by Barb Shuler
When she finally turned me loose, I walked out of the kitchen and onto the back deck to find both Danny and Jon in stitches. Phoebe was scowling. Dad looked disappointed. He looked at them and shook his head. I sighed and moved to sit on the stairs leading off into the back of the property. I knew my actions stemmed from the inner battle I fought every day. Not all women were bad or reckless with others lives. I react like most people do. Fear turns to anger, so I unleashed it.
“Son, I expect you to apologize to Miss Larson in the morning. I get that you were upset, but nothing that happened was her fault. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it looks as though she came out of this with the worst damage. I mean it, boy. You better fix this. You're not too big for me to skin ya hide,” Dad’s words twanged through me. Before I could tell him I'd already planned on doing that, he’d stood and headed back inside.
Everyone was silent until Jon spoke. “Bubba, come on, I'll help you get set up for in the morning. Four AM will be here before you know it.”
“Thanks. Abe has his stuff in order already. I need to move the trailers to the back of the pen,” I said.
“The paddocks are ready for the horses. Pheebs and I did that while Ma told ya off,” Danny offered, ever so helpfully.
“Kid, I might still kill you,” I muttered, standing. “Let's go Jon. I need to check on Abbie and shower before bed.”
“She’s asleep, I just checked on her when we got back. She's out like a light. I'm on Abbie duty tonight, so don't you worry about her,” I moved to hug Phoebe and kissed her head. “Thanks, Pheebs. Love you, Kid.”
“Love you too, now go before Ma starts ranting again,” she said before erupting into giggles and walking back inside.
“I'm never living this down, huh?” I asked, glancing at Jon as we moved to walk across the yard to the trucks and the barn.
“Dude, you made Ma lose her cool. She's not done that since Kath- Well since you got custody of Abbie. It was entertaining and sad at the same time.”
“I watched him hit her. She didn't react fast enough. Why is a damn city slicker ‘round here anyway? She's gonna get in the way, man,” I griped as I tugged the truck door open.
“You're an ass. No one anticipates a cow to dart across the road - if they don't know to expect it, that is. Not to mention Danny was driving that ATV full out. He knows better, but like the rest of us, he did what he wanted. It left him no reaction time. Thank God he had the sense to put on his overalls and a helmet,” Jon said, his voice full of the same emotions I was feeling.
“Yeah, let's get this done. I'm tired and I need to go check on Abbie. No matter what Pheebs said. I need to see my girl,” I tiredly said the last words and climbed into the truck. They already had both trailers hooked up, so all we had to do was drive them out, unhook one of the trucks and head back home. Tomorrow would be a new day and hopefully, an uneventful one.
“Come on, princess. Can you go back to sleep for Daddy,” I said softly as I held Abbie against my chest. She’d had a bottle with oatmeal already, but for some reason she was still fussy. The plan was to let her sleep in her car seat, which would be in the truck until we got the cows sorted. By then it would be time to eat again. We were all ready to take a break.
“She’s as stubborn as you were at that age.” I looked up to see my dad smirking at me. I fought to not roll my eyes.
“Sure she is. It runs in the family,” I grinned.
“Possibly, but don’t tell your mother that.” He moved over to kiss Abbie’s cheek and grabbed his hat. “Your Ma will drive the truck out to the site. Maybe she’ll fall asleep during the ride. Come on, we’re wastin’ daylight,” Dad said as he patted my shoulder. When he walked out of the kitchen he raised his deep voice and let out a booming, “Saddle up” before he headed out the front door himself.
I chuckled as Abbie hiccuped and curled her face into me. “I see Grandpa gets your attention, yet you pay me no mind. I get it. Grandpa is louder than Daddy. And meaner.” I whispered the last words, grinning as I turned to head for the front door.
“Hey! Let me take her,” Phoebe said as she moved back into the door. I shifted away and darted out the door.
“Get your own kid, this one is mine.”
“You can't take her on the horse, ya know,” she snarked.
“Oh no? Watch me,” I said as I walked over to the truck where Ma was waiting. “I need her harness carrier.”
