“Cleaning? Are you crazy? I would’ve been so mad.”
She laughed. “Why?”
“Because you’re not here to clean. You’re here to relax.”
“Well then, you’ll be pleased to know that I relaxed to the max. I spent a lot of time just sitting outside drinking coffee. Oh, and I raided your bookshelf and found a book to read. I’ve decided to start reading again.”
“Oh yeah? Which one did you choose?”
“The Magus by John Fowles. It seems interesting.”
Out of all the books on my shelf, she somehow picked up my favorite one. “You’re in for a treat. It’s a great book. Ah, finally someone is reading the same books as me. I always want someone to talk to once I finish a book. I can’t wait to hear what you think about it. This is definitely one of the books that makes you want to talk about it long after. Did you start?”
She shook her head. “I haven’t started yet. I was going to, but then I felt like seeing you, and I decided to walk to the ranch. Ah no, I just realized I didn’t say hi to Betty today.”
“Still ashamed by what happened in the barn, are you?” I teased.
“Ashamed?” she said. “More like proud.”
I chuckled. “Well, would you like to go visit her? There’s nobody at the ranch right now. We can take her out for a ride before it gets too dark. I know we just came from there, but we’ll take the car. How about we go for a ride and then come back and stuff our faces with pizzas while we watch old movies?”
She sighed happily. “You just described the perfect evening. Let’s do it.”
We had a great evening, with neither of us talking about anything serious. We rode the horses, ordered pizza and laughed at silly old movies into the early hours. The next morning I woke up early to the sound of my phone ringing. I ran to answer it before Sloan woke up and thankfully got there just in time. I had noticed that Sloan took a long time to fall asleep, but once she was asleep, she was dead to the world.
“Hello?” I said. I was downstairs so at least I could speak without her hearing me. Although I very much doubted that my voice would even wake her up.
“Brady, sorry to wake you. I thought it was later than it is,” Harold said.
“No problem at all. It’s not that early. I was about to wake up, anyway. What’s up? Is there something wrong?”
“No, there’s nothing wrong. I wanted to tell you that you had the day off today. That’s why I called so early. I wanted you to know before you came over.”
“The day off? What? Why?”
“You know why,” Harold said.
I laughed. “Harold, you don’t need to give me the day off. Honestly. You know me; I want to work. And there are things that need to be done. Thank you, but I’m going to be there.”
“Ah, but here’s where you are wrong – you have no control over this.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that I’m the owner, and you are my employee. So, I make the final decision as to what you do and what you don’t do. And I’ve decided that you won’t work today. End of story. There’s honestly no point in arguing with me right now. You’re getting the day off.”
“You know, most people would kill to have their boss force them to take the day off. I won’t argue. Thanks, Harold. I appreciate it. And I’m sure Sloan will too.”
“In fact, I might even make you take a few days off. Put it this way: when I’m ready for you to come back to work, I’ll let you know. And no more arguing. You’ve done a lot for me in the past few years, and it’s about time I did something for you. You’re a good kid, Brady.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Harold. But don’t leave it too long. You know I hate being away from the ranch.”
“I know. But right now, I highly doubt you’ll miss it all that much.”
I put the phone down and laughed.
I thought about starting breakfast, but when I went to check on Sloan, she was still fast asleep. And so, for the first time in a very long time, I climbed back into bed and fell asleep again.
When we woke up, it was eight thirty. I kissed Sloan on the forehead and wished her good morning. She smiled at me and then when she saw the time on the bedside clock, she gasped and quickly sat up.
“Brady! It’s eight thirty. You’re so late! Oh no! We shouldn’t have stayed up so late last night. I’m so sorry.”
I chuckled. “It’s okay. Harold called me early this morning and gave me the day off. And you looked so comfortable in bed I decided to come back and join you.”
She grinned. “You actually chose to sleep in? Wow, that’s a first.”
“It is a first. I haven’t done that in years. And I actually fell back asleep again.”
“And you don’t feel guilty for sleeping in? I remember you told me once how you always felt guilty if you didn’t wake up early.”
“I didn’t feel one bit guilty. And sleeping in is not as overrated as I thought it would be. I enjoyed it. So, let me get you some coffee. What do you want to do with the day?”
“Hmm. I’d like nothing more than a delicious steak for lunch, cooked on an outdoor grill, with a glass of wine and a beautiful view.”
“Oh yeah? Now that I can do.”
I made her a cup of coffee while she made some toast, and we both took our books and sat in the living room to read with our breakfast. Every now and again I’d stop and glance over at her, and I’d smile when I’d see her transfixed by the words. We read for almost two hours.
“I missed reading,” she said suddenly.
“Yeah, there’s nothing quite like getting lost in a book. Why did you stop?”
She shrugged. “I’d like to say that I just didn’t have time, but that’s not true. I spent a lot of wasted time going shopping or going for lunches. So it’s not a time thing, even though that’s what I used to tell myself. I guess I just couldn’t concentrate very long on a book. I’d find myself reading a full page and not knowing what the hell I’d just looked at. So, after a while, I just gave up.”
“Good to see you taking it up again. So, how about a small walk outside and then we start the lunch?”
