by Em Petrova
The barn destroyed by fire had been ripped down over the course of weeks, and now what was salvageable lay in a pile and the rest was heaped into a mound of debris, ready to be scooped into a truck and hauled away when the time came.
He jumped out and slammed the truck door. Cash and Hank were standing around, heads bent over a plan they’d spent hours working on, spelling out which beams went where for the best support.
They looked up and broke apart. “You look like you’ve jumped into the pond, Ford,” Cash joked at the way his shirt clung to him.
“Just loaded all this.” He waved at his truck and then remembered Addy. “I took a break to talk to your daughter, though.”
He cocked a brow, just as his little one had a few minutes before. “Which little hellion was trouble this time?”
“Addy, but she wasn’t trouble. But she wants to get into some, if you’ll let her.”
He groaned. “Is this about the barrel racin’? The girl is relentless. Asked four times at breakfast alone, and it was only waffles.”
“She’s driven to try it. I think I know someone just like her.” He leveled his stare at Cash.
He shook his head, scuffing his knuckles along his jaw, which might have been shaven at sunup but wasn’t anymore. “Maya’s too nervous to let her handle the size of horse she needs to execute good turns around those barrels.”
Ford hitched a thumb in his belt. “You know you were on bigger when you were younger. I think my parents have some pictures.”
“Don’t bring them up, for God’s sake.” He groaned. “I know Addy’s aching to give the sport a try, but I just don’t have the time right now. Once she’s a little older—”
“It won’t slow down, man,” he cut across his cousin. “Life doesn’t slow down, no matter how many times you think it will. In a year you could have another baby and spread your time among three.”
Cash kicked at a clump of grass ornery enough to live on in this drought. “Maya might already have a bun in the oven,” he muttered.
Hank laughed and clapped his brother on the back, and Ford chuckled. “See? It’s time to invest in that little girl and not let her dreams die. Yours didn’t.”
Cash eyed him and finally nodded. “You’re right. And I don’t know when you got so smart—you were dumb as a rock as a kid, always eatin’ hay or pellets or other shit you shouldn’t be.”
He chuckled because he could count a bunch of times without thinking too hard.
Hank looked at him. “What about your dreams, Ford? They don’t happen to involve a beautiful neighbor with a horse therapy program, would they?”
He felt the tips of his ears grow hot and knew a blush had crossed his face. He only hoped his tan skin would conceal it. He ducked his head, avoiding the stares of his cousins. “Dunno about dreams. I’m just here to do a job and helping Susannah is great too.”
A man better with words than himself could convey to his family that he didn’t want to ever stop doing either of those things.
“Let’s get to work,” he muttered and turned for the truck.
After several hours in the baking heat, unloading lumber and then staking out the dimensions for the new barn, he was ready to jump into a cold shower. But there was much more work to be done and throwing himself into it was at least keeping the need to go up to the Ryans’ ranch at bay.
He didn’t want to seem too eager and scare Susannah off. Every cell of his being might be yelling for him to grab her and claim her over and over again, but he had to play this hand right. Losing her the way he had Gabby was not something he wanted to contemplate, so it was best to canter instead of gallop.
By the time noon rolled around, the trucks bumped across the field, containing the rest of his cousins and the Ryan boys as well as his uncle and the women and children bearing a picnic lunch. He automatically glanced at their faces, searching for Susannah, but he didn’t see her.
Uncle Ted gave them all a broad smile. “Gettin’ a bit of a late start today, but that’s all right. We’ll make headway before we knock off for the day.”
Ford wondered if he’d someday have the pleasure of seeing his own sons and daughters pitching in to help around a ranch of his own. That seemed a long way off, if not impossible. At this rate, he’d never get enough cash together to buy a plot of land let alone put cattle on it or a wife in his bed.
He doffed his hat and dropped it to the ground to eat, thinking of a pretty little blonde in a flowy skirt passing out chicken sliders and cherry turnovers. Susannah’s four brothers fit right in with the family, chiding the Daltons about being slackers and not having the roof well underway by now.
