by Nia Aria
No time to worry about that now.
I turn on the shower, throw my long hair up, step under the spray and make it out in record time. I hurriedly dry off and put on a pair of black yoga pants and a long sleeve fitted shirt with teeny flowers all over. It’s cute, practical and perfect for working in the kitchen.
I quickly brush my teeth, slip on my Toms, spray a bit of perfume on and am out the bedroom door in nine minutes flat. I look at my hair on the way out and see that some of the curls had fallen from the bun. I think about fixing it, but I don’t have the time.
It is what it is.
I quickly make my way to the kitchen and silently pray that Norma Ray isn’t fuming.
I round the corner and stop dead in my tracks. I’m fairly certain my mouth is hanging open as I take in the scene before me. Ridge is standing at the island staring down at what looks like hockey pucks, the coffee that is brewing is currently running out of the pot and onto the counter, and there are broken eggs all over the floor.
“Oh my God! What are you doing?” I ask as he whips his head in my direction. “Where is Norma Ray?”
“Norma Ray is off, and I burnt the goddamn biscuits. I put the oven on 450 instead of 350 to speed up the cooking and this happened” He informs me as he gestures towards the offending baking tray like it is at fault. “I don’t know what the hell Norma Ray uses to handle hot pans, I tried a towel. It still burnt my hand, so I tossed it on the counter and knocked the carton of eggs off.” He confesses, seeming a bit embarrassed.
“Holy shit, Ridge, why didn’t you come and wake me? I would have helped you. By the way, are you aware there is coffee pouring off the counter onto the floor?”
“Damnit! I filled the coffee pot to the top. Why the hell is it overflowing?” he shouts, heading towards the machine. He removes the pot from beneath the percolator, hot coffee sloshing everywhere even more.
“Well, Ridge, there is a line inside that says, ‘max fill’, on it and if you filled it past that, there’s your problem.”
“How the hell am I supposed to know that?” he asks, clearly frustrated and needing to take it out on someone.
“Um, it’s obvious you don’t know your way around the kitchen, here, just let me do it,” I say as I head towards the stove.
“Fine! I’m not a damn cook, I raise cattle for other people to cook. My idiot brother should have given me more than a night’s notice that we didn’t have help this morning!” he says as he storms out of the kitchen. I watch him take his hat from the rack, slam it on his head, and head out the front door.
Well, that went well, Ashlynn, way to talk to your potential employer.
“Well, let’s see what I can whip up in twenty-four minutes,” I tell myself as I glance at the clock and head towards the refrigerator.
Thirteen
Ridge
I hit the steering wheel with my palm. “Damnit. Why did you think you could cook breakfast for twenty-seven starving men on your own?”
As I drive down to the south pasture, I remember the look on Ashlynn’s face when I lost my temper, and I feel like a complete ass. I need to fix this, and I need to fix it now. It isn’t her fault I didn’t ask her for help, and I certainly should not have attempted to make all that food on my own. I’ve been driving for about twenty minutes, so it’ll take me that amount of time to get back. I slow down, flip my truck around, and head back towards the main house to see if she’ll forgive me. Hopefully I’m not too late.
I open the front door to the house about forty minutes from when I had first left, and I am immediately blown away. The kitchen is nearly put back together, and Ashlynn has her ass perched on the counter as she’s talking to five of the ranch hands. They are currently sipping coffee, something I didn’t even have a chance to enjoy, and singing praises about how delicious the egg dish was. They are going on and on about how they can’t wait to try more of her food.
“Oh, I just threw together a quick Denver scramble and some Texas Toast. It’s hearty, and I can whip it up for a crowd in minutes. I’m happy you all liked it. Thank you so much for helping me clean up,” she tells them as she smiles. The men all smile back at her, appearing smitten. Hell, Sam is even clutching his hat in front of his chest with both hands as he’s hanging on her every word. Oh. Hell. Fucking. No. Jealousy courses through my body. I walk into the kitchen and all heads snap my way as I stride towards the counter, the men parting like the Red Sea as I near my target. My height advantage over all of the men makes it easy for me to lock eyes with Ashlynn, and her eyes are now as big as saucers. All talking ceases. The only sound you can hear is the pounding of my cowboy boots echoing on the hardwood floors. When I reach Ashlynn, I place my hands on her waist, pick her up off the counter, and toss her over my shoulder. Ashlynn screams in surprise; a couple of the men are laughing out loud. One of the hands, Jason, turns around and makes a beeline for the door. Smart man.
