by Danica Avery
“It came so close...” she trailed off. She wasn’t built like him. If he hadn’t pushed her to safety, that old Buick would’ve crushed her. Burley saved her life. “I can’t believe you jumped in front of a car for me.”
“I’ll never let anything happen to you, Dove. I meant that.”
Dove felt touched by his words and what he had done for her. A warmth stirred inside her; a good sensation so strong it threatened to bring tears to her eyes.
“I love you, Burley,” she said, and she lifted her head to give him a kiss on the lips.
“I love you too,” he replied. A content silence washed over them. Both of them happy with each other and grateful to be okay. Then Burley asked, “What about the driver?”
“She’s okay. It was some little old lady. She was shaken but her car’s built like a tank so she wasn’t hurt. She was worried about you,” Dove answered.
“I’m sure someone’ll tell her I’m fine. I’m just glad nobody was hurt,” he said.
“You’re hurt!” she replied, lifting her head to look at him.
Burley gave a slight laugh. “I’ll live.”
“You better live. You’re my superhero. Jumping in front of cars and chasing off bears.”
Burley let out a deeper laugh at that, which was cut short by him wincing.
“I think superhero is a stretch,” he said with a weak grin.
“I don’t. You’re an amazing man. And... and there’s something I need to tell you.”
Dove pulled out of his embrace as she sat up straight. Concern came across Burley’s face. She brought her purse into her lap and pulled out the will, its bright white paper folded in half.
She had decided, standing there in the Piggly Wiggly, that he deserved this. It didn’t matter what was going to happen between them. Even if they were over, and she went home alone, she’d deal with the money problem somehow. She couldn’t steal this away from him. He had a big heart, he had a good soul, and she needed to give him what her grandfather left to him.
That was why she insisted on meeting him in town. She didn’t want to chicken out. She also didn’t want him to try to refuse it. She wanted to tell him, then she planned for the two of them to march right over to the lawyer’s office to figure out what they needed to do to make the inheritance official.
She had decided that before, and now she felt it even stronger. He risked his life, in the blink of an eye, no hesitation, to save her. Giving him the will was the least she could do.
“I’m not going to sell the house. Because... Because it all belongs to you. I found this in Grandpa’s things. We thought he didn’t leave a will, but he did. He wanted you to have everything,” she explained, as she unfolded the document and handed it to him.
Burley was staring at her in disbelief. He took the will and read it over for himself.
“What...” he uttered in total shock.
Dove was quiet, letting him take it in. He seemed to read it over more than once. When she first read it, she wondered why in the world her grandpa would leave anything to Burley. Now, it made perfect sense.
“Wow. Dove, this is amazing. Bennett was a good friend, but I had no idea he’d leave me anything,” he said, and he sounded happy. He looked happy, when Dove met his eyes. She smiled back at him. He had suffered so much, over a mistake anyone could’ve made, and he deserved to be happy.
“Yeah, I was surprised. But my grandpa saw how good you are with the horses. He knew you’d take care of everything. And I think he probably just wanted you to be happy again,” she replied.
“I am happy.” He set the paper down and reached again for her hand. “I’m happier than I ever thought I’d be again. ‘Cause you brought this to me, and just because of you. Meeting you. Loving you. Darlin’, you gave me back a reason to live.”
Dove touched her hand to the side of his face and kissed him. It was a way to express how she felt better than any words could. He kissed her back with a passion that stirred up all the love she held for him.
I’m happy too, she thought, as her lips played with his. No matter what the future held, she had found love. Love in the most unlikely of places. Things really did happen for a reason.
26
Burley
It was several days later, and Burley still couldn’t believe Old Man Bennett had left his entire farm to him. The two of them had been good friends. He had helped the old man out when no one else was around, and Bennett had helped him too, in his own way, by sticking by him when everyone else turned their backs on him.
They had been close, and it had hit Burley hard when Bennett died suddenly of a heart attack. Even so, he never imagined the old man would leave everything to him. A part of him was grateful. No one had ever been that generous to him. Not even his own parents. Another part of him felt guilty. Because of Dove.
She had been putting a lot of work into the place. She had spruced it up with the intentions to sell. Now, it was his. He considered letting her have it. She was family; rightfully it belonged to her. He hesitated to do that only because of the horses. He needed those horses to make a living.
After jumping in front of a car to save Dove, people in town had been a little nicer to him. The old lady that hit him had sent him flowers, and several people had spoke kind words to him on his way out of the hospital.
Still, that didn’t mean the whole town had forgiven him for what he had done to Bradley Haskell. It was important that he keep his livelihood. That meant keeping the horses and the land.
The least he could do for Dove was reimburse her for everything that she put into the house. That way she wouldn’t be out any money. He planned to talk to her about that today.
He put on his boots and pulled on a jacket. He was just about to head out of his house to go talk to her when suddenly his phone began ringing. Pausing, he stepped over to the nearest phone cradle to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hey.” It was Dove. Almost like she had read his mind.
