The guilty verdict also triggered a restraining order, following the dude’s attempts at blackmail.
All in all, their first years of marriage didn’t have the same highlights as other newlyweds, but both Ridge and Casey came with a bit of baggage, which they both eagerly signed on to help each other carry. Now, they could put the more unpleasant things behind them and just enjoy each other’s company.
“It’s great having Ash home,” Casey said as they sat with their mid-morning coffee in their private rooms.
While they were in Europe after their wedding, Kat had the suite completely updated with plush carpet, sage green walls, and decadent crown moldings. She hung new paintings, and brought in swivel club chairs with a shared ottoman so the couple to enjoy the view of the gorge. Thanks to a polished walnut butler’s pantry, they could make their own coffee and toast in the morning when they wanted to linger.
“He’s looking good,” Ridge agreed. “Says he might move into his bungalow for the summer, though. I don’t know how I feel about that.”
Casey shrugged.
“He’s finding his way,” she said. “He’s not a kid anymore, or a student. Certainly his neighbors in town are easier on the eyes than his family.”
Ash’s bungalow, which he inherited from his grandmother, sat next to the Parks Place rental that Freda and Sassy were living in for the summer. Ridge grumbled once he connected those dots.
“More reason for Ash not to move there.”
“Oh, why’s that?”
“I like that Sassy,” he said carefully, “she’s just… too pretty. That could be trouble.”
Casey frowned at the comment, but didn’t have to say anything.
“Oh, I know how bad that sounded, and I’m sorry,” Ridge said. “I just sense she’s going back home after the summer, and I hate to see Ash get hurt. But I can’t protect him from pain—he’s a grown man now.”
Chapter 19
Ash had granny’s bungalow rented out for most of his university days, thanks to Casey and her property management team. Just recently, the little family who had been living there gave notice and moved up to Idaho.
“Should I advertise it for you?” Casey wanted to know, and Ash declined.
“I might live there myself for a time,” he’d said. Now, he was glad. For upon pulling into the driveway this Saturday morning, Ash saw a beautiful girl with yellow hair walking from the mailbox at the next house over. It was Sassy, he knew, and she was distracted, carrying a mug of coffee and wearing a short little sundress.
“Morning, Bo peep,” he said, getting out of his Jeep.
She looked up, startled.
“What are you doing over there, don’t you live at the ranch?” She asked.
“This is my granny’s house. Well, used to be hers,” he said, “she left it to me. I renovated it, same time that Casey renovated the house you and Freda are in. Same time that my dad renovated the house on the other side.”
“Wow, what a little fixer-upper party that must have been,” she said with a smile.
Ash nodded.
“It wasn’t dull, that’s for sure.” He was thinking about the antics of Ridge and Casey as they fell in love with each other.
“Is your house the same as ours?” Sassy pointed to the rental she and Freda shared.
“Not exactly. Of course, I haven’t been in mine for some time. Renters have been living here while I was off at school.”
“You must be anxious to take a look around.”
Oddly, Ash wasn’t. He’d stand and talk to Sassy all morning, if she’d give him the time.
“I’m a little nervous and reluctant, tell you the truth. It used to be my home when I was a boy. More and more, it’s becoming just a house.”
“Well come in and have a cup of coffee with me first,” Sassy said with a sweet smile. “I always think it best to put off uncomfortable moments. And I have Saturday bagels.”
“Cream cheese?”
“Of course,” Sassy said. “A true Midwest delicacy. I’d get bagels every day of the week if I could, but Freda and I never have enough time to swing by the Donut Den before work—we’re always running nearly late. So Saturday it is.”
“All right then,” he said, walking towards Casey’s little Parks Place rental. Sassy turned and led him into the house, her exposed skin shining with coconut butter. Ash tried to pry his gaze from her long legs so he could look around the house. “I remember when there was sawdust everywhere, and doors that needed to be hung.”
“Doors are hung, thankfully.”
