Her Country Heart

by Reggi Allder

  “Forever,” she scoffed. “I had a promise of forever from my ex-husband Robert. And you see how that turned out.”

  As she came closer to him he could feel her body heat and smell a wisp of her floral perfume. To his surprise, she sat in his lap and drew his face to hers. “Please,” she whispered. “Pretty please.”

  He kissed her and the sweet taste of her sent a jolt of hunger though him. He moaned and glanced down and saw her nipples tighten against the thin fabric of her dress, begging for his attention. He rubbed them, while he sent his tongue deeper into her open mouth.

  She sighed.

  With one arm he scooped her up and with the other arm he grabbed the “baby” monitor.

  He walked to the cottage and once inside, he kicked open the bedroom door, put the monitor on the bedside table and gently set her on the bed.

  CHAPTER 22

  In the dim light, Amy watched Wyatt strip off his shirt from his expansive shoulders. His abs even more defined than she recalled, her fingertips tingled as she imagined touching him. Heat flared as she scanned him from his powerful legs, to his taut chest, and his handsome face. He pushed down his blue jeans and boxer shorts in one movement and stood before her wearing only his grin.

  “Whoa.” She sucked in a quick breath as she noticed his manliness grow harder.

  “Your turn.” He smiled.

  Unexpectedly anxious, she trembled. She sat up and pulled her dress over her head and tossed it to a nearby chair. “Wyatt, it’s been a very long time,” her voice cracked. “Since I’ve—I’ve—I haven’t been with anyone for—” Breathless, she stopped.

  He joined her on the bed and touched her lips with his fingertips. “It’s okay.”

  With shaking hands she undid her bra and lay down.

  He slid her pink bikini underpants down and dropped them to the floor. She quickly covered the red jagged scar just below her abdomen.

  “What are you hiding?”

  “I had a cesarean with Bobby.” She’d always been embarrassed by the mark of her failure to deliver her baby in the “normal” way.

  “Don’t hide. You brought a wonderful boy into the world. You’re beautiful just as you are,” his voice cracked with emotion.

  A shiver of anticipation ran down her spine. And she caught her breath when he bent down and tenderly kissed her mouth.

  At that moment, she realized she’d never known engrossing passion that now pulsed through her. It over whelmed her, stopping judgment and demanding only enthusiasm. She reached for him and pulled him closer.

  His body hovered over hers, nearly touching while he took her mouth, eagerly. Then he left kisses on the nape of her neck as he caressed her breast.

  Her nipples hardened at his touch. Her breath quickened as he suckled at one breast and then the other. She moaned.

  He stroked her curves with a delicate touch.

  And she let her hands roam over his expansive back and down to his tight buttocks.

  He found her core and probed it until she wanted to scream his name. Instead, she opened her legs to him. Her hips surged upward searching for his entry. and delighted in the pressure of his hard body on top of her as he filled her.

  Slowly at first and then faster, he plunged in and out of her, harder, deeper until she thought she might not be able to stand it. Their bodies were propelled higher and still higher. He drove with such force she could only cling to him as he took her to elevations she didn’t know were possible.

  “Ah, Ah”, she cried as she found release, her body tingling as sensations spread from her core to radiate outward even to her finger tips.

  With one final driving force, Wyatt pierced her completely, a low groan of completion signaling the release of his seed into her.

  For a moment, she couldn’t think or speak. Her hammering heartbeat and the sound of her jagged breathing pulsed in her ears.

  “You’re amazing,” he said in a husky voice.

  Entwined with him, his strong arms enfolding her, she sighed and rested her head on his broad chest. With a smile, she closed her eyes and relished the feeling of him. Her heartbeat began to return to normal, but Wyatt’s warmth continued to surround her.

  When she was married to Robert, she’d had sex. But with Wyatt, she’d made love. For the first time in her life, love filled her.

  ***

  She woke with a start. For a second she didn’t know where she was, or what time it could be. It was still dark and only Wyatt’s quiet breathing broke the night’s silence. An overwhelming hunger for him growled in her. She let her fingers play across his chest, feeling the flex of his muscles as she did. Then she kissed him, forcing his lips open with her tongue.

