She brightened, those blue eyes of hers beaming up at him through the darkening night surrounding them. Her small nose wrinkled, drawing focus to her sweet freckles. His arms moved of their own accord, drawing her close again to rest his chin on top of her head.
He realized he didn’t know what he was doing right now, either. He’d never opened up this much to a woman. Had never taken a path as real and risky as this before. There was no telling where this was headed.
He ought to be careful. Wary, even. Cissy was just as unpredictable as any ride he’d ever taken in the arena. But as hard as he tried, he couldn’t quite talk himself out of it.
Dominic grinned, pressing closer and absorbing her soft heat. Well, hell. He guessed he’d just have to see how long he could hold on.
Chapter Five
Cissy eased back in the rocking chair and inhaled. The air was moist and warm, filling her lungs and soothing her senses. It was early. Much earlier than the ranch guests usually rose and began milling about.
The sun was just beginning to peek above the horizon, the rays gentle. An early-morning dew sparkled on the grassy fields below. She closed her eyes and soaked it up, lifting her legs and rolling her feet in circles. The pain from last night had eased and her calf muscle had loosened up again.
“Here you go.”
She rolled her head on the back of the chair and lifted her lids a bit to find Pop standing over her. A squat mug sat in each of his hands, steam curling from the rims.
“Thought you might like a cup of coffee,” he said. “Didn’t know how you took it so I just dropped a bit of cream and sugar in it.”
Cissy sat up and smiled, taking one of the cups, cradling it and sipping slow. “Thanks. That’s perfect,” she murmured.
The chair next to her creaked. Pop settled his weight in it, leaned back and plopped his booted feet up on the white porch railing. He took a few sips of his own, then released a satisfied sigh.
“Crack of dawn’s the only time during summer that you can really enjoy a hot cup of coffee and a good porch spell.”
His silver hair took on an orange glow as the sun hit it. His lashes swooped down as he took another sip of coffee. The lines of his face eased and he moaned low in his throat. He opened his eyes and turned to her with a broad smile.
“Go ahead.” He winked and gestured to her feet. “Throw those dogs on up there. If you’re gonna do it, you might as well do it right.”
Cissy laughed. She lifted her legs, one at a time, and tried dropping them on the porch rail. Only they wouldn’t quite reach. Each foot fell short of the mark about four inches.
Pop guffawed. “I didn’t quite take into account our difference in height, little bit. Scoot that chair on up there and show me how it’s done.”
She did as instructed, dragging the chair forward a few inches with her free hand then settling back down and throwing her legs up. Success!
“Good deal.” Pop returned his attention to the view before them and continued nursing his coffee. “Where are the boys this morning?”
“Dominic took them out to the barn a while ago to muck some stalls.”
Cissy grinned, recalling the boys’ groans as Dominic had led them out of the room next to hers. Dominic’s deep tenor had sounded outside her door, providing explanation that it was punishment for their antics the night before. Surprisingly, they’d accepted it with a minimum of resistance.
“Ah. It’ll do ’em some good,” Pop remarked. “Though I can’t say I’m well versed in the art of discipline.” He caught her questioning look and continued, “It’s hard balancing protection and tough love when you’re going at it on your own.”
She nodded. “Was it difficult? You know... When you were on your own with Dominic and Logan?” Her face heated at his look of surprise. Maybe she was being rude for mentioning it. “I don’t mean to pry,” she hastened. “Dominic told me his mom left when he was young. I just wondered if it was as difficult for you with two boys as it’s been for me.”
He grunted. “Difficult ain’t the word for it.” His forehead wrinkled until he settled on the right one with a smirk. “Hellish, maybe. That would be a better description.”
Silence descended for a few minutes, Pop gazing out at the fields and squinting his eyes against the rapid ascension of the sun.
