“OK,” I reply, gesturing for her to follow me as we start walking toward the path leading to the barn. “How ‘bout I give you thegrandtour, Austin style. All the sights and sounds we can fit in before dusk and then we’ll hit the kitchen and I’ll try not to spoil dinner.”
“Sounds good. I’ve just got one question,” she says, rubbing her chin with a serious look on her face.
I frown. “What’s that?”
Her slow grin lets me know she’s messing with me. “Are you a better cook now than you were growin’ up? Cause I seem toremember a birthday cake we tried to make for your sister that we ended up using as a frisbee instead.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “Guess that’s somethin’ for me to know and you to find out.”
As we walkthrough the ranch, I tell her all about the cattle we’ve bought and bred and how the bull stud works. She pats the horses in the stables and hangs on my every word when I tell her about how we adopt retired rodeo animals to give them another life here on the ranch.
Charlie takes in every detail, her eyes never once glazing over with boredom or disinterest. "Colt was saddle bronc ridin' before he left with Lee for Colorado. He still competes thanks to Red hookin' him up with an old friend who runs the circuit there. Rhett was teachin' him everythin' he knew. That's why we have the corral and stables," I explain as we stop and lean against the wooden railings.
“What about you?” she asks, leaning her head against her arms and looking my way. “Did you ever compete? Throw a lasso and catch a calf or anythin’? I can just imagine you wearin’ chaps and a big ol’ belt and hat.” The blush tinting her cheeks has me feeling on top of the world.
“Calf ropin’? Hell no.” I laugh and shake my head. “Those little beggars are quicker than you think. Nah, I never wanted to compete. Too focused on helpin’ Rhett train and succeed. He wontwochampionships and numerous other belts before he hung up his hat.”
“Bet y’all were proud as punch of him. Especially your parents,” she adds.
"We all were. But it was high time we all came home. We were itchin’ to get back to workin' the land and makin' this piece of dirt our own. It's like our own rodeo now, just with fewer injuries and without a crowd."
“Except now you’re givin’ back to the land, restorin’ the mountain to her former glory, and lookin’ after the animals who gave so much to the circuit. It’s heartwarmin’, Austin. Truly admirable.” She looks me over, her gaze soft and warm. “It’s inspirin’,”
I still, my breath catching in my throat. I look down at my feet because the warm feeling brewing inside of me is so strong it’s disconcerting. “It’s not just me, you know.”
“It’s all of y’all, I know that. But Iknowyou, Austin. You’ve always been a man to give more than you’d ever except back. You want to help your family and be that rock they can rely on. It’s just who you are.” She smiles. “And the man standin’ in front of me now is not a lot different from the one I left behind. Except he’s better, which says a lot considerin’ you were the best man I knew back then too.”God, I want to kiss her right now…even if it's just to stop her from looking at me like I've hung the moonandthe stars for her.
I palm my hat and run my fingers through my hair, feeling a little self-conscious under her praise. “Just a rancher, Char. Nothin’ special about that.”
Her blue eyes grow warm, and I don’t even try and stop myself from getting lost in them. “You still can’t take a compliment, which is funny ‘cause from where I’m standin’, there ain’t onebad thing about you,” she continues. “And there’s so much more that you keep to yourself. It’s what drew me to you back then. You’ve got parts you show people and then there’s the parts you don’t. And girls like me,womenlike me, we want to know it all. We want what no one else gets to see.”
The warm feeling that spreads through me at her words has nothing to do with the sun beating down on us, and everything to do with what she just revealed. She wants to get to know me. All of me. What she doesn’t realize is that she’s had me all along…
But knowing she felt it back then and still feels it now, fills me with renewed confidence, especially when it comes to the woman standing in front of me.
I slowly look her over, not missing the way she trembles as I do it. “You’ve achieved so much and you’re standin’ here praisin’me? You save lives and help bring new ones into the world." I wave my hand out in the air. "All I do is work the land, plant trees, and breed animals."
"Yet somehow, we’re not all that different, Austin. We both give back in our own ways and neither one is less important than the other. It's somethin' that should be celebrated. You've done well for yourself, and you should be damn proud of everythin' you've done and achieved."
I nod, feeling self-conscious but also seen. “Well, in case I haven’t made it clear already, you're not so bad yourself, Char.”
She chuckles, a light and melodic sound that makes my heart skip a beat. I could happily listen to it for the rest of my life. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Austin. And I'm more than 'not bad', I'm a catch," she beams, making my grin grow so wide it hurts my face.
We stand there for a moment, the tension crackling like electricity, drawing us closer together with each passing second. I can physically feel the pull between us, so much so, I give up fighting it and shift closer. "Maybe it's time we stopped tip-toein' around this, doc.”
Her eyes flash wide, surprise flickering in their depths but there’s also a burning curiosity in her gaze too. "What are you sayin’, Austin?"
I reach out and gently tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear, my fingers lingering against her silky smooth skin as my pulse spikes, my heart punching my chest like a raging bull barrelling down the chute. “I think we should?—”
Charlie’s body jolts, her eyes jumping wide before she does it again. “What the?” She looks down and gasps.
It’s then I catch the ranch’s pet goat, Nelly Nosey Parker, head butting Charlie’s leg before grabbing the hem of her dress in her teeth and nibbling on it like it’s the best thing since sliced bread.
“Nelly!” I growl, quickly bending down to save the fabric from her mouth. Except I startle her, and a loud rip cracks through the air, the skirt of Charlie’s dress fraying as the goat pulls a long strip of it free.
“Dammit, Nelly,” I grind out, diving after her and getting a mouthful of dirt for my troubles.
Charlie snorts, her hand flying to her mouth as she erupts into a fit of giggles. “Oh my god, Austin. You look–” She wheezes as she tries to get her amusement under control. “That goat is hilarious.”
