by Summers, MJ
Janet had spent the last three minutes trying to think of some way that her sister could handle this situation and was only able to come up with a series of puns like, 'You sure were em-bare-assed!'
"Okay, okay. Sorry. For real this time. I'm done," Janet said, her cheeks now sore. "There really is only one way to play this. You need to get dressed - including panties this time - maybe two pairs, just to be safe - and then go to the restaurant and cook a fabulous meal. Act professional, be very polite, try to have a good sense of humour about it, but only if someone else brings it up. Don't make light of it yourself. You don't want them to know you're a total floozy. Just laugh along if someone else brings it up."
"All right, thank you. That makes a lot of sense. I don't know if I can do it, but it makes sense," Claire paused, "I'm thinking dark boot cut jeans and a plaid button up shirt, nothing too fitted or low cut."
"At this point honey, you might as well just show them your tits. At least then they'll have seen the whole package!" Janet exploded with laughter again.
"I have to go. Fuck you. I love you. Good-bye," Claire hung up and switched it into high gear.
She looked in the mirror, "Okay, Claire, now you really have to wow them with your professionalism and your cooking. You can do this."
She put her hair up in a pony tail, put on just a little make-up, her jeans, her button up plaid shirt and her tan Sketchers. She took a look in the mirror and decided to swap her push-up bra for a t-shirt bra instead. Once she changed, she decided to do up one more button at the top than she normally would. All right, casual and yet respectable enough.
She got a text message and grabbed her cell phone to read it. It was from Janet and it said, "Hey Baby Girl, I feel bad about laughing. Listen, you are a talented, smart, fabulous woman. If they don't like you because of one little awkward moment, fuck 'em. Love you. J."
She texted back," Thx. Love U 2"
She grabbed her keys and walked out the door. Okay Claire, professional, polite, sense of humour, wow them with your cooking.
Chapter 39
When Claire opened the door to the kitchen, Alicia was already in there, cleaning up from lunch. As soon as she saw Claire, she dropped her dish towel and rushed over with her arms open, "Oh Claire, I'm so happy about the test results!" she exclaimed giving her a big hug.
Claire smiled, "Thanks Alicia. It's just such a relief that all of that is over. How are you feeling?"
"A bit better today, which is nice. I'm hoping I've turned a corner here," Alicia replied as she turned back to the sink.
"Let me finish up. You've been covering my butt for weeks now! You should go take a rest or go visit with your in-laws."
"Speaking of covering your butt and my in-laws..." Alicia said with wide eyes and a little giggle.
"Oh shit. You heard about that?" Claire's face heated up again.
"Yeah, Mary came in a little while ago. She wanted to get my impression of you. I told her how terrific I think you are and how you are very professional and very good for Cole," Alicia answered.
"Oh thanks, Alicia. Thank you so much!" Claire rushed over and gave her another hug, "I feel sick about what happened. Just sick."
"It's okay. She'll get to know you over the next couple of weeks and she'll see what you're made of," Alicia said, hugging her back.
"I owe you big time. Anything you need, just ask!" Claire said.
"Well, there is one thing..."
"Name it. Anything," Claire answered.
"I just really want to find out how you lost your panties," Alicia grinned.
Claire burst out laughing and covered her face with her hands, "Without going into too much detail, let's just say someone got a little overzealous yesterday afternoon when we checked into the hotel."
"Say no more. I get the picture," Alicia laughed, "You two have some heat going on, hey?"
"If it got any hotter, I'd get scorched," Claire said. "He's amazing, I just can't get enough of him. I want to be with him constantly, even just talking or looking at him. Each minute apart feels like an hour."
"Sounds like the real deal," Alicia smiled at her, "I'm so glad. You would be my dream sister-in-law."
"You too," Claire said, "but I doubt I'd be Mary's dream daughter-in-law."
"Give it time. She'll come around when she gets to know you."
"I hope so. Now, you get out of this kitchen and get some rest!"
"Will do," Alicia grabbed her phone and headed for the door. "See you later!"
Claire spent the afternoon listening to the radio and cooking up a storm. She decided to go for simple, home-cooking with her own little elegant twists. She thought anything too fancy would be a mistake. For appetizers, she made grilled prawn skewers with a touch of red chilli peppers to add a bit of heat, as well as her signature hummus with a veggie platter and soft pitas. The main dish was roasted carrots and potatoes with garlic and rosemary, grilled steak and mushrooms and grilled asparagus. She made spinach and strawberry salad with candied pecans, goat cheese rolled in cinnamon and dried cranberries and an Asian sesame dressing. Dessert was chocolate mousse served in wine glasses with a dollop of real whipping cream and shaved chocolate on top.
"Well," she said as she surveyed the results of her afternoon's work, "If this doesn't do it, nothing will."
"I'm sure it's going to do the trick," Cole said.
