“I don’t know about that,” she finally said after a long pause. “You look like you could model something for us.” She’d said it without really thinking about the meaning behind it. Her face heated up, and she darted her eyes down to the floor.
Oh God, did I really just flirt with him? She asked herself and shook her head, but when her eyes met his again, she saw something dark and heated there that only further stirred the lust she felt inside of her.
They held each other’s gaze for a little while after that, and just when Amber thought that something might happen between them, she felt something large and wet press against her cheek and move upward.
“Oh my God, gross!” she exclaimed as she turned and saw Buttercup staring down at her with her tongue flopping out of her mouth.
Jesse’s laugh resounded loudly throughout the stable, and Amber couldn’t believe she had embarrassed herself in front of him again. Come on, Amber, get yourself together! Before she could get too upset, however, she couldn’t stop smiling. The mixture of Buttercup’s innocent face and Jesse’s laughter was enough to stop her from feeling worried. She rubbed Buttercup’s snout and rolled her eyes.
“I like you too,” she said in a whisper. “But I’m not the licking kind, I’m afraid.”
Chapter Eight
August had finally faded away into the chillier and more temperate September, as Amber finally started to ingratiate herself into a simpler life on the ranches of Valley Springs. She divided her time between Billy and Jesse’s ranches, telling Laura that she wanted to get more experience of different lifestyles, but in reality, she couldn’t stop herself from feeling drawn to her handsome neighbor.
Over time, she had come to realize that Jesse was a lot kinder and smarter than she had given him credit for when they first met. He often offered to help her out when she didn’t understand something or was struggling. One time in particular, she had been especially grateful for his help when she had gotten her hair caught in the door of the tractor after he took her out for a ride in it. It was painful, and she was worried that her hair was going to rip out, but Jesse had been calm and patient with her as he helped her get herself free.
Then one evening, she had stayed late at Jesse’s place after inspiration had struck. She was busy sketching away a new design for a pair of bootcut jeans, when the enthralling man had stuck his head over her shoulder and admired her work.
“Looks good,” was all he had said, but the encouragement and interest he had taken in her work made her heart soar.
But as time passed, Amber convinced herself it was a bad idea. After all, she had only just come out of one relationship. She didn’t want to get herself caught up in another. And even if they did start something, Amber would be returning back to Chicago soon. She’d never liked the idea of long-distance relationships, and she didn’t think it would work, ultimately.
At the end of the day, one of them would have to give up their lifestyle in order to be with the other. They came from two completely different worlds, and it would just never, ever work… At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.
It was difficult at times, though. Especially when she was stood presently watching Jesse manually till the soil in front of him, his muscles contracting and bulging in his tight plaid shirt while sweat formed across his brow. Amber bit hard into her bottom lip as she watched him, unable to tear her eyes away from his fit body.
Then he threw the hoe down to the ground and reached down for the hem of his shirt. Amber couldn’t believe her eyes. Jesse pulled the fabric up his body slowly, revealing inch after inch of hard, tanned skin. She could see the ripple of his abdominal muscles as he tore the shirt from his body and tossed it to one side, and her pulse raced.
Amber had never felt so attracted to someone before in her life. There was something much more primal and animalistic about her desire for Jesse than she’d experienced before. Perhaps it was something to do with how his muscles were earned from hours spent on hard, manual labor instead of hours spent in a comfortable, air-conditioned gym. Or, perhaps, it was because his calloused fingers showed her how much work they’d seen instead of being smooth and moisturized from rich, expensive creams like some of the other men’s fingers that she’d dated.
It surprised her when she realized that the kind of lust she had for Jesse surpassed anything she had ever felt for Mike. Yet, she had been so certain that she wanted to marry Mike… There’s a difference between love and attraction, Amber, she reminded herself. Yet, she couldn’t stop the niggling uncertainty in the back of her head that was telling her she was wrong.
For what was love without attraction?
“You okay there, little lady?” A rough, husky voice interjected, disturbing Amber’s daydream.
“Oh, what? Yeah, I’m fine,” she stuttered out in response.
“You stopped feeding the chickens,” Jesse pointed out with an indicative look down at the squawking chickens surrounding her feet.
“Oh… Oh, you’re right,” Amber admitted as she flushed bright red. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me today.”
Jesse grinned. “I think I might,” he teased with a wink before turning away from her once more and continuing on with his work.
Oh God. I’m not going to survive this.
***
After that, Amber continued with her usual work. It surprised her how much she was enjoying working with the animals out in nature. The breeze cooled her skin, and the sounds of crickets and birds seemed to soothe her soul. After a while, it began to feel like she’d always lived this way, and it didn’t go unnoticed by others.
“You’re a natural,” Jesse told her as she pressed a hoof pick into Buttercup’s foot to clear away the dirt and stones that had managed to get lodged in there. “Most people would be too scared to do that.”
Amber smiled. “Buttercup is too nice to ever hurt me on purpose,” she explained with a look over her shoulder at Jesse. “You should know that.”
“Still, there’s a lot of power in that girl. If you don’t do it right, she could always kick you, little lady,” he pointed out.
