Chapter 2

 

 

Walking over to where Ruth is standing, she turns and heads into the bar. Once inside the door, two things hit me at once. One is the heat of the place, and the second is the loud music. The waitress walks over, smiling at us, and Ruth tells her two. We follow the girl to the center of the place and sit down.

“What can I get y’all to drink?” she asks. Looking at her name tag, it says Annie.

“I’ll take a Pepsi, please,” I tell her. Annie and Ruth make small talk for a minute before she heads off to fill our drinks.

“Spring, I’ve heard from Sammy. I have a price; they want for the house.” She slides a paper across the table. Picking it up, I read through it. That can’t be right, they don’t require anything down, and the price is way too low. Setting it down on the table, I look over at Ruth, and she’s smiling.

“Ruth, this can’t be right, the price is way too low.” Shaking my head, I can’t believe it.

“No, it’s the price he gave me, I even made him repeat it back to me. There are a few stipulations that will go with the house if you decide to buy it, though.”

I can’t tell if she’s being serious or not. “What kind of stipulations?” Looking at her, I can’t wait to hear this. I knew it was too good to be true.

“Nothing that bad. The first is two horses would come with the property.” Sticking my hand up, I stop her.

“I didn’t see any horses, Ruth, and I was in the barn.” That doesn’t make any sense.

“Well, the second is that you meet with the brothers in two days at the house and they will bring them. I guess one of the brothers rescued them or something like that. At that time, you would need the cashier’s check for the full amount for the house,” she says. I go to say something as the waitress comes with our drinks and salads. Thanking her, I put my napkin on my lap. Taking a bite of my salad, I think, I was looking for an amazing house; it’s just I as I hoped it would be. Everything I dreamt of wanting and then there’s the fact that I feel at home on the mountain in that house. I can’t put my finger on it.

“Anything else?” I look over at Ruth.

“Yes, there’s a groundskeeper that usually stays there; they don’t want him to have to leave. Of course, you don’t have to pay him. That is already taken care of for you. You can move in tomorrow and then do everything the day after.”

“OK, I’ll take the house, I hope the horses are nice,” I say, looking grumpy. Ruth busts out laughing. Shaking my head, I finish up my salad. Ruth gets on the phone and calls the brothers. The smell of our dinners, which were, set before us, is amazing. Not waiting for Ruth, I dig into mine. With each bit I take of mouth-watering steak, the delicious meat melts in my mouth. I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I am.

“OK, the day had to be changed so you’ll have four days to yourself before the brothers get here.” She smiles and slides the keys over to me. “Congrats, you own the home,” she says, laughing. Putting my fork down, I grab the keys, running them through my fingers.

“Thank you, Ruth, you have been the best.” Smiling at her, she just laughs.

“You are so picky that I didn’t think I would ever find a house to suit your taste.” Shaking my head, I finish up with the steak. The waitress comes and clears our plates; then she sets a drink in front of me.

“I didn’t order this,” I tell her.

“No, you didn’t, but he did,” she says, nodding over to the bar. Looking behind me, I get that feeling I had at the diner this morning. Shivering, I look at the guys at the bar; the one in the middle raises his glass. Picking mine up, I do the same to him. Turning back around, I look at the waitress.

“Man, I wish they would buy me a glass of that wine. It’s $1,500 a bottle.” Freezing, I stop from bringing it to my lips. Shaking my head, I take a sip. It’s the sweetest wine I have ever had—it bursts with flavor in my mouth and tickles my tongue.

“Please tell him I will greatly enjoy this but that he shouldn’t have.” The waitress nods and heads over there. I hear him chuckle, then another guy walks over to Ruth and asks her to dance. She looks over to me, and I shush her away smiling. Grabbing our purses and our drinks, I make my way over to a couch no one is occupying. Sitting down, I settle in to watch the dancers for a little while.

Feeling the couch move under me, I look over just as the guy who purchased my wine sits down slowly. Raising an eyebrow, he just smiles at me.

“You like the wine?” he asks.

“Yes, thank you, but you shouldn’t have,” I say, blushing. Why am I blushing?

“It was nothing.” He stands up, setting his wine glass down and reaching his arm out. “Dance?”

“OK.” Standing up, I take his hand. He leads me to the dance floor and pulls me to him. His body is rock hard in all the right places. He takes my hands and wraps them around his neck. Sliding his hands to my hips, he pulls me in close. We are touching everywhere. Moving to the music, I start to relax into him. Looking up into his eyes, they are black as midnight. I don’t think I’ve ever seen eyes that dark before.

“What’s your name?” he murmurs in my ear.

“I’m Spring, and you are?” His hands run slowly down my back then back up.

