“I think if we can get past the grunting at each other, we might become friends, John,” she said amicably, picking up the inclination that he was a lonely man. He needed someone to reach out to and now here she was. That didn’t mean she wanted to get freaky-deaky with him, but the shave and change in temperament certainly would change her mind quickly. Being drop dead sexy with a personality to match was a husband cocktail she might take a sip of!
Riley was drawing the conclusion really fast from her few encounters with Eve that simply “going home” was not going to be an option. Part of her wanted to cling to the ruby red shoes mentality and that she could return when her task was over or her lesson learned.
Yadda, yadda.
Since that was not going to be the case anytime soon, it was time to start making the best of her situation. Eve had said that she had begged to live, but what if she was reading John right? What if John had a tough time and had pleaded for companionship?
Thing one, thing two? I now pronounce you man and wife?
That was a tough pill to swallow even for Riley, but she was starting to wonder if that was the plan. She had planned on marrying someday, after she felt established. A nice office, great clothing and money to blow did not mean you were settled. If anything, it was a direct result of knowing a few people who could connect her and advertising funds for the office. Marriage meant giving up her freedom, household chores, baby-making, daycare, and stresses of everyday life. She had no idea what to expect out of marriage with John – other than he could get on her nerves or grunt like no one’s business.
Sighing heavily, Riley looked up and saw that the stars were starting to peek through the darkening sky. They were almost at the house and she could see it on the horizon. It would be good to get out of the wagon because she was certain her rear end was getting splinters or becoming flat from the wood.
“Why are you sighing?”
“The stars,” she said quietly. “They are gorgeous and it’s been a long time since I have seen them.”
“Stars are everywhere. You can’t tell me that they don’t have them in… where are you from?” he asked her suddenly.
“New York City, and yes. Stars are everywhere. But I guess I hadn’t paid attention back home. This just seems magical,” Riley explained, struggling to keep from saying that the huge city and light pollution prevented her from seeing them. That and long hours at work!
Riley heard him give a soft grunt beside her. She was coming to recognize a few elements of his personality that made up the big, old bear of a guy that she had married.
Looking up at him, she grinned. “Are we back to grunting at each other again?” she teased. John pulled on the reins suddenly, bringing the cart to a halt along the dirt road and smiled tenderly at her.
“Perhaps we could sit together for a bit and look at the stars,” he said gently. “There is no rush, Riley,” as he put his arm around her waist.
It felt so very personal to have him do something as simple as that. Just the touch of his arm and the possessive feel that it had to her body made her feel mushy inside. It was sweet and romantic that he suggested the unexpected interlude. What was it about this man that could make her feel shy and nervous? Riley didn’t pull back or draw away, which is what she had done before with other men she had dated. This time, she gave in to the sappy feeling and allowed herself to feel special for a bit. Leaning against his shoulder, she unconsciously sighed again in happiness.
After several minutes, Riley’s stomach gave an awful rumble causing her to slap her hands over her stomach in an effort to muffle the sound. She hadn’t eaten since morning. Hearing his deep laugh, she was surprised to see him reach into a knapsack he had over his shoulder.
“For you,” he said, smiling. He handed her a fuzzy peach. “Thought you might like it.”
Whether or not she liked peaches really didn’t matter right now. It was the fact that he tried to surprise her that stuck in her mind. That was simply awesome of him to actually try to date her! The sitting under the stars, the peach? Next thing you know, he’d be springing flowers out of the bag, she thought, amused.
“John, that is super sweet of you,” Riley said easily, accepting the fruit and taking a bite. She hesitated for a second and swallowed the bite. She was momentarily embarrassed by the fact that she shoved the fruit right in her mouth without considering that she might be expected to split it, since he had only pulled out one peach. Then she realized that he was watching her.
“Want to have a bite?” she asked, holding out the fruit.
