I drove down the dirt road, taking a right at the fork in the road, parking at the cabin like Iris told me to. Nerves danced in my chest as I grabbed the food, walking around the cabin. The view was stunning. A beautiful big red and brown barn was not too far from the cabin. Right behind it were endless pastures with a picturesque view of the mountains. It was hard not to fall in love with this small town when everywhere you looked there were amazing views, like the one coming right at me.
Iris Malone looked like my cowgirl wet dream, if I had ever had any. She wore a plaid button-down that looked ready to pop open with how her boobs were moving. She wore jeans with boots over them, and a fucking worn, brown cowboy hat. Her hair was in braids on either side of her and I just about swallowed my tongue with how delectable she looked.
She gave me a brilliant smile and I might have taken a moment too long to return it, my brain had short circuited from the vision before me. If someone had asked what my type was before today, I would have said I did not have a type, but Iris proved me wrong. Iris was definitely my type, and my mind raced with ways I could get her out of those jeans.
“Beau? You, ok?”
“Excuse me? What?” I shook my head, realizing I was looking up at her right in front of the barn.
“Are you feeling ok, Beau?” she asked, dismounting her horse gracefully.
“Uh, yeah I've never been this close to a horse, and I think I’m just gobsmacked by its beauty and size,” I said, hoping like hell that sounded believable.
“Awww, Snow White here is the most beautiful horse in all the land,” she said, scratching her head affectionately.
I hadn’t really paid attention to the horse, but she was beautiful.
“Have you never been near horses before?” she asked, grabbing her leash thing and we followed her to the barn.
A few animals greeted us at the entrance including a large pig with what looked like a tutu around her stomach.
“I’m a city boy, so I've never been around horses or animals much,” I said, as the pig and a beautiful dog walked with us.
“Oh, Beau, you’re in for a treat and you better get that food out of here before the animals grab it right out of your hands,” she chuckled, just as the pig started sniffing the bags and the goats came from the back of the barn.
“Hey!” I yelled, pulling the bag up.
“Hula Hoop loves burgers,” Iris laughed, walking into a small stall with her horse. “Go wait in the cabin before our lunch is eaten by one of the animals.”
I grumbled at the pig, giving it the stink eye as I listened to Iris, making my way back to the cabin, but not alone. The goats had started to follow me, along with the dog and the pig which did look cute with that damn tutu on.
The cabin was left open. I went straight to the kitchen and decided the big island was the best place to eat. The cabin was an open concept, and I wondered who lived here. I grabbed us glasses of water just as Iris came into the house still looking like my wet dream. She hung up her hat, took off her boots at the entrance and I looked down at my own shoes feeling rude for not doing the same.
“Sorry, I should have done the same,” I said, taking my shoes off and leaving them right next to her boots.
“It’s ok, my boots are filthy from being out in the pastures,” she said, walking to the kitchen to wash her hands.
“How are you doing?” I asked, looking everywhere but at her ass that looked amazing in those jeans. “Any trouble from the husband?”
She scoffed. “Nash wouldn’t do anything to me. He’s just an errand boy for his father.”
“I feel like there is more to that,” I said, feeling like there was more she wasn’t telling me. “Are they taking advantage of you? Is Nash emotionally manipulating you to?—”
“Beau.” Iris came to sit by me with a soft look on her face. “You’re too good for this world. I appreciate you looking out for me but… There's only one reason Nash is here and that's because his father needs something for the farm. I have no idea what the hell that is because we finalized the sale of the farm years ago, and well, I thought things would be different.”
A crease formed between her eyebrows as a small pout graced her plump lips. “Different how?”
“In my head I thought I would be at the farm working and Nash would be doing whatever he does, but the only thing that mattered was that I had the family farm,” she sighed. “I was too trusting and I thought if I was amiable, they would eventually let me come back and work like I used to.”
“Why didn’t that happen and why didn’t you push for it?” I asked, taking a bite of my burger and pushing her burger toward her.
“Running the farm was wearing me down and I needed a break,” she said, poking at her burger. “So, when Mr. Yarbrough said they would handle everything, I packed up and left. I came to Sterling Ridge to be close to my brothers and I thought when I was ready, they would welcome me back. I pushed hard at first, but they kept saying my end of the bargain wasn’t complete until Nash and I were married. After that they ignored me and then—life in Sterling Ridge was a life I never knew that I could have. “
“What do you mean?” I asked, pushing her burger to her again.
She smiled before taking a bite of it, chewing slowly as if she were thinking of her answer carefully.
“I found out who Iris Malone really is,” she said softly with a whimsical smile. “I grew up in a strict home with parents who had very unreal ideals and I never realized how much I listened to them and let them run my life. I always thought I was a free thinker, but it took my parents dying to realize that I was just another version of them made to believe that I was thinking for myself.”
