Fire On The Farm (Second Chance Cowboy Romance)

by Betty Shreffler

  "You're okay with spending the rest of your life alone?"

  I couldn't answer. I had accepted long ago that I would spend my life alone until Brock awakened a need in me I didn't know I had.

  "I don't know."

  "I don't think you want to spend your life alone. I think you accepted being alone as your new life. It doesn't have to be. I could have stayed with Andrew and been miserable, but I'm not going to. I'm not going to accept a cheating husband or forgive him. At least, not anytime soon. I'm going to make a new life. You can too."

  I glanced up at her. "I have made a new life. It doesn't have to have a man in it."

  She rolled her eyes. "That's bull. Every woman wants a man. You aren't open to one because of your love for Darrell, but that heart of yours," she pointed to my chest, "has room enough for two."

  Was she right? Did I have enough love to give to someone else or would I always see it as a betrayal to Darrell? I didn't know the answer to that question, but I did know my night with Brock wouldn't be forgotten anytime soon, and that if I were honest with myself, I wanted to feel his touch again.

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her from the couch. "Now that we've shared what a hot mess we both are, let's spend the rest of our time together having fun. Do you still ride?"

  She nodded. "It's been a few years, but I'm sure it'll be like riding a bike."

  The corner of my mouth raised into a smile. "Grab some jeans. I'll lend you a pair of my boots and we'll go riding. Then, we'll go out for dinner and drinks after."

  "I love those ideas."

  Heather pulled up to Stonie's and parked next to my truck.

  "All right, don't get too excited about this place. It's literally the only place to go for probably twenty-five miles, but rest assured, the food is good. Plus, I needed to pick up my truck." I gave her a playful wink.

  "Ah, so this is where you met the hunk?"

  "Yes."

  I hopped out and gave a once over on my truck. Everything looked fine. We headed in and filled a booth, then ordered a couple beers while we perused the menu. I glanced over at the pool table and tried to ignore the rising heat swirling like a hurricane all over my body.

  "What's good here?"

  Her voice pulled me back from my sinful thoughts.

  "Oh, the burgers, wings, taco salad. The owner gets all the meat from a local butcher shop, so you really can't go wrong with anything you choose."

  "I'll get the wings."

  I chose the same. After the waitress took our menus, I caught myself glancing toward the pool table again.

  "So, what's he look like?"

  "Hmm?" My attention returned to Heather.

  "The guy you can't stop thinking about. What's he look like?"

  "A hot, ripped, tatted cowboy. Tall, dark-haired, and yummy."

  Heather laughed, almost spitting out her beer. "Christ, Ames. He sounds hot. You absolutely should see him again. Was he a nice guy?"

  I let out a breath. "Yes. He was. At least, he seemed to be."

  "So, was it at your house or his?"

  I bit my lip as my body warmed. "His house."

  "Got his number?"

  I laughed, embarrassed. "No."

  She tugged on her beer as they delivered our wings.

  "Remember where he lives?"

  "Yes." I poured some ranch and dug into my wings. "But there's no way I'm stopping by his house so you can forget that idea."

  Kicking off my dirty boots, I landed on my bed in a thump. I was exhausted. I'd worked hard on the house, using physical labor to keep her off my mind and yet, on my way home, the thought of stopping by her ranch crept right in. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with one damn good reason, other than I simply wanted to see her again.

  I dragged myself to the shower and let the cool water wash the day's sweat and dirt off my sore muscles. Afterwards, I thought about lounging on the couch with a beer and trying to find something entertaining on TV, but that wouldn't last long. Watching TV wasn't something I did a lot and I wasn't in the mood to sit at home, alone.

  I'd had enough of being alone for quite some time, but dating was rough with my lifestyle. I was gone often and for lengthy amounts of time working on jobs and even worse, I had a tendency to be very picky about women. I'd learned from my mistake, one big mistake—Cassandra Levreau.

