Forever's Affection (Forever In Luck Series Book 3) (17 page)

Looking
down, she hugged Junie a little tighter. “She’s my girl.”

Getting
out of the truck, he went around and opened the front and back passenger doors.
Taking Junie from her, he settled her in the seat and buckled her in, covering
her with her blanket, then checked to see that Dani was buckled in and got back
behind the wheel.

“I’m
not the only one who’s good with her,” Dani said, looking over at him as she
reclined back in the seat resting. Nothing but the hazy colored lights of the
dash
were
on to make them see. When he turned to her,
she reached for his hand and his lips were on her. Oh, how she loved his soft,
gentle lips.

“Dani,”
he half spoke, half moaned.

“
Shhhh
,” she whispered.

“I’m
sorry,” he said softly, then kissed her again.

“I
know,
me to.” She kissed him in return, then again.

“I’ve
missed you. Forgive me?”

Reaching
up a hand, she ran her fingers through his hair,
then
said quietly, “It takes two to argue, but only one to make peace, you’re
forgiven.” Then she kissed him sweetly because she really liked kissing this
man. “Take me home, Kris, I want us home.”

An
hour and a half later, Kris woke her with another kiss and she decided she
could handle more of this.

“We’re
home,” he announced softly. “Why don’t you take Junie inside and I’ll unload
the horses.”

She
nodded, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Sounds good.
Has Jake been here yet with the other trailer?”

“Yeah,
it’s over by the barn.”

“Great,
I’ll get her settled and come back out. I need to get some of my stuff from
there.”

Ten
minutes and a quick shower later, Dani was by the side of the horse trailer
with Coco in tow and a flashlight in hand. Opening a small door to an animal
pen, she said, “Hey girl, come on.” Out popped a beautiful gold head with soft
floppy ears. “Come on Goldie, let’s go girl.” The dog hopped out and shook her
beautiful long hair, then trotted over and gave Dani a slurp on her hand before
greeting Coco and Kris with a series of sniffs.

“So
this is Goldie,” Kris stated, as he gave the canine a scratch behind the ears,
then one to Coco who’d head-butted Goldie out of the way in his bid to get
attention.

“Yep,”
she answered, as she made her way to the trailer Jake had dropped off. “She’s
good to have on a hunt.”

“I
bet, and seeing as how good you are with a gun, I’m sure she’s busy.”

“You
liked that, huh?” she responded, as she crawled into the trailer. “Hold the
flashlight up a little more, would you please?”

Lifting
the flashlight higher, he answered, “Ah, yeah, me and about a thousand other
guys.”

She
laughed. He was a typical alpha male, jealous, protective, and aggressive to
the core. “That doesn’t bother you does it?
Because I don’t
pay attention to men, other than to get them to go away.”

“No,
no,” he answered quickly, totally faking it. “I’m good.”

Sticking
her head out of the trailer, she looked up at him in the dim glow of the yard
light and smiled. “You’re a horrible liar. Good to know.” Then she popped back
inside and fished around, handing him costume after costume. Finished, she
hopped out, shutting and locking the door. Taking her things from him, she
headed for the house.

Walking
alongside her, he took her hand. “Okay, so I hated it, and I wanted to punch
the eyes out of every guy who whistled and made rude and suggestive comments
towards you. How’s that for being honest?”

Stepping
into the porch and telling the dogs to stay, she answered him, “Better,
honest.” Making her way to the laundry room, she attended to her costumes. Kris
came in and handed her an open beer, then stood there lingering. It was
coming,
she knew it, just as she’d take a drink. She lifted
the bottle.

“So
what’s with the Sexy Lexy bit?”

Bingo.
She swallowed. “Do you really think I billed myself with that label?”

 
He looked down, clearly uncomfortable. “Well,
no, not necessarily, but how did it come about?”

Hmmm.
Any man she’d
ever been involved with hated it. Correction, it was okay when they said it,
but no one else. “It’s a result of my name. I was born Alexa Danielle Reed, and
have been called Lexy all my life. I became Sexy Lexy when I was objectified by
horny men and their vivid imaginations.” He furtively glanced her way as he
shifted around on his feet. She’d made him uncomfortable with the brute truth.
Turning, she went back to attending to her costumes.

“So
why don’t you want to trick ride?”

Swirling
her costumes around in the water, she gently washed them.
“Because
people don’t take my other accomplishments seriously as a result.”

“Meaning?”

Turning
on the water, she answered as she rinsed the garments. “Of all the things I did
tonight, what will people remember me for doing? How will they remember me?”
Pausing, she looked over her shoulder at him. “Tomorrow, at the breakfast
table, people won’t be talking about Lexy Reed, the mounted horse shooter or
champion barrel racer. If they talk about me at all, it’ll be all about Sexy
Lexy and the halftime entertainment show.”

“So
that’s why you hate doing tricks?”

Draining
the water off, she delicately squeezed out the excess the best she could. “I
love doing tricks. I hate that I have to wear flashy suggestive costumes to
appease the promoters, feeding the rumor mill in the process, given my mother’s
vocation and all. You know, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, bit.”
Pulling out a drying rack, she unfolded it. “Plus, you don’t see the men being
made to ride in nothing but nut cups, chaps and bowties.”

He
barked a laugh as he coughed on his beer. Wiping his mouth on his arm, he said,
“And
thank
God for that. You need help?”

She
shook her head as she draped the tops and bottoms here and there.
“Nah, just cleaning and drying them for the weekend, almost done.”

“What
time do you have to be there tomorrow?”

“First
show is at two.”

“I
hate that you have to do this. Does horse training not provide enough?”

