Chapter 3
Travis
It wasn’t that I hated company, no it was quite the opposite in fact, however, I hated being late for something and that seemed to be common with most people that weren’t raised in my generation.
If you were told to be somewhere, then you show up fifteen minutes early. That meant that you were on time.
Hence why I awoke every morning at five am and was in bed every night by nine pm. I always started my day off planning to make my engagements no matter what.
Lord forbid if you show up five minutes early, you are late, and the train will leave without you.
So, imagine my shock when Corrine shows up fifteen minutes early.
It was probably nothing but excitement for what they were setting out to do. I also had made my men promise to not speak on the reason we did in fact have that extra stall in my stables.
They were also sworn to secrecy on the reason why they did in fact have another horse that had been turned out into the pasture and the reason why thirty horses were now in all different stalls.
The horse that had been released out into the pasture was a client’s horse who only wanted that horse to be kept clean at all times and to be ready for him when he wanted that horse.
So far that man has yet to show up in a month.
Also, another fact is that I have tried to contact that man, and every time I have been sent to voicemail.
I have sent a couple of emails and a couple of text messages.
I was giving the man one more week and if I have yet to hear from him, then I would be calling my lawyer to go ahead and start the paperwork.
I understood emergencies; accidents and the like, but thirty-something days with no contact with the place that housed something that should be just as important to you as any other possession that you may have? Then you didn’t deserve it. Plain and fucking simple.
I stood there on my front porch with my travel mug full of black steaming coffee, I had already had my breakfast and I hoped that Corrine had also had hers.
When I saw that flaming red hair that was pulled to a braid, raising out of her small car, as her head turned, the moment her eyes locked with mine, I had to remember to breathe.
I felt that beaming smile straight down to my toes.
“I hope I am not too early. I woke before my alarm and I couldn’t help myself.” That voice.
“Morning Ms. Corrine.” I wanted to smack the piss out of my foreman. It was his fault that her smile wasn’t directed at me anymore.
“Morning Parker.” However, at that moment, I realized that she had dimmed that smile that she had directed at Parker.
And then when her head turned back to me, her smile was firmly in place.
“You ready?” I fought with my own smile that I wanted to give to her.
“Yes.” I had to adjust myself when I saw her bend over with her shapely round ass as grabbed her own mug that had a horse on it. I believed they called them tumblers. Then I saw her grab a bag along with a brown paper bag.
“Follow me.” I made my way to my truck and trailer that I had readied this morning with water and some hay in the mesh bags. I had enough room for four horses.
“Is my car okay where it is, or should I move it first?” I stopped and offered her my hand.
“Keys. Parker will move it if it gets in the way.” When she dug in her bag and handed me her keys, I tossed them to Parker then continued on my way towards my truck.
When I made it to the passenger side, I opened the door for her. This wasn’t a trait that I had picked up from my father because lord knows if that man ever cared about anything other than his liquor bottle, then hell would freeze over.
This was something that my grandmother had taught me god rest her soul. This was what they called not only being a southern gentleman but having basic manners and respect for the other sex.
“Thanks.” I didn’t miss that little blush on her cheeks when she had ducked her head before she climbed inside.
Yes, my truck was high off the ground, but I was tall. I couldn’t stand to climb into something small because it never failed, I ended up bumping my knees into the dash and banging my head into the roof of the vehicle.
But what I liked was that she tossed in her bags, handed me her Tumblr, and then she climbed up into my beast-like she owned the thing. And damn it all if that wasn’t something amazing.
Once I handed her the tumbler, I shut the door and walked to my side, I once again had to adjust myself which also hadn’t gone unnoticed by Parker.
As much as I loved watching her move that delectable body for the first time in my life, I actually wanted to feel it skin to skin with my own.
I then decided to put step rails on my truck.
I didn’t know what the future held, but just the idea of her climbing into my truck with a pair of heels on… I needed to stop.
Shaking my own head, I climbed in to see that she had already stowed her bags and had already buckled up her seat belt.
That was another one of my pet peeves. They installed seat belts for a reason, just the same as a turn signal, use them.
After I started my truck, I pointed to the radio with my palm up, “Ladies choice.” The smile that she had gifted me was worth it.
Even if she happened to have a shitty taste in music.
However, color me surprised, the moment she heard an old country song hit the speakers she stopped and began to sing along.
Corrine had no idea what had just occurred between the two of us.
“How long do you think until we get there?” She asked me after the song had ended.
“Should be there in about forty minutes.” I said after I calculated the amount of traffic that was already on the highway this morning.
“Coolness.” We both rode in the silence as the radio crooned.
What I had noticed was that while I had my arm resting on the center console, so had she. I could practically feel the heat coming off of her arms that were bare from her wearing a t-shirt.
The moment we pulled up the auction I could literally feel the excitement that was rolling off of Corrine in waves, however, she kept it cool, and she remembered where she was.
