Spurs and Heels (7 page)

* * * *

Later that afternoon, Ash found her in the stockroom, directing traffic and giving instructions. Her crew stood around her while she assigned their tasks as he stood back and listened quietly.

He could tell her bandaged finger was throbbing again because she had it elevated at her shoulder, and he worried that her back was hurting also because she flinched when she pointed up at the tall racks above her.

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Leah and Evelyn nodded, and the others went to their tasks.

Evelyn looked up and saw him standing at the door and smiled.

Looping her wrist through Juliana’s elbow, she escorted her over to Ash.

“Juliana was just giving us final instructions for the evening, Ash.

She’s ready to go.”

Juliana rolled her eyes at Ash and said, “They’re giving me the

‘bum’s rush.’”

Evelyn patted Ash’s forearm and said, “She’s had a busy day and needs to unwind now. Don’t worry about the store, Juliana. We’ll make sure everyone stays on task. This will be excellent experience for Leah. You don’t have a thing to worry about. Now you two have a wonderful evening, and Juliana, go to bed early and get caught up on your sleep.”

“Thank you, Miss Evelyn,” Ash said, tipping his hat to her. He carefully took Juliana’s hand, mindful of her stitches. He liked the way her delicate hand felt in his.

“I’ll get my purse and a couple of other things,” she said as she stepped toward the rear of the store.

“No work. You won’t have time for it,” he said, grinning when she frowned. Busted. “You’re under orders to not bring any work home, either.”

“Was that ‘
Mizz
Evelyn’s’ idea, too?”

“Yup,” he said with a chuckle. Miss Evelyn had already ratted her out. “Whatever it takes.”

She sighed and then grimaced, gingerly reaching back to her shoulder.

“Does it hurt?” he asked sympathetically.

“Yeah, I’m ready for another pain reliever. It twinges sharply every so often. I’ll go take one and be right out.”

* * * *

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Juliana retrieved her purse and her lightweight jacket from the hook behind her office door. She stopped at the fountain and took a pain pill then went in search of him.

The sound of giggling was her first indicator of his approximate location. Left unattended, he was like a magnet to steel. She didn’t see him until she turned the corner as the giggling got louder. Sure enough, five designer-denim-clad, silver-belt-buckle-wearing, low-cut top, cowboy hat and boot-wearing blonde-haired bimbos were all over him like a duck on a June bug.

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Chapter Six

Slowly advancing, Juliana eyed how the girls were dressed. Only one of them had an indecently low-cut top. The others were attired nicely, just all-out Western. That was something Ash wouldn’t see her in. She owned two pairs of jeans but no other Western wear, besides an old pair of cowboy boots. Most of what she owned was clothes for work, and Western wear didn’t fit into the mix. Not that she was opposed to owning any, it just wasn’t her style.

She looked at him then, the quintessential cowboy, from his hat to his boots. It was a small wonder that the young women had zeroed in on him. But what did he see in her? A city girl through and through.

Okay, so maybe not big city like Dallas or San Antonio, but she certainly was no cowgirl. When he turned those piercing, turquoise-blue eyes on her, what did he see?

She noticed he was talking to the group of girls, his eyes twinkling, a big grin on his face. They giggled and laughed, having eyes only for him as he scanned the store. He made eye contact with her, and she saw a new light come into his eyes, and it made her insides quiver a little. He grinned down at the girls and pointed at her, said something that made them sigh and giggle, then he nodded at them and walked away.

She ignored the gaggle of giggling buckle bunnies, none of whom could have been over eighteen as they openly watched him walk away, ogling his assets. Shoot, if the young ones were like this in town, she wondered what it would be like if he was to participate in one of the area rodeos.

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“I leave you alone for one minute, and the women are swarming over you like ticks on a hound,” she said with a chuckle as he carefully gathered her hand in his.

“Oh, they were harmless enough. They’re all friends who are competing in the Miss Tarkett County Fair Queen competition.

They’re out looking for sponsors for the contest. They figured I was a rancher.”

“Oh, uh-huh?” she quipped, “And they wanted you to ‘sponsor’

one of them?” She giggled good-naturedly. “Looked like two or three of them wanted to ‘sponsor’
you
.”

“Now, now, Miss Juliana, I only have eyes for a certain lovely redhead. I told them they should go see Grace over at Harper’s about getting the ranch to sponsor one of them.”

“That’s actually a great idea.”

“Part of the money they raise goes to charity.”

“That was some sincere fundraising work they were doing just now, ogling your fine cowboy tush.”

Ash smiled and laughed. “Were they checking out my ass?”

Juliana guffawed. “Of course they were. You couldn’t hear them sighing and giggling as you walked away? If any of them had spoons, they’d be eating you right now.”

