Loving Lauren (23 page)

Lauren lay there and listened to his heartbeat slow down. His breathing had leveled out and she could feel the light sheen of perspiration on his skin. She'd never felt so alive, and even though he was crushing her with his weight, she didn't want this moment to end.

“I hope you don't mind us crashing here,” he said, then placed a soft kiss on her shoulder.

“Hmm, anytime.” She smiled up at the ceiling.

“Good, because I don't think I could move if the house was on fire.” She chuckled.

“Don't. I like it right where you are.”

“Hmm, you smell wonderful.” He began to place soft kisses on her neck and she was amazed that she could feel him growing inside her again. “On second thought, maybe I can move.” She chuckled and was happy he could.

The next morning she woke an hour before sunrise. She had a full day ahead of her. She had to work the morning shift at the diner and then she needed to help her men vaccinate the cattle that were going off to be auctioned. Looking down, she noticed Buddy snuggling with Dingo on the dog bed and sighed. They looked so cute together.

Half an hour later, when she stepped out of the bathroom fully dressed, she saw Chase coming back in through the window with Buddy in his arms. Dingo jumped through the opening, looking totally pleased that there was another way into the house. “He had to go out. You know, you could probably turn that window into a patio door.” He set Buddy down and stood looking at her window.

“I've thought about it.” She reached down and picked Buddy up and scratched between his ears. “I've got to get going. I have the early shift at Mama's.” She hugged the small dog and set him back down next to Dingo, then gave her loyal dog a few pats on the head.

“Okay.” He turned and kissed her, then went back to looking at her wall.

“Chase?”

“Hmmm?” He didn't turn around.

“What are your plans for the day?”

“Oh, I have some personal things to take care of.” He turned and gave her his full attention. “Why?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe we could have lunch before I ride out and help with the cattle.”

“Sounds great. What do you say to eating at my place? I need to get a few things there. Then I have some work that needs to be done.”

She thought about it and nodded. “Sounds good. I'll see you there.”

When she got to Mama's a little before six, the diner was already packed. She liked working a few hours here and there, because it afforded her the time to catch up with some of the people in town. The extra money in her pocket didn’t hurt either. Of course, she'd been depositing that money into their joint account to pay Chase back in hopes of having her freedom someday.

She quickly put her purse in the back and got to work. Shifting around the place—refilling coffee mugs, delivering food, and taking orders—she couldn't stop thinking about her and Chase's relationship. Did she still want her freedom from him? Sure, she now viewed them as being in a relationship, but did that mean she wanted to stay married to him?

By eleven she was ready to leave, and her head hurt from running the question over and over in her mind. She knew she didn't have to make any major decisions just yet, but still, she took her time and deposited her latest check from the diner into the bank.

She was shocked when she found out that Chase had withdrawn a large chunk. She knew she'd told him that he could do whatever he wanted with the money. After all, it was his. But still, there was a part of her that was sad to see the large balance going down for once. It also made her think about the changes in their relationship, the uncertainty of what was to come.

When she drove up to his place, he was setting a large salad bowl on the picnic table. When he looked up and smiled, her mind cleared. By the time she turned off her truck, he was there opening the door for her. He pulled her into a hug and kissed her lightly.

“Hello.” She couldn't explain it, but her body just melted when he looked at her like that.

“Hi. Did you have a good morning at the diner?”

“Yes, fairly uneventful. How was your morning?”

He smiled and tugged her towards the table. “Very productive. I'm starving. I hope you don't mind, but I thought we'd just do a salad and sandwiches.”

“Sounds wonderful. I've got to head out soon to help the men.” She fanned herself as she sat in the shade; even here it was almost too hot to be comfortable. She had changed from her diner uniform to her jeans, shirt, and boots at the diner. Even though the clothing was hotter than her skirt and blouse, it felt more comfortable.

“Here, have some tea.” He poured her a glass. It felt good to just sit in the shade and enjoy a simple meal. By the time her sandwich was gone, the heat no longer bothered her. She was laughing so hard and enjoying her time with Chase so much that when she looked down at her watch, she was shocked at how fast the hour had gone by.

As she drove out to the large barn at the back of the north field, she was already looking forward to seeing him at dinner.

Driving up, she parked next to Jimmy's old truck. The men were on their horses, separating cattle. Jimmy and Larry, another longtime worker, were working in the small stalls, giving immunizations to the cattle. It was a two-person job and she knew just how sore a person would be at the end of the day from doing any part of it.

Getting out of the truck, she wasn't surprised to see Dingo jog up to her. Taking a moment, she bent and pet the loyal dog. When she walked up to Jimmy, he looked a little relieved.