“Well then, I guess we should be happy I’m doing it right.” She turned away from him again to rest Buttercup’s hoof on the floor and move onto the next one. Amber found that the aspects of farm life she’d come to enjoy most involved the animals — especially the horses. She’d begun to wonder whether she’d be any good at riding one, and had been trying to work up the courage to ask Jesse.
“You know,” she began in a quiet voice, still looking down at the task at hand instead of at the man next to her. “I’ve always wanted to know what it’s like to ride a horse. Do you reckon I’d be a natural at that too?”
Jesse smiled and approached her. “With a good teacher, I think you’d get the hang of it in no time.”
Amber glanced up at him. “You really think so?”
He nodded.
“If I get all my tasks done here quickly, do you think you’d have some time to show me?” she asked in a quiet, optimistic voice. Hope filled her chest, and she wasn’t sure how she’d bear it if he turned her down.
Jesse chuckled. “You make sure Buttercup and Nightshade are clean as can be, and we’ll get them dirty all over again,” he said with a smile.
“Deal.”
With one last longing stare, Jesse turned and vacated the stable, leaving Amber to her tasks. She continued cleaning out both Buttercup and Nightshade’s hooves before moving onto brushing their manes and tails and then finally, she groomed their coats. When she was done, Amber presented them both with a freshly grown carrot and watched as they happily took the vegetable from her, chomping through it with a loud clack of their teeth.
“What do you think, Buttercup?” Amber asked as she petted the golden horse’s snout. “You think I can try riding you, girl?”
The horse whickered in response and leaned into Amber’s touch, which she took as encouragement. She gave them both an extra carrot each be
fore turning and running out to find Jesse. At first, she couldn’t find him in his usual spots — not in the field or by the chicken coop — but then she saw him inside the house through the kitchen window and she raced inside.
“Jesse, I’m finished!” she called before stopping completely still when she noticed that he wasn’t alone.
A woman and a young girl were stood next to him, and they were now staring right at Amber, confusion painted across their features.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you had company. I’ll just —”
“No need,” Jesse began with a wide, toothy grin as he slung his arm around the woman’s shoulder and pulled her close. Amber’s heart stuttered at the sight. “Amber, this is my sister, Carol Ann. Carol Ann, this is my new neighbor, Amber.”
Relief washed over Amber like a bucket of cold water had been thrown over her. Her mouth turned up into a wide smile and she took a step forward. “It’s so lovely to meet you,” she gushed before crouching down. “And who is this little one?”
“I’m not little! I’m a big girl!” the child protested, much to the amusement of her mother.
“Oh, Callie, dear,” Carol Ann began with a grin. “It’s okay, I’m sure Amber meant no harm.”
“I definitely didn’t,” Amber added with a smile. “I understand too, your Uncle Jesse keeps calling me ‘little’ and it drives me insane.”
Carol Ann sent her brother a knowing look.
“You’re not little! You’re bigger than me and I’m a big girl!” Callie stated before turning to her uncle with a frown. “Uncle Jesse, I’m not little!”
“No, Callie, no you’re not,” he agreed with a chuckle before reaching out and messing up her hair. “But anyway, you guys should be heading back or Mason will be worrying.”
“You’re right,” Carol Ann agreed with a nod before leaning forward and pulling her brother into a tight embrace. “I’ll see you tonight for dinner, okay? You can even bring your friend if you want.” She pulled away and looked over at Amber. “I don’t get to meet many of Jesse’s friends, so it would be lovely of you to come, and maybe we can get to know each other.”
“Carol…”
“That sounds great,” Amber agreed before she could overthink it. “I’d love to come.”
“Great!” she replied. “I’ll see you both then. Come on, Callie.” Within a few seconds, the two of them had walked out, leaving Amber and Jesse alone once more.
“You’re finished grooming the horses?” Jesse asked with a quirk of one eyebrow.
“Yep!” Amber answered as she practically vibrated with excited energy. “You’ll teach me how to ride now, right?”
“I promised, didn’t I? I never go back on a promise, little lady,” he told her in a deep, husky purr while his eyes moved over her body in a way that felt too bold to be casual.
Now is not the time, Amber told herself. You’ll be going back to Chicago soon. This can’t ever become anything serious… And yet, she wanted him. The idea of a fling actually sounded nice after what she had been through. The feeling of being desired after such an awful betrayal and rejection bolstered the self-esteem inside her which had taken a serious hit the last few months.
Unable to stop herself, Amber grinned and twirled her hair around her fingers. “I hope you’ll promise to take care of me out there, then,” she began, “I’ve heard riding can get rather dangerous…”
Jesse took a step forward and shrugged. “It all depends on your riding partner,” he explained, “and how much you trust them.” His hands came up to touch her arms and he rubbed soothing circles into her skin with the pad of his thumb. “Tell me, Amber. Do you trust me?”
Every nerve ending in her body felt like it had been set aflame by his touch, and she wasn’t sure if they were talking about horse riding anymore. She took a deep breath and uttered the only word that came to her mind in that moment. “Yes.”
