8
You two enjoy yourselves.” Mama Indy’s salutation rang out through the air as she waved through the open window of the SUV. Aaron pulled off, and the two disappeared down theroad.
On the front porch Mandisa watched and waved until the taillights of the vehicle disappeared from her view. She leaned back into the cushions of the porch swing, patted her full belly andsighed.
“I don’t know how many more of those wonderful meals my gut can take. I swear I’m gonnaburst.”
“Does that mean there’s no room for Mama Indy’s coffee?” Slade stood in the doorway holding a coffee tray in hishand.
“If you know what’s good for you, you’ll hand over the coffee nice and easy,cowboy.”
The look on his face, the perfect mixture of amusement and fear, tickled a small giggle out of Mandisa as the big man shuffled to herside.
“You know, most folks don’t really use the term ‘cowboy’ out here. Most would call me arancher.”
“Really? Well, I can stop calling you cowboy if you'd like. But cowboy is so muchsexier.”
His smile softened his features as he said, “Cowboy it is,then.”
Mandisa took a long sip of the sweet concoction, letting its warmth travel through her body, soothing away the minor chill brought by the eveningsky.
“I swear to all that’s holy Mama Indy must put freebase in this damn coffee.” She was only slightly aware of the choking sounds Slade was making besideher.
“Did…you…just…” Slade’s sputtered speech made her smile lazily across her coffee cup. “…accuse my elderly mama of lacing her coffee withdrugs?”
Mandisa nodded her head. “Slade, this stuff is as addictive as the rock dudes are slinging on the corners in Brooklyn. Does she buy it? Grow it? I just know I need the connect so I can re-up when I go backhome.”
Slade put his cup down and leaned back into the cushions of the chair as he shook his head. “I swear I just stepped into an episode ofTheWire.”
“Nah,The Wiretook place in Baltimore. I’m from Brooklyn. Rememberthat.”
She felt him inch closer to her on the porch swing’s bench. The familiar heat adding to the cozy feeling Mama Indy’s coffee began when Mandisa took her first sip. Taking a final mouthful of the brew, she gently placed her cup on the end table next to her and reclined until she felt the hard press of his shoulder beneath herhead.
“Can we not move from this spot…ever?”
She felt the slight shift of his weight send the swing into a slow back-and-forth lull. She opened her eyes slightly. The bright moon sat proud in the sky above them, casting a romantic glow across the land and the porch. Her eyes walked from Slade’s crossed ankles, up his powerful legs, flat stomach, and expansive chest and arms until his face came into view. Cast in the same amber glow as the rest of their surroundings, he looked majestic,celestial.
“Hmm, you like it here?” he asked before he pulled her closer into his side, bidding her to rest in hisembrace.
Liked was an understatement. “What’s not to like? Mama Indy’s food is phenomenal, the house is spacious, and the land is beautiful. It’s like being on an exoticvacation.”
She could feel the rumble of his chuckle as it moved through his chest, tickling the side of her cheek as it rested just above hisheartbeat.
“Texas?Exotic?”
“To someone from Brooklyn, yeah. Don’t get me wrong—there are some beautiful areas of Brooklyn. It’s not all a dangerous war zone like the media would have you believe. But it’s a different kind of beauty. Where you have land and greenery spread out as far as the eye can see, Brooklyn is hard planes and concrete. Brooklyn is a mix of old buildings with eclectic histories and people. Each neighborhood and its architecture tells a different story about the inhabitants that have called it home from generation togeneration.”
She felt the slow stroking of his fingers drawing circles on her upper arm. The contact, although muted by the fabric of her shirtsleeve, sent tiny spikes of electricity across herskin.
“You know, if we’re going to go riding tonight, we should probably get to it, Mandisa.” The low rumble of Slade’s voice made her skin tingle withneed.
She was looking forward to riding with him. Had been all day as Aaron had dutifully taken her on a day trip into town when Slade was called away from the ranch on business. But sitting on his porch, watching the heavens and all their nocturnal celestial bodies, Mandisa couldn’t bring herself to leave this moonlit oasis. “Would you be terribly upset if we just stayed righthere?”
“You don’t want to goriding?”
She could hear the unspoken, “with me,” dangling in the air. She placed a gentle hand over his and allowed it to rest. “I do want to, but I’d like to talk to youfirst.”
Slade must have noticed the serious tone of her voice, because he sat up, effectively disengaging his hand from under hers as he turned to face her. “Everythingokay?”
