Page 64 of This Time Around
Twenty-One
Cooper
“How long until everyone gets here?”
I took a sip of my coffee.Rebecca was at the counter, in almost the exact same spot I got her off two weeks ago.Rain had hit, which had pushed back the hay baling party, but this week had been sunny and warm.We spent several hours out in the hay fields, mowing it, spreading it into rows, and turning it so it could dry.
Apparently if hay wasn’t dry enough when baled, it could spontaneously catch fire.A fact I learned that still blew my mind.
Every morning after I was dressed and ready, instead of making coffee in the four-cup maker in the guesthouse, I let myself into her kitchen where she was typically eating breakfast and had coffee waiting for me.We ate together in the morning and at night after I washed the stink and dust of ranch life off me, I returned to her place where we ate dinner.Sometimes I grilled, other nights she cooked, but we did it all together, side-by-side and hung out until it was time to head to bed.
All of it was spectacular in its simplicity, but it was still the memory of getting Rebecca off that was the best memory in the last two weeks.Since then, we kissed, frequently.Rarely did a day, or hell a few hours, go by where I didn’t have my hands or mouth on her.I was moving slowly and intentionally, giving her time to get used to me and to the idea that someday I’d have her naked and beneath me, or maybe on top of me.
I wasn’t picky.My hand saw more action in the last two weeks than it had in high school, and my need to have her grew every day.
“An hour, probably.We should get moving soon.I need to get the balers out and ready.But I’ve already stocked the coolers with drinks for the day and Kelly spoke to our friend, Christa, who’s bringing food later on for everyone.”
Rebecca got more done before the sun rose than I did in an entire day before I showed up there.Her tenacity no longer surprised the hell out of me, but my respect for her grew more every day I was around her.Even at night, when the ranch work was done out in the fields, she often spent hours in her office, going through paperwork, taking record of the cattle and goats.
She’d sold three kids this week for 4-H projects.I refused to allow her to take photos of Pepper.
The damn little gray goat was growing on me almost as much and as quickly as Rebecca.
“Are those the coolers I saw on the deck?”
“Yeah.I want to move them closer to the barn, though.I just forgot how heavy they were.”
She gave me a look that made me laugh.Sometimes the woman amazed me with her strength and endurance, other times, I liked she needed my help.Even if she still hated asking.
“I’ll take care of it.”I drained the rest of my coffee and rinsed it out before filling a to-go mug to take with me.My body had gotten used to waking up at oh-dark-thirty, but my brain still needed more than one cup of caffeine to wake up.“Ready to get to work?”
She gave me another sweet smile.Setting down her coffee mug, she slid in between me and the small space between her counter.
“Cooper?”Her hands brushed up and down my arms.
Every time she touched me, my body heat spiked to feverish levels.Burning and ice cold at the same time.She scrambled my senses.“What?”
“Thank you.I’m glad you’re here.”She thanked me often.The half-lidded eyes, blush on her cheeks that accompanied it then was new.
“You’re wel—”
She pressed her lips to mine before I could finish.Who gave a shit.She was coming ontomeand I was not complaining.I set the coffee mug on the counter and held her close to me.The kiss didn’t deepen.I let her take the lead.It was over too quickly, but the sweet taste of her lingered on my lips and the soft feel of her body stayed on my hands when she pulled back.
“Let’s go work,” she said.
She took my hand and tugged me toward the door.I snagged my coffee mug and followed her like a damn puppy dog.
“Shit, it’s hot out here.”I wiped sweat off my forehead and resettled my hat.The weather forecast hadn’t predicted it would be in the eighties by noon but damn, I was burning up with all the work.
“Wait until it hits four and you realize we’re not nearly done yet,” Ryan said next to me.He popped open a can of beer, forgoing the need to be hydrated in the heat.
Actually, a drink sounded like a damn good idea.
As all of Rebecca’s friends trickled in, she put us all to work.Little instructions were needed considering most of these friends had helped her for years and they all took up their regular spots.Brooke and her ten-year-old son, Nathan, hopped onto the tractor that would make square bales for the goats.Her husband, Andrew, got onto the flatbed trailer hooked behind the tractor.He’d stack the bales before they brought them back to the barn when the trailer was filled before heading back out.Her younger son, Oliver, went straight to the goats and started chasing them.
I’d wanted to jump into the tractor with Rebecca, sit in the small jump seat and watch her maneuver the massive tractor through the fields like a pro but instead, I’d stayed back at the barn with Ryan where we’d move the hay bales once they were brought to us.We’d emptied the flatbed twice and there were still hours to go.
Jordan was the only one not there.He was supposed to slide the large, round bales onto a different tractor and transport them.His absence had been noted by Rebecca and when he didn’t show when it was time to start, she’d pressed her lips into a firm line and shook her head.
