by Jill Sanders
“Corey,” she called out to him.
When he turned around, he finally took a large breath as he looked at her. Her long hair was flowing around her face as the wind blew it over her shoulders.
“Thanks again.” She smiled and waved.
He nodded, then turned and rushed back across the tree line where he felt his system level back out.
Chapter Three
That evening Bella was wondering why she had even questioned selling the large place. The kitchen sink, when turned on, sprayed water all over her shirt, soaking it. Only two of the oven’s burners worked. The microwave made a funny noise, so she avoided using it all together.
When she’d gone upstairs to take a hot shower before crawling into bed, she’d quickly realized that there was no hot water. None.
It was sticky enough that the cold shower worked, but she knew there was no way she was spending a winter without soaking in a hot bath. She lay awake for a while until finally the cats crawled up in bed with her. The two dogs lay on their beds near the foot of the bed. One bed sat empty and she wondered what Dutch, the missing dog, would think when he returned home to find his master gone.
The sounds of an older house and the country surrounding it caused her sleep to be light. Finally, when the sun streamed in the window, she pushed out of bed and looked down at the two cutest faces she could ever remember seeing.
Rascal and Rusty both had their heads resting on the bed, looking up at her.
“What?” she asked, trying to hold in a chuckle. “Is it bathroom time?”
The dogs immediately started dancing around in circles. “Okay.” She laughed as she pulled on her robe. “I’m hurrying.” She almost tripped over one of them as they raced with her down the stairs. When she opened the front doors, they bolted outside and quickly disappeared around the edge of the house.
Walking out, she took a deep breath and smiled. It was very beautiful here. Going to the edge of the porch, she watched as a few chickens rushed from the side of the house. Rascal and Rusty were quickly on their heels.
Flying down the stairs, she tried to grab the dog’s collars before any damage could be done. The dogs, for their part, thought it all a joke and made her chase them around the yard, circling the clucking chickens.
Feathers were flying as she cursed and yelled at the dogs to obey her. By the time she got a hold of one of the dog’s collars, she was laughing so hard, her sides hurt.
“I’ve got you, Rascal. Rusty…” She glared at the other dog, who stood a few feet away, smiling at her. “You’d better come over here.” She snapped her finger just as she heard a chuckle behind her.
When she gasped and spun around, her bare feet twisted in the soft dirt, causing her to lose her balance. She landed hard on her butt in the dirt just as Rascal bolted from her grasp.
Corey stood a few feet away from her, laughing.
“Don’t just stand there. Grab those dogs before they kill all of the chickens.” She moved to get up, but stopped when Corey continued to stand over her laughing.
Putting her hands on her hips, she frowned up at him and gave him her best glare. Of course, the fact that she was sitting in the dirt in her canary yellow robe probably didn’t help the situation.
Once Corey was done laughing, he moved closer to her and pretended to wipe a tear from his eyes. “Best show I’ve seen all year.” He helped her up by putting his hands under her arms and hoisting her up to her feet quickly.
Her short robe flew up so she reached down to hold it in place. Then she realized the left shoulder had fallen down and tried to put everything back in place.
“I hope you know that if those dogs destroy any of those chickens…”
“They won’t.” He smiled down at her.
She frowned. “How do you know?”
He reached up and moved the right shoulder of her robe back into place. “They grew up around them. See.” He stepped back and nodded to the yard. Both dogs were chasing the chickens, but instead of viciously tearing into them, it appeared that they were corralling them. “See. They’re taking them to the field there, where they will roam free for a few hours. Then Rusty will lie down and watch over them until it’s time to put them back up for the evening.”
“What about Rascal?”
Corey turned back to her. “He’s too selfish to waste his day watching over a bunch of hens.” He chuckled and nodded to where the dog was running around the yard, smelling and peeing on everything.
“What are you doing here?” Her brain finally clicked into gear enough to ask him as she started walking towards the house to get dressed.
“I was letting the chickens out.” He started following her back up to the porch.
“Now that I know they need to be let out, I can do it.” She glanced at him as she walked. He was already dressed for the day in old jeans, a tight T-shirt, and work boots. He looked like he was ready to hop on a horse and hit the trail.
“It’s no problem,” he smiled at her as he pulled a basket out from behind his back. She hadn’t even known he was holding anything.
“I see.” She chuckled. “You sashay over here every morning and let the hens out while you steal their eggs?”
He nodded and then held out the basket for her. “But, now that you’re here….”
She peeked into the basket and looked up at him. “What would I do with over a dozen eggs every morning?”
He grinned. “Eat them of course.”
“A dozen?” she asked as she climbed the stairs.
“Why not?” He almost ran into the back of her when she stopped suddenly. When she turned around, she had to crane her neck to look up at him. Instead of answering him, she reached into the basket and pulled out three eggs.
“The rest you can have.” She started to turn and then stopped. “If you want to let the chickens out every morning, feel free.” She smiled and then turned to go inside. She was a little shocked to hear him follow her inside.
