Chapter Five

The rest of the day went really slowly for Carla. Guilt and remorse took residence in her gut and she found it hard to think straight. Twice she made a mistake on the cash till and Delores had to come through and sort it out. The older lady said she didn’t mind, but Carla was sure she must have been having regrets about hiring her now.

At lunch time, Carla had taken a sandwich from the café in the next street and gone for a walk toward the meadow. She picked a secluded spot to eat her meal, not daring to venture anywhere near the diner.

Her mind raced and she dreaded the sound of the doorbell all afternoon. She looked up each time the door opened, but none of the men on her mind showed up in the shop.

She liked Aiden Fielding. He was a handsome guy and very attentive. Any girl would be lucky to go out with him, she told herself over and over. And Matt hadn’t asked her out. He hadn’t even come to see her until later in the day. She shouldn’t feel bad about Matt, it didn’t make sense. The way he had made her feel yesterday—and last night—was totally different to how he reacted to her today. She was cross with herself for feeling so damn guilty. After all, she wasn’t Matt’s girlfriend, was she? She’d only met him yesterday!

She quickly reapplied her lip gloss and combed her hair as soon as she finished work and went outside to find Aiden waiting for her. He had a clean shirt and Levis on, and wore a brown hat which matched his boots. He really was lovely, and he smelled good, too.

“Hi,” she said, as brightly as she could. It wasn’t that hard, this guy looked great.

“Hi, beautiful. I didn’t come in the shop in case I got you into strife with your boss.” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her to his pick-up.

Carla was sure that he must have washed his car today, as trucks in these parts were always covered in a couple of dozen layers of dust. She climbed in with a smile.

“I know a great little place to eat,” he told her as he gunned the engine, “I hope you’re hungry.”

“Oh, I am,” she assured him.

They stopped in another little town Carla didn’t know and went into a lovely restaurant with views of a lake.

“This is wonderful,” she told him as they were shown to their table. She felt a little underdressed in her jeans until she noticed that everyone else was dressed casually, too.

She sipped a glass of white wine while they waited for their meal.

“How long are you planning on staying in Cavern County?” Aiden asked.

Carla felt herself flush. She didn’t know the answer to that one. “I’m not sure yet. I’ll have to see how things go.”

He smirked. “And if things go well will you be sticking around a while?”

Carla realized what he meant and gasped. “Um. I mean…I’m not sure.” She felt herself go even hotter.

He chuckled. “I see.”

How could he see? She felt a little annoyed at the knowing look he was giving her. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings by telling him that actually it didn’t matter how well they got on, she wouldn’t be hanging around too long anyway. She wasn’t safe enough to settle down yet, but at least she felt secure enough to take a breather and decide where to go from here. And besides, she was fast running out of money.

The meal was delicious and she changed the subject by asking him all about himself.

“I was born and raised on the Fielding Ranch,” he told her. “Been in the saddle all my life.”

Carla smiled, deciding against making a comment about how sore his butt must be by now. “You obviously enjoy it then?”

“Yes, ma’am. My daddy used to take me on treks up in the mountains all the time when I was growing up. And momma was so patient with us.” He smiled.

“Do you have any other family working there?” She asked as she finished her steak.

He nodded. “I’ve got an older brother and a younger sister. Ben doesn’t live on the spread anymore, says he prefers his independence, although he still works there. He left home to go to college in Wyoming, but now he lives just outside of town. Josie still lives at home in the big house with her husband, Greg. He helps out with training the horses—darn good he is, too, if I’m being honest. She’s great with figures and always has her nose in a book, although she loves to ride, too.”

“Do you live with them, then?” Carla asked as the waitress cleared away the plates.

“Nope. I’ve got a small cottage on the spread. Get the best of both worlds that way—independence and a good home-cooked meal whenever I want one. Josie learned all about cooking from our momma.” He smirked as he handed her the dessert menu. “They do some great sweets to share,” he told her when she shook her head.

“What’s your favorite?” She blushed slightly, wondering if it was obvious she had a really sweet tooth.

“Well now let’s see.” He studied the back of the menu. “This sundae’s a lot of fun. Profiteroles, ice cream, chocolate cake, candy, all wrapped up in whipped cream with chocolate sticks poking out the top.” He grinned and she wondered if her eyes had just lit up.

“Sounds lovely,” she admitted.

“We’ll have a ‘Decadent Delight’ with two spoons, please,” he told the waitress.

The dessert was everything she had hoped it would be—and lashings of it. They started tentatively scooping the cream and ice cream from the top, but things got a little more challenging when they had to ‘cut’ into the choux pastry and cake.

