by Kenzie Rose
“I have been wanting to do that since last night.” I said as I looked into her eyes. Just as I leaned into do it again we are interrupted by someone clearing their throat. I looked up and there was a guy leaning up against the door, just watching us.
“Umm we have company.” She turned around and blushed. “Oh hi Jeff, This is Jeremy. He’s a friend of mine.” She said as she smiled at me and then went to give him a hug. Alright who is this guy, she is pretty familiar with him.
“Hey.” He says as he looks me over. Should I be worried. I walk over and shake his hand.
“Nice to meet you.” I say as he squeezes my hand.
“You too, have you known each other long?” What is this, the Spanish Inquisition?
“We met in Nashville when I went to help Stacy get settled in. Jeremy works at a recording studio.” She said. I stood closer to her and saw this Jeff guy smirk, Kennedy must have noticed the tension because she looked at me, “Jeff is Ari’s husband, he is here to help me with my new horse.” I watched her walk over to a stall and they were talking about the horse while I stood and watched. I am so out of my league here but I can’t walk away. Plus that kiss, DAMN, she is so sweet and tender. She makes me want more.
I sat and watched as they talked and then led the horse outside to the pasture. I followed with Rufus by my side and sat on a log, watching them. I have always hated being outside unless I am skiing or snowboarding. I never played in the dirt or liked getting dirty. But as I watch her, how bad would it really be to spend more time outside? I sit there for what seems like hours and watch the two of them. I needed to take a pain pill because I couldn’t stand the pain any longer so I went back to the house and grabbed some water to down the pills. I look around her house and see photos of Kennedy with her sister. She is sitting on top of a horse with a ribbon across her chest and a trophy. I take a closer look, she looks like she’s about fifteen years old. I moved along to some photos of her with an older couple and her sister and another one with just her and the older man. These must be her grandparents. The older man looks like her father, she is sitting on his lap and he is holding her hands on a guitar, it looks like he is showing her how to play. She has the biggest smile on her face. I see one more of her, older now with the guitar and it looks like she is singing to the older man in a hospital bed. I can see the hurt in her eyes, you could almost feel it when you looked at the photograph.
“That’s my grandfather.” she says quietly behind me. I didn’t even hear her come in. “He left me this ranch which he built for my grandmother.” I turned to look at her.
“Is he the reason you don’t sing anymore?” I finally understand now, just from a photograph. I saw the tears building in her eyes, I took her in my arms and she wrapped hers around me.
“He taught me how to play the guitar, I would play while he sang or we would sing together. His dream was to perform on the Grand Old Opry stage, instead he would take my grandmother there to watch it live.” She took a deep breath. “Once he was diagnosed with Laryngeal Cancer he couldn’t sing anymore so I sang to him. Last time I sang for him was at his funeral. It was his only request. After that I never sang for anyone again.” she laughed guietly to herself, “I have never told anyone that.” I kissed the top of her head.
“I get it now, why you don’t sing. Even though you can you have lost the love for singing, right?”
Nodding she looked up at me. “I just don’t have the love or the passion to sing or play the guitar anymore.” I leaned down and touched my lips to hers again. She reached up and wrapped her arms around my neck, I ran my tongue over her bottom lip. She darted her tongue out to meet mine. I took that as an opening to tangle my tongue with hers. As she opened her mouth wider I kissed her with long strokes of my tongue. Causing her to moan. I kept my hands wrapped around her. All we did was kiss, long devouring kisses. God, I have never kissed someone like this before, to the point that I am light headed from lack of oxygen. The only reason we stopped is because I heard someone closing a car door. I pull back and look into her eyes. They are wide and bright, almost black. She smiles and bites her lip again.
“Don’t do that.” I tease. As we hear footsteps on the porch she pulls away and walks quickly into her bedroom and closes her door. Before I can follow her, I hear the door open and her mom and dad walk into the house.
“There you are, I came to check on the patient.” Her mom says as she walks over to me. She motions for me to sit down so I do as I’m told. I heard the door open behind me and her voice moved right through me. What the hell! I couldn’t turn around because her mom was trying to look in my eyes with a pin light.
“How’s the head?” She asked.
“Hurts some but not as bad as yesterday.” she checked my face and seemed pleased with what she saw. It still hurts but I think it’s from the impact of the bag more than anything.
“And how are the ribs?” She motioned for me to lift up my T-shirt.
“Sore, I didn’t sleep much last night.” I am not going to tell her it’s because of her daughter sleeping in the room next door.
“I will change the tape tomorrow, you need to take it easy. If there is a hairline fracture in your ribs I don’t want sudden movements to create a full break.” I could hear Kennedy talking to her dad but with her mom examining me I couldn’t turn around. “Are you taking the medication for the pain?” I nodded as she kept up the exam.
“So have you ever been to Texas before?”
“No Mam, I am from California originally and I have lived in Nashville for the last five years.”
“What do you think of Mason so far?” She smirked at me while she watched her daughter.