  I'd put my heart out on the line for her and she ripped it out and stomped on it. Being the daughter of a prominent race horse owner and the beautiful woman she was, I'd thought I'd landed on a gold mine when she set her sights on me. Unfortunately, she'd been more interested in using me as her current play thing and my young, foolish heart fell for every red-lipped lie that spilled out of her mouth.

  When it ended, it crushed me. I'd fallen hard for the woman and had even planned an engagement. I'd asked her father for her hand in marriage, and two weeks before I planned to ask her to be my wife, I found her humping one of her father's employees. The only good thing is I was still within the return date for the ring and that was the first place I went. I returned the ring, slammed the door in her face when she showed up at my house, and then drank myself into a stupor for a week.

  After Cassandra, I became very picky about who I dated and more recently, I'd become too busy to date at all. Running a business took a lot of my time and at thirty years old, it was getting harder to find single women who were worth my time. Then last night, when I'd decided to stop at Stonie's for a beer and some food, I'd met Amy—an independent woman who had to be equipped with a good heart to run a business like hers—who was sweet, funny, beautiful, great in bed, and who understood love and loss. When I looked into those baby-blues, I could see there was a genuinely good woman underneath them.

  The day had left me wondering what made her take off like she did. I wanted to know the answer, but I wasn't going to find out tonight, and I wasn't going to lay here all night thinking about it, either. I called up my buddy, John, and asked him to meet me for a beer.

  I leaned over the pool table and tried to do what Brock had showed me the night before. The seven ball almost made it into the pocket but bounced off the corner just before.

  "You know you're really bad at this."

  I looked at all the colorful balls scattered on the felt and laughed. "And you're not much better."

  Heather smirked. "Didn't say I was, but at least one of us should be ‘cause this game is going to take forever to finish."

  I leaned over the table and aimed for the four ball. That one actually made it in. I wiggled my butt in a happy dance. I stopped dancing when I saw Heather looking intently behind me.

  "What's wrong?"

  "Uh, I think your cowboy just walked in. He's staring right at you."

  My whole body let off little sparks of electricity. I turned around to see Brock's eyes locked on me from across the bar. My cheeks grew warm instantly. He headed right toward me and I froze, feeling as though I was trapped in thick, heavy tar. When he came closer, the memory of his lips touching mine the night before swam through my head, leaving me light-headed.

  Goodness, he was handsome. I'd forgotten how good-looking he really was. His blue flannel with folded sleeves, worn jeans, and his dark hat had my knees about to buckle. A beautiful smile spread across his face as he approached. He came in close. Close enough that I wanted to lean forward and fall right into his arms.

  "I hoped I'd get to see you again. You left too soon." He sounded disappointed.

  I hated seeing him disappointed.

  "I'm sorry. I had to get to work early."

  His shoulders seemed to relax, and I was relieved to see the disappointment fading from his face. Heather bumped into my side.

  "Brock, this is my friend, Heather. We went to college together. She's visiting for a couple days."

  Brock tipped his head and hat. "Nice to meet you, Heather."

  Heather's eyes sparkled when she looked at him, and a tickle of possessiveness formed in my belly. He didn't seem to notice, though. His
eyes went right back to mine. We stared at each other for a moment, apparently admiring one another and figuring out what to say next. What did you say to the person you just shared the most intimate human experience with and yet you barely knew each other?

  "Do you mind if my buddy, John, and I join you?"

  Heather spoke up for us.

  "Sure," she replied, bright-eyed and smiling.

  Yet, Brock's eyes still remained locked on mine. To my surprise, he leaned in and kissed my cheek and whispered before he pulled away, "You look gorgeous." He grazed his hand through mine, and with the simplest words and touch, my sex burned with arousal.

  He walked away to find his friend, and I turned to Heather and began breathing again.

  "Damn, Ames, he's super hot. If you don't want him, I do. Although, he seems pretty smitten with you."

  I stared at his delicious backside walking through the bar. "He takes my breath away."