“Logan was around ten when Julie left,” he said. “Dominic had just turned eight. I was at my wit’s end there for a while. What with dealing with my wife leaving, trying to juggle the ranch and chasing after them full time. I put a lot on Logan. Dominic, too, come to think of it.” A gentle expression eased over his features. “But once we got our rhythm, there was no stopping us. We were a tiny unit but we were still a family. All three of us made mistakes. But we loved each other hard. Still do. And that’s what got us through.” He shifted, roving his gaze over her face. “Reminds me a lot of you and those boys of yours. The three of you against the world.”
Cissy’s cheeks warmed. She wanted to thank him for more than just the coffee. But she couldn’t find the right words.
“Pop spouting tall tales again?”
Grass rustled against Dominic’s boots as he and the boys approached the back porch steps. Jayden bounded up before him, his damp shoes pounding across the expanse of the porch. Kayden hung back, easing his way up behind the thick cover of Dominic’s legs.
“I beg your pardon,” Pop shot back with a sarcastic laugh. “I don’t tell tall tales.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Dominic lingered at her side, tapping his blunt fingertips against her shoes propped on the rail. “You’ve got Cissy in story position. It was a fair assumption.”
Dominic took his hat off, balanced it on the porch rail, then trailed his hand up to touch the back of her calf. A thrill shot through her. So did a fresh surge of embarrassment. She tucked her chin to her chest to hide the blush snaking down her neck.
Lord, she couldn’t believe she’d blubbered all over him last night.
“How’s the leg this morning?” he asked, cupping his warm palm against her skin.
“Better.” Clearing her throat, she turned her attention to the boys. “Have you two been busy?”
Jayden nodded with pride, stretching across her lap to kiss her cheek. “We got up all the poop, and Mr. Dominic said we did so good that if you were feeling better, we could go fishing.”
“Oh, yeah?” She squinted up at him. She was sure he would’ve had his fill of them after last night.
Dominic’s dark waves moved with his nod, falling over his tanned forehead. “Yep. Thought it was about time y’all had a day off. And it’s a proved fact that fish bite better on Sundays.”
“That all depends on the skill of the fisherman,” Pop inserted.
“Are you a good fisherman, Pop?” Jayden sprung to Pop’s chair, ducking beneath his propped legs and wedging in between.
“The absolute best, my boy.” Pop dropped his feet from the rail, set his coffee on the porch and swept Jayden up in his arms.
“Do you think I could be a good one?” Jayden asked, smoothing his fingers over the stubble lining Pop’s jaw.
“Hmm, let me see those hands.” Pop took Jayden’s hands in his and turned them over. His brow wrinkled and he put on a grave expression as he examined the palms. “Looks as if you got all the hallmarks of a fine fisherman. Can’t say you’d have any trouble.”
Jayden scrambled higher in Pop’s arms and issued a theatrical whisper in his ear. “Will you come with us and show me your skills? I want to catch more than Kayden.”
Pop chuckled. “I think I will join y’all. But what you say we work together on this? If I taught you and Kayden the same things, we might catch enough fish to fry up tonight. Whatcha think, Kayden?”
Kayden edged around Dominic’s thigh and nodded. “Yes, sir.”
Cissy took stock of him. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, fists shoved deep in his pockets, and hovered off to the side. Very meek and reserved. Very un-Kayden-like.
“Kayden?” Dominic ruffled his hair, squeezing him to his side for a second then nudging him with a knuckle in Cissy’s direction. “Why don’t you show your aunt Cissy where the tackle is and gather it up while Jayden and I get some bait together?”
Dominic bent, divested Cissy of her cup and wrapped his hand around hers to pull her up. Her skin tingled under his touch. The warmth radiating from his long, muscular length beckoned and she fought the urge to lean into him.
“Sounds good,” Cissy said. She brushed past Dominic and made her way to Kayden, taking his hand in hers.
“You remember where I showed you in the shed, Kayden?” Dominic asked.
“Yes, sir.” Kayden squeezed Cissy’s hand tight, tugging to lead the way down the steps and back across the grass toward the barn.
The farther they drifted away from the porch, the quieter it became. The only sounds were the dewy grass sweeping against their legs and the soft chirps of crickets. Kayden’s grip remained snug.
