Chapter 5 #2
She was a bright light. She made people smile and made them feel centered in her attentions.
Every time I came up to her, when she was talking with someone else, she was always in the middle of helping them figure out something that they were having trouble with.
Even if she didn’t know all of the details behind ranching, if it had to do with organizing and planning, she was a queen.
I knew she had already helped my mother with some planning when it came to an upcoming harvest and had even organized a spreadsheet for her.
She fit in so well, and it scared me. Because in two weeks she would be gone, leaving me, us, behind.
She turned at the sound of my approach, a smile on her face so wide that I had to swallow hard.
When had someone ever looked at me like that before? It sure hadn’t been Jo. No, I would stop comparing them. Because there was no comparison.
“Well, hello there,” Franklin said with a grin.
I pulled my gaze from Franklin and swallowed hard as I stared at Jamie. My heart kicked a beat, annoying the fuck out of me because I was afraid my feelings were all over my face.
“Look at you with the cowgirl boots,” I teased.
Jamie blushed and looked down at her boots. “They’re technically Livvy’s. We wear the same size shoe. I realize that they’re formed to her feet. I’m probably going to ruin them, but I’ll do my best not to.”
“Girl needs herself a pair of boots,” Franklin said, giving me another annoying look.
“We can make that happen,” I said, my voice deep.
“Well, for when I visit,” she said, bringing a damper on my mood, but I pushed that aside. I wasn’t going to think about that right now.
“Thanks for getting Rose and Giuseppe ready,” I said to Franklin, and he just nodded.
“No problem. And thank Ms. Jamie here for helping me with my accounting spreadsheet. I thought I had it down, but she really knew how to organize it for me.”
My brows rose as I looked over at her. “Really?”
“It only took a few minutes. I like organizing. I’m like my Aunt Tabby that way.”
“She’s a genius, don’t let her tell you anything different.”
“Oh, I know she’s brilliant.”
“And now that I’m blushing enough that I can feel heat radiating from my skin, let’s go out for this ride. I’m going to end up walking bow-legged after, but I’m getting better at riding a horse.”
“You’re doing okay,” I said dryly.
She rolled her eyes as I pulled out both horses, thanking Franklin in the end.
“So where are we off to?” she asked as I settled our lunch and the rest of our supplies in my saddlebags. We wouldn’t be gone that long, but it was always good to keep some things in place in case of emergency.
“There’s a creek that goes off the lake on the north side, and it has a pretty view. I like to go out there and think sometimes.”
“Are you taking me to a make out spot, Mr. McBride?” she asked, teasing.
“I would never,” I said as I put my hands on her waist and leaned down. I shouldn’t. But I did anyway. “If you’re open to it, I do have a blanket.”
She grinned but didn’t say anything. In answer, I kissed her cheek, ignoring the wolf whistle from one of my workers, and helped her get on the horse.
She wasn’t as shaky as she was the first time, and as she settled into the saddle, she gave a wary look over at Lightning, who was practically prancing in his ring.
“Do you think he’s mad at me for not going over to him instead?” Jamie asked.
I nodded at the horse who I swore winked back at me.
“No. He lets Gwen on him, as well as my brothers, but he’s only for experienced riders. Livvy will never get near him.”
“Well I’ll wave as we walk by. Or trot.”
My lips tilted into a smile. “There will be no trotting. Don’t worry. I’m not going to let your ass get sore.”
She raised a brow. “I have a joke, but I won’t say it.”
“I forget you were raised with three brothers.”
“And the girls in our family tell just as many dirty jokes. Just saying.”
“Hey, I lived with Gwen for much of my life. I know.”
I squeezed her calf and did my best to ignore the way she licked her lips. It was going to be a very hard ride for my cock if I didn’t calm him down. I swung up onto my horse, settled him as I patted Giuseppe’s neck, and then we were off.
“Rose has a crush on Giuseppe, so she’ll follow along. As long as you do what I taught you, you’ll be fine on this ride.”
“I love Rose. She’s so pretty.” I looked over as she leaned down to run her hand down Rose’s neck. “And I can see why she has a crush on Giuseppe. He’s very handsome.”
Giuseppe, obviously having heard her, swung his head, letting his mane flow in the wind.
I snorted. “Show off.”
“Hey, you’re handsome too.”
“A guy needs to hear that every so often,” I teased. I reached, squeezed her hand and then continued.
I didn’t do this. I didn’t take rides in the afternoon for a lunch date, especially with a woman who would be leaving in two weeks. But I wanted to spend as much time with her as possible. It didn’t make any sense, but I didn’t think it was supposed to. Not in this moment.
