“I suppose not.”
She took his hand, and they walked towards the door together. He pulled on his boots, as the door opened.
“Hello Di,” her brother called, then looked surprised seeing her already near the doorway. “Oh. You're here. What's all this?”
“Jackson, from the riding stables,” he said, holding out his hand.
The other man shook it, “Ah, the riding stables I've been hearing so much about.”
Leslie and her brother followed into the house, Leslie stopped on the step, looking confused.
“I just came to drop something off,” Jackson said, putting his cowboy hat on.
Leslie's face broke into an enormous smile, “my helmet? Did you bring my helmet?”
He nodded, and pointed towards the living room. “Someone took it by mistake. They brought it back, and I thought you would want it right away.”
Her brother made a strange face and nodded. “A mistake you say? Yes, that does happen.”
Dianna glared at him behind Jackson's back, and then looked at Leslie. “Well?”
“Thank you so much for bringing it,” she kicked off her shoes, and ran into the living room.
Her brother shook Jackson's hand again, “well, it was nice to finally meet you. And thanks for bringing the helmet.”
He muttered something about picking it up at the next lesson, but Dianna ignored him. He gently pushed his son into the living room and followed after. She turned to look at Jackson.
“Well, I suppose I'll see you later.”
He took her hand, and squeezed it, “I'll make sure you do.”
He let go of her hand, and left the house, waving quickly as he ran down the front steps. She stood in the doorway, watching him climb into his truck. He waved again, and pulled away. She sighed and closed the door. Her brother and Leslie were sitting on the couch watching TV, her nephew having gone to his room. As Dianna walked in, he paused the TV. Leslie stood up and mumbled something to the floor. Dianna turned to her brother and raised an eyebrow. He cleared his throat, and Leslie looked up scowling.
“I'm sorry I yelled at you.”
Dianna smiled softly, “I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you.”
Unexpectedly, Leslie came closer and hugged her, “and I'm sorry I said I wished you were gone. I didn't mean that. I'm glad you're here. And I don’t hate you.”
Dianna wrapped her arms around her niece, standing together for a few moments.
After a while, Leslie pulled herself away, and picked up her helmet, before skipping off to her room. Dianna dropped onto the couch with a sigh, as her brother turned the TV back on.
“I see you didn't get much dyeing done,” he said, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
She stuck her tongue out at him, “yes, well...something else came up.”
“Yes, I don't doubt that it did.”
Without looking away from the TV, she hit him in the face with a pillow.
**End**
More Free Stories
The Cowboy’s Bride
The Cowboy’s Bride
Cerise huddled further into her jacket. There was a reason you didn’t find too many black people out on farms, she said to herself. The wind was cold, threatening rain, and the entire area smelled. Part of her wished she could get back on the bus and go back to the school. She climbed off the school bus and made a face, before remembering why she was there. She pulled out the piece of paper from her pocket and looked at the five names, her nephew, Denzel, at the top of the list. Eventually the teacher got all forty grade two students off the bus, and arranged them into groups around the grown ups. She still thought it was stupid to take all these kids to look at a farm, but it was cute to see how excited they all were. She looked down at the list of students the teacher had given her back at the school. There were five names, and she gulped. It was going to be tough keeping them all together, when they were so excited about seeing everything all at once.
Her group clambered around her, each one wanted to talk at the same time, each one wanting to show her something. She took a deep breath and looked around, it looked like all the other volunteers were experiencing the same thing. Standing in front of the group, the teacher clapped her hands. A few kids turned to look at her, so she did it again. She clapped and waiting again and again until all the students were looking at her. Once they were all quiet, someone came out of one of the buildings to meet them. He stopped first to talk to the teacher, then turned to the rest of the group. Cerise felt her breath stop. He was tall and lean, his muscles made by hard work and not hours in the gym. He swept off his light brown cowboy hat, greeting the class. His sandy hair fell in front of his eyes. He pushed the hair out of his eyes, and put his hat back on. He smiled at the kids, holding his arms wide.
“Welcome everyone,” his voice was clear and friendly. “I am so glad that you’re all here today. I hope you learn a lot, and see something interesting. I’m Kyle, and I’m going to show you around.”
They went on a tour of the stables first. The little girls swooned over the horses. They all wanted to pet one and take them home. They clustered around the little ponies, their voices cooing. If the field trip ended there, all of the little girls would be happy. Kyle’s voice rang out clearly over the buzz of children’s voices. He told them all about the horses, and even picked a volunteer to brush one. Cerise wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying. She just wanted to listen to him talk. He had a slight accent, making the words drawl out of his mouth slowly. Next they moved on to see the cows.