Cissy glanced down at him as they crossed the field. He held his head high and took confident steps but kept parting his lips only to think better of it and look away again.
She bit her lip to keep from prodding the thoughts out of him. It was best to wait and let him share when he was ready. Otherwise, he’d clam up and hide away whatever was bothering him even more than before.
“Aunt Cissy?”
“Yeah?”
“I am sorry, you know?” Kayden halted, pulling her to a stop. “I really am.”
Cissy knelt, ignoring the wet grass on her bare legs. She took his face in her hands and smoothed a strand of blond hair off his forehead.
“I know.” She sighed, rubbing her thumbs over his soft cheeks. “I’m sorry, too. I shouldn’t have lost my temper but you disobeyed me. And, more than that, you scared me, Kayden.”
He dropped his head and twisted the toe of his shoe in the grass. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I know that, too.” She tipped his chin up and he cocked his head, bringing his eyes to hers. “But I was scared just the same.”
“I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“I hope not. I’d be lost without you and Jayden. I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to either of you. We’re a team, you know?”
A broad smile burst across his face. He hurled himself against her, knocking her to the ground. Laughter bubbled up from her belly and she relaxed into his embrace, rocking him from side to side on her back.
“I love you, Aunt Cissy,” he whispered, planting his face against her neck and tightening his arms around her.
Her breath caught, her heart full to bursting. She hadn’t really gotten it before. But she did now.
This was really the promise Crystal had begged for. This was what she had wanted for the boys. Something all the money in the world couldn’t buy.
And it was the only thing that really mattered.
“I love you, too, Kayden.”
He slid off to the side, plopping onto his back and tucking his hands beneath his head. “You think Mama’s up there?”
Cissy tilted her head back and looked up. The sky was clear and blue. Not a single cloud to be found. The sun had fully risen and lent a gentle morning heat to the air around them. Just the kind of day Crystal had loved the most.
“I know she is.”
“Do you miss her?”
Her throat tightened and she turned her face away, concentrating on the tickle of the grass pressed against her cheek. “Every day.”
“Aunt Cissy?”
She swallowed hard and blinked several times before turning back to face him. “Hmm?”
“What’s it like to have a grandpa?”
“I don’t know. Your mom and I never had one.”
He frowned, pursing his lips. “You think grandpas go fishin’?”
She smiled. “I suppose.”
He nodded. “I think Pop would be a good grandpa.”
“I think you might be right.”
“I bet he’d show me how to catch more fish than Jayden.” He sprang up and bent down to yank her to her feet.
“Pop said he’d show both of you, Kayden,” she reminded. “So don’t go monopolizing his time, okay? And how about we not make today a competition? How about we just enjoy our time together?”
Kayden frowned, squinting his eyes and opening his mouth with a disgusted expression.
Cissy placed her hands on her hips and hid her grin. “Let me put it this way. If you don’t play nice and do as you’re told, you’ll be shoveling poop every morning for the rest of the week.”
He closed his mouth and lost the attitude.
She couldn’t resist bending down to kiss his cheek. He scrunched his nose, dragged the back of his hand over his face then took off.
“Wait for me, Kayden,” she called, her words bouncing off his back as he tore toward the shed behind the barn. She laughed. He was such a rubber ball of trouble.
“I gotta get the tackle,” he hollered over his shoulder. “Mr. Dominic and Pop are pro’ly ready to go.”
Cissy sobered, her steps slowing.
Dominic.
If Kayden was beginning to imagine Pop as a grandpa, what thoughts could he be entertaining about Dominic? The boys spent an enormous amount of time with him despite the heavy workload she gave them. And they were still young enough to want to latch on to anyone within three feet.
But Dominic wasn’t just another guy. He was turning out to be different somehow. Patient. Calm. Protective. And understanding. A combination of traits she’d never expected to encounter all at once in a man.
Cissy rubbed her hands up and down her bare arms, trembling despite the warm summer sun. She’d never felt as safe or as comforted as she had last night in Dominic’s supportive hold.
