Falling For A Cowboy (20 page)

The next morning
Dusty had
started
breakfast
by the time he came down
.
Dressed in fresh jeans and a plaid shirt with pearl snaps, he looked every inch a cowboy.
A cowboy with a sexy smile and the body to deliver
.

Earlier, h
e
’
d threatened to join her
in the
shower
.
Given
that
they
’
d just concluded
another round of love
-
making, she
’
d begged him for mercy
.
As incredible as it had been, and it had been incredible, she needed time to rec
uperate
, time to sort out her feelings.
He
’
d been true to his promise and taken her someplace she
’
d never been before. And now she feared her heart had gone along too.

When she
’
d been dating Bradley, their relationship had been comfortable
.
No heart-pounding moments, just steady contentment
.
And sex had been a way of feeling closer, not necessarily
to
giv
e
and get
pleasure
.
With Clay she
’
d achieved both intimacy and
gratification
at
a magnitude she
’
d never even imagined.

Was this just afterglow or was this real
?
She feared it was real
.
If it was, she
’
d likely set herself up for incredible heartbreak
—
deeper and broader than anything that had happened
before
. Or incredible happiness, a small voice of hope countered.

Clay
sauntered
over to
where she stood
at the stainless steel stove
, Whitey following on his heels
.
Clay
growled as he kissed her throat
and
then
pecked her cheek
.
The scent of sandalwood followed him
.
It was a sweet peck
, and she returned it
.

His gaze softened
,
taking away some of the awkwardness she felt
.

“
I
’
ve made bacon,
the
home fries are almost done
,
and the eggs will be coming up in a minute
.
Scrambled or once over?
”

He
smiled,
a full faced smile
.
“
Scrambled
.
I kind of like this
.
Feels nice and homey.
Can I help?
”

She smiled back
.
“
No
.
Everything
’
s good
.
Just sit right down at the table and I
’
ll get your coffee.
”

As she busied getting his coffee from the coffee maker, she heard the
scrape
of his
chair on the tile floor
.
When she turned back he was seated with
his legs stretched out.

“
Service, too?
”
he asked.

“
With a smile,
”
she said
,
and set the steaming hot cup before him
.
“
Milk and sugar?
”

“
I take mine black, but I
’
d like a little sugar
.
From you.
”
The blue of his eyes deepened
.
“
Come here.
”
He opened up his arms.

After last night s
he had no
embarrassment
about kissing him
.
He pushed back
in
the chair and spread his thighs
.
She came and stood between those powerful limbs, rested her hands on his shoulders and stared into those baby-blues
.
What would it be like to stare into
them
on a regular basis?

“
I intend to earn your trust, Dusty. I want more
.
From you.
”

Something deep inside of her let go
.
She believed him. She was just going to say so when
an
acrid smell greeted her nose.
“
The fries!
”

Gratefully, they weren
’
t too burned and she was able to get the eggs finished without setting off the smoke detector. Sitting across from Clay, eating their breakfast together, it wasn
’
t hard to imagine them as a couple. But she
would
need to know a lot more about him
first
.

“
This is good, honey.
”
He gave her a wink as he inhaled more food.
“
I like my
‘
taters well-
done.
”

She looked down at the mix of brown and blackened potatoes and cringed.
“
The
y
’
re a little on the crisp side.
”
She squirted some ketchup over them.

He dropped a piece of bacon in Whitey
’
s direction
.
The dog gobbled it up in one bite.

“
We don
’
t really feed him table food.
”
She sounded like her mother.

“
Hard to resist those button eyes. I was just trying to make up to him for taking his place last night in your bed.
”
He gave her a
nother
wink
.

Her stomach fluttered. But this was no time to get distracted.
If he wanted a relationship with her, there were things she was curious about.
“
Clay, can I ask you some questions
.
Some personal questions?
”

He stopped, fork in mid air
,
and gave her a long look
.
“
What
’
s on your mind?
”

“
You said you were
here to
earn money
.
If it
’
s not to get to the NFR, can I ask for what?
”

Setting down the fork, he leaned his elbows on the table
.
“
I
’
m not a rodeo rider—
but
I
’
m not exactly a cowhand either.
”

She raised her eyebrows. Possibilities swirled in her head
.
“
What exactly are you?
”

“
I
’
m part owner of a ranch, with my mother
.
It
’
s our family spread
.
When Pa died I inherited forty-nine percent.
”

“
A rancher?
”
Rancher meant prosperous and someone tied to a place.
That ember of hope was
sparking
.
“
What kind of ranch?
”

“
It
’
s a cattle ranch, but with the price of beef and all the issues with raising cattle, we
’
re struggling with our modest spread
.
I
’
m considering raising and training cutting horses
instead
.
”

“
Like
Sweet Water
?
”
Sweet Water Ranch
had a long history and a sterling reputation.

He chuckled
and
the corners of his eyes crinkled up
.
“
Well, maybe by the time my kids are running it we can say like
Sweet Water
.
For now, I
’
m just trying to raise stud fees.
”

“
You can
’
t afford stud fees?
”
Maybe not so prosperous.

“
Well, my mama…
”
He
looked up at her from under his eyebrows,
“
S
he isn
’
t as convinced as I am about all this
.
I
’
m determined to raise the money myself. I own a fine mare with good bloodlines from
Cogdell
stock and I
’
m hoping to breed her to a
prize-
winning stallion from
Sweet Water
.
”

“
Sundancer
?
”
He was the finest at the ranch.

Clay nodded
.
“
He
’
s the one.
”

And very expensive.
“
You can
’
t convince your mother, huh?
”

“
Kate Tanner
’
s a smart woman but change comes hard to her. She
’
s from the
“
show me
”
state of mind
.
She
’
s got to see something before she
’
s going to embrace it. In the meantime, I
’
m also looking into going organic
.
Costs more but you
charge
more for your beef and for a small outfit like us, the numbers could work out.
”

Dusty rested her back against the chair
.
She was impressed.
Clay was full of ideas
.
Full of dreams.
But it sounded like h
e wasn
’
t just
dreaming,
he was doing something about them
.
She had to admire that. From working at
Sweet Water
in the summers
,
she knew what he planned would take a lot
.
Even
Sweet Water,
with its storied reputation
,
had fallen on hard times before
Del Hanover
had come along, though that had more to do with outside forces than the nature of the ranch.

“
So you
’
re
really
not a rodeo cowboy?
”

He shook his head as he took a large forkful of fries
.
“
Disappointed?
”

She couldn
’
t help but smile
.
“
No.
”

“
Good
.
Because I
’
m afraid you
’
ve let your breakfast get cold.
”

After nuking her breakfast for thirty seconds in the microwave, she sat back down
.
He
’
d f
inished
and was
sipping his coffee, apparently watching her every move.

“
How about you
?
Like, what if you got a job in Fort Davis
.
Would you move down there
?
It
’
s not all that far from Marfa.
”