“I like that idea.”
We stuck to the field so that nobody would see us. She asked me a lot of questions about the house, and about my brother who lived next door. Grant still hadn’t met her, but I knew now wasn’t the best time.
“He sounds like a nice guy,” she said.
“He is. He was deeply unhappy before coming here, though.”
“Why? What happened?”
“It’s a long story. But he was in the Navy. After that, he really battled to find himself again. He seemed so lost in the world. He got a job as a real estate agent, but the lifestyle was killing him. He’s not an office guy, and I could see he was getting depressed. One day I suggested that he came to visit, just to get away from everything. He quit his job and decided to come and spend a month with me. And he never left.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that. He worked on the farm with me, and then he got a job as a firefighter. He made some new friends, and then met the love of his life. And suddenly, he was happy again. It’s good to have him around. I don’t see him as much as I’d like to, but it’s nice to know he’s right there. Sometimes he visits early in the morning before Emily gets up and we have coffee together.”
“That’s nice,” she said. “It sounds like the plot of a movie.”
I laughed. “Yeah, you’re right. Some big romantic movie with a sappy ending. All about a man who leaves the city life to find himself.” As I said that, I realized I could’ve easily have been talking about her, too.
She must’ve realized it, too, because she went quiet for a while. We walked in silence, while I tried to think of what to say to her. Should I ask her what was happening? Or should I just leave that up to her? Thankfully, she spoke first and snapped me out of my thoughts.
“Remember how much we hated each other when we first met,” she said and c
huckled.
I thought of the girl in the tight blue dress and high heels that had walked up to me that day. “Oh yeah. Although, I think I was more angry at myself for finding you so beautiful. I didn’t want to like you. What did you think of me, by the way?”
She chuckled. “I thought you were very handsome in a rugged sort of way. But then again, I’d always liked the rugged look. But I was annoyed because you didn’t know who I was. I was so embarrassed and I knew I had made a fool of myself when I asked if you wanted my autograph. I was so angry with myself, and it made me hate you.”
“Oh no. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way.”
She stopped suddenly and looked at me. “No, it’s okay. I needed to know my place. I came in here thinking that I was better than everyone. And I’m not.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know so much, Sloan. I think you’re the best person I’ve ever met.”
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if I didn’t have you to come to right now.”
I pulled her toward me and held her. “I’ll always be here for you.”
Chapter Thirty
Sloan
Suddenly I was out on the field, in the middle of the day, wrapped up in Brady’s arms. I didn’t want to be anywhere else. I looked up at him and for a moment we didn’t say anything. We just stared into each other’s eyes.
“Kiss me,” I said.
He smiled, leaned down and kissed me. And as always, I lost myself in him. When I was with Brady, I didn’t think about anything else.
“You know,” he said as our lips parted. “We’ve had sex in the barn. I don’t see why we can’t have sex in this field.”
I chuckled. I looked around. We were all alone. There was nobody in sight no matter which direction I looked in.
“Well, this grass looks a lot more comfortable than hay.”
Brady took off his shirt, and I reached out to touch him.
“You look like a man that works out. Let me guess, you go to the gym?” I said.
He flexed his muscles with exaggeration. “Naturally. I’m all about pumping that iron,” he said. Then he pulled off my shirt and threw it to the ground.
He examined me and I didn’t feel even a little bit self-conscious. I was so comfortable around him, just as I was. “Hmm, and you look like a woman that doesn’t eat any carbs whatsoever.”
“I don’t touch the stuff,” I said with disgust. “I mean, feel my stomach,” I said and put his hand on my belly. “That is not the stomach of a carb-eating girl. I certainly didn’t eat a full pizza all by myself last night.”
He laughed. “In order for me to fully determine what kind of woman you really are, I might need to see more of you.”
“That can be arranged,” I said and took off my jeans and then my underwear. “Your turn.”
He did the same, and suddenly we were standing in the field completely naked. He took my hand.
“Come on, let’s do something crazy.”
“Uh, if standing in the middle of a field without any clothes on is not crazy to you, then I’m scared to know what is.”
“How about running through a field naked?”
I looked out into the vast field of grass and chuckled. “I’ll race,” I said.
“You’re on. Let’s race to the fence. Ready?”
“Oh, I’m ready. Loser makes me steak.”
“Five, four, three, two, one, GO!”
We ran and laughed all the way the fence. And just like both times on the horse, he let me win right at the end. We fell down to the ground in fits of laughter.
“We’re completely crazy!” I said. “That was amazing.”
“I can honestly say that I’ve never done that before.”
“There’s a first for everything. Speaking of,” I said and crawled up to him on my hands and knees, “there’s another first we still have to try.”
I pushed him down onto his back and sat on top of him. The sun was shining on us, and as he reached up to caress my breasts, I couldn’t help but think that he was the most beautiful man that I’d ever seen. I leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, moving my lips and tongue downward, trying to cover every inch of his body. Then I moved back on top of him, my ecstasy building as I felt him enter me. I felt him groan and as I lay down and ground on top of him, I grabbed the grass for support. He held onto my waist and pulled around so that he was on top, and as I lay there with the sun shining on my face and him hovering over me, filling me up inside, I came harder than I’d ever come before. It was only after we were finished that I looked at him with guilty.
