Black Hills Angel (Black Hills Series) (28 page)

"Matt, is everything all right?" Her voice carried a husky note and he wet his lips in response.

"Perfect. Take the reins in your left hand and hold them between your fingers. Miss Sioux has a tender mouth and she will follow your direction easily enough. Use your knees to guide her as well." Matt checked her feet in the stirrups and once he was satisfied that Andy was all set, he walked to Raven and mounted in a fluid movement.

"He is amazing! I don't think I've seen such a handsome horse before." Andy's praise made Matt warm inside and it made Miss Sioux snuff in offense. "Oh no, my girl, you are beautiful." Andy leaned forward, running her palm smoothly over the black and white patches.

"His full name is Master Raven, but we all call him Raven. I've had him twelve years." Raven was a great source of pride for Matt. Horse and man shared a deep camaraderie. Andy urged Miss Sioux forward to stand beside the black gelding. Matt couldn't deny that there was a very
right
feeling with them both here on their horses. Something similar to fate, if one believed in that sort of thing.

"Should we get started? I don't want to impose on your sister's willingness to babysit for too long." She leaned forward fractionally and squeezed with her knees. Miss Sioux started forward and Matt urged Raven alongside them.

"Of course. The windmill isn't too far." Matt led them into the back pasture and up the slight rise. At a sedate pace, it would take them twenty minutes to get there.
Plenty of time to share confidences.

***

Andy could feel his eyes roaming her body as they rode their horses to the windmill. Her insides quivered with their need to be in his arms and beneath his hands. Her nerves begged for his attention and honestly, riding Miss Sioux only simulated the riding she would rather be doing. Her cheeks flamed with her untamed thoughts. Miss Sioux must have sensed some of the erotic turmoil, because she shook her head roughly. Matt raised his eyes to hers when she turned towards him.

"I could get used to riding horseback, I think." Andy said, straightening her back and tucking her knees in like he had shown her. She loved when he smiled at her like he was doing now.

"I'd go every day if I could. I miss the ranch when I'm in Rapid City." Matt looked forward, sweeping his eyes over the horizon. It was indeed a charming land. Not everyone would acknowledge that, of course, but Andy felt surprisingly at home for the first time in over a year.

"If you miss it so much, why aren't you here?" Andy asked him, assuming it would be just as easy as that.
No one had driven him from his home.
She felt saddened by that thought. It was definitely going to take some time to get over what had happened.

"I suppose I wanted to see if I could make it outside of my parents' scope. After the business was doing well, I just wasn't sure what I would do if I came back here." Matt gestured around him.

"You have such a way with horses. Maybe you could raise your own?" Andy offered, looking pointedly at Raven. The horses walked side by side, once in a while brushing Matt and her pant legs against each other. They did now. Andy felt the electricity that coursed between them.

"I have always wanted to start a horse therapy school." Matt offered with a grin.

"A therapy school for kids?" Andy asked, suddenly missing their connection when the horses parted.

"Well, not exactly. I was thinking for soldiers that come back from service and have suffered something traumatic. The veteran's home in Hot Springs could send over any cases that might benefit from being paired with a horse." Matt's enthusiasm was obvious as his entire face lit up with hope. It was a noble and incredibly thoughtful career move. Andy could see him accomplish it.

"Why not do it? I think it is a wonderful idea." She smiled and felt his hand grip hers warmly. He linked their fingers and drank her in.
I want him. I want this.
This wanting was so much more than the physical. Matt might not have been the man she had always dreamed of, but he was quickly becoming the only man she could see herself with. Matt Johnson represented the future of all that was good.

"Maybe I will, if I have a reason to stay here." Matt's voice was so soft that she wondered if she had heard him right. He was looking for a reason?
Can I give him that reason?
Matt's leg brushed hers again when he continued speaking. "What about you? What do you want for your future?"