  The moment I walked into Stonie's, I saw her in the corner, playing pool with another woman. Didn’t matter I could only see her ass, I'd recognize her from anywhere. Her long, light-brown hair hung loose and she wore a pair of ass-hugging jeans with a couple rips in them that gave a glimpse of her smooth, peach-colored legs. As I neared, I saw the cowgirl boots beneath the jeans, and it made me smile, so did seeing her again.

  I was happier than I thought I'd be. When she turned and looked at me, I saw that same attraction I did the night before, and then, her cheeks flushed. I knew she was thinking about us, and my body responded, equally aroused.

  I wanted to pull her right into my arms and kiss those lips until she moaned beneath me, begging to have me inside her again, but this woman seemed skittish, so I had to force myself to take it slow. She left me wanting to peel back the layers and discover all there was to her.

  When I neared, I saw the gloss on her lips and smelled her citrus scent. It took all of my self-control not to kiss her right then. Instead, I said the first thing that came to mind. Her explanation of why’d she rushed out this morning was reasonable. Perhaps I'd put too much thought into why she'd left so abruptly, so I asked to join her, hoping to spend more time with her. And end the night the same way—with her in my bed.

  By the time Brock and his friend, John, arrived with food, I'd nervously guzzled my beer, anticipating his return. Brock handed me and Heather both a fresh one from the bucket he'd purchased. After introductions, Brock racked the billiard balls and then scattered them across the table for me and Heather to start a new game. He and John—a toned, tall guy with dirty blond hair and brown eyes—ate their dinner and watched as Heather and I attempted to hit balls into pockets.

  Pool balls skittered across the table, right in front of where the two men sat. I could feel Brock’s eyes burning holes in my jeans as I bent over to take the shot. His presence filled the space behind me, and his hardening erection stole the breath from my lungs. He leaned over me, sliding his hands on top of mine.

  "You're beautiful, Amy. I can't keep my hands off you," his hot breath whispered in my ear.

  Pulling my hand and the pool cue back, he knocked the ball right into the pocket. I leaned up, and his hand took hold of my hip. Slipping his thumb into the waist of my jeans, he rubbed across my skin, enticing me with his touch. His eyes glossed over, filled with desire. Heated need vibrated just beneath his skin. I braced my hand on his arm to keep from falling over. Slowly, I stepped back before we embarrassed ourselves with the thoughts I knew were in both our minds.

  I turned out of his grasp, and his hand grazed my ass. I glanced back to see his hungry eyes stripping my clothes off my body. I winked, and a grin spread across his face. He went back to the table, watching me as he chatted with John.

  Heather came up to me, and we looked at the table, pretending to talk about our next shot.

  "You need to stop with the eye-fucking and just get it over with."

  I bit my lip and tried not to laugh. "I'm not going home with him again. You're staying at my house tonight. I'm going home with you, to my house."

  "You should give me your keys."

  I glanced at her, red-faced. "No."

  "Then, I'm inviting them back to your house."

  "What? No, you're not."

  "Uh, bet your ass I will. I'm separated, and I haven't had sex in six months, and John's a hottie."

  "Don't you dare invite them to my house. I'm not ready for that."

  Heather reached over and handed me my beer. "Drink up."

  I rolled my eyes at her and took a swig.

  After a painful game of chasing balls around the table, John and Brock finished eating and grabbed their own pool cues to join us. Each time it was my turn, Brock tucked me into him and helped me make my shot. He kept it sweet, not coming on too strong, and I liked it. I liked having his warm body covering mine and his whispers in my ear and soft kisses on my cheek. Each time I picked up my cue, anticipation of his touch tingled all through my body.

  When John was making his shot, Brock stepped up next to me and moved my hair off my shoulder and brushed his hand over my back. The affectionate touch warmed my body. I found myself craving more of his affection as the night went on. On Heather's next turn, John leaned over her, helping her get her angle right. She smiled and laughed at whatever he said to her. Brock surprised me by coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. I fit perfectly inside his strong arms, and the heat of his body against my back warmed me from head to toe.

  His hot breath tickled my ear. He didn't say anything, just held me close against him, rubbing his thumb across my belly. When it was my turn, he wouldn't let me go. I giggled, and he pulled me tighter against him.

