by Jill Sanders
“Morning,” she said as she walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a large cup.
“Good afternoon,” Lauren said and looked over her cup at her sister.
“Yes, well. I suppose it is. What was Grant Holton doing here?” She leaned back on the countertop and took a deep sip of the lukewarm coffee.
Chase actually giggled, then answered, “Getting an eyeful.”
Lauren giggled, then she coughed and went back to reading the newspaper.
“Real funny.” Alex smiled a little at her brother-in-law.
“You really ought to invest in a robe,” Chase said, leaning back in his chair.
“I have several.” Alex's chin went up and her smile grew even more. “But when that three-legged beast of yours goes on the prowl and attacks a sleeping person, you don't expect me to stop and put on a robe as I'm chasing the beast through the house, do you?”
Chase looked down at his feet at the sleeping dog in question. “Beast?” His eyebrows shot up. “You hear that, Buddy? You've never been called a beast before.” Chase's smile got even bigger. “He's been called many things…” He ticked them off with his fingers as he named them. “Tripod, stumpy, gimpy, and my favorite, footloose, but never beast.”
Alex laughed. “Okay, so the little guy woke me from a dead sleep, and I accidentally launched him off my bed.” She walked over and picked the sleeping dog up. His eyes opened and his tail started wagging as he placed sloppy kisses all over her face. “I was just trying to apologize to the little guy, and didn't know you had company. I suppose I'll have to head over to his place and apologize.”
“Oh, please,” Haley said as she walked into the room. No doubt she'd been standing in the doorway behind Alex the entire conversation. Alex looked over at her younger sister; she looked like she'd been out working in the barn. Her clothes were covered with straw and sweat. “We all know that the last thing Grant wants from you is an apology.” She chuckled as she walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottled water, taking a long drink before shutting the door. “Besides, he's still out back, loading up the hay he bought from Chase.”
“He bought hay from us?” Alex walked to the kitchen window, but the barn was blocking any view other than the front of his dark truck.
“Yeah. He bought the farm down the road a while ago, but he hasn't had a chance to plant any hay on his fields this season. We had extra and could use the money,” Lauren said, looking down at the paper.
“I'm going for a ride,” Alex said to the room, then turned and walked out without another word.
She rushed across the yard, but slowed down when she reached the side of the barn. She could hear him moving the large hay bales around, but couldn't see him over the flat trailer, which was half full of bales. Looking back towards the house, she saw three sets of eyes peeking out the kitchen window at her. Straightening her shoulders, she turned the corner and bumped solidly into a bare, sweaty chest full of muscles. She tried to take a step back, but tan arms came up and held onto her.
“Sorry.” She felt herself falling backwards, then forward, then backwards again. Finally, she landed sideways on a bale of hay. The wind was knocked out of her lungs as a very sweaty and half-naked Grant landed on top of her.
Instantly, she could hear laughing coming from the house and felt her back teeth grind as she tried to shove the heavy male off her. He was soaking her shirt with sweat. Now she'd need another shower before she could go riding. Then she looked up and lost her breath again.
Grant's hat was pushed back on his head. His eyes were laughing down at her, and his smile was contagious. She forgot all about his sweaty body lying on hers and started laughing with him. She didn't even know why she was laughing. He pushed up off her and the laughter dropped away. The muscles in his arms bulged as he did a push-up to remove his body from hers. When her laughter stopped, he paused and looked down at her. “I'm sorry, are you okay?”
She nodded her head, because her mouth had gone totally dry. There was no way she would have been able to form a single vowel, let alone put together a whole word. How had he gone from pudgy, glasses-wearing, zit-faced boy to this? Did he even need glasses anymore?
“Where are your glasses?” she asked looking up into his blue eyes. Had she ever realized his eyes were so blue behind those thick lenses?
He smiled a little and held himself above her. “I had Lasik eye surgery a few years back.”