“Good, we could use the extra hand.” He stood up and wiped the sweat from his face with a white handkerchief.

“Are we short staffed?” She looked around and counted heads. To her count, three men were missing. She saw Haley out in the mix of men and felt a little proud that her sister could keep up with the hardest of men.

“Yeah, well,” Jimmy stepped up to the fence and rested his boot on the bottom rung. “I had to let my nephew go.” He tipped his hat back and she got a look at his face. Large black bruises ran down the left side of his face. His left eye was swollen and black.

“What happened?” She stopped right in front of him, grabbing his face with her hands. “Jimmy?”

“Let's just say that a few men will no longer be on the payroll. I'll take some time next week to replace them, but until then”—he motioned towards the large herd of cattle—“we have our hands full. It may take us a few more days to get it all done, but we'll get 'er done.” He pulled his hat back down on his head. “If you're ready to help...”

She crawled up and over the fence and got to work.

Chase wiped the sweat from his brow and stood back. “Not a bad job.” He looked down at Buddy and Dingo who sat at his feet, both of their tails wagging as they looked up at him. Buddy's head was tilted like he was trying to understand. “I just hope she doesn't skin me alive when she sees this.”

Just then he heard a noise behind him. When he spun around, he saw Lauren standing inside the doorway. There was a thick layer of dust covering every inch of her. Her hair had straw and hay sticking out of it. Sweat had streaked down her brow, clearing the dust in long lines down her face. Her jeans and shirt were brown from dirt and she smelled like cow. She'd removed her boots and stood in front of him in her socks.

“What is that?” She pointed behind him.

“Well, it's what we've been working on all day. Do you like it?” He turned and looked at the large French doors that led to the back deck.

She shrugged her shoulders and started to walk past him towards the bathroom. He caught up with her just as she pulled her dirty shirt off and tossed it into the dirty clothes bucket. He had expected something, some sort of response, but her lack of caring concerned him.

“You aren't mad?” He leaned back against the door and watched her strip off her pants, exposing a small pair of red panties that made his mouth water.

“It's not like I can make you put back my wall.” She walked over and flipped on the water, checking the temperature before stripping off the rest of her clothes and stepping in and shutting the glass doors.

He walked over and stood outside the steamy glass, watching her hazy image as she rinsed her body off. He couldn't keep his body from reacting to hers as she did her unintentional erotic show. Quickly removing his clothes, he stepped in behind her. She didn't even open her eyes as he pulled her closer and ran his hands over her slick body.

“Rough day?” He leaned in and placed a kiss on her forehead.

“Hmmm. We're short staffed.” She leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Why didn't you call me? I could have helped.” He pulled back and looked down at her. It stung a little, knowing that she hadn't thought to ask him for help.

“You said you had things to do. I had no idea one of those things was cutting a huge hole in the side of my house.” He could feel the tension leaving her body as she spoke. Her arms hung on his shoulders and her body pressed up tight against his.

He
had
led her to believe he'd be busy all day. Had he known that they needed help in the fields, he would have gladly postponed his surprise. He felt like a fool for spending his day working on something so unimportant when there had been real work that needed to be done. Well, the good thing about him was that he was a quick learner. First thing, he was going to have a talk with Jimmy about giving him a call when he needed help.

For now, all he could do was make sure Lauren felt better. He ran his hands down her body, turned her to face away from him, then took a handful of soap and scrubbed her hair clean of the dust and dirt. She moaned and placed her hands against the tiled walls, trying to steady herself. Once he had rinsed her hair clean, he soaped up his hands and ran them over every inch of her body as she held onto his shoulders. He made sure she was rinsed off, then he shut off the cold water and wrapped her in a large towel, picking her up and carrying her to the bed. She sighed and looked up at him, wrapping her arms around him. “Don't go anywhere.”

“Never,” he whispered, then followed her down to the soft bed, pulling her close as she snuggled next to him.

Lauren woke several hours later and realized she was alone, except for Buddy who was snuggled deep next to her. The little dog sure did sleep a lot. She tried to move him aside, only to have him snuggle deeper. She chuckled as she sat up and looked around. The bright colors from the sunset were coming in her new French doors. Pulling on a pair of shorts and a tank top, she walked over and looked at the doors. She'd always wanted to put doors there. It’s what her father had intended to do years ago when he had built the deck, but he’d never had the chance. Reaching down, she opened it and was surprised how easily the door glided opened. Walking out on the deck, she smiled as Buddy followed her outside. The sun was setting, causing the sky to be filled with a million colors. Sitting down on a cushioned chair, she sighed and enjoyed the quiet moment alone.