CHAPTER SIX
Hunter woke before the sun the next morning. It was a skill he found valuable in his training with the Marines, as well as with the heat of the Texas spring.
But, watching Blythe sleep curled up next to him was a negative to the early morning wake-up routine. He'd give anything to be able to sleep with her in his arms until some time after noon.
Instead, he covered her naked body with a sheet and snuck out for a shower. With the horses fed and the cattle watered, he set to work cleaning up dinner from the night before preparing eggs for omelets and his famous bulls-eye coffee.
It wasn't until the sun shown through the windows that footsteps tapped overhead and the shower ran. Tempted to spy on Blythe and join her under the running water, he stopped at the edge of the kitchen steps. A week together felt like an eternity on the front end of it where they stood, but in five short days she’d return to Virginia and he to the solitary life of ranch living. The less memories he had of how solitary that life could be, the better.
He’d just poured himself a second mug of coffee when Blythe emerged in a pair of white shorts and a dark blue sleeveless top that tapered at her waist. He held back his laughter at the impractical white leather boots on her feet. In the city, they might have fit right in, but in Fort Mavis, they would turn as orange as the clay in no time.
Blythe yawned into her hand and took the stool next to where he stood. She wrapped her arms around his waist and angled her face to his. Leaning down, he’d only meant to kiss her quickly, but once she reeled him in with her soft eyes, he couldn't resist taking his time to taste her. Sweet cherries and sunshine with a hint of mint from her toothpaste.
When he finally pulled away, she watched him from under her thick lashes, her eyes in a daze. “What is that wonderful smell?” she asked, sniffing the air like a cute little pup.
Hunter plopped a coffee mug on the counter in front of her and brought the carafe over to fill it. “I told you my coffee would not disappoint.”
She brought the mug to her lips and smiled over the rim. “Your coffee isn't the only thing that doesn't disappoint.”
Hunter didn't miss the slight blush on her cheeks, or the way she glanced down at her mug, after she spoke. Blythe was stepping way out of her comfort zone being with him. He had to remember as much as he wanted to take her right there on the kitchen counter while his eggs burned on the stove, he had to take things slow. In a week, she'd be gone, and he didn't want her regretting any decisions she made in Texas.
As if reading his mind, Blythe reached for his hand and pulled him over. She looked warmly at him and begged for a kiss. He gave in, but only for a second before pulling away and refocusing on his omelet.
“How do you feel about rodeos?” he asked, off the cuff, knowing she’d probably go wet at the idea of cowboys on bulls in the Texas heat.
“I don't know? I've never been to one.” She cuddled her mug and smiled over the rising steam.
“There’s one in town tonight. Nothing fancy. Just locals getting drunk and testing out the next herd of bulls before the big PBR tryouts this fall."
“Sounds dangerous.”
“It is,” he said, scrapping the first omelet on a plate and placing it in front of her. “But not as dangerous as hanging around here all day thinking of the many ways I’d like to get those shorts off you.”
Blythe stuck her fork in her eggs and took a bite. She glanced up to Hunter. "Let's make a deal. I'll go to the rodeo with you as long as you take me somewhere I want to go tonight."
Hunter poured the last of the eggs into the pan and began twirling them around. “Anywhere you want to go. Just name it.”
Blythe took a second bite. “Dinner. With your family.”
Hunter cut his gaze back to her. Sure, he’d already made up his mind that taking her to Beau’s for the night would get the family off his back, but agreeing to her request seemed like handing over his man-card. “We agreed. Personal life stays private.”
“I know.” She dropped her fork and rubbed her hands along his abs before circling them around his waist. She stood on her tiptoes to peck his cheek, all ways of getting him to bend to her will. It was working. “You can keep your personal life private," she whispered in his ear. “Just show up, eat the food, say thank you, and leave.
My parents are the only family I have, and I live in fear of what will happen when they are gone. You have a brother who seems to want a relationship with you. One day you may need him."
