by Paula Mabbel
What the...where did that come from?
Chance stopped to wipe the sweat from his brow when he spotted Clyde riding up on his Appaloosa. He tossed a cold bottle of water over to Chance, who accepted it gratefully and chugged almost all of it down in a few long gulps.
“Good grief, soldier. Should you be doing all this work by yourself? I can get a couple of the yard guys to come lend you a hand.”
Chance shook his head. “Nah, thanks though. I think if your daughter caught me accepting help, she'd toss me out on my backside but quick.”
Clyde laughed and tilted his hat down.
“Son, I know she can be a real handful, but trust me when I say, she will come around. Just do what you can, and don't let her give you any guff. If she does, tell her I said to come see me, got it?”
Chance nodded with a smile. “Yes, sir.”
“Say, why don't you come by the house for dinner tonight? Friday is fried chicken night! You look like you could use some good home-cooking.”
Chance bristled. He did, indeed, crave some home-cooked food, but the idea of sharing a meal with Mattie McCoy was less than appealing. Still, he knew it would be rude to turn down such a kind invitation from his boss.
“If it's not an imposition...”
Clyde smacked him on the back. “None at all, soldier! Come by the house at 6pm sharp! And wear a nice shirt. We dress up for fried chicken night!”
***
Chance must have reached out five times to knock on the door of the McCoy's ranch house , only to pull his hand away at the last minute. He couldn't stop himself from feeling completely awkward, and it took all of his energy to resist the urge to run screaming in the other direction. He lifted his hand and attempted to knock one more time when, instead, the door flew open in front of him, Mattie standing on the other side.
Clyde hadn't been kidding about dressing up; Mattie looked like an angel standing in the doorway. She was wearing a white lace dress that was short in the front but long and flowing in the back. Big, beautiful pink roses were embroidered onto the lace and their stems bent and traced all the way down the front. Mattie finished the look off with a thick brown leather belt and her cowboy boots, which kept it from looking too feminine.
Chance knew he was just staring at her, but he had no idea what to say. Luckily, Mattie was rarely without words.
“Dad told me he invited you over for dinner. And since it would have been rude for me to rescind an invitation that had already been extended, I suppose you can come in.”
The brief flash of affection Chance felt for Mattie disappeared when she took the opportunity to remind him that she had no use for him. Chance rolled his eyes as he followed her inside the massive foyer of the ranch house. Even the house looked more like it belonged on a resort. He couldn't believe that just Clyde and Mattie lived in this massive home.
“Is it just you and your father here?”
Mattie stopped outside what looked like a formal living room, where a fireplace was gently crackling, and a massive sheepdog was snoozing away, oblivious that anyone else had come in. Mattie sat on the edge of a couch and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Now, yeah. My mom died ten years ago, and my brothers all moved out as soon as they turned eighteen. Jay is a teacher in California and Rob is in the Marines. Dad said you were in the Navy or something?”
The sheepdog woke up and, with a goofy grin, toddled over to Chance for some attention, which he gave happily. Chance loved dogs and missed having one of his own.
“I was. I was a SEAL. Did three tours in the Middle East. My time finally came up this fall.”
Mattie eyed him suspiciously. “You were a SEAL? And you couldn't get a better job when you got out than as a ranch hand?”
Chance saw an instantaneous look of regret in Mattie's eyes. She put her hand over her mouth and shook her head, sending her long curls in a spin around her face like a silky tornado. Chance couldn't help but chuckle.
“I'm so sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. Sometimes I just talk before I realize what nonsense is coming out my mouth. I just meant...weren't there any better opportunities for you?”
Chance got down on the floor with the dog, who promptly shoved her large muzzle into his neck. Chance was enjoying the fact that, for once, Mattie McCoy was the one stumbling over words and not him.
“Well, my parents died while I was overseas, my sister got married and moved to the U.K., and the family farm burned down. I thought I'd have some time to weigh my options when I got home, but it didn't look like luck was on my side. So rather than hang around in Coyote Creek and beg for favors, I decided to hit the road and figure my shit out that way. I have to say, it's been interesting.”
He couldn't explain what changed, but something in Mattie's face softened. She sat down on the floor next to Chance, the lace of her dress creeping up her thighs and drawing Chance's eyes to her soft, tanned skin. He tried to be a gentleman and keep his eyes on the dog, but he couldn't stop noticing how lovely Mattie looked in the firelight. As if she knew what he was thinking, and wanted to defuse the situation, she reached out and gave the dog a gentle ruffle of the fur on her head.
“His name is Doc. He's been my best friend since I was a kid. It's kind of hard making friends, living this far out in the middle of nowhere.”
Chance couldn't help but laugh. “With your sunny disposition and welcoming attitude? I can't hardly believe it.”
Mattie feigned offense and playfully shoved Chance away just as Clyde walked into the living room, clad in an apron covered in flour.