“Oh.” She felt stupid lying under him, but didn't really want him to move at the moment. She was sad when he finally did. He reached down and helped her stand.
“I guess I was too busy to notice you standing there.” He picked a few strands of hay out of her hair. “I didn't hurt you, did I?”
“No.” She shook her head. “You've lost so much weight, you're featherlight.” She immediately regretted her words and blushed a little. His eyebrows shot up, then a quick smile formed on his lips.
“Thanks, I think.”
“I just mean that…you look good.” She bit her tongue and swore not to speak to him again until she could say something more intelligent. What was she doing? She was good at flirting. This was not like her to babble on like an ignorant schoolgirl. She was usually the one causing men to blush, not the other way around.
Now his smile grew to a full smile, even his eyes sparkled. “You look mighty good yourself.”
She looked up at his eyes, held her shoulders back a little, then reached up and fixed his hat, straightening it on his head. She was happy when she saw his face turn a little pink.
“There, now you're perfect.” She smiled.
Chapter Three
Grant's hands were shaking, so he shoved them deep in his jeans. He realized too late that he had a thick pair of leather gloves on and ended up looking like a fool. Alex chuckled, such a cute little sound, but he wondered just when he'd lost the upper hand.
“I'm going riding later.” She stepped closer to him and the image of her standing in the kitchen a while ago popped into his mind. She'd stood in front of the sunny window with nothing but a see-through piece of silk on. He hoped that image would never leave his head. His mind had been so foggy that he hadn't heard the rest of what she'd said. “Huh?” He cleared his throat and tried to take a step back.
She smiled and moved with him, then took one more step until she was just a breath away from him. “I asked if you would like to go on a ride with me.”
An image of the two of them wrapped together flashed so quickly in front of his eyes, he knew he turned a few shades of red.
“Um, sure. I just have to finish loading up.” He motioned towards the almost-full flatbed trailer. He just couldn't think when she was almost pressing herself up against him. So close, in fact, that he could smell the sweetness of her.
He turned to finish the task and was a little unnerved when she sat down on a large bale of hay to watch him. He tried to get the chore done quickly and finished in record time. Strapping the hay down, he walked over to the fence where he'd set his water bottle and took a deep drink. The woman was trying to kill him. When she was around, he just couldn't control himself. His heart rate skipped and spiked like he was a jackrabbit being chased. He forced himself to think about the tasks he still had to complete at the farm; it was all he could do to keep his mind off her and on his work.
When he grabbed his shirt from the fence and started to pull it over his head, he thought he heard a low groan from her. Turning, he raised his eyebrows and asked, “Are you alright?”
She sighed and smiled. “Just dandy. Are you ready?” She stood and waited for him to walk towards her.
“Sure. Do you have a horse I can borrow?” He followed her into the dark barn.
“Sure, you can ride Carl. He's fairly new, but has proven to be a gentle giant.” She smiled and walked over to a stall where a large, light-colored quarter horse stood. He loved animals, especially horses, so he walked up and, after letting Carl smell his hands, started stroking his mane.
“Carl, huh?” He smiled.
“Sure. I get to name some of the animals. I always hated giving them animal names.” She leaned in and after looking around, whispered, “I like them to be human names, like Tanner or Sandy.” Then she stood back. “After all, some of them are so human-like.” She tilted her head and started rubbing Carl between his eyes. The horse closed its eyes and lowered its head, seemingly enjoying the pet. “Carl loves his name.” She stepped back and smiled. “The saddles are over here.” She walked towards the back of the barn. “Take your pick.” Then she walked over to a light tan saddle and picked it up, carrying it to another stall.
He took his time picking a saddle that would fit his frame. He'd been raised around horses and knew a good saddle when he saw one. He had a good saddle of his own and had planned on getting a few newer ones before next year.
It took him a few minutes to find the rest of the gear, but after fifteen minutes, he had Carl all saddled up and ready to go.