Heading to the kitchen, she glanced around and pulled down the black pan from the rack.
“Why don’t you let me do this so you can go up and change?” He set the basket on the counter and took the pan from her.
She narrowed her eyes at him.
“What’s in it for you?”
He grinned, showing her those dimples again. He’d shaved this morning, making him look even sexier without the stubble that he’d had the day before.
“Free breakfast with a beautiful woman.”
She decided to stop herself from crossing her arms over her chest. Instead, she thought about fighting with the burners on the stove and nodded. She turned and went upstairs as the cats made their way towards the sounds in the kitchen.
“I see you two are finally up,” she said to them as they passed her on the stairs. Beggar gave her a meow as he passed but then rushed to the sound of a can being opened in the kitchen. Snubs slowly walked by her with his tail and chin up in the air.
It was funny how quickly she was picking up the personalities of the animals. She wondered if she would be able to do that with the other animals around her aunt’s place.
She jumped in and out of the shower in record time. Not just because it was frigid, but because she had started to smell wonderful things coming from the kitchen below.
She had made herself comfortable in her aunt’s room. It was the largest room and had the most comfortable four-poster king-size bed. The high ceiling was vaulted, pointing up to a spiky A with huge windows that overlooked the back of the property. This morning she could see all the way to the back fields where the tree line started. The mist had hung in the air, making the whole field glow with the morning sun.
There weren’t any curtains over the high windows, which had been one of the reasons she’d woken so early. But since she’d always been a morning person, she didn’t mind.
Pulling her wet long hair up in a tight braid, she walked downstairs to hear Corey chatting with the cats.
“Snubs
, why can’t you be more like your brother here? I mean, Beggar will do anything for this.” She heard him chuckle and walked in to see the cat climbing his leg for a piece of cheese.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” she asked, leaning against the door frame.
He glanced over and shook his head. “Not really. He’s really quite gentle. He learned a long time ago that if he hurts me with his claws, he doesn’t get the treats.” He gave the begging cat the cheese and dropped a piece for Snubs.
“It smells wonderful.” She glanced over at the plate of bacon and bowl full of scrambled eggs.
“I hope you like spicy.” He walked over and set the bowl down and she realized there were onions and tomatoes in the eggs.
“Love it,” she said absentmindedly as she took a deep breath and enjoyed the spices opening all of her senses.
She sat down as he set a plate in front of her.
“If you want, I can swing by later this week and have a look at the burners for you. Two of them aren’t lighting up.”
She leaned back. “I’d rather know why there isn’t any hot water.”
He sat down next to her. “I can check that as well.” He pushed the bowl of eggs towards her.
“Can you really eat ten eggs yourself?” she asked, scooping some onto her plate.
“Sure can. Especially when I know I won’t get time for lunch today.”
“Oh?” she asked, handing him the bowl. “Why is that?”
He took it and started scooping eggs onto his plate. “I’m working with the West brothers today. We’re trying to break Hellion.”
She just looked at him and shook her head lightly.
“Sorry, Hellion is a stallion we’ve been trying to break. You know, so we can ride him.”
“I understand the concept.” She chuckled as she took a piece of bacon and nibbled on it. It was perfection. Actually, the eggs were even better. Everything tasted so fresh. “So, is that what you do full time? Break horses?”
He shrugged his shoulders as he took another bite. “Sometimes.”
She waited, but when it seemed like he wasn’t going to continue, she asked, “What else do you do?”
He looked up at her. A little irritation crossed his blue eyes. “This and that around town.”
“Like a handy man?” When he nodded, she added. “It appears there are some things that need to be done around here.” She looked around the kitchen. She’d started making a list last night and knew there was probably more she would find over the next few weeks. Her eyes went back to his and she realized he’d been watching her. “If you’re handy with power tools and can fix the stove, you’re hired.”
He thought about it for a moment. “I’ll swing by early tomorrow.”
She smiled as she shoved another piece of bacon in her mouth.
“If you need any help today,” he said a few minutes later as she followed him out to the front porch, “just let Chase know.”
“Thanks for breakfast,” she said, holding the screen door open.
“Thank you for the eggs.” He winked and then turned to walk back to his place.
She watched him for a moment, enjoying the way his tight jeans fit. It had been a long time since she’d seen a man fill out a pair of Levi’s so well.
Her chores outside took her most of the morning and, she had to admit, had worn her out plenty. She’d been a little cautious with some of the bigger animals at first, especially the cattle. They had very long horns and images of being impaled flashed through her mind.
But after cleaning out the outside stalls and filling their trough with fresh water, she realized that they were too lazy or hot to really bother with her.
The horses were something completely different. Here she spent time with each one. Her aunt had four all together. Two smaller ponies and two full-size quarter horses. Ollie was older and looked like he was struggling to keep up with the others as they moved around the penned yard.
The younger quarter horse’s name was Lizzie. She was gray and had such a fun personality. Bella had been surprised to see a large blue ball in the pen with the animals and stopped when Lizzie started playing with the thing like a dog.