“Well, I am not a country guy and I have never been a big fan of getting dirty, but there is something about being here that is calming. I don’t feel the need to check my phone every five minutes, partially because it doesn’t seem to work here. But, being on the ranch is pretty relaxing. Maybe because I’m limited to what I can do with my ribs, but so far I like it.” I look over at Kennedy and she is watching me.
“I see.” Her mom says. I look at her and she is smiling.
“What?” I ask, I don’t like the way she’s looking at me, almost like she has figured me out.
“Oh nothing. I just know where you are coming from.” She smirked at me. “Let’s go out and sit on the swing and talk.” Oh damn. We walked by Kennedy and her dad, both of them watching us as we walked outside. After sitting on the swing for a few minutes, her mom looked at me and smiled.
“I know you can’t tell but I am not originally from Texas, I moved out here for school and met Henry. It was love at first sight. My parents told me to finish college and start my residency before getting involved with anyone but I knew what I wanted to do. So, after dating for four months, Henry and I eloped. We ran away to Vegas and got married, both our parents thought we were too young. He was going to school for Ag management and I still had years of medical school in front of me. But we didn’t care. My only problem was that I had never had anything to do with a ranch. You see I grew up a military kid. Moving every couple of years when my dad got a new assignment. So, cattle and horses were not my thing. I was terrified of horses, I hated getting dirt under my fingernails. But, I loved Henry. This ranch was his life and I knew that someday I would grow to love it.”
What is it with Vegas weddings?
“After we got married, we rented an apartment close to the school until we graduated and then he decided we would rent an apartment close to the hospital where I did my residency. He drove out here every day to work. Leaving at three in the morning some days just to be out here when it was time to feed the cattle and then work the horses. He never once complained about the drive or missing the ranch. Once my residency was up we moved out here and I set up my practice in town with a few other local Doctors.” She looked out at the barn and smiled. “By then Henry’s parents were getting up there in age and his dad started having some medical issues. So, we moved
in with them instead of the house that we were building and had our two beautiful girls. One that loves this ranch as much as her dad and grandfather did. The other one longs to be a Doctor too, she was never into the whole ranching thing.” She turned to me and smiled.
“After Henry’s father passed away and he left the ranch to Kennedy, she decided that this ranch was her legacy so she threw herself into it. More horses, less dating. More family time, but I want more for her. I want her to find that soulmate, I never pushed her to go to college and do something other than work on the ranch because I knew it was in her heart” Touching my hand she looked into my eyes just like my mom does. “And I think that person is you.”
What? She has known me for less than twenty-four hours and she thinks that I am her daughters soulmate?
“I know you think I’m crazy but I can tell. There has to be something there or you wouldn’t have flown all this way just to bring my daughter a CD.”
“But we just met, how can you tell?” I ask, shocked by how bold she is with a stranger.
“I just know. She lights up when you’re in the room. She’s very protective of you, she never would have let anyone that she didn’t really know stay in her house. Her heart has been broken to many times to count but she trusts you. Plus Rufus likes you.” I looked down at the dog who had been by my side all day. “You don’t seem intimidated by her desire to work with the horses like most men would be. They feel like they need to be the one to do the manual labor and the woman should be in the house cooking and taking care of the kids.”
Damn she’s good.
“See where this goes, you never know . . . I might be right.” and with that she got up and walked over to the barn. I sat and looked out at the horses and then down at Rufus.
“What do I do now Rufus?”
Chapter Ten
Kennedy—Mason TX.
WHY IS MY MOM TAKING him outside to talk? I started to follow them but my dad stopped me to talk about the progress on the new mare. I kept watching them through the window and it seemed like my mom was doing most of the talking.
“Kennedy are you listening to me?” Dad asked me.
“Yes I’m sorry. I am just trying to figure out what mom and Jeremy are doing out on the front porch.”
“Don’t worry about your mom, I am sure she took him outside to talk to him about his ribs and how he is feeling.” Dad looked at me with that look I always get from him when he knows something is up. “Unless she sees what I saw yesterday.”
“And what did you see?” I asked trying not to look their way but it’s hard, my eyes seem to be drawn to him.
“Oh, I saw a little bit of your mom and myself in your interaction yesterday. You couldn’t seem to keep your eyes off each other.” Gosh. My parents have always been way to observant.
“Dad, I gave up on love at first sight after the last three guys broke my heart. There is no guy out there that wants this.” I motioned with my hands to the ranch. And even if I did have feelings for him, he lives in Nashville and I live here.”
“Kennedy, you know that your mom and I came from very different worlds. But we decided that our love and happiness were more important than what our parents thought. Instead of living here like I wanted to, we lived in a small one bedroom apartment by campus. Then when it was time, we moved to one closer to the hospital and I drove out here to help dad. Never once getting upset about the drive, leaving at three am to get here by six to feed the cattle or that she didn’t know anything about the ranch, the horses or the cattle. Her dream of being a doctor was all that mattered to me. Once that happened we moved home and started our life here. Was it easy? Hell no. Did we fight? Hell yes. But in the end we were happy because we had each other.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I looked outside to see if they are still sitting there.