Claire flinched in surprise, "Oh Cole, how long have you been standing there?"
"A couple of minutes. You seemed so lost in your work that I didn't want to disturb you. I also like the view," Cole crossed the room and kissed her on the lips. Claire felt herself melt into him, closing her eyes.
When he pulled back, she sighed a happy sigh and said, "Is it weird that I've been missing you all afternoon?"
"Not really. I am pretty amazing," he said with a mischievous grin.
"You are indeed, Mr. Mitchell." she said, resting her hand on his chest. Suddenly her smile faded, replaced with an anxious look, "So, I made pretty much the worst impression possible on your parents today."
"Well, it could have been worse actually," he said, dipping a carrot in the hummus and popping it in his mouth, "You could have been smoking a crack pipe while I groped your ass."
Claire laughed at the image, "Good point. Okay, well crack pipes aside, have you talked to your parents about me?"
She slapped the back of his hand, which was reaching for another carrot, then proceeded to smooth the hummus dip with the back of a teaspoon.
Cole smiled at her, "I may have, I can't really remember right now."
Claire lifted one eyebrow, clearly getting annoyed, "Cole, seriously. I need to know where I stand."
"I'm too hungry to think. Maybe if I had something more to eat I could remember," Cole grinned.
"Oh fine, have a few veggies if you must," Claire replied, giving him an exasperated look, even though she was feeling more turned on by his teasing than irritated.
"Thanks!" Cole said helping himself. "I told them you're amazing and that I'm pretty sure I want to marry you even though I've only known you for two months."
Claire's heart pounded, "Really?" she said quietly, "Did you really say that?"
"Yes I did," he stared into her eyes, trying to read her reaction, "Do you think I'm crazy?"
"No," she said, her voice thick with emotion, "I think it makes perfect sense."
Cole lowered his head and gave her a lingering kiss, "I suppose we should go on a few dates before we decide for sure though."
Claire laughed, "Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Yes. Are you up for it?"
"I'll get back to you. I have lots of other offers right now, so I should really weigh my options carefully," Claire turned back to the counter to finish the salad she was working on.
Cole walked up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the nape of her neck, then up to her ear lobe, taking his time. He waited for Claire to make her little moan and then he asked, "How are my ch
ances?"
Claire's voice came out in a whisper, "Pretty good."
Suddenly she snapped out of her haze, "Ack! I have to get this supper on the table for your family or I'll never redeem myself."
"How can I help?" Cole asked.
"How are your barbeque skills? I need to grill these shrimp skewers and then get the steaks cooking."
"I'm on it."
"Thanks, sexy." Claire's anxiety was replaced by pure joy.
After he walked out to start the barbeque, Claire smiled to herself, "He wants to marry me."
A few minutes later, Claire brought the shrimp out to the barbeque. Cole was standing scraping off the grill.
"You did it again, Cole," she said, putting the tray down on a small table next to the barbeque.
Cole looked up confused, "Did what?"
"You took a crappy situation and you made it better," she said, standing on her tippy toes to kiss him on the cheek.
"I better have, I'm the one who caused the situation in the first place," Cole answered.
"And here I thought it was my fault for being irresistible."
"Good point. I guess it is all your fault."
Chapter 40
Dinner started off well. Claire had set up a long table on the restaurant patio so they could eat outside and enjoy the lake view. Everyone complimented her on the food and as the evening wore on, Claire started to relax. It felt like a nice family dinner to her, something she hadn't realized that she'd been lacking for a long time. Around the table sat Jake, Mary, Ben, Alicia, Cole and Claire.
By the time Claire brought out the dessert, she was feeling much more relaxed, having had a couple of glasses of wine before dinner and one with the meal. The sun was starting to set and as everyone dug into the chocolate mousse the view became the topic of conversation. The table went quiet for a moment, taking in the sunset while enjoying the creamy flavours of the mousse.
Mary decided that this would be her chance to find out more about this woman who seemed to have her talons in her youngest son, "So Claire, have you been married before?"
Claire looked up in surprise, feeling her cheeks flush, "Ummmm, no I haven't actually. I was in a long term relationship for four years but it didn't work out," she replied, hoping to put an end to this discussion.
"Oh, so were you giving the milk for free to that guy too? You know they never marry you if you do that," Mary gave her a cold, hard look.
"Jesus, Mom!" Cole snapped, "That's enough."
"That's okay, Cole." Claire said, not breaking eye contact with Mary. "She's your mom and she has the right to worry about you," she paused and took a sip of wine, fortifying herself.
"I would worry too if the first time I met my son's new girlfriend she had her assets on display. I've only been here a couple of months and it's a big gamble for you and I to be romantically involved since I am your chef and you are trying to make somewhat of a risky change to the ranch. If things don't work out between us, you'll be stuck trying to find a new chef at what could potentially be a disastrous time for the ranch. Am I right so far, Mary?"
