“It cannot be,” he scolded himself, pushing thoughts of her away. “Michigan is my past. There’s only Wyoming, now and forever.”
Chapter 14
The sun was rising the following morning as Sassy and Freda got to the ranch offices. In spite of the early hour, ranch hands were already there, drinking coffee and talking about the day ahead. Among them were Ash and the other West men.
Freda walked over to the breakfast table, while Sassy dropped her purse on her desk and booted up the computer.
“Good morning, Mister West,” she said pointedly to Ash.
“Guilty,” Ash said sheepishly.
Sassy smiled and continued her greetings. “Good morning, Mister West, and Mister West… and Mister West.”
Ash, Gunnar, Rowdy and Gray all laughed good naturedly.
“You know we’re on a first-name basis, Sassy,” Rowdy said. “It’s too early in the morning to be pickin’ at us; wait until we’ve had more coffee.”
“Okay fine,” she smiled. “I’m not pickin’, it’s just that a certain somebody forgot to mention his last name when we met. But I think it’s great that your family is still so involved and invested in West Ranch, after what, 140-some years?”
“We’ve had a few strays jump the fence,” Gunnar chimed in, talking, no doubt, about Colton and Pike, who went off to other ventures. Colton was one of the busiest developers in West Gorge, and Pike was an artist, with a growing number of galleries anxious to sell his original landscapes.
Ridge, the current patriarch of the family, had more or less retired; his interest wandering after losing his first wife, Randi Lynn. Upon marrying Casey a few years back, he fully handed the reigns to Gunnar so he could “enjoy his honeymoon.” Apparently, it was still going strong, four years later.
“Well now, don’t forget a few others came along to take up the slack,” Gray said. “I guess that’s the upside of having a large family—like Freda, here. The Lang clan easily rivals the Wests in number. Right Freda?”
Freda nodded, having wandered over with her coffee and a breakfast burrito to join the conversation. The ease of which Sassy envied.
“How about you, Sassy,” Rowdy asked. “Do you have a big family?”
Sassy smiled before answering, not wanting to sour the easy banter in the room.
“Nope, just me and Mom,” she said, “since Daddy passed.”
The men collectively frowned and shook their heads in sympathy.
“Naw, it’s okay,” Sassy assured them. “Daddy was a stock broker. A job that doesn’t take a small army, the way West Ranch does.”
Her tone and comment managed to lighten the mood again, and everyone moved away to refill their mugs and grab a bite to eat. Everyone that is, except Ash. He stayed near her desk, his dark eyes shadowed in concern.
“How long ago did your daddy pass?”
His tone was quiet and confidential, which touched Sassy.
“Nine months ago,” she answered. “Beginning of my last year in college.”
“That’s gotta hurt.”
Sassy shrugged, but gave his comment a nod. It was clear by the way Ash planted himself next to her desk that he wasn’t going anywhere until he got an authentic answer from her. It was, she thought, an unusual display of empathy for a man so young.
“It hurts worse than a splinter from a fallen log in a creek,” she said at last, looking up. Then, with a slight smile, added, “it’s probably not a boo boo that can be kissed away by a handsome cowboy.”
Ash’s eyes remained compassionate, Sassy noted, until the corner of his mouth pulled up in a partial grin as he arched one gorgeous eyebrow.
“Maybe that depends on the cowboy, ma’am.”
He bowed his head slightly and touched the brim of his hat before turning to walk away, leaving Sassy a bit speechless, and a bit stirred at the thought.
Chapter 15
So, Ash West wanted to try his hand at flirting, did he?
Sassy sat at her desk. She was flushed, in spite of his novice attempt. And more than a little amused. Watching Ash flirt was like watching a newborn calf struggling to walk on uncertain, spindly legs.
Freda didn’t mention the flirty side of him, she thought. But perhaps Ash hadn’t flirted with Freda. Though Freda was a pretty girl, and easy to get along with.