Instead of answering, he reached up and cupped the back of her head. Riley caught her breath as she realized he was going to kiss her. This time, there was no hesitation. She had no fear that she would be eaten alive by the massive beard. Instead, she felt an incredible rush of heat. Her heart hammered as John’s mouth hesitated for the barest second and then softly made contact with her lips.
Peaches were now her most favorite freaking fruit ever!
The enticing taste of his lips was mind-blowing when combined with the sweetness of the syrupy fruit. It must have been the same for him because she heard a faint groan escape him as his tongue tasted hers. They kissed and explored each other for several moments before he pulled away, breaking the contact.
“I adore the taste of your mouth,” Riley heard him say hazily. She was stunned by the kiss and the gentle way he smiled at her in the moonlight. His thumb caressed her cheek and then lightly skimmed across her lower lip. Riley thought for sure she would have handed over a winning lottery ticket at that very moment in exchange for another kiss.
“Me, too,” she said dazed. She watched his smile turn into a wide grin as he laughed. What the hayday did I say? she thought, shaking her head. Thankfully, John had the good graces to pick up the reins and give them a light shake, nudging the horse the remaining distance to the house.
She was glad he didn’t mention her slip up again. Instead, they parted at the house as he silently unloaded their purchases. Riley started a bit of boiling water so she could wash up before bed. As she watched John duck into a trapdoor in the floor, she realized that was the storeroom she had asked him about before! That pain in the patootie! He couldn’t just point it out? Explore it tomorrow, she thought.
Riley prepared each of them a large piece of bread with butter and a slice of cheese to tide them over since they hadn’t had dinner. They ate in silence, neither ready to address the kiss they shared. As Riley cleaned up the few dishes, she found that he had quickly stepped into the bedroom, taking his place on the pallet. It dismayed her for a moment that he could so easily turn away to sleep on the floor again. She couldn’t help but lay there in the darkness thinking about his decadent tasting kisses, inevitably wondering what it would be like to share his bed.
Chapter 5
The next morning found Riley alone at the house. John had gotten up early and she vaguely remembered him kissing her on the forehead saying he was going to work. It was incredibly thoughtful of him but she was certain that the drool trail crusted on her chin would not entice the man into her bed anytime soon.
Smooth move there Riley, she thought as she washed her face with cold water. Drool is tres sexy when you get stuck with a husband. You may not have asked for him but, by golly, you got one and it turns out that he cleans up really nicely! If her options were “Ouch, you die horrifically,” or “Hayyyy yes, you married a hottie,” – she would take the hottie every darned day!
She had no idea what her newly bestowed, neatly shorn, eye candy did for a living. But if he was working, that meant she would have time to learn her way around the house, see exactly where she would be living without prying eyes. It was hard to snoop if you had someone looking over your shoulder.
The first things she planned to check out were the goodies in the storeroom. That bread she ate last night left her as unsatisfied as having that kiss and not finishing it up with a bit of relief. Riley would not be taking care of “business” i
n the same room as someone else, nor did she feel free enough mentally or emotionally to have her way with him. Had she thought about it? Oh yes, all night until she fell asleep. Did the idea have merit? OMG yes! Could she simply say, “Hey hubby, want to get up here and make me your wife?”
Oh, hay no!
John being hot underneath it all (I’m talking about that “bitter beard face” here) didn’t change the fact that he was basically a stranger she had been thrust upon, no pun intended - yet! she thought with a grin. Riley was never a person to casually have sex with someone she barely knew to get rid of an urge – and it was there! Her last fling was with a man she dated for over a year. She had to know a man to be intimate with him and she barely knew John.
Digging out a few items she considered “cookable” for her, Riley hauled the goods up the wooden ladder out of the storeroom. It had creeped her out to head down into the darkness. But once she stepped down, she realized that it was a tiny room lined with shelves. A large, iron hook was mounted to the side of the ladder which would have made it easy to see, if she had even thought to bring an oil lamp. Instead, she grabbed a few items she could make out in the faint light coming through the hatch and made her selection.
