I hummed along with the radio as I flipped the pancakes. I had the table set already for Cash and his dad’s breakfast. I enjoyed coming out to the ranch every chance I got. The wide open spaces and fresh air always seemed to improve my mood. The place was no longer a working ranch since Cash’s dad retired, but they still had a fairly large vegetable garden, a few horses, some goats, and the sweetest pair of black labs on the face of the earth. The labs were, of course, waiting patiently for their slice of bacon.
Lucy, the female lab, started wagging her tail and looked toward the kitchen door. I turned to find Cash standing there, shirtless, with a pair of well-worn jeans hanging low on his hips. A black t-shirt was slung over one shoulder. My mouth watered and every part of me started tingling. Jesus, did he really have no idea his effect on women when he walked around without a shirt? Hell, even when he was fully dressed, he made all the women in town drool.
“Good Morning Sheriff,” I handed him a cup of coffee with a smile.
He took the offered cup, bringing it to his nose for a long sniff, the scent of the dark brew working its way into his brain to wake him up.
“Morning Blue.” His voice was deep and husky. I had to bite back a moan.
“Breakfast is almost ready,” I turned back to the stove to finish removing the eggs from the skillet. I handed a slice of bacon to each of the dogs now that it had cooled.
“Umm, ok, but what are you doing making breakfast?” He asked sitting at the table while pulling on the t-shirt.
“Sheesh, Cash. You’d think I hadn’t taught you better than to ever question why when a pretty lady makes you breakfast. They tend to not want to do it again,” An older replica of Cash came through the back door carrying a box of vegetables.
I smiled at Dale when he winked at me. His voice was gruff, but you could hear the affection he had for his only son.
Cash shook his head. “Dad, all I meant was that she just closed the bar a few hours ago. She should still be in bed.”
I put all of the food on the table and poured more coffee in Dale’s cup while he washed his hands at the sink. I smiled at Cash. Such an over protective worry wart. “I was in bed by 1 am, so I got plenty of sleep. If it was Sunday morning, I definitely wouldn’t be here since the bar doesn’t close till 2 am. At any rate, I stopped by to drop off a few shirts that Dale asked me to mend and to pick up the raw veggies for the kitchen at the bar. Robert asked me to grab them today.”
“And she wasn’t happy to see me eating a bowl of oatmeal so she offered to make breakfast. Unlike you, I took her up on the offer,” Dale said with a grin. He sat at the table and immediately dug into his scrambled eggs and bacon.
“Blue, you don’t need to cook for us,” Cash said sternly, giving his dad a tough look.
I fought back a grin and said, “It’s not a big deal, and it’s the least I can do since Dale won’t let me pay for the vegetables. Eat up before it gets cold,” I instructed. The labs sat on each side of me, knowing I’d give in and give them another slice of bacon.
I truly didn’t mind helping out Dale and I so enjoyed coming out to the ranch. It was a win-win for the both of us and if I got to see Cash without a shirt, well, so much more the pleasure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I started in on my breakfast while Dad and Blue talked vegetables. She was a really good cook, and dad adored her. Hell, even Lucy and Chewy adored her. Maybe I should ask her out on a real date. I’ve known her for almost five years. She helped dad out all the time, and made sure I got a hot meal for dinner every day at the bar. She worked hard, was sweet to everyone, and was always willing to help out in town if someone needed it. I’d be hard pressed to find anyone that suited me as well as she did. I had a major crush on her and maybe it was time I manned up and did something about it.
“How’s your wrist today sweetheart?” I asked when there was a break in the vegetable talk.
“Oh, it’s fine. I can hardly feel the bruise,” she said as she rotated her wrist to show me she could move it without wincing.
I reached out, took her chin between my fingers and turned her head so I could look at her cheek.
“No bruises. That’s good.”
“Bruises? Why would you have a bruise on your face?” Dale asked with concern.
“A guy at the bar slapped Blue last night,” I informed dad. I grinned when Blue gave me that “I’m gonna kick you” look.
“What the hell? I hope you arrested the SOB!” Dad said vehemently.
“I’m fine Dale and yes, Cash arrested him,” Blue patted Dad’s hand in reassurance.
“Yep, he’s sitting in a cell right now. Blue here defended herself though, kicked the guy in his balls, twice, and punched him in the nose. She broke it, that’s why I was checking on her wrist,” I informed my dad. I was proud of her, but I loved the exasperated look she flashed me. She looked at me like she was going to come after me any minute, making me smile.
“Cash St. Bryant! Don’t get your dad all riled up. I don’t need another lecture about how I should run the bar,” she slapped me on the shoulder.
“Dale, I’m going to look into getting a bouncer. It was one incident, and I took care of it,” she explained before Dad could work himself into a tizzy.
“You are too independent girly! I worry about you.” Dale shook his head. “Since everyone seems to be done with breakfast, Cash, why don’t you take Blue out to look at the new additions while I clean up the kitchen?”
Blue perked up when she heard there were new additions. “What new additions?” She asked excitedly.
“Come on, I’ll show you.” I pulled her up from her chair and escorted her out the back door. Lucy and Chewy followed close behind. I kept hold of her hand as we walked across the yard to the barn. When she tried to tug her hand out of mine, I just held onto hers a little tighter.
I noticed the smile that broke across her face, but I didn't say anything. The dogs were running around us playing chase and Blue laughed at their antics. I loved her laughter and the way her eyes lit up when she laughed. She looked young and carefree. Not so tired and overworked.