“Freda must be sleeping behind one of them,” Ash said, wandering into the kitchen.
“Nope, she went to Lander again to see her guy. Sit down, I’ll bring you a plate.”
Ash did this gladly, as he found himself shaking a little. She just smelled so much like the girls at the beach in Michigan, and looked like them too. Ridge said to be careful of the Midwest girls, but here was one—right in Wyoming. Sassy was the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen. But she was nice, and the other day at the creek, they’d laughed and talked like old friends.
Now that she knew he was a West, he wondered if she’d treat him differently. And now that he was an owner of the ranch and she an employee, he knew he needed to act differently—didn’t he?
“How’s… how’s your hand?” Ash wanted to quickly get off the subject of being alone in Sassy’s house with her. Just the thought seemed to stir up rumblings in his stomach that he couldn’t account for.
“My hand? Oh, the splinter.” she said, handing him a plate with a warm bagel from the toaster. “Well, Doc West, it healed right up. Either from the extraction or the kiss. I haven’t decided yet.”
She was so pretty, and the memory of wrapping his lips around her porcelain finger as they sat by the creek, with her wide eyes looking at him in surprise, would have buckled his knees if he wasn’t sitting.
Ash exhaled a puff of air, realizing he’d picked the wrong topic if his goal was to avoid the provocative.
“So, your father…” he attempted, lamely.
Sassy cut him off, laughing at his obvious discomfort.
“Ash West,” she said, taking a bite of her bagel and lifting her coffee mug as she appraised him. “I suspect we’ll have lots of time this summer to talk about sad things such as my father and your grandmother. But it’s a perfect day, so let’s not spoil it.”
Relieved, he smiled and ate his breakfast.
“Since my car is still being repaired,” she said, “why don’t you show me around West Gorge today. I haven’t seen much besides the ranch and the grocery store. And something called the Mercantile, where they sell cast iron pots and fishing poles, and thick shirts that feel like they’re made of old tarps.”
“Yep, that’s about it,” Ash laughed.
“I did buy these boots, though.” Sassy lifted a tanned leg to show Ash the expensive leather-tooled Mercovas that graced her feet. His eyes traveled from the boots to her shin, to the cap of her knee, and then along the toned muscle of her thigh, stretching up and under the hem of her short, but casual morning dress.
“Wow, pretty,” Ash said, thinking, pretty pricey for an intern. He tried to keep his eyes on the boots, and not the glow of her flawless skin. “Have you been to the West Gorge Arts and Culture Center? Or up to Cindy’s Diner?” Ash’s voice sounded scratchy, like an adolescent.
“No, but I’d like to see more of West Gorge, and Wyoming.”
“Okay, let’s do it. How about I tidy up your kitchen while you go get dressed.”
Sassy wore a mischievous smile on her face as she stood. He was mesmerized, and couldn’t look away.
“Done,” she whispered.
Spinning around like a dancer to walk down the hallway, Sassy moved her hands to the hem of her sundress, then lifted her arms in one swift motion over her head—taking the dress with her. Barely breathing, he watched, spellbound, as she turned into her room wearing only her pink bikini.
&nb
sp; Chapter 20
“I wish I was normal.”
At a young age, Sassy began to understand that she was beautiful. Not just pretty, like the Katies at her school, or interesting, like the Lindsay’s. She had the kind of beauty that made both men and women trip over their words as they stared at her—mesmerized. Like she was an alien or something.
She came home from school one day and complained to her parents, telling them how much she wished she could blend in.
Her mother just laughed, delighted.
“Of course you’re not normal,” she crooned. “Look at the two of us.”
Indeed, her mother was gorgeous. And her father looked like a movie star from long ago, before leading men could look like her gangly string bean science teacher, or the moody boy that bagged their groceries with a long swoop of hair hanging in his face.
Sassy herself was like a cocktail the two had created at the peak of their perfection and ingenuity. Even her name was one of a kind—which didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. She’d be just as pretty if they’d named her Shlumpy or Frumpy, she knew.