“You hold it still and I’ll cut,” he told her after she’d chased a profiterole around the dish for a few minutes.

She giggled. His system finally worked and he scooped up a mouthful and surprised her by offering it to her to eat. She bit into the soft pastry and the cream burst into her mouth. Carla couldn’t avoid the moan which escaped her throat, making Aiden smile even more.

He reached over and she felt him trail a finger around her lip, where she had spilled some chocolate sauce. He held it up for her then proceeded to poke his finger into her mouth where she licked it clean. The innuendo was lost on her at first, then the glint in his eye alerted her to it, as his finger toyed with her tongue. Without thinking she bit down hard and he yelped as he pulled his sore digit from her mouth.

“I’m so sorry,” she gasped, suddenly aware of what she had done. She had been so shocked that it was an automatic reaction.

“It’s okay,” he said, shaking his hand and examining the damage.

Carla was mortified at first but then she had to try hard to keep from giggling. It suddenly seemed hilarious, especially with the shock on his face. She assumed that girls usually flirted back with him when he did things like that—not bit him!

She clenched her lips tightly together, trying to keep a serious expression when he looked up at her in surprise.

“You’ve left teeth marks,” he told her, a little indignantly.

That did it. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she burst into laughter, and the more she tried to conceal it, the worse it got. Her whole body was rocking and she had to hold her stomach as her sides began to ache. To make matters even worse, Aiden stared at her in horror. She put her hands in front of her face and tried to choke back the giggles, but it just seemed to exacerbate the situation.

“Are you laughing at me?” He sounded offended and she tried very hard to look sorry, but then the twinkle in his eye told her that he was only joking and he burst out laughing with her.

No longer able to finish their pudding, they abandoned their efforts and just sat rolling in laughter for the next few minutes. Carla couldn’t remember a time when she had had so much fun, and she felt lighter than air as people glanced over from the other tables to see them both wiping their eyes with mirth.

“I really am sorry,” she told him when they finally recovered and got up to leave.

“I’ll remember not to be quite so forward next time,” he promised, still chuckling, as he put an arm around her and led her back to the car.

“I guess I’m a little out of practice with the whole dating thing, but I’ve had a great night,” she confessed as they rode back toward familiar territory.

“Perhaps we could do it again?” he suggested when they pulled up outside The Melrose Motel.

“Perhaps. Let’s just see how things go for a while, okay?” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before climbing out of the car. She noticed he looked a little surprised, and hurried around to the driver’s side before he could follow her out. “I can’t invite you in I’m afraid—you can see how I’m fixed.” She waved a hand in the direction of the building. “But listen, I’ve had a great time tonight. Thanks so much for taking me out.”

“You’re welcome. I had a fun time, too.” He leaned in and kissed her on the lips.

Carla smiled as she headed back to her little room. She couldn’t help sniggering as she let herself in, and wondered what he must have thought of her. It didn’t matter though, she told herself. It was just a one-off date and she was determined that it wasn’t going to lead anywhere. He had been fun to be with and she was truly touched that he had asked her out, but somehow he didn’t make her feel the same way Matt Shearer had. Her mind wandered to thoughts of Matt and Dyson and how they had been with her today. She hoped they would see things differently tomorrow, but even if they didn’t, she had to remember that it couldn’t lead anywhere. She wouldn’t be around long enough, anyhow.

****

Matt Shearer was in a foul mood the following morning, having spent the whole night imagining Carla with Aiden fucking Fielding. Aiden had always been a good friend of the Shearer brothers, and this somehow made it even worse that he had dated the girl that Matt had set his heart on.

“Will you cheer up?” Dyson was clearly exasperated. “I like the girl too but there’s nothing we can do about it if she prefers Aiden Fielding to us.”

“But she doesn’t realize she can have us, does she? In the first place neither of us asked her, and in the second place she doesn’t know how we operate. She might not realize she gets to choose between one of Aiden or two of us.” Matt slammed his coffee cup on the counter and put on his hat.

“Well then, maybe somebody ought to tell her,” Dyson said in a sing-song voice. He was clearly in a real good mood today.

Matt spun on his heel, his eyes wide. “Hey, bro, you’re right. We need to put her straight on a few things before she gets too hung up on Fielding. Damn—I’ve got the vet coming over this morning so I won’t get away until noon at the earliest. Think that’ll be too late?”

“Yup.” Dyson told him. “But I can always take a trip down there and have a word for the two of us when I go to the timber yard. I reckon it’s about time I got to know the girl a little better, anyhow.” He grinned at his brother before stuffing some toast into his mouth with aplomb.

