Always On My Mind: A Bad Boy Rancher Love Story (The Dawson Brothers Book 1)

by Ali Parker

  “This had better be good, Myers.” Her voice was steeped with anger and I imagined her sitting there with those steely eyes and hateful grin.

  I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I wasn’t going to let her get under my skin. “I had an emergency and I’m in Oklahoma.”

  “You’re sleeping with him.” She clicked her tongue and laughed. “You foolish girl.”

  Determined, I kept my voice strong. “Listen Rowena, I understand your position but I just need more time. Circumstances with David’s mother are bleak and if we can just be a bit compassionate in this time, I’m sure I can get him to come in a few weeks.”

  “If you ruin this with your vagina, you can kiss your job goodbye, but since you caught me in a good mood, I’ll give you two more weeks.” Rowena’s line went silent and I collapsed against the bed.

  I’d do what I had to, but I couldn’t lose my job. Growing up my mother had struggled to support us. Things had been bad at times, especially once when she let a relationship at work cost her the job. I’d always vowed that I’d never let myself get in that position and then I’d done it with Rick. I was lucky Rowena had given me a chance and the insinuation that I could ruin it for a relationship gave me the scratch. David was a huge gamble at this point, but worth it. I was miserable without him back in Tennessee, but had I made the right decision by coming all this way? I refused to be my mother. I had to make this work.

  After a moment of composing myself, I slipped out of the covers and found my clothes. Once I’d dressed and freshened up, I slowly opened his door and peeked out into the hallway. The old farmhouse was beautiful. The hardwood floors were stained dark and the walls were a soft grey. There were rows of pictures on the wall and there was a special section dedicated to David and each of his brothers.

  I smiled seeing David in his graduation gown and continued down the hall to the stairs where more pictures hung. Downstairs the house was quiet and I went to the window and spied David’s brothers at the barn. Shirtless and glistening in the hot sun, they were still working so hard. I wondered when they’d last taken a break. I went to the kitchen and looked in the fridge. I wondered what they had been eating with their mother hospitalized, and decided to make dinner. I searched the freezer and found a chicken that I started to defrost. I could handle that, but what else to go with it. These men were going to be starved when they came in and it was the least I could do to feed them.

  I found the pantry where rows of mason jars lined the wall. At my feet there was a bin and I peeked inside and found fresh potatoes and another held onions. I grabbed a basket and filled it up with two jars of squash, two green beans, and two onions. I went to the fridge and found celery. My mother had taught me many things, mostly what not to do in life, but the one favor she’d done for me: leaving me at my grandmother’s for Sunday dinners.

  Grams had taught me the way around a kitchen and her specialty was chicken and dumplings. I found a huge pot hanging over the island. It would be plenty big for the task. I took the veggies and chopped them up and then halfway through decided to put on some music. I turned on an old radio and found some happy tunes.

  I prepared the rest of the food while dancing, and once I had the chicken on to boil I found a bowl of peaches near the window. They were gorgeous and plump, but ready to eat. A few more days and they’d spoil. It seemed like such a waste. With another idea buzzing in my head, I searched the pantry and seeing that I had everything I needed, I made up my mind. I was making dessert too.

  I was right in the middle of shaking my ass when I heard footsteps loud over the music. I looked up just in time to see David’s young, gorgeous, shirtless and sweaty brother stop in the doorway. Our eyes met, and we both seemed just as surprised. Embarrassed, I turned the music down. “Sorry, I was just making dinner.” He glanced to the stove and a wide smile spread his lips.

  “Smells good.” He shrugged and stared at me like I had three heads.

  “Guess I look foolish dancing around.” He didn’t answer, just kept glancing around like I was crazy. “Did I do something wrong?” I felt silly I couldn’t remember his name. “I’m sorry, which one are you?”

  He shook his head and approached. “I’m Luke, the youngest, and no, you really didn’t. It’s just… well, I’ve never seen anyone else cooking in my mama’s kitchen. Sarah, right?” I nodded.