“I thought you might. Here, let me help you get it on,” Ma said, all the time smiling up at me. Abbie seemed to settle when she was put into her carrier and could still lay against my chest. This would give me a little more time with her. The ride out to the corrals would be gentle so she would enjoy it. It seemed some days I only saw her when she was asleep. The life of a rancher is on the go, full speed ahead. I get that, but I don't want to miss any of her important moments. Abbie was only ten and a half months old. She had time still, but as a dad I worried.
When I met Abbie’s mother, I thought I'd found the one. That one person you're meant to be with. We met at a charity event in Cheyenne and hit it off. Little did I know then that Kathy Jo Schultz would be the biggest mistake of my life. The one and only good thing that came from our two years together, was Abbie. I’d had to fight for Abbie, though. Kathy Jo was a different person after she got pregnant. And the day after she had Abbie, her true colors rose. I caught her on the phone with someone trying to find a way to “get rid of this thing” - as in our child - so she could get away from this “hick town”. I lost my mind at her words. I watched her like a hawk and the moment she struck I was there. She decided that she was tired of getting up and taking care of our child. I walked in the door just in time to stop her from drowning our two month old.
Enough was enough. I had her arrested - which was easy to do since she confessed to it - and by the court's ruling after her trial, which moved fast, I was awarded sole custody of my child. The battle wounds are still there. People who have no respect for others - as Kathy Jo did - make a devil awaken inside me. It's one of the reasons I showed my ass yesterday. I think. I hope so anyway. I felt like an ass after I yelled at the obviously distraught female. Now I was more than an ass. I would do my groveling later. Right now we had cattle to deal with. It would take all of my concentration, as well as the family and our hands working as a team to get it done safely.
4
A New Day
Georgie
I'd been here for a full day now. The last two days in total had been crazy. Two long days which made my list of things to do grow by the minute. The insurance company had sent someone out to look at the trailer and SUV this morning. They'd both been towed back to the cabin where I was staying so I could get my things from them. The trailer was totaled. Its age and the amount of damage made it easier to total and buy another one even if I had only owned it for a few weeks. And I had just paid the stupid taxes on it, too.
My SUV, my poor truck, had a broken axle, two busted tires on the passenger side, and a hole in the fuel tank where something punctured it. The back window had shattered this morning when they tried to unhook the trailer from the bumper. The back bumper had been bent, so it was all a mess. Nothing was salvageable. It was time to upgrade, I guess. I hated buying vehicles. It was just not right to have to deal with those damn pushy ass balding men with aspirations of getting their greedy little palms on your money.
With a heavy sigh, I shifted to grab a plastic tote box from the back of the SUV. I'd have to get it over the back seat and out the door, all with one good arm. My life was starting to suck. My knee - which thankfully wasn't bruised, just tender - wasn't happy with the kneeling and laying over the back seat to reach things in the back. Mr. Cross - the insurance adjuster - had gotten in touch with a scrap yard to come and tow this all away once I called them. That was at least one less thing to worry about.
“For the love of….”
I hissed as I tugged at the box, my knees were up off the back seat now a
s I lowered my splinted arm to help with the lifting. I had an appointment in town later today at the doctor's office to have an X-ray and a cast put on if it was confirmed to be broken. The Doc the Cannon’s had called said it was, but a second opinion is never a bad idea. It sure hurt like it was broken. Yay me.
“Son of a bitch. Give a girl a break, huh?”
I grunted as I finally hefted the tote up, panting as I turned to slide out of the open door. One more bag was back there and I was done. I looked at my watch and moved inside with the box. I retrieved the bag and shut the door to the SUV for the last time.
I was leaned up against the door, my forehead pressed against the sun warmed side. My arm was throbbing enough that it had its own heartbeat. It was enough to bring tears to my eyes. I heard Tango barking from inside but ignored it for a moment. Someone cleared their throat, and I turned with a gasp.