“Chance! I didn't even hear you come in! I see you met old Doc. Come on in to the kitchen. You can help shuck the corn.”
Chance stood up from the floor, a grin plastered on his face.
“When you invited me for dinner, somehow I didn't imagine it would be you doing the cooking, sir.”
Mattie walked up behind her dad and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Dad's a great cook! He makes dinner every Friday. It's me who leaves a lot to be desired.”
Clyde gave his little girl a side hug, in an attempt not to cover her dress with flour.
“My girl brags on me, but it's just fried chicken! Doesn't take a genius. Now grab yourselves some corn and get to shucking! I want to get those ears over the grill out back.”
***
Several weeks went by like that, with Mattie bossing Chance around like a drill sergeant during the week, but then making sure he didn't forget to show up for Friday dinners. In all his years on the earth, Chance had never met a girl as confusing as Mattie McCoy, and he found himself thinking about her all of the time. Part of him knew she was probably too young for him; at nineteen, she was only a few years younger than his baby sister. But he couldn't help himself as he watched her tend to her horses or toil away at the vegetable gardens. She was strong, and smart, and had more gumption than most of the men Chance had met in the service.
He knew he shouldn't be thinking about her the way he did, but he thought about her just the same. Chance knew, however, that as long as Clyde McCoy was doing him the favor of letting him live on his property and providing him with such a fantastic job, he couldn't so much as look at Mattie with any kind of romantic intentions.
But then, the night came when a massive thunderstorm rolled across McCoy Ranch, and changed everything in a way that couldn't be undone.
Chance was out in the fields, chasing down a few stray head of cattle that had wandered away from the rest of the herd, when the unmistakable sound of thunder rolled across the mountains. Chance's horse bucked nervously underneath him, and the steer Chance was after took a quick glance at the sky before trotting its way home. He couldn't explain it, but a feeling of dread settled deep in his stomach, and Chance knew that he should be heading back for the ranch house.
Chance hadn't made it more than a few hundred feet when a huge crack of thunder shook the ground beneath him and a bolt of lightening flashed down right in the middle of the fields that sur
rounded McCoy ranch. It only took a moment, but smoke began to billow up from the center of the field, and Chance took off like a shot. It wouldn't take long for a fire to spread throughout the dry grasses of the fields, and if no one else saw what he saw, it could reach the ranch house in a matter of minutes.
Chance stopped the horse a fair bit away from the ranch and ran at top speed for the hose that they used to water the horses. He could smell fire, and it was too much for him to handle alone. Chance shouted as loudly as he could for Clyde and Mattie, for anyone. Some of the groundskeepers came running from behind the stables, buckets already in hand. Chance was spraying everything he could with the hose when Mattie bolted from inside the house.
“Chance! Oh my God, what...what happened?!”
Chance handed Mattie the hose as he darted to grab buckets from the groundskeepers so he could help douse the smaller fires that were springing up.
“Lightning! A storm rolled over the mountains! I saw it strike from the outer fields. Less talking, more dousing!”
Chance was trying to focus on the fire, but he couldn't help but notice how strong Mattie became in the face of adversity, how beautiful she looked with the stain of soot on her cheeks. He felt so foolish, allowing himself to be distracted under such circumstances. But he'd never met anyone like her before, and it was enough to distract any man who hadn't fully taken leave of his senses.
It took hours, hours of fighting a fire that simply did not want to be bested, before the danger finally began to subside. They'd managed to keep the house from sustaining any damage, but the cornfields were lost, and much of the vegetable garden. Chance could see Mattie was devastated, but they were lucky, far luckier than they could have been had they not caught it in time.
He walked over to where Mattie sat, rummaging through the charred remains of her squash and carrots, and sat down next to her.
“It could have been a lot worse, Mattie. A lot worse. We could have lost the house, the stables. At least all of this...it can be replanted. But some things can't be replaced.”
Chance reached over and put his hand on Mattie's knee. He half expected her to swat it away, but instead she placed her own hand on top of his and squeezed it.
“I just don't know what I'm going to tell Daddy. He left for Texas this morning, and I know he's going to want to rush back. But he's got a meeting about a merger with a cattle ranch in Houston, and I don't want him to worry.”
Chance turned his hand over so their fingers intertwined, and let his thumb run along the length of Mattie's palm. She felt a shiver run down her spine, a shiver she tried to ignore.
“Nothing is going to change tonight, or tomorrow. I'll stay up and keep an eye on things tonight. Once his meeting is over, then you call him. For now, nothing to be accomplished by him rushing back in a panic. You go get cleaned up, and I'm going to do the same. And then I'll stay on the porch tonight.”
Mattie squeezed Chance's hand again, and turned to look deep into his eyes.
“Can you...not...leave me? Please? You can stay in the ranch house tonight. Shower in one of the guest rooms. I'd just rather not be alone. I'm a little unsettled, I guess.”