“Damn, boss, so it’s like that?” chirps Jeremey. He’s not too bright. I turn around and face the men with a squirming Ashlynn over my shoulder who is doing her best to flail her limbs in an effort to get off down. I land a hard palm on her ass, the shock of the loud smack stilling her for a second, then she proceeds to threaten me with bodily harm.
“Yes, Jeremey, it is like that. I don’t pay you all to stand around and talk to my woman. The horses need fed, get to it,” I reply, as I turn and head to the family room with Ashlynn for some privacy.
“I’m letting you down, Ashlynn. Behave,” I tell her, and she stills. I mistakenly take this as a non-verbal agreement and groan as her body slides down the front of mine as I place her feet on the floor.
“I wanted to apolo—” is all I get out before all hell breaks loose. Ashlynn launches herself at me. I immediately pick her up under her arms, holding her suspended in the air in front of me as she attempts to it tear into me. Damn, little wildcat.
“Ashlynn, baby, I’m sorry. I saw my men talking to you and I lost it for a minute. I came back because I wanted to apologize for my shitty attitude this morning. I should have planned breakfast better, and I didn’t. I took it out on you and for that, I’m sorry. The truth is, Gauge told me Norma Ray had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for this morning. I sent her a text last night and told her to just take the weekend off. I figured I could easily take care of breakfast,” I quietly admit.
“Why would you do that, Ridge? I was supposed to interview and work with Norma Ray this weekend and now I’m not even going to be able to even meet her? This was an opportunity of a lifetime for me. What you did wasn’t right,” she says in a low voice. Her eyes cast down, looking like she may cry. Her sadness gutting me.
“I’ll fix this, Ashlynn, I swear I will. Look at me, please,” I tell her, realizing I still had her suspended in my arms with her feet dangling in the air. Ashlynn looks up, her eye locking on mine. My head dips towards hers in slow motion and when my mouth meets hers, she gasps, and I quickly catch it on my lips. My tongue touches hers for the first time and I can tell she hasn’t done this much. Her innocence fuels me. I attempt to deepen the connection, but Ashlynn pulls back, ending the kiss. I gently put her down and she stares at me for a second before she turns around and bolts.
“Ashlynn!” I call after her to no avail. I start to go after her but think it better to give her some space. I turn towards the front door and head towards my truck. I have a phone call to make and some begging to do. I told Ashlynn that I’d fix this and that’s exactly what I am going to do.
An hour later and I’m ringing Norma Ray’s doorbell, prepared to beg her to come meet with Ashlynn tomorrow. I hear her walking towards the door and it quickly opens. The smell coming from inside is cinnamon and spice, definitely apple pie.
“It was that bad huh?” Norma Ray laughs as she crosses her arms and leans on the door jamb. Her white hair pulled back in her signature braid, and her smile lines visible. I take the flowers out from behind my back and hand them to her. “Ridge Colton, did you bring
me flowers to get me to come and help you?”
“Norma Ray, I screwed up,” I tell her.
“Well, you got the first part right, dear. Knowing how to admit when you’re wrong. Now, get on in here, have some pie and tell me what’s got you bringing me roses.” Forty-five minutes later I’m in my truck driving towards the south pasture. I have one work stop I need to make, and then I’m going back to my angel.
Fourteen
Ashlynn
After taking some time to myself, I walk back into the kitchen around eleven only to discover that it is completely empty. I’m starting to feel like I’m in the twilight zone. First, I wake up and I’m in the same clothes that I was wearing yesterday, and now the kitchen is a ghost town at lunch. I know Norma Ray is off, so I decide to make up some sandwich platters for the ranch hands that I can pull from the fridge. My keys are missing from the counter, but other than that it looks exactly the same as how I left it this morning after breakfast.
