by Arow Jones
By the time the hour is up I am more than ready to tack up Five Alive, the mare that was born from High Five, the night after the bonfire.
As I walk towards Five’s stall I see the shadow of a tall figure. The flutters in my stomach are back. The t-shirt and shadowy light outline his muscular figure. If I had a pin up cowboy calendar, JT would be my July. Shirtless, in nothing but his boots, holding his black cowboy hat over his rigid self. The gleaming muscles, ripped, and ready while fireworks are bursting behind him. Oh yeah, my independence day. My cheeks are on fire when I reach him.
He already has Five Alive and Lucky Shot, a stallion, tacked up and ready to ride. “I hope you meant horses when you meant ‘ride out on the trails.’ I usually ride Lucky Shot when I’m here. He’s got a thing for Five.” He winks. I want to melt.
“Yeah, she’s got a thing for him too.” I’ve got a thing for you too.
We decide to take the long trail around the outside of the property and through some woods. The Lucky Five is a five hundred acre piece of the thousands of acres owned by the Tanner family. Together the property boasts a crystal clear lake, a stream perfect for trout fishing and green pastures all the way up the hills of the state forest. From there the rolling hills become mountains. They are filled with miles and miles of trails. I’ve ridden there every summer since I can remember and I’m sure I’ve still got plenty of new trails to explore.
My ancestor got a really lucky hand in that poker game. That’s where he got the ranch name from. Ever since then the Tanner family and the James family have been at odds. Gramps thought it was silly and never made a big deal about the rivalry. He would brush it off saying they were just old stories meant to glorify the James family name. My father picked up the same attitude so it goes without saying that even though the stories were told I didn’t think about it too much... until my own senior bonfire.
The girls and I were having a great time dancing and drinking our cares away. We had all gotten into CU and had just won first place in the latest equestrian competition. We celebrated along with the other seniors celebrating graduation. I had one too many beers and accidentally ran into a girl, blonde, a cheerleader and teammate, Blanche Owens. Beer drenched the front of her uniform. She sneered with such hatred I expected fire to come out of her mouth.
“Watch it Lilliputian!” She shoved me. Skye pushed me aside and shoved her back. I could hear someone yell ‘cat fight!’ but I couldn’t take my eyes off of Blanche. I hoped she could feel me boring holes in her face. My body did that thing where it thinks she’s her own person. Skye gets shoved behind me and Blanche ends up eating dirt with a shiner I know she’ll be feeling for a week.
“Holy shit! Way to go girl!” Skye grabs my hand. “Let’s get the hell out of here before her Daddy O comes running to save his little girl.” We all start laughing nervously and high tail it to Skye’s car. When I look back Blanche is off the ground, surrounded by her groupies.
“Whatever. That girl is nothing but a charity case. It’s no wonder JT feels sorry for her.”
My heart sunk that day. I never thought of myself as needing more than I had. I’ve always been ambitious but content with my life. Does JT feel that way about me? I thought so at the time. That’s probably why he’d been helping Gramps out. That’s probably why he’s here now. Who wouldn’t feel sorry for the girl who lost her only family? The girl who is all alone.
Logically, I knew I wasn’t totally alone, not really. My heart still needed convincing.
When we get to the lake we decide to stop and let the horses graze. The weather is nice but riding can get dusty. All I want to do is hop in the cool water. JT must have been reading my mind. He’s already taken most of his clothing off. With nothing but a pair of boxer briefs he turns to face me. I got a brief but delicious glimpse of his perfect backside before turning my head away.
“What are you doing?!” I’m trying hard not to turn back and stare at his perfectly tanned body. Instead, I keep my gaze on the ground, concentrating on his shadow getting closer. His finger lifts my chin so that we’re face to face. He takes another step forward. So close. I have to look up to look into his eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t know you used to watch me, Sugar.” He wags his eyebrows with a wide grin. His finger grazes my cheek. “I can see you blushing.” My breath is ragged. His eyes darken then his smile turns sensual. It’s like he’s searching for something in my eyes. I think he can feel how turned on I am. He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, letting his fingers trace down my neck, to my tattoo. His fingers linger over my tattoo, lightly tracing the pattern he can’t see, then down my arm and onto my hand. With my hand in his he takes a step back. I suck in a deep breath, missing his nearness.
