“Only when you’re exerting yourself,” he naughtily whispered.
With a pillow between my teeth, I not only slept in Ollie’s bed that night, but I sweated profusely in it after we exertedourselves in doggie and missionary position. The man had no complaints about any of my bodily emissions. Just saying.
***
On Saturday we went to a minor league baseball game with my mom and aunt and left with sunburn and high spirits. The home team had won—Go Comets—and so when we cruised into the ranch in the late afternoon to attend a Labor Day picnic, we were ready to feast. Sure, we’d all had some hot dogs and chips at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, but there was always room for a burger, some potato salad, and peach pie.
We were exiting my SUV when Bella came bouncing down the stairs, her platinum locks in a thick ponytail as her sunny little dress flowed around her. In her hand, she had a small basket and a hardcover book. She always reminded me of a dandelion blow. Light and airy…dancing on the winds.
“Hi!” she greeted us with a smile. “Oh, ouch, you all look like you need some aloe on your pink noses.”
“Where are you off to?” I asked while offering my aunt a hand down from the back seat.
“I’m going over to Winnie’s house to read her the first chapter ofAnne of Green Gables. She loved it as a child and phoned over just a bit ago to ask if I could come visit and read it to her.”
I threw a fast look at Ollie who also seemed worried. Then I glanced back at Bella ruffling my son’s damp hair.
“You’re going to the Owens ranch alone?” I enquired just as the screen door opened and Lincoln stepped out, his eyes darting to Bella then us.
“She’s not going alone. I’m escorting her,” Linc announced with a tone that brooked no interference or confusion. Okay then. Bella’s big bear of an admirer was at her side. “We’ll be back in time for dinner.”
Bella rolled her pretty green eyes and then made her way to the ranch truck. I had to wonder where her other protector was but didn’t ask. Ford never left her side for long.
“If you need backup…” I said in a low tone meant only for Linc to hear.
“Thanks. They don’t want to even breathe the wrong way at her,” Lincoln replied, slammed his favorite hat on his head, and stalked off to open the door for Bella. Once they were off, we made our way inside to find Ford and Baker fiddling about on my laptop in the kitchen.
“Hey, you didn’t want to go with Bella?” I asked, dropping down into a chair next to Baker. Ollie went over to peck Granny on the cheek and tried to steal a cube of cooked potato from the bowl she was adding mayo to. She slapped playfully at his hand but let him snag a tater. Mom and Aunt Joey sat down as my aunt dug in her huge purse and produced a bottle of aloe vera gel. She and Mom began slathering their arms.
“I was told that too many Bastians rolling up to the Owens ranch would only result in a showdown like inTombstone.” Ford tapped the edge of the laptop. “I didn’t know what that meant, so Baker was educating me.”
“Imagine saying you’re a cowboy and not knowingTombstone,” Baker muttered as the screen blinked to life.
After the short little lesson on films starring Val Kilmer, Kurt Russell, and Sam Elliott—what a trio—I wrestled the Dell from them to show off the nearly completed website I’d been working on in my spare time. Not that I’d had much of that this past week, but that was good. Mental health and falling in love were important. Love. Shit. That was such a big word, but it fit the big feelings I had for Ollie Ahoka. Scared to death of those emotions, I recognized them and accepted them into my heart. No point in lying to myself. I had fallen hard.
“Dodge, are you okay? Did the heat get to you?” Mom asked, trying to rub some aloe vera on Dahn’s nose. He waved it off at first but then learned that a determined grandmother with a bottle of gel for a pink nose was not easily dissuaded.
“I’m good. Just had to remember my password,” I fibbed as I brought up the webpage.
“Ollie, get out of my salad makings!” Granny scolded playfully. My lover rushed away from her wooden spoon with a hard-boiled egg in his hand and then plopped down beside me to enjoy his ill-gotten gains. “I ain’t never seen a lawman with such light fingers.”
“I’m in trouble,” Ollie whispered around his stolen egg.
“Scamp,” I replied and gave him a kiss on eggy lips. Mom giggled. “Right, so yes, this will be the new Bastian Acres Ranch website.”
“There was never an old one,” Baker mumbled, leaned back in his seat, arms folded, chair on its rear legs.
“Sit right,” Granny scolded. Baker’s chair thudded to the floor.
“Well, now there will be. I just need a few scenic shots from Hanley to pepper in among the photos of the cabins, horses, cattle, and goats.”
Mom scooted closer, looking intently at the image of the first cabin to come online. The Horny Hoot Owl. Someone, I think possibly Linc, had coined it, but I’d renamed it the Double H just because I thought it sounded poetically western. No one had to know what the two H’s stood for…
“This place is gorgeous, boys,” Mom said. Aunt Joey joined her in closely perusing the interior and exterior shots of the completed cabin. Mom’s gaze met mine. “We know at least a hundred people who would love to rent this place out for a week or two.”
“Helen, we could book it for a retreat. At Samhain!” Aunt Joey blurted out. Within seconds, the two of them were shoving credit cards at me to lock down the Double H for ten days.
“You do realize there are only two small bedrooms in that cabin, right?” I asked to ensure they weren’t just caught up in things.
