My Virgin Cowboy

by Sade Rena

  I snap out of my daze and turn, not expecting to bump into the girl, though I manage to dodge the collision.

  “Ooo. Sorry. Didn’t realize you were there,” I say.

  “It’s okay. Excuse me,” she sidesteps me, giving me a meek smile before exiting the store.

  With my thumb pointed behind me, I make it over to Leah with an inquisitive look on my face.

  “Who was that?”

  She hesitates. “Parker’s ex.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Parker

  Chance closes the gate to the pen, double-checking to make sure it’s secure. He approaches me on the far side of the enclosure. “Y’all was looking real cozy last week,” he says matter-of-factly.

  “What are you gon’ on about?” I blurt, stopping what I’m doing.

  “You and that girl. What’s her name?”

  “Renee,” we say at the same time.

  “Ooo. My bad,” he says, regarding my agitation. “Calm down, bulldog. I ain’t mess up on purpose.”

  I roll my eyes.

  “You couldn’t keep ya hands off each other.”

  “Why are you always so damn, nosey? You should have been celebrating Zack, not all in my business.”

  “Oh, brother. How many times do I gotta tell you? Your business is my business.”

  “What are you two over here yapping on about?” Denton interrupts, carrying a bale of hay over to the stables.

  “How much Parker likes Leah’s friend?”

  I slap his chest. “Why are you shouting?” I whisper while annoyed with my friend.

  “I’m just saying. You’ve been on a few dates, spending all this time with her on the house, hell even got us wrapped up in this rebuild. Please tell me it’s not all for nothing? Have you sliced her cheese yet?”

  My nose contorts. “Why do you gotta be such a pig?” I frown and take a step back.

  “Did you fuck the girl or not?”

  Denton is heading back in our direction, shaking his head as the words leave Chance’s mouth. I don’t know why I’m shocked. The boy’s a coof. He’s always saying something stupid. No matter how disgusting it is.

  “I have no idea how we stayed friends this long,” I say in disbelief.

  He snorts. “Because you love me, jackass, and you can’t live without me.”

  “I bet I could,” I defend.

  “Bullshit. I make your life great and stop trying to change the subject. What are you waiting for, boy? She clearly wants to let you butter her bread.”

  I huff, giving up on trying to understand his mind. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I haven’t buttered her bread,” I retort with air quotes. “And yes, I like her—a lot. So what?”

  “Well make a move.”

  “You don’t understand. The chemistry with her is crazy and I can’t compose myself. Every time she touches me, I crave more. So I’ve been holding out because I don’t want a repeat of the last time. We’ve come close, and I’ve wanted to, but as I said—happy. What if we try again and the same thing happens? She’d cut me off for sure. Then there’s the whole being a virgin thing. She’s all woman. What if I can’t handle it? Or her? She’s—experienced, all I’ ma do is let her down.”

  I pause.

  “Denton? What would you do?” I ask, catching him before he can pass me again. “She’s older, and I’m sure she has been with other guys. I ain’t tryna to look inadequate.”

  “Watch some MILF porn and get that going,” Chance blurts.

  “No,” Denton shouts. “First, she’s not a MILF. She doesn’t have kids.” He removes his gloves and stuffs them in his pocket. “And you can watch porn if that’s your thing. But whatever you do, don’t try what you see in a flick on Renee. It won’t end well.”

  “Why not? I bet she likes porn and I know he’s watched at least one,” Chance states. “She’s a romance author, right? She probably watches all kinds of dirty movies.”

  I throw my pliers at him, and he catches them.

  “What?” He feigns surprise.

  “Just go with the flow. Don’t overthink it. Don’t overcompensate, she’ll know. Let the vibe take you.

  “Man that’s horrible advice,” Chance barks. “Listen here, son.” His hands go to my shoulders.

  I shove them off, but he continues talking.

  “Watch the nasty movies; you can learn a technique or two. My best moves came from Pornhub,” he beams.

  “And yet you can’t seem to keep a girl around,” Denton cuts, smirking in the process.