  His breathing quickened as he responded grabbing her hand and directing it lower. She touched his manliness and his breath caught as he grew ready.

  With an urgent shift of his weight, he seized and held her. Moisture and heat blazed in her center as he lifted her above his need and with one rapid movement he filled her entirely.

  An explosion of emotion burst in her as he thrust deep inside her. She screamed, “More.” as he pumped up and down, her breast bouncing while he caressed them until her nipples hardened.

  She held on to him while he bucked like the stallion he was, shifting her to bring the full sensation of him and caressing her feminine nub. Uncontrolled passion rose in her and she thought she might not be able to stop the scream of pleasure that demanded release. Then in unison they shuddered and with a sigh she fell still. With one last jab, he exploded his essence into her and then he stilled.

  Naked, she lay next to him. Her heart thundered and she smiled.

  ***

  Somewhere in the distance a rooster crowed. Wyatt opened his eyes to the early morning light that pierced the partly open shade of the cottage’s bedroom window. A sense of well being meandered through him as he stretched. With his eyes closed again, he allowed himself to enjoy the memory of Amy making love to him, her body moving with him while he filled her. A yearning for her sent a pulse of heat coursing through him.

  Even before he checked, he knew she was gone from his bed. It was a good thing, because if she’d been there it would have been beyond his control to stop from having her again.

  In the past, when he’d had sex with a woman and she was gone in the morning a sense of relief had filled him, glad he didn’t have to deal with her after his appetite was satisfied.

  Loneness fought to the surface of his consciousness, shocking him. He’d been content to be a loner. Now he rolled over in bed and touched the empty space where earlier Amy had laid. He wanted to talk to her. Talk.

  The realization stung him. General conversation was a waste of time. Yet he wanted to shoot the breeze with Amy, find out how she was feeling, and ask if Bobby was all right.

  He was losing his blanking mind. He sat up and grunted. Why after spending his whole life learning to hide his feelings did he want to share them with Amy, a woman with her own troubling baggage and a sickly kid?

  Until recently, with determined strength, he’d built a life with no commitments. An existence easy to control, managed by the fact that he was never in one place for very long and didn’t date any woman long enough to get seriously involved in her life or her problems.

  Wes had asked him and now he wondered, “What makes Amy so special?” Oh she was pretty even with frizzy strawberry blond hair, but she wasn’t an exceptional beauty.

  Amy’s spirit called to him, with her determination to make the farm work and her watchful care of Bobby. Nothing phony about her either, only kindness and honesty, not to mention her pouting lips, ripe breasts, and slender thighs that had engulfed him. He shook his off his thoughts and went to take a cool shower.

  Dressed in blue jeans and a gray t-shirt, he pulled on his cowhide boots and wrote a note to let Amy know he’d be working out of town for awhile.

  With the miles separating them, he’d regain his equilibrium. He sure didn’t have it now. He ignored
the pang that shot through him when he realized he wouldn’t be seeing her today.

  He had to go back to his ordinary life. Handling a bucking bronco seemed easier than managing his confused emotions.

  He’d drive to the stables just outside of Sacramento, where his stallion was corralled. Spirit needed to be ridden as much as he needed the exercise.

  With the sun overhead, the wind in his face, and a solid stead moving under him, he’d regain his self control. It’d be good to be back in territory he understood, no wild feelings, no gut turning decisions. He sucked in a quick breath, and left for Sacramento.

  CHAPTER 23

  On the morning of the pumpkin patch grand opening, Amy unlocked the door to the newly painted tack room, now the gift shop.

  Would Wyatt show up? She stopped that thought. She didn’t have time to think about anything but getting the pumpkin patch ready for the wanted visitors.

  Just then Vanna come up beside her. She balanced a box and a shopping bag in her arms. She set her packages on one of the picnic tables. “Amy, the place looks rad.”

  “Thanks. I painted the room and Wyatt put up the shelves and brought in the tables. I couldn’t have done this without his help.”

