Home on the Ranch: Texas Cowboy, Be Mine

by Trish Milburn

  “Did you tell her you already had?”

  “Yes, and I think she was a little annoyed because she didn’t get to use the big speech to convince me that she had planned.”

  “Julia hasn’t stopped talking about her. She loved that your mom got down on the floor and colored with her. She even asked if she could go over to your house and play with Evelyn.” Angel smiled at the sweetness of her child’s heart. “She’s never had any problem making friends with people nowhere near her age.”

  “Mom would love that. You’re welcome anytime.”

  “If she doesn’t stop bringing it up, I might take you up on that.”

  “I’m serious. I think it’d be good for Mom, and if it makes Julia happy, all the better.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “And I wouldn’t mind if Julia’s mom came along.”

  “Mind if Julia’s mom brings her camera? Now that all the prep for the exhibit is over, I’ve been itching to get back out to take some new photos.”

  “You’re welcome to, but I don’t know if you’ll find anything worth photographing.”

  “Leave that to me.”

  “Well, if there’s something, I’m sure you’ll find it.”

  She already knew one thing that would yield great photos, and he was sitting across from her.

  “So, what’s next after the exhibit?”

  “I got some special orders from it, but probably the most exciting thing was I met someone who works at West magazine the night of the opening. It was sheer luck that he ended up there since he was vacationing nearby. I can’t tell you how big of a deal it would be to get some of my photos into that magazine, but it’s really hard. Only the most talented photographers even have a chance.”

  “Then you should have no problem.”

  “While I appreciate the compliment, there are lots of talented photographers and very few slots.”

  “Well, you won’t know until you try, as they say.”

  “Yeah, I just hate getting my hopes up too high in case things don’t pan out how I want.”

  Hunter averted his gaze in a way that seemed odd, but the sound of someone snorting in what seemed like disgust drew her attention to another table on the other side of the restaurant. And there sat Danny Dalton staring at her with undisguised distaste.

  “What is it?” Hunter asked as he looked in the same direction.

  “Nothing.”

  But Danny stood suddenly and crossed toward her, shoving chairs out of his way. Just great.

  “I heard you went to the school to complain about my daughter.”

  Stay calm.

  “I did.”

  “You should mind your own business.”

  “I’d be happy to if your daughter didn’t spout racist things at my daughter.”

  “You—”

  Hunter stood suddenly, inserting himself between where Danny loomed and Angel was doing her best to sit calmly as if he didn’t bother her at all. Though she should take care of this herself, it gave her a surge of satisfaction that Hunter had a good four inches in height on Danny, forcing him to look up at Hunter.

  “You’re going to want to step away, all the way back to your table.”

  “This isn’t any of your business.”

  “It is when you try to intimidate my date.”

  Danny made that sound of disgust again. “What, white girls not good enough for you?”

  “Common decency not good enough for you?” Nothing Hunter said was a threat, but there was no denying the unspoken intent. Either Danny needed to retreat or he was going to regret it.

  Danny looked past Hunter at Angel. “Keep your daughter away from mine.”

  Ice in her veins, she stared at him hard. “Ditto.”

  Danny turned and headed back toward where his wife and Cara sat. He muttered something that she couldn’t make out but was no doubt unflattering. Hunter didn’t move until Danny sank back into his own booth. Then he slowly sat down across from Angel right as their pizza arrived.

  To be honest, her appetite had taken a hit.

  “Would you like to take this somewhere else to eat?” Hunter asked.

  She shook her head. “I’m not about to give him that satisfaction. What is that saying? Living well is the best revenge. I say eating well and pretending nothing happened is the best way to annoy a bigot.”

  He smiled and picked up a gooey slice of New York‒style pizza. “Sounds like a good plan to me.”

  After they both took a few bites, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and said, “I hope you don’t mind that I stepped in like that. I just don’t condone men who act like that toward women.”

  “Normally, I like to fight my own battles, but it gave me a good bit of pleasure to see you owning that altercation.”

  “So you talked to the school about what happened, I take it.”

  “Yes. I spoke to the principal, who said she’d make sure the teachers next year knew about it. She also evidently followed through on calling Cara’s parents.”

  As they ate, she did her best to ignore the Dalton family’s stares in her direction. To his credit, Hunter did a good job of distracting her as they exchanged stories about growing up on ranches—the good, the bad and the downright hilarious. Despite a lot of similarities and a lot of positive stories from his youth, she detected a layer of sadness, too, one he might not even realize was there.

  “You miss your dad, don’t you?”

  He glanced at her, probably surprised by the turn of conversation, but then nodded. “Every day. Never expected to lose him so soon. I guess when you’re a teenager, you just don’t think those types of thoughts.”

  “Did your parents not want more kids or was it not a choice?”

  “Mom just never got pregnant again.”

  “I guess another of those things teenagers never think about is how lucky they are to have lots of siblings for when things get tough.”