Shutting the wooden doorway, she stood up and shook out her skirts. Picking up the foodstuffs, she set them on the table and began to try to make a casserole. She had discovered a bit of flour in a tin for the recipe. There was a small bowl of eggs stored on the table in a wire basket. The remainder of ingredients would be a mishmash of items that she found: bacon, green beans, a potato, an ear of corn, and leftover beans.
Back home, when she rarely cooked, she would take stuff, mix it together and top it with drop biscuits to make a fake pot pie-looking thing. Pot pie, casserole, whatever – as long as it was edible, she didn’t care. And that was when she saw “IT” out of the corner of her eye.
The biggest spider Riley had ever seen was stealthily creeping across the wooden floor in her direction. If she had to guess, she would have sworn (lots of swear words, yo!) it was probably six or seven inches across with fuzz all over it.
“Oh HELLO!! What the fuc…” and grabbed her throat in a panic. Sure enough! Darn it, Eve struck again! Riley mouthed silently and screaming internally as she clutched at her neck. She needed to yell for help!
At that moment, the tarantula must have considered her a threat because it reared back and stuck its front legs in the air as if to make itself look larger. Not needed! The fangs on its face gave a deceptive wiggle and Riley panicked. Was it freaking smiling at her? She hated spiders. Abhorred them! She was afraid to the point they made her nauseous. The only good spider was a dead one – and a fuzzy one the size of a baseball mitt? Terrifying!
Backing up blindly, she hit the wood plank wall knocking a tin off the shelf. She didn’t even look to see if the lid came off the tin or what was inside. She was trying to get close enough to the door to get out of the house! The awful tarantula stood between her and the door! As Riley eased her way down the wall slowly, eyeing the large spider, it jumped forward at her, legs still extended upwards. When it jumped, she did! Riley leaped about two feet to the left desperately – right beside a rifle.
Picking up the gun propped in the corner of the room, she wildly aimed at the spider and prayed that the gun was loaded. She had no idea what she would do if the darned thing jumped on her or bit her. Did it just hiss? Oh, HELL NO! she thought wildly. Pulling the trigger, she shot at it and saw it blissfully blow into pieces as buckshot went flying everywhere. She saw that the main part of the body was intact and curled up disgustingly, but the remainder was scattered everywhere.
Ears ringing from the loud blast, she stared at the pellets on the floor in dismay. The buckshot was either embedded in the wood or left trails gouged in the splintered wood from the impact. She knew that fear of the tarantula had caused her to make an irrational, obvious mistake. There was no hiding this and an awful, disgusting mess awaited her. Sinking down limply onto the chair not far away, Riley sat stunned with the warm gun propped against her legs.
“What in the hell did you do?” she heard John roar from the doorway, his face shocked at the scene before him. Riley opened her mouth and nothing came out. Really not funny, Eve, she thought and pointed silently at the tarantula.
“The spider? So? Step on it!” he said wildly, pointing at the spider.
Riley shook her head silently. There was no way she would ever get close enough to step on that thing! She could have sworn it smiled at her!
“What do you mean, ‘no’?” he yelled, looking shocked at her refusal.
Shaking her head again, she flinched when he yelled again.
“You shot the damned floor?”
Mulishly, she looked him straight in the eye and nodded angrily. She would have shot that spider six times if she could have. Riley hated spiders and she was glad it was blown to smithereens. She was disgusted by the debris it left, but glad.
“Riley, you can’t shoot up the house if there is a spider. Hell, I got bit by a scorpion during the night,” he said angrily and slammed the door. “I can’t get that buckshot out of the floor without tearing it up,” he said angrily. She watched him straighten his stance as he stopped suddenly in his tracks.
Riley hated spiders. She hated being muted. She hated being yelled at and not able to defend herself. And most of all, she hated that when she got really angry, she cried. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she ground her teeth in frustration.