  Chance’s face draws right up, and his bottom lip covers his top. I fight the urge to laugh out loud but fail.

  “Well, aren’t you a rude bag of shit today? I got a big ole heart and like to spread love.”

  “Keep telling yourself that,” Denton and I snap.

  “Man forget both you assholes,” Chance storms away, snatching up his tool belt from the ground.

  “The best advice I can give you is to learn ya woman. Every female is different and likes different things. Figure out what turns her on and stick to that.” Denton taps my shoulder, leaving me with my task while making his way back to the stables.

  I yank off my gloves and stuff my supplies into my work belt. My mind goes over the conversation and how ineffective that turned out to be. I’m no closer to being ready for sex with Renee than I was the day I met her. And if I don’t make up for that, she’ll never see me the way I want her to. The way I see her.

  I pick up my bag, prepared to head to my shop, but am interrupted by the buzzing of my phone. I peel it out, smiling when Renee’s name dances across the screen.

  “To what do I owe this pleasure?” I speak into the receiver.

  “Hey you. How are you?”

  I clear my throat. “I’m as good as I can be. Just finished patching up a hole in the cattle pen. What you got goin’ on over there?”

  “Same ole. Listen, I know we’ve both been busy—me with this deadline and you with the ranch. And I understand you’ll be focusing on getting ready for the fair so we won’t get to finish the kitchen until this Saturday. With that said, I’ve been thinking.”

  “O-kay. Do I wanna what about?” I tease.

  “Why do you sound like that? It’s nothing bad,” she cheers.

  “All right. What’s on ya mind?”

  “You’ve already done a lot for me, and so I want to show my appreciation. I brought some cute pillows and blankets today that I’m dying to snuggle up with. So, I thought I would make you dinner. On Saturday, instead of making it a workday, you can maybe stay, and we can make it a movie night?”

  I gulp. Stay? Does she mean to stay the night? Like in her bed? Or does she really want to watch movies? I choke back my thoughts when she calls my name.

  “You there?”

  I clear my throat and wipe away the sweat forming on my brow. “Um. Yeah.” I mutter.

  “So, it’s a date?”

  I swallow. “What time do you want me to be there?”

  She blows out an exaggerated breath. “I’ll be writing late into the evening. Is nine o’clock too late? Do you mind eating late?”

  “No-no,” I stutter.

  “Great,” she says through an obvious smile. “Since it’ll be so late, I’ll keep it light, so we don’t sleep on a full stomach.”

  “S-smart.”

  “It’s settled then—dinner on Saturday. Oh, and we skip you coming by today. Just focus on what you have going on over there, and we’ll just see each other over the weekend.”

  I clear my throat. “Sounds good. But let me get back to work here,” I inadvertently screech out.

  “Sure. Talk to you later.”

  I disconnect the call and storm toward the stables. As I try to force my phone in my pocket, I drop it. I slow my march to pick it up, cursing under my breath.

  “She wants to have sex,” I say without warning.

  Denton, Chance, and one of the muckers dart their heads at me.

  “
What?” Chance says, appearing annoyed.

  “Renee invited me to dinner. Saturday.”

  Denton sucks his teeth. “That doesn’t mean she wants to have sex.”

  “But she said I should stay over and watch movies,” I drag the words from my lips.

  “Oh!” they both say.

  “She also said, sleep.” I lean in a little more dramatically than I intended to.

  Our new wrangler laughs, and when we look her way, she’s shaking her head.

  “Sorry, boss. I wasn’t trying to be nosy. But don’t think you may be overreacting?” Charlie asks and unlocks a stall.

  Chance’s back stiffens and lifts his arm before pulling it back. “Hey Charlie.”

  She glances at him but redirects her gaze to Denton and me. “It could just be dinner, don’t set yourself up looking for something that it’s not,” she adds as she returns to her duty of taking the horses out for a stretch.

  “She has a point,” Denton confirms.

  “Okay. But, if she’s wrong? What do I do? I can barely keep it together while talking to you two about it.”

