by Lola Stark
“You ain’t from round here, are ya?” he asked.
“No, I’m not. I’ve had a horrible day. I’ve driven for hours and your shit-for-brains animal made me crash my damn car. I’m tired, sore and not at all in the mood to sleep on the side of the road. So can you or can you not call me a tow truck?”
Nice Amelia had left the building.
His voice turned hard as he instructed, “Get in the truck. You can stay at the ranch tonight and call somebody to come get you in the mornin’.”
Get in his truck?
I had no idea who he was. Why the hell would I get in his truck? I stood there, rooted to the spot, contemplating my choices. Get in the car with an annoying stranger or wait out on the side of the road?
Damn it!
I didn’t like my options, but it was becoming clear I would have to get in his truck and pray to God he wasn’t an ax murderer because a woman waiting on the side of the road, all alone…that was just asking for trouble.
“If you need anything outta the car, you best be gettin’ it. I won’t be long. Gotta take care of this ‘shit-for-brains animal’, and then we’ll get going.”
I didn’t like the snark in his voice and I was done being told what to do; rude or not, I wasn’t about to let him boss me around. I stood my ground, arms crossed over my chest, chin up, playing the defiant girl I had never been allowed to be.
Lord only knows why I chose that moment to practice being stubborn, but to hell with men and their stupid cowboy hats.
“You fixin’ to be stubborn? Knock ya socks off, darlin’,” Cocky cowboy called me out on my stunt.
I watched as he walked up to the cow and pulled out his cell. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but not five minutes later, another truck pulled up; its lights shone directly onto the cowboy.
My God, he’s gorgeous.
I felt the heat rising in my face as I took him in for the first time. Brown, scuffed cowboy boots paired with washed-out Wranglers, were held tight with a huge metal belt buckle and topped with a well-worn white cotton t-shirt. His shirt strained against his defined body. I was too far away to get a good look at his face, but what I could see under his big black cowboy hat was a hard chin that screamed nibble me.
“Howdy, ma’am. Sorry ‘bout the hold up.” Rumbled another husky voice.
I spun around, taking in the two cowboys staring at me. The sight alone made my knees turn to jelly. The second cowboy moved forward, his hand out. I reached mine forward and he took it in both of his and shook it gently. I could feel the hard callouses on them.
They were large, rough and hard, definitely working hands. The gentleness in them surprised me.
Dear Lord, what was I? Some type of hand tramp?
“Austin’s the name. I’m sure my brother, Destry, didn’t think to introduce himself so please excuse his manners. Dropped on his head a few times, he was. And you are?”
“Amelia, my name is Amelia,” I answered.
He smiled down at me, a glint in his eye. “A pretty name for a pretty lil’ lady. Would you mind holdin’ on a little longer while we move this here cow outta the way? We’ll be back in a lil’ bit.”
He was smooth. I’d give him that. He had more charm than you could poke a stick at. “That’s all right, I have to get my things from my car anyway,” I told Austin while trying to ignore the foul look Destry was giving me, along with the grunt he threw out.
If Destry had asked nicely like Austin did, I would have done it! Okay, that was total bull, but something about Destry just rubbed me the wrong way. His unique name caught my attention. It was an old name I thought, one that I hadn’t come across more than once of twice in old western novels.
I quickly shoved everything into my enormous purse, and barefoot in a field on the side of the highway, I picked my way over rocks, glass, trash, and cow shit to the truck Austin had pulled up in. Destry and Austin came over, the cow now back on the right side of the fence. “C’mon, I’ll give ya a hand up,” Destry mumbled and walked to the passenger’s side of his truck.
I looked to Austin who was smirking at me. “I’m stayin’ back to fix this here fence up. You should go on back to the ranch with Destry. Was a pleasure meetin’ ya, ‘Melia.” Austin tipped his hat and walked off, slapping his brother on the back as he passed.
With a huff, I made for the other truck. “I can get in just fine, thank you very much,” I snapped at him. With one hand clutching my purse, I tried to climb up into the truck. My skirt making it a little more difficult than I imagined. A gasp tore from my throat as a large, warm hand planted itself on my backside and pushed. Hard.
