The Sweet Life

by Dakota Star

  He followed, wearing only jeans, too damn sexy in the rainy light even if they were in the middle of a horrible argument. “Wait. You can’t walk back to the ranch to get your car. It’s too far. Let me take you.”

  Not what she wanted him to say. She muttered, “Fine.”

  She waited as he struggled into the same t-shirt from the night before.

  The drive back to the ranch was deadly quiet.

  Chapter Nine

  She woke up with a pounding headache. It took Alexis a moment to remember where she was and how she got there. She groaned as she lifted her head off the steering wheel, slow and unsteady, so that she could see out the cracked windshield. Her car tipped downward and a tree lodged in the middle of her dented front hood.

  What happened? The memories slowly shifted through her mind. She was in some serious shit. The truck had come around the corner from the opposite direction, racing up the winding road in the downpour, roaring furiously. She didn’t even know how the driver had managed to get the truck up to those speeds. Whoever it was, the person behind the wheel must have been impaired because he crossed the yellow line several times, swerving into her lane. Alexis saw this, but didn’t know what to do. The truck came barreling down on her. She tried to steer away from it and toward the breakdown lane, but that drew the huge vehicle closer.

  She saw the large drop on the side of the highway at the same time that the truck came at her head on. The drop seemed safer than the alternative. She hit the brakes, steering the car away from the onslaught of the eighteen-wheeler. The screech of metal against metal rang loudly in her ears when the truck rammed the side of her small car.

  Her body pitched sideways against the seatbelt, her stomach jumped as if on a rollercoaster ride, and then a gunshot bang of the airbags deploying. White filled her vision. And then darkness. Now her car rested in a ditch off the side of the road. She didn’t know how badly she was hurt. The airbag had deployed, but now it sank against the steering wheel, rusty blood decorating the bag in streaks. She tried to touch her throbbing head but her hand didn’t work. A warm trickle of blood leaked into her eye.

  When she flexed her wrist, she whimpered. It hurt like hell. Actually, most of her body hurt, especially her ribs. She shifted in her seat. She could shift. A big plus. She wasn’t paralyzed. She gazed through the cracked windshield. The rain came down in sheets, hitting the car. She managed to get her seatbelt undone and released a pent-up sob. She reached for the door handle with her less injured hand and pushed. Nothing. It didn’t budge. Her ribs ached with every breath, making her panic acute. The sob changed into waves of hysteria. The car was tilted, the door jammed. Was the car on its side? Wedged up on rocks? So disoriented, Alexis couldn’t tell.

  “Think, think.” She said it aloud to herself in an attempt to calm down. Her phone. Of course. She searched for her purse. It was in the backseat, which seemed miles away. Even though she hurt, she sucked in air and then twisted. Nausea flared and bile coated the back of her throat. Pain reached out to her with every small movement, and yet she forced herself to keep going, to reach her arm back. Her hand, as if that of a zombie, grasped at anything. The leather of her purse felt soft when she grabbed it. It was painful to drag it toward her, but she did. Alexis heard objects falling from it and prayed one of them was not her cell phone.

  She heaved her purse to her lap and found her phone. She dialed the first number in the phone’s memory. Mitch. She must have blacked out at some point because the next thing she saw was her cowboy trying to open the driver side door. The door stuck.

  “I called 9-1-1,” he said. “The ambulance is on the way. I don’t want to move you in case your injuries are bad.”

  “Mitch?” Everything became a blur through the rain. At least she hoped it was the rain rather than the thought of her having a stroke or going blind.

  “Yes, love.”

  She must be hallucinating. Did she really hear that? “My head hurts.”

  “I know.” He dashed around the car, opened the passenger door, and sat in the passenger seat next to her. He gently turned her head toward him so that he could see her injuries.

  “Can you tell me what happened?”

  “A stupid truck driving on my side of the road. He didn’t stop. It was go over the side or hit him. I tried to brake, but he was coming so fast.” Panic rose in her as she relived the events.

  “It’s okay. I’m here with you now. Everything is fine.” He caressed her arm.

