Goodbye Girl (Hidden Lane Ranch) (7 page)

As I worked
all morning, all I could do was think about Rachel. I didn’t just think about
how hot and sexy she was and how she’d made me come harder than anyone ever
had; I also thought about her laughter and the way she brushed her hair from
her face.

“Dude, wipe
that fucking smile off your face. It’s disgusting,” Wyatt snorted as he walked
up to me.

“What are you
talking about?” He was the last person I wanted to admit to that I was having
feelings for this new girl that had come into our lives.

“Your grin is
so big I can see it from the house,” he teased, leaning against the tractor
parked near us. “I brought you some water since you left the house in such a
hurry this morning.”

“You’re so
full of shit,” I laughed and stood next to him. I took a long drink of the cold
water he’d brought out for me. “Thanks, bro.”

We sat in
silence for a few minutes, watching the wind blow through the trees. “You like
her, don’t you?” he asked.

What did I say
here? Did I tell him that even though it was crazy, I did really care about
her? What if he told her and scared her off? I decided I’d just tell the truth.
“I do,” I admitted quietly.

“I could tell
last night. Watching the way you two danced.” He turned his baseball hat
backwards and turned to me. “What do you know about her though? You just met
her.”

I shrugged;
maybe he was right, but he slept with anything that walked. I knew very little
about her, but something deep in my gut told me she was the one I’d been
waiting for since Hope left me. None of the rest mattered. “I don’t know much,
but I know I like her. She’s funny, sexy, and smart. We have plenty of time to
learn about each other.”

He pushed
himself off of the tractor. “She’s from back east right? Where was she going? Why
could she just stop and settle here with us? Maybe she’s a criminal running
from the cops.”

I threw my
head back and laughed. “Seriously, Wyatt, that’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve
ever heard. Does she look like she’s a dangerous criminal?”

He held up his
hands and shook his head. “You never know man. All I’m saying is be careful.”

Maybe his
suspicion of women and inability to really trust someone was the reason he
couldn’t settle down with one woman. I thought he was just fond of the ladies,
but maybe it was something deeper than that.

“Point taken,”
I said with a nod. “I’ll be careful - just for you, baby brother. Now let’s get
back to work. Lunch is soon.”

I went back to
working on the fence that had my attention before my brother showed up and
Wyatt stayed with me to help. We kept the conversation light the rest of the
time, talking about baseball and other stuff. It wasn’t long before my phone
went off with a text from Ma saying lunch was in ten minutes.

“We better
head up to the main house. Ma has lunch just about done,” I told Wyatt, wiping
the sweat from my brow.

“Good,” he
said, clutching his stomach. “I’m starving.”

We finished up
a few things and he hopped on the four-wheeler he’d driven out to meet me. I
got on the tractor and we headed back to the house. I got butterflies in my
stomach the closer I got; I couldn’t wait to see Rachel again. I hoped things
weren’t awkward and strained between us.

I noticed
Eliza’s truck wasn’t parked outside when we got there and my heart sank. What
if Rachel was gone with her? I wouldn’t see her until dinner tonight.

Wyatt reached
out and smacked my arm. “Eliza’s gone. Are you worried she’s with her?”

I grinned
sheepishly and he shook his head. “Oh man, you’ve got it bad, don’t you?”

I didn’t even
answer him and headed inside. We were greeted with the wonderful smells of my
mom’s cooking and my stomach rumbled. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I
smelled her fabulous cooking. Everyone was sitting down at the table already
except for Wyatt and me.

“It’s about
time you boys get here,” Ma said with a grin and shooed us to our seats after
we washed our hands. As I sat down, I looked for Rachel, but I didn’t see her.

I dished some
chicken up onto my plate. “Where’s Eliza?” I asked, trying to be nonchalant. Wyatt
snorted and I kicked him under the table.

“Ow!” he cried
out muffled, his mouth full of food.

Ma glared at
both of us. “What is wrong with you boys?” She scolded. Neither of us answered
and she turned back to her plate. “Eliza and Rachel ran into town for some
errands and some shopping. She called to say they were going to catch lunch in
town.”

I tried not to
hide my disappointment at not seeing Rachel but I was glad she and Eliza were
getting along so well. “Shopping, huh? Oh boy,” I laughed. Eliza was a shopping
queen.

Ma laughed. “I
know. They assured me they’d be back for dinner tonight. She said something
about getting Rachel some boots or other suitable footwear for kicking around
on the ranch.”

My cock twitched
in my jeans at the thought of Rachel in cowboy boots. There was nothing sexier
than a hot sexy girl wearing cowboy boots. Maybe she’d have to model them for
me later - wearing nothing else.

“What are you
grinning about?” Wyatt asked, nudging my elbow.

“Oh nothing,”
I retorted, hiding my smile. Maybe it would be worth not seeing her until
tonight.

The rest of
lunch went by quietly, just talking about the weather. There was a storm
predicted in a few days and we had to do the usual check to make sure
everything was safe. We would be busier than usual to prep for it. Severe
storms out here were nothing to take lightly.

When we were
done with lunch, everyone cleared out except for Ma and me. I usually helped
her a bit with the dishes at meal-time, especially if Eliza wasn’t there.

“I talked to
Rachel a bit this morning before they left,” she said quietly.

