Chapter 3

Kurt

Weasel, Laura’s newest stallion, is a little standoffish with me sometimes. But today, well, today he’s different. Lloyd is patting down Trixie, and Simon is just coming in from a ride with Johnnie and his boys and the rest of the horses. Weasel is nudging me with his snout, something he’s never done, and doesn’t do to many. I pat his snout, and he whinnies happily. “You like that, little fella? Yeah, that’s a good boy.” As I’m talking to the horse, I can see Lisa, Laura’s best friend, walking out the front door.

The girl is odd. Good looking as hell, sharp as a tack, but odd. Now, I know I’m not great with the ladies. Can’t say that I’ve been on a date for a while. Back in El Paso, I was seeing a girl a little, but it didn’t last. It was more of a fling. Casual relationships are fine with me. I’m no Casa Nova or anything, but certainly if a girl is just into having a little something casual, I’m okay with that. Had one semi-serious relationship a couple of years ago, but I wasn’t ready to move in with her, she was ready to take the leap, and it just fizzled from there.

Lisa, she can’t even look my way. Drives me nuts. The story is that this girl is all over men all the time. Clint was once terrified of her because of how forward she is. But when I’m around, she looks the other way. I can’t stand it when there’s tension between me and someone else. You either like me or you don’t, but at least let’s get it out in the open why you don’t like me. As long as that’s settled, I’m good with that. Don’t like me, it’s cool. But at least let me know why you don’t like me.

Anyway, Lisa hears Weasel whinny as she walks out of the house. When she looks over at me, she turns her back to me. I’ve had enough of this. “Hey!” I shout so she can hear me.

She doesn’t turn around.

“Hey! Lisa!” I shout louder, walking towards her.

This time she turns around, but she only glances at me for a second. Her sunglasses are on her crown. She pulls them down and puts them on her face, so I can’t see her eyes. “Come here for a second.” I say to her as I approach.

She says nothing, but she looks at me expectantly. “What is the deal with you.” I say, my voice flat. “You’re pleasant with everyone, including Lloyd, who can be a bit of an asshole on a good day, but you don’t speak to me at all.” My arms are outstretched. “Did I do something to offend you? I mean…what?”

With a slight hesitation, the girl finally speaks. “Can we talk somewhere? In private?”

Glancing around, I know that Wendy and Grace are inside the house, so is Laura, and the boys are all outside, busy with the horses. Simon’s gone into the barn. The only place private right now is in my quarters. I don’t share living space with the others, since I’m the Lead Hand. “Sure. We can head on into my place for a minute if you like.”

“Fine.” She says tersely.

She follows me into the staff quarters, and I open the door that leads to my space. After I close the door, I turn the light on, and she looks around. It’s small, but big enough for one or two people. I have my own tiny living room and kitchenette. My bedroom has a single bed and a small dresser, plus a tiny closet with one of those slick organizers in it. Lisa is a photographer and an interior designer, this I know, from conversations with Laura and Grayson.

“You could use a different color on your walls in here.” She comments. “Add a few accents with pillows and things. It’s cute but it could be way cuter.”

“I’m not in here much, other than to sleep and shower.” I say. “My days off I’m usually hanging out with Grayson and the boys. Not much need for décor if I’m hardly here.”

She looks in my bedroom. “The bed comfortable?”

“Better than the one I had back at home.”

“Room’s big enough, you could put a double bed in there.”

“I don’t need one.” I say. “It’s just me.”

Lisa’s got the curliest hair I’ve ever seen on a woman. Dark, too. Her eyes are bluer than mine and her skin is as pale as ivory. She looks like goddamn Courteney Cox and I hate to admit it, but it drives me crazy. Her body is smoking hot, too, but I’d never tell her that. I keep my eyes trained on the book sitting on my coffee table as she peruses the bedroom. “The closet organizer was my idea. But I can see that you don’t have much in there.”

“My clothes are in the drawer. Winter clothes are still in El Paso. Not sure how long I’m staying here.”

With that comment, her eyes dart to mine. “You’re not leaving, are you.” She says like more of a statement. And I detect a hint of longing in her voice. Like she doesn’t want me to leave.

I shake my head no. “Not anytime soon, no. But I’m not sure what Laura’s plans are with me.”

“Far as I know, she wants you to stay for good. As long as Grayson’s happy at the clinic, she wants you to stay.”

I swallow. Her eyes are on mine and it’s a little disarming, so I look at the floor. “Well, other than asking me how I’m liking it here, she hasn’t said anything like that to me.”

“Well, I’m her best friend. She tells me everything.”

“I get that. And do you tell her everything, too?”

She nods. “It’s a two-way street.”

It’s so quiet in here, you could hear a pin drop. When she swallows or breathes, I can hear it, like she’s right next to me. Even though she’s on the other side of the room, I can feel a strange charge in the air. I’m not sure if she feels it, too, but I find myself searching for something more to say to her. “I saw that…picture that you took of the ranch…over Laura’s bed. Grayson needed help fixing the bathtub a few weeks ago, and I saw it. Laura says that you took the picture.”

She smiles for the first time. Lisa’s teeth are white as ivory, and perfectly straight. Great smile. Wish I’d seen it before. But now that I’ve seen it, part of me wants to see more of it.

“Yes. I…dated a helicopter pilot once, and I took it while I had an aerial view. Apparently now you can do that with a drone, but I like the method that I used better.” She giggles. Sounds wonderful. She must have really liked the pilot. She seems to regard the memory with fondness.