Clearly befuddled, I cleared my throat, and without looking his way, thanked him while buckling my seatbelt. Destry walked around the front of the truck. His face once again became visible as he passed the lights.
Sweet baby Jesus.
He was hot! Not just hot, but mess-your-panties devastatingly hot.
Pissed off and bone-ass tired weren’t a good combination.
Add in the uppity city girl sitting in my truck, and it was a recipe fixing to go bad. My brother’s flirting with her didn’t help either. He couldn’t help himself. He’d put the moves on any girl who walked in his line of sight. I didn’t know why it bothered me so much. She was smart-mouthed and stubborn.
I got a call at two am telling me there was a break in the fence and one of the cattle was out. When I pulled up to fix it, the cow hadn’t gone far, but the mad woman in my passenger’s seat had been tenderizing the hell out of its rib meat.
Who in their right mind tried to hit a cow?
Then she went and told me off like I was a child. All the while standing there in her pretty white top and tighter-than-tight black skirt, which molded perfectly to a very lush ass. She might be sexy as all get up, but she was a city girl. It was written all over her. And city girls didn’t dance with country boys.
She’d been silent the whole ride back to the ranch. As we pulled in, I tapped my thumbs on the steering wheel. My palms were sweating.
She’d torn her skirt trying to jump in my truck. She’d also given me the perfect excuse to get a hand on her ass. Only problem with that was the hard-on I’d been sporting. She wasn’t helping any, crossing and uncrossing her legs. My jeans were cutting off the circulation to the bottom half of my body, making the ride home more than uncomfortable.
I put the truck in park and jumped down. The woman made me lose all my manners. I didn’t introduce myself to start with, mostly because I was taken aback by the comical situation I’d stumbled upon. It wasn’t every day you pulled up to find a smoking hot chick going Mike Tyson on a cow. I realized, as I watched her climb down to the ground, I hadn’t opened her door, another rude thing I’d done, but I was tired and she was making me lose my bearings. If Gran got a load of me being a prick, she’d surely slap me upside the head. I shook my head and readjusted the crotch of my jeans before stepping out from beside the truck. With a curt nod, I directed her toward the house.
“You live here?” she asked, shock written all over her face.
Typical.
City girls always thought we were hicks, living in trailers or rundown old shacks.
“Yes, ma’am. Gran and Pops are sleepin’, so I’ll take you up and get you settled.” Casting a look around, I questioned, “You don’t have any other bags?”
I noticed when she had gotten her stuff from the car that she only had one snotty looking bag and nothing else. The damn thing looked like it could hold a newborn calf; it was that big, but it appeared to be fairly empty.
Blushing, she looked past me and bit her pretty pink lip. “Oh, no. I—I left in a bit of a hurry. I’ll just pick some things up in town tomorrow. If I can use the phone, I’ll call a cab.”
I burst out laughing at that. “Darlin’, catchin’ a cab’s gonna cost ya a fortune. I’ll have one of the boys take ya in.” Her chin lifted up as it occurred to me she probably didn’t give a good goddamn what it cost to get out
ta here.
“Thank you. That’s very kind.”
I bit the inside of my mouth so I didn’t go making it worse by laughing at her snobby little attitude. Clearing my throat, I pulled my hat off and dusted it across my jeans. Stomping my boots, I stepped through the door as I ran my hand through my hair. ”Guest room’s up stairs. I’ll show you the way, and then you’ll have to s’cuse me. I’ve gotta be up in a few hours.”
Toeing my boots off, I hung my hat up and watched her eyes go wide, darting around the room; her mouth dropped open a little before she composed herself and stood tall again. I turned, hiding the smirk on my face as I lead her up the stairs and opened the door gesturing inside. “You’ll find extra blankets in the closet. Wouldn’t think you’ll need ‘em though.”
