Home on the Ranch: Texas Cowboy, Be Mine

by Trish Milburn

“You okay?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Because you’re not actually eating your cheesecake, just cutting it into tiny pieces.”

  Maybe because her mind was decidedly elsewhere. She took a bite and savored the sweetness before swallowing.

  “I’m a bit embarrassed,” she said.

  “Because we made out on Main Street?”

  She glanced up to find him trying to hold a smile in check but failing miserably. “Yes. Is this one of those times when the guy feels half a foot taller because of his prowess?”

  “Prowess, huh?” He did smile then, full and wide, tempting her to crawl across the table and have him for dessert instead.

  Maybe she should go stand in the street until the rain cooled off her thoughts.

  “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never done anything like that, either.” He paused. “But it felt right in the moment.”

  She forced herself to maintain eye contact and tell the truth, no matter how much her insides were somersaulting. “Yes, it did.”

  It still hadn’t stopped raining by the time they finished their cakes.

  “You stay here. I’ll run up and get my truck, and come get you,” Hunter said.

  “You don’t have to do that. It’s not like I’ve dried out or anything.”

  “I’m trying to be chivalrous.”

  “Oh, in that case, please proceed.” She smiled and made a sweeping hand gesture in the direction of Gia’s.

  He stood and walked to the edge of the building and the end of the roof. After a quick glance back at her, he took off running and disappeared around the corner. She couldn’t help a girlish giggle, which she covered with her hand even though no one was nearby to hear her. While she waited for his return, she threw their trash away, then watched as the rain poured off the roof in a clear sheet. Hunter wasn’t going to have a dry inch on his body anywhere. Without his or anyone else’s eyes watching her, she allowed herself to imagine peeling off those clothes and toweling all that lean muscle dry.

  She fanned her face at the mental image.

  As she’d known he would be, when Hunter pulled up next to the curb and she hopped inside his truck he looked as if he’d taken a swim in the lake fully clothed.

  “I’m sorry you’re soaked again,” she said.

  “Last time I checked you don’t control the weather.” He pulled back out onto Main, his windshield wipers on full blast. “I would have been happy to sit with you at that little table and watch the rain all night, but I need to get home so Mildred, Sarah and Nina can head home themselves.”

  Guilt flooded Angel that over the course of the night, she’d managed to think very little about his mom.

  “I shouldn’t have kept you out so long. We could have just had the pizza and called it a night.”

  “No, everything’s fine. I had a great time.” He pulled into the lot at Gia’s next to her truck. “I didn’t realize how much I needed it.”

  She knew what he meant. She hadn’t been able to let go of worries and responsibilities to the extent she had tonight since she’d found out she was pregnant with Julia.

  “That makes two of us.”

  He put his truck in Park and looked toward her. “Did you enjoy it enough to do it again?”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t know when I can get away again.” From a lot of guys it would have sounded like an excuse, but she knew from Hunter it was the truth that came from a place of concern and responsibility some guys didn’t even possess.

  “That’s okay. Life’s a little more complicated than when we were teenagers.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  “In the meantime, let me know when’s a good time to bring Julia over.”

  “How about tomorrow?”

  Angel smiled. “No playing hard to get, huh?”

  Hunter unfastened his seat belt and scooted closer to her. “Considering how long I’ve liked you, I don’t want to waste any more time.”

  Was he thinking long-term commitment? That possibility, especially after only one date, caused her self-protective instincts to kick in. Maybe they were moving too fast. Or was she just paranoid because of her past failed relationships?

  All her internal self-interrogation froze when he reached out and gently caressed her cheek.

  “Can I kiss you good-night?”

  His asking for permission touched her, especially after their hot and heavy kiss on the sidewalk. Did he sense her anxiety about moving too fast?

  “I’d like that.”

  He pulled her close, running his fingers through her hair to the back of her head. When his lips touched hers, she told herself it would be a single sweet kiss to end the night. But then that fire she’d felt earlier burst back to full flame and she opened her mouth to him as her hands gripped the front of his shirt.

  Mercy, he tasted so good. Felt even better. Her entire body felt as if it had just been awakened from hibernation by a shot of adrenaline straight to her sex drive.

  She had no idea how long they kissed before she somehow managed to pull away. Though she didn’t want to leave, if she didn’t soon she was afraid she’d completely lose all grasp on common sense and start shucking clothes in Gia’s parking lot. By the way Hunter was breathing and how he looked at her, she suspected his body was tempting him to do something similar.

  “I think I better go,” she said.

  He nodded. “See you tomorrow?”

  Should she see him again so soon, and with her daughter in tow? “Yeah. I’ll let you know what time.”

  Then before she could give in to Hunter Millbrook’s gravitational pull again, she retrieved her keys and made a mad dash through the rain.

  It was a slow drive back to the ranch, but she was okay with that. She needed the time to calm down and pull herself together so she didn’t show up looking like the hot, vibrating mass of unfulfilled need she was at the moment. Though she normally didn’t mind still living with her parents, tonight was one of those times she wished she had her own place so she didn’t have to face anyone’s curious gazes or outright questions.