"When I was in school, I wanted to be a photographer. Some of my teachers even said I was sure to be something special. I guess since I found out I was going to be a single mother with no family, I never thought it was attainable after that." Andy smiled through the pain that twisted in her gut. No one had ever asked her what she wanted. It was strange to be admitting those hopes still existed now.

"I saw those pictures you took, Andy. They are amazing. You should continue to try and make that career happen." Matt patted Raven's glossy black neck and looked into her face. "You aren't alone anymore."

"I didn't know that I needed to hear those words so badly until you found me in the hallway of my apartment building. What must you have thought about me sitting there crying my eyes out and my baby screaming her head off." Andy let out a nervous laugh as her eyes misted over. "Then there you were, standing in the doorway and looking for all the world like an angel."

Matt eyes clouded a bit as he listened to her call him an angel. Her hands felt clammy as she realized she had revealed more than she had since they'd met. Switching the reins from one hand to the other, Andy felt emotionally naked.

"I found two angels sitting in that hallway, Sweetheart. You have to know that you mean more to me than anything ever has. I want you and Harper to be my future." Matt swept his hat from his head, brim held tightly in his fingers. Matt looked magnificently rugged as he sat on his big black horse with his heart in his hand and love in his eyes. She didn't know how to reply. Her heart sped up and tripped along in the silence that followed. Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket and she took it out, looking at the screen. Andy groaned and put it away without answering. Matt quirked a brow. She sighed.

"Lance is still calling me. He wants to see Harper. I don't know what to do." Andy shrugged, focusing her eyes on the small cow trail ahead of them.

"I know that family is important to you. He would be the one link into knowing her father better and Harper will have those questions as she gets older." Matt wondered if playing devil's advocate was a smart thing to do, considering how this had all backfired on him before. She did seem like she needed to talk about it though.

"I want her to know, Terrell, as best as she can anyway. I don't want to hide that from her. I want my own family back, but I don't ever want Harper to think I'd choose them over her." Her eyes watered again, her voice choked and strained. "If nothing else ever goes right in my life, I'd want her to know that she was my gift." Andy lowered her head, trying to focus on the stitching in the leather saddle.

"She will know. I'm sure she does already." Matt smiled at her, his concern shining through. "Did he say why he has been trying too hard to contact you?" Matt steered Raven around a big piece of fallen wood. Andy bit her lip and nodded.

"He told me Terrell sent him a letter that he got right after his brother died. Terrell told him how excited he was to be a father and how determined he was to not end up their parents. Terrell asked Lance to watch over me and the baby." Andy sighed, her heart thumping as she leaned forward. "He says he cannot deny his brother's dying wish. I just don't know what to think about it."

"Well Terrell did tell you not to speak of the baby to his parents, but he didn't mention his brother. We could do some digging if you want. But I think..." Matt trailed off there, looking at a loss as to what to say. She trusted him. She knew in her heart that Matt would never do anything to endanger Harper or her.

"What should I do?" Andy asked, stopping Miss Sioux on the trail. Matt halted Raven beside her.

"I think you should invite him out here. Give him a chance to explain himself in person and see where it goes from there. Honestly, there is very little he can do now, but cultivate a relationship with his niece." Matt watched her face and she considered what he was saying. Of course Harper would be curious when she learned about her real family. If Lance Harper could satisfy some of those questions, then it would be worth getting to know him. Besides, she knew Matt would be right beside her. There were no promises made and she certainly didn't know where their future would take them, but Matt was a constant. She prayed that he would always be.

"As long as you'll be there, Matt, I will invite him to visit. I can't do this alone and I really don't want to." Her eyes searched his and found the warmth she wanted to wrap up and shelter inside. He didn't say more. He simply nodded and took her hand. Nothing more was said until they reached the windmill.

They urged the horses up the rise to see a lone windmill standing stark against the late afternoon sunshine. No trees offered any protection from the wind that was starting to pick up. Andy wriggled her shoulders trying to warm up. The sweatshirt wasn't much for warmth on this late autumn day.

