Chapter 61

Ryan

Dinner was wonderful, and I felt like both of us had a weight completely lifted off our shoulders. Especially Sara. She was vibrant, light, playful, and happy. I hadn’t really seen her this way, not even in New York. I realized the poor woman had been walking around for a long time feeling like she constantly had to look over her shoulder. It saddened me a bit, but as soon as I saw that smile, I knew she was going to be okay. Janson was going away, and she could let out that deep breath she had been holding in her lungs for months.

“So how’s the barn coming along?” she asked.

“I hear it’s doing great and that Alison is very particular, which is good.” I chuckled. “If we’re going to do this, I want it done right, and I want the horses and the organization to have what it needs.”

“That’s great.” She smiled. “I can’t tell you how glad I am these things are working out. We really started to think about some changes for the ranch now that the barn is going to be new, now that Jimmy’s gone, and we’ve seen where the weak spots are. The fencing needs to be better, more resistant to things like what happened. These horses need special care, and them getting out could have been devastating.”

“Well, I’ll help wherever I can,” I said. “Give me a hammer and nails.”

“I think you’ve done quite your share.” She chuckled. “Running into a fiery building got you out of manure duty for at least a month.”

“That’s it?” He laughed. “I’m just gonna start following the fire trucks around like a superhero.”

“Right,” she said. “Maybe you should take it easy and focus on the solar ranch and this barn.”

“I was thinking of relaxing, spending my open free time with this one girl I met.” I grinned.

“Oh yeah? Does she have any drama?”

“Oh, tons, but I like it that way. She keeps me on my toes. I just hope there aren’t any more accidents that involve flames and smoke. That was a bit over the top.”

“Yeah, you know me. When I do something, I go big.” She laughed.

“Maybe I should call the guys and tell them to build me a fireproof barn. That would solve all the problems.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that exists, and if it did, you know Alison would be already signed up for one.” She chuckled. “It would be like a giant plastic playhouse for kids. It would get all hot and sticky on the inside.”

“Nah, there’s got to be better technology than that,” he said. “Maybe that should be my next business venture.”

“Building plastic barns?”

“No, investing in the technology to come up with a kickass fireproof barn,” he said. “You know, stay on the science side of things so I don’t get too gimmicky.”

“I can see you now in a commercial, wearing a tacky suit and telling people to come on down to the Barn Outlet.” She laughed. “You’d give a demonstration on how the barn is fire-retardant.”

“But something would go wrong,” I said dramatically. “And I would be left with a field of melted blobs of plastic.”

“And a closet full of bad ties,” she pointed out.

“Oh god, the nightmares,” I said, shivering.

“Man, with all the money it would take to go into a business like that, I would say join the organization and spend it on rescuing more horses.” She smiled. “They don’t care what kind of barn they’re in as long as they don’t get hauled off to the glue factory.”

“Poor guys,” I said, pouting.

“Look who has gotten an attachment to horses.”

“After running into that building and seeing that horse there without help and seeing how it knew I was there to help it, I kind of fell in love with it,” I admitted.

“Frank loves you too.” She smiled.

“His name is Frank?”

“What did you expect it to be? Wilbur, Mr. Ed?”

“I don’t know.” I chuckled. “I always see these horses with these crazy names on the horse racing, figured his name would be like Fancy Fingers or Speedy.”

“They are farming horses not racehorses,” she said with a grin. “And those poor things, that’s a whole other story for another time.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to know. That’ll be too sad,” I said. “Next thing you know, I’m buying up all the racehorses. I’ll be penniless with no way to feed them, but I’ll have five hundred of them in a field.”

“Oh lord.” She dropped her head into her hands.

The conversation was amazing, nothing stressful or deep, just playful, teasing conversation. It was the first time we’d really had that without a ton of the past creeping up on us. The past was out in the open now for both of us, and things were starting to look up. Janson would be in jail soon, there was nothing left from my past to talk about, and all the small issues were being taken care of. It felt freeing, open, and something I had never experienced before.

When dinner was over, and dessert had been demolished, I looked up at the head waiter and nodded my head. I had arranged something special for the two of us before she got there. She watched curiously as the staff descended onto the floor and began moving tables, stacking chairs and clearing out an empty space right in the middle of the room. They took the candles from the other tables and created a ring of flickering light around the makeshift dance floor. It was gorgeous, and I was pleasantly surprised at how romantic a hometown Mexican restaurant could be. It was something unexpected, and from the sparkle in Sara’s eye, I knew she was impressed.