  Her lips still tingled with the aftereffects of their kisses when she parked next to her dad’s truck half an hour later. She wondered if her parents would take one look at her and be able to tell what she’d been doing.

  She might be an adult with a child of her own, but they were still her parents. She didn’t want to know about their sex life, and certainly didn’t want them to ponder hers. Were it not for how Julia adored living with her grandparents and how much they had loved and cared for Julia since her birth, Angel would give serious thought to getting her own place. But she couldn’t rip them all apart just so she could save herself some embarrassment. Especially since there was no guarantee anything more than a few dates with Hunter would result from tonight’s inaugural outing. Or even if she wanted it to.

  Through the rain, she saw someone peek out the window. The height indicated it was none other than Julia, who was up past her bedtime. Even though the rain was coming down at a good clip, she retrieved the umbrella from the console—an umbrella that had done her no good earlier—and ran toward the house. On the porch, she shook off the umbrella before leaving it outside to dry. With a deep breath, she stepped inside to find Julia had retreated to the safety of her grandfather’s lap.

  “You know you still have a bedtime even though it’s summer,” Angel said to her daughter.

  “But it’s a special occasion. I wanted to ask you if you liked your date.”

  “It was fine. Now, off to bed or you’ll be hating life in the morning.”

  Julia made the universal sound of frustration made by every child who wasn’t ready to go to bed but had bumped up against the parent-prescribed bedtime.

  “Go brush your teeth and put on your pajamas,” Angel’s mom said
. “Then I’ll come let you read to me.”

  Since Julia had learned to read, she didn’t want bedtime stories read to her anymore. Instead, she liked to showcase her reading skills by being the reader.

  As Julia reached her, Angel placed her hands atop her daughter’s shoulders and kissed her on the top of her head. “I’ll tell you about it in the morning, okay?”

  Julia still wore her frustration, but she nodded. The moment she disappeared down the hall, Angel’s mom shifted her expectant gaze to Angel.

  “So, your date went well?” She looked so hopeful, as if the fate of all Angel’s future happiness depended on her answer.

  “We had a nice time—pizza at Gia’s, then cake at the bakery.” And yes, she was skipping the hot-and-heavy-kissing parts.

  “Are you going out again?”

  “Maybe. We’ll see.” The truth was there was a large part of her that would like to see him again right now, but she knew how her mom got her hopes up when one of her children started dating someone. Angel felt the weight of being the last one not happily married. She didn’t want that kind of pressure, wanted instead to be able to take her time, to just have fun for a while without expectations from those around her. How realistic was it to jump from zero dating life to happily-ever-after in the span of a single date anyway?

  She expected at least half a dozen more questions, but her mother surprised her by nodding and saying simply she was glad Angel had a good time before heading down the hall herself. Was she again treating Angel differently because of the whole situation with Dave?

  “Well, that was surprisingly brief,” Angel said once her mom was out of earshot.

  “Don’t let that fool you,” her dad said with a chuckle as he lowered that week’s issue of the Blue Falls Gazette.

  Angel sighed before heading to the kitchen for a glass of water. She was still standing by the sink when her dad came into the room.

  “If you don’t want your mother getting ahead of herself and beginning to plan a wedding, you might want to be, um, a little more careful.”

  At what must be a look of confusion on her face, he slid his phone across the countertop to her. She read a quick text from his buddy Abe Collins that revealed her hot kiss with Hunter on Main Street had been witnessed despite the driving rain. Reading that message with her dad standing right there caused embarrassment to flood every cell in her body.

  “I’m sorry,” she said.

  “What for? You’re a grown woman who’s entitled to having a good time without others poking their noses into what isn’t their business. And I told Abe exactly that.”

  Angel stared at her dad for a long moment before speaking. “Thank you.”

  “No need to thank me. I’m your dad. I want you to be happy. I don’t care if you kiss someone in the middle of the Primrose Café during the lunch rush. Just know your mom might start hearing wedding bells if you do.”

  Angel gave her dad a big hug before heading for her room. Despite trying to not let any thoughts about weddings enter her mind, she couldn’t keep them at bay entirely. In the safety of her room, she lay on the bed listening to the rain against her window. She allowed herself to imagine what life might be like with Hunter. He was kind, funny, a hard worker and one hell of a kisser. If he kissed like that, what else might he do really well?

  Just the idea of a lifetime of slipping into bed with Hunter each night kept her awake a long time. And grateful Julia was in her own room instead of in the one where her mother was having thoughts so hot she wouldn’t be surprised if she woke up to scorch marks on the sheets.

  Chapter 8

  The moment Hunter woke up and heard rain still hammering against the roof, he knew Angel’s planned trip to his ranch to take photos was a no-go. That soured his mood more than knowing he had to get out and work in the miserable weather, so much so that he lay in bed a good half hour longer than he normally did. But then the sounds of his mom moving about the house penetrated his mental replay of his date with Angel and he leaped from the bed. He threw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt before heading to the kitchen, where he expected to find her. When he didn’t, he hurried through the rest of the house. Still not finding her, he felt his heart begin hammering against his ribs. Had she gotten confused and wandered outside into the rain?

