by Rhavensfyre
“Okay, girl…but we are going to have to see about more walks if you want to keep eating like that, you’re starting to look like a giant blonde cotton ball.” Callie’s fluffy tail wagged at full speed while she filled her bowl with dog food, generating a fan-like breeze across her knees.
Allyse yawned. She might be consistent in her wake-up time, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t feeling last night. The clock told her it was only quarter till nine but she decided to be evil and make coffee anyway. She couldn’t be absolutely sure it would wake up Dani, but if it did? Well, they could just be tired and caffeinated together. And I can ask her about a certain observation I made last night, Allyse thought, practically rubbing her hands together in glee.
***
Dani stumbled down the stairs a lot less quietly than Allyse and Callie had managed to do.
“What the hell, Allyse?” she grumbled, not at all happy with being awake so early. She sat down in her usual chair with a thunk, glaring at the mug that magically appeared on the table in front of her. Dani grunted something that sounded somewhat human and resembled thank you.
Resting her elbows on the table, Allyse cupped her chin in her hand and watched Dani for a few minutes as she went through the early stages of waking up. She sipped her coffee, then primly set it down and cleared her throat. It was more fun to ask what she was about to ask while taking tea like a proper lady. “So…you like to watch, hmm?”
“Watch what?” Dani asked, taking a large gulp of coffee and grimacing at the taste. “Yuck. Not enough sugar.”
They switched facial expressions when she reached for the sugar and started pouring. Allyse grimaced and Dani grinned like a fiend.
“Certain bedroom activities, shall we say?” Allyse emphasized her words with a delicate tapping of manicured nails on her coffee cup.
Dani sputtered and put her cup down before she dropped it. Her early morning slouch disappeared and she sat up straight, a hell of a lot more awake and slightly panicked.
“I didn’t know until the other night. You’re the first woman I’ve had in my room for, well—that. I won’t say it wasn't interesting but I can move the mirror if you want…” Dani stuttered, only trailing off when Allyse raised her hand, the imperious gesture stopping the flow of words instantly.
“Am I really the first woman you’ve invited to your bedroom?” Allyse was dubious, but who could blame her? Dani was a handsome woman, and from what she had seen, talented as well. It seemed odd that she had never brought anyone home.
Dani just nodded, she didn’t appear ready to trust her voice just yet.
“Hmm. I don’t mind the mirror. In fact, I might take advantage of that view point myself sometime,” Allyse said, holding her cup up to hide her smirk. She wasn’t used to such bold teasing, and it still made her blush to talk about sex so openly, but it was worth the effort. The astonished look on Dani's face was priceless.
Dani rubbed her cheek, her eyebrows drawing together before she spoke again. “So waking me up with coffee was…?”
“I wanted to spend more time with you. Do you blame me?”
“No, I don’t.”
“So, what are you up to today?” Allyse asked, topping off her cup to keep it warm.
“I need to work with Polo, especially since tomorrow will be a bust.” Dani stood up and stretched before pulling Allyse in for a quick hug. “Would you mind staying away from the barn until I come back in? I don’t want you to get hurt by accident.”
“Or a repeat of last time,” Allyse grumbled, remembering the last time she had interrupted Dani working with Polo.
Dani sighed. “Allyse, I don’t blame you for what happened with him before so please don’t blame yourself, okay?”
“I know, Dani. I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”
“I don’t either, believe me. What are you going to be doing?”
“After this weekend? As little as possible. Please don’t tire yourself out too much. We have a busy day tomorrow.”
“I won’t.” Dani promised, then danced away while stuffing her hat on her head. She flashed an overconfident grin at Allyse before winking at her. “It’s just Polo, right?”
Then she was out the door before Allyse could respond. Poor Polo. It was pretty obvious that Dani was itching to get back to his training. It was also obvious she had put the obstinate horse’s training on the back burner over the weekend. Neither of them wanted to open that particular can of worms with Erick sniffing around.
***
Allyse smiled at the sound of the door opening and closing. If that wasn’t enough to announce that Dani was back, then Callie’s standard greeting did it. Her ‘mom’s home’ happy dance was a little more frenetic than her ‘I have to pee’ dance. Allyse’s excitement crumpled when she saw Dani come in, all covered in dirt and moving stiffly.
“What happened?” Allyse demanded, alarmed at Dani’s rough looking condition.
“Polo happened.” Dani limped past her.
Allyse wrapped her arm around Dani’s waist and guided her towards the stairs. “Come on. You need a nice hot bath to soak away some of that stiffness.”
“That sounds awesome.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Allyse asked, trying to ignore the theme developing between them. She was starting to get the feeling that was going to be a common question, hopefully not one that always involved being covered in about two pounds of dirt.
“Yeah. Just sore. I let myself get distracted while working with him and he took advantage. I guess he thought it would be funny to drag me around the arena a few times.” Dani sighed. “So how did it go for you today?”
“Everything went well. I confirmed the girls’ flight into Baltimore and then called the tack store. If we swing by on the way out tomorrow, they both have a pair of brand new Ariats waiting for them.”
