Chapter Ten
Kennedy—Mason TX.
WHY IS MY MOM TAKING him outside to talk? I started to follow them but my dad stopped me to talk about the progress on the new mare. I kept watching them through the window and it seemed like my mom was doing most of the talking.
“Kennedy are you listening to me?” Dad asked me.
“Yes I’m sorry. I am just trying to figure out what mom and Jeremy are doing out on the front porch.”
“Don’t worry about your mom, I am sure she took him outside to talk to him about his ribs and how he is feeling.” Dad looked at me with that look I always get from him when he knows something is up. “Unless she sees what I saw yesterday.”
“And what did you see?” I asked trying not to look their way but it’s hard, my eyes seem to be drawn to him.
“Oh, I saw a little bit of your mom and myself in your interaction yesterday. You couldn’t seem to keep your eyes off each other.” Gosh. My parents have always been way to observant.
“Dad, I gave up on love at first sight after the last three guys broke my heart. There is no guy out there that wants this.” I motioned with my hands to the ranch. And even if I did have feelings for him, he lives in Nashville and I live here.”
“Kennedy, you know that your mom and I came from very different worlds. But we decided that our love and happiness were more important than what our parents thought. Instead of living here like I wanted to, we lived in a small one bedroom apartment by campus. Then when it was time, we moved to one closer to the hospital and I drove out here to help dad. Never once getting upset about the drive, leaving at three am to get here by six to feed the cattle or that she didn’t know anything about the ranch, the horses or the cattle. Her dream of being a doctor was all that mattered to me. Once that happened we moved home and started our life here. Was it easy? Hell no. Did we fight? Hell yes. But in the end we were happy because we had each other.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I looked outside to see if they are still sitting there.
“Because I don’t want you to miss out on something special because you’re afraid of history repeating itself. Real love only comes around once in a lifetime. You have to grab it while you can before it slips through your fingers.” He opened his arms to me and gave me one of his hugs that always makes me feel safe and secure. “I love you baby girl.” He kissed the top of my head and let me go. “Now I am going to check on the new mare.” He grabbed his cowboy hat and headed out to the barn. I stood there and watched him walk outside. Once he was out of sight I turned and watched Jeremy, sitting on the swing, scratching my dog behind the ear as he looked out at the horses. I touched my lips with my fingertips. That kiss. If I wouldn’t have had my arms around his neck, my knees would have given out. I have never been kissed like that before. I felt the kiss throughout my whole body. All the sudden I couldn’t wait for him to kiss me again.
After my parents left I fixed turkey sandwiches and we sat out on the screened in porch and talked. Neither one of us talked about the kiss but every time we brushed up against each other or his hand touched mine, I felt it. The pulsing between my legs was getting stronger. No guy had ever affected me like this before. When we finished eating I loaded the dishwasher while he cleared the table.
“If you feel like it, would you like to have a picnic dinner in the pasture and then look at the stars? I was thinking of making fried chicken.” I watched to see how he would react.
“Sure, if that is something that you like to do.” He said as he brushed my hair back from my face.
“I love laying out on the pasture and looking up at the starry sky. When I was younger I would take my horse Olive out at night after everyone had gone to bed and I would lay on her back and make a wish on the stars. If anyone did find out about that, they never said anything.”
“Weren’t you afraid to be out there alone at night?” He ran his hand down my arm and linked his fingers with mine.
“No, I always knew I was safe here on the ranch, even at night in the dark.” I looked up at him. “So, what did my mom say? Is everything healing alright?”
He gently tugged on my hand and smiled. “She says it is, she also said that I am supposed to rest.” Pulling me towards the sofa he urged me to sit down next to him. “She also gave me some advice which by the way, came out of nowhere. It wasn’t about my health.” I looked at him, shocked.
“What did she say?” I am intrigued and a little frightened that my mom would do something like this. I watched his face as it softened.
“Basically to not let something that is right in front of me, slip through my fingers.” He rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. “It’s good advice.
“Funny, my dad said the same thing. He said he noticed that we can’t keep our eyes off each other. He also told me not to let what happened with guys in the past ruin what might be the future I was meant to have.” I leaned over and rested my head on his shoulder.
“Do you believe in love at first sight?” I looked at him, a little shocked but not at all surprised. My grandparents and my mom and dad believe in it. I just never thought it would happen to me.
“I guess but it’s happened to people I know, never to me. Why, do you?” I ventured a glance at him.
He took a deep breath, “The day before I met you, I had just come back from my brother’s wedding in Vegas. We have known his new wife all of our lives. Even when her family moved away and they dated other people, they still loved each other. So, during college he commuted between Simi Valley in LA and the Central Coast where she lived just to be with her because he told me he couldn’t live without her. I told him he was crazy, that he was too young to be married or even know what love is. He looked me in the eyes the morning of the wedding and said that his life was incomplete without her in it.” I looked at him, touched by what his brother had said. “I knew they rushed because of her medical issues but I seriously have never seen my brother like this.”