Hunter pulled away and pressed his back to the counter. Her family probably also lived in a brick house with a white fence, a dog named Spot, and that half a child no one could figure out on the population charts. If she thought she could handle the Cole Crazy, she had no idea what she was asking. “The Cole family isn't like most. I’m better off without a brother.”
Blythe took her seat again, discouragement lowering her gaze before she looked back up with those pleading brown eyes. “I don't believe anyone is better off without their family, but we agreed. I will leave your personal life alone, if that's what you want.”
Hunter reached for the stove and turned off the hot eye. “It is what I want,” he said. “I need to get Sydney settled at the kennel this morning. I'll be back by noon to take you to the rodeo, if you still want to go.”
It hurt like hell to walk out, leaving her with the expression of guilt on her face, but he had warned her enough. Prying into his personal life was only going to get her feelings hurt. He grabbed his keys and shut the door behind him before making his way to the truck. Maybe a few hours working with the kennel books while Sydney took care of the day-to-day would help him relax. He just needed space away from Blythe before she got deeper into his head and made him do something he would later regret.
****
With Hunter at the kennel, Blythe busied herself by first cleaning the breakfast dishes and then looking through the extensive library of classics on the shelf in his den. By the layer of dust along the tops of the books, it had been a while since anyone had read them. Not that she blamed Hunter. Between keeping the kennel running and fixing up the ranch, he had more than his hands full. A slight tinge of guilt surfaced at the thought of making him take a day away from either to entertain her. Then she thought of his abrasive reaction to the family dinner. Beau seemed like a nice enough guy. And Molly’s attempt to persuade Hunter came with a genuine kindness. Who would turn their back on a supportive family, especially when a baby was coming into the fold?
Blythe walked through the house room by room, noting Hunter didn't keep family memories on display. In fact, other than a few framed silver belt buckles, nothing personal struck her. He’d either not had time to decorate before settling in to work on the place, or kept him memories locked away and out of view.
An hour from noon, she had walked the fields and had gotten to know the two bays in the pasture. With lunch approaching, she searched her luggage for something appropriate to wear to a rodeo. A task made more complicated by the fact that she had packed for the beach. She needed reinforcements.
She picked up the bedside phone and dialed Mandy’s number.
“I’m surprised you can even talk. I thought Hotness would have worn you out by now.”
Blythe laughed followed by a shallow sigh. “More like I’m exhausted from trying to figure Hotness out."
Mandy groaned over the phone. “You’re not supposed to figure men out. You hang on and hope his repressed baggage doesn’t hit you on the head while he’s screwing you.”
“No wonder we have issues finding boyfriends.”
“We don’t have issues with anything.” Mandy chuckled. “We just see the truth when everyone else has settled for less.”
Blythe pulled a black knee-length strapless dress from her bag and set it on the bed. It’d be perfect for dinner. The second outfit she found was a pair of calf-length denim capris she liked to match with a sea-green halter-top.
“What does one wear to a rodeo?” she asked.
"That's an easy one; you dress like a cowboy, only sexy."
"That's the problem. I don't own anything that says, cowboy."
Mandy fell silent for a few seconds. “If your fantasy is bagging a cowboy, his fantasy might be tagging the city girl. Who says you have to give up your identity and dress like them when in Texas? Be Blythe. Stun him.”
Mandy had an interesting view of the situation, but stunning Hunter in public might not be the way to go about getting on his better side. As she’d learned the night before with Beau, Hunter didn’t handle surprise well. He definitely threw off the private vibe. “I don’t know. He seems like the kind that likes to blend in more than make a statement."
"Then mix the two. Dress a little sexy for you and a little country for Hotness."
Mandy had a point. Blythe held up the black dress and walked down the hall to Hunter's bedroom. He’d left the door cracked, and she pushed it open. A four-poster bed took up the middle. A matching chest of drawers sat opposite the door between the bathroom and a small closet. Minimal came to mind.