“I’m Maddox, my full name is a bit hard to say,” he whispers. Smiling, I tuck my head to the side of his neck. I see the other people on the floor dancing just as close. Feeling eyes on me, I look over to the bar—the three men that are with him are smiling. Looking away, I see Ruth, and she’s having a good time. Shaking my head, Maddox shifts so he can look down at me having a clear view of my face. But our hips are just as close.

“Is that your friend?” He nods over to Ruth.

“She’s my realtor, I just bought a house today,” I say, smiling.

“Well, congrats, is it in town?”

“No, it’s located up on the mountain,” I say. I don’t know why I’m telling Maddox this; I don’t know this man well. For some unapparent reason, I’m affected by his presence. I need to get a grip. I still have a bad feeling about the men he’s with, but I can’t put my finger on it. The song ends, so we walk over to the loveseat and sit back down. He hands me my glass of wine, and I take a sip. The feeling is amazing. Almost hypnotic. Drinking the last bit, the waitress comes over and fills both our glasses up.

“Thank you for the first glass of wine that I’ve ever had, which I thoroughly enjoyed drinking.”

“Ah? I would have to say this is one of my favorites as well,” he says. “You have impeccable taste, my dear.” One of the men comes walking over and leans in to tell Maddox something. I see him stiffen up, nodding his head.

“Spring, I’m sorry, but I have some business to take care of that seems it can’t wait.”

Standing, he bends down and kisses me on the side of my mouth. I can smell the wine on his breath, and it makes me shiver. I see him try to hide a small grin that wants to appear.

“Please enjoy the rest of the wine, one of my men will let the waitress know to take care of your every need. I will see you soon, my love,” he whispers in my ear. With that, he’s gone.

I can’t believe how fast he left; I didn’t get to say goodbye. Taking a sip of my wine, I watch the dance floor.

Ruth comes over and sits down next to me. I wave to the waitress and point between us. She comes over and sets a glass in front of Ruth and refills mine. Smiling, she leaves us and goes back to taking caring of the tables.

“Oh, I see that mister hotty left you the wine,” she says smiling. “What is this hotty stranger night here or what?”

“I have no clue, never been here before. Ruth, I’m going to leave after I drink this. Got to move in the morning,” I say, smiling.

“Well, then come dance with me before you go. And promise me you’ll meet me here tomorrow night for dinner and dancing.” Looking over at her, I get up, and she follows me to the dance floor.

“OK, I’ll come tomorrow night.” It can’t hurt; this has been fun. The song that’s playing is a fast one. The song gets turned up, and I start to sway. Turning, I kick my left leg out followed with my right and turn again, creating a sexy dance to this song.

A few of the guys are watching me. Laughing, I turn and start the other way. Moving my hips back and forth, as I turn again, there’s a line of guys facing us. Great, I get to dance with someone I don’t know. All in fun, I guess. Dancing up to the guy in front of me, I notice it’s Maddox. Smiling, he grabs me by the hips and moves with me.

“You’re back?”

“One last dance for the night, Spring?” Nodding, I let him turn me. He pulls me back a little so that I grind against him. Raising my hands in the air, I turn and twist. Looking at the bar, I see the five guys that I saw come in earlier all staring with grim faces. The ones with Maddox are standing between us staring them down, their hands at their belts. What the hell is going on? It looks like there’s going to be a huge fight.

“Maddox, what’s up with your friends?” I ask him. Breathing a little harder, we move to the right, and he dips me low. Pulling me up, I’m pressed hard against him. He’s grinning at me.

“I’ve got to go, Spring, I’ve enjoyed myself.” Bending down, he kisses me gently on the lips. Pulling back, I shove at his chest. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the five men making their way toward us. Maddox lets me go and heads out the back door. Starting off the dance floor, one of the younger ones of the group grabs my arm gently and makes me stay on the dance floor.

“You have to finish the dance there, young lady,” he says, smiling and twirling me around. Looking over my shoulder at the back door, I watch as the guys he’s with exit the door closing it behind them. We move to the left then the right. This guy is nothing but gentle handling me. His hands, never straying where they shouldn’t like Maddox’s did. The song ends so I thank him and make my way to my seat to finish my wine. It takes me all of ten seconds to finish. Grabbing my purse, I stand to head out of the bar. Waving to Ruth, she waves back mouthing the word “tomorrow.” Smiling, I nod my head. The guy I was dancing with opens the door for me.

“Here, let me walk you out.”

“OK, I guess, but I don’t see a need for it.”

“Oh, just humor me. I’m Nick, by the way.”

“Spring, thanks for dancing with me, it was fun.” Walking over to my SUV, I stop and push the unlock.

“Well, thank you for walking me out. Have a great evening,” I say. Opening the door, I get in and start my car.

“Anytime, Spring, and I’m sure I’ll see you around,” he says, closing my door. Heading out of the parking lot, I can’t stop thinking about the weird night I’ve had.