by Shayna Ryan
He found a note from her tucked into his cabin door. Pick me up at 7. He smiled to himself when he saw the heart she wrote in lieu of a signature. Good- they were still on for their date.
In the shower, he caught himself humming a little tune as he shaved, and he tried unsuccessfully to recall the last time he had been so excited to take a lady out. With a start, he realized the only other woman he had ever been so excited about was Melanie, and he never actually taken her out on a date.
He wore his good cowboy boots and his best hat, along with a fresh pair of jeans and a tan button down shirt. Before he headed out the door, he gave himself a quick spritz of cologne and checked himself in the mirror one more time. He looked good, and he knew it. He and Cass were likely to be the best-looking couple at the bar tonight.
His stomach didn’t start rolling until he pulled up to the Haffner’s house. He wasn’t nervous about his date with Cass; it was seeing the rest of the family that had his stomach all in knots. It had been a long time since he dated a girl who still lived with her parents, and he feared he might be a bit out of practice at impressing the parents. With a shake of his head, he reminded himself that these weren’t just any parents, they were the Haffners. He had grown up around this family; there was nothing to be nervous about.
The doorbell sounded throughout the house when he rang it, and a moment later Cass opened the door.
“Right on time,” she grinned.
“Cass…wow.” She wore a super-short denim skirt that showed off her sexy legs, with a pair of pink cowgirl boots and a fitted white sweater that showed her every curve. Her pale hair was flat-ironed into shiny sheets of gold, and she had on just the right amount of makeup. She was stunning.
“Is that Billy, honey?” Mrs. Haffner called from the depths of the house.
Cass rolled her eyes. “Sorry in advance,” she whispered dramatically.
“Billy, good to see you!” Mrs. Haffner moved past Cass and came to give him a quick hug. “So it’s Cass you’re taking out tonight?”
It was an odd phrasing to the question, and he caught the odd expression on her face when she asked it.
“Ah…yes, Cass and I are headed out for the night.” The odd look was gone as she smiled kindly at him.
“Terrific. I heard you two are going to-”
“Billy! You’ll take good care of her tonight, won’t you?” Mr. Haffner came out to shake his hand and see them off.
“Of course I will. I-”
“Mom, Dad, we’ve really got to be going,” Cass cut in. “Dinner reservations and all.”
“Oh, of course, you two go on now. We don’t mean to hold you up!” Mrs. Haffner exclaimed.
The Haffners remained in the doorway and watched Billy and Cass climb into his truck.
“Dinner reservations?” he asked her quietly, once the doors were closed.
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t exactly tell them we’re headed to the bar now, could I?” she replied as she waved to her parents and Billy backed out of his space in the drive.
He was secretly relieved that Melanie hadn’t come to see them off. Maybe she was out with Marty. As he pulled down the drive, he saw a curtain move in an upstairs window. She was watching them pull away. He considered waving to her, and then thought the better of it. Time and space is what he needed from her right now so that they could go back to being friends.
Cass gave him directions to a large bar a few towns away, and it was all Billy could do to keep his eyes on the road as they drove there. He was well aware of just exactly how far her short skirt was riding up, and a time or two he thought he caught of flash of pink panties out of the corner of his eye. He could swear she did it on purpose, just to get him riled up.
When they arrived at the bar, he went around and opened the passenger’s side door for Cass and helped her down.
“What a gentleman you are,” she teased and batted her eyelashes at him flirtatiously.
“For now,” he breathed huskily in her ear. She was wearing that same perfume again, and it was driving him wild.
He slung his arm around her waist as they walked into the rowdy bar. It was a local favorite hangout, and it was already packed even though the night was just beginning. Cowboys and their ladies from all over were kicking back and relaxing with an ice-cold beer after the long work week. Country music blared through the place, and Billy could see some folks line dancing in a far corner, away from the bar.
“Can I buy you a drink?”
“You’d better,” Cass replied with a small smile.
They made their way over to the bar, and as they walked through the crowds, Billy noticed that many of the men there were eyeing Cass. He couldn’t blame them. A surge of pride flooded through him. He had the prettiest girl in the place on his arm tonight. For just one second, he thought of the other prettiest girl in his life. Melanie. He refused to let thoughts of her spoil his evening with Cass. It was time to let her go and move on.
“I’m glad you asked me out, Billy,” Cass told him through lowered lashes as he handed her a beer.
“Look, I’m sorry about the first day. You were always ‘little’ Cass, but here you are now, all grown up. It took me by surprise.”
Cass laughed at his admission. “Imagine my surprise when you showed up! You were always such a dork, catching frogs and snakes and doing everything you could to impress Melanie. Who was way out of your league then, by the way.” He nodded in mock humility. “Now you’re grown up yourself.” She traced a graceful finger down the front of his shirt and Billy’s blood sang with desire. “All grown up, and a mighty fine sight.”
He took a swallow of his beer and grinned at her. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
“Does this mean you’ve moved past my sister?”