Yet with Sassy, Ash was all “depends on who’s doing the kissing.”
Flirting for Ash was probably very new—like a boy trying on his daddy’s ten-gallon hat; checking the mirror to see how it fit. She wanted to tell him that it didn’t fit him.
Not at all.
He was too nice, and too genuine to be pretending to be someone he wasn’t. Then again, his attempts were so endearing, and she didn’t want to deflate him.
She also wanted to tell him that she’d been flirted with by the very best, her entire lifetime. Men and boys—mostly single—had been falling over themselves to get her attention since she could remember, and she always found it off-putting.
“Someday, you’ll like the attention,” her mother told her, but that wasn’t true. Not yet. She might make an exception for Ash West, who probably had no idea how handsome he’d become since his high school days, according to Freda. Or how attractive it was when he was just being himself, like stopping to help her with a flat tire, only to end up herding sheep. Or catching her as she fainted. A man who would gently hold a water bottle on a lady’s neck was someone special.
But it was the splinter that did things to her legs, and stomach, and head when she thought back on it.
The way he told her he had to amputate just to make her laugh, and the way he supposedly kissed her finger—kissed it, like her finger was sleeping beauty and he had to prove his love, was, to date, the most swoony kiss Sassy ever received in her young life. And it was only her little finger.
Imagine if and when that kiss landed where it was supposed to.
But flirtation was something to be avoided—it’s not why she came to West Ranch. Sassy was here for a very specific mission that had very little to do with Ash West.
Or maybe it did.
Maybe flirting with Ash wouldn’t be so terrible. There might be hurts a man like Ash could kiss away, if she gave him the chance. And just maybe he could be a shortcut to her ultimate destination—the big house on West Ranch.
Chapter 16
“You’re not putting on the sun block I bought you.”
Sassy stretched her long, tired legs out in front of her on the sofa and looked over at Freda, who was tucked into an oversized chair. Fresh from the shower, they both sat in shorts and tee shirts, watching the sun set out the window of the bungalow.
It was Friday night, and they were both starving and exhausted—almost too tired to lift their tacos and glasses of milk.
Freda, Sassy noted, had a bright red nose and cheeks. She wasn’t as tall or as lean as Sassy, but seemed happy and comfortable in her own tawny skin. Sassy admired her sense of humor, and easy way with all the “fellers” on the ranch. Sassy knew that she herself came off as aloof to some, but learned to be overly cautious with boys and men, lest they think she was flirting with them.
“Mixed messages,” is what some accused her of relaying, when she refused, politely, a date. Almost always, she had just been acting friendly—just like Freda did so naturally.
Better to be thought a snob, she decided at a young age, than a flirt.
“I know, I know,” Freda shook her head. “I was just trying to get a little sunshine; a little tan, before I go home tomorrow. Why don’t you come with me? We’ll get James Timothy Freemont to take us both to dinner.”
“Jim Tim is going to take one look at you, and think you are dinner; a lobster dinner from New England,” Sassy said, causing Freda to laugh at the nickname she’d given her boyfriend. That Freda never stopped to realize this possible name herself confirmed to Sassy that the girl was definitely in love.
“Jim…,” Freda had to pause and laugh again, “Jim Tim is goin
g to owe me a lobster dinner after not answering his phone this week, or returning my calls.” At that, the girl’s smile faded just a bit, and Sassy felt her pain.
“Freda, that boy is studying to take his law school finals,” Sassy said with all the positive energy she could muster, “so he can be a big shot lawyer in Lander, Wyoming, and build you a ranch, where your eighteen babies can run and play, and herd cattle when they’re four.”
Freda’s face broke into a smile again.
“Where have you been all my life, Sassy?” She said, and then added, “I’d like that life with Jim Tim. Come to think of it, maybe I’d better not take you home to Lander. He’ll take one look at you and…”
“Stop. That’s not how it will ever be, so don’t say that.”
Freda looked sheepish.
