Chapter Eleven
Calvin
Lainey was fucking incredible. I wanted her to stay the night. Heck, I wanted her to stay forever, but I knew she had to do what was right for her. It wasn’t late, probably only around nine o’clock, so not an indecent hour quite yet.
“I’d love for you to stay with me tonight, Lainey. I love being with you.” I was being totally honest.
“Thanks,” she smiled, but I could see that my proposal put her in an awkward position.
“Maybe you should call your dad and let him know we’re going to watch movies or something?” I offered.
“Yeah, I want to call my dad, anyway, to make sure he’s okay. I don’t want him worrying you’ve got me chained up as a sex slave in your basement dungeon or anything,” she said with a giggle.
“How did you know I had a dungeon?” I replied. “Anyways, I’d hate for him to be wandering over here just when we’re… I mean, sure, call him and tell him I’ll see him tomorrow to help out however I can.”
She grabbed a sheet from the bed and we went downstairs to get her phone out of her purse.
“Hey, Dad,” she said when he answered the phone, “Just checking you’re ok over there. Calvin and I are having so much fun getting to know each other. Do you mind if I sleep over? We’re going to watch some late-night movies and hang out… you know—kid stuff.”
Well, not really kid’s stuff, I thought to myself.
Her mood immediately changed, guess he agreed. We did pop in a movie, and after all our sexual exertions, I made us a snack and we snuggled up in front of the TV. When it was time to go to bed, she asked why I loved my ranch so much. It wasn’t a hard answer to give her, but words really couldn’t describe it.
“I’ll show you in the morning, darlin’. I can’t really articulate it well. I’ve had a very diverse life, which I’ll tell you more about later, but compared to what I was doing before, this feels so much more right. In fact, for me, it’s perfect. I’m working the land, using my body, feeding the people and the animals. It’s a wonderful life.” I hoped she understood.
“This feels right to me,” she said as she spooned beside me. “I guess the rest of it will grow on me.”
“But, it’s just for the summer,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but my dad’s here, and I can’t leave him alone. It will be forever after I’m finished with school.” This seemed to dampen her mood, so I changed direction.
“Nothing is forever, darlin’. It will all work out, just take it one day at a time,” I counseled.
“You’re right. No need to rush my life story.” She smiled as she cuddled in deeper and yawned.
“Let’s get some shut eye, we have a big day tomorrow.” I kissed her again and soon she fell asleep.
She felt amazing, perfect and warm beside me. It made me realize just how much I’d been missing this in my life. I didn’t just need any woman, I needed a woman like Lainey—strong, independent, kind, and fun. My heart swelled as I laid with her and fell asleep.
The next morning, we woke up, made love again, showered and had a light breakfast of eggs, toast, bacon and coffee.
“Where did you learn to cook?” she asked mid-bite.
“Believe it or not, I like to watch cooking shows and those YouTube cooking clips that pop up on Facebook.” Lainey’s face melted into mild shock.
“Really?” I didn’t think she believed me.
“Really. It’s fun to experiment, but I must confess, there isn’t much to eggs and bacon. The toast part, though, that’s where you really have a command of culinary skills.”
She laughed. “It’s just I don’t cook much more than salad, cheese platters, and arranged fruit,” she flashed a beautifully guilty smile.
“Cook?” I teased.
She shrugged her shoulders.
“You don’t have to know how to cook in New York,” she said, raising her nose in a gesture of faux snobbery.
“Is that so?” I asked as I gently tickled her side, which made her double over, giggling. “Well out here in the boonies, we grow our own food, shoot our own cows, and skin them right at the dinner table.”
Her face lost all color, and the look on it was priceless. She was at a loss for words—such a city girl.
“It’s El Paso, not Little House on the Prairie. We have delivery… sometimes, if Earl’s truck is working.”
She shook her head, still unable to say much then called her father to check in on him. His night seemed to have been a good one. We invited him to come on a horse ride around the perimeter of our properties, but he seemed very tired from the day before, telling her he was more interested in unpacking and getting settled.
He suggested we take a ride on our own and scope out the area. Later he’d have dinner for us and said he wanted to discuss his property with me and its possible uses. With her father happy, Lainey seemed to relax, like she was actually enjoying herself in Texas.
“You ready to head out and see what your dad has gotten you into?” I loved riling her up.
She rolled her eyes. “I guess.”
“You’ll like being out in the open air,” I said as I cleared our plates. “It’s rejuvenating.”
“Seriously, I’m looking forward to it. I haven’t been on a horse since I was a kid. I need to go home and freshen up though. Can we head out in an hour or so?” She batted her eyes unintentionally, but she was so adorable, especially since she didn’t know she was so attractive.
“Well, you’ll get unfresh again pretty soon, but sure, we’ll head out in an hour. Make sure you wear sturdy shoes and jeans or something rugged. No skirts, little lady, or I won’t be able to ravish you tonight,” I winked.
“Oh, you think you will be ravishing me, do you?” She played along.
“A man can hope.” I tipped my cowboy hat and gave her my biggest Texas smile.
She rolled her eyes at me, playfully and turned on her heels. “See you in an hour.”
And with that, she walked out my front door. I hated to admit it, but she was starting to chisel away at my heart. I watched her walk to her house and felt a rush of excitement. Today was going to be an amazing day, and if all went to plan—and she wasn’t too sore—I fully intended to ravish every inch of her gorgeous body again.