  He jerked open the front door, ready to call out to her before noticing her sitting in one of the rocking chairs, cup of coffee in hand. He thought he might pass out in relief when she smiled at him, her eyes bright.

  “I can’t remember the last time you slept in,” she said. “Must have been some date last night.”

  He quickly hid his fear for her, not wanting to bring up her disease when she seemed happy and clearheaded this morning. Instead, he sank into the other rocker and gestured at the rain still falling. “Took me longer to get home last night.”

  And when he’d arrived, his mom was tired and had only asked him if he’d had a good time. He’d been relieved when Mildred told him they’d had fun and his mom had been fine and perfectly lucid the entire evening.

  “Yes, I’m sure the rainy drive home was what’s been on your mind this morning.”

  Okay, he wasn’t having this conversation with his mom. Just the idea of her identifying the thoughts that had been running through his head this morning made him distinctly uncomfortable.

  “I better get dressed. The animals aren’t going to feed themselves.”

  She motioned for him to keep his seat. “Don’t worry about that. I’ve already fed the horses and the chickens and gathered the eggs. I didn’t muck the stalls, but that can wait a little longer while you indulge your mom in tales of your evening.”

  “We had a nice time.” More than nice. He hadn’t stopped thinking about how Angel had felt in his arms, how she’d tasted on his lips, since. Not even while he’d been sleeping, evidently, judging by the bits of dreams he remembered and the state in which he’d awakened.

  “I think you are deliberately understating things.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “You’ve liked her for a long time and when you left to meet her, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so nervous.”

  He didn’t want to lie to his mom about how much he liked Angel, but he didn’t want to get her hopes up, either.

  “If that girl has a lick of sense, you don’t have anything to worry about,” she said.

  “It was just a first date, Mom.” Sure, it had gone really well, but that didn’t mean Angel felt the same way he did or that she wouldn’t be embarrassed by her actions in the light of day.

  “Your dad and I started out as just a first date.”

  “Yes, but you were friends before that. Angel and I had barely ever spoken to each other.”

  “Say what you will, I have faith.”

  He knew once his mom set her mind on something, there was little chance of changing it so he didn’t try. Besides, he hoped she was right. Instead, he stood, dropped a kiss atop her head, then went to get dressed for another day of work keeping their ranch afloat.

  As soon as he stepped into his bedroom, his phone dinged with a text. He suspected he knew what it said before he picked it up and saw the message was from Angel.

  Rain check on the trip out to your ranch?

  He had to smile at her phrasing and the smiley face that accompanied the text despite the disappointment he’d known was coming.

  Sure, he texted back. Standing invitation.

  Even though he couldn’t reasonably expect Angel to come out to take photos in such soggy weather, he nevertheless found himself in a mood that matched the dark gray sky as he first mucked out the stalls, then changed the oil in his truck. Halfway through the morning, he headed to the house to get a drink and casually check on his mom. He found her in the kitchen in the middle of making a big pot of chili, the perfect rainy-weather food.

&nbs
p; “Oh, good, I was about to come find you. Just got a call that your tractor part came in, and as luck would have it I need some chili powder. I evidently forgot to put it on the list after I used the last of the previous bottle.”

  At least changing the fuel pump on the tractor was something else he could do in the dry confines of the barn.

  “Okay,” he said. “I won’t be gone long.”

  “I’ll be fine.” She held up her index finger. “I just remembered I have a couple of books on hold at the library, too.”

  By the time he made all the required stops in town, his stomach was growling. A big bowl of chili was going to hit the spot. As he headed back down Main Street, he couldn’t help smiling when he drove past where he’d kissed Angel the night before. He’d never be able to pass the furniture store again without remembering the feel of her warm mouth beneath his. As if thinking about her had made her appear, he noticed her sitting outside the bakery at the same table where they’d eaten cake the night before.

  Well, his day just got a hundred times better. And luck was on his side since he was able to whip into an available parking space across the street. But as he reached to turn off the engine, he saw someone approach the table. Though the rain had lessened, it still took him a few seconds of looking through the drizzle to figure out who it was.

  His breath caught when he realized it was Chris Ross. Maybe he was just saying hello while Angel waited for someone else—her mom, Sloane, a friend—who was inside the bakery. But in the next moment, Angel gestured to the other seat and her ex-boyfriend sat in the same chair Hunter had occupied less than twenty-four hours before.

  He was aware he didn’t know the whole story, that he wasn’t even entitled to it after only one date, but that didn’t keep him from wondering. And feeling that once again fate was throwing up a roadblock between him and a relationship with Angel. Or at least the possibility of one.

  With a sigh, he put the truck in gear and pulled back out onto the street. He tried to think about anything but why Angel and Chris might be meeting, what they could be talking about, but it proved useless. Despite his determination to not jump to conclusions, part of his mind refused to stop whispering that his chance with Angel was slipping away. That when he eventually lost his mother, there would be no one beside him to help bear the pain. And he would be completely alone.