“Susannah’s been on the move since sunrise working with those horses you lent her,” Lee said.
Ford’s head snapped up, and everyone seemed to notice, staring at Ford with knowing grins.
“Working with the horses?” he echoed.
“Yeah, takin’ them one by one down the trail a few times to get them accustomed to the route.” Lee thanked Aunt Maggie for the cup of potato salad she handed him.
Ford bit into his ham and cheese sandwich. The homemade bread was rich with yeast and he’d be normally groaning over the flavor if he didn’t have an image of Susannah in his mind. Hair flowing, breasts bouncing as she took the slight curves of the trail into the cool part where trees shaded the land…
And where they’d made love.
His gut clenched at the memory of her sweet thighs parted for him and his fingers buried in her… his tongue buried.
He bit off a groan and masked the sound as appreciation for good food.
Aunt Maggie offered him a smile. “Everybody eat up. There’s plenty.”
Throughout the meal, there was much laughter and chatter. The kids finished quickly and got up to run around the field in a game of chase. Two of the younger ones were playing hide and seek, but since there was only a wood pile and a few trucks to hide behind, they didn’t find much cover. Still, they enjoyed finding each other in the same old places, squealing when they did.
Cash polished off his sandwich and salad and then took a thick brownie in hand. “Hey, Addy May, will you get a bottle of that sweet tea for your daddy?”
The little girl nodded and hopped up to reach into the cooler. When she passed the drink to her dad, he dragged her down to sit on his lap. She plopped there with a smile and leaned against his broad chest.
He dipped his mouth to her ear, and whatever he said to her had her eyes lighting and then a big smile spreading across her face.
“Really?” she cried.
He nodded.
She twisted in his lap and threw her arms around him. He cradled her with one arm and managed to save his brownie from hitting the turf. His gaze caught Ford’s, and they exchanged a nod.
The emotional feels were thick in the field as they all worked together to raise the barn. Four walls went up quickly, and then the climbers of the group, Beck, Cash and the Ryan boys, all had the roof constructed in little time. Ford was a pack mule, hauling boards to the people who needed them and lending his hammer everyplace else.
The manual labor kept his body busy, but his mind was going a hundred miles a minute. Susannah, a place of his own, Susannah, where to work after the Daltons were no longer in need of his aid.
Susannah, giving him that satisfied grin after he’d pleasured her.
In the late afternoon, his brothers arrived on the scene, ready to work even though they’d completed full work days at home.
“Momma said to give you this.” Easton leaned in and planted a kiss smack on Ford’s cheek.
“Ahh! Get off me.” He shoved his brother away, laughing and wiping off the spit on his face. Everybody was cracking up, and Easton glanced around with a shrug like he didn’t understand what had riled Ford.
He introduced Easton and Justus to the Ryan boys and was thankful when nobody mentioned his tie to Susannah. He didn’t want his brothers ragging him about it and he sure didn’t want any tales carried back to
his momma that might get her hopes up.
Though Ford had to admit his own hopes were up—way up.
“Man, I could go for some caffeine,” Ryan was saying to one of his cousins. “An extra energy boost from one of Susannah’s coffees would be great about now.”
Rip and Parker looked toward Ford. “Only Ford is special enough to get Susannah to make him a coffee. One with the little cowboy boot in cinnamon floating on top.”
Justus’s brows shot up. “Are you seein’ a girl who works in the coffee shop in town, bro?”
He shook his head. Now that her brothers had let the story fly, there was no holding back explanation. “Susannah is the Ryans’ sister and she made me a coffee one day for helping her out.”
He wanted to keep everything on the down-low, but damn if his nosy brothers weren’t eyeballing him. “You’re good at lending a helping hand, Ford,” Justus said.
