CHAPTER FIVE
Two days later
– ROSETTE –
“See you next week, Rosy.” The little boy waves at me, and I shoot him a grin while I close the gate.
His mother closes the car door and I return her wave as she rounds the vehicle and gets behind the wheel.
I release a deep sigh and wander into the house.
It’s almost eight at night and I’m damn hungry.
The lessons today were back-to-back.
My father had his own lessons and with him passing away, they all agreed on me taking over.
Which means my schedule has doubled.
My schedule has been busier since the week before my father died due to his possible heart issue.
We didn’t know the extent of it because the hospital checks were scheduled, and he only visited the doctor who said he should take it easy until they ran more tests.
It’s why we agreed I would take over some of his load.
Now I don’t even have a break in between lessons, and I have all the other chores piling up as well.
I yawn and it causes a tear to fall.
I wipe it away as I make some tomato soup along with a grilled cheese sandwich.
The house is silent and an ache of loneliness settles inside my chest. It’s a gaping hole I have no damn clue how to fix.
The only time I felt alive without a care in the world was when the sexy man held me while pleasuring my body.
One night of sex, the memory of a lifetime.
It was incredible and maybe it was the booze heightening everything or lowering my inhibitions, but I’ve never felt this way with a man.
I eat on autopilot and then wash the dishes.
Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge, I head outside to fetch the horses and breathe in the chilly evening air.
Grabbing a halter off the hook, I wander in the direction of the pasture.
The place where Bronco always stood like clockwork is vacant.
I drag my gaze away and give a short whistle.
Dancer, Pepper, and Freckles rush for the gate.
The other two are a bit slower.
Freckles is an Appaloosa mare, and I’ve had her for nine years now.
She’s the one I easily place the halter on and open the gate to guide her while she leads the others to the stables.
They know the routine and easily slip into their stalls as I close the doors behind them.
The new horse I picked up a little over three weeks ago is still in its stall.
I hear a car approaching, the gravel crunching under the tires.
Double checking to make sure every horse is good for the night, I close up to see who’s here.
Daphne gets out of the car and walks in the direction of the house.
“Hey,” I greet as I come up from her left.
She jumps a little. “Dude, you scared the piss out of me.”
I snicker.
“I’m just walking here; it’s you who has a bad conscience if you get spooked easily.”
She sticks out her tongue.
“Very mature. Are your kids rubbing off on you?”
Another mature action of hers is to flip me off while she says, “The kids are wrapping up their homework and heading to bed as we speak. Jason is making sure of it while I’m here to tell you something my dear husband found out.”
“Come on, I’m assuming we’ll need coffee. Well, I need all the coffee because I’m dead on my feet,” I grumble.
Daphne closes the door behind her and follows me into the kitchen where I start to make a pot of coffee.
“Still thinking about the wild night you had with your mystery man?” she asks.
I shrug. “It’s a nice memory to think about when I’m alone in bed.”
“Would you like to jump his bones again?” She plunks down on one of the chairs and places her forearms on the table to stare at me.
She gets another shrug out of me.
“Weirdly enough, he knew your name and mine. I didn’t want to know his because I wanted to keep it to one night without consequences. Only pleasure mattered and no promises for the future.”
“Answer my question, Rosy,” she presses.
“Honestly?” I ask.
Daphne rolls her eyes.
“No. Lies, please, because that always works out perfectly.”
I grab two mugs and pour coffee, adding sugar in Daphne’s and a bit of cream in mine.
Taking the mugs to the table, I place one in front of her while I sit down and warm my hands on mine.
Enough seconds have passed by for me to think about her question.
The only answer I can come up with is, “I’d like a repeat of it every damn night, but I can’t. I’m completely beat, and that’s two days after I went out for a few hours. Seriously, I need to hire someone because I’m drained. I have more issues on my plate, urgent ranch matters to think about instead of wanting some action between the legs.”
“Maybe your mystery man can warm you, your bed, and work at the ranch.” Daphne smirks.
“Jason found out his name, and the mystery man is more than capable of handling everything you and your ranch need.”
I stay quiet while she takes a few sips from her coffee before she adds, “Of course, once you know who he is you’ll hate yourself and won’t want to have anything to do with him ever again. But Jason says he’s nice. He spoke to him last night.”
“He spoke to him?” I frown.
“Did Jason go back to the bar, or to the bed and breakfast so he could get the information?”