The boyish grin is back and he starts to tug my hand. “Join me.”
No, no, no! He yanks me towards him. I use both hands to grab the one that’s got a hold of me. I lean back, knowing he’s about to try to get me into the water no matter how much clothing I have on. “No way!” I can’t help but smile. Suddenly, he takes a few steps towards me and lifts me over his shoulder. I start giggling and playfully pounding on his back. He jumps in the water. By the time I catch my breath he’s already dunked and splashed me. We’re like little kids without a care in the world. My heart swells. When I used to spy on him I had dreamed I would be doing this with him. Maybe not so fully clothed. I wanted to be the one he laughed and splashed with.
I soak up the moment, literally and figuratively.
My clothes and boots are completely drenched. I drag my body up onto the grass, closing my eyes while the sun beats down on us. I hear JT splashing around a few minutes longer. He gets out and stands behind a tree. The shadow of him pulling off his boxers has me getting up like a fire’s been lit under my ass. Scurrying over to Five, I straighten out her saddle, check her hooves, anything to keep myself from looking over at his naked form.
“Hand me my clothes, will ya?” Water is dripping down the shorts he’s twisting in his hands. “What?” Five is nuzzling my hand. I pretend not to hear him.
“Clothes, Sugar.” He says deeper, not at all like he thinks I didn’t hear him.
“Hmm? Uh, yeah, sure.” Be cool. It’s just a naked, wet... hot, naked... naked, JT. The clothes are in my hands. My feet are walking towards the tree. Just before rounding the tree I turn my head, extending my hands with his clothes hanging from my fingertips.
I feel him grab my wrist and the clothes disappear from my hands. A warm breeze caresses my neck. Kiss me. I will him. “Thank you.” He says softly, placing a chaste kiss on the inside of my wrist. My knees go weak feeling the heat of his lips. I’m burning to turn my head. Instead, I walk back over to Five.
I don’t bother to ring out my clothes. I’ll just change when I get there. The wetness of my jeans is going to chafe me but it’s worth being uncomfortable to spend time with JT.
When he emerges from behind the tree he has his wet boxer briefs in his hand. He smirks when he sees me glance at the lower half of my body. The blood is rushing to my cheeks again. I quickly go back to fiddling around with the saddle.
“So...” I start to say, trying to think of anything but JT, riding commando. “Kip says you’ve been helping out with the finances at the ranch?” He seems to stiffen a little. “Uh huh.”
We both mount up and start walking back down the path, side by side. I keep my face averted from his. Blushing is embarrassing enough. Maybe if I don’t look at him I can focus on what I want to say. “Do you think you could, maybe, take a moment to catch me up to speed with whatever you’ve been working on? You know, if you have time, I mean.” Get a grip Lil’.
“Yeah,” he replies like he’s surprised. “Absolutely.” I wonder what he thought I was going to ask. “In fact, I am free tonight. I just have to run back over to my place and grab my laptop. Why don’t I run to town and grab some dinner. We can make it a dinner meeting?”
“Oh,” wow, okay, dinner meeting. Kind of like a date?
&nbs
p; “Yeah. It’s a date.” Oh no, did I say that out loud? I look over. He’s trying to hide his amusement.
Eight
After Lily and I take care of the horses I get in my truck and head over to the Tanner ranch. My Dad is based out at the Boulder office. I manage the ranch here with the help of Langston and his sons, longtime friends of the Tanners. They’ve been with our family for so long we consider them relatives. They are all out on the range or doing chores so it’s pretty quiet when I pull up. The place has been self-sufficient for a long time now.
