by Skye Turner
Bessie laughs loudly.
Shit! These might be her clothes. I may have just insulted her.
Not that I’d normally care, but I like this woman. She’s kind and makes me feel welcome.
She chuckles again. “No, it isn’t. It’s very pretty on you. And, you’ll find it’s very comfortable. It also breathes and when the heat outside steals your breath and you start to sweat before you open the door… you need breathable fabric.”
I know all about Southern heat…
I nod at her and decide to open up some. “I know about Southern heat… I grew up in Louisiana. In Baton Rouge.”
Her brow arches and she looks at me. “Really? You’re our neighbor then.”
I shudder and nod. “Not for a very long time. I know it’s utterly shocking, isn’t it?!”
That was a different life for me.
I continue “I switched from one L.A. to the other. I’m more suited to California over Louisiana though. I couldn’t leave the boot fast enough.”
Bessie just looks at me, saying nothing. She hands me the jeans. “Try those on. If they fit, like I think they will, there are more in the dresser. Take what you need. I’ll wait in the hall for you to get you back downstairs. It can be like a maze in here. I wouldn’t want you to get lost.” She smiles again. “Take your time trying stuff on.”
She doesn’t have to stand in the hall. That would be really rude of me to make her do that.
“Bessie, you can stay in here. I don’t mind.”
I sincerely doubt that she cares what I look like without clothes.
I look from my body to hers. “We have the same parts. And, I’m not shy.” I giggle. “I doubt my sex appeal will entice you. Am I right?”
She snickers. “You are quite right about that.”
I laugh again and point. “There’s a chair right there. If you’re going to wait for me, you just as soon wait in here. Take a load off. Somehow I don’t see you sitting down much during the day.”
She chuckles again and crosses the room to sink into the chair. “No, you’re right again.” She leans her head back on the chair back and sighs. “It’s nice to have another female around. I’ve become accustomed to being surrounded by males all the time.
“I’m not much into girly things. I haven’t been for a long time, but this is nice.
“I can answer your questions while you try things on.”
Looking over at her, I see her eyes closes as she talks. “You can answer them later, why don’t you just relax for a minute and enjoy the quiet. I’m sure it’s a rare luxury here.”
She just nods while I kick off my shoes, I unsnap my own jeans and fold them to lay them across the yellow quilt before sliding the jeans from the dresser on. They’re a little snug in the rear, but they button easily and seem to fit me like they were made for me. Turning, I look at myself in the mirror. “Well, I’ll be damned. They fit like a dream,”
I see that Bessie is looking at me. She nods. Her voice is soft as she says, “Yes they do. Imagine that.” She points to the chambray shirt I took out of the closet. “Now, try that.”
She looks at my feet and asks, “What size shoe do you wear?”
I respond and she clucks her tongue. “Try the boots, too. They’re on the floor of the closet.”
Leaving the shirt unbuttoned, I look in the closet and see the brown leather boots neatly stored under the hanging clothes. They look brand new. Reaching for them, I pull them out and sit on the bed to try them on. The leather is hard and stiff, but, as I shove and wiggle my foot, the boot slides on. I do the same with the other one and stand.
Wow… they fit.
They need to be broken in, but they fit.
Buttoning a few of the shirt buttons, I tie the tails in a knot at my waist and turn to look at myself in the mirror.
These are certainly not 7 For All Mankind jeans, but they fit beautifully.
Ha, I could almost pass for a cowgirl in this getup.
Not that I’ve ever wanted that.
The thought makes me laugh hysterically.
My nose wrinkles and I chuckle. Turning, I glance at Bessie over my shoulder. “Well, how do I look?”
She smiles at me. “You look like you fit in, Eliza. You look like you fit right in.”
A deep gasp from the open door has me whirling. The heel of my boot catches on the rug and I moan, “Oh, shit! Not again,” as I feel myself falling.
