by Sam Crescent
“It doesn’t matter. I know you’re kind, you’re loving, and you’d never hurt a soul. I’ve seen you, Raven. All the time, I’ve seen you. There’s no denying what I feel. Give me a chance.”
Chapter Four
“Did she give you a chance?” Brice asked.
Drew forked the large pile of straw and loosened it up to put in the barrow. Brice did the same. They had moved the cattle, and now they were preparing the straw for the main farm, which would be opening for business soon. Seymor had a lot of land, and with Julia being gone, Drew wondered if each new business reminded the old man of his wife. If it wasn’t for Julia, the ranch would have gone under years ago.
He had a lot of reasons to thank Julia.
“She said yes.”
“That’s good. Cathy was so worried. She thinks you’re way too much for her, and that you don’t know how to … keep it in your pants.”
“Speak for yourself. You and Cathy are all over each other, but you still see other people.”
Brice snorted. “I made that argument to my good woman, and she told me that Raven is not like us.”
“No, she’s not.”
She’s a virgin.
Untouched by any other man.
Completely his in every single way.
He was going to be the man to show her how good it could be to be with him.
“So, you and Raven? It’s a done thing?” Brice asked.
“Yes.”
“What are all those other women going to think? They want you, man, you know it.”
Francine was getting married today. Whatever happened, he was going to remain faithful, and he told Brice that.
“I’m on your side. I am. It’s just I’ve seen some of these women, Drew. They’re not exactly going to like the fact your dick has gone all exclusive on a chick they don’t even know.”
“Raven isn’t some stranger. Besides they want to do that shit, I’m more than happy with ruining their lives. I don’t give a fuck about talking to their husbands. I’ll make sure I announce it for the whole town to see how good those folk really are.” When he got back from taking Raven home, he’d found his cell phone, which he never really used. It had over ten messages last night. Some from Brice, most from the women he’d taken for a quick fuck. He’d deleted every single number, not interested in what they had to say.
By the time lunch came, he was the first one to get Brice to the truck. Not only was he starving, but he was starving for a chance to see his woman. When he pulled up just outside of Seymor’s main house, he saw that Raven was alone, and he noticed several of the guys eyeing her up.
He wasn’t having that shit.
Climbing out of the truck, he made his way toward her.
“Hey, Drew,” she said.
He rounded the table, banded his arms around her waist, and pulled her close. Slamming his lips down on hers, he took the kiss that he’d been desperate for all morning. Around him he heard the whistles and catcalls, but he didn’t care. All of them were going to know she belonged to him, only him.
Releasing her, Drew wished they could head to his place to finish what he started. Instead, he turned to the crowd.
“She’s mine.”
“Drew, shut up.”
“No one tries to touch her, ask her out, or any shit like that. She’s mine.”
“What are you, a dog? Are you going to squat and take a leak over me next?” she asked.
The guys started laughing.
He kissed her one last time, and took a plate. “What’s good here?”
“Cathy made tacos today. She had to complete a last-minute order for Francine’s wedding, so she had to close up shop.”
Brice winced. “I bet she’s pissed about that.”
“Yeah, she said, considering the whole wedding is a farce. She doesn’t like Francine. Called her a spoilt, rotten bitch, who didn’t deserve the life she was living.” Raven shrugged. “Would you like me to load you up?”
“You got it, baby,” Drew said.
Brice agreed, standing beside him.
She put tortillas, shredded pork, and spicy vegetables onto his plate. He placed the sour cream, hot sauce, and cheese. Quickly making up his own taco, he took a bite, and moaned. The flavors were amazing.
“Did you make this?” he asked.
“No, Cathy did.” Her cheeks heated.
“The truth?”
“Fine, I made them, and I started them last night before we went out. It’s great. Cathy’s giving me a chance to prove myself.” He watched as she bagged up the leftovers and handed them to him, before placing the stuff back in the truck.
Guys were starting to leave, and Raven turned, the smile dropping from her face. “Don’t you guys want dessert?” she asked.
The men that had started to disappear came back. She unveiled a killer-looking cake with thick chocolate frosting.
Raven wasn’t done there. She’d even brought ice cream, storing it in her cooler to keep it firm. She sliced up the cake, making sure each of them got a piece, and a scoop of ice cream.
“Marry me,” Drew said. There was no way he was letting this woman get away from him.
“Slower,” she said, chuckling. “I did hear that all a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”
“You own me.”
“That’s good to know.” She gave him a wink, and he liked that even more.
Was his woman flirting with him?
They finished eating, and he stayed with Raven until she packed away, much to Brice’s annoyance. He didn’t care.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.
She turned toward him. “Not a lot. Staying in. You?”
“I’m coming over to your place.”
Raven nodded. “Okay.”
“You’re not going to argue with me?”
“I want to argue with you, but I’ve come to see that it’s pointless to do so. You’ll do what you want to anyway.” She shrugged. “It’s okay. I can handle you.”
“You can?”