"Yup," she said, still staring straight at Claire.
"I'm also from Seattle, a big city on the ocean so maybe I'll get sick of living in the country near the mountains and just up and leave. Maybe that concerns you too?"
"Should it?" Mary answered in an even tone.
"I can see why it would. You don't know me at all. Cole has only known me a matter of weeks and he's putting a lot of faith in me. I can tell you I love it here, I feel alive here, and that running my own kitchen has always been my dream. I can tell you I love your son and all of that is true, by the way," Claire said, as she poured herself another glass of wine, "but only time will tell, right?"
"Right," Mary said.
"I think you must be a good mother. Offending a stranger is irrelevant if it means protecting your son and possibly your ranch. I get that. Give me a chance, though. I will prove that you can trust me and that I'll be good to your son."
Jake spoke up, "Claire, I like you. You took the high road just now which shows me two things. You are smart, because you can see the bigger picture and how getting drawn into a fight tonight would have hurt things long term. It also shows me that you care a lot about Cole, because it matters to you if things are good for the long haul. Besides, this was one of the most delicious meals I've had in a long time, so you get my vote right there."
"Thank you," Claire said quietly, giving him an appreciative look.
Jake smiled at her and then turned to his wife, "Besides, honey, maybe Cole takes after his old man and he will actually buy the cow after getting the milk free."
Chapter 41
When Cole and Claire got into bed that night, Cole leaned over and beamed at her, "You impress me - and I mean really impress me. The way you handled my mother tonight was amazing. Most women would have either wilted under that kind of pressure or would have gone on the attack. But not you. You stood up for yourself without being unkind or sarcastic in anyway. I hope this doesn't sound condescending, but I was so proud of you tonight."
Claire turned on her side to face Cole, leaning on one hand, "I know, right? I actually surprised myself with how I handled that. It was what you said this afternoon about being pretty sure you want to marry me that did it. I had a snippy retort on the tip of my tongue and then I thought 'this woman might be my mother-in-law'. I tried to put myself in her shoes and I could imagine if it were my son with some no-panty-wearing floozy, I would have some tough questions too. And making what you and I have work and making your life easier, after everything you've done to take care of me, is far more important than telling your mom that you don't buy a car without test driving it first."
"Oh, so I'm a car in this scenario now?" Cole asked, trying to look hurt, "I tell you I'm proud of you and I want to marry you and you compare me to a car you could either buy or leave on the lot?"
"Well, I can tell you the test drive has gone really well up to this point, so there is only a very slim chance I'll leave you on the lot," Claire said with a grin.
Cole reached around behind her and slapped her on the ass, "You're a bit mean, Ms. Hatley, you know that?"
Claire laughed, "I never claimed to be nice, Cowboy," she said, climbing on top of him, straddling his waist, "But I think I should go for a test ride again just to be sure."
"Oh I see. So you think you can just climb up on me and go for a ride whenever you want?"
Claire lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it on the floor, "Pretty much," she said as she moved her hips in a long straight line back and forth over his erection.
Cole's eyes shifted to her breasts and his hands soon followed, "I'll let it go tonight, but the next four nights, forget it," he said, lifting his head up to give him access to her luscious curves.
Claire giggled, "So you're putting your foot down? I can't have you while you're on a cattle drive?"
Cole paused from sucking on her nipple, giving her a sexy little half-grin, "That's right. A man's got to have some self-respect."
With that, he rolled them both over in one swift move making Claire gasp in surprise as he landed on top of her, the full weight of him pressing into her. His body felt warm and smooth and hard in all the right places as he lowered his mouth to hers. He nipped at her top lip with his teeth, causing Claire's eyes to fly open in surprise as he sucked where he had bit, to soothe her. Lifting himself onto his knees for a moment, he used both hands to take hold of Claire's hands, bringing them up over her head. He kissed her mouth, then moved his lips down to her breasts again, now heavy with desire. He took hold of both of her wrists with one hand and keeping them over her head while he settled back onto her, her legs opening wider, almost on their own accord, to welcome him in.
Claire rested her feet on the back of his ass, with her outer thighs resting on the mattress, and she tilted her hips as he rocked the length of his cock up and down her sex. She was wet with arousal and this slow movement of
his cock felt so good and yet made her so urgent to have him inside her that it was almost taunting in nature. She tried to reach down with one hand to steer his cock inside her, but he held her wrists firmly.
"Not yet, Gorgeous," he murmured, causing her to whimper in spite of herself. He smiled a little as he kissed her long and hard, thrusting his tongue into her mouth and then pulling out. She nipped at his lip, trying to urge him to come back but he moved his mouth over to her ear lobe again, sucking on it in the most deliciously slow way, flicking it carefully with his tongue.