CHAPTER SIX
– CEDAR –
“Thank you for coming back for a second time to walk me through it all again. I’m not a numbers man, but these things are important.” I offer my hand to Jason and he shakes it.
“Anytime,” he murmurs.
“So, you’re going to take over?”
I shrug.
“Not much to take over. The people working here will keep their job. Overseeing is the correct term instead of taking over.”
Jason nods and a sly smile slides across his face right before he says, “If you want to get your hands dirty, I know Rosy is looking for a ranch hand.”
My interest is instantly spiked.
“She is?”
He frowns and looks worried.
“Rosy’s been having a hard time. They needed a ranch hand when her father was still alive. With him gone she’s taken over his horse riding lessons and doing all the chores herself. The woman is burning the candle at both ends and she won’t be able to keep this up.”
I bob my head and smack his shoulder.
“Thanks for letting me know.”
I can tell he wants to say something else, but instead he lifts his chin and heads for his car.
The woman has been on my mind ever since I laid eyes on her that night at the bar.
Hell, if I’m being honest with myself?
She’s been the root of my fantasy for creating the perfect woman inside my head.
As a teenager I did have dreams, dirty ones like everyone else at that age.
Not being able to put everything in perspective quite yet.
I did tease her quite a bit to get her attention any way I could.
I snicker at the thought of pulling her hair, then once again a few days ago as I shoved my cock deep and hard inside her.
Much better being an adult.
I have to adjust my hard cock inside my jeans.
One night with Rosy is etched into my brain and diminished every other experience I had with other women.
Her pussy felt like a hot, tight fist. The perfect balance of sopping wet heat clenching around me with each thrust. Her moans, the look of desire in her eyes.
Fuck.
“You two were talking about Rosette Lavern?” my father asks as he steps up from behind me.
I turn to face him. “The night before I came home, I stayed at the bed and breakfast in town. I headed next door to the bar for a beer and ran into Rosy, Daphne, and Jason.”
He stares at Jason’s taillights.
“Jason was right. Rosy, and her father were burning the candle at both ends. It’s why we came to an agreement concerning the pasture. We could let our horses graze on their pasture, and in return I would make sure there was a hired help swinging by their place every day. We were going to make a new appointment to hash out the finer details and sign a contract.”
“Why would he agree to it now? After all the years of you two butting heads?” There is no accusation in my voice, if anything, I’m intrigued by the knowledge of the two of them agreeing about the Lavern pasture.
“Because this time I didn’t want to force him into selling his land to me. I offered him a trade, one we both would benefit from. My decision to retire made it easy to accept the added space for the horses we own instead of expanding and needing an extra pasture.” He gives me a sad smile.
“Anne ran into them at the store a few days before he agreed to our meeting. They were discussing the workload, trying to divide it, and she said they both looked drained.”
I bob my head in understanding.
“Anne suggested the trade?”
“She sure did.” He grins and then the sadness returns.
“You helping out at Rosy’s ranch would be good. I’ve told her to reach out if she needed help, but she refused. I could see her anger for me in her eyes. I shouldn’t have offered. It was her father’s funeral…I should have paid my respects and visited her in private at a later point in time.”
I mentally wince at the situation he just explained.
Releasing a sigh, I tell him, “I’ll swing by and ask if she’s up to the same offer you gave her father. She might accept since we know she’s looking for a ranch hand. Or maybe I’ll just help out first and make the offer at a later point in time.”
“Good. Let me know how it goes,” he murmurs.
Giving him a nod, I let him know, “I’m gonna take the black stallion out for a ride.”
A proud smile washes over his face.
“You’ll enjoy his temperament.”
“I’m sure I will,” I agree.
Walking toward the stables, I let my mind wander back to Rosy.
Fucking her was a huge mistake.
Both for her sake as well as mine.
Our connection has always been a balance of bordering hostility with our fathers always going head-to-head.
She doesn’t need the added hassle, which I’m sure will come when Jason tells her who I am.
As for me? Having the woman in my bed for one night, getting a slight taste of her…
it won’t ever be enough.
Though, I’m sure once she finds out who her one-night stand was, she’ll want nothing to do with me.
I shake my head to gain some clarity and walk to the stall of the black stallion to get him ready for a nice long ride.
Breaking-in horses has been one of my main jobs for years.
I enjoy the fire of an Arabian horse, and this stallion is a fierce one.
He’s four and still has a pure dark black coat.
It’s one of the least common colors for an Arabian horse.
Most are gray, and while some appear white, they are actually gray.
This is because a white Arabian horse is quite rare.
We have one, of course.
My father’s obsession with the breed, along with unlimited funds, allows for a nice selection of beautiful horses to breed with.
Like I said, the part I most enjoy when it comes to working is training horses.
The hard work that goes with it is appreciated as well.
It gives my mind the peace I need to function correctly in this fucked-up world.
It’s been a while since I’ve been home, and while I’ve worked with horses daily, there’s a huge difference when it comes to my father’s ranch.
All the horses are perfectly groomed and the black stallion I’m saddling up is shiny as fuck.
Some of the ranches I’ve worked with weren’t as high-class as my father’s.
A normal routine of grooming the horse, getting the dirt out of its coat, before saddling up is satisfying.
I’m not one who passes the horse off to hired help once I’m done riding either.
Start to finish I want to be hands-on.
A smile tugs at my lips once I’m on the horse and the temperament shows when he trots in place, eager to ride.
I take my time in the outdoor arena before I guide him toward the road.
Without thinking I swing by the Lavern ranch.
There are a few horses grazing in the pasture and no cars in sight.
I take the small path beside the pasture and my stallion flares its nostrils and neighs strong and long.
“He’s rather full of himself, isn’t he?” Rosy’s voice catches my ear, and I slightly turn in the saddle to look at her.
She’s sitting on an Appaloosa, white with black spots.
Both are a sight to behold.
The stallion underneath me seems to understand her words as he throws his head back and becomes impatient once more.
He’s a bundle of dynamite and quickly turns around.
“He likes to think so,” I rumble.
“Though, I think he’s trying to impress your gorgeous Appaloosa.”
Rosy lets her hand glide over her horse’s neck, her words are hushed, but I do catch them when she says, “What a pair they would make.”
“I agree, the result would be a stunning foal.”
Her eyes widen at my words.
Shaking her head and leading her horse into the direction of her ranch she says, “Your father would rather cut off the stallion’s balls than to have it breed with a grade horse.”
I can’t help but wince at the cutting off balls remark.
Following her down the driveway, I say, “You’d be surprised to what my father would agree with. I was, when I saw a miniature horse walk right into his kitchen the other day.”
Now it’s her turn to shift in the saddle to throw a look at me over her shoulder.
“Your father owns a miniature horse? I thought the man couldn’t stand any other horse if it didn’t concern an Arabian pureblood.”
“Technically I think Anne owns it, ’cause it’s her horse. But from what I’ve seen the past few days since I got here? He likes the little shit, Pete, too.” I shoot her a grin, but she doesn’t return it.
Rosy leans back in her saddle to bring her horse to a stop.
“Go home, Cedar. I’m not looking for another roll in the hay, and for sure as shit don’t want to be friends. What happened in that hotel room between us is in the past. A one-time deal without a repeat.”
She tightens her legs to urge the horse to move and thinks she can leave me behind with those parting words.
No damn way. I won’t have her dismiss me so easily, or the things we did in the hotel room.