  “Yeah, David said you’d be staying with us for a while. What are you making?” He approached the stove and lifted the lids giving me a glance as if uncertain.

  “Chicken and dumplings, squash, green beans and peach cobbler for dessert. I hope it’s enough.”

  “Looks all right. My brother is a lucky man.”

  “Are you two close? I mean, with the age difference and all.” He smiled and I didn’t feel so stupid for asking.

  “Yeah, I’d say we’re the closest, actually. He and Ted, well…never mind. And Mason, he’s kind of to himself.” He took a glass from the cupboard and filled it from the tap. Then he turned back to face me. I remembered David telling me about Ted and Ella, but decided to let that one go.

  “Will the others be in soon?” I turned down the fire on the squash.

  He finished his swig of water and filled it again. “Yeah, they are just making sure all the tools are up. I was heading in to the shower when I smelled dinner. For a stupid second I felt like Mama was here.”

  “That’s not stupid. You miss her.” I stirred the green beans and turned the fire down on those as well. “David told me things are busy here. I was hoping he could come with me to Nashville. My boss wants to meet him and offer him a contract, but I know it’s not a good time.”

  “My brother is a good man; he’s got big dreams. I’m just not sure how our parents feel about it. Our dad is kind of tough. David’s been through a lot.” He gulped down more water and placed the glass in the sink. “You love him?” His eyes met mine.

  I didn’t know how to answer that. I wanted to love him. I’d given him a huge piece of my heart and then we’d had that awful misunderstanding. For a moment I couldn’t find my words, but then I finally responded, “I think I could…in time. It’s all so new.”

  “Look, it’s not my place to say, but I’m going to say it anyway, be careful with his heart. It’s been dragged through hell a time or two, and the last time, well, it left a mark. I thought we’d lost him.” He pushed off the counter and headed for the door.

  “Lost him?” I turned from the stove and leaned against the island to close the distance between us.

  “Yeah, after Ella, he shut down completely. It was a lot of drama and he couldn’t deal. They were a month out from their wedding. It’s kind of a sore spot.”

  “I promise, I’m not here to hurt him. I want to help. I care a lot about him.”

  He glanced over my shoulder toward the stove and then gave me a nod. “I can see that.” He disappeared around the corner and I listened to his footsteps as he climbed the stairs.

  ***

  Twenty minutes later the back door opened. I remembered Ted from before and having met Luke, I deduced that the other dark-haired brother had to be Mason. David had a gorgeous family, and I peeked out the kitchen door as they gathered in the living room with David finally entering behind his brothers.

  Ted leaned over and pulled up his pants leg to kick off his boots. “What a day.”

  Mason did the same, kicking off his boots before peeling his shirt and wiping his face with it. “Is that my imagination or is Mama home?”

  I stepped into the wide doorway that separated the two rooms. “Dinner is almost ready.” My eyes met David’s and he stood there slack-jawed looking at me as if in awe. My face burned, but I felt good, especially when he hurried out of his mucky boots, crossed the room, and gave me a deep kiss, keeping me at arm’s length to not get me too dirty.

  “You made us dinner?” He whispered the words and I nodded, trying to keep the ridiculous smile off my face. He walked past me to the stove and smelled the aroma in the
air.

  I glanced around when Ted and Mason entered the kitchen and though Mason smiled, Ted gave me a hard glare.

  David’s voice pulled my attention back to him. “Let me go shower and I’ll be down to help you set the table.” He shooed his brothers along with him and once again I found myself alone in the kitchen.

  I gathered the dishes for the table setting and decided to go ahead and bring them to the dining room. On my way, the doorbell rang. Glancing around, I gave a shrug and hurried to answer it.

  I opened the door to a wide-eyed stare. The girl was simply gorgeous with long red hair and bright blue eyes and I could tell by their expression she was surprised to see me. She was dressed casually in jeans and a button-down and held a casserole dish.

  “Hi, I’m Lauralee Langston from next door.” Her chest heaved with an intake of breath and she seemed to force a smile. “Who are you?” Her sharp tone took me aback.