I begin to think about my spat with Ridge this morning, and how he genuinely felt bad. I could have done without the caveman shoulder thing, but I think I understand why Ridge gave Norma Ray the weekend off. I find myself wanting to spend time with him, but I also came to the ranch for a reason. A reason that is very important to me and I need him to respect that. I place my fingers on my lips and think back to when he kissed me. His lips were so soft, I wanted it to go on forever. It was my first real kiss, and I was embarrassed that maybe he’d come to regret it, so I ended it and bolted. I won’t do that next time. Well, if there is a next time.
I hear the front door open and close and turn to see what looks like a spitting image of Ridge entering the kitchen. The resemblance is striking, and it is obvious the two men are related. His build is almost as big as Ridge’s, but he isn’t quite as tall. He also didn’t have an amazing beard like Ridge.
“Hello,” he says as he smiles warmly at me. “You must be Ashlynn.” He holds out his hand to greet me.
I shake his hand and reply, “Yes, I am.”
“I’m Gauge, it’s nice to meet you. I didn’t see a car outside, weren’t you driving here?”
“It’s nice to meet you too. It’s a long story, but yes, I was supposed to have my car here. Unfortunately, my car broke down about an hour from the ranch. There wasn’t any cell reception, but Beau happened to be driving by and he gave me a lift to the ranch. I am so sorry that I was late my first day and that I wasn’t able to meet you and Norma Ray.”
“It’s quite alright. I’m glad that you are ok and that you made it here safely. I’m sure my brother will figure out the logistics for your car. Speaking of my brother, have you seen him this morning by any chance? I keep getting his voicemail.”
“Um, well I haven’t seen him since breakfast,” I tell him softly.
“Huh. Well, tell him to give me a call when you see him, would ya?”
“Sure, no problem. Hey, does Norma Ray live within walking distance to the main house? I was hoping to meet her and apologize about yesterday.”
“Yeah, I heard that Ridge gave Norma Ray this weekend off again and the ranch hands are in charge of feeding themselves. Can’t recall a time when Norma Ray had two weekends off in a row. I reckon she’s earned it though. She lives about six miles up towards the north pasture.”
“Well hopefully I can meet her soon. I was excited to show her some of the dishes I’ve created.”
Gauge grins down warmly at me as if he knows something that I don’t and says, “You’ll have to work that out with my brother yourself, darlin’. It was nice meeting you. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around, welcome to the family.” And with that, he places his hat back on his head, turns on his heel and heads out the front door, leaving me wondering just what the heck he is talking about.
Fifteen
Ridge
I’d castrate this damn bull myself if he wasn’t one of our top breeders and hadn’t produced such a large output of calves. He’s ornery as fuck and has been a pain in my ass since we bought him, but he’s proven to be worth every bit of the nine grand we paid for him.
There is something about watching a 2,000-pound bull mate. There are no introductions or pleasantries, it’s just downright fucking. The bull services one cow after another, sometimes up to eight times a day. This Angus bull is on his fifth service already this morning and I tell the wrangler to put him back in his bullpen.
I think I’m even more on edge after how things went this morning. I was hoping to finish up early and get back to my angel so I can make things right. I’d left the house when she ran upstairs after the kiss we’d shared I wanted to run after her, but she needed space. I know she too felt what I felt during that kiss. Ashlynn needs time to process the fact that she’s mine, and I need to respect the fact that she has hopes and dreams.
I remind myself that this was her first full day in a new home, and a new town. I can’t wait until she’s in my bed, our bed, but I can’t push her. One day soon, I’ll wake her with soft kisses every morning and slip between her creamy thighs before dawn. I am going to make damn sure my baby is not only satisfied but exhausted once again before I leave for the day.