Chance knew it was a terrible idea, which he should politely decline and go back to the stables. But there was something about the way Mattie was looking at him, the combination of sadness and resolution in her eyes, and Chance found himself saying the words before he'd even fully thought it over.
“I'll stay.”
***
Mattie walked out of the kitchen with two mugs of coffee and handed one to Chance. They'd both washed away the reminders of the fire and were sitting in the family room of the ranch house, the TV humming quietly in the background. He tried not to notice that Mattie was only wearing a long sweater, and didn't seem to have anything else on underneath. He felt his nerves begin to tingle, but tried to get control by focusing on the room.
Chance was surprised at how soothing this particular room was; it was filled with family photos, memories that weren't even his, yet being around any family at all brought him comfort.
Mattie sat next to Chance on the carpet and took a long, slow breath.
“Thank you for today. I never would have been able to save the ranch without you. If you hadn't been here, it all would have been lost. Chance...I'm sorry for the way I treated you. I just need you to understand. Everyone in my life, my mom, my brothers...everyone but Dad, they leave. I suppose I don't trust anyone, especially wanderers who just show up here looking for a quick buck. So, I hope you'll forgive me.”
Chance felt his defenses weaken and he reached out and ran his fingertips down Mattie's soft cheek. She reached up, took his hand into hers, and kissed his palm. For a moment, Chance snapped back to the present.
“Mattie...your father will kill me.”
Mattie laughed. “My father isn't here, Chance. Just me.” Mattie ran her hand through Chance's hair as she inched closer and closer to him. He couldn't believe what was happening, but he wasn't left with long to dwell on it. Mattie reached over and slid her hands under Chance's t-shirt, and lifted it over his head so she could once again take in the beauty of his sinewy form.
Not one to be left shirtless alone, Chance pulled off Mattie's sweater, shivering as his hands drifted over the curve of her breasts, as he felt her body leaning in to his touch. Mattie wrapped her arms around Chance's neck, and looked deep into his eyes. With a lustful whisper, she spoke into his ear, “I'm so glad you came here, Chance. I'm so glad you answered my call.” Chance buried his face in the slope of Mattie's neck, and let his hands slide down her back, into her jeans, and onto her firm, rounded ass.
Chance gently nibbled at Mattie's plump lips, and kissed her with a passion he hadn't felt for anything in his entire life. From the moment he saw her, he knew she was going to drive him crazy. He just hadn't understood in what way she was going to do it. As Mattie crawled into Chance's lap, she felt his rigid cock press into her thighs, drawing her in with the same desire that his kiss was echoing into her entire body.
Chance pulled away for a moment and whispered, “I knew you were going to be trouble, Mathilda McCoy. I knew it.”
Chance let his skilled hand drift between Mattie's legs, his fingers traveled up to trace the outline of her underwear, his own body thrilling at her warmth against his skin. Mattie hadn't felt this way for another person in her whole life, had never felt so drawn to a man. Her whole body was afire, and she was flush with the need to taste every inch of Chance's skin, nibble at him and let her tongue drift over his firm warmth.
Chance bent down and whispered into Mattie's ear, “I'm never letting you go, Mattie.”
Mattie laughed and kissed Chance on the cheeks. “What makes you think you have the option?”
Before Mattie knew what was happening, as Chance still let his fingers play with her pussy, he lifted her into the air, turned around, and set her softly on the thick carpet in front of them. The sight of Chance in the soft glow of the moonlight, of his big, brown eyes looking down at her with so much affection, left her in state of overwhelming desire and pure, unadulterated need.
Mattie was so consumed with her own passionate thoughts that she barely noticed as Chance slipped her panties off and tossed them into the corner of the room, a soft moan escaping his lips as he bent down to kiss the skin of her flat stomach. Mattie's own desire overcame her and she wrapped her long legs around Chance's strong torso, grinding her sex against Chance's muscled waist, dripping with the perspiration of their passion.
Mattie let her nails drift slowly down Chance's muscled back, sending a flurry of shivers through Chance's whole body. Both of them gave in to their extreme and overwhelming desire as they folded around each other, their skin aching with need to feel and touch and experience even more of one another.
Chance brought his lips to Mattie's strong sloped shoulders and kissed them gently, letting his tongue trace its way down her collarbone and to her chest. “God, Mattie, you're driving me cra
zy.”
Mattie pulled Chance closer to her, letting her feet trace the length of his legs and ass. “Ditto,” she whispered into his ear.
Chance leaned in to suck softly on Mattie's pert nipples, and Mattie knew she wanted to really feel Chance's thick cock against her hand. Mattie slid one hand into his jeans, and let her palm drift up and down the length of his trembling firmness. She let her fingers play tantalizingly with his cock, circling the tip, occasionally pausing at the bottom and letting her fingers graze his balls. It wasn't long before Mattie needed to feel more than just the touch of Chance's manhood; she needed to feel all of it, inside of her. Mattie stretched back and used her feet to push away Chance's pants.