Forever's Affection (Forever In Luck Series Book 3) (10 page)

He
paused,
then
smiled widely. “Oh, yeah,” he said, with
a nod. “I liked that.”

“That’s
how I feel about certain men who wear cowboy hats. They’re sexy.”

He
sat up a little taller. “Am I one of those certain men?”

She
was finding him kind of fun to be around. “Possibly, I’m not sure. I’ve never
seen you with a hat on.”

“Will
I get a reward if I wear a cowboy hat?”

She
snickered,
then
shook her head.
“Maybe.”

“I
need a cowboy hat,” he said firmly, having made up his mind.

She
laughed at his abrupt change of heart.

His
teeth clapping together as he bounced along, he asked in a shaky voice “What
kind of horse is this?”

“A Quarter horse.”

“And
yours?”

“A Quarter horse.”

They
made it safely across the highway, and he was still in the saddle. “Wait, they
don’t look the same.”

“They’re
the same, just different versions or colors per se.”

“Explain,
please.”

Trotting
into the yard, she answered him. “Topaz is a Palomino, and Ricochet is a Blue
Roan.”

“I
made it!” he exclaimed as he hopped off, safely planting his feet on the
ground. “Did you train them yourself?”

“I
did,” she responded, finding his lack of horse knowledge and subsequent
interest charming.

“Then
you’re good at this kind of thing,” he said confidently. “How about Coco and
Goldie, you train them?”

“I
did,” she answered, looking at him with a glimmer in her eye. His sincere
appreciation was racking up points in her book. Most of the men she knew didn’t
give her that much credit because they were too busy trying to be better than
her. She quickly and efficiently took off the saddles. Watching what she was
doing with a critical eye, she imagined he was trying to learn the process so
he could step in and take over.

“Then
you’re really, really good at training animals. There’s hope for the Friesian.”

Turning
the horses out to pasture, she nodded. “There’s hope for all of us.”

Taking
her hand, he said with a smile, “Come on, I want to show you your surprise.”

“Where
is it?”

“Back
of the house, down by the stream.”

“What
is it?”

“You’ll
see.”

“Surprises
make me nervous.”

He
smiled and shook his head. “I know. Just remember that each new and positive
experience has the potential to change that.”

Rounding
the corner of the house, they stopped and he pointed across the yard towards
the trees by the stream. “There it is
,
there’s your
surprise.

Her
eyes popped open and she smiled from ear to ear, clearly pleased with this
little delight.
“A swing…for me?
Kris, I love it! I’ve
never had a swing!” She took off running towards it and stopped short when she
came to it. Pushing it, she laughed when it rocked back and forth. Looking at
him with watery eyes when he met up with her, she said warmly, “I really do
love it.”

“Then
sit down and try it out. It’s a big ole bench swing. I figured you could sit
here and enjoy the stream, drop a line in, and relax.”

Sitting
and wiggling around, getting comfortable, she looked at him and licked her dry
lips. “There’s room for two on here,” she said smiling, her eyes bright.

“Yes,”
he said seductively, “there is.”

Feeling
shy, she looked down smiling. “Would you like to sit on here with me?”

“Is
this one of my rewards?”

“Maybe,”
she answered grinning. “Why don’t you sit down and find out.”

Sitting
down next to her, he pushed the swing with his long legs and they glided back
and forth. He watched her as she continued staring downward smiling, finding
amusement in her pleasure of this simple gift. He was always staring. “You’re
staring again.”

“
Mmhmm
.
You have a nice
smile.”

Reaching
over, she took his hand and lifted it high, bringing it behind her head, and around
her shoulders. He pushed the swing again, and they quietly rocked back and
forth.

“Not
long ago, my dad said some of the best times he and my mother had
were
spent just sitting quietly together. This is nice.” He
gave them another push.

After
sometime, she moved a little closer and tilted her head, resting her temple on
the edge of his shoulder. She felt him relax. “I really am sorry about this
afternoon,” she said quietly. “Sometimes things just happen and it sets me
off…and well, it’s kind of like Ricochet taking you off the trail. I know it’s
happening, and I know it’s not what I should be doing, I just can’t seem to
stop whatever it is.”

Giving
her a little squeeze about the shoulders, he answered her. “You know, I buy
that. I absolutely believe that. Nate and Linnie, they have a code word they
can say to one another when things are happening and morphing into something
other than what they should be.
Either one of them can say it
at any time, and
it means they stop and basically take a time out. Then
they come back later and talk it through, once they’ve each had time to reflect
on things. Maybe we need a code word too.”

“Like
what?”

“I
don’t know, something that will make us stop, and will break up the tension
without making anyone angrier than they already are.”

Sounded
like a good idea. She knew her counselor would have supported this plan. “What
do Linnie and Nate say?”

“Pickles.”

She
tried holding back her laugh.
“Pickles?”

“Yep,”
he said in all seriousness.
“Pickles.
I want us to
have our own code word though, something different.”

“Like
what?” she asked, finding this humorous.

He
shrugged. “I don’t know.
Something like…cuckoo-doodle-doo.”

She
snuggled a little closer. “You mean cock-a-doodle-doo?”

“No, cuckoo-doodle-doo, like the clock.”

“So
your cuckoo clock has a rooster in it?” she asked with a laugh.

He
gave them another push. “Our cuckoo clock has a rooster and a hen in it. They
both make noise.”

Rocking
back and forth, she sighed as she settled into his hold some more. “I like our
cuckoo clock.”

Tightening
his arm about her shoulders again, he pulled her closer and said softly, “So do
I
.”