She tried to minimize herself in her adolescent years, slouching her shoulders and hiding her face. Until her father made it his mission to discourage these efforts.
“Would you believe it,” he told her once, “that teenaged years are difficult for everyone, no matter what you look like?”
She didn’t believe it.
“But it’s true,” he insisted. “You’re all going to get through it, and I’m right here with you.” Then he coached her, and encouraged her to take charge of her life, and not allow her beauty to define her.
“Your loveliness is an aside,” he said. “It’s incidental. You are smart, and you will design your life according to your own vision, not anybody else’s. You won’t let any man control your beauty for his own selfishness—you will decide what and who you want. Not the other way around.”
He spent years staying close and guiding Sassy. He told her how to be above reproach in conversations, and how to avoid gossip and innuendo. He insisted she only go on group dates, and suggested other ways to avoid being vulnerable.
“Don’t ever be in a position to rely on the kindness of strangers,” he said, after they’d watched a very old movie with the famous line. And she hadn’t—not until her car ran into a rock to avoid running into a herd of sheep. Then she relied on the kindness of Ash West. If he hadn’t been so disarming, she would have locked herself in her car, with her index finger poised on a can of spray mace.
As her father’s life came to a close, he told her other things, too. Weighty things. Before she left for the university, he told her the secret he nearly took to his grave.
The thing that brought her to Wyoming, and West Ranch.
It was also the reason she was openly flirting for the first time in her life. Surprisingly, it was a little bit of fun, especially with Ash West. He got the ball rolling by kissing her finger once he removed the splinter—and it was no innocent peck. It was a kiss that made her face turn two shades of red, and made her toss and turn at night.
Sassy flipped her hair over and brushed the sleep out of it, then chose a celery green sundress from the closet. She could hear Ash placing the last of the dishes in the drainer as she rolled on lip balm—her only makeup, ever—and grabbed her sandals and sunglasses.
“Be right out,” she called to Ash as she finished getting ready for their day; the date that she engineered out of the blue after seeing him drive up next door. At the very least it would get her out of the house for the day.
At best, it would get her one step closer towards accomplishing her task.
Chapter 21
Their tour began with a visit to the Amber Waves store in town, where Ash’s old pal Amber looked glad to see him, but not so glad to see the beautiful Sassy trailing behind him.
Her greeting went from “Hey Ash!” to a tepid “oh hi,” when introduced. As for her part, Sassy was warm and friendly, browsing the store enthusiastically while the two old pals caught up a bit. Amber had stayed in town after high school, first attending a community college, then an online business school. Between her internet sales and assisting Casey with her real estate management, Amber was doing quite well for herself.
“Look how tall you got, Ash,” Amber exclaimed, looking up at the boy, who merely shrugged. He thought she sounded a bit sad, but didn’t know why. There was definitely distance between them now so he couldn’t ask her so freely—he’d barely seen her in the past few years, when he tended to spend his holiday time in Michigan.
“I s’pose.”
He looked around the storefront and shook his head in wonder. She had expanded into the vacant store adjacent to her, and also expanded her product line from vintage finds to Wyoming souvenirs and reproduction antiques. Half her store looked like it came out of a magazine, with rustic home goods strung with fairy lights.
Faux dining tables were set with antler-handled coffee mugs, stamped burlap runners, and plates designed with black bears marching around the rim.
“What a beautiful store,” Sassy said as she rejoined the two. “I’ll have to come back before I leave town and buy my mama a gift.”
Amber visibly brightened at the comment.
“Oh, you’re not staying in West Gorge? Pity.”
“It is a pity, isn’t it,” Sassy replied, “I only have a summer internship at West Ranch. Of course, if someone were to offer me a job I might stick around. Maybe you’ll have an opening in the fall, Amber.”
Amber fidgeted a little, before shaking her head and answering.
“I hear the Pet N’ Feed store is hiring a night time cage cleaner,” she said at last.