He drew her closer to him and whispered, “Do
you
think I have a fine cowboy tush?” with a bit of a growl added in, which turned her insides to mush.

“Um—absolutely,” she replied, going for straight honesty, feeling her cheeks blush all the way to her red roots.

“Really?” He sounded genuinely surprised. He even blushed a little above his muttonchops.

“Yep, totally bitable.” She giggled when he growled again as he held the side door open for her. “What were you saying to those girls when you pointed to me?”

“Oh, that? I was telling them…that I was here to pick up my pretty lady friend,” he said after a little hesitation.

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“Oh?” He opened the door of the truck and helped her onto the seat. After he climbed in, he turned to her.

“Bitable?”

She snickered. “Oh, yeah. It’s very nice.”

“Ouch,” he said as he started the truck.

“Mmmm, yummy.”

“Not to change the, uh—subject. But I was hoping to have supper with you tonight, if you have the energy, that is. Would you like to go back to your house and see about that bandage on your back first?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind, Ash. I’ve been worried about it getting infected since I got it wet this morning.”

They returned to her house, and after removing her top and wrapping up in a towel, Juliana allowed him to peel back the dressing and take a look.

“Darlin’, it looks fine, not inflamed or puffy around the stitches like it would be if it was getting infected. Those lacerations looked pretty deep last night. I’m not surprised that it hurts like hell. But all things considered, it looks like it’s healing fine.” He put a fresh dressing on it while she sat on the bed.

“Oh, shoot!” Juliana groaned and pointed to her closet door where a long, red dress hung on a hanger. “I was going to wear that to the wedding Saturday.”

“Now you can’t?”

“It’s a backless halter dress. The bandage will show.”

“Look at it this way, if you wear the dress, you won’t have anything pressing on the stitches.” He went over to inspect the dress and whistled softly as he lifted it from the door. It had an empire waist with a plunging V-necked halter. His fingertip slid down the neckline.

“I hope you wear it anyway, darlin’. You would look gorgeous.”

His emphasis on the last word sent a thrill through her body that centered in her damp cunt. The fact that she was clad in only a towel added to her sense of vulnerability.

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She smiled at him, feeling like she might just do that. “You think so?”

“You would be beautiful in it,” he replied, looking back at her.

She had a feeling he might have said more but thought better of it.

“Wear it for me?”

“I’ll try and find flesh-colored bandages tomorrow. It will look funny if I wear it with white tape and a gauze dressing. The bandage is so big. You don’t think it will look terrible?”

“No, everybody will be too busy admiring your pretty face and your blue eyes to even notice.”

“Sweet talker. Still want to take me out to eat?” she asked, feeling a little better now that she was sure it wasn’t getting infected. The pain reliever must have also kicked in because it hadn’t twinged in a while.

“Sure, if you feel up to it. How does your wrist feel?”

“It ached a little this morning, but it feels fine now. If only I could keep from clunking myself in the head with it,” she said with a chuckle, remembering thumping herself in the forehead as she brushed her hair away from her face several times during the day

* * * *

Juliana and Ash were seated at a quiet corner table at O’Reilley’s and enjoyed their meal and talked for a while. Juliana noticed that Ash had impeccable table manners.

Ash brought up the hours she worked and her need to take time off to heal in the short term, but also for pursuits that were not work related in the long term. It made her uncomfortable, and knowing how thin their staff was spread at Stigall’s, she couldn’t think about taking time off from her current schedule. Out of the goodness of their hearts, Evelyn and Leah were making her time off tonight possible, but this could not become a regular occurrence.

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“I hate to see you so invested in a store that you don’t even own or co-own. You’re in a position of authority, but ultimately you answer to Mr. Woodworth, right? It’s because of him and his policies that you’re spread so thin, all of you that work there.”

“He wants to implement some of the strategies Leah has been suggesting. I told him we would give some of them a try. Things will get back to normal once she’s done with her experiments.”

“What if the bottom line shows improvements initially and he gives her leave to make other changes? What if the changes directly affect you?”

Juliana was becoming a little irked at Ash for pushing so hard at this sore subject. Part of her knew he pressed because he cared about her, but she was hoping for a change of topic. She didn’t want their evening together to end on a sour note.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, darlin’, have you thought that you may be training your replacement?”

Juliana sighed and sat back in her chair. He was too close for comfort now. “Could we talk about something else, please, Ash?

Please? I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It is what it is, and I’m sorry if I seem so pig-headed about it.”

“I’m sorry. I got to thinking about it last night, and you must be going in way before the store opens and staying until after it’s closed, not occasionally but every day, including Sundays. How can you have a life if the store claims that many hours in a week?”