She'd pulled a darker horse out into the yard and was just finishing tying down the saddle when he and Carl walked out of the barn.
Leaving Carl standing next to the fence with his reins tied to a post, he walked over and took Alex by the hips and helped her mount her horse. Her waist was so tiny that his fingers almost spanned her completely. She weighed next to nothing and he wanted to get his hands on her again, but he walked over to his horse and mounted in a quick, smooth motion. The horse pranced around a little, then settled down after he talked to him smoothly.
Leaning forward, he patted its mane. “Well,” he looked at Alex, “where to?”
She smiled and pulled down her hat a little, letting two braids fall on either of her shoulders. “I was thinking to the south fence and back. It's around an hour there and back.”
“Sound good to me. Lead the way.” He nodded and pushed his hat a little farther down on his head so he wouldn’t lose it if she wanted to go fast.
Just as they were starting to leave the yard, Haley rushed out of the house.
“Alex!” They both stopped. “I made you a snack. I know you've been out here for a few hours working hard, Grant, so I made you some sandwiches and drinks.” She handed a full saddlebag to Grant and helped him tie it on the back of his horse.
“Thanks.” He smiled down at Haley. “I would’ve been starving before we got back.”
“Thanks, Haley.” Alex smiled at her sister. Grant thought he saw humor in Haley's eyes, but he didn't know her well enough to tell if it was that or something else.
They made their way slowly across the north field. Here the trees and rolling hills of the southern side died away, leaving vast open fields of tall hay. Occasionally, a large oak tree would pop up out of the ground, giving shelter for the cattle that stood or lay below the wide branches. He loved this part of Texas, although he favored the more-wooded areas. When he looked around the fields, he could just imagine how it used to be hundreds of years ago, when the buffalo roamed these parts, wild.
“Are you going to tell me why you really moved back here?” she asked after they'd made it past a gate.
“What do you mean?” He looked over at her.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don't know. There's just something you're not telling.”
He chuckled. “You think someone would have to be mad to move back to Fairplay?”
“No, not that.” She smiled. “But from what I've heard, you had a pretty cushy life out east. Everyone in town is wondering why you dropped everything to come home. And don't tell me it's to help your dad out.” Her eyes narrowed and her lips puckered a little.
He turned and looked straight ahead. “He does need my help. Mom can't get him to slow down and his blood pressure is higher than she likes.”
“Was it a girl?” she asked, tilting her head at him.
“Was what a girl?” He wished the subject would change quickly.
“That caused you to come running home.”
He shook his head lightly, not wanting to say anything else. He knew he wasn't able to keep secrets and decided a different tactic might work best. “How about we race to the next fence there.” He nodded towards the horizon.
“If I win, will you tell me?” Her smile spread, lighting up her eyes. He couldn't help but nod.
“Fine,” she called over her shoulder after she'd had already bolted on her horse. He dug his heels into Carl's sides and sent the horse after hers.
It took him no time to catch up to her horse, but halfway to the fence Carl started losing speed. “Come on, boy, we can whoop those two. Show them you're younger and stronger,” he encouraged his horse. By the time they were a few yards from the fence, they were neck and neck again. When Alex pulled up, her horse was just a neck in front of his. He knew she would hound him until he told her the story of why he'd come home. But that didn't mean he couldn't do it on his own terms.
Pulling the horse next to hers, he smiled over at her. “Shall we find some shade and eat some lunch?” She was winded, but nodded. Part of him thought that he could have pushed the horse a little more, but he’d held back instead. Maybe, subconsciously, he wanted her to know why he had chosen to come home.
They walked the horses along the fence line until they found a small tree with dark green leaves that would shield them from the heat of the summer sun.
He took his time laying out a small blanket that Haley had folded in the other side of the saddlebag. Then he started pulling out small containers of food and smiled. Haley had thought of everything. There were sandwiches, chips, slices of apples and a container of grapes, some cheese, and a couple bottles of water. It had been a long time since he'd sat under the shade of a tree with a girl and had a picnic.