She stilled. Maybe Kayden was on to something. Maybe this ranch was more than just a pit stop. There might be more here than she anticipated.
And that was what scared her the most.
She couldn’t afford to make a mistake. And Dominic could very well end up being the worst one of all.
* * *
DOMINIC DIDN’T KNOW when he’d had such fun fishing. It was one thing to sit motionless in a boat and wait in silence. It was another thing altogether to step up to the edge of a pond and toss a line out with twin boys full of energy.
Especially a pair that could talk the hind leg off a mule.
“Dang it,” Jayden cried, yanking his rod back.
“Jayden, watch your language.” Cissy cast a stern look at him, then resumed her relaxed stance with her fishing pole.
Her ivory cheeks were flushed with sunburn and her freckles had multiplied by a cute dozen. They’d been out for several hours now. The abundance of the day’s catch and sustained enjoyment of everyone had kept them at it longer than he’d intended.
“That worm jump off your hook again, Jayden?” Pop called out. He stood several feet away, recasting his line.
“Yeah,” Jayden grumbled, lifting the rod higher and dragging the empty line up on the bank.
Dominic squatted at Jayden’s side and rustled around in the grass to find the empty hook. He held it up between his thumb and forefinger. Using his free hand, he sifted through damp soil piled in a disposable foam cup to snag the tail end of a worm seeking escape.
“You got to wrap it around the hook, buddy,” he instructed. “Sometimes it takes a few sticks.”
Dominic held the frantic worm up, smiling when Jayden threw a hand up over his eyes. There wasn’t an inch of space between his fingers.
“Ew. Its guts go everywhere.”
“Sometimes. But it’s a means to an end.” Dominic waited for him to uncover his eyes. “See, you stick it once—”
“Yuck.”
“Then wrap it, stick it again...” Dominic paused to gain better control over the flailing end of the worm and pulled it snug. “And stick it one more time so it’s all bundled up tight on the end of the hook.”
; “Gag a maggot! I ain’t doin’ that,” Jayden wailed before darting behind Cissy’s legs and burying his face in the back of her thigh.
Dominic rolled his lips together and forced his breath out of his nose. He didn’t want to laugh out loud. It’d damage the boy’s confidence.
“I hate to break it to you, Jayden,” he said. “But if you don’t stab that sucker good, it’s gonna fly off every time you toss that line out.”
“Dominic.” Cissy’s tone and frown were serious but her mouth twitched. She reached up to swat a gnat. A big flake of damp dirt flew off her fingertip and landed on her chin. Both her hands were caked black with soil and worm waste.
Dominic grinned. No worries there. Cissy had no problems sacrificing a worm for the sake of the catch.
He rose and tipped his head down to Jayden, putting on the face he reserved for solemn occasions. “I’m sorry, Jayden. It’s just a fact that you have to get acquainted with worm guts to catch a fish.”
“What about a plastic one? Can’t he just use that?” Cissy reached back and smoothed her wrist over Jayden’s head, keeping her soiled fingers away from his hair.
“If we were fishing for trout, yeah. But we’re snagging bream. And they go after live bait.”
Kayden made his way over from Pop’s side and held his hand out to Jayden. “Come on. Pop said we need to start cleaning the fish if we want to have ’em cooked for supper.”
Pop waved from his position, where he was already gathering up his tackle, and called out, “We’ve been out here awhile. ’Bout time to get these fish ready for frying. I’ll take the boys on up and we’ll get started cleaning ’em.”
“But I don’t wanna go yet,” Jayden complained. “I ain’t got but a few.”
Kayden snagged his brother’s hand and jerked. “Come on. My bucket’s full. You can have some of mine.”
Cissy’s eyebrows rose and those deep blue eyes widened to almost twice their size. Kayden noticed, too. He twisted his chin over his shoulder and smirked.
“Yep. Just playin’ nice like you told me to, Aunt Cissy.”
The words were almost sung. Kayden flashed Dominic a look as the two moved off, scrunching one side of his face into an oversize wink.
Twins for the Bull Rider Page 8