  I hesitated, concerned she might be there to see David. “I’m Sarah, I’m David’s friend.”

  She let out a long breath and smiled. “Oh, I see. Well, then here.” She passed me the casserole. “I thought with Mrs. Dawson falling ill, the boys might need something to eat. She glanced behind me and sniffed the air. “Smells like you’ve got that under control.” She glanced down at her feet.

  “This will be great. Would you like to stay for dinner? I’m just about to set the table.” The question seemed to make her nervous as she shifted from foot to foot and wrung her hands.

  “Is Ted home?” she asked with a shrug.

  “Yes, he’s just upstairs. I can get him.”

  She shook her head nervously and stepped back as if she were ready to run. “No, that’s fine. No need. I have to get back home.” She turned and hurried down the steps and walked across the field.

  “Who was that?” David’s voice sounded behind me and I turned to see him and Ted washed up and ready for dinner.

  “Your neighbor, Lauralee, she brought this.” I gestured to the dish as David glanced over his shoulder to his brother who looked like someone had just ripped his heart out and stomped on it.

  Ted breezed past me to the door and stuck his head out to see her. “Did she say anything?” His eyes were hard and I held my hands up and shook my head.

  David approached behind me and wrapped me in his arms. “Go after her, you’ll catch her before she hits the gate.”

  “I’m not chasing after her.” He continued to watch out the door.

  I glanced over my shoulder at David. “Are they a couple?”

  Ted threw me a hard glance. “Mind your own damned business.”

  David stepped around me and nudged me behind him. “Hey, watch it. She doesn’t know, so don’t talk to her like that.”

  I kept walking and left the two to work it out as I brought the casserole to the kitchen and picked up where I left off. I could hear David shouting at his brother. “Quit being a stubborn ass. You know you want that girl. Hell, everybody knows it but her.”

  Ted’s boomed louder as Mason and Luke came down the stairs. “That’s because she don’t want me. Now mind your own damned business. Shit.”

  The younger Dawson studs peeked in at me, both shaking their heads like they didn’t know what to think of me. I flashed a warm smile as David pushed past them.

  “Sorry about that. Lauralee is a sore subject.” He helped me set the table and followed me back into the kitchen to fetch the food.

  Once we had the table set, with the food steaming and ready to serve, he called his brothers and pulled out a chair for me. “This looks and smells amazing. Thank you.”

  “Don’t thank me until you taste it. It’s my grandmother’s recipe and I know every woman on earth makes dumplings different from the next.”

  Mason walked in and pulled out a chair first. “No one makes them like my mama. But I won’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” He gave me a warm smile and ladled the steaming entrée onto his dish.

  “I won’t be offended if you are partial. I haven’t quite gotten them like hers, but then, I only watched Gram make them, I never got to help.” I smiled as the others entered the room and without any ado, filled their plates and made quick work of filling their stomachs.

  They made a little small talk now and then, but the subject of Lauralee never resurfaced. Ted stayed quiet and I wondered if he was thinking about the beautiful redhead. I got up and brought out dessert and placed it in the middle of the table.

  Luke’s eyes widened. “Peach cobbler?” I nodded. “If you ever get sick of my brother, I’m available.” He reached across Mason to grab the pan and shoveled himself a nice serving, as the others laughed. All but Ted.

  Chapter 19

  David

  Sarah sure surprised me. I had no idea she’d cook a big dinner, but considering my day had overlapped into the evening, and I was growing sick of cold cuts, I was thankful she did. She cleared the table as my brothers went to the living room to watch sports. I stacked up our plates and followed her to the kitchen. “You sure better be careful.” I drew in my lips and shook my head.

  Sarah stacked the dishes in the sink and ran some water to rinse them. “What do you mean, be careful?” Her eyes were full of concern but softened when I smiled and pulled her into my arms and pinned her against the counter.

  “A sexy little city girl that cooks the way you do, well, I just might fall in love.” I took her mouth with mine, teasing my tongue across her lips and mingling it with hers.

