“I liked you on the spot, Charley Cooper,” he told her, just as she’d said to him about the Coopers.
Charley smiled and then a soft laugh escaped her. “I like you, too, Sullivan Custis.”
“Back to sleep?” he asked.
“Back to sleep,” she agreed, but when he stood, she grasped his hand. “Stay with me?”
Wearing only his boxer shorts, Sully hesitated for the span of one breath taken and then said, “Sure.”
“I’ll try not to scream,” Charley whispered.
With that, Charley moved over in the bed and laid down. Sully stretched out on his back beside her. She rolled away from him to her right side. He heard her take a deep, shuddering breath. He stared at the ceiling. Lying in bed with a woman and not touching her was a first. Charley Cooper was a first too. In every way imaginable.
When Sully woke, it was morning and he was alone. He sat up and saw that Charley’s leopard pants were no longer at the end of the bed. Had she left without telling him? He rolled out of bed and went downstairs. In his master bedroom, he was pulling on a pair of jeans when he heard her call out to him from the kitchen. He smiled, liking the sound of her voice. He answered her, and then grabbing a shirt, he padded barefoot to the kitchen where he found Charley dressed and standing near the coffeemaker.
“Morning,” he said.
“Good morning,” the gorgeous girl replied with a blush staining her ivory cheeks. “May I interest you in a cup of coffee before the tow truck arrives?”
“When is the truck due?”
“They said between an hour and a half to two hours.”
“Yes, I’d like to have coffee.”
“You sit and I’ll pour,” she said and began opening cabinet doors.
“To the right, above the coffeemaker,” he said about the coffee mugs she was obviously looking for. She’d braided her hair again and it swung down her slender back. Her waist was small and her hips saucy. When she turned to him, he brought his eyes up her body to meet her gaze.
“How do you take your coffee?”
“Black.” He knew she’d caught him eyeing her, but she didn’t call him on it. “How do you take yours?”
“A dollop of milk and no sugar.”
“Milk’s in the fridge.” Sully watched her walk to the refrigerator and take out a jug of milk. He liked the way she looked in his kitchen. Like she belonged.
For the next hour, they shared light, sometimes flirty, conversation as they sat on the barstools pulled up to the quartz-topped island in his kitchen.
“Oh no,” Charley said after looking at her phone. “The battery is dead.” Glancing at him she asked, “What time is it, Sully?”
Glancing at his watch, he said, “Ten.”
“I’d better get going. Are you sure you don’t mind giving me a ride to my car?”
“No, of course not. I’ll put on my boots and be right with you.”
Sully went back to his bedroom, brushed his teeth, ran a comb through his hair, and returned to her wearing his cowboy boots. Grabbing his keys, he led the way to his garage. He saw Randy in the distance, heading into the stables and gave him a wave. Randy acknowledged him with a thumbs-up. Heading into the garage alone, Sully backed his truck out, stopped, and went to the passenger’s side. After opening the door for Charley, she climbed into the double-cab truck. Sully slid in behind the steering wheel as she fastened her seat belt. Charley looked around at the land and his country-style, two-story house with a wistful smile on her full lips.
“Your house, surrounded with the green pastures and ponderosa pines, is so serene,” Charley said. As he drove down the driveway leading from the backyard to the main road, she pointed. “Blooming season is mostly over for columbines, but I see the remains of some along the front of your porch. What colors are they?”
“You have a good eye for perennials. Along with the lavender ones, there are yellow, purple, and red.”
“Lavender columbines symbolize the blending of differences and finding harmony.”
“Really?” he asked. “Like the differences and harmony between the city and country?”
Charley gave him an appreciative smile and nod. “Yellow columbines bring friendship, positive energy, and happiness,”she said softly. “Purple ones are often used to indicate a resolve to win. And red columbines symbolize love and passion.”