The look on Lily’s face was adorable when she mentioned a date. I don’t think she meant to say that out loud but I’m glad she did. We’re not kids anymore and I want to spend as much time with her as I can. Eventually, we’re going to have to talk about it but for now I’m just going to enjoy her company. Being with her, talking with her, it’s like we’ve been friends this whole time. If she knew how closely I kept an eye on her, she’d probably freak out.
My shower is a warm reprieve but I start thinking about sweet vanilla and the softness of Lily’s skin. I turn the water cold and try to douse my body’s eagerness. As soon as I am out of the shower getting dressed my mind wanders back to Lily. This girl is really getting inside my head. I tried for so long to block her out. I can’t think of a good enough excuse not to let her in anymore.
The house is so quiet. My home office is on the first floor and faces Lily’s ranch. I can’t actually see the main house but I know it’s there. I had left my cell phone on my desk so I would remember to grab the paperwork for tonight.
JT: BBQ?
Lily: Sure, salad too
JT: See you soon ;-)
I make a quick call to order the food. My phone has some missed messages. My mom, Chase, Grayson, and Blanche. I delete Blanche’s texts. I hate that she has my number. Even if I changed it she would just get it from the office. My mom thinks if I spend some time with Blanche that maybe she’ll see we’re not that suited for one another. She doesn’t see the gold digging calculating bitch in Blanche, just the sweet, daughter of society with a little misguided crush. I brush it off and focus on food and Lily. Lily.
When Gramps was around he made me promise to take care of Lily. I said ‘of course’ but it came across as dutiful so he made me wager the promise in a poker game. I lost that hand. The smile on his face was full of love and hope. My word is as good as gold and he knew it too. “She’ll be all alone,” he reminded me. It was like he knew his time was coming. That was only a few months before he died.
With paperwork and hot BBQ in hand I reach out to knock on Lily’s door. She opens it before I can. Her smile is radiant. I can see she’s nervous but keeping it together.
“Hey.”
“Hey.”
“Oh, here, let me take that.” She grabs the bag of food and heads for the kitchen. “It’s so nice out. I was hoping we could eat on the deck. Is that okay? I made some sweet tea.” She takes the bag outside. She already has the table set for two with a pitcher of sweet tea in the middle of the table.
“Lily, this is great.” I leave the folder of paperwork on the kitchen counter. We need to discuss it but it was more of an excuse to spend more time with her. “Can I do anything?”
“No, I think I got it all. The food smells delicious.” You smell delicious. I’ve got to get my game face on or I won’t be getting up from my seat anytime soon. The food really was as delicious as it smelled. After we’re done with the main course she brings out slices of sweet potato pie topped with whipped cream. I just about lost it watching her lick her spoon. The little noises of pleasure coming out of her mouth while she savored the warm and pie and whipped cream gave me all sorts of images of her tongue wrapped around my now very hard anatomy.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you like it?” The spoon I’m holding halfway to my mouth is now dripping with melted whipped cream. I bring it the rest of the way to my mouth. “Mmm, it’s great,” I say with a mouthful. She smirks at me. “Good, it was my mother’s recipe.”
“You made this? Let’s get married.” I can’t believe I just said that. “So, what do you have planned for the ranch?” I quickly change the subject and hope she overlooks the foot stuck in my mouth.
The rest of our conversation goes smoother. Being with Lily feels so right. We share stories, me away at boarding school, her high school years, college, summers at home, and the future. She tells me her dreams for The Lucky Five. I want her dreams to come true and I want to be there when they do.
We gather the dirty dishes and bring them back to the kitchen. I don’t want the night to end. “Here, let me do that. You cook, I’ll clean.”
“What? No, you bought, I should clean.” She walks up to the kitchen sink and nudges me out of the way with her hip. I lean back and let her take my place. My arms go around her so that my hands are on the counter where she’s cocooned in my arms, her back to my front. One by one she rinses the dishes, putting them into the next sink. I move her hair to the side and graze her skin with my lips. Her breath is ragged. When the last dish is thoroughly rinsed. She places her hands on the counter, next to mine. I nip her right at her tattoo making her breath hitch. Goose bumps dot her skin.