  But it wasn’t, and they both knew that.

  The police and ambulance arrived and activity swarmed like a bees’ nest around the car. She found out the car was tilted against some rocks, and she had a nasty gash on her forehead, but she was stable enough that the paramedics took her from the car. They had a hard time getting the stretcher to her, but finally loaded her and carefully carried Alexis up the hill toward the ambulance. Every movement on the stretcher caused her head to pound. The pain in her ribs beat in time to her head. Mitch rode with her in the ambulance, whispering words that helped her hold on to consciousness even as darkness swelled around her.

  She spent Monday in the hospital. Her cowboy was on the phone with her parents and friends, constantly checking in with the nurses and getting her whatever she wanted from the cafeteria. He made her laugh, and that made her want to cry. Alexis called her boss, explaining the accident. He gave her the week off.

  They released her in the afternoon on Tuesday with bruised ribs, a cast around her broken wrist, and two large butterfly bandages on her forehead. Mitch hadn’t left her side the entire time. When he told her he was driving her back to the city, her eyes misted up. She blamed it on her overwrought condition.

  “What about the ranch?” she asked. “Don’t they need you there?”

  He smiled before answering. “The other wranglers are very competent. The ranch will be fine for a couple days.”

  “I’m sure my parents, Nicole, or Jo Jo could pick me up. I have people.” She spoke softly to quiet the dull thud of constant pain in her head thanks to her concussion.

  “I know you have people, but I’m here now. No need for them to take off work or worry themselves more than they are. By the way, your parents are demanding a visit.”

  “I know.” The thought of seeing her parents made her dull headache roar back to life. “They want to come out this weekend. I have to call my mom. She said you were nice and she wants all the insider intel.”

  “I guess they want to meet the man who saved their daughter.”

  There was a smugness in his voice that made her laugh, causing her ribs and head to ache.

  They battled traffic all the way back into the city, and by the time they got below 42nd Street, evening had taken hold. Back in her village apartment, Mitch helped Alexis settle into bed. “What can I do for you?”

  It was late and her last meal consisted of a stale hospital bagel at breakfast. “I’m hungry. You must be too. There’s a great Thai place around the corner if you want to get food.” Her stomach growled in response to Thai food.

  He laughed. “Sounds good. What do you want me to get you?”

  “I love everything on their menu. Surprise me, but the coconut crab curry is amazing.”

  “Coconut crab curry?” Taking off his cowboy hat, he scratched at his head. “That sounds…”

  She smiled at him, not caring about the pain. “Delicious, tempting, like the best food ever?”

  “Like a unique dining option.” He frowned at the words. “I could go for fish and chips.”

  She didn’t let herself laugh. The smile alone caused her ribs to twinge, and she’d be damned if she would take the painkillers the doctors sent home with her. “Should I assume you’ve never had it before?”

  “That would be correct.” He wore his concern in his eyes.

  “You should try it, and any other exotic options that meet your fancy,” she teased.

  “The only exotic option I want is in bed and too banged up to take advan
tage of. You’re so beautiful, even with your injuries.” His eyes turned darker brown. “I’m so sorry about the accident.”

  “It’s in no way your fault.” She waved away his melancholy with her good hand.

  “If we hadn’t been fighting…” His worried expression grazed over all her injuries.

  “Stop.” She slowly attempted to sit up tall in bed. “If you want to stay here with me, then no more about the accident.”

  He observed her. Replacing his cowboy hat, he said, “You’re the boss.”

  She watched him head to the door. “My New York cowboy. Who would have thought it?”

  He spun back to her, hand on the doorknob. “Me. Since the first moment I saw you.” He smiled at her. “I’m taking the keys so I can let myself back in.”

  After Mitch left, Alexis gazed across the room at the large mirror on top of her bureau. She was shocked by what she saw: lank hair, dark circles under her eyes turning black and blue. A matching black and purple lump the size of an orange graced her forehead. The lump refused to be hidden by the two large Band-Aids that covered her gashes.