“Hey. I was just comin’ over to see you,” he said.
“Are you sure you’re not a superhero with mind powers? I was calling to ask you over!” she laughed.
Burley let out a laugh himself. “I’ll be over shortly, darlin’.”
“Could you meet me in the stable? I want to show you something.”
Burley wondered what she could possibly want to show him, but he had no reason to object. “Sure thing.”
He hung up the phone, then continued on his way out the door. He crossed the distance from his house to hers. He followed the dirt road that lead to the stable. Stepping inside, he paused and looked around. He didn’t see her.
“Dove?” he called.
“Back here,” came her voice. It was coming from one of the back stalls. What was she doing all the way back there?
He walked through the stable and it became clear which one she was in. One of the stalls had the door hanging open.
“Dove, what’s--” he started, but paused when he stepped into the stall doorway.
The inside of the stall was lit by a few different candles. Laid out on the floor of the stall was a thick faux fur blanket. It wasn’t the candles or the blanket that stopped him dead in his tracks. It was what was on the blanket.
Dove lay on the blanket completely nude. His eyes drifted over her body. Her face held a sultry look. She had her finger to her lips, biting on it gently. His eyes drifted further down, taking in the view of her breasts. Her pink nipples were hard and standing to attention. Moving on, he drifted over her slender stomach, and further down to her secret cavern. Her legs were together but he could imagine she was already wet and ready for him.
For a moment, he stood there staring at her. The erotic sight before made his dick rock hard in an instant. His heart banged so loudly that he could hear it in his ears. He did not expect to find her like this when she asked him to come to the stable.
“Are you just gonna stand there?” she teased him, snapping him out of his tran
ce. He closed his mouth, realizing he had been standing there looking like a puppy drooling over a bone.
“No. No, of course not,” he replied. He stepped inside the stall. She stood to meet him. Her hands moved to help him out of his jacket. He let her.
“This is where we first met. Do you remember?” she asked him. She started unbuttoning his shirt.
“I remember.”
“I didn’t expect to find anyone in the stable, and then there you were. I’d never seen a man so rugged and sexy in my life.” His shirt was coming off now, revealing his bare chest to her.
“And I remember thinkin’ you sure had come a long way from that messy haired little girl I seen in your grandpa’s pictures,” he teased.
“Hey!” she laughed, slapping her hand against his bare shoulder.
“I’m just teasin’. I thought you were beautiful. There isn't a day goes by when I think otherwise,” he said, lifting his cast-free hand to touch the side of her face. She smiled and leaned her head into his touch.
“I’m probably going to be leaving soon and I wanted to make the best of our time together,” she said softly.
Hearing her talk about leaving brought a frown to his face. That was something they hadn’t talked about yet. He had thought about reimbursing her for the house. He hadn’t thought about what they would do when she went back to New York.
He locked eyes with her. “Don’t leave. Stay with me.”
She opened her mouth to say something, maybe to object. Burley didn’t know because he stopped the words from escaping her lips. He leaned in and kissed her. It was a deep, passionate kiss. Everything he felt for her flowed from his lips to hers. He wanted her to know how much he loved her. How much it would mean to him if she stayed. He knew she had a life in New York. He knew he was asking a lot. But she was everything to him, and he couldn’t let her go.
The kiss ignited a flame in them both. In a matter of minutes, his body was rid of his clothes. She lay on the fur blanket and he eagerly moved over top of her. His lips made a feathery trail along the side of her neck, to her upper chest and then to her cleavage.
He tasted the salt of her skin as her hand went to his hair. He felt her fingers find the band that had his hair pulled back into a ponytail. She tugged the band free, and his long brown hair fell over his shoulders and tickled her chest.
Eager lips wrapped around her erect nipple, and a moan broke free of her mouth. Her body writhed in waves of anxious pleasure. Her hand rubbed against his shoulder blades, urging him on.
He gave both breasts equal amounts of attention. He sucked on her tender pink buds. He raked his teeth against them, and savored the energetic way she responded to the pleasure. Her moans were like a symphony. They rang through the stable. A chorus of lust and pleasure and love. They flowed through him and rushed straight to his throbbing cock.
He couldn’t do much with his arm that wore the cast, but his free hand ran the length of her body. It drifted down her side, over her hip and eventually landed in between her legs. She spread her legs, welcoming the gesture, and his fingers sank into her wet, warm opening.
“Mmm, Burley...” Dove moaned out. He felt her hand on his face, and it didn’t take much for him to get the hint. Their lips met again as his fingers played with her pussy. The two actions at the same time seemed almost too much for her. She broke the kiss with a heavy breath.
Looking down at her, he could see how much she desired him. There was a lustful twinkle in her eye. But there was more than that. She loved what he was doing to her. Loved the feeling of his fingers gliding over her slick lubricant, caressing her folds. Loved even more when he pressed two of them hard against her sensitive clit. What she loved the most, though, was him.