The hostess fiddled with something at the front counter, and then music began to play from the speakers. It was instrumental, flowing, and had a bit of a Mexican flare to it. It wasn’t necessarily my first choice for music to dance to with Sara, but I had pulled all this together in a few hours, so it was the best I had. I put my napkin on the table and reached across. She put her hand in mine and smiled.

“Would you like to dance?”

“I would love to,” she answered. “Though I didn’t really wear my dancing shoes.”

I laughed. “I’ll give you a break this time. I’ll take the lead.”

“Oh,” she said with feigned shock. “What a gentleman.”

We stood, and I held her hand, walking her out to the dance floor. When I reached the center, I pulled her into me, taking one hand in mine and wrapping the other around her waist. We swayed together slowly to the sound of the music, and I loved the way she felt in my arms. The gentle movements of her body washed away the tough façade she always put on and made her seem more feminine, more fragile in my arms. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, and I could have danced with her there in my arms all night long.

“This is nice,” she sighed, leaning her head forward on my shoulder.

“It is, isn’t it?” I smiled. “It’s nice being here together with no more stressful worries, just a normal life.”

“I don’t know if I would call renting out an entire restaurant normal.” She giggled. “There are going to be a lot of angry towners in the morning who didn’t get their Friday night chimichanga.”

“Oh, the mob will come after me.” I laughed.

“Pitchforks, torches and all,” she said, leaning back and smiling at me.

“You know, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she said. “But I think you drank the Bonanza Kool-Aid. I am not the most beautiful woman in the world.”

“To me, you are.” I smiled.

“Then, that’s all that matters,” she said with dewy eyes looking up at me.

I leaned in and gently kissed her lips, pulling her close to me. It was sweet and romantic, and the first time lust hadn’t been driving me. I just wanted to kiss her, to show her how much I cared, to make her feel loved, protected, and warm. I wanted her to know exactly what she meant to me, even if words were failing me right at that moment.

We danced for about a half an hour, silently pressed together, listening to the music, swaying to our own beat. We were lost together, and it had been the first time we had time like that to ourselves without crazy sheriffs or paparazzi chasing us down. Neither one of us felt the need to look over our shoulders, and we were finally able to relax and enjoy each other. I could tell things were going to be okay, that we were finally going to have our chance to be together without anyone getting in the way. When the song ended, I pulled back and looked into her eyes.

“Will you come and stay with me tonight at the hotel? I don’t want this night to end yet. It’s too perfect,” I said with a smile.

“I would love to,” she said. “And I was thinking that exact thing. We haven’t had time together like this ever, and I’m not ready to let it end either.”

“Perfect.” I smiled. “Let me take care of the bill, and we can walk over there.”

“Okay,” she said sweetly.

They already had my card and were waiting on the side with a pen to sign the receipt. I made sure to leave a very generous tip, one that would cover what they normally made on a Friday night times three. They all thanked me repeatedly, waving at Sara as we left. We walked hand in hand through the warm night air to the hotel and up to my room. There was a sweet tension between us, almost nervous like it was the first time. When we got inside, I closed the door and walked forward, running my hands down her arms. I squeezed them tightly and leaned in, kissing her gently at first, but as the emotions began to boil, I tightened my grip and leaned into her. She whimpered lightly as I released her, putting her arms around my neck and not letting my lips go. She tasted like strawberries and tequila, and her perfume smelled like lavender. She was intoxicating in every way.

We stood there for several minutes, kissing, touching, and enjoying our uninterrupted moments together. Normally, I would have been on the watch, waiting for something to go wrong, but that night, I felt completely uninhibited. There wasn’t a worry on my mind, and instead, my focus was completely and totally on Sara. As my lips moved across hers, I reached up and flicked the light off, bringing my hand to the front of her shirt. Slowly, I began to unbutton it, pulling it open and gently rubbing my hands over her skin. She breathed heavily, and the passion started to simmer between us. Even so, I wanted to take my time. I didn’t want to rush it. I wanted to make love to her, bring her pleasure she had never before known, and be there with her as her partner.

I leaned down and scooped her up in my arms and walked toward the bed. She leaned back and looked deeply into my eyes, and I could feel the electricity shoot through my chest. I had fallen madly and deeply in love with this woman.