“That’s great,” Dani said. “Are they excited?”
“More than excited, I’m not even sure they’ll sleep tonight.” Allyse shook her finger at Dani. “Now stop trying to distract me. Go get undressed while I draw you a bath.”
“Okay.” Dani waited until Allyse was in the bathroom before she began undressing so she wouldn’t see how slow she moved. Wincing in pain, she managed to get her clothes off without asking for help, then headed for the bathroom.
“However did you get dirt there?” Allyse exclaimed, looking Dani up and down.
“I don’t know. Talent?”
“You are not getting into my nice clean bath like that.” Allyse waved her away from the pristine bathtub and pushed her towards the shower stall. “Rinse off in the shower first.”
Dani got a good look of herself in the mirror and did a double take. The only clean spots on her were where her clothes had been, and even that was questionable. Surprisingly, there was still a patch of clean skin straight across her forehead.
Allyse was standing behind her, barely keeping a straight face. She bit her lip, trying to hold in her laughter, then just gave up. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. You look like Pigpen.”
“Who?”
“Never mind. Just get in the shower before I hurt myself.” Allyse managed to get out between giggles.
Five minutes later, Dani emerged from the shower looking more like a human being and less like a dirt farm experiment.
“I thought the bath was for me?”
“Don’t get any ideas, dear,” Allyse admonished, gesturing for Dani to join her. “There’s other things a hot bath is good for. I know you’re too sore to do anything else.”
Dani slid beneath the bubbles in front of Allyse and sighed in pleasure. The scented steam rose up to greet her, the invigorating scent of eucalyptus and juniper filling the air around them.
“Just relax.” Allyse ran her hands down Dani’s back. She found the knots in her back then massaged each one out until Dani slouched in front of her in boneless abandon.
Allyse pulled Dani close to her. The intimacy was different, special because it had no
thing to do with sex and everything to do with love. She kissed Dani’s temple, tasting the bath salts on her lips.
“Am I too heavy for you?” Dani asked.
“No. Not at all.”
The two women lay there for a while, contently enjoying the hot bath and each other’s touch. It was only when the water started to cool that Allyse woke Dani from her massage induced stupor.
“Come on, sweetheart, it’s time to get out.” Allyse slipped out of the bath first and dried off quickly. Dani moaned when she tried to get out of the bath, biting her lip when she had to swing her leg over the edge of the tub.
“Still sore?” Allyse asked, concerned that Dani had hurt herself more than she had let on.
“A little. I’ll be okay in the morning.”
“Are you sure? Do we need to go to a doctor?”
Dani snorted. “No. You’re worrying about nothing, love. A little Tylenol and I’ll be just fine.” She grabbed some Tylenol from the cabinet and made a show of taking them in front of Allyse. “See?”
Allyse eyed her suspiciously, as if trying to gauge the truthfulness of her reassurance. Dani smiled broadly, hoping the grin would allay her lover’s fears. It must have worked because Allyse changed the subject.
“It’s still early. How about we just have a quick dinner and call it a night?” Allyse asked. “I can make something easy and we can stay up here and watch some movies or something where you will be more comfortable.”
“That sounds great to me.”
***
The next morning Allyse awoke to a fully dressed and wide awake woman bouncing on the bed.
“Good morning. I didn’t start the coffee since yours is way better than mine. By the way I’ve already pulled the truck out so whenever you are ready we can head out. The traffic can be a little hinky by the airport and I didn’t want to take any chances. Oh, and I found a couple of travel mugs so we can leave right away.”
Allyse blinked. How had Dani managed to get all that out without taking a single breath? It took a moment to decipher the tumbled mass of words into their individual sentences. Then she sat straight up in bed, almost knocking Dani off the edge in the process. Something wasn’t right. Dani shouldn’t be the one waking her up. “What time is it?”
“It’s early. The alarm hasn’t gone off yet.”
“Oh, thank God. I thought I had slept through it.” Allyse rolled over and threw her arm over her face then peeked out to find Dani hovering over her. “You are way too excited about this.”
“No. Not really. I just know you’ve been missing your girls and the sooner we can leave the sooner we can get back here.”
It took them all of thirty minutes to get dressed, get some coffee and wake up enough to get on the road. Allyse stopped dead on the front porch and stared at the monstrosity sitting in the driveway.
“How many vehicles do you have?”
“Not that many,” Dani said, missing the sarcasm completely. “Each one has a purpose, well, most of them. The Mustang is just for fun. This beast here is the fancy truck I take to horse shows.”
Dani opened the door for Allyse and helped her climb in, then ran around to the other side. The interior was surprisingly luxurious, decked out with leather seats and all the bells and whistles she expected to find in a nice sedan. “This must have cost a fortune.”
“Might have. But I didn’t buy it. I won it at a horse show. That, and the trailer that comes with it,” Dani said proudly.
“Why the truck instead of your Mustang?”
“Well, I figured if your girls are anything like you we would need the room. Besides, no one wants to play tag with a vehicle this big. I figured it would be safer for everyone.”