Her question took him by surprise and it took him a minute to formulate his answer. “Yes. I guess there was never much there to have to ‘move past’ to begin with.” In his heart, he knew this was a lie. Even talking about Melanie made his heart feel heavy. The passionate kiss they shared in the barn had only added to his conviction that they could be so right for each other. But he was trying to accept that it was not to be. She had Marty, and he couldn’t have her.
The music changed over to a slow song, and they were almost done with their beers. “Care to dance?”
Cass’s eyes twinkled in the low light of the bar. “I’d love to!”
She grabbed him by the hand and led him towards the dance floor. As Billy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, he marveled at how quickly things could change. He came to the ranch to work, and with hopes of building a life with Melanie, yet here he was, with Cass instead.
She rested her head on his chest as they danced, and he inhaled her intoxicating scent. He wondered how the evening would end. It was a sure bet they would finally get around to that aborted kiss that Melanie had interrupted a few days ago, but he was unsure of how much farther he was comfortable taking it. He wanted her in his bed, and he feared he would have trouble turning her down if she offered herself to him, but he didn’t want to rush things. His initial impression of her had been wrong, and he saw now that Cass Haffner was a woman he could possibly build a steady relationship with. He didn’t want to do anything that might mess that up.
They danced a few more songs, until the music changed back to a faster one. Cass led Billy to an empty pool table, and the game was on.
“I’m actually horrible at pool,” she confessed when it was time for her first shot after Billy shot the break to start the game. “Care to show me how it’s done?”
He had the feeling it was all a game on her part, but he was happy to slide up close behind her to help her line up her shot. He leaned in next to her, so her silky hair brushed his face.
“Line it up like this,” he instructed quietly in her ear as he placed his hand over hers. She swept her hair aside, and he longed to run his tongue up and down her graceful neck, and cover it with soft kisses. She turned her head slightl
y to face him, as if she sensed his thoughts, and gave him a sexy grin. They were close enough to kiss, but Billy wasn’t going to have their first ‘real’ kiss be in the middle of a bar.
“You keeping your mind on the game, cowboy?” she teased.
“Tryin’ to,” he admitted. “You sure don’t make it easy, Cass.”
“Good.” She brushed his hand away from the pool stick and executed a skilled shot.
“Cassandra Haffner, I do believe you just fooled me,” he scolded with a flirty smile.
“Maybe I just wanted to see how good a teacher you are,” she shot back with a smirk.
Billy leaned against the wall and let his eyes roam up and down her body while she looked at him with one hand on her curvaceous hip and the other on the pool stick. “I’ve got a feeling you might be the one teach me a thing or two.”
“You’ll never win this game if your mind’s in the gutter, Billy. Your shot.”
They lingered over the pool table for two games, flirting and teasing each other. By the time they finished their games and shared some buffalo chicken wings, the sexual tension between them was a palpable thing. Billy chastised himself for ever hesitating to let her into his life. Sure, she was a little unpredictable. He never knew if he’d get calm Cass, or sexpot Cass, or fun Cass, but he was discovering that he liked all the different parts of her that made her the woman she was as a whole.
Cass had another beer, but Billy refrained since he was driving.
“You just want to get me liquored up,” Cass joked as she tipped back the bottle and took a swig of her beer.
“Naw, drunk is fun, but sober’s better.” Billy threw back off-handedly. He was cool on the outside, but a nervous wreck on the inside. Was Cass expecting to sleep with him tonight? He was fine with that in theory, but as much as he wanted her, he knew it would be improper to bring her back to his place. With the ranch hands’ cabins clustered as close together as they were, everyone would know if he brought her back to his place at this late hour, and he couldn’t have it leak back to the Haffners. Briefly, he considered offering to get a hotel room, but then decided against it. He meant to take things slow with Cass, and if their lodging circumstances kept them from sleeping together for a while, all the better. He was enjoying to anticipation of it all in the meantime.
“I’d better get you home,” he told her, noticing how late it had grown.
“All right.” He could tell that she wasn’t happy about calling it a night, but it really was getting late.
He slung his arm around her shoulder as they walked out to his truck. As he opened the truck door for her, she suddenly pulled him to her and kissed him, right there in the parking lot.
He eagerly responded in kind. Where Melanie’s kiss had been soft and sweet, Cass’s kiss was aggressive and hot. She boldly untucked his shirt and ran her hands up and down his abdomen. He slid his hands under her sweater, and rested them on her waist. Her skin was soft and warm, and he longed to feel more of it, but he kept himself in check.
“Can we go back to you place?” Cass asked breathlessly.
Billy shook his head. “Not tonight, Cass. It’s too soon.”
To his relief, she didn’t seem mad that he turned her down. “All right. But a girl can only wait so long, you know.” She moved her hand from his abdomen and ran it lower, under his waistband but not all the way to his crotch, and then back up again.
Billy closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensations that rushed through him from her unexpected, brazen touch. He knew her teasing was a ploy to get him to bed her, and he braced himself against the temptation of it. But he wanted her- desperately.
“There will be time for that another night,” he assured her.
“So we’ll do this again sometime?” The idea pleased her.
“Yes. I’d love to see you again, Cass…if you want to.” His voice was soft as he stared into her green eyes.