  "I need a kiss before I let you go."

  With several beers in and the tenderness of his touch, I was more than happy to praise him with a kiss. I turned in his arms and leaned up, pressing my lips against his. His body tightened around mine. He slid his tongue between my lips, and arousal trickled from my mouth to my sex. When our lips parted, I swam sideways, dizzy with desire. He held me steady and grinned at me.

  "I've been waiting all night for that."

  His fingers intertwined with mine. He raised my hand up and kissed it before letting me go. For the second time, I knocked a ball into the pocket on my own. I wiggled and danced with excitement. Brock took off his hat and put it on my head and pulled me in for another kiss.

  "Nicely done."

  From the first time she bent over to take a shot, I was hopeless. My cock grew hard watching her ass in those tight jeans. I had to touch her. I needed her to know how aroused she made me. After the shot, when she stood and looked at me with those lust-filled baby-blues, I knew she wanted me as much as I wanted her.

  She winked at me as she swayed her hips around the table. I was ready to take her home immediately, but I was determined to take it slow and show her another side of me. I wanted to give her affection. I wanted her to melt under my touch and throughout the night, I was pleased to see her eyes light up and her body lean into mine. Her first layer was coming down. I started to doubt taking her home again. She'd finally warmed up to me, and I didn't want to come on too strong by asking her to come home with me, but I ached to have her beneath me. I swelled from the thought of it.

  When I bribed her for a kiss, it made my internal struggle a war. Brain versus cock and I wasn't sure who was going to win. Then, I saw her wiggle that ass, and her smile lit up her face. Feeling proud and possessive of her, I put her in my hat. Damn if she didn't look gorgeous in it. I desperately wanted to see her in nothing but my hat. I decided I was going to spend the night with her, even if I had to keep my clothes on all night long.

  I pulled her in for a kiss and praised her. She kept my hat on and went for her next shot. She got it too and did another wiggle. I gnawed on my lip, keeping things down south under control. She tried for her third shot but hit a little too far on the right of the cue ball. She came to me with a pouty lip, and I bit it between my teeth. She giggled, a
nd I pulled her in close to me.

  She turned in my arms and watched John take his shot as she leaned into me. I lowered my chin, breathing in her incredible citrus scent.

  I whispered into her ear, "I want to be with you tonight."

  Her body tightened, and I held her steady.

  "Not what you're thinking, Amy. I want to stay with you and hold you. I want to fall asleep with you in my arms."

  Her body relaxed and so did mine.

  She tilted her head toward me, looking up at me with those shy baby-blues. She gave one simple nod. I kissed her cheek, appreciative she'd said yes.

  It was my turn to take a shot. I was ready to end the game and take her home. Her hand reluctantly left mine. I winked at her, then leaned over the table and put the last three balls in. I went back to her and claimed a kiss before taking her pool cue and putting it away with mine. I walked over to John and let him know I was going home with her. To my surprise, John was joining Heather. We all were going to her house.

  I grabbed her hand and pulled her into me and gave her a kiss. "C'mon gorgeous. You're riding with me."

  When we exited the bar, hand in hand, I walked her to my bike. Her eyes widened and filled with a glimmer of excitement.

  "This yours?"

  I nodded.

  "I've never been on a motorcycle before."

  "Hop on. I'm gonna show you what it feels like to have hard steel and horsepower between your thighs."

  She fearlessly slid in behind me and wrapped her arms around me. She leaned in close to my ear.

  "I think you've already shown me."

  My cock hardened instantly. I bit into my cheek as I glanced back at her sexy grin. Damn, it was going to be excruciatingly difficult not to have her tonight.

  Having her on the back of my bike, her breasts against me, her arms firmly around my waist just above my package, had me in a little space of paradise. I knew she was enjoying it too. Her thumbs rubbed along my waist, and when I glanced back at her, she was smiling. I drove up her drive and parked it outside her house. Heather's SUV pulled in behind me.