“This is nice.” She leaned on her elbows on the blanket and watched him organize the plates of food. “I haven't been on a picnic since my sisters and I stayed at the cabin for Lauren's twenty-third birthday.” She sighed and removed her hat, then leaned her head back.
“Travis never took you on a picnic?” he asked.
She laughed. “Travis never took me anywhere, let alone a picnic.” Her eyes opened slightly and she looked at him. “I broke it off, you know. Well…” she sat up a little. “I suppose not face-to-face, but I left him a voice mail.” She sat up all the way and took a chunk of cheese, nibbling on it.
“You didn't think something like that required you to do it in person?”
“Did he have the nerve to tell me he was cheating on me?” Her shoulders went rigid.
“Easy,” he said. “I'm on your side, remember?” He smiled, trying to get her to relax.
She shook her head, then closed her eyes. “I don't want to talk about Travis anymore.” Then she sat up and looked at him. “You promised me you'd tell me what made you come back to Fairplay.” She took the plate of food he offered her and sat it down in front of her, giving him her full attention.
He sighed. “You aren't going to let this go, are you?” When she shook her head, he sighed again. Then, to stall, he picked up his sandwich and took a large bite of turkey on wheat. Haley had packed some packets of spicy mustard, and he'd heaped it on. The zesty taste flooded his mouth, and he realized just how hungry he was.
He'd always loved food. Over the last five years, he'd learned to have a better relationship with not only food, but his body. It had been the hardest thing in the world for him to drop what most people called his baby fat. He knew the real reason he'd always stayed on the heavy side. His mother. To be more exact, his mother's southern cooking. She added butter, grease, sugar, and everything else that was unhealthy to every meal. She also demanded that he finished his plate, every time.
When he’d first moved away, he'd maintained his diet with fast food, pizzas, and anything else he could get his hands on in the dorms. Being one of the youngest college students at Harvard had taken a toll on his health, not to mention his mental state. He'd been picked on, beat up, and, even once, locked out of the dorms during a snowstorm.
“You mean being a little overweight?”
He chuckled. “That's putting it politely, but yes. It took me the first few years at Harvard to fit in. Even then, I was always somewhat of a loner. The complete opposite of how I felt here. Sure, I knew kids always made fun of me, but for the most part, I still considered everyone around here my friends.” He took another bite, then plopped a few grapes into his mouth and chewed. “It wasn't until I started working for the law firm in Boston that I started thinking about coming home. The hours were long, the commute was a bitch.” He looked over at her and winced. “Sorry.” She smiled and nodded, so he continued. “Then I met Sam. I'd stuffed myself with Italian food one night, and the guilt had forced my feet to carry me all the way into a gym. Sam was a trainer there, and he took one look at me and refused to let me leave until I promised I'd be back first thing in the morning with a pair of tennis shoes and sweats.” He smiled. “When a two-hundred-pound body builder threatens to hunt you down, you tend to show up early. Over the next year, he taught me how to eat right, exercise, and get healthy. Then one day, I walked into the gym and he was working with Terry. Terry was his younger sister. One thing led to another and we started sort-of dating.” He picked up the bottle of water and took a deep drink.
“Do you still love her?” she asked, finishing off her sandwich.
He shook his head. “I never loved Terry. She was more like a friend who I hung out with. Terry didn't see it that way.” He frowned, looking down at his half-eaten sandwich, feeling the sinking feeling in his gut. “She was what you would call high maintenance. She always wanted me to text her, to update my online status with everything we were doing. She wanted us to pose for pictures so she could post them online. It drove me nuts.” He rolled his eyes.
Alex chuckled, and he stopped to look at her. She shrugged her shoulders. “Everyone knows someone like that. I'm not one of those kind of people. I don't even have a Facebook account,” she said.