“Okay, what’s your favorite spoon,” Jamie asked after a moment.
I frowned, looking over at her as we continued our ride. We were twenty minutes into our date, talking about everything and nothing, and I wanted to soak up every bit of knowledge of her.
“Spoon?”
“Do you like the big spoon, or little spoon, what is your favorite?”
“Are we talking about sex and cuddling? Because I’m the big spoon. Though, I wouldn’t mind being the little spoon every once in a while.” I winked as I said it, and she burst out laughing.
“Good to know. But I meant like a metal spoon. I like a small spoon. But my brother needs to have the big soup spoon. It makes no sense to me. He’s weird.”
“I don’t know if I’ve ever thought about my favorite spoon. But I guess one that can hold food rather than so flat that it feels like a fork without tines? I don’t know.”
“See? What your favorite spoon is says a lot about you.”
“And what does it say about me?” I asked, honestly curious.
“I have no idea. I’ll have to go look that one up.”
I exhaled and then nodded towards the horizon. “The creek’s up that way. We’ll stop there for lunch…and maybe a nap.”
“This nap meaning making out? Because you’re going to have to be a lot less subtle.”
“You are ridiculous.”
“Am I? You can’t stop touching me. And we’re on two different horses.”
“Oh. I didn’t even realize.” I looked down, and my hand was indeed on her thigh as we rode side by side. I coughed, and went to release my hand, but she reached out and squeezed.
“I’m blaming Rose and Giuseppe. They enjoy the cuddling.”
“I guess they do.”
I let go of her hand so she could handle the reins better, and we made our way around the edge of the lake as we asked each other more questions.
Favorite subject in school.
What color folder went with geography versus math.
Biggest fear.
First kiss.
First time.
Favorite type of pasta.
Favorite movie.
Favorite organizational office supply.
Favorite constellation.
Little things and everything.
We’d had six months of texting to learn this, and now in person we dug even deeper.
It was going to be hard to watch her walk away, but I wasn’t going to think about that. Not right now. I was just going to feel good.
We made it to the picnic spot, and I let our horses graze, both nearly cuddling to the point that I was glad that Giuseppe was a gelding.
I set up a blanket underneath the tree so the sun wouldn’t be too much, and Jamie and I worked on pulling out the cold fried chicken, potato salad, cornbread, and chocolate cake.
“My word. This is amazing.”
“I think there’s some carrot sticks and fruit in here as well, but I’m really here for the chicken and cake.”
“I don’t know. This cornbread smells amazing.”
“My mom makes it in a cast iron skillet, while Cindy, our cook, bakes it in muffin cups so it’s easier to travel with. I love them both.”
I leaned against the tree as she knelt next to me, and we ate, and I tried to ignore the way that she groaned with each bite.
“I’m going to be so full. But I don’t care.”
“Riding a horse is a workout.”
“Oh?” she asked. “No wonder I’m sore.”
“Are you too sore? Did we go too far?” I asked, worry etched in each word.
She shook her head. “I’m fine.”
“Really?” I leaned forward and brushed her pink and blonde hair from her face. “I don’t want to hurt you, Jamie.”
She swallowed hard and turned her head to kiss my palm. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Well, if you’re sore though, I could help you out there.”
“Are you telling me you’re good with your hands?” she teased and moved away, working to clean up our lunch. I snorted, and helped her put everything away, before I reached out and hooked her by her waist. “Sharp.” A small smile played on those lips I wanted to taste.
“Well, I had to be good with my words, and my hands.”
Then my mouth was on hers, and I couldn’t think.
I let my hands roam over her ass, squeezing gently. When she gasped, I bit her bottom lip.
“Sore?”
“A little.”
“I’ll take care of you.”
She pushed my hair from my face this time, as she hovered over me. I found myself on my back, her straddling me. All thoughts left my brain.
“What are we doing, Sharp?”
“Just living.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you.”
“I don’t want to stop thinking about you.”
And then, without words, we promised ourselves we wouldn’t think about the future, just in this moment.
I licked the seam of her lips, and she opened for me.
When I ran my hand up her back to tangle in her hair, she groaned, and we deepened the kiss.
She rocked over my hips, and I shifted so the heat of her rubbed against my hard cock, even though both of us wore jeans.
She tossed her head back and moaned, increasing the friction.
I grinned at her, letting my hands slide up and down her sides to cup her breasts.
“We keep rubbing like that, I’m going to come in my jeans like a teenager.”