“I think there’s more than enough room for you everywhere on the ranch,” Clive added, winking at me. “You have free run of everything, you know that.”
“I do,” I replied, “I’m grateful for it.”
“Okay, enough talking and more moving,” Charlie said, “we have cattle to sort when we get home.”
“That can wait until tomorrow, we’ll have to have a little celebration tonight,” Ty said, “it ain’t every day Morgan is moving in with us.”
“True,” Charlie said and narrowed his eyes as he looked at me. I grinned and raised my brows in question. “Fine, we’ll party tonight but tomorrow it’s straight to work.”
“Sounds good to me,” I laughed, “now do I need to crack my whip or will you guys work on your own?”
“Just promise us if there’s a whip involved, you’re wearing thigh high leather boots,” Ty said with a wink.
“Oh yeah, I agree with that one,” Harley chuckled.
“Me too!” Clive grinned.
“Me three!” Charlie laughed and they all moved visibly faster when I agreed.
We had everything packed up in the early afternoon and I spent a few last moments walking around my empty place thinking about how excited I’d been when I’d moved in. I had been so full of hope and fear at the time, freshly out of journalism school with dreams of big awards in my eyes.
Now I was moving on, filled with love and comfort, but still dreaming of doing something exciting with my life.
Chapter 47
I stretched and smiled to myself as my eyes fluttered open and I took in the bright sunlight filtering through the lacy curtains on my bedroom window.
I’d been living at the ranch in the main house for six months and I’d already made my mark on the place. It was still very much part of the country, but I’d added my feminine touches where I could so it didn’t look so much like a massive hunting lodge.
The master bedroom was one hundred percent mine, though, with antique furniture, soft velvets and fluffy lace everywhere.
Of course the cowboys had given me free rein to decorate, manage, change, renovate, you name it, and they agreed to it right before asking how much money I needed.
It was a pretty nice arrangement, having my every need looked after, but there was still something missing.
Every time the news would run a story about Maynard or the mayor or the housing issues and fraud, I would feel a tightening in the pit of my stomach and regret not being involved.
It wasn’t that I missed my old job, but I missed the excitement of being involved in something beyond the day to day of my life.
I slipped off the bed and hopped in the shower. Last night had been Charlie’s night, we had a bit of an informal schedule for during the week and it was anything goes on the weekends.
I loved my time with the four of them all at once, but there was something so intimate about sharing my space with one each night. I loved being wrapped in his arms, learning about each cowboy’s nighttime habits, and being woken in the morning with kisses and sex.
That was the craziest thing of all about this. How obsessed with sex I’d become. Before moving out here, heck, before meeting them all, sex had been okay but something I could easily live without. And after Miles had tucked tail after Ty chased him out of that night in the restaurant, I hadn’t even thought about my old sex life.
Not when I had this kind of arrangement. Not when I was this utterly and completely satisfied.
But sex was only one part of the equation, and as fulfilled as I was with them, I did need more in my life. I needed to feed my brain as well as my body.
I stepped out of the shower and smiled at the little note Charlie had left me on top of my dresser. He’d gotten up early to head to the cattle sale the next town over but he still thought of me before he left.
It was little things like that from each of them that made my heart swell with love and devotion. I was showered with gifts, nothing over the top, but little bouquets of wildflowers or heart-shaped river rocks meant more to me than diamonds and fancy dresses.
But I should admit, I loved the fancy gifts too. I was treated like a precious princess and it was definitely growing on me.
I pulled on jeans and a loose shirt. It was a down day for relaxing, so I didn’t need to fancy it up at all. I had some gardening planned, the greenhouse needed to be organized and the garden beds needed to be raked.
These kinds of things were the parts of my new life that I loved: the simple act of working in the soil, growing vegetables and flowers; the calm part of my time on the ranch.
And yet I couldn’t shake the thought that I needed something else, a job, a career.
I would be content with the way things were going, but I wouldn’t be able to scratch that itch unless I busied myself with more.
I was in the garden again a couple weeks later when I got a text from Mr. Monty.
‘Morgan, call me at your earliest convenience.’
I sent him a thumbs up and put my phone back in my pocket. I tried to ignore the call and get back into my work but there was a little prickle of curiosity that resided in the back of my head that wouldn’t let me focus.
I thought about texting back and asking what was up, but Mr. Monty wasn’t the texting type. He would prefer a call, he was old fashioned that way.
Exhaling loudly, I finally gave up, brushed the soil off my hands and headed into the house.
The guys were out in the fields today, they were moving cattle and sorting them. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but one of these days I’d get over my fear of riding and get back on Doug to ride out with them.
I picked up the house phone and dialled Mr. Monty’s number. I hadn’t heard much from him over the last couple months, once the ripples of my investigation into Maynard’s corruption had slowed down, there wasn’t as much of a reason for him to call.
He picked up on the first ring.
“I knew you’d call right away,” he said with humor in his voice. “Living up on that ranch hasn’t quelled your curious spirit, that’s good to see.”