  “If she’s wrong, then you go with it. Unless you don’t want to. But I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

  Chance nods at Denton’s comment, and I stare at them both, still unsure if I agree. I know what it’s like when I’m in her presence. She does things to me, things that cause my loins to ache and my blood to race.

  “But, if you’re that worried, you could always rub one out before going over there.” Denton shrugs.

  “Yeah. Get that initial nut off, and you’ll be good,” Chance chimes in.

  “This is stressful. I’m going to cancel,” I blurt with my shoulders around my ears.

  “Now, why would you go and do that?” my brother asks. “You like her, don’t you?”

  I nod.

  “Well take your scary ass to the dinner.”

  “And make us proud,” Chance adds.

  “Shut up, Chance,” we scream at him.

  He frowns with both arms out at his side. “I’m tryna’ be a good friend. But we’ll see if I support your ass again,” he mutters in defeat while turning his back to us.

  Denton shakes his head, refocusing on me. With a hand on my shoulder, he breathes in. “It’ll be fine.”

  I want to tell him I’m not convinced, but choose to keep it to myself. One thing I will agree on is, constantly thinking about it will only make my nerves worse. I push it to the back of my mind. My day is full, and if I want to be productive, I can’t keep pondering over the what-ifs. I’ll man up and let the universe do what it feels it needs to.

  Pushing out a breath, I rub my hands on my jeans and gather the composure to get back to work. Chance slides up next to me, slapping my chest with the back of his fist.

  “Why?” I frown, shaking my head at the same time.

  “What is Charlie doing here?” he quizzes.

  “She started this morning? She moved home and needed work, and we needed someone to wrangle and train.”

  He huffs, his cheeks swelling up as he removes his hat and runs his palm over his head.

  “Problem?” I smirk.

  “Oh, shut up,” he snaps and rushes off.

  I chuckle inwardly, shaking my head at my friend. Trying to understand him is a task that’ll take a whole damn day, and right now, I have problems of my own to worry about.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Parker

  For the rest of the week, all I’ve been able to do was think about is this evening. The county fair is fast approaching, so we’ve been busy on the ranch getting the cows and horses prepared for the festivities. It’s because of that I haven’t been to Renee’s in days. It sets us back on the renovation, but the boys and I will stop by to help finish the entire downstairs. All that will be left is a fresh coat of paint throughout, something I can manage on my own.

  But tonight, work isn’t on the menu. It’s Saturday! And in a short while, I’ll be at her place. We’ve texted here and there, but other than that, we haven’t talked much. We’ve both been busy. But not being able to hear her voice makes it hard for me to gauge where she’s at with her plans.

  I keep telling myself to relax, to just go with the flow. It’s all new to me; I’ve never been invited over to a woman’s house before. Yeah, I’ve been to Madison’s, but we were both in high school, and before she left for college, but we lived with our parents. There wasn’t this burning pressure around whether the night will end innocently.

  I shake my head at myself, remembering how eager I was the first time I met Renee. Too eager but excited enough, I even made it up to her room. Why can’t I exude the same energy now? Or take this for face value and not psych myself out?

  Finishing up the last of my tasks, I remove my gloves and guide Harley back into his stall. With an apple from the fruit basket in the corner, I reward him with it. Sometimes I envy animals. There’s no one raring to feed and praise me at the end of a long day. Harley neighs and chomps down on his snack.

  I rub his mane before securing him in and heading up to the loft we use as an office. Dad has a study, but Denton prefers being close to the work. Since he’s taken over the operations side of things, it made more sense for him to have the barn be his workspace. I don’t fully agree; we spend so much time with these animals; a little distance wouldn’t hurt. But the barn and house ain’t necessarily a quick walk across the field, so I understand his logic.

  “How are they looking?” Denton asks when I reach the top.

  “Real good. Got the hooves trimmed and shoed. We’ll start cleaning them closer to the fair. No sense in doing it now, they’ll dirty themselves up again,” I respond.