“Yeah, you back off every time I say you’re too much, and that I can handle. You know when to listen, and because of that, you can come over tonight.”
She then shocked the shit out of him by placing a hand on his chest and pressing a kiss to his lips. It was the first kiss she’d ever given him. Drew had taken all of the others. “I’ve got to head back. When do you think you’ll be over?” she asked.
“A little after eight. I get finished here, pick some vegetables to help out, and then head home to shower.”
“I’ll get dinner on the table for then. Take care.”
He watched her climb into the car, and head on off the ranch.
“Do you think we can move along now? I want to be off this ranch long before you.”
Heading to the car, Drew climbed in, smiling.
“You’re a little creepy, you know that?”
“Why am I creepy?” he asked.
“Out of all of the women you could settle down with, why Raven?”
“Why not her?”
“She’s been gone a long time. I didn’t know you were that into her.”
“I played it good, didn’t I?”
Brice chuckled. “Be careful with her. I get what you meant when you said earlier that she wasn’t like other women. She’s not. Raven has that sweet … innocent thing going for her. Be careful with that. Something tells me she could break a little easy.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“You won’t, but the women you’ve been fucking faster than sin might have an issue with you being a one-woman man now.”
Drew heard the warning. “I’ll handle it.”
Later that evening when he got home, he thought about what Brice had said. He hadn’t been living like a monk, and now he had a feeling that was going to bite him in the ass if he wasn’t careful. He didn’t want Raven to be hurt. Having her in his life, even for the short time, he was different. He was … him again.
Since his father had died, and his mother got put into the care facility, then Raven leaving, he’d been lost. He’d gone through the motions of work because that was easy to do. Of course it was easy. He’d been doing it all of his life, and he’d watched his father do it before him.
There was no thought to the work other than getting it done.
Raven had entered his life, and he was different. He actually looked forward to getting up. He was excited about being with her, being around her. She gave him a reason to try.
Was it wrong to want to grasp that with both hands and never let go?
The void that he’d been living had been killing him. Day in, day out, he’d get up, go to work, or fuck one of the women, then go to work. His day would end, he’d shower, eat, do whatever jobs he had around the house, and go to bed. That was his routine.
He’d only been half-living.
With Raven, he intended to live fully, to find that yearning for life that had been escaping him.
****
Lasagna was in the oven baking, and the scents were making her apartment smell amazing. Raven stared at her reflection and cringed. She was never a neat cook, and after a quick shower and change, she was back to staring at her reflection once again.
Wasn’t black supposed to be slimming? The jeans she wore were biting into her hips, and she changed them for a skirt, a black one that fit snugly.
Another black shirt, and it made her think of death. Quickly swiping that off, she went with a pastel pink, and decided it would just have to do. This dating stuff was a nightmare. Could she call it a date?
He’d declared that she belonged to him, which had been nice. It had been more than nice. Her pussy had gotten slick at the way he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close.
“It’s a dinner. Nothing is going to happen. Just a nice dinner, nice food, and conversation. Some touching would be appropriate.” Once again she was cringing, and thanking the telephone that was ringing to finally pull her away. “Hello.”
“Hi, honey, how are you?” her mother, Miranda, asked.
“Mom, hey, how are you?”
“Feeling lonely. My daughter hasn’t been to see me since the first day she got home.”
“Miranda, our girl has had to get her feet back on the ground. You’ve got to give her a chance. She’s not out on sleepovers,” Clark, her father, said.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hey, honey, so I’ve been hearing a rumor.”
It would appear her night for cringing was going to be tonight. “What kind of rumor?”
“The kind you don’t want associated with your girl. I hear you’ve been with a young man. Drew Reynolds.”
“Oh, Raven, he’s a good catch, sweetie.”
“Miranda, enough. He’s a bad boy with a bad reputation.”
“A bad man can change.”
“Give me one good example.”
Why was she even listening to this conversation? They were arguing about themselves, and she was simply a pawn caught in the middle.
“You!”
That made her pay attention. Her father was silent.
“Who was a bad boy?” Raven asked.
“Your father. He had a very bad reputation.”
“Miranda.”
“Don’t ‘Miranda’ me. I knew your reputation, and you were damn lucky that I didn’t take that into account when I started dating you.”
“This is different. This is our daughter.”
“And I was someone’s daughter. Honey, take my advice, make him earn it. Let Drew show you that he wants you before you give him the cherry pie.”
“Ugh, Mom, please. Dad’s on the phone, and I really don’t want to be having this conversation right now.”
“Cherry pie, seriously, Miranda. That’s our little girl, and you think I’m going to let some man corrupt—”
“I let you corrupt me. I was someone’s sweet little girl. Men, they’re all the same, thinking they can keep their girls safe and virginal. Guess what? You can’t. Look at us being all modern. I will so have to tell Deli about this.”
Closing her eyes, Raven shook her head.
“Do you know what a condom is, Raven?” her mother asked.
“Yes, I know what a condom is. I also know about sex. Please, will you stop?”