He picked up his hammer and nail pouch and set off to the opposite wall from his siblings. He wasn’t ready to discuss Susannah. Hell, he didn’t even know where he stood with her. All he knew was that she meant something to him. And he couldn’t screw it up.
* * * * *
The fans in the rodeo stands were wild today, screaming their heads off for each contestant that stepped into the ring. But when Susannah’s brother, Ryan, swiped off his hat and raised it high into the air in greeting, they yelled a little louder.
Rodeos always drew in people from all walks of life, and she loved watching the people as much as the events. Her brothers sat a short distance from her and their friends crowded around, giving her a lot of entertainment. When they got together, nobody was immune from laughing.
“Look at that big chicken,” one friend said, waving toward Ryan. “He’s shaking in his boots.”
She shook her head. Ryan didn’t get nervous, but his friends loved to make fun of him for doing so.
“Never saw someone so yellow in my life,” his other buddy added.
Her brother was as confident as they came—cocky even, especially when it came to bucking broncs. She and her momma feared one day it would get him hurt, but for now, he was loving the attention.
“We’ve got number thirty-one, Ryan Ryan. Now that’s a name you won’t forget, and he’s given many rides that are unforgettable too. Let’s see what he does here for us today.” The announcer’s words rang out over the audience.
“I can’t watch this, Suz. I’m getting me a chili dog. You want one?” His friend yanked on her ponytail.
“Uh, no thanks. I’m good.”
“Excuse me.” The deep voice made her swing around in time to see Ford pushing his way through the legs of her brothers’ friends.
“Fine, be stuck up.” The friend yanked her ponytail again just as Ford stopped next to him and pinned him in a glare.
“You’re in my seat,” he said to the friend.
The friend looked to her, and she nodded, though she had no explanation for Ford’s cranky behavior.
Ryan’s buddy stood and moved past Ford, vacating the seat next to Susannah.
“What are you doing here?” she asked as he sank beside her.
“Who was that guy?” His blue eyes burned with some emotion she couldn’t put her finger on—jealousy, irritation? Or was there something else she was missing, all for herself?
“Ryan’s friend.”
“He yanked your hair.”
“That’s what pesky brothers’ friends do.” She studied his handsome face, loving the way his gaze moved over her. She hadn’t seen him at all for days—he’d been too busy with the barn raising. And she’d been busy too, getting her horses accustomed to their new surroundings and exercising them on the nice smooth trail.
His jaw softened, and she realized he’d been grinding his teeth. “Ryan’s up.”
They faced forward to watch her brother in the chute, adjusting his grip and then adjusting it again.
“Oh no. I hope he’s got it right.” She bounced her knees in nervousness.
Ford reached over and placed his warm hand over her twisting fingers. “He’ll be all right.”
The chute exploded open, and the bronco rushed out, back bowing as he tried to buck Ryan off. Her brother held tight, moving with the jolts, whipping left and right, leaning back and heels up at the shoulders.
“Whoooeee!” People screamed around them. Susannah always felt a bit sick watching her brother ride, though she was so proud of him. Ford threaded their fingers together and she clung to his touch, memories of his hands all over her body warming her in other places.
The ride came to an end, and Ryan leaped off. Both boots hit the dirt and a cloud of dust rose up. He tossed his hat into the air as everyone cheered.
Susannah had shot to her feet the minute the ride ended, and Ford stood with her. She gave a shrill whistle and he stuck his fingers in his mouth and blew the male version of it.
They grinned at each other. He looked deep into her eyes. “How ‘bout some nachos from the concession stand?”
She nodded, able to breathe again after her brother’s ride. It helped that she and Ford seemed to be okay. After going several days with no word—and following their sexy romp on the trail—she’d been a little worried. She loved their time together, and she didn’t want it to end. Being intimate with him had been the icing on the cowboy cupcake. It just felt… right.
He took her by the hand and led her past all her brothers’ friends again, down the steps and across the dirt ground. The line for nachos was long, so they stood near each other, waiting.