  “Great! I finished reviewing the books; we’re in the black. But we should consider accepting a few more horses into camp. It doesn’t hurt to get a jump on things and line our cash flow for the slower months.”

  “All right! I’ll get with Charlie this week. Review the schedule and contact the waitlist,” I add.

  “I can knock out the list. Just confirm the schedule, and I’ll do the rest.”

  I nod before pulling off my work boots, slipping into a clean pair, and logging the day’s activities to record.

  Once I’m done, I wave to my brother and leave to shower before my date. Most of the staff have retreated to their bunks, but some linger about the farm. When they speak, I give a tight-lipped smile, but keep my head down to avoid the chance of conversation. I hop in my Ford and back out of the makeshift carport, then hang a left at the end of the driveway, and another three-quarters of a mile down. My truck jerks into place in front of my home, and I take in a deep breath before exiting my vehicle.

  I enter my childhood sanctuary, walking past the great room, kitchen, and continue down the long hallway leading to the stairs. I climb them, already undoing my belt buckle.

  My section of the house is in the left-wing, away from where my parents sleep. We used to share this side growing up, but after Denton married Leah, the two of them moved into their own home on the property. Now it’s just me, momma and dad, though they’re away on a long vacation. They couldn’t wait for me and Denton to age up so they can retire and travel the world.

  It’s been great being here alone, but soon they’ll return. By then, I hope to be done working on my house at the edge of the estate. Don’t get me wrong; I love my family. We’re close-knit, but I need my space—more space than this.

  For a long time, we’ve had all this land, and aside from raising cattle and training horses, dad didn’t do much with it. It wasn’t until Denton, and I talked to him about adding the bunkhouses for the workers and giving the two of us a couple of acres of our own to build on. That way, we’re close enough to help run everything, but out on our own like the men we were becoming.

  It’s how I ended up as the foreman. I’d learned so much from the builds; it made sense for me to manage the upkeep. It’s also when I discovered my love for construction and working w
ith my hands.

  I step into the bathroom, peel my clothes off, letting them fall to the floor. The space fills with steam only seconds after I’ve cut on the water. A shower is what I need. The day has been long and rough. The stream cascades over me, washing away the dirt, sweat, and whatever worries I’ve held onto. I stay here, soaking myself for a while before cleaning and exiting.

  With a towel hanging low on my waist, I enter my room and reach for my phone. There’s a text from Renee, and a smile stretches across my face like it does every time she contacts me.

  Renee: I’m on schedule today. Can you believe it? *smiley face emoji* Dinner will be ready when you get here.

  I don’t respond, I’ll see her soon.

  I use my towel to dry my hair while rummaging through my closet. Then I dress in a white button-up and khaki chinos.

  “No,” I quip when I look at myself in the mirror.

  As quickly as I threw it on, I rip it off, choosing a different combination. That too is a failure, and now I’m frustrated. I blow out a breath and run a hand over my face.

  “It’s just dinner,” I say aloud. “No need to stress over clothes. Put something on and get the hell out of here.”

  My self-motivated pep talk works. Not very well, but enough to help me decide on a pair of dark wash jeans and a navy-blue t-shirt. I slip my feet into my shoes then check myself out one last time. I blink and pull in a breath, mentally telling myself this is it. This is the best I got.

  I grab my keys, phone, and snag my wallet from the pockets of my old pants. Leah is in the dining room when I walk past, so I give her a wave and hurry on. I reach the door only to retreat into the kitchen for a bottle of wine. My momma taught me to never show up to dinner empty-handed.

  “Aht. Parker, put my wine down,” Leah yells.

  “Sorry. I’ll buy you another one. I promise,” I shout without slowing my pace.

  Before I can get away, Leah rolls her eyes but doesn’t continue to argue.

  Once in the truck, I rev the engine and pull out into the night. It doesn’t take me too long to make it to Renee’s home on the other side of our small-town. Everything here is about a five to ten-minute drive depending on if there’s other cars or even animals on the road.