“Medical issues, is she alright?” My heart was breaking for these people that I have never met.
“She has endometriosis and needed surgery actually several surgeries. My mom is her Doctor now and I know that Avery is in good hands.” He turned to look at me, cupping my cheek in his hand. “What I am trying to say is, I never believed in love at first sight or even love at all until you walked into the recording studio. You knocked me off my feet with your voice and your smile, when you let loose just a little, it was just what I needed to show me what I was missing in life. You take my breath away when you walk in the room. I feel electricity shooting through my body when you touch me.” I place my hand over his.
“I feel the same way about you.” I said as I leaned into his hand, which was warm on my face.
“I didn’t come down here looking for love, my plan was to try and convince you to come back with me, to be the next big star. Instead, I found what I didn’t even know I was looking for. My soulmate. I’m not a cowboy, I don’t get dirty. The last time I did that was on the beach back home riding dirt bikes as a kid. But now that I am here in your world, the dirt and the outdoors don’t bother me as much as long as I am right here with you.” He leaned down and kissed me, so softly on the lips.
“Jeremy this is crazy. Isn’t this crazy?”
“So crazy.” he said as he drew me in for another kiss. This time taking my face in his hands and devouring my mouth with long sweeps of his tongue. I leaned into him, wanting, needing to get closer to him. When the need to breathe was too much I pulled back to look at him and felt the loss of his lips on mine. I looked up at the clock behind him and realized it was four pm.
“I ummm, need to go and feed the horses again before it gets dark.” I bite my lip.
“Can I help?” He asked. “Until yesterday, I had never been on a horse before.”
“You live in Nashville and have never been on a horse?”
“I spend my time in a sound booth or going to clubs. No need for a horse.”
I just shook my head. “Come on, let’s get them fed and in the barn so I can fix dinner. There is a meteor shower tonight.” I helped him up. Stopping, I put my hand over his ribs. I could feel the outline of the tape under my hand. “Just promise me you won’t overdo it out there. Please. I feel bad enough for making you climb on the back of Clover yesterday” I grabbed my cowboy hat and an old baseball cap for him that was my grandfathers. With Rufus leading the way we headed out to feed the horses. I handed him the carrots and I took care of the feed. “Hold your hand flat with the carrot on it and then let her eat it. She won’t bite you.” He looked a little concerned so I showed him how to do it and then watched as she took it out of his hand. “See that wasn’t so hard. I took his hand and showed him where to rub. I nuzzled her face and gave her one more before we went to the next stall.
“How many horses do you have?” He asked as he fed another horse.
“Twenty, I used to Barrel Race but now I just raise and breed them. Once we sold off all the cattle it was easier for my dad to run. There are plenty of ranches that are always in need of a horse, Jeff brings his Broodmares over to breed, and by the way he was just messing with you this morning. The guys that live around here love to play big brother.” I felt his arm come around me.
“I don’t want to sound jealous but I was and I know I have no right to be but I still didn’t like it . . .” I place my finger on his lips.
“Stop. Nothing to be jealous about. In fact, that was his wife that was here this morning.” I closed the last stall and took his hand and sat on a bale of hay. “The last guy I dated broke my heart, that was nine months ago, I threw myself into working with the horses and keeping my grandfather’s legacy alive. Building fences and working with the horses, I made this my life.”
“What did he do?” he kissed my hand causing a tingling sensation to run through my body.
“Before he cheated on me he made sure it was someone that would tell me. He kept telling me that he didn’t like the fact that I loved working with horses or that I wanted to work on the ranch. He felt like the ranch and the animals meant more to me then him. And I think he was right. We just never really clicked. I would rather be here then with him in Austin. The guy before that said that I should sell the ranch and use the money for trucks and a boat. He was an idiot. Dad threatened to shoot his truck if he came back on the Ranch. So, you see there hasn’t really been anyone in my life that I felt like sharing this with.” I gestured to the animals.
“Even though they could see this is important to you?”
“It takes a special guy to want to take something like this on. The horses are like my family, my kids and unless the man in my life can understand this, then I don’t have room in my life for that man.” I looked into his eyes. “I made a commitment to my grandfather when he was dying. I told him that I would keep the ranch going, raise the horses and keep the legacy that my great grandfather started. My dad is all but retired so it’s just me.”
“Baby, why are you telling me this?”
“Because if you can’t do it, if this is too much and you need to go back home to Nashville, I would completely understand.” I got up and took his hand. “Why don’t you rest and I will start dinner.” He pulled on my hand and I lost my balance, falling into his arms.
“Are you trying to warn me away from thinking about staying?”
I bit my lip. “No . . .”
“Good, now let me help with dinner.”
“You can’t cook.”
“Doesn’t mean I can’t learn.” I just nodded. I am so out of my league with him.