Cowboy's Babysitter

by Flora Ferrari

  But just as I was sure Mandy Sue wasn’t going to respond, she up and does. She wiggles her little feet and hands and smiles.

  “Well, I’ll be,” I say. “It’s like she understands you. Like the two of you are having your own little conversation going on.”

  Laura looks at me and then brings her hands to her heart to show just how precious my words are to her. I can’t believe the word precious is even entering my mind. I’ve only ever heard women say that word. Are these two ladies making me soft? Not a chance.

  “Did you eat already?” I ask but Laura doesn’t even reply.

  She’s already got her focus back on Mandy Sue as she reaches in and carefully lifts her from the crib, making sure to support her, especially her head, and brings her up to her chest.

  Mandy Sue fits there like a glove, an absolute perfect fit. She leans right into her and paws at her shirt with her tiny little hands.

  I’m sold. Completely sold. Mandy Sue’s telling me this is what she wants. She’s telling me she approves of Laura without saying a word. The smile, the grasps, the way she clutches at her…it’s like she’s saying, “I’m yours and your mine and please don’t ever let go.”

  And I look back at Laura and her body language seems to be saying the same.

  The idea to look for a babysitter online seemed crazy at the time, and even crazier that some stranger was going to wander into town like Clint Eastwood in some old movie and save the day. Now it seems like perfect sense.

  I may not have the highest level of formal education, but I sure do know a thing or two learned over the years of acquiring my working man’s PhD, as the Aaron Tippin song goes. And I know a few things about people, and the reason this is working is because of the person who showed up at the top of my driveway today.

  Her. My Laura Lee.

  And yes she is mine. She’s mine now whether she knows it or not.

  And she’s Mandy Sue’s too.

  She’s ours and now it’s up to the two of us to make her feel right at home, because this is exactly where we want her home to be. Mandy Sue’s shown it and now I’m going to roll out the red carpet too.

  I’m gonna show this girl what it’s like to be the apple of this cowboy’s eye and when I do we will start a tree of our own, but it won’t be an apple tree.

  It’ll be a family tree.

  CHAPTER 4

  Laura

  The cool water washes over my naked body in the shower. It feels good to finally get cleaned up after that long bus ride. I’m actually surprised how nice the Greyhound was. I was expecting worse, but it was okay…just no shower.

  I squirt some shampoo into my hands and lather it, before laughing. It has a very masculine scent and I know there’s no point in turning off the water and looking around for something for a women. He’s not going to have it.

  He’s just a man out here on his own with his baby girl. He’s living a Spartan existence and I see plenty of areas where I think I can improve their lives. I like that I’m going to feel useful and helpful right away.

  But what would help me is to know a little more about Mandy Sue. He said he couldn’t take credit for her looks. Is that because he’s saying they all came from her mother? That would make sense, if he was trying to make a bit of a self-deprecating joke, but I didn’t get that impression from him. It was almost as if he was saying Mandy Sue wasn’t his child.

  Maybe she’s adopted? I can’t help but wonder now, but there’s no way I’m going to come right out and ask.

  I feel a breeze and turn my head to the wall in the shower, noticing a small open window.

  What in the world? I step over towards it and get my bearings, realizing no one can see in. And by no one I mean him. It’s not like there’s really anybody else out here. I think the bus was driving about a mile or more in-between houses. In some cases it was a lot more.

  But I do see him. What is that he’s…oh no he’s not.

  He’s got boards lying across two sawhorses and he’s sawing them. It’s already warm today and if he does what it looks like he’s about to do it’s about to get a lot hotter.

  He reaches for the bottom of his white T-shirt and pulls it up and over his head and throws it across the sawhorses.

  “Oh my,” I say.

  He’s got on his blue jeans, his boots, and a big ol’ belt buckle attached to the brown leather belt around his waist.

  And from the waste up all he’s got on is a bunch of rock hard muscles covered in beads of sweat.

  “Double oh my,” I say. I slowly count his abdominal muscles, making sure I didn’t make a mistake. “A dozen oh my’s!” I say.

  His abs are hard and defined, but that’s only the beginning. I follow the beads of sweat up his body to his chest. His big, wide, thick chest that looks as solid as the oak tree he has growing in his front yard. Oh how I want to get my hands on his chest.

  And subconsciously my hand drifts a little lower from my scalp down to my midsection.

  His shoulders flex as he saws the board, making quick work of the thick lumber.

  He takes the two pieces and then reaches for what appears to be sandpaper, moving it in a clockwise and then a counterclockwise position over the board.