“It
puts a roof over our heads, but that’s about it, the rest is up to me. I need
to do this so I can afford to pay for Junie’s medical bills,” she answered,
hanging the last of her costumes up to dry. “She needs counseling, and as you
can
tell,
extensive speech therapy.”

Nodding,
he asked hesitantly, “Well, wouldn’t that be covered by medical insurance?”

“Sure,
if a person had some.” Grabbing her bottle of beer, she headed to the kitchen,
knowing he wanted to ask for more information but didn’t. Instead, he followed
along quietly. “I’m working on it, but it’s a process, and she needs help now,
so we pay out of pocket.”

Satisfied
with the answer, he asked, “Do you need help tomorrow?”

This
is a good man, her heart said with a sigh. “You have a farm to run, remember?
And I know she’s a handful, literally.”

Getting
her gist, he smiled and nodded, then shrugged. “You know, I don’t mind. Kind of
surprising really, kids are normally scared of me given my size. Has she always
been like that?”

Finishing
her beer, she nodded. “Yep, we were together all the time, took her everywhere,
and as strollers are not made for pastures and don’t ride well on saddles, I
had no choice but to strap her to me or hold her. So there you go, but she
won’t go to just anybody, she only goes where she feels safe and loved.”

Smiling
widely as he grasped what she was saying, he just stared at her as she put her
bottle in the recycle bin. Holding his hand out to her, he said, “Come here, I
missed you.”

Taking
his hand, she was pulled in close to him. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave
her a big hug.

“You’re
pretty darn amazing, Dani, and of all the things I’ll remember about tonight,
it’ll definitely be the mounted shooting. Oh, and for wanting to give every guy
there a beat-down just for looking at you.”

Laughing,
she hugged him back and rested her head on his shoulder. “You’re being silly.”

Firmly
shaking his head, he answered her, “Nope, I’m being a man who wants to protect
his interests. Kiss me.”

Lifting
her head, he captured her mouth and kissed her passionately. She liked it, and her
body responded to him. Deep inside, she felt it and she wanted it, but then
waffled.

Stopping,
he looked at her. “I lost you. You were there,
then
you left. Did I do something I shouldn’t?”

She
shook her head. “No, it was
good,
it’s just me being
me. I get into a situation like this and when I feel something, my mind starts
to analyze things and it just seems to take over.”

“So
you felt something when I kissed you?”

She
nodded.

“In a good way, or not?”

He
was looking a little worried. Staring into his eyes, she answered him. “Good.”

Clearly
relieved, he looked for confirmation, “So kissing’s good?”

“With
you, yes,” she said, nodding.

“Not
others?”

His
interest was clearly peaked now. “No, not others,” she confirmed, shaking her
head.

“Why?”

“Your
kisses are tender, your lips soft.”

Eyes
brightening upon hearing the confession, he started placing tiny kisses all
over her face. Stopping, he looked at her grinning. “Then kisses it is, lots
and lots of kisses. Plus, I’ll be buying a shit load of
Chapstick
.”

She
laughed a little and looked down, feeling kind of shy.

Giving
her another little
kiss
and hug, he said, “I better
go, let you get some rest. You’ve got a big day tomorrow. I’ll take your truck
and come back in the morning.”

Releasing
her, he went to step back, but she held him to her.

Pausing,
he waited a few moments for her to let go.
“Dani?”

Silence.
She should
really let him go. It would be best if she let him go.

“Dani…”

He
put his hands on her arms and tried to move them, but she wouldn’t let go.

Taking
a deep breath, he said, “Okay, you’re either in a really bad place, or you’re
trying to tell me something. You mind letting me, so I know what to do?”

Normally,
she didn’t have trouble articulating, but this was…not normal, and she didn’t
know how to say it…without things getting out of hand, and…he was a man…a big
man…and she had left Wyoming, and Junie was here, she needed to work the
Friesian, and soap her saddles, and—alright, her mind was buzzing, jumping and
leaping all over the place. Slow down. Breathe. Stay focused.

“Can
you—”

She
put her hand over his mouth, stopping him, as she put her forehead on his
shoulder. This was so damn hard!
How to…say it.
Why
was it easy to do when it was a business transaction? How come she had no
problems asking for help finding quarter inch nails, or
dewormer
,
and she had no trouble going up to complete strangers looking for hay and help,
but then come to this part of the human experience and she…

He
took her hand from his mouth. “Can you talk to me from another point of view?
Would that be easier?”

What?
Lifting her head up, she looked at him in confusion. “I don’t know what you
mean by that?”

“You
do, and you automatically went into it the last time we got close to what was
in your heart. Tell the rooster what the hen is thinking and how he can help
her.”

Thaaa
-
thump,
was her heart skipping a beat. He didn’t yell at her,
he didn’t demand answers, he didn’t get frustrated and start swearing, calling
her names and throwing things. He didn’t hit her, or shove her around. Instead,
he showed her a way. He gave her a voice. It poured out of her. “The hen is
scared. The hen likes the rooster and she’s scared, because she doesn’t know if
she can…can… The hen doesn’t want to make the rooster angry, but she would like
it if the rooster would stay knowing things may not work out.”

Staring
at her and studying her face, he didn’t answer right away. “The rooster wants
to stay, but the rooster is trying to think of a way to make the hen feel safe
and not scared. Maybe… Maybe setting some limits to follow would help them
both. What say the hen?”

Thaaa
-thump.
Dani felt her
eyes water, and she blinked once, twice. This was no ordinary rooster!
Generally roosters just took what they wanted. “The hen thinks this is one fine
rooster and likes the idea of limits. All she knows is she likes being by the
rooster and kissing him, the thought of the rest has her clucking crazy.”