“Sorry Sassy, you can’t help how you look.”
“Sure I can,” Sassy broke into a wicked grin. “I can skip the sunblock, just like you do.”
“All right all right,” Freda laughed. “Touché.”
To Sassy’s ears, her friends word sounded like a long drawl, like “too shayyy,” and she joined the laughter. It was easy to be with Freda. She wanted to be her friend and visit Lander, just like any normal girl. She wanted to see what the Lang family was like—did they bicker over the hot water in the shower, or the last donut in the box? Sassy hoped so. As an only child, she longed to experience the lovely loving chaos of larger families. She wanted some drama, and laughter.
And Sassy fervently hoped that Jim Tim would barely notice her, same with Freda’s father or brothers. She merely wanted to be Freda’s new, anonymous, forgettable friend.
Good old what’s her name.
“I’m sorry, what?” Sassy realized Freda had been talking.
“I was saying that I used to think Ash West was cute, but he never paid me any notice these past few years—but he sure does look good this summer.”
“Well I’ve never seen him before this summer, so I can’t weigh in.”
“Then I’ll weigh in for the both of us,” Freda said. “He looks good. All grown up, and ready for something, and someone.”
“Tell me more about Ash,” Sassy said casually. “But first, promise me and mean it this time, to use that sunblock. Or else your pretty tan is going to turn into a complexion akin to that antique leather saddle the Wests keep in the ranch office. The one that used to belong to some dead guy named Pickford.”
“Akin. Jim Tim. You just crack me up, Sassy pants,” Freda snorted, then sat back to tell her new friend everything she knew about the West family, and Ash.
Chapter 17
“Don’t forget to stop in and see Amber in town.”
Casey stood in the kitchen of the ranch holding a cup of coffee. It was Saturday, and Ash was up early to enjoy his first day off since returning home. The ranch still demanded attention, but Rowdy and Gunnar had hired a weekend crew to spell the regulars, and rotated managers to oversee the workload.
“Her storefront, Amber Waves, is very popular with locals and tourists,” Casey continued. “It’s just down from the mercantile. Amber asks about you all the time.”
Ash only had a few friends in West Gorge, and one or two seemed mighty close to retirement age. But he planned on going to the town, to say a howdy or two.
Kat sat at the table flipping through magazines with Paislee, and Casey joined them. The three liked talking about decorating trends, among other things, as Kat was continually improving the ranch house, and Casey had her houses in West Gorge as well as her Phoenix house.
“Stop by the Arts and Culture Center,” Paislee said. “Pike has new paintings on exhibit.”
Ash nodded.
“Where’s Willow, Sun and Ford?” He couldn’t help but notice how quiet the kitchen was without the exuberant voices of his little nieces and nephew.
Kat smiled. “Saturday mornings, the kids all go to Auntie Liu’s house for Chinese cooking lessons and language school. She started teaching little Sun, but Ford and Willow did not want to be left out.”
“Of course, Liu’s baby is due in a few months,” Casey said. “She might want to slow down a little.”
Then after a pause for affect, everyone in the kitchen broke into a laugh at the thought of the energetic Liu ever slowing down. The chef took the ranch by storm when she arrived five years before, and maintained her demanding job even after marrying Colton West. It wasn’t until their new home on the West River was completed that Liu helped Kat hire her replacement.
These days, Liu worked her kitchen garden, created videos for her food blog, and looked after her husband and extended Chen family—now permanently installed in the guest house adjacent to her own sprawling home, eagerly awaiting the birth of Liu’s first baby.
Liu still brought over large platters of food to the ranch house, prepared by herself and the Chen women, “for our family.” Every morsel was appreciated and devoured by Kat, Gunnar, Willow, and whoever else happened to be under the roof at the time. Often Ridge and Casey, and now Ash.
In warm weather, Liu served garden-to-table dinners in the cool shade of her custom tea house; a gift from Colton. Hers was an idyllic life, according to the million-plus fans following her videos and social media posts.
