you and Vlad a chance to get more comfortable with each other. Is that good with you?”
She nods her head, smiling at the horse. I wish she would smile at me that way, but I’m a patient man.
I grab the brush off the shelf and demonstrate how to brush him. I hand it to her, and she does the same, but she also coos and talks to the horse. She seems to like the horse more than she does me at the moment. Because I want to touch her again, I put my hand over hers to show her how to take longer strokes. My front is pressed to her back, but she still continues to talk to the horse.
I step back and give them space to get acquainted. I could have stood there all night, my arms around her, but I was afraid she’d notice my body’s reaction to her. She is soft in all the right places. Somehow, she doesn’t notice my attraction for her or she doesn’t care.
Juliette
His muscular chest against my back was heavenly. He’s standing off to the side now and I wish I could ask him to wrap his arms around me again. He smelled intoxicating and the rumble of his low voice caused ripples of goosebumps across my skin. Not only that, but I found that as I brushed Vlad with Michael and petted the horse, my anxiety and nerves faded away. It is a whole new level of therapy, and it’s more effective than cleaning the damn house all the time.
The longer I stand here, helping him with the horses, the more comfortable I get. That is, until he asks me if I’m ready to ride.
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just brush him today. I can ride him some other time,” I tell him hesitantly, and then I just realized I’ve invited myself to come over again. “I mean, I’m not going to come back, I mean, you know what I mean.” I stutter and hem-haw, knowing I sound like a confused idiot, but I can’t get my mouth to shut up.
He smiles at me and puts his hand over mine. Instantly, his touch calms me. “You’re welcome here any time. As a matter of fact, I hope you do come back. But I still hope you’ll ride with me today. I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”
When he’s looking at me like he is now, there’s no way I can say no. But when I look up at the tall horse looming over me, I just don’t know if I can do it, and I tell him so.
“How about you ride with me?” he asks me.
I gasp and look between the horse and then back to him. Sputtering, I tell him, “Ride with you? I already think I’m too big for the horse. We can’t possibly expect him to hold both of us.”
He grabs the blanket and saddle, throwing it over Vlad’s back. As he secures it, he tightens the belt and then looks straight into my eyes. “You are definitely not too big for this horse. Vlad will be happy to have us ride him. As a matter of fact, I think he’ll like all the attention. Now, put your left foot in the stirrup and swing your right leg over.”
He walks behind me and puts his hands on my hips. I do what he says and when I’m finally seated, I can’t ignore the look of pride on Michael’s face as he stares up at me. “Good girl.”
I barely get comfortable before he’s grabbing my calf and moving my foot from the stirrup. He puts his foot in and pulls himself up easily behind me. The warmth from his body instantly surrounds me and I hold my back ramrod straight. Which is hard. My body is fighting me, because what I really want to do is soften into his embrace and let it surround me.
His arms come around me and he grabs on to the reins. I can feel his hot breath on my cheek. “You ready?”
I can’t even answer him, so I nod my head.
He starts at a slow pace, and I can feel my heart rate pick up. I’m nervous, but I don’t think that’s what’s causing me to be a bundle of nerves. It’s being this close to Michael. The feel and smell of him, clean and earthy, surrounds me, and I can’t think straight.
He starts to gallop and his hard chest presses into my back. I can’t help but lean into him. One of his arms goes around my waist and the other stays on the reins. We go like that for a few minutes. I’m holding my breath, like I’m trying to tighten my stomach so he doesn’t feel the soft, flabby skin of my belly against his arm. He must realize it, because he says into my ear. “Relax, you’re fine. Lean into me.”
The sultry words are so sweet in my ear, I do exactly what he asks. He slows the horse down once we’ve reached the far pasture. The mountains are beautiful in front of us, and we sit there for the longest time just looking off into the distance. Our breathing is matched and there’s something erotic about that. Every breath I take, he does the same. And when he releases, so do I. We’re in sync.
His voice is husky next to my ear. “Are you in a relationship with anyone, Juliette?”
I freeze up a little at his question and try to straighten my back, but he doesn’t let me. If anything, his arms tighten around me. I grit my teeth together almost painfully. “I’m sure you’ve heard from people in town that my husband left me for my sister.”
I feel his chest expand against my back and his hand grips on to my thigh almost painfully. “I hadn’t heard that.” He circles both hands around my waist and pulls me back against him. “He’s a stupid man, Juliette.”
His words bring me some peace. Usually people try to play it off or ask for more details so they can gossip about it later. But not him. No. He is plain spoken and just tells me like it is. I can’t help but feel the truth in his words. How many times have I said the same thing?
“Are you dating anyone?” he asks me.
“No,” I admit.
“Good,” he says before sliding his hands back to the reins and walking us back to toward the barn. He talks about his land and how he’s excited to be in the country. He tells me a little about what he does in the city, but I direct him back to the farm. The joy in his voice when he talks about that is something else. I could listen to the rumble of his voice all night.
When we get back to the barn, he tells me he’ll take care of the horse, but I tell him I want to learn. So he shows me how to take off the saddle and we brush him down. Remembering that I had put apple wafers in my pockets, I give Vlad one and also Mr. Blue. When we’re done, I tell him it’s time for me to go home. Even though I’m enjoying myself, I don’t want to wear out my welcome.
He walks me to my house and before we even get out of his driveway, he’s reached for my hand. “Is this okay?” he asks as he gestures to our hands.
I bite my lower lip. The feel of his big hand engulfing mine makes my whole body tingle. When I nod my head at him, he stops walking, but he doesn’t let go of me. He pulls me around so that I have to look at him.
I wait for him to speak, but he’s staring at me, like he’s trying to figure me out. I try to calm my reaction to him, but I know he sees it in my face. His one hand is in mine and the other is cupping my cheek, forcing me to look up at him. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. I like you, Juliette. We can take it slow. I’m not in any rush. And if this”—he holds up our joined
hands between us—“is too much, you tell me. Okay?”
I can’t speak. There’s so much going through my head and I feel like this is a dream, like I’m watching it from the outside in. Until I take notice of how I’m taking little pants of breath, until I notice his manly, earthy scent surrounding me, and until I feel his heat encircling me. This is me. This is my body reacting to him. My nipples are tight. There’s a rolling in my lower belly tugging, and even though I want to fight the attraction I feel for him, I can’t. Even though I want to safeguard my heart, I can’t.
Unable to express anything in words, I bring my free hand up to his, the one cupping my jaw. I hold on to him, closing my eyes, enjoying the touch of his hand against me. When I open my eyes, he’s still staring at me, but there’s a calm around us. I blink twice before I whisper to him. “I like you too, Michael.”
I can feel the air tighten around us. When he lowers his head, I lick my bottom lip, knowing what’s about to happen. Am I ready for this? I wonder before the thought goes away. I have a feeling that no time, nothing, is going to make me ready for Michael’s lips on mine.
At first touch, he’s gentle and slow. He nips at my lips. He releases my hand and brings both of his up to wrap around the back of my neck. I tilt my head backwards, giving him better access, and when he deepens this kiss, his tongue swirling around mine, I whimper into his mouth. He pulls away quickly but doesn’t let me go. His hands go to my back, pulling me against him, my head under his chin. His voice is husky, and I can hear the lust in it. “I’m sorry. I tell you I can take it slow and then, well, I guess I didn’t realize, I had no idea it would be like that.”
My arms go around his waist and I settle there, enjoying the warmth of his embrace. It’s been forever since I’ve been touched, been held like this. But being in Michael’s arms just feels right.