“Dated a pilot, huh.” I cluck my tongue. “That must’ve been something.”

She shrugs. “It was okay.”

Enough with the small talk. “Lisa,” I lift my head to look her in the eye. “What’s the deal? I mean, you don’t speak to me, now I can’t seem to shut you up.”

With a step towards me, she purses her lips together into a semi-smile. She thinks I have more to say. And I’ve also effectively told her that she’s talking too much. “You asked to speak somewhere in private. But you don’t really have anything private to talk about. I don’t get it.”

Another step towards me, and the charge in the air changes again. Her eyes seem to turn bluer, giving me chills. I watch her get closer, and I’m about to take a step back, but something keeps my feet planted on the floor.

“I’m normally very flirty,” she says with a soft chuckle.

“That’s the word.” I agree, as she takes another step to me, and suddenly she’s looking into my eyes.

“See…you’re not afraid of me.” she says with a whisper.

“No. I’m not afraid.” I admit, searching her eyes.

“I didn’t think you would be, and that’s what was scary for me.” her voice is low and kind of sexy. Like post-coital pillow talk.

“Why is that scary?” I ask. My hands were across my chest, but I relax them at my sides. My voice is low, too.

“Because that’s how I weed out my men.”

I smile. “Weed out?”

“Well, Grayson, for example. Within twenty seconds, I could tell that he was going to be afraid of me, and he ended up with Laura. Clint, we got it on about ten seconds into our first date. But then he asked me to move in with him about ten seconds later. You know how that ended. And the first part of that is usually how guys I date turn out.” She places her hand on my chest. “You…I can’t figure out. That’s why I wanted to be alone with you.”

“So you determine how successful your conquests will be by how quickly you can make it with them.” I state.

“Exactly.”

“And the fact that I didn’t show any of those traits that you’re used to, is why you just avoided me altogether.”

“You catch on fast.” She says. Her hand is still on my chest.

“So, you’re not afraid of me anymore.” I confirm.

She shakes her head. Her eyes slide down to my lips, and I allow myself a glance at hers. The angle that she’s standing in, and the fact that she’s about a foot shorter than me, I can see part of her cleavage, and it’s…doing things to me. Especially with her hand on a sensitive part of my chest. My hand goes to hers and I lift it off my chest, sandwiching it between my two hands. “And I’m not afraid of you.”

“Clearly.”

“So…what if we try something novel…like actually going on a date, without having sex?”

Her hand lifts out of mine and she takes a step back. Like I’ve just admitted that I have Gonorrhea. “Okay, now you’re scaring me.”

“Oh, come on.” I say, like she’s being ridiculous. “You’ve never just gone out on a date?”

“Well…ya…when I was really young.”

“So, what’s the problem?” I take her hand in mine again. Laying it on thick, just to see where this goes, I plant a kiss on the back of her hand. “We like each other, don’t we?”

As she watches me, it’s intriguing to observe her behavior. She watches me, but then she pulls back. Her hand comes away from mine again. “Oh, no. You’re one of those types.”

I look up at the ceiling and guffaw. “What types are you referring to?”

“One of those….” She loops her finger around in the air, trying to find the words. “Commitment types. You know, like Clint.”

“Because I suggested that we like each other?”

Okay, this girl is looking a little nutty again.

She ponders that point for a moment. “Okay, so, how about we just have sex right now, and then see where it goes?”

Not that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind once or twice in the last ten minutes, but I’m so not going to do that with my boss’s best friend. If she wasn’t someone that I may or may not have to bump uglies with on a daily basis…maybe.

“How about we don’t have sex, go out for dinner instead, and then don’t have sex again…and then see where it goes?”

She blurts out a laugh.

“Seriously.” I say firmly. “You think it was awkward, you and I, before having this conversation? Think about how awkward it would be if we screwed right now, hated it, and then we had to look at each other every day until Laura has to choose between her best friend and firing me?”

Her face brightens. “What if he love it?”

I laugh, staring at the floor. “Still would be awkward. Think about it. If we go out, get to know each other, don’t like each other, at least it will be amicable and un…awkward.”

“Wait…are you gay?” she asks bluntly.

I snort a laugh. “You are something else…if I were gay, why would I be asking you out?”

She’s unimpressed. “It’s happened to me before.”

“No. I’m not gay. I like women. I like you. Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?”

She gives me a look like she wants to take me up against the wall right now. “Are you sure you don’t want to just have sex?” she asks, like I’ve suggested she trade up Dom Perignon for apple juice.

“I’ll have you converted.” I say back, like I’m convincing her that not having sex will be funner.

“And you’re not going to like…ask me to marry you or anything? Because that’s happened to me before, too.”

“Nope.” I lift my left hand. “I promise there will be no proposals of any kind occurring, except if we want to share food, but there will be no mention of sharing lives.”

That gets a giggle. “God, you’re just like your brother.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

She sighs. “Alright, I’ll go out with you, and I won’t have sex with you.” She says, as though she’s feigning boredom. “Sounds barbaric if you ask me.”

I grunt a laugh. “See? I’m not so scary.”

There’s that disarming, titillating look again. “Are you sure you don’t want to have sex?”

I lift a finger, playfully chiding her. “No, and not on the first date, either. Come on, let’s get back outside, before they think we’re having sex, anyway.”

“Can I tell Laura we did?”

“No. No more lies.” I say, playfully patting her arm. I gesture for her to lead the way back outside.

“You don’t know what you’re missing.” She teases.

“I’m sure I do.”