She leaned against the post and laughed as she and the two ponies, Kasper and Yogi, tried to keep the ball from Lizzie. Ollie just stood back and watched the show.
By lunchtime, she was thinking about enjoying one of those cold showers since she was covered in sweat and a thin layer of hay dust.
It was nice that all of her outside chores were taken care off and all of the animals seemed to be happy. She used the rest of the day to move around inside, making more lists of things Corey could check or fix. She had a small amount in her savings and had planned on using it to fix the place up. After all, even if she did decide to sell the old house, these items would have to be done before it could be put on the market.
Since she didn’t have any plans currently to go back to the city and her dead-end life, she was happy to continue where she was for a while. The thought of having a sexy cowboy around fixing up the place didn’t hurt either.
Chapter Four
It was one of those days that started out really great and then went to hell in a hand-basket. Corey was used to being thrown from a horse, but being stomped on afterwards was something new to him.
Every inch of his body ached as he hobbled up the stairs of the cabin. Hellion had certainly earned his nickname that day. Thoughts of soaking his body in a hot bath crossed his mind. When he opened the door, Dutch hobbled over, asking to go out.
He leaned against the railing while the dog did his business. His eyes kept moving over to the lights across the field. All day long he’d been distracted with thoughts of Bella—what she was doing, how she was adjusting to life in the country. Most important—would she stick around?
Fairplay, Texas, was a small town. Not a lot of people moved to the middle of nowhere where there were few possibilities of great jobs or lives.
He knew there was a good chance that Bella wouldn’t want to stick it out. Especially because Mrs. Thompson’s place had gotten so run down over the past few years. Just the thought of helping Bella out made him wish he could avoid the rest of his work. Especially working with Hellion.
He groaned when he finally slid down into the steamy tub. Dutch watched him from a comfortable spot on the floor. He had to be honest with himself—the dog was healed enough to go home. It was Corey that needed him to stick around.
He must have fallen asleep in the bath because the next thing he knew; the water was freezing. Pulling himself out and wrapping a towel around his waist, he walked into the kitchen to grab a beer just as there was a soft knock on his door.
Dutch let out a loud bark and ran to the door. He slid on the hardwood floor and banged his head solidly on the door. Chuckling at the stupid mutt, he flipped open the door and smiled at Bella, who was standing outside in the soft porch light.
“Hey,” he said, leaning against the door frame.
“Hey.” Her eyes moved over him, making him realize he was still in just a towel. “I didn’t mean to bother…”
He waved her in as he opened the screen door.
“No bother. I’ll just go toss on some clothes. Dutch can keep you entertained for a minute.” He motioned to the dog who was now lying down, drooling at their feet.
“Oh.” She squatted down and scratched Dutch’s head. “Okay.” She giggled when the dog promptly flipped over and asked for a belly rub.
He walked back into his bedroom and tossed on a clean pair of jeans and grabbed a shirt. She looked good. Really good. She’d changed out of her work clothes and was wearing jean shorts and a pale yellow tank top. Just seeing those legs again made his heart rate spike.
When he walked out, she was standing in the middle of his living room, looking around.
“Pardon the mess. I’m still trying to get settled in.” He walked to the kitchen and pulled out a beer. “Want one?” he asked.
She shook her
head no as she tucked her hands into her pockets.
He popped the top and took a deep drink.
“Long day?” she asked, and he smiled.
“That horse was out to kill me today.” He leaned against the counter and looked at her. “You look like you enjoyed your first day on the farm.”
Her lips dipped up in a smile, causing him to focus on how soft they looked.
“I can understand why my aunt loved it here.”
He watched her fiddle with her fingers and then tuck her hands back inside her pockets.
“Bella, did you need something?” He watched her eyes move around and then finally land on his.
“I was wondering…” He waited as she took a deep breath. “I hate to ask…” She paused again.
“Just spit it out.” He smiled over at her.
“It’s just that I was really hoping for a hot bath.” He watched her roll her shoulders and felt like laughing when the thought of her joining his bath flashed through his mind.
“I’ll just slip on some boots.” He set his beer down and started walking towards the door. He could feel her following him and when he held open the front door, Dutch started to walk out.
“Is he up for the trip?” she asked, frowning down at the dog.
Chuckling, he answered, “Dutch has made a full recovery. He’s just gotten used to sticking around here.” He glanced up at her. “If you want, I can keep him around for a while. Until you decide…”
She smiled. “Corey, if you want the dog, he’s yours. Besides, it looks like he’s already made himself at home around here.” She nodded to the dog bed and the basket full of toys he’d bought for Dutch.
He stopped her from walking outside. “Really?” His hand rested on hers, keeping her in front of him.
“Corey, I’m not one hundred percent sure I’m not going to find new homes for all of the animals my aunt has.” She sighed. “At least not yet.”
He nodded. “You’ll let me know first. I have a few I’m rather fond of.”
She glanced down at his hand on her arm, so he dropped it and shoved it in his jean pocket.