“Great idea. You make sure she knows it’s you this time, though. I don’t want her thinking I’m the mean and moody type—or that I’ve lost my great looks!” Matt ducked as a piece of toast came flying his way, and he chuckled as he headed for the door.

He whistled as he set about his chores, and didn’t even mind when it started to rain. He had a couple of fences to mend before the vet was due and he was darned if he was going to fall behind just because of some inclement weather. Besides, he reasoned, if he got the fences done before the guy arrived to see to his horse there was no reason he couldn’t take a long lunch break in town—hopefully with a certain gorgeous brunette from the general store!

****

Carla was having a good morning. She had got up in a really hopeful state of mind. Things were actually looking good for a change. She’d had a fun night out last night and enjoyed a great breakfast, chatting with Maggie as she ate. The walk into work had been pleasant and it hadn’t even started raining until after she had arrived.

The store was busy and the time just flew. She’d smiled when she’d noticed that Delores had put her flowers into a jug of water, which she’d placed on the corner of the counter, and she’d happily told her and Frank what a great time she’d had with Aiden, although she missed out the part about the bitten finger. She had made a point of telling them that it was just a one-off date though, and that while she liked Aiden Fielding a lot, the relationship wasn’t actually going to go anywhere.

She had just finished serving Mrs. Taylor, promising yet again that she would pop into her daughter’s clothes shop just as soon as she had a spare minute, when the doorbell rang for the umpteenth time.

Carla instinctively looked up and felt something warm begin to glow in her stomach. She straightened her back a little as one of the Shearer brothers walked up the aisle toward her, and she smiled politely. He looked great in a yellow checked shirt and tight-fitting Levis. His hat and boots boasted of the quintessential cowboy—a look which Carla loved.

“Good morning, Carla.” His voice was deep and did unholy things to her girly parts, she realized with a blush.

“Hi there, er, Dyson?” She noticed that he was clean shaven, although the rest of him was the spitting image of his brother.

He chuckled. “Yep. Look I’m sorry about yesterday. Maybe I should have said something. I just didn’t think.”

She smiled, glad to see that he wasn’t annoyed with her. “Why would you? You weren’t to know that I’d already met your brother and thought you were him.”

His smile broadened and she gazed into his handsome face. They sure were good-looking twins.

“So, how was your date with Aiden?” He was still smiling, but Carla couldn’t help feeling that it no longer reached his eyes.

She shrugged. “It was fun.”

He cocked an eyebrow and Carla felt her pussy clench. She flushed and quickly looked away.

“Good. Fancy going out with me and Matt tonight?” His eyes flashed and Carla saw a spark of promise there which took her breath away. He seemed a little more intense than his laid-back brother, and the excitement sent a thrill through her which she didn’t expect.

“Say yes.” He must have seen the indecision on her face, because he spoke before she had even uttered a word.

Carla’s mind was in a whirl. She was deeply attracted to both twins, and didn’t know how she could choose between them. She was more than a little relieved that Dyson was asking her to go out with both of them at the same time.

“Go on, say yes.” Delores was suddenly at her side, cajoling her.

Carla giggled. “All right. Yes, I’d love to go out with you and Matt tonight. Thank you so much for asking me.” She felt a little shy as she looked up into his gorgeous, smiling face.

“Great. We’ll pick you up from here at six.” He winked and turned to go before quickly spinning back ’round. “Oh, and if you’re free around lunch time, perhaps we could grab a quick coffee. Matt’s tied up at the ranch until about noon, but might be able to join us after?”

Carla nodded as the fire in her stomach burned even hotter, and he smiled before making for the door. She watched him go, that pert ass in those tight jeans doing unholy things to her own body, but then remembered that her boss was standing next to her.

“They sure make them handsome in that family, don’t they?” Delores said with a conspiratorial smile.

“Are they as nice as they seem?” Carla took the opportunity to get some gen on the guys, and Delores had obviously known them a long time.

“Hearts of gold, the pair of them,” the older lady said with a nod. “Their parents were just the same. Raised them up good and proper, they did.”

“Are their parents still around?”

“No. Passed away a couple of years back in a traffic accident. Damn shame, too. Especially with Dyson’s arthritis. I don’t know how Matt managed with that ranch without his daddy once his brother had to slow things down, but he pulled it up by its bootstraps somehow.”

“Grit and determination, that’s how.” Frank appeared in the doorway, handing them each a mug of coffee.

“Must be. Still a struggle for them both, though.” Delores sighed as she took a sip of her drink before following her husband into the back of the shop.

Carla wrapped her hands around the warm cup as the rain began to tap on the windows again. She couldn’t help thinking of the two gorgeous cowboys working out there in all weathers, and smiled as she thought of the possibility of seeing them at lunch time and then again tonight.