They stared at each other for several minutes. She could see he was trying to calm down. It was probably a blessing that she was muted by Eve or she would have told him to stick it where the sun didn’t shine! She hated this situation and this feeling. Why did it have to be so darned good with him one moment and so darned bad the next? She missed her home and her things. She was lonely, afraid and now there were massive, fuzzy ass spiders that attacked and he had the nerve to yell at her?
She stared at him, raging silently, as he knelt down beside her. Riley was seeing a haze in her vision and knew she was practically panting from how hostile she felt. It was a good thing he was much bigger than she was, because she was tempted to try to pop him in the jaw right now.
Her temper was flying high! How dare he be mad at her for killing that hideous thing? And how dare Eve keep her silent when she couldn’t even ask about the scorpion bite nor explain why she couldn’t talk! She couldn’t defend herself and defense was all she had known for practically half of her life.
As he knelt down beside her, she could see the helpless frustration in his gaze and the concern. “Riley, I’m sorry I was upset. I heard the gunshot and was terrified you had been shot,” he told her quietly. “Are you okay?”
At her nod, he continued, “I’m sorry that a spider got in the house. But these things happen and you can use a broom to shove it outside.” She shook her head wildly. A broom handle wasn’t long enough for her!
“Honey,” he said, tenderly pulling her out of the chair and into an embrace. “It’s okay. You won’t see one often. Just try not to shoot up our house,” he said gently as he smoothed her hair from her face. Riley was surprised at the term of endearment from him. She felt foolish for melting so quickly at John calling her honey. Folding like a card house, you wimp! she chastised herself silently.
“I didn’t realize you could shoot a gun,” he told her with a tentative smile. “I was going to offer to teach you.”
Sighing at the loss of her voice by the perfectly (in her opinion!) worded curse at the spider, Riley simply nodded and gave him a thumbs up sign. She felt like an idiot doing so. But unless he planned on whipping out paper and pencil, she couldn’t communicate right now. How long is this dumb stunt going to last, Eve? she asked silently and prayed the woman was listening.
He stood up, chuckling and mimicking her thumbs up as he extended a hand towards her. Arching away from the mess as she pushed herself up with the chair, she was glad for the help to keep her from stepp
ing in the yuck on the floor. His warm hand gripped hers, pulling her into his arms for a gentle hug.
Big ol’ huggy bear, she thought with a grin. Riley really liked that he seemed to be a guy that liked contact. Not many huggers in Manhattan and, frankly, she had never been much of a hug-loving person. But this? This was nice!
“Were you cooking something?” he asked simply as he held her.
Riley nodded against his chest, fascinated by the rumble his voice caused and the pattern of his heartbeat. She noticed that he smelled wonderfully clean and his shirt clung to him. Glancing up, she saw his hair was wet as well. That cad, he had a bath? I want one! she thought suddenly.
“There is a pond nearby and I went for a quick swim,” he explained as if he could read her mind, smiling at her. “How about you finish preparing something to eat and I will get the mess off the floor?” He hesitated with a mischievous grin. “Unless you want to clean it up and I will fix lunch?”
Riley gave him two thumbs down with an angry frown causing him to pick her up off the floor in another hug, swinging her lightly as he laughed. He set her down and kissed her quickly.
“Let’s get started,” John told her simply. “I’m starving.”
Nodding, she pulled out of his arms eagerly. It was not that she was happy to be out of them, but simply thrilled that he was going to get the mushed spider-stuff off the wood and not her! Yuck and double yuck! she thought quickly and jumped as she felt John’s hand pat her lightly on the bottom.
Her new husband just affectionately swatted her on the butt!
“Oh!” she yelped and was shocked at the sound. I guess I’m out of time out from you? she thought sarcastically and heard no response. Looking quickly at John, she saw his expression as he watched her walk off.
John could have lit a candle with the heat from his eyes. It was surprising how quickly he was over his anger at her shooting the floor and the look of pride in his face. She was certain he was not proud of her maiming the floorboards. Maybe it was the fact that she picked up the rifle and shot it. Doubt it, she thought.
A Lifetime with You: Timeswept Soulmates Page 7