“Thanks for mending those shirts for Dad. He shouldn’t have asked you to do that. You have enough on your plate without him adding to it.”
“It’s fine. It didn’t take me long at all. Guess Betty Lou pissed him off, so he didn’t want to bring them to her. She told him he should buy new shirts instead of mending the old ones. Well I’m sure you know how well that went over.”
“I can imagine. He gets at least three new western shirts a year, Father’s Day, his birthday and Christmas, but he never throws the old ones out. I think he holds onto them as reminders of my mom.” I pulled open the barn door and led her down the alley between the stalls. The few horses we had were out grazing in the field, but the new additions were still stabled for now.
“That’s sweet but heart-breaking in a way,” Blue said sadly.
I nodded in agreement. I came to a stop at the last stall, which was the largest, at the back of the barn. I pulled open the door so that Blue could see inside the stall. “Dad picked these up a couple of weeks ago at old man Brightwater’s place.”
Blue stood outside of the stall and peered inside. Hugging the wall at the back of the stall, was a young mare and her baby. They were identical in color, all black with a large white chest. The mare snorted at the intruders, but didn’t advance.
“They are beautiful, but she looks a little young to have been bred,” Blue said with concern, her soft heart showing.
“She was, and the colt is still a little weak. It’s why we are keeping them in here for now, giving both time to get used to the surroundings and to strengthen up some. Old man Brightwater left her out one night and one of his stags got to her.” I watched the fascination on Blue’s face as she watched the mare and baby. Her every emotion was displayed in those bright blue eyes and that expressive face.
“Can I pet them?” Blue asked, looking up at me. “What’s wrong?” she asked taking a step back.
I shook my head. I’d been thinking about kissing her. I bet her lips were soft, like her hands. She’s always smelled like strawberries, and I wanted to rub my nose in her neck to see if the scent was there also. I must have looked like I wanted to devour her, because I did.
“Nothing sweetheart. Sure, you can pet them. Let’s grab some treats first though, to help ease the introduction.” I turned around quickly and grabbed a few carrots and some alfalfa out of a bin.
I handed Blue the carrots and lead the way into the stall. I talked to the mare in low tones, petting her head and feeding her some of the alfalfa. When I was sure she was calm and accepting, I nodded at Blue that she could come forward. Blue spoke to her in the same soothing tone and fed her one of the carrots. The colt came to investigate us, and was rewarded with a carrot. I enjoyed watching Blue with the horses. She was genuinely affectionate with them and not scared in the least. Her smile made my chest ache. I so wanted to be more than just her friend.
“They are so sweet. Have you named them yet?” she asked, as she fed the little colt his carrot.
He kept nudging her when she didn’t break off a piece of the carrot quickly enough.
“Not yet. I’m sure Dad will come up with something once he’s watched them for a while and can assess something of their personalities.” We spent a few more minutes with the horses, then I led her out of the stall.
“Thanks for showing them to me Cash. They are beautiful,” she waited outside the stall door while I locked up.
I turned to her and couldn’t resist wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her against my body. Before she could utter a word, my lips were on hers. The kiss was electric. It felt like lightning had struck my spine. When Blue wrapped her arms around my neck and opened her mouth wider so that I could deepen the kiss, I couldn’t stop the low groan that escaped. She felt damn good against me. Soft, sweet and a nice handful and I didn’t want to let her go. The dogs took that moment to start barking and jumping on us for attention. Blue pulled away first.
“Wow,” she muttered touching her lips with her fingertips.
I watched the blush work its way up her neck, to her cheeks. She was heavy lidded, her lips swollen from our kiss. I reached out, running my own thumb across her plump bottom lip. “I want to do that again.”
“You do?” She asked shyly.
“Oh yeah. Most definitely.” I took the two steps toward her that brought her right back up against me. When she tried to back up a step, I wrapped my hand around the back of her neck. “Baby, don’t”
“Cash, I.., umm.”
I saw the insecurity in her eyes, and I wouldn’t stand for it. “Stop thinking Blue,” I muttered before descending on her lips once again. I nibbled on that plump lower lip before tasting her deeply. Her moan shot right to my cock, making me harder than I already was. Jesus, my every thought centered on this woman and her taste. I wanted to crawl inside of her with everything in me.
A throat clearing in the background caused Blue to pull quickly away from me. I smiled at her muttered curse. I tucked her curly hair behind her ears and kissed her forehead. “It’s just Dad, Blue.”
Blue shook her head. She was caught kissing the Sheriff in the barn by his father. Her blush deepened and she looked like she wanted to slap the smirk off of my face. It only made me smile that much more.
“I need to get back to town.” She stepped around me and trotted toward the door.
“What do you think of the new additions, Blue?” Dad asked, nonchalantly.
Blue stopped her mad dash for the door and slowly turned toward him with a smile. “They are beautiful Dale. The little colt is so sweet. He definitely likes carrots.”
“That he does. Don’t forget Robert’s vegetables in the kitchen, honey. I’ll have another box ready in about a week, but don’t wait that long to come out and visit.”
Blue hugged Dale tightly. “I won’t. Stop by for lunch soon, ok?” She kissed his cheek then headed out the door, not giving me a second look. My grin only grew.
“Well, I’ll say. You got that girl all flustered and running, my boy,” Dad said to me with a grin of his own. I knew I must look downright smug with myself.
“Oh, she can’t run too far. I know where she works and lives.” I petted the dogs on their heads before heading for the door. I had to get to the office. “I’ll see ya later Dad.”