Daphne snickers.
“Hell no. One of his clients called him to ask if he could come over and show the books to his son. When he got there Jason came face-to-face with your one-night stand.”
“Well,” I snap, a bit agitated.
“Stop dragging it out and tell me already.”
“You’re going to be pissed,” she warns.
I huff in frustration.
“I’m agitated right now and am well on my way to pissed off. So, enlighten me anyway.”
“Cedar Stellan. Your one-night stand was Cedar.” Her eyes are on me, and I don’t disappoint her when I feel my jaw drop.
“No,” I whisper. “He…no, that can’t be. You’re wrong.”
She shakes her head when she says, “He asked about you.”
I jolt to my feet.
“He can keep asking. It was one time. Once. That’s it. Dammit. Seriously? Cedar? Didn’t we go to school together? Shit. He couldn’t stand me, and pulled my freaking ponytail, that Cedar? He was an asshole back then, and had a buzz cut. Why does he suddenly look…look…gah, life really fucks you in the ass when you’re at your lowest.”
“The hairpulling as a kid might be because he fancied you. Now, if he was doing some hairpulling while–”
“Shut up,” I hiss.
I certainly don’t want the reminder how the man pulled my hair while he took me from behind.
“Jason said he was here to stay. He’s come back after two decades to–”
“I don’t care,” I grumble, cutting her off for a second time.
“His father is the reason mine is dead.”
Daphne winces and her voice is soft when she says, “Your father died of a heart attack, sweetie. Cecil didn’t kill him.”
I know my father had heart issues; we were in the middle of finding out what the extent of it was.
Still, the anger of losing my dad hits me hard and I lash out with the words, “He had a meeting with Cecil that day. We both know how heated their discussions always were. It’s not hard to jump to my conclusion, now, is it?”
“I know how those two butted heads in the past,” she agrees.
Silence falls and I reach for my coffee to down the last few sips and make myself a new cup.
I hold the pot up and Daphne shakes her head.
“One is enough, or I won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
I snicker.
“I’m sleeping before my head hits the pillow, no matter how much coffee I’ve had all damn day.”
She points a finger in my direction.
“Reason number two you need to see Cedar again. He has the experience to help you lighten your load. And just for the record? Reason number one is sex. You need it too.”
I flip her off.
“I don’t need Cedar. Give me a number of what I can afford, and I’ll place an ad to hire a ranch hand. There’s a guestroom I can throw into the offer as well.”
She wrinkles her nose.
“I don’t like you being here alone with a total stranger.”
I point in the global direction of my neighbor and his damn son.
“Cedar is practically a stranger as well. Fuck, Daphne. He knew your name and mine. Which means he damn well knew it was me when we had sex. Two freaking rounds of hot and dirty sex. Then I snuck out of his room while he was sleeping. He knew I didn’t know who the hell he was, but he knew my damn name.”
My voice cracks a bit at the end.
I think I’m a tad hurt, and a load embarrassed, by this little fact.
I know I was the one who shut him up when he was about to spill his name.
For a split second I think if at that moment it would have made a difference if I knew it was Cedar.
I had enough to drink, was a bit drunk, but certainly not completely wasted.
I might still have agreed to one night of sex.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Though, I guess we’ll never know if I would or wouldn’t have.
What I do know is the fact that I don’t want anything to do with him now.
“Whatever. It was a one-night stand. I have more important things to deal with than shit in my past. The future’s what matters. Tomorrow I’m going to start looking for a ranch hand.”
Daphne pulls something from her pocket and slides a note over the table in my direction.
“You’ve mentioned it a few times. I’ve made a few calculations and Jason and I have been checking out the pay of a ranch hand. You should be able to hire someone with good credentials if you also offer a room. But please, Rosy. Be careful who you bring into your home.”
I take the note and glance at her words.
“Don’t worry. I’m not just going to hire someone on the spot, and you can join me for the interviews. Well, that is if anyone applies for the job.”
Daphne waves her hand.
“They will. You can afford a decent pay along with room and board, don’t worry. For sure as shit, I’ll help out with checking out the cowboys that’ll show up.”
I shake my head with a smile on my face.
“Maybe Jason needs to be there as well.”
She shoots me a wink and chuckles.
Her voice and face become serious when she states, “Either one of us will be there whenever you need us.”
I move toward her for a hug.
“I know. You guys are the best.”
“You too, honey,” she murmurs. “You too.”