  I make the same motions with my fingers over my clit, and then stop.

  What in the world am I doing?

  Pull yourself together, Laura. You just got here and you’re already masturbating to the guy you’re supposed to be babysitting for? Terrible idea.

  It’s terrible partially because I’m not really sure if I’m going to be his babysitter or his nanny. He’s letting me stay here rent free the first week while I look for a place and get settled in, assuming everything went well with our first meeting.

  My backup plan was to backtrack to Dallas or continue on to Tucson if not, but it’s apparent that both Plan B’s have been firmly removed from the table, in part to the firmness I saw him sporting at the top of the driveway this morning and the firm muscles he seems to have covering every single inch of his body.

  But I can’t help but notice the irony. In my relationship with my ex I was never really that turned on. Maybe that was subconsciously one of the reasons I wanted to wait to be with him. Now here I am and all I can think about is jumping this cowboy’s bones, even though I have no idea what I’d be doing.

  Maybe I’m just emotional from the break-up and wanting to show I’m worthy of sex too. Maybe it’s some sort of weird revenge thing, even though my ex and my ex-bff would never know. That’s a psychological rabbit hole that only a psychiatrist would be able to help me out with, and I have no plans on seeing one anytime soon.

  And I’m not about to take my eyes off him right now, even if I’m not going to see this current fantasy through to the end.

  But what is this fantasy actually?

  He said something about making a deck now that he has a family so that he can have barbecues. Now that he has a family? What exactly does that mean? I mean he’s not planning on feeding his baby spicy ribs and chicken wings anytime soon is he?

  I sure hope not, and that’s probably part of the reason I’m here in the first place. I’m guessing part of my responsibilities will include making home cooked meals and keeping this cowboy satisfied.

  I just wonder how much he’s going to be open to satisfying me.

  CHAPTER 5

  Jed

  Feel my back hit the dirt hard quickly followed by the back of my head. Everything’s blurry for a second, but I don’t have time to lick my wounds.

  I jump up and feel hands on my arms, bracing me as they lead me over towards the side of the ring. A few second later I’m safely out of the ring and the rodeo clown has hopped the fence and safely escaped.

  “That’s the last one of the day for me, fellas,” I say as I get my bearings back.

  “Surprised you even made it out for practice,” one of the other cowboys says. “Aren’t you watching Mandy Sue these days?”

  “I’m doing a lot more than
just watching her. She’s my daughter now.”

  “You adopted her?”

  “Paperwork’s not finalized yet, but it will be. It takes those government types some time to get all those pieces of paper shuffled and filed and all the numerous approval processes to be completed. It won’t be too much longer though.”

  “But wait. How can you be watching her if you’re here right now?”

  “Got a babysitter now.”

  “Oh yeah! How’s she look?”

  I take a step over towards Rafe and get right up in his face. “None of your damn business is how she looks,” I say.

  “Sorry man. I was just asking. Didn’t mean anything by it.”

  “I hope you didn’t,” I say.

  “Boys, calm down,” one of the other cowboys says. “We’re all friend here, remember?”

  But we’re not going to be friends when the bronc riding competition comes to town in a week. With one hundred thousand dollars on the line it’s going to be every man for himself. I’m not shy in admitting I want that money. That money can go a long ways towards Mandy Sue’s college fund. I never had the chance to go to college, not that I wanted to. I’ve done fine in my life earning a living by the sweat of my brow, but I certainly don’t want that for my daughter.

  I want her to have every opportunity possible, and that starts with having some money to help her out. Get her life started out on the right track. And that track is already laid and the train has started down the track. I’ve got eighteen years to build up some cash so it’s ready when she needs it most.

  I grab my things and head out of the stadium and out to my truck.

  I need to get home and check on my daughter. And I sure as heck want to check on Laura too.

  She must have known I was checking her out earlier today when she arrived. Girls can sense those things in ways men can’t.

  And with the way I just acted towards Rafe it doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to sense that I’ve already developed feelings for her.

  But I’m facing a dangerous path ahead if I think I’m going to get involved with my babysitter. Then again I need to take a step back and look at this from her point of view.

  As a gentleman there’s only so many ways I can put my best foot forward with her if she’s not receptive to it. I need to play off her signals and never push forward unless I’m sure she’s okay with it.

  That’s what gentleman do, even though it’s very clear in my mind that some of the things I’d like us to do are not very gentlemanly at all.