  Hunter picked up a slice of pizza and just looked at it. “Yeah, I’ve thought a lot about how different life might be if I had a brother or sister. But some things aren’t meant to be.”

  Movement from across the restaurant drew her attention, and she saw that the Daltons were leaving. Thank goodness. Maybe she could relax more without getting a hole stared into the side of her head. But while Danny and his wife, Rena, didn’t look her way, Cara decided to get in one parting shot by sticking her tongue out at Angel.

  Angel barely resisted the urge to respond in kind, but she had to be the responsible adult in this interaction. So instead, she smiled and waved at Cara before returning her attention to the pizza in front of her.

  “I really hope she and Julia aren’t in the same class next year.”

  “Can you request that?”

  “Probably. I didn’t think about it before. But I don’t know if that would just be teaching Julia to avoid her problems instead of facing them head-on.”

  Hunter put the slice of pizza he’d been eating back on his plate and leaned against the booth. “Do you think it would help or hinder Julia if she actually knew her heritage?”

  “I don’t know. I mean, it’s obvious the heritage is Native, which is the reason Cara was such a little snot to begin with.”

  “But you wouldn’t be finding out for Cara’s benefit or her family. You’d be finding out for you and Julia.”

  “I get the feeling you think I should pursue it.”

  “That’s your decision. I just think that in your position, all the questions would drive me crazy.”

  She swirled the last of the cheese sticks in the marinara sauce but didn’t take a bite. “It’s not as easy a decision as it might seem. I’ll have to think about it.”

  Sure, she’d thought about it plenty of times, but not too seriously. She wished she’d receive some sign that actually starting to search
for her birth parents was the right choice, that it wouldn’t lead to more heartache.

  “Enough of all the serious talk,” Hunter said. “This is supposed to be a date, not therapy, right?”

  “Right.” But when she tried to think of something fun and frivolous to talk about, she came up blank. When she looked across the table at Hunter, he seemed to be in the same boat. Something about that made her laugh. “We’re a pitiful pair, aren’t we?”

  “I think this is what being out of practice dating looks like.”

  She laughed. “You’re right about that.”

  “I hear the only way you get good at anything is lots of practice.”

  Her heart sped up at the thought of spending more time with him, even if they did have their awkward moments. “I’d be okay with that.”

  He smiled, then shifted his attention to the waitress who’d brought the check. After he handed over enough cash to pay for dinner, the waitress thanked him for the tip and walked back toward the register.

  “You have a nice smile.”

  Hunter looked surprised at her comment. “Thanks. So do you. I’ve always thought so. To be honest, sometimes when I’d see you smile I’d nearly trip over my own feet.”

  “Oh, now you’re just making up stuff.”

  “Nope. That’s one hundred percent true.”

  She felt her cheeks heat and wondered if he could tell. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything.” He glanced at the front door when it opened, then back at her. “Do you have time for an ice-cream cone?”

  “I do, although I don’t know where I’ll put it.” She placed her hand on her stomach, which felt pretty full at the moment.

  “Maybe we could take a walk around the lake first.”

  “That sounds nice.”

  Hunter was the picture of chivalry as he held the door open for her, as he adjusted his stride to match hers while they walked down the street and turned onto the sidewalk that led past all the shops on Main Street. A lot of them were closed now, with the exception of the eateries. When they reached the grassy area that surrounded the lake, Hunter held out his hand. With her stomach feeling fluttery, she placed her hand in his and allowed him to guide her toward the path that circled the lake.

  Once they’d walked for a couple of minutes, she took a deep breath and looked out across the surface of Blue Falls Lake. The light from the lampposts along the path shone along the surface of the water.

  “It’s so peaceful out here at night,” she said, “when it’s not crowded with people.”

  “Yeah. You know, I can’t remember the last time I actually walked around here.”

  “Me, neither. I’m always so busy, and when I’m in town it’s for other reasons.”

  “Same. And every time I’m away from the ranch, I feel this need to hurry and get back.” He slowed and looked over at her. “I didn’t mean that I want to rush back right now.”

  “I know. But if you need to go, I’ll understand.” She would miss this feeling of connection and intimacy she hadn’t experienced in a long time, but she’d understand.

  “No. Mildred told me in no uncertain terms that if I got back too early, she wasn’t going to let me in the house.”

  Angel laughed. “Well, that makes you wonder what they’re getting up to, doesn’t it? If this wasn’t Blue Falls, I might think they’d ordered some male dancers for the evening.”

  “Ew. Please, I don’t need the thought of my mom watching strippers in my head.”

  “Boom-chicka-wow-wow,” she said in a singsong way.

  “You’re just evil.”

  She was still laughing when they reached the stairs leading up to the viewing platform near the waterfalls that gave the town its name. The sound of the water flowing into the lake relaxed her.

  “I love that sound.”

  Hunter didn’t respond but he seemed to be enjoying it, as well. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply the damp, misty air. A rumble caused her to open her eyes in time to see a flash of lightning in the distance.