“Cold, Sugar?” I whisper in her ear. She turns her body around in the small space of my arms. The tables are turned. Her lips are graze my ear as she whispers back, “JT? What are you doing to me?” That’s all it takes for my will to bend.
My lips find hers. The first touch is so sweet. I feel her hands finding their way to my hips, slowly inching up my bare skin. Her touch is like smoldering heat igniting a fire burning in my gut. One of my hands lays across her back while my other hand reaches through her beautiful hair tugging her closer to me. I reach my tongue out against her lips willing her to open up to me. When she does our kiss deepens into an inferno. Our bodies are press together but I want her to feel how on fire I am for her. I step forward trapping her body against the counter.
She groans as I grind the lower half of my body to her. Her lips are so sweet but I want to taste more of her. I lick and kiss my way down her jaw to that spot on her neck that makes her go weak in the knees. I feel her body shaking.
“I’ve got you Sugar.” We’re both breathing hard. I step back. The pupils of her eyes are wide and dark. She wants me as much as I want her but she’s not ready yet. I want to, need to tell her everything before we go any further. I don’t want her to hate me and I’m not sure she’ll like me after I tell her everything. I press my lips to her forehead. “Thank you for a lovely evening. I’ll call you tomorrow and we can pick up where we left off.”
Her eyes widen for a moment, her body tensing. “With the paperwork, I mean.” She relaxes at my explanation.
“Okay, thanks for coming over.” Her eyes flutter and takes a deep breathe.
“Good night, Sugar.” I pick up the paperwork, leaver her in the kitchen, and walk out the door.
I didn’t want to leave her but I didn’t want to go down a path I would never be able to come back from. I don’t want one night with Lily, I want all of her. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep my promise to Gramps. I want to take care of her, be her everything.
~*~
“Hey, sleepyhead!” I feel a pillow hit my head. The sun is peaking through the curtains. I groan, reaching for my cell phone to check the time.
“What the hell?” When I turn over I see Chase’s hazel eyes laughing at me. “It’s too early for you Chase. What are you doing here?”
“Well, that is the question isn’t it?” I get up and throw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
“Nice suit,” I smirk.”
“Whatever, lucky bastard. I’d like to work from home in jeans and a t-shirt too.”
“Yeah, perks of being the boss. You know I wear suits too. It’s just not a suit day.” I smile at him. “The offer stands whenever you are ready.” Ever since the funeral I’ve been telecommuting. I take all the local clients with hopes of convincing Chase to stick around
and open an office here. He’s been pretty restless lately.
“I know, thanks. When the time comes, I’ll let you know.”
“So, what’s up? You have business in town?” He scratches the back of his head. I can tell something is up. Whenever he needs a break he comes to stay in his room here and works out of my home office. He’s been staying with me since we were kids.
Our only rule is no girls overnight. We had to institute that rule when girls would show up at all hours, after parties, trying to convince us to let them in. I would think girls would have more sense. We ditched the rule during Chase’s brief engagement last year. I’m sure the rule is no longer in effect but we haven’t had any girls stay over since then.
“I just need to stay out of Boulder for now, maybe even for a few weeks. I don’t know man. I may take you up on your offer sooner than later.” Now I know something is up. He looks distressed and now that I look at him more closely I see his tie loosened and a five o’clock shadow. He looks like he’s been driving all night.
“When did you get here?”
“I left after work last night. I’ve been driving around, trying to wrap my mind around my life, you know?”
“Uh huh.”
“Uh, yeah. My work day ended with an unexpected visitor telling me she is moving back to Boulder.”
“No, shit? Samantha?”
“Yeah, Samantha.” That girl has been nothing but trouble for Chase. If she were a guy I would have kicked her ass from her to Sunday.
“Okay, well, you know the drill. No late night parties, clean up after yourself, and no girls.”
“Shut up asshole.” He punches me in the arm.
“Ow! Whatever. My house is your house. You know that.” I slap him on the shoulder. “I need to talk to Lily about some paperwork and stuff. Let me just text her and we can go out to lunch. My treat.”