“Nope, not one bit,” I laughed. “So what do you need to talk to me about?”
“I’m going to dive right in and say it,” he told me and I could hear him take a deep breath, preparing himself. “We’re shutting the print portion of the paper down.”
“Oh no, that’s awful,” I said and a shudder went through my body as that part of my past was blocked off for good. “I’m sorry to hear it.”
“Me too,” he replied, “but it makes sense. The paper isn’t finished, just the physical print part.”
“Oh,” I said with a startled tone. “So you’re still going to be publishing?”
“Yes, and that’s where you come in. We’re going to focus on our digital version and I want you to write for us. A regular column.”
“Write?” I asked, still processing everything he was telling me. “There’s not much to cover out here though.”
“I don’t want you to look for stories, I want you to be the story,” he replied. “You’re an excellent writer and I want you to talk about your life on the ranch.”
“With the…” My voice trailed off. I wasn’t sure if Mr. Monty knew or understood my living arrangements and I suddenly felt tongue tied and unable to tell him. I didn’t want him to look down on me, his opinion mattered to me.
“I wasn’t thinking anything too personal,” he said, “I was thinking more of a city girl adapting to life on a ranch. Your experiences, with or without the cowboys, but that will be up to you.”
I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face as I talked to Mr. Monty about the one last piece of the puzzle that had been missing in my life.
Chapter 48
“That’s incredible news!” Charlie said when I told them about the job offer. “You do what makes you happy, darlin’!”
He swung me around in his arms and passed me to Clive who planted a big, wet smack on my cheek and said, “Cong
ratulations!”
He passed me to Ty who repeated the kiss and finally Harley whispered his congratulations in my ear as he drew me into his arms.
I loved being able to share my good news with somebody, and in this case it was four somebodies.
I served up dinner and smiled as they dug in, happily eating and talking as we shared our meal together. I thought back to my life in the city and wondered how I’d made it that long without this kind of support. Life back then had been solitary and so empty, like a continuation of my life growing up with my harsh and judgmental mother and distant father.
The warmth I felt at this table, with these men, made everything worth it. It made all the questioning looks from strangers worth it, or the gossip on the rodeo circuit about me being a slut for having four men…it made it worth it.
There was nothing in the world better than this right here, my life and love with them.
I missed Selena, of course, but since last month she’d been out in Huntington quite a lot with a hot young cowboy of her own. She’d met him through Ty at a local rodeo and she was more than a little obsessed.
All in all, my life was working out to be amazing compared to how I’d imagined growing up, with my background.
All this love and support, all the safe comfort of knowing my place in the world and of course, four incredible men to care for me and my every need.
I stood after dinner to clear the table, but the men insisted I sit back down and relax. We went through this same song and dance at almost every meal, I prepared our food and they did all the cleaning up, but it was fun to watch them almost knock their chairs over to take care of me, so I did the same thing every night.
Besides, I didn’t think I’d ever get tired of seeing four incredible men washing dishes and wiping down the countertops.
“Tonight we need to celebrate,” Ty said and dried his hands off on the dish towel. “What do you guys think?”
They looked at each other and I saw something pass between them. “I think we definitely need to celebrate,” Harley agreed and stepped towards me.
I stood and faced him, glanced around at the rest of my guys and said, “What do you have in mind? I don’t really have anything for dessert.”
“That’s not a problem, darlin’,” Charlie said with his sexy crooked smile.
They surrounded me and their hands were on me all at once. I smiled and caught onto what they’d been planning. “So, I’m the dessert?”
“Sounds about right,” Clive said with a grin and put his hands around my waist, lifting me onto the table. “You’re always sweeter than anything we could serve.”
Charlie and Ty stood on either side of me and began to kiss and nibble my cheek and neck. Clive dropped to his knees in between my legs and pushed my skirt up to my hips.
“We won’t be needing these,” Harley said and hooked his finger into the lacy string of my panties and tugged until it broke free and my pussy was exposed.
“Or these,” Charlie chuckled and pulled at my shirt and bra. Ty instantly fell on me, taking my breast in his mouth, tonguing my nipple.
Clive spread my legs wide and kissed along my inner thigh to my soaking wet cleft. I groaned at the sensations coursing through my body, the fiery jolts of pleasure traveling along my nerve endings.
I could hear their voices whispering in low tones, telling me how beautiful I was and how much they loved me.
The thing was that when they were touching me and speaking their words of love, I felt beautiful and I felt the depth of their devotion wash over me in a rising tide of joy.
“Oh god,” I exclaimed as Clive’s tongue reached my sensitive spot and his fingers slipped inside of me. I arched my body as my head fell back, letting them lift me higher in lust and love.
They were relentless, they switched up places until I didn’t know whose tongue was inside of me or whose fingers were prodding and stroking me until my entire body felt like it was on fire.
I fell backwards into one of their arms and they helped me gently to the dining table where I was spread out like the most delicious dessert they’d ever sampled.
