Chapter 4 Taylor
He is absolutely hot this morning,Taylor thought.
Lane was wearing a black suit that accented his broad shoulders and muscular body. The sexy grin covering his face took her breath away. It was almost as though he could read her thoughts.
Knock it off,Taylor scolded herself. He is your boss and you guys are going to church.
“You look nice,” he said.
“Thank you,” Taylor replied shyly.
She had only packed one dress for church, figuring that she would go to the storage unit for others when she got settled. Taylor was secretly glad that she had packed her blue dress which accented her eyes and fit her extremely well. It was appropriate for church, but she still looked good.
She also applied just a little bit of eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lip gloss. She very seldom wore make-up and felt a little silly putting it on that morning, but she was compelled to use the cosmetics.
At least he’ll know that I’m not just like the boys in all ways, she laughed to herself.
She and Lane sat toward the front. At one point, their hands touched and he entwined his fingers with hers. A shock of electricity exploded from her hand and raced through her veins.
He glanced at her and smiled. She thought maybe he was silently asking if it was okay to hold her hand, which she thought was sweet. Taylor responded by gently squeezing.
As usual, Brother Ayhart delivered an awesome sermon. He wasn’t a fire and brimstone kind of preacher. He often preached about how the Bible encourages people to help other people and make a positive difference in the world.
Everyone stood and waited for the preacher to walk to the door first and began filing out.
Brother Ayhart gave Taylor a huge hug. “How are you doing?”
“Great. I started working for Lane on his ranch. It’s hard work like ranching always is, but I’m enjoying it. Everyone is great.”
“That’s good to hear,” Brother Ayhart said.
He shook Lane’s hand and said, “You treat her right. I might be a man of the cloth, but I’m not above doling out butt-kicking when it’s needed.”
Lane laughed and said, “Yes, Sir.”
As they walked away, Lane said, “You never told me that you go to this church.”
“You didn’t ask,” she grinned.
“How come I’ve never seen you here before?” Lane asked.
“My guess is that you’ve never looked.”
“How about some lunch at your mom’s diner?”
“Sounds great. I’ve been craving some chicken and dumplings, with a side of fried okra and country green beans,” Taylor said, licking her lips exaggeratingly and rubbing her tummy.
“I guess we better get there before you starve to death,” he laughed.
They enjoyed lunch together and Lane said, “I don’t feel like going back home. How about a drive?”
“That sounds nice,” she said.
She and Carl used to take drives on Sunday afternoons, as well. It was one of the things that she missed. It really wasn’t any fun driving around by herself. Melissa was great, but she was more into shopping than going for a drive and enjoying the scenery.
They drove around Garden of the Gods, which was one of Taylor’s favorite spots in the world.
“I love this place,” Taylor said as she admired the many rock formations that were in the park. “God is truly an amazing artist.”
They stopped by Balanced Rock, which was a huge rectangle-shaped sandstone boulder that was balanced on its edge.
“That thing looks like it could topple over any minute,” she said. “I can’t decide whether I like this or the Kissing Camels formation better.”
“They are both great, but I like this one best. It is nothing short of a miracle that the boulder can balance like that throughout the centuries.”
“True.”
“I would suggest a hiking trail, but we aren’t dressed for that,” he said.
“Next time, we should bring a change of clothes.” She immediately blushed because she insinuated that they would be spending another afternoon together.
“We will,” he said.
As they slowly drove around, he held her hand. Once again, sparks of electricity explode inside of her. A small flame leaped to life deep in her gut. The chemistry between them was undeniable.
“You said you wanted to save enough to buy back your old ranch. Should I be expecting competition?”
“No. I actually want to raise and train horses.”
“Racehorses?”
“No. I think that sport is cruel. They run the horses before their bones have stopped growing, which cripples a lot of them. Some owners just kill them outright when they can’t race anymore. I hate that,” Taylor said passionately.
“I’m not a fan, either.”
“I will raise show horses, rodeo horses, working horses, and personal riding horses. I’m actually thinking of going to school online and getting a degree in psychology so I can do equine therapy. There are a lot of studies that show how well it works,” Taylor said.