"We should get down and walk a bit. You will really feel it once we get back." Matt swung down off of Raven and Andy couldn't keep her eyes off his backside. She loved the Wranglers he wore!

"I already do." She said as he came to her side and raised his arms to help her down. "I may need a massage for all these tender spots." She lifted a brow, feigning innocence, but Matt wasn't fooled. She wasn't sure who made the first contact, but she was distinctly certain of the sparks that followed. His denim clad thighs brushed against hers and all she wanted to do was drown in his kisses. His tongue dueled with hers and her fingers speared into his thick, dark hair knocking his hat askew. One arm held her firmly against him and the other meandered along her spine to her back pockets. She groaned against his mouth, aching in more places than she could count and not all of them because of the horseback ride.

"It is far too cold to do this out here, baby." Matt's voice was rough and his breathing shallow as he broke their kiss. Already she was ready to rip every stitch of clothing they each wore until they were skin to skin. She blinked, took a deep breath, and blinked again. It was hard to tamp down the raging need to be one with him. Even the hard bulge at the front of his jeans said as much.

"I know, you're right, but I need you, Matt. I'm going to go crazy before we have sex again." She held his gaze; blue eyes smoldering with pent up passion. There were so many things she wanted to do with him.
If only it were that simple.
She almost sighed as he backed up a couple of inches and set her back from his body.

"I will come up with something." The expanse of his chest rose and fell while her hands itched to run across the banded muscles. This craving for him was entirely new and oh so intense. She closed her eyes to try and block some of the images from her mind. It proved less than successful.

"Are you ready to go back now?" Andy took a moment to notice the five strand barbed wire fence that separated their horses from the windmill and tank. There was a good sized puddle around the front of the tank and Matt turned his attention to it.

"Not yet. I need to make sure the tank doesn't have a hole and the water sitting out there is just from run over." Matt went to the fence and placed his foot on the second strand to hoist himself up and over. Watching him, it looked impressively easy and Andy didn't see why she shouldn't follow. Bracing her foot just as Matt had, Andy swung her other leg up over the top of the wire. Her first encounter with barbed wire didn't prove to be quite as flawless as she had hoped it would be.

"Oh shit." Andy felt the snag and heard the rip in her jeans. She froze midway over the fence. Matt turned at her soulful swearing and saw her plight. Immediately he looked like he was going to explode trying not to laugh himself silly. It was a battle not so easily overcome and he turned red with laughter.

"Andy, well, I'm sorry. This really shouldn't be that funny, but..." Matt started another round of belly shaking laughter and Andy clenched her jaw to keep from following. Lifting her leg a bit higher, she cleared the wire and glared at the offending wire. Embarrassed greatly at her less than gracious clearance, she felt around her backside. It wasn't a small hole either.
Kill me now!

Considered how they had been only moment ago, Andy wasn't entirely keen to turn and show Matt just how much damage that stupid wire fence had done to her jeans. Her embarrassment only heightened at her realization that she would never out live this one.

"Here, let me see how bad it is." Matt reached for her elbow to turn her towards him. Andy stiffened. She shook her head, backing away from him. He chuckled, advancing on her. Now it was going to be a game.
Oh fabulous!
He was going to see the hole one way or another. The only bright side to this was that no one else was here. Of course Nora might see it, but at least it was just Matt and Nora.

"It's bad. Really
bad!
" Andy pouted, her brow creased in anxiety. Matt tried valiantly to wipe the smirk off his face. Clearing his throat, he moved his finger in a circular motion to get her to turn around. Andy groaned, slumping her shoulders and pivoted reluctantly. There was only silence as she turned her back to Matt. Not a sound could she hear. She was mortified by the thought of her butt hanging out of her jeans, but maybe it wasn't so bad. A moment longer and still no sound, so Andy decided to turn back around.