“He’s not going to like me going through his things.”
"He's not going to care when every cowboy at that rodeo has their eyes on his prize-winning filly. Oh, gotta run. I’m being summonsed back to work. Call me in the morning and give me every detail.”
Mandy hung up before Blythe could say thank you.
Blythe fingered through a row of shirts, mostly t-shirts with a few polos and long sleeve button downs. His jeans were folded and stacked on a shelf, and a few pairs of dress pants hung on hangers. There wasn't much to choose from until she slid back a black suit and found a selection of silver buckles and two thick black leather straps.
The idea hit her at once. She picked the smaller of the two belts and dashed back to her room to change.
The belt worked perfectly as a cinch, and the buckle was just the right amount of bling. She'd seen a smaller pair of black boots in the back of his closet and tried them on. They were a tad roomy, but nothing an extra pair of socks couldn't cure.
She had just brushed out her curls and added a thin layer of bronzer when a cloud of dust and the call from the horses signaled Hunter’s arrival.
She met him at the front steps, waiting for his reaction with baited breath. He stopped at her and stared, not moving for several agonizing moments. Then he brushed passed and disappeared behind the screen door.
It was too much. She shouldn’t have gone in his closet, but damn, she was only trying to break the cold chill he’d put between them at breakfast.
He could turn from hot to cold faster than any moody teenager. If this was his idea of playing chase, she wasn't buying into it. Instead, she took a seat on the first step and surveyed the pastures. His ranch really was beautiful. The two bays sunned their backs and grazed a few feet apart from each other, and though most of the Longhorns had disappeared up the hill at first light, two stayed behind to nibble on the tender grass around the fence posts.
This kind of peace she could see herself getting used to, but not with a man who brooded around all the damn time.
She’d decided it was time to make him face her when a shadow blocked the sunlight from behind and something plopped down on her head.
Surprised, she reached up to touch the soft felt brim of a hat. She ran her fingers along the edges before pulling it off and admiring it−a velvety black with a satin band and a small silver buckle made into a horse’s arched neck. “It’s stunning,” she said.
Hunter stood next to her. She hadn’t looked up beyond the hat, but she could feel him there. “I figured if you’re gonna wear my grandmother’s boots you might as well wear her hat too.”
Oh, crap. Blythe pushed up to her feet and searched out his face. "Oh, Hunter. I didn’t know. I shouldn’t have—”
He stopped her with the back of his hand gliding down her cheek. “She would have approved. Gramps will too.”
Blythe pressed her cheek into his hand and glanced down at the boots.
“I didn’t expect to see my brother last night, and I acted like a real jerk when you walked in the kitchen.” Hunter took a deep breath that leveled his shoulders. “I didn’t want you to feel trapped into honoring their dinner request out of pity.”
“I don’t.” She smiled. “I feel honored to accept their request for you.”
His eyes glistened, and the subtle grin on his lips wrinkled the corners of his mouth in a way that made her want to kiss him. “Give me a few minutes to change from the kennel. We can stop for lunch on the way to the fairgrounds.”
Blythe took her seat back and admired the hat in her hands. Hunter didn’t come off as the sentimental type, but the way he’d smiled when he looked at the hat proved her wrong. He had a connection−a strong one to his family−but something had severed it.
They’d made a deal. Nothing personal. Only a week together and she’d be back in Virginia telling her school kids all about the cows she’d seen, and he’d be back to working on the ranch and running the kennel. A loner. That’s what she’d come to see him as. That’s what he’d always be to her.
Hunter stepped out of the door in a pair of dark Wranglers, a black and white checkered button down, a belt buckle the size of her fist, and polished black boots that gleamed in the noonday sun.
She swallowed hard at the picture of Texas perfection.
“I couldn’t have you show me up, could I?” he grinned and offered his hand to help her up.
Blythe let his fingers curl around her and rose to meet him. “No. I guess you couldn’t.”