Chapter Fourteen
As I walk down the long hallway back to the living room, I can feel her settling into me. I doubt she even realizes it…but I smile, because she feels safe.I sit her down in the recliner then pull the handle on the side.“Thanks.” She whispers as she adjusts herself into a comfortable position. But as I watch her, I notice something—her zipper is down. Shit, she’s wearing pink panties. I wouldn't have assumed her to wear something so feminine—but hey, since the moment I met her, I knew it was just a front.Well, payback’s a bitch, baby.
“So…” I hum deep in my throat. “pink is your favorite color?”
Her eyes shoot up to me, clearly wondering if I’m an idiot. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Oh, no reason.” I shrug. “Looks good on you though—I mean, from what I can see.”
Her eyes shoot down past her belt, obviously remembering what color she chose for underwear this morning. “SHIT.” She panics and quickly pulls the zipper. A deepchuckle escapes my chest as I walk away and into the kitchen to get us both some dinner. It wasn’t a lie—they look good on her. I’d like to see the rest of them.
I pull my phone from my pocket and read the text that just came through. It’s from Brian, they’ll be here with Blaze in about thirty minutes. I’ll need to go out and help get her settled. Opening the fridge I see some left overs my girls made the night before I left. I’ll send a message to Lythie, letting her know I’ll come pick the hooligans up tomorrow. Studying the shelves for a few seconds, I determine the leftovers of mashed potatoes and gravy will do just fine. I’ll steam some broccoli in the microwave and butter a piece of bread to go with it. No protein, but it is what it is.
I place the last piece of bread on Dixie's plate and hope she’s not picky. She doesn’t seem like the type, but you never know. I place four pills in a medicine cup I keep in my silverware drawer for the girls, and make my way back to the living room where she’s still sitting in the chair.
“How does this look?” I hold the food out in front of me and offer it to her with a bottle of water and her pills.
“Looks delicious, Thanks—boss.” … She remembered.
Hiding my smirk is almost impossible. “You’re welcome. I didn’t have to remind you this time.” She makes a face. I let my smirk loose and retrieve my dinner from the kitchen then move to sit on the long sofa couch to the right of the chair she’s lounging in. I grab the remote from the coffee table and hit the power button with my thumb. “What do you usually watch?”
She pauses before admitting, “I don’t.”
Okay, so she doesn’t watch television. That’s fine, I purchased most of the John Wayne classics on my Amazon Prime. I hit play on the first one that comes up.“This one’s always been my favorite. Maureen O’Hara plays in it.”
She glances at the picture on the screen. “Oh, so you like redheads?”
Fuck… This woman. “No, I just thought I’d mention it in case you needed a reason to like it. Maureen is an icon… You’ve never heard of her?”
“Nope. Never seen her before in my life. I told you—I don’t watch anything. I always preferred riding my horse and playing in the dirt, still do.” The moment she says she still enjoys playing in the dirt, she cracks a smile. She’s going to get along great with my girls.
“You know John Wayne though?” I push further.
She nods her head up and down hesitantly. “Heard of him.”
For, the love of all that’s holy.“Well, let me be the first to introduce you toThe Duke.”I cock my chin to watch her take a bite off her plate. She must sense I’m staring because she stops chewing and slowly turns her neck to look at me. Her eyebrows lift at the same time and she stuffs the food she’s chewing into both cheeks like a chipmunk before talking with her mouth full, “You gonna stare at me or turn on the show? You’ve convinced me, I’m ready!”
My jaw tightens, and I run my tongue over my bottom lip. If my guys talked to me the way she does, they’d be tossed and told to pack their bags. Whenshedoes it though, my dicktwitches.
Fifteen minutes in, I hear a truck pull up onto the gravel out front and I know who it is, so I pause the movie.
“Awe! I was just getting into that…” She whines.
“I’ve gotta go help put your horse in the barn. I can go while you keep watching.”
“No!” She says adamantly. So without another word I lift her out of her seat, and take her outside with me. Brian is there with a few other men from Search and Rescue. I sit Dixie on a bale of hay to watch. It takes all of us to move the horse and get her into her stall. But once she’s in, she lowers herself to the hay and blows out a huff through flared nostrils.
“She’s tired. Pretty bruised up, a few cuts, but no broken bones in her limbs. We were all shocked. They examined her and she’ll need to follow-up with a vet, but other than that, she just needs rest and recovery.” Brian says, giving us a few more details, then waving off the help.
I pat his shoulder. “Thanks for everything you did today.”
“No problem, sir.” Brian offers with a smile. Then he looks at Dixie on her hay bale. “You know it wasn’t your fault, don’t you, Dixie?” He moves to squat down in front of her. I want to lunge forward and shove his ass out of the way like a little kid.That’s my spot.Does he like her? If he does, too bad. Against the rules.My rules.
I rub my hand over my beard trying to cool down. Dixie’s saying something, but it’s hushed and quiet. Then I notice he’s holding her hat. I watch as he hands it to her, and she softly caresses it with her fingers. Sheplaces it on her head and smiles. He must’ve found it at the bottom or somewhere in-between on that cliff. I noticed she wasn’t wearing it after we pulled her up. But the afternoon was such a whirlwind, she hadn’t even mentioned it. I wonder if she forgot about it too until just now.
“Alright, you can go back to the bunkhouse and sleep for the night.”Get the hell away from her,is what I’m actually saying. I’m always protective of women, hell, people. I’d jump in front of a semi-truck to save a stranger. But the feelings of possession… that’s new. Well, it’s notnew.I’m that way with the women closest to me, the ones I care about.Holy shit, do I care about Dixie Wilder like that?
I clear my throat and continue.“I know you were supposed to be up there with everyone since I was planning to come back and take care of everything here… But I’m going to need you to stay. The few boys who didn’t go up, need management, and my responsibilities have shifted.”