“What’s wrong?” he said.
I chuckled. “For a moment I forgot that we were out in the field. I mean, what if someone saw us? Or heard us?”
He sat up and looked around, then he shook his head. “Nah, we’re still alone. And quite frankly, I don’t really care right now.”
I lay down beside him, our backs on the grass and our heads facing the sky. We held onto each other and pointed at the clouds in the sky.
“Oh look, it’s Snoopy,” I sad as I pointed up.
“What? Where do you see that?” he asked.
“Look up to the left. Can’t you see the cloud that looks like Snoopy? There’s his big mouth and his ears. Can’t you see?”
He chuckled. “No. But I do see a block of cheese. It even has the holes in it.”
“Cheese? I don’t see cheese. Are you sure you don’t see Snoopy?”
“No. I see cheese. Hey, what’s that one?”
“Where?”
“Over there. Doesn’t that look like a loaf of bread?”
I burst out laughing. “I think you might just be hungry.”
“You might be right. And I still owe you a steak. Are you ready to go back?”
I shook my head. “Not yet.”
We lay like that for another ten minutes or so, until I started getting paranoid that someone might see us. I realized that Brady’s brother actually lived very nearby and the two of them shared the outdoor garden together. It would be incredibly embarrassing if this was the way he was going to meet me for the first time. We got up and quickly made our way back to our clothes. I laughed the entire way, and laughed even harder when Brady couldn’t find his sock again.
“What’s up with you and that sock? Where could it be?”
He laughed. “I have no idea. Oh well, let’s leave it. I’m too hungry right now.”
And so, we walked back, Brady without his shoes and me chuckling to myself the entire way. It had been one of the best afternoons of my life, and I didn’t want it to end. We got back, and I sat outside with a glass of wine while Brady got the steaks ready for the grill. After dinner, he called me inside and took out an old game of Scrabble. We played two games, one normal and one where we made up the words and the meanings. We drank endless cups of coffee and ate an entire box of cookies, and I didn’t think about the calories for even one minute.
Then, after we’d showered and climbed into bed, Brady kissed me gently on the forehead. At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to tell him what was going on. I kept starting the conversation and then stopping it. I couldn’t bring myself to speak, and the words just wouldn’t seem to come. I pulled the duvet up and hugged myself into it. I suddenly felt cold at the thought of it all. Every time I rehearsed the sentences in my head, I would freeze as I imagined his reaction. What if he left me? What if he couldn’t handle the truth? After all, it didn’t seem like the rest of the world wanted me now. I lay there, shivering next to him.
“It’s okay, Sloan,” Brady said suddenly. He pulled me closer. “I know that you’re battling to tell me what’s going on. I want you to know that you don’t have to tell me until you’re ready. There’s no rush for this. I’ll be here for you regardless. Come one, let’s just go to sleep. Tomorrow is a new day.”
He kissed me gently and switched the light off. I lay there for a long time, just listening to the sound of his breathing getting more
and more shallow as time went on. Soon he was fast asleep, and I was still wide awake. But I slowly felt my eyes begin to close and felt my mind start to drift. And as I finally found myself falling asleep I couldn’t stop thinking that I was falling in love for the first time in my life. I let sleep come because I didn’t know how to deal with it. I decided to think about it in the morning. For now, I wanted nothing more than to sleep curled up beside him.
Chapter Thirty-One
Brady
That night I dreamed I was flying. I flew all the way to New York to save Sloan from a burning building and brought her back home. I woke up to Sloan looking at me, and I jumped.
“Whoa! You spooked me,” I said.
“Sorry, but you looked like you were having a nightmare. I was trying to figure out if I should wake you or not. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is okay.” I nodded. “Although I was flying in my sleep.”
She chuckled. “That’s fun. I don’t think I’ve ever had a flying dream before.”
“I flew to New York to save you from a burning building.”
“Really? Wow, that’s quite a dream. I wonder why my building was on fire?”
I shrugged. “Who knows. I didn’t get that far in the dream. I just somehow knew that you were in trouble.”
“Oh dear, was my bed on fire?”
“Your king-sized bed didn’t make it, I’m afraid.”
She chuckled. “Oh no. Wow, it must be scary if something like that actually happens. It’s one of those things that you never think will happen to you.”
“I didn’t tell you about the house next door burning down, did I?”
She shook her head. “Next door? You mean your brother’s house?”
“Yeah. Although back then, it wasn’t his house. It was Emily’s.”
“Wait, I’m confused. I thought your brother lived there and Emily came to stay with him. We are talking about the same Emily, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, that’s right, but that’s not how it started. You see, when my brother arrived in Wyoming, he stayed with me. Emily was living next door in the house she had grown up in with her mother and grandmother. When they died, she continued living there. I didn’t know her very well even though she lived next door. You know me, a man of few words. But I knew that the house meant a lot to her. Everyone knew that.”
Dirty Roomie_A Maxwell Family Romance Page 85