He could see it clear as day in the way she looked at him. And he loved her. He loved her more than he had ever loved another person. He loved her so much he had been willing to give his life for hers. When he saw that car barreling towards her all he could think about was making sure she was safe. If he had to die to keep her alive, that was just how madly and how deeply he loved her. In just the short time they had known each other, she had changed his life. Changed it for the better. She meant more to him than she would probably ever know.
His hand left her center and was replaced by his cock. He slowly thrust his hips, sliding into her gently. He could have taken her roughly. A part of him felt that urge. The part of him that felt wild and hungry with his lust for her.
The reason he held back was because of how much he loved her. She wasn’t just a fun time to him. She was the woman he loved. Her pleasure, her well-being was more important than his own.
He touched his hand to the side of her face and brought his lips to hers once more. He felt her thighs wrap around him. Her hand at his hip. When he broke the kiss, he began to work himself in and out of her tight entrance. Each time sinking in just a little bit deeper.
Before long, the two of them were moaning in nothing but pure abiding pleasure. She pleaded for him to go faster, and he obliged her. He was still careful, still gentle, but his hips pumped with a primal need. When her inner walls began contracting around his cock, an orgasm ripped through him.
Moments later, they laid together on the blanket. Bodies covered in sweat. The air in the stable had been cool when he came in. Now, the coolness had been evaporated by their lovemaking.
Burley held her in his arms, stroking her hair and kissing her forehead. This woman was a beautiful treasure. A rare gem. No matter what happened, if he couldn’t convince her to stay... He would give everything up and go with her. Because that’s how much she meant to him.
27
Dove
Dove had never had sex in a stable before. Living in a city, it was something she never expected to happen. She also never expected to fall in love with a sexy mountain man in some small middle of nowhere kind of town.
She could feel the gentle rise and fall of Burley’s breathing as she rested against his bare chest. The faux fur of the blanket was soft beneath her. The candles flickered lazily around them. And from the other stalls, the horses would occasionally nicker or shuffle around.
They would need to get up soon. Eventually the heat of their passion would wear off and the cool autumn would regain control. Dove just felt in no rush to move. She was sure this was one of those few perfect moments in life. Moments to be savored now and thought back upon warmly.
“Dove,” Burley said, after the two of them had been lying there for quite some time. His casted arm rested on his stomach while his other arm was around her. His fingertips were brushing lazy circles over the naked skin of her hip.
“Hmm?” Dove hummed in response. Her eyes were closed and she was tempted to fall asleep against him. If only they wouldn’t wake up freezing later.
“Stay with me,” he said, repeating the request he gave her before they made love.
Dove opened her eyes, suddenly feeling wide awake. She wasn’t sure what to say back to him. Her instinct was to say yes. To yell at the top of her lungs, yes, yes, yes! It was what her heart wanted, but her brain was saying, now wait a minute.
They were supposed to talk about their future. That had been the plan, before a car accident so rudely interrupted it. Now, finally, that hard conversation was rearing its head. Dove felt a childish urge to avoid it. They couldn’t be officially over if they didn’t put it into words. But she knew they needed to decide what they were doing.
“I can’t...” she said. The words came out weak, lacking conviction.
“Why not?” he countered. She picked her head up and shifted so that she could meet his eyes. There was a pain in his eyes that startled her.
She realized that same pain echoed in her heart.
“Because I live in New York... I can’t just stay. It’s not that simple,” she frowned.
“Maybe it ain’t simple, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work,” he replied.
Could it work? She wanted to stay. If she was being honest, yes,
she wanted to stay more than anything. But it would change everything in her life. Heart’s Peak and New York City were polar opposites. They may as well be alien planets from each other.
“I don’t know, Burley.” She sighed and sat up, turning away from him. He moved to sit up too.
“Hey. Look at me,” he said, as he rubbed his hand over her shoulder and down her back. She did, and again met his eyes.
“Don’t you wanna stay together?” he asked.
“Of course I do,” she quickly replied. “It’s just such a big change.”
“Sure, but don’t you like it here? You’re a natural with the horses. Old Bennett would’ve been thrilled to know you took after him. And didn’t you say that job of yours is online? Couldn’t you keep doin’ that from here?” Burley said.
Dove realized he had good points. She did like it there. More than she ever thought she would. She enjoyed living in the city. She always thought it was her calling. She never expected to fall in love with Heart’s Peak. That ride she took with Burley, stopping there at the lake, with the mountains and trees all around them, was like something out of a fairy tale. Some beautiful scene in a romantic movie.
The horses weren’t a deal breaker for her, but she did actually find herself liking them now. Baby Bennett was just the cutest thing ever. The way he’d go prancing around the yard, or suddenly break out into a full speed run, full of energy and spirit, always made her smile. The big horses had become less scary too. They were no longer monsters in her eyes. They were gentle, and even seemed to greet her sometimes when she’d go into the stable.
Would her grandpa be thrilled if she took care of his horses? That was a comforting thought. It seemed like a way to maybe make it up to him, for how absent she had been while he was alive. She could at least help his legacy to live on. She could ease the guilt she felt. The regret.