  “Nice to have a hunk around the place.” Vanna winked. “Anyway, I’ve got Emma’s crafts. She knitted the cutest hats for babies and kids. See, orange pumpkins and black cats with the ears sticking up.”

  “They’re wonderful.” Amy turned one over and examined it. “I know they’ll sell.” She rummaged through the bag. “Whoa, I don’t know how she finds the time to make so many.”

  “She and her mom and grandma make them so fast, they’re a little factory.” Vanna reached into the box. “Here’s Laurie’s stuff. Homemade candles and her husband made wooden blocks and these cute wooden cars.”

  “Man these are great. I’ll buy a candle and Bobby would love one of these cars.”

  “Hey, Amy, we’re supposed to make money not buy them all.”

  “You’re right, but they’re hard to resist.” She grinned. “I hope the moms and kids feel the same way. We can tag them and put them on the shelves around the room. Oh and I got paper decorations. I thought we could string them up in the windows and hang them from the rafters above the picnic tables.” Amy held up a paper ghost. “Spooky.”

  They both laughed.

  “I’m so excited. This place looks better than I could’ve imagined—Vanna, what if nobody comes here?”

  “They will.” Her friend arranged the kid’s hats in piles.

  “So much depends on this day being a success. I sure need the money and I know Emma and Laurie do too.”

  Well, the kids from my preschool class are coming. And they’re all excited. I had them meet at the school playground. I’ll get them and bring them here in the van. Between word of mouth, and the ads and tweets, people will be here. Mom’s on the way from the ice cream parlor with the vanilla ice cream for the pie alamode and she made raspberry ice for Bobby and anyone else who wants some.”

  “You guys are the best.” Amy hugged Vanna.

  “Don’t worry it’s all going to work out. Got to get the kids. Be back soon.”

  “Okay. See ya.”

  Vanna ran out the door. The screen door slammed behind her.

  Amy stared after her. What would she do with all the apple and pumpkin pies if no one showed up? She winced at the thought. And the crafts her friends were depending on selling, what would she do with them? Think positive. She had to think positive. That’s what she always told Bobby to do. Just then she realized it wasn’t as easy to do as it was to say.

  The sound of Wyatt’s pick-up truck interrupted her thoughts. He’d come after all. Relived, she let out a sigh. In the back of her mind, fear of abandonment had caused her to believe he wouldn’t return. He’d walk out of her life just as her mother had done.

  ***

  Wyatt hopped out of the cab and turned to see his brother’s red X4 BMW pull into the driveway.

  “Hey, I didn’t expect to see you here.” Wyatt said as his brother got out of the driver’s side of the vehicle.

  “Not going to miss the big event.” Wes hesitated and held up his hands. “That’s if my sorry ass is welcome here.” He grinned, but stayed close to his coupe. “I like pumpkin pie as much as the next guy.”

  “Come and get some.” Wyatt pulled Wes close and slapped him on the back then released him.

  He wondered how Amy would react when she saw Wes. He knew she hadn’t seen him since his brother called her a slut.

  She didn’t have siblings and might not understand that many times, through the years, siblings fought and then forgave each other. Just the way it worked, especially with brothers. They were linked for life. Any woman involved with him would have to put up with the Wes and his ways or the relationship wouldn’t work out.

  “Come on Bro, I’ll formally introduce you to Amy. And this time show some of your cowboy charm to her. I’ve seen how nice you can be when you want to.”

  “In other words just smile and keep my mouth shut.”

  “Yeah, you got it right.” Wyatt chuckled.

  The aroma of apple and pumpkin pie permeated the room as they entered the old but remodeled tack room. The din of mothers and their children’s voices filled the large room. It looked like Amy wasn’t going to have to worry about having too much pie left over if the families eating at the table were any example of what could be expected for the rest of the day.

  People milled around the edge of the room admiring the handicrafts Amy and her friends had for sale. A wooden truck caught his eye. He ran his hand over the smooth wood. Bobby would dig this. He tucked it under his arm. He ignored Wes’s look of surprise.