“It won’t always be that way, and those people are like my family.

I don’t feel like my life is that hard.”

“What about relationships and the holidays and vacations? In a way, the store holds you hostage under the guise of responsibility.

You should be allowed a life, time off with friends. Time for a relationship—”

“Ash.”

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“With me, Juliana. Where would you fit in time for me?” he asked, leaning in so his question was asked as he stroked the top of her hand. He took her completely by surprise with his question, laying it on the line like that.

The events of the last few days had thrown her completely off-kilter, especially the last twenty-four hours. He pushed her buttons like crazy, he’d undressed her, seen her naked, washed her hair for her, and he still hadn’t really kissed her.

He was pushing her to examine her lifestyle because he wasn’t the type to sit on the backburner for long. With so many thoughts flitting through her mind, she wasn’t sure how to answer his question.

“I’m sorry, Juliana. I know I made you uncomfortable but I care about you.”

She smiled at him, hoping he would see that she wasn’t upset with him. “You made some valid points. I’ve developed this habit of spending all my time at the store, getting wrapped up in it until it’s become my life. If you were to become a prominent part of my life, I’d change things. I need to sit down with Leah and give her more responsibility. I wanted to go slow with her, you know?”

“Do you think you can succeed in doing that?” he asked, smiling but looking skeptical.

“Sure. I never intended to become a workaholic, but I guess I am.

I’m good at what I do. When I’m given responsibility, I take it seriously, like anything I care about. Ash, I care about you,” she said, twining her fingers with his on the tabletop. “Do you think you could give me time? You know I can’t change the way things are overnight.”

“I’m hung up on the part about you caring about me, darlin’. I was afraid you were using the job as a shield so people couldn’t get too close.”

“No, I don’t think I do that. And yes, I am aware I may be training my replacement. Doug has been good to me over the years, and I’ve taken good care of his family’s store, so I don’t anticipate being fired

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or anything like that, but a change may come. I think it’s only natural for him to want to see his daughter running one of the family businesses. I hope it’s not until after she’s ready for the responsibility and I’ve secured another opportunity somewhere else.”

“It’s good to hear you talk like that. So you want to start dating?”

“Well, that would sort of be backing up, wouldn’t it? I mean you’ve already seen me naked. I think that train has left the station.

But we have gotten off to an interesting start, haven’t we?” she asked with a chuckle, taking a sip of her iced tea. “To be honest, I’m not sure what our next move should be.”

“For right now, I want to see you feeling better and not looking so tired. It’s six-thirty right now. How would you like to go back to your house and watch a movie?”

“I could do that, but, Ash, I have to work tomorrow like normal.”

“I know, darlin’, me, too.”

“I’ll sit down with Leah, and we’ll make some changes in her duties and my work schedule. But it will be gradual. I hope you understand that. I can’t cut back to forty hours in one week, but I’ll start shaving off a few of my early morning hours this week.”

“That’s good. I’m proud of you.”

“Ash, I would—No matter what happens, I’d never want for you to feel like I was too busy for you.”

“I’d do the same for you, Juliana. I know how it can get.

Sometimes my hours are long and unpredictable. I’m glad that you’re willing to carve out time for a life outside the store.”

Ash took her home and stayed to watch a movie, but he left after it was over and he’d tucked her into bed. She’d taken a shower, and he’d applied a fresh dressing so he knew she was well prepared for the morning. Juliana had assured him she would be fine and agreed readily when he offered to bring her lunch.

“Is there anything else you need before I go, darlin’?”

The small lamp by her bed provided the only light, and he waited as she looked at him from her pillows. Her eyes traced over his
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handsomely chiseled face and his firm jaw, covered by his sexy muttonchops sideburns and moustache. She nodded as she hooked a finger in the neck of his shirt and pulled him to her. When he realized what she wanted, his eyes crinkled at the corners, and he smiled as he lowered his full lips to hers.

He braced his weight on his arms so that he didn’t press her into the bed at all, and gave her a gentle but searing kiss that curled her toes. Juliana laid an arm over one of his shoulders to keep him close, and he deepened the kiss, skimming the recesses of her mouth and dueling unhurriedly with her tongue. He backed off to trace his lower lip across hers and tickled her with his moustache, making her shiver and giggle, then he plunged in for another intense kiss. They were both totally absorbed in the other and breathless when he finally sat up.

“Now why in the hell have I not done that sooner?” Ash muttered.

“Because I was too busy being a heinous bitch, remember? Damn, if I’d known you kissed like that, I would have been kissing you the moment I hung up the phone with Lawrence on Christmas night.”

“Why, thank you, darlin’. You’re sweet as honey yourself. I’d better go now so you can rest.”

No, stay and don’t let me rest.