  She wanted to cry, but called her mother instead.

  “Did you get back to the apartment okay?” Concern laced her mother’s words. “I was so worried. I wish you had let Dad and me come get you. Your young gentleman friend sounds lovely, but I would have liked to be there. Are you sure you’re fine? I can take the next train in and be at your apartment in less than two hours. If—”

  She interrupted the nonstop flow of words. “Mom. Stop. I’m fine. I’ve talked to you every day and I know you’ve been filled in on every detail. Don’t try to deny it.”

  Her mother let out a dramatic sigh. “Why didn’t you want to come stay with us in Darien? It would have been so much easier.”

  “I’m fine here. This is my home.”

  “You’re not fine. We’re coming to visit. You cannot tell us no.”

  She didn’t even try to argue. “I look forward to seeing you. But can you come up for the weekend? Mitch is staying here until then.”

  Another equally dramatic sigh let her know how impatient her mother was. The weekend, in her mother’s mind, was a long way off. “I’ll make a lot of food so you don’t have to cook while you recover.”

  “Thanks, Mom. Be sure it includes some of your lasagna.”

  “Of course. Now tell me about this nice young man who is taking care of you. He said he works on the dude ranch you were staying at.”

  Wriggling her legs, she found some comfort wrapped in the soft covers. “I met him at the dude ranch I went to with Nicole and Jo Jo. He’s the owner’s son, which complicates things because I’m working on the account. I’m not sure what to do.”

  “Is he nice to you?” Her mother’s voice sounded far off.

  “Do you have me on speaker?” she asked.

  “Yes. I’m cooking. I’m making you some dinners you can freeze. You didn’t answer my question. Is he nice?”

  “Of course. He wouldn’t be around if he wasn’t.”

  “What makes you want to keep him around?” her mother asked.

  She paused before answering. “He reminds me a lot of Dad. He’s so different than the men in New York. I always thought I’d find someone in the city, but I like that he’s different from the men I meet at the bars here. He’s okay with living life on his terms. He’s moral and strong, but also compassionate. He’s also stubborn and headstrong. I don’t know what else to say, there’s just so much chemistry between us.” She stopped talking. This conversation was getting too personal. She needed her best friends, not her mom.

  “I understand completely. Your dad was a tiger in the sheets too.”

  “Gross.” She squirmed. “Mom, stop.”

  “I’m just saying…”

  “Say nothing more about it, please.” The images that flashed through her mind made her almost as ill as the accident.

  They talked about less embarrassing topics until Mitch returned with food. Her stomach growled again the moment the smell of crab curry made its way out of the bag. Alexis convinced him not to set the table and they ended up having a picnic on the bed. He even tried the crab curry and said he enjoyed it.

  On Wednesday, she was too tired and in too much pain to do much. He persuaded her to take some of the pain medication and she spent most of the day and night swimming in a liquid fog. Whatever she needed, he fetched for her, when something hurt, he distracted her with funny stories of life on the ranch. Feeling much improved on Thursday, she hoped to have a few hours to catch up on work.

  Work was supposed to be her passion, but this week, she wanted nothing to do with it. Normally, any time away from her desk would leave her anxious and frustrated, but that had changed since the accident and Mitch’s arrival. He made her happy away from her computer, which was why she had to get him out of the apartment.

  “You should do something other than babysit me. Why don’t you visit the Museum of Natural History and all the tourist attractions you can handle,” she told him on Thursday morning.

  “Sick of me already?” He stretched and stood, bringing his coffee from the kitchen table to where she reclined on the couch.

  The blush on her cheeks deepened even though it was the exact opposite. “No, it’s not that.”

  Perception reached his eyes. “Just need some space?” He didn’t give her time to answer. “Not a problem. I didn’t pack very well. I need a few things like shaving cream. I’ll go scour the city for a grocery store.”

  She finally noticed the stubble that had taken over his face. “I’m sorry. You should have said something sooner.”

  “You have shaving cream here?” His eyebrows quirked.

  “No, but I know a grocery that delivers.”