  True to his word, Wes made a sign of zipping his mouth.

  In the crowded room, Wyatt spied Amy standing behind the cash register taking money from a mom. The sound of the cash register rang as he approached.

  She glanced at him, her strawberry blond hair in a pony tail tied with a big black bow. In a slim fitting orange blouse, straight black jeans, and orange pumpkin earrings swinging from her ears lobes, Amy pushed up her glassed from the bridge of her nose and grinned at him. Damn, she’s cute.

  “Wyatt.”

  “Hey,” he said. A warm glow sparked in him sending a hunger for her shooting through him.

  Her expression suddenly turned grim and her eyes narrowed as she looked at Wes standing next to him.

  “Amy.” Wes nodded.

  Her body stiffened and her lips tighten to a thin line.

  “I thought we could make a fresh start.” He hesitated. “Sometimes I can be as ass.”

  “I’ll attest to that,” Wyatt agreed

  “Yeah, you can,” she said.

  Wes grinned and held out his hand. “Peace?”

  “Yeah. Okay.” She shook his hand.

  “The pie smells awful good,” Wes sniffed and looked toward the makeshift kitchen.

  “Take a seat and I’ll bring you some,” she said.

  Wyatt stared at a kid sitting alone a picnic table. The only kid who wasn’t eating pie.

  “Bobby.”

  “Hi Wyatt.” Bobby scooted over making room on his side of the table.

  “Big guy, this is my brother Wes.”

  Wes sat across from them.

  Amy came to the table and asked, “Do you want apple or pumpkin? Or a little of both?”

  “Both sound good to me,” Wyatt said.

  “For me too.” Wes grinned.

  “Okay, I’ll be right back.”

  “Not eating the pie kid?”

  “I have Celiac Disease. I can’t eat it.”

  “Sorry kid.” Wes cringed and seemed at a loss for what else to say.

  “It’s okay. Sophie made my special raspberry sherbet,” Bobby said as if he was used to the awkward reaction.

  Wyatt watched his brother squirm.

  “Whoa, Bobby, I hope Sophie made enough sherbet for me and Wes too. H
er sherbet is way too good to pass up.”

  Before he could answer, Amy was back with pieces of pie for Wyatt and Wes.

  “Enjoy.” She served the dessert. “I better get back to the cash register.”

  “Her son wiped a drip of the pink sherbet from his chin with the back of his hand. “The stuff’s kind a messy. Mom says I gots to use my napkin, but I dropped it on the floor and now it’s dirty.”

  “No worries kid. I’ll get you another one.” Wes rushed away from the table.

  Wyatt sensed his brother’s relief at being able to find an excuse to leave. Wes had never spent much time around kids, let alone a sick kid. Just then, he realized he didn’t think of Bobby as a sickly kid.

  Bobby scooted closer and leaned against him. It seemed the natural thing to do, so he put his arm around the little boy.

  “Mommy is busy. She can’t find me a pumpkin til everyone goes home. But the best ones will be gone by then. There’ll only be the ones nobody wants.” The little guy stirred his sherbet then licked the spoon. “Can you help me find a jack o’ lantern? Uh, after you eat your pie?”

  Wyatt wanted to smile, but then he saw the little boy’s serious expression and knew it was a big deal to him.

  “Sure big buy. I’ll eat in a hurry and we’ll get out there and find a really special one just for you.”

  “Wyatt?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You can have some of my sherbet.”

  “Thanks buddy.” He gave the little boy a quick hug.

  Bobby jumped up and ran toward the back of the room where Sophie was standing near a refrigerator.

  Amy came back to the table with Bobby. She carried a bowl of sherbet. “Wyatt, Bobby wants you to have some of his sherbet.”

  “Thanks. Join us”.

  “I’d love to, but I’m the only one who runs the cash register. I used to be a bank teller, so my friends think I should do it.” She flicked a stray hair from her face. “I hope you like the pie.” She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. “We’ll be closed at six. If you’re still here, I’ll make you dinner.”

  “I look forward to it. Let me know if I can help.”