She gave him a shy glance. “I hear the barn raising went well.”
“Yeah, got it nearly wrapped up. Just a couple more boards to put on the backside and we’re good. Thanks to your brothers and mine too, there were lots of hands on deck.”
She smiled. “I’m glad they could help you.”
“Susannah…” He paused, the pulse ticking in his neck. “I kept waiting to see you up there this weekend.”
“I thought about coming, but I didn’t know if you’d want me around.”
“Of course I want you around, sweetness.”
Liquid heat shot through her at the burning look in his eyes, so much like the one he’d worn right before demanding she wear his T-shirt instead of her old boyfriend’s. Her insides melted, and she pressed her thighs together.
“I heard you were busy though, introducing the horses to the trail.”
She nodded, still humming from her thoughts, his nearness, how he called her sweetness and looked at her…
“How’s that going? Horses handling okay?”
“Like a dream. I keep thinking I need to convince my daddy to buy some new stock and let me train them. I hate to say my brothers are no good at training horses, but…” She waved back to the arena, where her brother had just ridden a madly bucking bronco.
Ford chuckled. “They know what they’re doing—the stock makes all the difference in the world. Sounds like you chose a stubborn mare when you set your sights on Wanna-Bea.” He skimmed his thumb over her healing bite mark, sending little quaking sensations down between her legs.
The line ahead of them moved, but she was riveted under Ford’s intense, blue stare. God, she’d fallen for him so hard. When he left Paradise Valley, she was never going to recover, but the moments they’d shared had all been worth it.
His eyes hooded and he darted his tongue over his lower lip. “I changed my mind on those nachos. Did you?”
Her heart leaped. “Where’s your truck?”
He grabbed her elbow and propelled her out of line, steering her through the crowd. When they reached the parking lot, he paused and looked into her eyes—right before tossing her over his shoulder.
She squealed and clung to him, loving how small she felt in his hold and how powerful his muscles were moving against her. How many seconds would it take to undress and feel all of him?
When he stopped walking, he lowered her to her boots. Then cupped her face, swooped in
and kissed her.
She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down. He walked her backward, reached behind her and fumbled open the door. A wave of truck heat hit them like a wall, and he pulled back.
“Damn, I wish I had a pond handy. I’d strip you down and…” He wagged his brows upward and then switched on the engine. Hot air blasted from the vents, but there was nothing to do but wait for the vehicle to cool down in order to… well, get heated up.
He captured her lips again, and she slowed the urgency, tasting him like he was hand-churned ice cream. The longer the sweeps of their tongue, the more she blazed inside.
Tugging at her belt, he said, “Let’s… get these… off you.”
She took his hands and moved them up to her breasts, raising a harsh groan from him. “My bra can go first. Nobody’s around.”
“Damn, who knew you were such a risk-taker? I love it.” He slid his hands under her top, found her bra clasp and popped it. When he slipped his hands around to her front and closed them around her breasts, her head fell forward to rest on his shoulder.
“God, Susannah, you’re so perfect.”
“I need you, Ford. The truck’s cool enough.”
He flashed a grin and laid the seat down. “Not a lotta room.”
“I don’t care,” she murmured against his neck.
He clutched her tighter. “I prefer the bed, but I won’t have you out in the open. As it is, I don’t want anyone looking at my girl.”
My girl.
At his words, her breath caught in her throat. Then he pinched one nipple lightly and she cried out at the extreme desire washing through her like a tidal wave. He stretched out on the seat and she straddled him, leaning out to slam the door. When she flattened herself against him, grinding her pussy against his bulge, they weren’t as visible and she didn’t give it another care.
Getting their clothes off in a small space took some doing, and she broke a sweat, but it was well worth it in the end. The challenge was part of the fun.
But when he was poised at the root of her and gripped her backside to ease her down over his length, she sobered.
This was not just some fling in his truck. She loved him.