They stood in the almost stifling heat of the milk barn, clustered around one of the black and white cows. The sun must have finally come out, because the air coming in the open door was no longer cool. Now her jacket was too hot. Cerise took off her coat, and held it in front of her, careful not to let it touch anything. It was dry clean only, and she didn’t want to have to take it in. Another person came out to talk to them. He showed them the cow, telling all the kids about her, but Cerise wasn’t listening, she was too busy watching him. He had a face that was made for smiling, a few lines around his mouth, but they were mostly buried by his light stubble.
Suddenly, one of the other volunteers nudged her elbow. The man was pointing at her. She looked confused, and he waved her up. She draped her coat over one of the fences, and she walked up, around the kids standing, giggling. She stood next to the cow, and looked out at the kids. Denzel was smiling, his mouth open wide, his hands in front of his mouth. She looked at him puzzled. What had she agreed to do?
“Have you ever milked a cow before?”
Her eyes opened wide, that’s what he was asking her to do? The other volunteers and teachers started to snicker. She looked at the cow, and the udders. She would have to touch that?
“No, I can’t say that I have.”
“Well, then this will be your lucky day.”
He picked up a small stool, and set it down next to the cow. He patted it, waiting for her to sit down. She lowered herself onto the stool, and he leaned over her. She could feel the warmth from his body, he held her hands and guided them to the cows udders. A small cat scampered around her feet.
“Put your hands here, and move them like this,” he said quietly.
She watched their hands moving together. His hands were rough and calloused, but they held hers gently. They were white and pale, from wearing gloves. From the wrist to the elbow, they were tanned. His arms were probably pale again under his shirt. His hands were almost as light as hers were dark. She jumped slightly in surprise when the milk started coming out of the udders, and into the bucket. She looked up at him, as he smiled back at her, his green eyes laughing. They were the loveliest eyes she had ever seen. She took a deep breath, he smelled like soap and sweat and warm hay. It made her think of a summer day. After a few strokes, he let her go, and stepped away from her. She stood up, blushing and moved back to where she had been standing. He finished talking, but she wasn’t really sure what he said, and a few
minutes later, the group started walking again.
The rest of the trip passed in a daze. Even though Cerise kept a sharp eye on her group, her mind kept wandering. She kept feeling the pressure of his hand on hers, his hands guiding hers. She wondered what it would feel like to hold his hand, to feel him touch her face, or her body. She walked Denzel home from school that day, and stayed with him until his mother got home. He spent the entire evening talking about the farm, and the animals. After his mother put him to bed, she leaned against the counter where Cerise was sitting.
“You touched a cow?” She asked in disbelief. “Why on earth did you touch a cow?”
“Because he chose me as his volunteer,” she answered. And because she couldn’t say no to such a good looking man, but she didn’t want to add that part for her sister. She stood up to leave, picking up her purse and started looking around for her coat.
“Did you see my coat?”
Her sister shook her head, walking into the front hall looking in the closet. “Did you have one today? I never saw one when I got home.”
Cerise stood, thinking back during the day. She’d had the coat when she was at the school, and she’d had it on the morning bus trip. She had it when the first started the tours of the barns, and then she remembered. She’d put it down when she went to milk the cow, and then got distracted by that farmer. It was probably still sitting there, gathering cow smell. She groaned inwardly. It was her favourite coat too, and now it was going to stink like cows.
“I left it at the farm.”
“Oh shoot,” her sister answered, making a face. She had probably thought the same thoughts as Cerise had about the smell. “I’ll call the teacher tomorrow, she can see if someone brought it back.”
But no one had, so the teacher gave them the phone number for the farm. And it was such a nice coat too. She decided to call the farm, maybe someone there had picked it up, hopefully someone hadn’t found it and kept it.
“Hi,” she said when someone answered the phone. “I was there with a school field trip yesterday, and I think I left my coat behind in the cow milking barn.”
“I haven’t heard about it,” said the woman on the other end. “But hold on, I’ll put you through to the milking barn.”
Barns have phones now? Cerise wondered to herself, as she waited on hold. Apparently there was a lot more to farms than she thought. She checked her watch quickly, barns might have phones, but that didn’t mean they got answered quickly. She was just thinking about hanging up when someone answered.
“Hello?” A man’s voice came over the line. “What can I do you for?”
“Hi. I think I left my coat there while I was on a field trip yesterday.”
“A long black one?”
“Yeah, it is. It’s like a wool on the outside, and kind of satin-y on the inside.”
The line was quiet for a moment. “You the lady who came up to milk the cow?”
“Yeah.”
“Then it looks like I have your coat. Would you like me to bring it into the city for you?”
“Oh no, that’s not necessary. I can drive out there.”
The man’s voice laughed, “it’s not a problem. I have to go out to the city tonight, anyway. I can bring the coat with me, and drop it off.”
“That sounds great.”