  She pulled away. “Oh yeah? Right.” She rolled her pretty green eyes to the ceiling and giggled.

  “I’m serious, Sarah.” I ran my hand up her arm and into her hair and then I caressed her cheek. She stared back at me wide-eyed and smiled.

  Before I could lean in and kiss her again, she pulled away, and then before I could figure out why, Luke entered the room.

  He carried more of the dishes from the table and stacked them on the counter. “You two should get out of here. I’ll clean up.”

  Mason came in with his arms full too and placed the near empty pot of dumplings on the stove. “I’ll help. That sure was some good cookin’. You should probably get off your feet a bit.” My younger brothers exchanged a glance and then busied themselves around us. I didn’t think they were going to take no for an answer.

  I shrugged. “Want to take a ride down to the creek?”

  She glanced at my brothers as they made busy and nodded. “Sure.” I tucked her close to my side and walked her to my truck. She stopped and then covered her face. “Are my panties still in the glovebox?”

  “Yeah, about that, my brother’s kind of found them.”

  Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth. “You didn’t tell them what we did on the hood, did you?”

  “A gentleman never tells, but I think they figured that out when they pulled your skivvies from my glovebox.” I chuckled as I opened the passenger door and she climbed inside.

  I slid into my truck and started the engine as she sat quiet. “What’s the matter?”

  “Nothing.” She stared out the window away from me.

  “There’s something you should know about us country boys, Sarah. We can smell bullshit a mile away.” I headed out toward the creek and kept my eyes forward as she stirred next to me.

  “You said you could fall in love with me.” The laughter in her voice didn’t help my confidence so I let out a long breath while she continued. “It’s not a terrible thing, but with everything that’s happened I didn’t expect that.”

  “I meant it, you know. I didn’t say it on a whim.” I glanced over to see her smiling at me with that same uncertainty in her eyes. I continued to the creek and when I pulled in and parked the truck, I sat waiting on her to talk.

  “So what now,” she adjusted herself to face me, “hot sex on the hood of your truck… or more?”

  Confused, I met her eyes and stayed silent.

  She covered her face and groaned. “I’m sorry.”

  Aggra
vation set my pulse racing. “No, I’m sorry, Sarah. I guess I made it weird. I was just trying to thank you for a wonderful dinner and let you know how impressed I was, but I guess talking about love this soon was stupid.”

  She hopped across the seat and took my hand. “No, it wasn’t. I just suck at commitments. They always blow up in my face and I’m always so scared when starting something new that… I don’t want it to be weird.”

  “What’s weird is that we had such a good time when you were here before and I thought you knew how I felt, I thought you came here for us and to try and make something more.” For a moment, I felt like a stranger, but then I realized the problem. “It’s too much too soon, right?”

  “I guess in some ways it is. I didn’t expect to fall so hard and so fast for you. I mean, we’re still getting to know one another, yet we know each other in such a personal way. I guess I just want you to fall in love with me for more than what we did on your hood before.” She faced forward and leaned her head on my shoulder.

  “And in the barn.” I put my arm around her and lay my cheek to her hair.

  She nudged me. “Yes, and in the barn. Did you mean it?” She held her hand up and turned to look at me. “I only ask because I see big things for us and I have hopes for both of our careers that I don’t want to damage by doing this. I have feelings for you too, and I want you in my life, but for more than just incredible sex.”

  My chest swelled with pride and I pulled her into my lap. “Incredible, huh?”

  “Yes. I’m tired of being alone, but honestly, I don’t want another failed relationship. We should have taken things slower. I realized that when I left here the last time.”

  “I thought you peeled out of here because of the drama, but it hurt thinking that you could go so easily. Now I understand, but man, that was a hard feeling.” I opened my door and took her hand. The sun was setting and all the night critters were singing the songs of their kind, and I wanted to welcome the stars with her down by the water on the sand. “Let’s go finish this conversation down on the bank. This is one of my favorite places.”