  He chuckled. “You do what you need to. I’ll take a walk and learn about the locals. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

  Alexis watched as he headed toward the front door. She’d never get tired of seeing him in tight jeans that highlighted thighs muscled from all the horseback riding. He had to forgo the flannel due to the city heat but his tight t-shirt clung to the lines of his arms and chest. It was tucked in, of course, to show off a large silver belt buckle he’d won years ago in a rodeo roping contest.

  After Mitch left, she called Nicole from her perch on the couch to get an update on work.

  “The office is the same,” her friend said in hushed tones. “Someone is always stealing Paul’s lunch. I think the guy’s delusional, by the way. And, of course, someone is always screwing someone else. This week, Kara from accounting is screwing Richard from whatever department he works in. Do you know? Never mind. You haven’t missed a thing. Tell me all about your cowboy.”

  “He’s super sweet and helpful. I’m scared. He’s so unlike anyone I’ve met in New York and I like it. I like him.”

  “That’s wonderful.”

  Alexis sat up straight to relieve the pressure on her ribs. “No. I can tell he’s not a fan of the city. But my life is here. My career. I can’t live on a dude ranch. What if we got married? Would I be a housewife or stay-at-home mom? Yuck. Just yuck.”

  Voice dropping into a conspiratorial whisper, Nicole asked, “Don’t you think you’re getting a little ahead of yourself? I mean, I love the idea of you and a cowboy, but you’ve known him for, what? Three weeks?”

  “I know.” She closed her eyes. “The crazy thoughts just keep swirling through my brain. Nothing like a serious car crash to put your life in perspective.”

  “Try to not think about it.”

  “Easier said than done.” She opened her eyes and stared at the large flat screen television mounted above her bookshelves. Did she really need this city life? “I’m going to see if I can get any work done. Text me if anything interesting happens.”

  “Will do.” Nicole disconnected.

  Signing on to her computer, she checked her email. Fifty-four new emails, but, luckily, nothing critical except one from her boss saying that they needed
to speak about the dude ranch campaign as soon as she returned to the office. He hoped that was soon. As an afterthought, he wished her a speedy recovery.

  That was a little concerning, but she focused all her energy on answering the rest of her emails, which was harder than expected thanks to her wrist. She was needed at work. It was nice Mitch was here, but she didn’t know how he felt. Did he need her in his life? By the time she hit send on the last email, Alexis decided to return to work on Monday even though her ribs ached. She could manage as long as she sat perfectly still and didn’t move, talk, or breathe. Typing was hard with a cast on her wrist, but she’d take it slow for the first few days.

  When Mitch entered the apartment a few hours later, bag of shaving cream and toiletries in hand, he radiated lethargy. She put her computer away and spent an hour trying to evaluate his mood and actions with no success. He seemed restless and fidgety, moving between the kitchen and living room. Finally, she tried the honest approach.

  “What’s going on?” she asked him. “You don’t seem like yourself right now.”

  He sat down on the couch next to her, cuddling close. “You forget how big and busy cities are once you live in the country for a while. I should be used to all the people, all the noise, all the hustle, but I have to say it was overwhelming even for the few hours I was out there.”

  “What can I do to help? How can I make you feel at home?”

  He kissed her gently on the lips. “That helps.”

  “There’s plenty more of that.” This time she kissed him. They kissed until her ribs began to hurt and she had to push away.

  “Are you all right? Did I hurt you?”

  She smiled at his concern. “No, silly. How about we rent a movie and grab a pizza. I know a good place that delivers. You do like pizza, right?”

  “Everyone likes pizza,” he said. “Can we get an action movie?”

  “Anything to make you happy.”

  And they both were happy for the night, but by Friday afternoon, Alexis could see the city wearing Mitch down. Having taken half a pain pill, it alleviated many of her aches and pains, but wasn’t strong enough to leave her feeling zombie-like. She knew he wanted to head back to the ranch, but Alexis didn’t want to let him go. She never thought she’d like to share her space with someone, but loved his presence.