Chapter Nine
Despite the obvious tension between them, Jesse just smiled and turned away, heading toward the door. Amber stood still, shocked. She had definitely been expecting him to kiss her then. Does he not want to kiss me? she wondered. She didn’t think that she had misread the signs between them. Then again, she hadn’t known her partner of three years had been cheating on her…
“Are you coming?” Jesse called over his shoulder with a boyish grin.
Feeling a little silly, Amber followed him out of the house once more and back to the stables where he began to saddle up Buttercup, ready for a ride. Amber entered and couldn’t help but watch Jesse as he worked. Everything seemed so easy for him, and Amber wished that she was as good as he was with the horses.
“Okay, let’s get them both outside,” Jesse said with a smile. “Are you okay to take Buttercup?” he asked.
Amber nodded and reached out to take the reins that Jesse passed her while he grabbed the reins for Nightshade. They both walked out onto the field outside and Jesse tied Nightshade up to the fence before turning back to Amber and Buttercup.
“Now, let me help you,” he said.
Amber was about to ask him what he was going to help her with when she felt strong, powerful arms grip her tight around the waist and hoist her up onto the horse’s back. As soon as her butt touched the saddle, Amber let out a sigh of relief and her feet found the stirrups with ease.
“There you go. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” Jesse encouraged with a confident smile.
“Is getting on the hard part?” Amber questioned. “I thought riding was the hard part.”
“I’ll let you decide,” he told her, before guiding her hands to the reins and then going back to Nightshade. Once Jesse was settled on top of the darker horse, he trotted back over to her and stood his horse next to hers.
“We’ll start off nice and slow at first, okay? But you let me know if you need a break at any point or you need help with anything.” His eyes bore into her own and Amber could feel herself becoming lost in them again.
Stop it, Amber. He doesn’t like you. If he liked you, he would have kissed you earlier, she told herself and dragged her eyes away from him. Besides that, Amber still didn’t want to get involved with someone who lived so far away from her. That would never end well and she couldn’t imagine Jesse would ever give up his life and move to Chicago. You’re getting ahead of yourself, she reminded herself and finally snapped out of her frantic thoughts.
“Yes, I’ll make sure I tell you if I’m struggling,” Amber agreed with a tentative smile.
“Good girl,” he told her in a husky purr that had Amber’s legs trembling with desire. Instead of giving into the feeling, however, Amber focused her eyes on the path ahead of her and tried not to risk a glance at the devastatingly attractive man next to her.
“Where to then, Jesse?”
***
After their exhilarating ride through the Arkansas countryside, Jesse raised his hand to get Amber to stop at an unfamiliar piece of land. The two of them trotted up the dirt pathway to the little farmhouse in the middle, and Jesse swung himself off Nightshade before tying the stallion to a wooden post. He grabbed a bowl of water and placed it in front of the horse before walking over to Amber and helping her down too.
“Where are we?” Amber asked, peering around and feeling confused.
“You wanted to have dinner with my sister, didn’t you?” he replied as he tied Buttercup to the post next to Nightshade. “This is my sister’s place. She lives here with Callie and her husband, Mason.”
“Oh, of course,” Amber continued looking around. She noticed it was a much smaller piece of land than Jesse had. They didn’t seem to have any horses, just a small coop and a little field comprised mostly of corn. It looked more homely than Jesse’s place, and seemed to be meant for feeding a small family rather than farming for a profit.
“What do you think?” Jesse asked, curious as he watched Amber take in the sights around her.
“It’s small,” she said and Jesse laughed.
“Well, yeah I suppose it is,” he replied with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes before turning on his heel and heading toward the front door. “My sister makes a mean casserole, you know.”
Amber smiled as she followed him onto the dark wooden porch. He raised his hand to knock, and they both waited patiently for someone to answer the door. In the silence, Amber realized that they were standing pretty close together — closer than ever before, and she glanced over at him surreptitiously, only to notice he was looking at her too. A thrill of excitement rushed through her, only to be disturbed by the door in front of them being thrown open.
“Jesse!” A man a little older than Jesse called out as he wrapped his arms around the farmer and hugged him close. “It’s been too long, man!” He pulled back and patted Jesse on the arm. “Carol Ann tells me you finally got yourself a girlfriend.”
Amber’s eyes widened. “I’m n-not his g-girlfriend,” she stuttered, as her cheeks flamed and her heart beat rapidly in her chest.
“She’s just a neighbor, Mason,” Jesse explained in a warning to him. “This is Amber — she’s from Chicago.”
“Oh, a big city girl! No wonder you don’t want anything to do with the likes of this old country bumpkin!” Mason exclaimed with a hearty laugh as he elbowed Jesse. “I’m just messing with you. Come on in, Carol Ann’s almost done with the casserole.”
As Mason turned to go back inside, Jesse followed him and Amber followed Jesse. She glanced around at the furnishings in the living room, noticing that it was still rustic, though much more modern than Billy’s house. It reminded her of Jesse’s place, except that there were more children’s toys and books strewn across the table and chairs.
“Carol Ann! Our guests are here!” Mason called into the kitchen.
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