“I’d like that.” She lifted one palm to his face and rested it against his cheek affectionately. He turned his head and kissed the inside of her wrist.
“C’mon, let’s get back to the ranch. I can’t be held accountable for my actions if we stay here necking in the parking lot.”
“Hmmm…and that would be a bad thing, why, again?” she purred as she climbed into the truck.
When Billy climbed in beside her and started up the truck, she leaned against him, and he wrapped his free arm around her. His breath caught in his throat when she laid her left hand on his thigh and began tracing little circles there with her finger. This was a woman who knew how to drive a man wild.
They spoke little on the ride back to the ranch, and Billy tried to keep his mind on the road ahead of while Cass moved her hand slowly but surely up his thigh, until it was just shy of his crotch.
“How much do you think a man can take?” he asked her as he gently moved her hand back to her own lap. “Jesus, Cass. You’re killing me here.”
“I aim to please.” Her hot, moist breath tickled the inside of his ear and set his nether region on fire.
The lights of the ranch came into view just in time. Billy didn’t think he possessed the willpower to keep from tackling her and taking her right there in the truck if he had to combat her sexual overtures much longer.
“You’re really not taking me back to your place?” Cass sounded surprised as he pulled up in front of the main house.
It occurred to Billy that she had been so aggressive with him on the ride home in hopes that she could make him change his mind about that. “Yup, I’m afraid so.” He became serious. “I just want you to know- you’re one of the sexiest women I’ve ever seen. I’m dying to take you back to my cabin and ravage you, but I want to treat you right. You’re not a one-night stand for me, Cass.”
His response pleased her immensely and a small smile played upon her lips. “Well,” she sighed, “I guess I can live with that. I had fun tonight, Billy. Thanks.” She kissed his cheek softly and hopped out of the truck. As Billy watched her go, it saddened him to consider how many men in her past must have used her and dropped her. The fact that she had been so surprised that he was adamant about not having sex on their first date spoke volumes about the kind of men she was used to dating. He silently vowed to try to be the kind of man she deserved. He just hoped he was up for the task.
-7-
By the time Billy woke up the next day, the sun was high in the sky. He groaned as he stretched in bed, happy to have finally caught up on some of his missing sleep. A small smile played on his lips as he recalled the night before, with Cass. He was proud of himself for turning her down despite the heat between them. With another woman, another day, he would have been all over that. But Cass was something special.
He ambled into the kitchen and put on some coffee before going to the front window and moving the curtain to the side to see what was going on with the rest of the ranch hands. It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, and kids rode bikes and played in the streets, while some of the wives sat on front porches, chatting. He recognized some of the men, out in their driveways or yards, working on their cars or mowing the lawn. It felt a little bit like a scene out of the suburbs, with all the hustle and bustle.
He made his coffee and had a seat at his little table. His thoughts turned back to Cass, and he wondered if she had plans for the evening. He cursed himself for not asking the night before. For all he knew, she had a date with someone else for tonight. A girl like Cass could have lots of dates, if she wanted to. The thought of her out with another man was unsettling, but they hadn’t discussed being exclusive, and Cass didn’t strike him as the kind of girl that would assume that they were.
After his coffee, Billy showered and dressed, then puttered around the cabin, straightening things out. He suddenly realized that he had no idea what to do with himself in the weekend that stretched out before him. As the assistant ranch manager, he had no duties to perform on the weekends, unless an emergency came up.
Feeling bored,
he wandered outside with his cup of coffee and stood on his porch, considering his options. He wanted to seek out Cass, but he figured that an independent woman like her would probably value her space, and he didn’t want to come across as too needy. She could come find him, if she wanted to see him so soon after their date. He wondered what Ramiro was up to for the weekend, and he decided to go check it out.
Ramiro lived three cabins down from him, in a three bedroom cabin. Rosa, his wife, was out on the front porch, watching their three children play in the yard.
“Hi, Rosa. Is Ramiro around?”
“Hey, Billy. No, he’s gone into town, but I’ll tell him you stopped by. Hey, did he invite you yet?”
“Invite me to what?” Billy had no idea what she was talking about.
“We’re having a cookout tonight. Burgers and dogs, ribs, corn…all kinds of stuff. We’d love for you to come; most of the workers will be here. Just head on over whenever you smell those grills heating up.”
“Thanks, Rosa, that sounds good.” He gave her a small wave and headed back to his own cabin.
A cookout. It sounded like a good way to get to know some of the ranch hands he hadn’t worked with yet, and it gave him something to do for the evening. If Cass stopped by, he planned to invite her along, too. It sounded like a casual, informal event, and he doubted neither Rosa nor Ramiro would mind if he brought her along as his guest.
Being back in the cabin made him feel antsy, so he headed over to the barn to take Gobie out for a ride. He exchanged greetings with a few of the ranch hands working that day, and felt a pang of disappointment when he saw that Cass’s mare was in her stall. Whatever she was doing today, she wasn’t around the barn or out riding.
Once his mount was ready, Billy saddled up and took Gobie out on the trails. As the horse plodded along the once familiar trails of his childhood, Billy became lost in thought about the Haffner sisters.