Rocking
back and forth, she searched and found her courage. “The hen would like to tell
the rooster thank you for today, for the swing, the grill, for riding the
horse, for talking, for trying, and for being concerned for the hen’s safety,
but most importantly for giving the hen something to peck for.”

He
rubbed her arm and grinned as they swayed back and forth. “The rooster accepts
the hen’s gratitude and would like to thank the hen for telling him all she did
today, and for letting the rooster hold her right now.”

She
snuggled closer still. “Would it be alright if the hen gave the rooster a peck
on the cheek?”

“The
rooster would love a peck on the beak.”

She
could hear the lightheartedness in his voice, but still. “She said cheek.”

Taking
a deep breath, he let it out and nodded. “He heard her, he said beak, but cheek
would be alright too.”

Turning
towards him, she looked at him, studied his face, then reached up and cupped
his cheek in the palm of her hand. After a few moments, she leaned forward and
gave him a soft kiss on the lips, then pulled back quickly, surprised at the
sensation.

“Dani…”

“Can…can
I kiss you again?”

“Ye—”

She
kissed him again, a little more and a little longer. Then pulled back and
looked at him perplexed.

“Is
something wrong?”

Interesting, very interesting.
“Will you…”

“What?”

She
bit her lip, not sure about what she was thinking. “Will you kiss me back, just
a little?”

“Are
you sure?” he asked, looking uncertain. “Because—”

“Kiss
me,” she demanded as she leaned in, not giving them a chance for second
thought.

He
kissed her with apparent uncertainty and simply took things slow, which was
fine by her. After what seemed like an eternity, but was more like ten seconds,
she pulled back and looked at him wide eyed.

“Alright,
talk to me, something’s going on.”

“Your—”

They
were interrupted when her phone started ringing. Digging through her pockets,
she pulled out her cell phone and looked at caller ID. Flipping it open, her
tone turned ice cold, “There’s only one reason I’ll take your call, if that’s
not it,
I’m
hanging up.” Then she gasped and
stuttered, “What, what did you say? You didn’t! How could you do that? How?
Don’t you hang up! Don’t you
han
—
MAMA, don’t you dare hang up! Damn it!” Hopping of the swing, she swore, than
swore again, then took off for the house at a dead run.

*****

Not
sure what the hell was going on, Kris got up from the swing and slowly walked
to the house. Dani came flying out the door just as he was about to open it.
She’d changed clothes and had her phone to her ear, and he was surprised to see
a purse hanging off her shoulder. She hadn’t struck him as the purse kind of
girl.

“Mama
answer
this goddamn phone! Mama… Kris I need
directions to the airport.”

His
mind went blank. “
Ahhh
—”

“How
do I get to the airport?” she snapped, impatiently.

He
didn’t know how to answer her, because he just knew where it was and wasn’t
sure of road and street names. “Umm—”

“Just
tell me!” she cried frantically, then growled, “Mama answer this phone!”

Taking
her by the arm, he turned for his truck. “Get in, I’ll drive you.”

“Oh
thank you, thank you, thank you,” she uttered in pure relief. “Kris I really,
really appreciate this.” In the truck, she abruptly disconnected the call to
her mother, then frantically whizzed through the contacts list seeming a bit
confused, found what she was looking for, hit some buttons and put it to her
ear. “Where’s Mama?”
…“Because, I need to talk to her!”
…“Cut
the bullshit, where’s Mama?” She let out a loud sigh. “June.”
…“Me.”
…“Wade,
fine, thanks.”

Disconnecting
the phone, she dialed it again. “Mama, I need to talk to you. Pick up the
phone.” She sat waiting, then eventually disconnected the call, then spun
through the contacts again. “Where’s Mama?”…“I just talked to Clint, he said to
call you, where’s Mama?”… She sighed. “Me, I’ll need money.” She rubbed her
forehead. “Can you help me
out,
line me up with some
dates?”...“Not a
chance,
won’t do it,” she answered
emphatically. “Minnesota and Wisconsin only, I refuse to set foot in Wyoming.”
She looked at her phone quick and put it to her ear. “Clint’s
calling.”…“Please.”

She
disconnected and switched to the other call. “Clint?”…“Colorado!” she cried. “What
the hell is she doing in Colorado?
For sure?”
…“That’s
just great!” she responded angrily while gritting her teeth, then listened some
more before answering. “The hell if I know, it’s her usual dump and run. I need
the number for the Minneapolis Airport.”…“
Ahh
, hello,
I’m on my way there now, last I checked phonebooks weren’t standard issue in
glove boxes. I need your help here and you know it, quit being an ass.”…“Oh
forget it, I’ll figure it out myself,” she snapped.

Kris
didn’t know what was going on, but apparently they had a crisis going on in the
family. Not knowing what to do and helping the only way he knew how, he sent
Nik a text asking him to look up the number for the airport and to text it to
him. He quickly received a response back indicating Nik was working on it.

Pulling
the phone from her ear, she looked at it and put it back. “I’ve got to go,
Wade’s calling.”…“
Mmhmm
,
thanks.”

Ending
one
call
and on to the other, she answered, “Wade?”
She sat listening then sighed. “Barrels, why not team? I want—what?” she asked,
her mouth hanging open as she listened. “Wade…
turn
tricks?” Her voice went edgy. “My involvement is contingent on turning tricks,
is that it?” She growled,
then
snapped, “How
much?”…“I’m worth ten times that!”… “What?” she asked clearly annoyed. “Tight,
flashy, and sparkly,” she repeated. “You mean cheap and tawdry! That son of a
bitch, you tell him if he wants me, he needs to dig deeper,
waaaay
deeper in the green then that, and if he doesn’t like it, he can shove it up
his ass.”