“Don't sneak up on people like that,” I sounded breathless as the words fell from my lips. I took in a breath and got myself a real good look at the cowboy before me. He was tall and muscular, and damn if he wasn't sexy as hell. My gaze met his before I spoke. “Sorry…”
“No need to be sorry, ma’am. I didn't mean to scare you,” he said, cutting me off. A sexy as sin smirk was already playing at his lips.
My eyes scanned the man before me - again, cause, just damn - and I nodded. My mouth felt dry as I tried to get my words to form. I took a deep breath in again and let it out slowly. “It’s okay. Please call me Georgie. You're-” I stopped to eye him again, my eyes squinted slightly. I knew that voice. The ass from the other night. “You, you’re um... Tater? Right?”
“Please call me Tate. I'm a little old for that nickname, though my family doesn't seem to believe that,” he winked at me.
He - the tall, dark and rugged man - seriously just winked at me. By God, I think my ovaries did a cartwheel at that. I shifted slightly on my feet. Stop it, Georgeana Nicolette! Behave! I scolded myself before I spoke again.
“All right, Tate it is. Did you need something?” I asked, trying to not show my sudden awareness of his… rugged manliness. He had been upset the other night. I had been too. We both reacted badly to an already stressful situation.
His eyes went from his open truck door, to Tango who was barking up a storm in the window of the cabin, then back to me. He took a step closer and took the heavy box from me and the bag from the ground at my feet.
“Ma sent me to fetch you. She said you would need a ride to town. I'm heading that way now to get a few things from a few places. If you’d like a ride, I’d like to try and make up for my previous actions, and show you I’m not a total dickhead.”
“Oh. Um, yes, thank you.” I stuttered out the words. “That would be great. I need to go to the Doctor's office and get my arm looked at, and see about buying a new truck, or something. I don't like being stranded. And, if there is time, grab some groceries, and treats for Tango.”
“Well, the grocery store is on my list so that's no problem. If Jackson’s Grocery doesn’t have it, you can have it ordered. But they have a little of everything,” he stated with a smile. “I can even go get your things while you are in seeing Doc Gibbs.” He offered with that killer smile of his out in full view.
That smile. Lord help me, please. I was mad at him, dammit.
“Thank you. I lost some stuff, so I just need to restock. Life kind of took a poo on me the other night,” I said with a sigh.
“I understand that all too well,” he said, ducking his head as we walked up to the cabin door.
He looked like he was concentrating on his steps. Not that I was watching him. Nope, I wasn’t.. Well not much.
“Look, I'm- I wanted to apologize. I mean for my asinine behavior the other night. Seeing my little brother come face to face with a moving vehicle made me kind of- Well, I’ll be honest, ma’am, I was kind of an ass. I really am sorry for what I said and how I reacted to the situation.”
“You were an ass.” I grinned. What the hell? I actually grinned at the bastard. Dammit. I was trying to be mad. And failing hard. Hard... Oh Jesus, I don’t need that kind of thinking, not now. I looked away from him as my cheeks heated. “I was too,” I said as I opened the cabin door.
I quickly gave Tango the hand signals to sit and stay. He whined but sat, looking up at the man - at Tate - with a narrowed gaze. “I was lost, scared, in pain and feeling defensive. It wasn't one of my finest moments, to say the least.”
“We can just, ya know, start over then?” He questioned as he held out his hand. I took it, shaking firmly. “Nathaniel Cannon, but my friends call me Tate. It’s nice you meet ya, ma’am.”
Every time he said ma’am that dimple appeared and I had to fight back a groan. Ugh, fucker. My ovaries were dancing now. The way he watched me was setting me on fire in places I thought I’d forgot were there.
“Georgeana Larson, but you can call me Georgie.” I smiled softly. “It’s a pleasure, Sir.”
Sir? Oh I’ve completely lost my damn mind now. I sighed to myself and gave my head a small shake.
“I'll just wait out here, if you need to freshen up or whatever it is the women in my house take forever doing. I'm in no big rush,” he said. He stepped back after putting the box on the floor and dropping my bag just inside the door. “Come out whenever you’re ready.