“I can’t hear this. My sweet girl knowing about sex and condoms. It’s too much for an old man to deal with.”
“We’ll see how much of an old man you are tonight,” Miranda said, making Raven once again cringe. How did she survive puberty with these people?
“Mom, please don’t go into any more detail. I know more than enough about what you two get up to without you going into the whole ins and outs of it.”
“No problem. My lips are sealed. Your father was only going to give you a hard time about Drew. I’ve heard the rumors about him, so you sure you know what you’re doing?”
“I think so. I like him. I’ve always liked him.”
“The thing is, Raven, his reputation with the ladies, it’s not going to be easy.”
“Did you have that problem with Dad?”
“Hell yeah. Believe me. Your father and I, we struggled. We struggled so much, I think it’s a miracle we’re still together. Your father never strayed though. He stayed true to his vow, and to me. He loves me.”
“I know he does, Mom.”
“The trouble I had was with the women who didn’t like the fact that I was the one to snag him. They said some pretty awful things, mean and disgusting. It made walking down the street sometimes unbearable.”
“Dad just let it happen?”
“No, of course not. He wouldn’t allow anyone to be mean to me. I never told him because I didn’t want him to think for a second that I was a crybaby who couldn’t handle it.”
“What happened when he found out?” she asked.
“Oh, he showed them all. He went to every single house with the women, and he called them out. It was like a moment out of a bad horror film, but it worked. People stopped pointing and staring, and even went out of their way to be nice to me. Of course it made me love your father even more, and that’s what made you, honey.”
Even though she should probably be grossed out, Raven couldn’t help but smile. “Dad will give Drew a hard time, won’t he?”
“It’s his right as your father. All daughters’ fathers have the right to make the men who want to date them, uncomfortable. It will determine if your man is worth getting hurt over. If Drew can’t handle your father, he’s not worth it. Your grandfather told me that when I begged him not to be too hard on him. Of course Clark wasn’t one to back down. I doubt Drew is either. I’ve heard a lot of things about that boy. Some good, some not so good.”
“He’s a nice man.”
“Yeah, well with what I’ve been hearing he’s claimed you. Kind of reminds me of the tale they told me about his own father and Doreen. He claimed her, told the men in town to back the fuck off or else they’d be fighting with him.” Her mother sighed. “Thinking about it makes me flutter. Poor man. He had Drew too late, and died for Drew too young, if you ask me.”
“He’s not spoken much about it.”
“Died in Drew’s arms. It’s why Doreen won’t let him take care of her. He already held his dying father while the damn ambulance got lost on its way there. She’s not going to allow her boy to go through that.”
“It’s awful.”
“Yeah, life is awful. I still go and visit Doreen. We have a nice long chat. I’m going to have to tell her about you and Drew.”
“You sound really happy, Mom.”
“Of course I’m happy. My baby girl is home, she’s finding a man—why can’t I be happy?”
“It’s okay. Of course you can be happy. You’ve got lots to be happy about.”
“I know. So he’s coming around tonight for dinner?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“Cathy told me.”
“Do you know everything?”
Raven asked.
“Of course. You know me, I love my gossip. Did you also know that Francine Luderman is not going on a honeymoon? That’s no way to start a marriage. No honeymoon. Every couple should have one.”
“No, I hadn’t.” Francine was one of the women who thought she was too good to sleep with Drew, which of course meant that she already had.
“A couple of days of marriage, and as far as I’m concerned there is already trouble in paradise. I doubt there’s any love in that relationship. It’s all about the money.”
“Of course it is. Money, money, money.”
“Don’t ever marry for money, Raven.”
“I won’t.” Sometimes her mother liked to go off on a tangent. Tonight it seemed to be one of those nights.
Entering the kitchen, resting the phone between her ear and shoulder, she pulled the bubbling lasagna out of the oven and placed it on the stove to rest. She really did love this dish.
“Are you coming home for Sunday lunch? I have a nice big pork roast with your name on it. Key lime pie for dessert.”
“Yeah, I’ve love to.”
“You do know that tomorrow is Sunday, right?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“Just making sure. If Drew wants to come, he’s more than welcome to.”
“Are you sure? Don’t you think that’s rushing it a bit?”
“Nope. Get that boy down here, and your father will stop his complaining. I tell you, all that man does is complain.”
“Okay.” Her doorbell rang. “I’ve got to go.”
“You take care.”
“Get him to bag it!” Her father shouted out the warning in the distance.
“Damn it, Dad, enough. I’ve got to go, Mom. Love you, bye.” She hung up and opened the door.
Chapter Five
Raven looked beautiful and frazzled. Drew held three red roses, and her eyes took them in, and him.
“Are those for me?”
“You got it, baby.”
“They’re beautiful.”
“I’m afraid they were all they had.”
“You don’t need to spend loads of money on me. This is beautiful, and perfect. I only have single-stemmed glasses, look.” She left the door open, and he closed it, locking it. He followed her into the kitchen. The food smelled amazing, and his mouth was watering.