Her explanation was delivered so straight-faced Allyse wasn’t sure if Dani was being serious or just playing with her. She peered into the backseat. It was huge, designed for a couple of big, burly guys, not two small girls. There was room for them, all their luggage and half their toys. “I think they will love it. This is a big adventure for them.”
She reached across the console to lay her hand on top of Dani’s where it rested on the gear shifter. “Are you sure you are ready to do this? There’s going to be three of us invading your home, not just me. Meeting my kids, this changes the whole dynamic. Everything between us up to now has been just between us. Are you ready to take this next step?”
“Absolutely,” Dani said, just as they reached the main road. Instead of pulling out into traffic, Dani shifted the truck in park and turned to face Allyse. “Look. I know I’m not the easiest person to get along with and I miss things once in a while, but what I do know is that you never know how much time you have with somebody. My parents, Uncle Jay, even Erick have taught me that. People can be gone from your life in an instant.” Dani snapped her fingers in emphasis. “You can fight and scream as much as you want, but fate has a way of doing what it wants without a care as to whether it hurts you or not. I’d be stupid not to accept a gift that comes to me honestly, even if that gift is just a chance at happiness.”
“I don’t know what to say, Dani. That was beautiful.” Allyse was at a loss for words, but she managed to find those few.
“I have my moments,” Dani said, falling back on an emotion she was more comfortable with. Humor was easier, it lightened moods too heavy for her to carry very long. She took a deep breath and shifted into drive. “Now. Are you ready for me to meet these girls of yours? We have a long trip ahead of us.”
“Yes. Yes, we do,” Allyse said. “Let’s get started.”
The End
About the Authors
Rhavensfyre is the collaborative pen name of Award winning east coast writers, Roxanne and KL, who have been partners since 2000 and were legally married in Washington, D.C. in 2012. They have a small farm where they raise and breed horses with their two dogs and several cats in tow. In their spare time, they try to keep an organic garden and enjoy the fact that their farm is also home to several owls, a pair of hawks, and one annoying woodpecker. In addition to the living creatures, KL and Roxanne enjoy cycling various East Coast trails as well as hiking the Appalachian Trail. Both ladies enjoy photography and love to share images from their trips through the scenic countryside.
Our first book, Switching Gears, was the recipient of a Goldie Award through the Golden Crown Literary Society for Best Erotica in 2014, and received an Honorable Mention for the Rainbow Awards the same year in Erotic Romance. Our second novel, Ladysmith, was released in May of 2014.
Life Is Not a Country Song and its sequel, Love Is Not a Romance Novel, were conceptualized as serial novellas. The third installation, Life, Love, and Loyalty, is a continuation of their life together, while the fourth in the series, Tie Dye and Flannel, is a flashback to the 1980s where we introduce you to other characters in Chase and Rowan’s world. We hope to keep bringing you peeks of Chase and Rowan’s life together throughout the years.
This novel is a departure from our previous couples. We introduce a new set of characters that we hope will bring you as much joy and laughter as they did us. Whether we write a dark and brooding character like Micah from Switching Gears, or a fun and quirky character like Dani from Rest and Relaxation, you will always be assured that we strive to write real characters with real life problems, trials, and successes. Whether we are addressing physical or mental disabilities, difficult pasts, abuse, discrimination, etc. we will always treat these common threads with respect and due diligence. Underlying all these concepts we will weave hope, triumph, love and passion…all of those things that we deserve to have in life.
We encourage everyone who enjoys reading our books to check us out on Facebook at Characters of Rhavensfyre. We usually keep tidbits rolling around about Chase and Rowan, Alex and Rohanna and Micah and Olivia, as well as other projects.
Works by Rhavensfyre
LIFE IS NOT A COUNTRY SONG
This romantic novella is book one of Chase and Rowan's adventures.
Rowan St. J
ohn is on her way back home with an empty horse trailer and down a driver.
Chase Meadows had it all, until she came home one day to find her lover in bed with another woman. Now she’s left with nothing but her truck, her horse and a definite need to find a new start. California was about as far away from North Carolina and the past as she could go. All she had to do was get there with her pregnant mare, Smoothy—the only thing she had left in her name that she would never give up.
When Rowan St. John responds to her ad for a last minute horse transport, she thought she had finally gotten a break. A deal is struck that benefits both women, more than they ever expected.
LOVE IS NOT A ROMANCE NOVEL
This romantic novella is book two of Chase and Rowan's adventures and the sequel to Life is Not a Country Song.
Chase and Rowan are given some time to learn more about each other when the last leg of their trip is delayed.
Rowan sees it as a way to show Chase everything the Southwest has to offer, including her, while Chase is more worried about earning her keep and making sure one special little colt is strong enough to travel. Trust and understanding are tested, and some internal demons are laid to rest against the backdrop of sun-kissed mesas and tall pines.
Both spiritual and sensual, the ladies discover that some journeys aren't measured by how many miles you travel, but by how far you are willing to take your heart.
LIFE, LOVE, AND LOYALTY
This lesbian romance is the third in the popular Chase and Rowan Series.
After a few detours along the way, Chase and Rowan have finally made it to California and are settling into their lives at the Flying S ranch.