My work is finally done, so I jump in my Chevy Silverado High Country and drive back towards my angel. I think about calling to check on her and then remember I didn’t even have her cell phone number. I also recall her hinting that her phone was a piece of shit, so I’m pretty sure it doesn’t work anyway.
It’s about a thirty-minute drive from where the cattle are to the main house, so I decide to call our office and talk to Sierra, our office manager and Gunner’s long time secret crush. I keep telling that fool he better sweep her up before some other cowboy does.
Sierra answers on the second ring. “Well hey there stranger, haven’t talked to you in a while. You do know Gauge is looking for you, right? Sounds like he’s on one.”
“Howdy, Sierra, tell Gauge he can kiss my…never mind. Hey, I need you to pick me up a cell phone today, please. Can you also call Mike down at the Chevy dealership in Billings and have them send up a Tahoe? Make sure it’s the new LTZ that has the upgraded winter package, please. I want it here tonight,” I say.
“This doesn’t happen to be for the woman I hear is staying up at your place is it, hmm?” she laughingly asks. “Overheard Gauge and Gunner talkin’ about it this morning,” she says.
Damn small towns, news travels at the speed of light around here. Doesn’t help that my brothers gossip like they are a pair of teenage girls.
“Her name is Ashlynn; I’ll bring her by soon so you can meet her. I’m sure you two will hit it off,” I reply.
Sierra is pretty young too. Last I heard she just celebrated her twentieth birthday. Gunner is thirty-three and I think he’s hung up on the age difference. Fuck all that.
“Shoot me a text when the SUV is on the way, and please ask Gunner to drop the phone by on his way home tonight. Have a good day, Sierra. Thanks for the help.”
“No problem, Ridge, you be nice to that girl,” she says.
“Oh, she’s going to be Mrs. Ridge Colton soon. She just doesn’t know it yet,” and with that, I end the call.
Sixteen
Ashlynn
Being in the kitchen relaxes me, so I decide to pass the afternoon making some baked goods. I figure if Norma Ray stops in, she can taste some of my desserts, and after she tastes them, she’ll forget all about the fact that I was late yesterday. Well, at least I hope it will happen that way.
I have been at it since a little after eleven and it is almost two now, so I had quite the spread. The ginormous pantry had absolutely everything I needed to whip up pecan, lemon meringue and peach pie, which I made with the fresh peaches that I had discovered in a bowl. They were so ripe and juicy that I’d enjoyed one over the sink. I’d also baked my signature southern coconut cake that my dad said could make a grown man weep. Plus three dozen snickerdoodle cookies, and two dozen Mexican wedding cookies.
I found a Bose s
tereo in one of the cabinets and it is currently set on a local country station that is playing one of my favorite songs. I am currently singing along to Luke Comb’s “Beer Never Broke My Heart.” Cleaning up is a breeze in this kitchen thanks to the two sinks and industrial sized dishwasher.
I keep putting things away while dancing to my jam. I’m trying to put a heavy Pyrex dish full of hot, soapy water to soak on the island and as I’m turning around, I hear a deep voice ask, “Need any help with that?”
I scream as the dish slips from my fingertips, shattering on the floor beneath me, glass and hot soapy water all around me.
“Shit. Don’t move, baby,” says Ridge.
He runs over in his booted feet, his Stetson flying off his head as he sprints toward me. He looks like he just came off a photo shoot for the cover of a western wear magazine. When he reaches me, he scoops me up under my arms, and places me on the center island next to a stunning bouquet of white roses and lilacs. I didn’t even notice that he had them in his hands. I watch him walk to the mud room and come back with a broom and dustpan. He proceeds to sweep up the glass and dispose of the shards in the trash and then soaks up the water with paper towels.
“Are you ok? Let me see your feet,” he says and kneels down to inspect my now sopping wet Toms.
I know there isn’t any glass in my feet as I am wearing shoes and haven’t moved an inch since dropping the dish, but I want to feel his big strong hands on me for as long as possible. He looks over both feet and when he is satisfied that there isn’t any glass in them, stands to his full height, and as he does his hips are nestled directly between my thighs.