“Okay, thank you. Give me a few minutes and let me get into something clean,” I said, slipping inside and shutting the door. I brushed my hair back from my face. I took a minute to remember what I was supposed to be doing and moved to the bedroom.
I stripped out of my sweaty tank top and shorts. I cleaned myself up as best as I could and pulled out a blue sundress and slid it on. I slid my feet into a pair of sandals and grabbed my bag.
“Be a good boy, Tango, I'll be back soon.” I scratched behind his ears and kissed his head. Making sure I had the envelope with all of my paperwork I'd need, I headed out the door.
Time to make nice with the folks on the ranch… especially the sexy as sin Cowboy waiting outside.
* * *
Tate
* * *
She looked… well, as my bud Cody would say, “that lil’ filly was good enough to eat.” Her legs went on forever. Shorts - the kind that doesn't leave much to a man's imagination - and a tank top that was tight across her tits. Such a nice rack. Oh yeah, she was gorgeous. It was hard to not stare at her as I tried to roll my tongue back into my mouth. What had I come here for? Oh, right, to apologize.
The apologies and pleasantries did nothing to make my mind and eyes behave. They took in everything about her. The cute as sin dimples she tried to hide, the small tattoo on her wrist. The small tattoo behind her ear. I got lucky on that one, though. With her hair down I hadn't seen it until she shifted it from her shoulder. It made me wonder if she had any other tattoos hidden, just waiting for me to find.
“Get a grip man,” I scolded myself as I shifted on my feet. That was a dangerous mental path to follow. Just... damn. I started naming the books of the Bible. I went through the list of names on Ma’s church social group, anything to not think about the leggy, busty woman in Aunt June’s old cabin.
By the time she came out I had talked my hard on away. It didn’t last, though. I made the mistake of looking up to the cabin when I heard the door shut. The woman was breathtaking. Her tits looked perfectly at home in the sundress she had slipped into. I now know what it’s like to be in heaven. She would be in my dreams tonight. Naked, of course. Every inch of her was going to be ravished there.
I had to shift my junk before I moved from the cover of my truck. I walked around to help her up into my truck. Do you know how hard it was to keep my eyes and hands to myself? For the love of cheese, it was hard. And so was I. This outing was going to be torture, but I was looking forward to it as well.
Two hours after dropping Georgie off at Doc Johnson’s she was ready. She definitely had a broken wrist. They’d had to pop the cartilage in her thumb back in place too, so y
eah, she was in a lot of pain. I had stayed with her for her appointment. Why? I wasn’t sure. There was just something drawing me to her today. I was like a raging lunatic the other night, but right now, all I wanted was to strip her down and do some very naughty things to her. Of course, I would never take advantage of a woman in a compromised situation. And she was compromised right now. Doc had given her an anxiety pill and two shots of Demerol for the pain. Needless to say, Ms. Georgie was high as a kite.
Her arm was in a cast, and not just any cast. Oh, no. Georgie picked out a bright pink camo print wrap for her cast. Why? God only knows. I tried to talk her out of it, but that didn’t go over well at all. She told me to stuff it and the naughty thoughts started all over again. I had to laugh at her. She was so damn cute. Only thing was she was not going to be able to do any of her errands now. Nor could she be alone until all of her faculties came back online - so to speak.
Once I had her back into the truck I called the house. Ma was going to send Danny and Phoebe to the cabin to get her dog, Tango, and some clothes. I wasn’t letting her out of my sight, nor did I trust Jon or anyone else to watch over her. Also, I wasn’t going to spend that much time away from Abbie. Hopefully, Georgie wouldn’t nut me when she wakes up, alert and not in the cabin where she was supposed to be.
5
Never Saw That Coming
Georgie
My dreams had turned from lustful, needy and downright orgasmic to foggy. There was a baby crying somewhere. A baby? Groaning, I blinked my eyes open and let out a long sigh. Where had the baby noise come from? I felt a cold nose against my cheek and pushed Tango away as I was attacked with slobbery kisses.