I couldn’t tell her to wait on me so I could open her door, no she had already opened it to jump down with her bag and a brown paper bag that I was still wondering what it was for.
Once we entered, we headed to the table where you signed up and paid your dues if you weren’t a member and got your paddle with your number.
“Have you registered already?” I asked her.
“I read that I could do it here.” I didn’t like that I could see the uncertainty in her eyes.
What caused me to do this for her, I didn’t know. “Are you planning on coming back here or is this the one time you are coming here?”
“This is the one time. Stormy is all I am after.”
“Okay.” I nodded and then signed my name on my own form. Since I was technically a member, we were good to go.
After I grabbed my paddle with the number thirty-three on it, I said, “Let’s go take a look.”
“Wait, don’t I have to register?” Corrine kept pace with me, but I saw her looking back at the table.
“No. I’m a member. No sense in you paying that money when it’ll just be a waste.”
When Corrine didn’t say anything, I glanced down and saw her smiling.
Together we made our way to the pens and the corrals where the livestock was being held.
I didn’t miss the lingering looks that Corrine was receiving hell. I didn’t blame the men at all. If I saw a red-haired, blue-eyed beauty that could rock a simple t-shirt, jeans, boots, and all with no makeup on? I would be staring too.
What I really wanted to do was to throw my arm over her shoulders and pull her into my side and tell everyone that was within hearing distance that this was mine.
We paused as we passed two horses that I was bidding on. I had decided to pass on one of them. It didn’t seem that it was old enough to warrant being a pasture buddy.
The moment I heard a commotion near the rear of the building, I looked down to where I thought Corrine was standing, only she wasn't there. Don't ask me how I knew where she was, I hurried to the back of the building, the moment I saw some man bring his arm back to hit Corrine I charged at the man.
I bent my shoulder and rammed it into the shorter man’s chest.
“Next time you raise a hand to any woman, you better be prepared for one hell of an ass-kicking.” I didn’t even care what Corrine had done or said.
You don’t hit women. Period.
The moment I heard a feminine growl, “You need to be horsewhipped.” I looked at Corrine as she was standing protectively around a beautiful dapple gray roan mustang.
Said mustang had its own ears pinned forward with its head resting over Corrine’s shoulder ready to defend her in return.
“The damn horse tried to bite me.” The man said as he rubbed at his chest where I rammed into him.
“I would have bit you too. You took the spur off your boot to try to hit her, and all because she stomped her hoof at you and knocked your shoulder.” I could see how riled up Corrine was.
Without even thinking about it, I placed myself in front of Corrine and the horse.
“That right?” I glared at the stupid son of a bitch.
“She’s a liar…” However, I didn’t allow the man to say another word, I cocked my arm back, being mindful where Corrine and the horse stood, and let it sail.
The sound of my fist meeting the man’s face was music to my ears.
“Mr. Denton, what seems to be the problem here?” The owner of the establishment came over.
“Bill, this idiot dared to take one of his spurs off to strike at a horse, someone didn’t take too kindly to that and said some words to him, then the man tried to hit her.
I merely taught him some manners. Now I would like this man removed immediately.
” I usually didn’t throw my power around at places nor my presence, however, in circumstances like this one, I felt that it was necessary.
“You heard the man. Help Tim from the building. You can take Mr. Denton’s punch as your two-week notice is up.” I also didn’t miss that the man recognized just who I was when my last name hit the man’s ears.
“You didn’t have to do that. I’m sure that your punch was punishment enough.” Corrine said behind my shoulder.
When the crowd that had gathered had dispersed, “So I’m going to bet money that this is the horse that you are here for?”
When Corrine nodded and smiled, I knew.
“Stormy met Mr. Denton. Mr. Denton, meet Stormy.” And damn it all if the mare didn’t bow before me.
“Don’t that beat all?” I said shaking my own head.
‘Everyone please take your seats. The bidding will start in five minutes.’
Once we heard that over the loudspeaker, I watched as Corrine opened the brown paper bag and gave Stormy an apple half.
“Which horse are you going to try and get?” Corrine murmured so no one could overhear her.
I pointed at the solid black gelding that was closing in on twenty-three years old.
And you guessed it right, she gave that horse the other apple half that she had in that brown paper bag.
As soon as we had taken our seats, I allowed my earlier thoughts to enter my mind.
They say you don’t know when you first fall in love. They also say that it can hit you like a shit ton of bricks and in the blink of an eye.
Now, I would forever be able to tell anyone if they asked at the moment that I knew.
And it was when she started to sing along to one of my favorite songs while she was riding shotgun in my front seat, all the while just like she hadn’t had a care in the world.
And there was no way for her to know what my favorite song was.
I was in love.
And there she sat, completely oblivious that our entire dynamic had just changed.
Corrine just didn’t know it yet.
But she would.