Sassy held onto her smile while her eyes narrowed at Amber—almost imperceptibly.
As Ash watched, the girls reminded him of two bighorn sheep squaring off to do battle.
“Well, well, Ash West. You’re a sight for sore eyes!”
Sassy hung back in the hospital gift shop, amongst the Get Well Soon pillows and cards, while Ash got an enthusiastic hug from Marta Scott, the manager.
“To think I knew you back when you were a teenage pickpocket,” Marta blurted loudly to a blushing Ash. He smiled big, though. Sassy was glad to see he could take a little ribbing, and couldn’t wait to hear the rest of that story.
After introducing Marta to Sassy, they made polite conversation for a few minutes—Marta asking Sassy all kinds of too-personal questions. Where was she from, who was she dating, and did she plan on staying in Wyoming. Sassy managed to be polite but evasive, then slipped away to pretend to read the greeting cards.
Marta raised her eyebrows suggestively at Ash and whispered theatrically, “and here I was gonna put your love life on the West Gorge prayer chain. I see God already dropped a perfect angel right in your lap.”
Ash cleared his throat uncomfortably at the image. Sassy was suppressing a smile, he could tell, as he glanced her way across the small store.
“It’s not like that, Marta,” he choked out. “But I’m knee deep in ranch work and my new job, so my love life doesn’t need intercession at the moment.” Ash knew the power of West Gorge prayers and could only imagine what trouble the church-going people in town could stir up for him. Why, they’d have him dating, engaged, and married by the Harvest Fest.
A bun in the oven by Christmas.
“Don’t forget to stop by the jail and say hi to my son, Jason,” Marta said as the two prepared to leave. “He’s captain of the police force now, but you’ll always be his favorite lockup.”
Sheesh.
Ash knew he’d better go before Marta said any more. As it was, Sassy was getting a very in-depth look at his past. Maybe he should drive her past the school where he played hooky as an adolescent; or to the local grocery store where he stole canned goods to feed his Granny—that would complete the picture.
Getting back in his truck, Sassy was blessedly silent, but she was watching him closely.
“Don’t mind my asking,” Sassy said from the booth later at Cindy’s Diner, “but why do cowboys dress like… well, cowboys on their days off?”
“What do you mean?” Ash set his cheeseburger on the plate and looked down at his jeans, boots, and pearl-snapped plaid shirt. Suddenly, he knew exactly what she meant.
“When you were at school in Michigan, what did you wear on warm days?”
Ash thought about his carefree summer days with Erik Olsen, at the beach and on the boat. At first, he borrowed his friend’s board shorts and then bought his own. They didn’t have mercantile stores along the coast in Michigan—they had outfitters of a different kind. Stores that sold shirts with built-in SPF for long days in the sun, and mirrored sunglasses that cut the glare from the water. There were brimmed sun hats, river sandals and deck shoes. And endless tee shirts with pictures of paddle boards, kayaks and sailboats.
Since he’d been back, Ash had automatically donned his plaids and long jeans, even on days like today. Here Sassy was dressed like a Michigan girl in her sundress, while his summer clothes went unpacked, in a box at the ranch.
“Duly noted,” he smiled a wicked grin and picked up a French fry. “But… are you undressing my ranch duds with your eyes, Sassy?”
She let out a surprised laugh.
“No, Ash. I don’t have that much time… you’re probably wearing long johns under those clothes, too.”
It was Ash’s turn to laugh. He liked the easy banter between he and Sassy.
“Maybe we should swing by the ranch so you can change before you take me to the gorge. Otherwise you’ll be too hot,” she said, watching for a reaction.
She had hoped to maneuver their outing into a visit to the elusive West ranch house, whose doors she was keen on going through. But Sassy was surprised at how much she was enjoying her time with Ash, to the point of nearly forgetting her mission.
Sassy Cowgirl Kisses: A Sweet Romance (A West Brothers Romance Book 5) Page 6