He named a coffee shop, one that was actually quite near her apartment, and she agreed to meet him there that evening. It might not be a date, but it certainly wouldn’t hurt to spend the evening with a handsome man like that. She hung up the phone, and smiled to herself. Absentmindedly, she started to hum while she worked, suddenly it seemed like a very good day.
She arrived at the coffee shop first. She bought herself a mocha latte, and sat down at a table facing the door. He came in at exactly the time he had said he would. His broad frame seemed to fill the entire doorway. His green button down shirt and jeans were rumpled. He saw her and swept the dark brown cowboy hat off his head, her coat draped over one arm. He smiled when he saw her, and headed for her table.
“I believe this is for you,” he said, draping it across the table.
“Thanks. Do you have time to sit? Have a coffee?” she asked, gesturing to the seat across from her.
It looked like he was thinking about it for a moment, and then sat down. She pulled her coat off the table, and hung it over the back of her chair..
“You didn’t have to make a special trip. I wouldn’t have minded going out there.”
“I know. But I don’t mind coming here either.”
“Oh, that’s right. You said you had something to do anyway. I don’t want to keep you from doing something you need to.”
“Nah, you aren’t keeping me from anything important.”
He stood up, and went to order a coffee. She could hear him talking to the serving girl, both of them laughing. He had such a pleasant laugh. After a few minutes, he came back to the table, and sat down. They sat awkwardly for a few moments, each twisting their cups around in their hands, not quite sure how to start.
Once they started talking, neither one could stop. They talked all about the farm, and her job at city hall. Then they moved on to TV shows, and movies, and stories they’d heard in the news.
“Excuse me, um, I don’t want to bother you, but it’s closing time now.”
They both turned to look at her, surprised. Kyle looked at his watch, and Cerise looked outside. It was dark now, they must have been sitting there for hours, just talking. They looked at each other amazed. The staff at the restaurant were staring at them, and it was dark outside.
“Do you want me to walk you to your car?” he asked, standing up.
She stood, and shook her head, “I just live down the block.”
After a moment, she gasped, remembering. “What about the thing you had to do? Will they mind that you missed it?”
They headed out the door, and stood on the sidewalk. He laughed, and made a face. “I didn’t really have somewhere to go. I just said that. Just in case I had to leave early.”
Her eyes widened, and she laughed, “I guess I wasn’t boring then.”
“You were anything but boring. Can I see you again?”
Cerise nodded, “how about next week? The same time, at the same place?”
“Would you mind if I gave you a kiss first?”
She shook her head, she wouldn’t mind that at all, and he leaned over to her. He kissed her gently on the lips. It felt like her lips were burning where, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her. She felt his hand move around her waist, his fingers leaving trails of fire in her skin. She never wanted him to let her go, she never wanted to let go of him. Eventually, they pulled away from each other.
“Next week. Same time, same place,” he said softly, his voice husky.
She nodded and turned and walked to her apartment, stumbling slightly after the kiss. Her head was swimming, and light. When she stood outside her building, she turned around and looked back at the coffee shop. Kyle was still standing there, watching her. Next week couldn’t come fast enough. She waved to him, and he waved back, before turning towards the parking lot.
The next week was the same. They talked until their drinks got cold, and the coffee shop had to close, and then they agreed to meet again. It quickly became the best part of her week. She would have her outfit chosen by Wednesday, and would spent all day Friday thinking about it. But Cerise wanted something more, she wanted him. All of him. On the next week, as they were leaving, she turned to him. She moved her fingers around nervously. She had thought about how to ask, but it never seemed to come out right. It always seemed forced, and awkward. She thought about all the practicing she had done, but she couldn’t remember it. Her mind was empty, everything she had planned to say was gone.
“I wondered if you wanted to come back to my place,” she said finally, her voice quiet.
He was silent for a moment. Inwardly, she groaned. She’d blown it now, he was nev
er going to want to talk to her again. The silence seemed to stretch on forever. She shifted awkwardly from foot to foot, looking at the ground. There was a crack in the sidewalk under her feet, she wished it would open up and she could fall right in.
Slowly he smiled, “I don’t think I’d mind that at all.”
They walked to the parking lot, behind the coffee shop, and climbed into his truck. She could feel herself starting to get nervous. Maybe this was going to be a bad decision, maybe she should stop him now. But she lived close, and the ride was short. He pulled into her parking lot, and parked the truck. They were quiet on the elevator, and as she led him to her apartment.
She let him in, and when she locked the door and turned around, she saw the apartment how he must be seeing it. It was small, and sparsely furnished, but at least it was clean, she had remembered to do that this morning. She didn’t spend much time here, preferring to visit her sister and nephew. Holding his hand, and walked around the apartment. It was a very quick tour, it wasn’t a very big space. After a few minutes, they were back in the living room, and sat down on the couch.
Romance: First Time and Pregnant With The Navy Seal (Stepbrother, Military, Romance) Page 7