Falcon
I hear noises coming from down the hall, so I turn to investigate. When I see the light spilling into the hall from the open door, my brow creases and I mutter, “What the hell? Who the hell is in there?”
My booted feet echo as I cross the wood floor to the room that hasn’t been open in ages.
I intend to ream out whomever is in the room. I expect to see that one of the television people made their way into the family wing of the house by mistake, but I’ll be letting them know that this part of the house is off limits.
Instead, I see Miss Fancy Pants poured into a pair of jeans that mold to her body like a second skin, a sliver of creamy skin peeking at me from beneath the knot tied in a light denim shirt, and the pair of boots that I bought for Tanzy on her feet.
I gasp and my eyes travel the length of her body again to make certain I’m seeing correctly and that I’m not hallucinating from being completely famished after working a fourteen hour day in the Texas sun.
If you’re hallucinating… never wake up…
Sweet mother…
I must have startled her because the next thing I see is her whirling around. I see the heel of her boot catching on the rug as if in slow motion. Her eyes widen in accusation as they meet mine. She flails around like she’s trying to fly to the rafters and screams, “Oh, shit! Not again!” She’s falling.
Goddammit, can she stay on her damn feet?!
Growling, “Son of a bitch…” I race into the room to try to once again catch her before she falls on the floor and breaks her pretty neck.
My arms wrap around her waist and I exhale in relief as the crisis is averted. That could have been a lawsuit!
Only, my foot catches on the damn rug and I start to fall with her. “This isn’t good…”
Her hands clutch at my shoulders and her eyes widen as they lock on mine and we head rapidly for the floor. I can see the fear that I’m going to crush her in them. Jerking my body, I manage to steer us toward the bed.
Somehow, she falls back on the mattress and I’m able to use my wrists to catch myself before the full weight of my body lands on top of her.
My hips slam into hers and she grunts as her hands tighten on my shoulders. Her fingers are digging into my muscle through the material of my shirt. My head snaps down and her own head bounces from where it hits the bed. Our legs are completely tangled and one of her booted heels is digging into my ass.
The softness of the mattress causes us to bounce a few times and my pelvis is thrust into hers. I can feel the warmth of her core where she’s pressed against me and I realize that her lush breasts are pressed into my chest. I feel myself starting to react to our close proximity and I grit my teeth to try to quell the reaction.
Oh, God… No, don’t you dare wake up. Dammit, do not get hard.
Stop it… No, stop it…
Yeah, that ain’t happening.
Sonofabitch…
She squirms beneath me and mutters, “Oh my God… Is that… are you… No, you can’t be… Are you seriously aroused right now?” She wiggles again and it causes my cock to jump against her.
I mutter through gritted teeth. “Darlin’, if you don’t stop squirming and pressing your heaven’s gates into me that thing isn’t going to go down. You moving is making it worse, not better. Sorry, but I’m a man and you’re a beautiful woman. I’m not carrying a gun, but what I am carrying is about ready to fire…”
Opening my eyes, I look down at her. She’s staring at me and I can see that I’m not the only one our current predicament is
affecting. Her eyes are dilating and her breathing is accelerating.
Her voice is husky as she says, “Ugh… well, we need to… I mean… you should get off me.”
Damn right I should.
Only that is the very last thing I want to do.
Hell fire and damnation…
My own voice is gritty as I lean down, “You’re right, darlin’. I should.” My head lowers farther.
Her breath mingles with mine.
An amused chuckle from the corner has both of our heads whipping to the side. “Don’t mind me…”
My eyes widen and Eliza freezes beneath me as Momma grins at us both.
Chapter Five
Eliza
“Oh, get off of me, you Neanderthal!” I screech at the hulk of a man lying on top of me as I shove at his seriously broad chest.
Technically, he did save me from falling face first into the hardwood. But, it was his damn fault I tripped in the first place!
Damn, he’s solid muscle. And, not from lifting weights while staring at himself in the mirrors at the gym.
Oh, who cares? He just tried to kill me… Again.