“I’ve heard that, too,” he said. “I’ve read a little about it. There are many components to and why it works.”
“Yep,” she said.
He rubbed her hand with his thumb and Taylor trembled a little. The attraction was almost overwhelming.
They ate dinner at the ranch house. Franny made her famous fried chicken and pan-fried cornbread.
“Chicken for two meals in one day. I love it,” Taylor said. “Franny, don’t you dare tell my mother this, but your fried chicken is better than hers.”
“Oooh, I’m calling your mom right now,” Sam teased.
“It’s an old family recipe. I’ll tell you want it is, but then I’d have to kill you. We do have a backhoe and fifty thousand acres,” Franny said, trying to make her voice sound dark and scary, but ending up laughing.
“Our neighbor has pigs. That’s just as efficient,” Colton offered with a grin.
“I might be scared if I didn’t know you guys,” Taylor said.
“We are pretty scary,” Willow laughed. “Terrifying, in fact.”
Taylor loved the banter at the dinner table. She felt as though she was one of them. It was a comforting feeling because, in spite of Melissa and her folks, she had felt as though she was drifting alone for so long after Carl died.
Grinning, she snagged an apple and went out to love on Diablo.
“Look at my handsome boy waiting for his snacks,” she said, biting off a piece of apple for the horse.
After an hour, she hugged him goodnight.
“Were you watching me the whole time?” she asked.
“Yeah. You work magic with Diablo. It’s incredible to see,” Lane said.
She smiled and then shyly she asked, “Do you want to watch a movie with me?”
“Sure.”
Taylor handed him a bottle of Golden Peak sweet iced tea and put a DVD into the player.
“Bottled tea?”
“Don’t judge. You wouldn’t like it if I tried to make tea the old-fashioned way. You would be lucky if you didn’t have to call the fire truck.”
“They’re water trucks, you know. They haul water, not fire,” he grinned.
“Man has jokes, huh?”
Taylor laughed when Lane said, “The Expendables?”
“Yeah. I love the franchise. The sarcastic humor and the banter between everyone. It’s terrific. I hate stupid humor and slap-stick comedy, but these movies have me rolling.”
“Do you ever watch romance or chick flicks?” he asked.
“Mm, there are a couple I like. I love Grease, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Dirty Dancing, Say Anything, and Ghost.”
“I think that even guys love most of those movies,” Lane said. “Anything with Patrick Swayze in it is amazing.”
“Oh, I know. The original Red Dawn, Road House, and Next of Kin are amazing. I’ve probably seen all of those a million times and I never get tired of them.”
“It was a very sad day when Patrick Swayze died. He was so young.”
“He was. Patrick was my third huge crush.”
“Third?”
“Yeah. I’ve been in love with John Schneider since I was about two. Then, I added Lou Diamond Phillips to the list, and then Patrick Swayze.”
“Aren’t you a little young for them?”
Taylor shook her head vehemently. “Nope. There are very few good, hot actors in the younger generations. There are a ton of greats from the olden days.”
“You mean from our parents’ generation.”
“Yep, the olden days. Come on. You can’t tell me that you didn’t think that Farrah Fawcett, Jacquelyn Smith, Catherine Bach, and Heather Locklear weren’t gorgeous,” she teased.
“They were, but I always went for the girl next door look like Sandra Bullock, Reese Witherspoon, and Drew Barrymore.”
They held hands and laughed, missing most of the movie. Taylor couldn’t remember when she had that much fun. It had been at least a year.
Lane stood up when the movie ended. “I had a great time, but I better get back.”
“I had a lot of fun,” Taylor said.
He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. Lane smells so good, like a combination of pine and something else. Her heart is thumping and she melts against him as he holds her tight.
Lane brushed a kiss across her lips and, with a grin, walked out the door.
Taylor stares at the closed door, touching her lips, in complete shock. She doesn’t know which is more astonishing – that he kissed her or that she loved the feel of his lips pressed against hers.