  CHAPTER 6

  Laura

  I hear the sound of cowboy boots on the wooden steps leading up to the house and the tinging sound of spurs.

  Jed must be home.

  I look out the window of the kitchen and see his truck just as the timer dings signaling me to take the pot roast out of the stove. I have no idea what’s gotten into me, but I cooked dinner for his arrival. It was really fun. I’m kind of surprised he had all the things here at the house actually.

  “Evening,” he says removing his hat.

  “Hey, how was your day?”

  “Good and better now. You found the things for dinner.”

  “I did.”

  “And I was planning to make dinner for us all tonight but you beat me to it.” He pauses to take a breath of the air. “And wow, it sure smells good. A lot better than if I would have made it.”

  “It doesn’t smell this good when you make it?”

  “I wouldn’t know. Never tried before.”

  I laugh at his honesty and humor. “What do you usually make for dinner?”

  “Well, if twisting a can opener in a circle and pushing start on the microwave counts as making then I usually make beans and wieners.”

  “Well, not tonight. You can just put your feet up and enjoy a home cooked meal.”

  “I sure do like the sound of that,” he says.

  And I sure like the sound of the genuine appreciation in his voice. When I used to make dinner my boyfriends and friends would tear through it and not only forget to say thanks for the hours I spent preparing it, but also “kindly” throw in all the tips for the ways I could improve upon it of course without ever offering to help themselves or make dinner sometimes in return. I cooked because I wanted to please them, not because I wanted pats on the back but still a little appreciation goes a long way.

  And when he sticks his fork into the first bite and starts making sounds showing me just how much he likes it, well his big appreciation goes an even longer way.

  “This is the best meal I’ve had in a long time. Certainly over a year, maybe three.”

  “Three years?”

  “Cooking isn’t my specialty, but I can see it sure is yours.”

  “It’s not actually. I just know the basics.”

  “Well if you consider this the basics then I think I’m having dinner with someone with all the makings of a gourmet chef. And do I ever appreciate it and am I ever thankful how lucky I am to have found you.”

  I always imagined my future husband saying something like that… “How lucky I am to have found you.” I never considered a man using that kind of language to praise my cooking skills. I can only imagine how he’d express his appreciation if something did happen between us.

  And not in the desperate, weird kind of thank you for getting physical with me kind of way either. More in line with the, I’m so lucky to have such a beautiful woman like you in my life. At least that’s my fantasy at the moment, but it’s one I can not just imagine but truly believe could happen one day.

  I look up from my plate and see him leaning back in his chair already. “You’re finished already?” I ask, looking down trying to count my bites. “I’m on my…fifth bite I think.”

  “I think that’s the same number it took me too,” he says, winking at me. I smile. “But then again I’m not sure inhaling technically counts as bites.”

  “Good grief. Did you even breath while you were making that disappear?”

  “That’s my way of offering up my ultimate compliments to the chef.”

  “And am I ever flattered,” I say.

  A moment happens between us. He doesn’t reply, just turns his head ever so slightly to the side and looks right at me. Looks deep into my eyes and I see a sort of peace overcome him.

  I’m the complete opposite. It’s more of a heat that burns even hotter inside me as he takes me in with his deep gaze.

  “Can I offer you a second helping?” I ask, trying to break the tension.

  “Sure can, but I can get it myself. You deserve to enjoy your meal,” he says, starting to stand.

  “No really. I got it.” I jump up from my seat and grab his plate, hurrying back to the kitchen.

  I place his plate in the sink and get him a fresh one. I prepare another helping but just before I can finish I feel a presence behind me.

  I turn and see him there. He’s close enough to feel his power and dominance, but not so close to spook me.

  “Hey,” I say.

  He says nothing. He doesn’t need to. He’s just taking me in again with another of those looks of his.

  “Hey,” he says finally. He steps in closer and I bend my arm back and put the plate down on the counter. Both his arms come up and grab the counter on either side of me.

  I am so hot for him right now and we both know it. I lean back on the counter a bit, but not to get more distance from him. I want to be able to look up at him and take in his face better, and maybe give him an idea to…

  …he reads my mind grabbing me by the hips and pulling me up and onto the counter.

  He says it best by saying nothing at all. His body is doing all the talking and it’s telling me I’m seconds away from having my body pressed against his and my legs wrapped around him as our two lips meet.

  He slides in closer and I prepare for the first kiss.

  As crazy as it sounds I wonder just how far this is about to go. My heart is beating out of my chest and if we wind up
with our clothes off I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stop him, nor might I want to.