I could have cracked my face… my face… The money maker because he decided to spy on me. Did he watch me change?
Is he a pervert?
My hips lift in an attempt to buck him off me while I slap at his massive shoulders. “Get. Off. Of. Me.”
His voice is harsh as he mutters, “Stop hitting me, darlin’! I’m not on you by choice. I just saved your pretty little neck. If not for me, you’d have bounced off the floor by your face and not your ass this time.
“Are you always so damn vertically challenged?”
Am I always so vertically challenged? Is he insinuating that I’m clumsy?!
I am no such thing. I never trip and fall.
Yet, twice in one freaking day, I’ve almost bit dust in front of this devil man.
Both times were his fault! Well, this one was. I’m not quite certain how he orchestrated the first one, but I’m sure it’s his fault… somehow.
I scream at him. “Why are you still on top of me!?” I shove again. “Get off! And, no I’m not vertically challenged. I’m graceful as shit! Like a goddamned swan!” He grabs my hands and pins them above my head to prevent me from hitting him again.
He growls at me. “If you hit me one more time like the spoiled princess you apparently think you are, I’m going to take you over my knee and tan your ass like your momma should have as a child!”
My eyes widen at the thought.
How dare he! He doesn’t know jack shit about my momma or my ass!
I snarl at him. “If you lay one hand on me, I’ll have you arrested for assault! You don’t know anything about my momma! Now, get the hell off me!” He lets my hands go and rolls to the side. As soon as I’m free, I jump up and scoot to the other side of the bed. “What the hell is wrong with you? You… you made me fall! You were spying on me! Did you watch me change?
“Were you hoping to sneak a peek at me without my clothes on!? You sick pervert!
“What, no women around here, so, now that I’m here, you think you can just creep on me whenever you want to? I know I’m beautiful” His eyes widen in disbelief, but I ignore him and keep screaming, “And, you said you thought I was beautiful, but it takes more than some cocky ass cowboy with no manners to appeal to me!”
“I am not interested in you and whatever ideas you’re having about me are not going to happen! You can just forget it.”
His eyes narrow and he stands. He chuckles. “Darlin’, I have no interest in you. None at all. You might be beautiful, but beautiful woman are a dime a dozen. You’re nothing special.” My mouth falls open.
How dare he talk to me like that!
I open my mouth to light his ass up, but he cuts me off.
“Spying on you? I think not. You are in my wing of the house.” My brows raise and he growls. “That’s right. You’re in my domain.” He flings his hand out to encompass the room. “You’re in my ex-fiancée’s room… wearing her clothes…” He glares down at my feet. “Wearing the last gift I ever gave her… I bought her those boots…” His eyes flit over my body insultingly and I feel dirty. His lips twist with disdain, but I can see a hint of something else buried in his eyes. His voice is cold as he hits me with more of the disgust I apparently bring out of him. “Seeing you like this… trust me… want is the last thing I’m feeling.”
Jesus. Why not tell me exactly how you feel?
Whatever… I would do the same thing. But, he’s supposed to be a southern gentleman. Yeah, right!
His ex-fiancée?
I’m wearing a woman he was engaged to’s clothes?
What happened? Why is she an ex?
She probably got tired of his shit!
His eyes leave mine to glare into the corner and I suddenly remember that we aren’t alone in here.
Oh, my God! His mother is in here.
She just saw all of that.
She saw us on the bed and what almost happened… Hell, nothing almost happened. As if I’d fall in with Falcon Donovan!
He just made it abundantly clear that he thinks I’m nothing special anyway.
Still… I probably wouldn’t have went off on him so hard if I’d remembered his mother was in here. Probably…
Oh well, it wasn’t my fault.
Yet, why do I feel bad for the anger Falcon is currently directing at her?