It occurred to me she didn’t have any personal belongings with her so I held up my finger, wordlessly telling her to hold on for a moment before ducking out the door and across the hall to my own room. A few seconds later, I returned with one of my t-shirts and threw it on the bed. “Bathrooms across the hall. You’ll find a new toothbrush in the cabinet. If you’re all set, I oughta get some shut eye”
“Thank you again, Destry. I appreciate your kindness,” she told me, looking from my shirt to the door and back again. A slight blush coloring her creamy cheeks.
I left with a grunt and made for my bedroom, flopping face down on the big bed with a groan. “Fuck,” I said to the empty room, my voice muffled in the comforter. Why were the pretty ones always stuck up princesses? I rolled and popped the button on my jeans to relieve some pressure; I’d almost had my raging hard-on under control. That was until my name slipped from between her pretty lips and the blush came across her face. I was gonna be laying in bed all night imagining her in my shirt, wondering how much of her legs it’d cover.
X X X
The sun was close to setting and I’d had a long hot day of fixing fences and checking on cattle among the other ranch duties. As I approached the main house, I heard a tinkling laughter followed by a louder male laugh, which meant one thing.
My brothers.
One of them had gotten on her good side.
Annoyance riled through me at the thought of one of them getting her to laugh. I ripped my hat off and stomped up the few stairs that lead to the huge wrap around porch. I stumbled over my feet as I registered her leaning over the big table, placing bowls of food down. She was wearing my t-shirt, which was tied up at the side, showing just a tiny hint of her flat, smooth stomach before the itty-bitty denim skirt rode low on her hips cut off the view.
My mouth went dry when she looked up and met my eyes. “Destry. Thank you so much for having Ellie May take me into town this morning.”
“Hmpff.” I grunted as I quickly moved behind the counter to hide my instant problem. The instant problem seemed not to understand my family was in the same room. Puppies, just think about puppies, I told myself.
I continued watching her moving around, flashing bits of skin here and there. Sending my little sister, Ellie-May, to run her into town might have been either the best or worst idea I’d ever had.
My head snapped down as a hand connected with the back of it.
“Oh, hell no. Where’s them manners of yours, boy?” Gran stood behind me, hands on her hips and looking mighty mad. “You know I taught y’all better than that. Give me some suga’, baby.” She pointed to her cheek.
“Sorry, ma’am.” I ducked my head and gave her what she was after.
I hadn’t even pulled my head back before I copped another whack to the back of my head. “What was that—”
She wiggled her finger in front of my face. “Now, you can apologize to poor Amelia over there for bein’ so rude before you go wash up. Supper’s just about ready.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I sighed as I made my way through the kitchen, tipping my head to Amelia and mumbling a half-assed apology as I went.
She simply nodded her head and looked away quickly as I passed.
X X X
To say dinner was the most awkward meal I’d had since my grandparents had sat me down for the sex talk when I was just a boy would be the understatement of the century. Amelia prancing around barefoot in her tiny denim skirt with sparkles on her ass—topped with my shirt—was killing me one blood starved brain cell at a time. Every time she moved around to fetch something, I could smell the sweet scent of vanilla. I could also see way too much skin, and the moment she laughed, my groin tightened to the point I couldn’t even shift in my seat for fear of grabbing her and dragging her off to show her what she was doing to me.
“What where you doin’ drivin’ so late in the night way out here?” Braxton asked her around a mouthful of chicken fried steak.
“Manners,” Gran reminded him while I smirked.
I quickly realized I had no clue who she was or where she came from, so I decided to sit and quietly listen. Not that I had any interest in getting to know her; she was just another city chick passing through town.
“Gotta say, darlin’, luck was firmly planted on our side findin’ such a pretty thing like you on the side of the road needin’ assistance.” I rolled my eyes at his blatant attempt to flirt with her. She was too stuck up to respond to him; she’d probably just look at the poor country boy with disgust.
“Well, aren’t you just a sweet talker.” My head snapped to Amelia when I heard the small laugh in her voice. What the hell? She was buying it? I flicked my eyes back down to my plate and shoveled more food in my mouth so I didn’t say something rude.