I was devoured by each one of them, one by one, until Charlie made his way between my legs and slid his thick length inside of me. I pulsated around his shaft and came immediately, he pumped slowly until I crashed into yet another orgasm.
They took turns on me, filling me and sliding inside of me until my eyes rolled back in my head and I nearly lost myself under their touch.
I could barely contain myself, they kept at me until I was sobbing with release and they had to carry my limp and satisfied body upstairs where they kept on me for the rest of the night.
If this was the way they celebrated, I decided that I wanted to give them good news often.
Although if I had many more nights like this without recovering in between, I didn’t know if I’d be able to write anything more than a ménage sex blog. But hey, that might be the thing that got me the most readers.
Chapter 49
I checked my bank balance again and had to rub my eyes. I’d been doing my blog for a while and making ad revenue on top of my regular income from the newspaper, and I was richer than I’d ever been.
I never did go with a sex blog, but I did more of a city girl moving to the big country kind of thing. I loved it, I loved sharing funny tales of ranch life and trying out recipes to share with my readers. I did share my life with the cowboys, but I wasn’t explicit in details or anything.
I had initially been worried if people caught onto my lifestyle, I’d be shunned or hated. What had surprised me was the fact that so many others in similar relationships contacted me to let me know I wasn’t alone.
Selena had surprised us all by quitting her job and moving to Huntington to be with her cowboy. She was completely enamored and had decided a career wasn’t for her. She was a country wife and eventually she wanted to be a stay at home mom.
For now she was learning to ride and looked pretty good in a cowboy hat and boots. She was a rodeo girl through and through, even though I never thought I’d see her give up high fashion and sushi on the weekends.
“Are you ready to go, darlin’?” Charlie interrupted my train of thought.
I jumped in my seat and tried to calm my nerves. “I guess I am,” I said, even though my stomach fluttered and flipped.
We were going out for a ride for the first time since Doug the horse had taken off on me. The guys had been giving me lessons in the arena and I was fine as long as it was in an enclosed space, but being out in the field again made me almost sick with nerves.
“Are you sure?” Clive asked and took my hand. “You’re shaking like a leaf, sweetheart. We promise you’re riding Doug, we won’t put you on any of the rough stock.”
“I’m sure,” I said and straightened my back. “I’m absolutely sure.” I trusted them, and I’d learned in my time on the ranch that the rough stock were the bucking animals. Of course they’d never stick me on one of them.
And I suddenly was, with the cowboys surrounding me, I walked to the barn and felt uplifted enough to conquer my greatest fear.
“We got you a little something,” Ty said and motioned to Harley when we got there. Harley disappeared into the barn and we waited for him to come back with Doug.
“What is it?” I asked, craning my neck to see if I could figure it out.
“Just a little something to make you feel better about going for a ride.” Ty grinned.
Harley came walked around the corner leading Doug by the reins. I saw what they’d gotten me immediately and I gasped in delight.
Doug was wearing a brand-new saddle with matching tack…and the best part was that the brow band of the bridle and the breastplate were decked out with sparkling bling. It was the quintessential girl’s set.
I wasn’t exactly a girly girl, but I was almost vibrating with excitement over this gift. “I love it!” I exhaled and smiled widely. “It’s so me!”
“You deserved
something new and shiny for your new self,” Harley laughed. “You’re so shiny, you need to have something that matches.”
“Thank you, guys, I seriously love it!”
They helped me up into the saddle and oddly enough my own horse with my own saddle and tack made me feel more confident. I could do this, I could ride and I could handle anything that life or Doug threw at me.
The ride went amazingly well. The guys had packed a picnic lunch so we ate down by the river next to the hunting lodge. I’d been there before, of course, but in much different circumstances.
It was one of those perfect days, with love and laughter and overcoming my fears. I felt empowered and strengthened by the end of it, and the ride back was bright and wonderful.
The moment we got into cell phone range though, everything changed. My phone started beeping and buzzing and I pulled it out of my pocket to look at it.
I pulled Doug’s reins tight and he stopped abruptly. I gasped and felt hot tears rolling down my face as I read and re-read the messages a couple more times.
“What’s wrong?” one of the guys asked me, but I was too engrossed in my phone to look up and find out which one it was.
I tried to answer, but my throat was clenched and my mouth dry. Finally, I managed to croak out my reply.
“It’s my dad,” I said as more tears welled up in my eyes. “He’s had a heart attack.”
The cowboys reacted immediately. Charlie swept me up off Doug’s back and into the saddle in front of him. We were still a distance from the ranch house and even farther from town.
Ty took Doug’s reins and they all spurred their horses on so we could race across the fields at top speed.
I held onto the saddle horn and let Charlie’s strong arm grip me close to him. I was so grateful for him…for all of them. I didn’t know how to ride this fast on my own yet, and time was of the essence.
My father was in the hospital, he was sick, and I didn’t know if he would make it. Racing towards him meant that every minute saved meant possibly an extra minute with my Dad.
Rough Stock, the Novel Page 17