His voice is harsh as he glares at me again. “Get what you need out of here and get the hell out.” Turning to the door, he stops at the threshold. “This room is off-limits. Don’t come back in here… Don’t come back in this wing.” I’m about to snap that I’m only in here because Bessie told me to follow her, but he sighs without turning back. “Momma, you knew better…” He walks out and I hear his boots on the wood before a door opens and closes solidly.
Bessie sighs sadly and I turn to her. Before I can say anything, she shakes her head. “He’ll be ok. Tanzy is a touchy subject for him.” She goes to the dresser and grabs a stack of jeans before nodding at the closet. “Go on and get some of the shirts, too. You need them and we have them. No sense in them rotting in a drawer.
“He’ll deal with it. They’re just clothes.” She sets the jeans on the bed and opens the top drawer of the same dresser. “There are t-shirts and tanks here, as well. You just as soon, take what you think you’ll need. Grab extra, too. Sometimes, you’ll need to change during the day.”
Together, we gather the clothes. When my arms are full, Bessie grabs her stack and says, “Come on. Let’s get this into your room. I’ll bring your tennis shoes along later tonight. Get the light when you come out?”
I nod and walk through the threshold into the hall. My elbow reaches for the light, but I can’t help looking around the room once more. My eyes zero in on the perfume on the dresser and I wonder just who Tanzy was and why she left.
Falcon
I’m more affected at the sight of Miss Fancy Pants in Tanzy’s clothing than I want to be.
My door closes behind me and I cross to the bed and sink to the mattress. My elbows rest on my knees and my hands rake my face as I exhale.
It’s been five years. Falcon.
I’m better off. I know I am. This is my life. This is the life I love. The life I chose.
She never fit in here…
And, her clothes sure fit Miss Fancy Pants the right way… they never worked for her…
“Hell no. Momma’s words were wrong. Eliza McCormick does not fit in here. She could never fit in here… just like Tanzy couldn’t. Sure, the clothes fit, but that doesn’t mean jack shit.” I mutter. “You can slap a tuxedo on a cowboy, too. Doesn’t mean that he needs to be in magazines…”
Damn, right.
Falling backwards on the bed, I sigh as my shoulders hit the mattress. I stare at wooden beams on my ceiling and watch as the dust bunny’s dance in the air.
I must have fallen asleep because the light
knock on my door has me sitting bolt upright in the bed. Glancing around quickly, I see sunset colors reflecting through the crack of my curtains. Scrubbing my hands down my stubble, I try to wake myself up as I call out, “Yeah?”
Momma’s voice is filtered through the door. “Dinner is up in just about fifteen minutes. You coming down?”
Shit. I did fall asleep.
Glancing at the hands of the clock on my nightstand, I see that it’s just after a quarter to seven. If I hurry, I can shower off the day before we eat. I call back, “Yeah, I’m coming. I’m going to jump into the shower right quick and I’ll be down. Should be there by the time the cornbread hits the table.”
She knocks again. “Falcon, can I open up? Are you decent?”
Standing, I cross the room and pull the door open. She looks at me and I see her eyes crinkle as she smiles at me. “You still angry?”
Am I?
I shake my head and sigh as I rub the back of my neck. I feel the dried sweat and grime from the day and cringe because I laid on my bed. I’m going to need to dust off the quilt before bed. I grimace back at her and shake my head. “I ain’t mad. I was just shocked to find y’all in that room… and, then that woman ruffled my feathers by saying all that crazy mess she was screaming…” I look at momma sheepishly. “As if I would be watching her undress like some peeping Tom…
“Sorry things got a little crazy. For a second, I forgot you were in the room.”
She laughs and her eyes light up as her lips curve into a smile. “Oh, it’s alright.” Her hand comes out to cup my cheek and I remember all the times she did it when I was a child. “I know how to handle my boys. I’ve had a lot of practice.” She smirks again. “Besides, your bark is way worse than your bite.” She pats my check and drops her hand. “I was quite enthralled with the show you two put on. For two people who are at each other like snarling dogs and loudly proclaim how uninterested you both are… you both certainly seem affected…”