My heart
started to race. God forbid they talked about the sex that had happened the
night before. “Oh yeah, what about?” I asked as I brought some plates to the
counter.

“I’m not sure
if it’s my place to tell you, but I asked her a bit about her past.” She wiped
her hands on her dishtowel. “Just be careful with her. I know you like her, but
despite her tough exterior, she’s actually pretty fragile underneath. Don’t toy
with her and hurt her. And don’t push her. I’m sure she’ll tell you about her
past when she’s ready.”

I ran my hand
through my hair. I wanted to press Ma for more details about Rachel’s past, but
knew it didn’t pay. Ma wasn’t going to break her word to Rachel. “She told me
her mom died when she was nineteen and before that it had just been the two of
them, but that’s it.”

She leaned her
hip against the counter. “There’s more and she’ll tell you when she’s ready,
but again, just be careful.”

“I will, Ma,”
I said, leaning down to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I gotta get back to
work. I’ll see you tonight. Call or text if you need me.”

“See you in a
bit,” she said, turning back to the mess in the kitchen.

I walked out
to the tractor, thinking about what Ma had said. Whatever had happened to
Rachel in her past, I was determined that from now on, she would be safe and
never hurt again in any way, not if I had anything to do about it.

I jumped onto my tractor and drove back
out to the fence. Once that was done, I had to try to get all the animals
nearby so we could get them into the barns before the storm. It was going to be
a long afternoon.

***

There was so
much work to do I didn’t even make it back to the house for dinner. I was bummed
again I didn’t get to see Rachel, but there was just too much to do.

It was dusk
when I saw the light from a four wheeler headed my way. I was way back in the
far corner of the property and wondered who would be coming out to get me now. I’d
already let Ma know where I was and what I was doing, so what could be going
on?

I grinned from
ear to ear when the ATV finally got to me and I saw it was Rachel on the back. She
stopped with a jerk, laughing. “Help me!” she exclaimed. “I’ve never driven one
of these things before and I have no idea how to turn it off. I’m surprised I
made it out here.”

I laughed and
reached across her to turn off the key. I took deep breath, breathing in the
scent of her hair and laundry detergent. I wanted to take her hair out of her
ponytail and bury my face in it.

As happy I was
to see her, I was surprised they’d let her out here all alone, especially if
she had never driven a four wheeler before. I’d hate for something to happen to
her, especially on my watch.

“Thank you,”
she mumbled and I took her hand, helping her off the seat. She pointed to the
basket on the back. “Eliza was going to bring you some food since you missed
dinner, but I offered.” She smiled shyly at me before turning around and taking
out a plate covered with aluminum foil. She handed it to me and reached back in
to grab silverware and a soda.

“Thanks,
babe,” I said, removing the foil from the plate. It was Ma’s pot roast and as
usual, it smelled amazing. I found a patch of grass to sit down on and motioned
her to sit next to me. She sat down next to me and I noticed her cowboy boots
right away. “Successful shopping with Eliza I see,” I said, nodding to her
boots.

She smiled
self-consciously and reached down to touch them. “Yeah. What do you think?” She
straightened her legs out in front of her, showing off the dark brown cowboy
boots.

“I love them,”
I replied. “I think you look great in them. Maybe later you can model them for
me with nothing else on,” I winked at her and I could see her cheeks redden under
the floodlight I was using so I could see.

“Maybe,” she
shrugged. She looked around and turned back to me. “So what are you doing out
here so late.”

I set my plate
down. “We’ve had some issues with the fences back here. The animals can mostly
wander free, but way back here is the end of the property line plus it gets
steep back here. I don’t want to lose any animals. There’s a storm brewing that
will be here in a day or two and I want to make sure nothing falls apart. We
get some pretty high winds out here.”

She nodded. “Do
you leave the animals outside?”

“Usually, but
I think with this one I’m going to try to round them up tomorrow so they’re
closer to the barn. We have corrals all over the ranch we can herd them into. That
will be on the agenda for tomorrow. Would you like to join us?”

She hugged her
knees to her chest. “I think I would. That sounds amazing to watch.”

“It is,” I
said, picking up my plate to eat again. Growing up on the ranch, I’d taken all
of these things for granted. With Rachel here seeing these things for the first
time, it made me appreciate it all.

We sat
together in silence while I finished my food. When I was done I stood up and
helped her up. “Thanks for dinner, babe. I’m going to finish up out here and
I’ll be inside in a bit. Think you can make it back ok?”

She packed up
my dishes and nodded. “I think so. Just go straight that way?” She pointed out
in front of her.

“Yep, the
lights of the main house should start appearing in the distance.”

She started to
get on the ATV when I stopped her. I pulled her into me, my hand cupping her
face and the other around her waist possessively. I leaned down to kiss her. It
started as a slow gentle kiss but it wasn’t long before we were both breathless
and panting. I was tempted to go back with her but this had to get done. I
pressed my forehead against hers. “When I get in, I’ll knock on your door if
it’s not too late.”

She nodded and
caught her bottom lip between her teeth. I helped her climb onto the four
wheeler and started it for her. “Thanks again for dinner.”

She smiled and drove off. I watched her
until I couldn’t see her anymore, adjusting my erection in my jeans. I turned
back to what I was doing, thoughts of her naked underneath me filling my mind. I
better get my ass in gear and finish so I could go back to her.