  “Looks like we should head back,” Hunter said as he pointed toward where she’d seen the lightning.

  When they turned to retrace their steps, she hesitated long enough to look at Blue Falls lit up in the night. She didn’t take many night photos, but she wished she had the equipment to capture the image.

  Another rumble of thunder, closer this time, spurred her into action. They were only halfway back to Main Street when the wind kicked up suddenly at their backs. Hunter grasped her hand.

  “This one’s moving fast.”

  And in the next moment, they were running, hand in hand. When the first cold drops hit her back, immediately soaking through her thin cotton top, she squealed. The sky opened up right as they reached the grassy area that led back up to Main Street. By the time Hunter pulled her under the canopy in front of the furniture store, she was soaked. She wasn’t the only one. Her breath caught when she saw how his shirt was plastered to his chest. Water dripped from his hair down over his face, and she reached up before she could think about what she was doing. She wiped some of the water from his cheek.

  Hunter wrapped his hand around hers and held her gaze. “Why did you ask me out?”

  She managed a smile. “I seem to remember you asking me out.”

  “You asked first.”

  “That’s a technicality.”

  “But still the truth.” He didn’t let go of her hand but lowered it so that it rested against his wet chest.

  Was he trying to short-circuit her neglected libido?

  “I guess I just saw you in a different light.” A neon one that screamed, Look at how sexy this man is!

  “It was the brownie, wasn’t it?” he said, teasing. “The power of chocolate.”

  “Well, that didn’t hurt.” Should she tell him the truth? Would it sound shallow? “Although if you hadn’t looked so good in those jeans up on the gallery roof, the brownie likely wouldn’t have been enough by itself.”

  The grin that formed on his face could only be described as rakish, a look she didn’t think he wore very often.

  “That right?”

  “Don’t go getting a big head over it. You know, now that I think about it, it was probably the sun. That’s right. Baked all common sense right out of my head.”

  Whatever silly thing she’d been about to say next ceased to exist as Hunter’s mouth dropped to hers. He pulled her close and she felt more clearly the firmness she’d seen outlined beneath his shirt. Her blood heated and rushed through her veins, heating the chill from the rain into nonexistence. The need to rip off clothing and get even closer to him hit her with such force that she moaned into his mouth, which resulted in his arms tightening around her back.

  How could she have forgotten how good it felt to be held in a man’s arms? To be kissed thoroughly?

  Maybe because it had never felt like this with anyone else. Yes, it’d been a while, but she was pretty sure of that assessment as she clung to Hunter.

  Thunder boomed so loudly right above their heads that they both jumped, ending the kiss. It felt like a celestial scolding for their very public display of affection. She laughed at that thought and dropped her forehead to Hunter’s chest.

  “The heavens seem to think we’re getting carried away,” she said.

  As if to punctuate her words, the rain started coming down even harder.

  “What if we give ice cream a pass in favor of some coffee and cake at the bakery?”

  A bit embarrassed that she’d just made out like a hormonal teenager on Main Street, Angel stepped back and gestured to their clothing. “We’re dripping wet.”

  He glanced down the street toward the bakery. “We can sit at the outside table since it’s under a roof.”

  Considering they’d just get we
tter if they headed back to their vehicles still parked at Gia’s, she nodded. A hot coffee sounded good about right now.

  When they reached the bakery, the blast of air-conditioning made her shiver. She reached up to rub her arms, but then Hunter put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. He might be every bit as wet as she was, but just being held by him infused her with a warmth that was no doubt showing on her cheeks despite her complexion. Thank goodness Keri Teague, the owner of the bakery, wasn’t working tonight. Instead, it was one of the high school students Keri had hired to work evenings so she and her sister-in-law Josephina could have more time with their families.

  “What looks good?” Hunter asked.

  You. But she didn’t say that. Though he had to know based on how she’d darn near crawled up his body out on the sidewalk. Honestly, that was not like her at all. So much for easing back into dating, huh?

  “Everything, but I think I’ll take a slice of that strawberry cheesecake.”

  The pretty blonde behind the counter opened the sliding door on the back of the glass display case and pulled out the cheesecake while Hunter perused his choices, still not letting go of Angel. When the girl turned back for his order, he chose a slice of carrot cake.

  “What, no chocolate?” Angel asked, thinking about how quickly he’d devoured his portion of her mom’s chocolate cake and had continued to rave about it ever since.

  He shrugged. “Feels like a night to be adventurous.”

  Part of her liked the sound of that, but another part wasn’t quite ready to get any more adventurous than the rain-soaked PDA she’d already engaged in where anyone driving by could see.

  Though she hated to lose the warmth and delicious weight of his arm around her shoulder, he removed it to pay for their desserts and coffees. When they stepped outside and sat at one of the two little tables on the sidewalk, the rain was still coming down in torrents. But under the protection of the roof, with a hot cup of coffee in hand and a handsome man across from her, Angel thought it felt more than a little like heaven.

  Although she had to admit she was having trouble looking Hunter in the eye.