“Because I don’t want you to miss out on something special because you’re afraid of history repeating itself. Real love only comes around once in a lifetime. You have to grab it while you can before it slips through your fingers.” He opened his arms to me and gave me one of his hugs that always makes me feel safe and secure. “I love you baby girl.” He kissed the top of my head and let me go. “Now I am going to check on the new mare.” He grabbed his cowboy hat and headed out to the barn. I stood there and watched him walk outside. Once he was out of sight I turned and watched Jeremy, sitting on the swing, scratching my dog behind the ear as he looked out at the horses. I touched my lips with my fingertips. That kiss. If I wouldn’t have had my arms around his neck, my knees would have given out. I have never been kissed like that before. I felt the kiss throughout my whole body. All the sudden I couldn’t wait for him to kiss me again.
After my parents left I fixed turkey sandwiches and we sat out on the screened in porch and talked. Neither one of us talked about the kiss but every time we brushed up against each other or his hand touched mine, I felt it. The pulsing between my legs was getting stronger. No guy had ever affected me like this before. When we finished eating I loaded the dishwasher while he cleared the table.
“If you feel like it, would you like to have a picnic dinner in the pasture and then look at the stars? I was thinking of making fried chicken.” I watched to see how he would react.
“Sure, if that is something that you like to do.” He said as he brushed my hair back from my face.
“I love laying out on the pasture and looking up at the starry sky. When I was younger I would take my horse Olive out at night after everyone had gone to bed and I would lay on her back and make a wish on the stars. If anyone did find out about that, they never said anything.”
“Weren’t you afraid to be out there alone at night?” He ran his hand down my arm and linked his fingers with mine.
“No, I always knew I was safe here on the ranch, even at night in the dark.” I looked up at him. “So, what did my mom say? Is everything healing alright?”
He gently tugged on my hand and smiled. “She says it is, she also said that I am supposed to rest.” Pulling me towards the sofa he urged me to sit down next to him. “She also gave me some advice which by the way, came out of nowhere. It wasn’t about my health.” I looked at him, shocked.
“What did she say?” I am intrigued and a little frightened that my mom would do something like this. I watched his face as it softened.
“Basically to not let something that is right in front of me, slip through my fingers.” He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. “It’s good advice.
“Funny, my dad said the same thing. He said he noticed that we can’t keep our eyes off each other. He also told me not to let what happened with guys in the past ruin what might be the future I was meant to have.” I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?” I looked at him, a little shocked but not at all surprised. My grandparents and my mom and dad believe in it. I just never thought it would happen to me.
“I guess but it’s happened to people I know, never to me. Why, do you?” I ventured a glance at him.
He took a deep breath, “The day before I met you, I had just come back from my brother’s wedding in Vegas. We have known his new wife all of our lives. Even when her family moved away and they dated other people, they still loved each other. So, during college he commuted between Simi Valley in LA and the Central Coast where she lived just to be with her because he told me he couldn’t live without her. I told him he was crazy, that he was too young to be married or even know what love is. He looked me in the eyes the morning of the wedding and said that his life was incomplete without her in it.” I looked at him, touched by what his brother had said. “I knew they rushed because of her medical issues but I seriously have never seen my brother like this.”
“Medical issues, is she alright?” My heart was breaking for these people that I have never met.
“She has endometriosis and needed surgery actually several surgeries. My mom is her Doctor now and I know that Aver
y is in good hands.” He turned to look at me, cupping my cheek in his hand. “What I am trying to say is, I never believed in love at first sight or even love at all until you walked into the recording studio. You knocked me off my feet with your voice and your smile, when you let loose just a little, it was just what I needed to show me what I was missing in life. You take my breath away when you walk in the room. I feel electricity shooting through my body when you touch me.” I place my hand over his.
“I feel the same way about you.” I said as I leaned into his hand, which was warm on my face.
“I didn’t come down here looking for love, my plan was to try and convince you to come back with me, to be the next big star. Instead, I found what I didn’t even know I was looking for. My soulmate. I’m not a cowboy, I don’t get dirty. The last time I did that was on the beach back home riding dirt bikes as a kid. But now that I am here in your world, the dirt and the outdoors don’t bother me as much as long as I am right here with you.” He leaned down and kissed me, so softly on the lips.
“Jeremy this is crazy. Isn’t this crazy?”
“So crazy.” he said as he drew me in for another kiss. This time taking my face in his hands and devouring my mouth with long sweeps of his tongue. I leaned into him, wanting, needing to get closer to him. When the need to breathe was too much I pulled back to look at him and felt the loss of his lips on mine. I looked up at the clock behind him and realized it was four pm.
“I ummm, need to go and feed the horses again before it gets dark.” I bite my lip.
“Can I help?” He asked. “Until yesterday, I had never been on a horse before.”
“You live in Nashville and have never been on a horse?”