“Wish I’d found you out there and not Destry. I wouldn’t have cussed you out for pushing the cows,” Braxton mumbled under his breath.
“Nah, you’d just shove her outta the way so you could get to the cows, you inbred, redneck asshole.” Austin laughed, catching a scowl for his loud joke.
I sat silently, pretending to show no interest in the conversation, but really I was taking it all in. Amelia would be staying for the two weeks it would take for her car to be repaired. She’d argued until she was almost blue in the face, but Gran put her foot down and insisted. This was fine by me. I’d hardly see her anyway. I had fences to fix and horses to train. I’d just busy myself while she was here. I’d still have to see her when I got in of an evening, but I could make myself scarce.
“You boys be sure to get those dishes done. We’re off to bed.” Gran stood and squeezed my shoulder before turning to our new houseguest. “Please excuse us, Amelia. If you need anything, you let the boys know; they’ll be happy to help you.”
“Got that right.” Austin smirked from where he was, and leaned back in his chair, arms behind his head. Gran ignored him and headed to her room at the far back of the house.
Pops lingered for a moment looking at each one of us with an amused expression on his face. “Don’t be letting these boys pull the wool over your eyes, pumpkin. They’re a handful, but they do have some manners in ‘em.” With that, he gave us a tip of his head and followed after Gran.
“Anything I can show you, Amelia?” Austin smiled at her and flexed his arms. He was such an idiot sometimes.
“I think I might take you up on that offer.” Her reply made me inhale sharply which started a coughing fit. They ignored me and kept it going. “You’ll show me round, won’t you, Austin?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a cheesy drawl. I kicked his foot under the table and moved to stand up.
“Jackass,” I murmured under my breath as I began collecting the dishes. My hand collided with Amelia’s as we both reached for the same dish in the middle of the table. She quickly pulled her hand back like I’d burned her. With a scoff, I snatched the dish up and took it all to the kitchen.
“I didn’t really get a chance to thank you properly for last night.” Amelia’s soft voice floated through the old rustic kitchen. She slid a few dishes onto the counter next to me and cleared her throat, taking me by surprise. “Thank you, for helping me. I mean, I know you don’t know me and you didn’
t have to, so… just… thank you.” From the corner of my eye, I could see a light pink tinge to her cheeks; she was blushing. No doubt, she was embarrassed about last night.
I would have laughed over her embarrassment, but my dumbass brothers and their flirting had put me in a foul mood. This in turn had pissed me off even more, because there was nothing about them messing with this girl I needed to be pissed about. “Sure,” I grumbled and turned off the running water.
Her next comment took me by surprise. “You clearly have a problem with me. I don’t know what it is and I’m not really in the mood to find out. Forget I said anything,” she sassed. I spun around to tell her that just her being here was enough to annoy me, when she squeaked and landed in Austin’s arms, her hands flat against his chest and the rest of her body plastered to his. I ground my teeth and kept quiet when I realized he must have been standing behind her. When she turned to leave, she’d run smack bang into him.
“You fallin’ for me already, darlin’?” He smirked his trademark smile down at her stunned face.
A growl I couldn’t keep down rumbled up from my chest. Amelia giggled, the sound going straight to my crotch. I dropped the hand with the dishtowel in it, covering the bulge in my pants.
Austin flicked his eyes up to me, and with a bastard-like laugh, he righted Amelia and snaked his arm around her waist. He said, “Come on, sweet thing. I’ll show you round. We’ll start at the barn.”
“Like hell you will, asshole!” I ground out, glaring at the hand he had riding low on Amelia’s hip. Everyone who lived round these parts knew you didn’t take a girl to the barn unless you were putting the moves on her. Austin dropped his arm and Amelia stepped back out of the way with a look of shock on her face.
“What’re you gonna do about it, big brother?” Austin crossed his arms over his chest and widened his stance.
“Don’t push me, kid. I’ll knock the sense right back into you.” Perhaps calling him kid was a dumbass move seeing as he hated that nickname, but he was getting on my nerves.