Before Ash left for town, Casey stood up from the table and gently took his arm. She pulled him close and kissed his cheek.
“It’s so good to have you back, Ash,” Casey said. “We’ve all missed you.”
Ash smiled and returned the affection. Since marrying Ridge, Casey had doubled down on her friendship and maternal gestures. Having no children or siblings of her own, Casey gladly traded any reticence she had about joining such a close family for an openness that was without guile or agenda. She just wanted to be with the man who made her heart skip a beat, and would navigate any other relationship that stood between them.
Turned out, everyone wanted to be her friend—eventually.
Casey wasn’t going to challenge queen bee Kat to be the head of the extended family—she didn’t want that role. She wasn’t going to take on Liu’s cooking dominance, or try to one-up Paislee’s sense of style and design. She wasn’t going to tell anyone how to raise their children or love their spouses. Casey was learning these things for the first time herself.
Early on, Casey decided to allow the West sons the time they needed to accept her in the family; to smile and be an extra hand when one was needed, and then practically run to whatever bed Ridge West was laying his head on any given night, and fall into his arms.
Four years before, he had saved her life, in more ways than one. They had been inseparable ever since.
Liu Chen’s mother, Ling, once told her that according to a Chinese proverb, if somebody saves your life, they are responsible for the rest of your days. But later confessed that she and her husband, Zhang, may have gotten their wisdom from David Carradine in a Kung Fu episode rerun.
“Either way,” Ling said with a smile and a shrug, “Ridge West is a catch.”
Chapter 18
“Casey girl, you’re looking mighty good today,” Ridge said to his wife later that morning, as she passed him in the ranch suite where they often stayed.
“You said the same thing last night,” she answered with a breathy laugh. Casey enjoyed staying at the ranch, but found herself talking in whispers, as if in a museum. When in fact they were completely isolated from the rest of the family.
“It was true last night, and it’s true now.”
Ridge reached out for her hand and pulled her to him. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he sunk his face into the warmth of her neck and kissed the lines of her jaw as she worked her arms up and down the muscles of his arms and shoulders. She seemed to enjoy his strength, he noted, like other women enjoyed ice cream, or fancy coffee drinks. Probably because she’d been on her own for so many years. Casey drew courage from her husband, breathing him in with great appreciation.
He made sure that every day she knew beyond a doubt
that he would be strong for her, and that he cherished her. Ridge was making up for lost time. He couldn’t imagine a beautiful woman such as Casey having to wait until practically fifty years old to know the love of a good man. It was boastful to think of himself as such, he knew, but in comparison to the lowlife who crushed her heart and her business back in Phoenix, he was an undisputed saint.
So he wooed her and courted her. Flirted with her. He sent fresh flowers to her office and fancy boxes of chocolate-covered cherries. In the night, Ridge kissed the place on her neck that made her inhale sharply and reach for him, and caressed her arms and neck in the dark until she fell soundly asleep.
This was no “rocking chairs-on-the-porch” sunset marriage—Ridge West was working harder and more intentionally than he ever had. After being the man who rescued Casey from a blizzard and a pack of ravenous wolves, he refused to live by halves. In other words, the way he’d been carrying on since the death of Randi Lynn.
As a result, he could swear Casey West looked younger and more youthful each day as cares were stripped away from her heavy heart. Secretly, it was Ridge’s new benchmark for success. Putting that vulture, Casey’s ex, behind bars, had been a guilty pleasure.
The scumbag wouldn’t stay locked up forever. Just long enough to mark him guilty for his embezzlement, and for the local newspaper to absolve Casey of the pain she felt at leaving her father’s real estate business in ruins. As a result, she was more at ease returning to Phoenix and visiting her childhood home—which had been thoughtfully renovated into a retreat for the two of them.
Sassy Cowgirl Kisses: A Sweet Romance (A West Brothers Romance Book 5) Page 5
