Learnin' The Ropes (32 page)

“Me, too. I haven’t eaten here for a couple of years, but the last time Dad and I came, I thought how nice it would be to see in the spring,” Lexi said dreamily. What she’d really thought was how much she’d like to come here on a date, but didn’t want to voice that opinion, particularly on a date with a man as undeniably breathtaking as Ty.

After studying the menus, they made their selections then sat back, continuing their friendly conversation talking about nothing and everything.

When their meals arrived, they ate with pleasure. Too full to indulge in dessert, Lexi ordered a cup of hot tea. The evening air held a cool nip to it and she left her sweater in the pickup.

Mindful of her discomfort, Ty removed his jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

“Chilly?” he asked, rubbing his hands up and down her arms.

“I am, thanks,” Lexi whispered, engulfed by Ty’s scent and warmth as she pulled his jacket around her shoulders. His touch on her arms sent goose bumps racing across her skin and she shivered again.

“You must be freezing. Do you want to leave?” Ty started to rise from his chair.

Lexi motioned for him to remain in his chair. “No, I’m fine. Really.” The waitress appeared with her tea and Lexi gratefully nodded to her. She sipped it while she and Ty stared across the water, making up imaginary stories of the people who lived in the homes on the other side of the river. As he added a funny accent to one of the characters they made up, she laughed so hard, she thought the restaurant owner might ask them to leave. Instead, a few of the older couples sitting nearby indulgently smiled at them.

The waitress brought the bill to Ty but Lexi tried to take it. He shot her a scowl and shook his head.

“Ms. Ryan, being an old-fashioned kind of guy means I’m buying.” He paid the bill, leaving a generous tip, then gave Lexi his hand as they stood.

Used to always picking up the tab, it never occurred to Lexi that Ty would want to pay. Smiling, she squeezed his hand. “Thank you for buying me dinner.”

“You’re welcome.” He held open the door as she walked out of the restaurant. “Thank you for agreeing to come with me. I could have taken you to the Dairy Queen in Burns, but coming to Bend seemed like a better idea. Can I talk you into a movie?”

“You won’t have to talk too hard as long as you promise to get a super-huge bucket of popcorn with extra butter.” Lexi placed both hands on Ty’s arm and squeezed gently.

“Deal.” He patted her fingers where they circled his bicep. Ty walked her back to the pickup, helping her inside. Her hands were nearly searing his skin, but he tried to maintain his unaffected demeanor. Uncertain if he could trust himself to spend two hours in a dark theater cozied up to her, he was willing to try.

Lexi gave him directions to a movie theater and as they took in the options, Ty resigned himself to watching a chick flick. He was surprised when she pointed to a movie that would start in a few minutes.

“What do you think of that one?” she asked, pointing to a popular action movie.

He lifted an eyebrow in disbelief. “I think you’re taking pity on me and suggesting that one so I won’t have to suffer through a girlie movie.”

The smile he turned on her made Lexi’s knees wobble. “No, I’m not. I’m completely selfish when it comes to movies I like, so I wouldn’t offer to go to something I didn’t want to see. My dad was a big comic book fan and I heard that one is supposed to be good.” She tugged Ty toward the ticket window.

He couldn’t believe she willingly chose the movie. Not only was she beautiful, but she’d rather watch an action-movie based on comic book characters than a romantic comedy. In his opinion, she couldn’t get any more perfect.

Lexi started to dig in her purse for her wallet, but Ty purchased the tickets and hurried her inside. She ordered a bucket of popcorn and he purchased a large Dr. Pepper. When he asked what she wanted to drink, she told him she’d rather share.

No doubt about it. She was beyond perfect.

Ty was glad the movie was exciting and moved along quickly. Otherwise, he might have acted on one or two of the ideas relentlessly lingered in his head as he watched the young couples around them sneaking kisses under the dark cover of the theater. 

Lexi leaned against him with her hand on his thigh, rubbing tantalizing circles that were about to drive him wild. In an effort to keep from embarrassing them both, Ty finally took her hand in his and kissed her palm before intertwining their fingers.

When the movie ended, she suggested they go for a walk in the Old Mill District that sat on the banks of the river. He readily agreed. Although it was getting late, he wasn’t in any hurry for their evening to end.

Strolling along the walkway, they first looked in shop windows before changing direction and walking along the riverbank. The moon was full and bright, allowing Ty the opportunity to watch Lexi as they wandered along.

Contentedly sighing, she curved against him and he put his arm around her, drawing her close to his side.

“What was that sigh for?” he asked, kissing her temple.

“It was a happy sigh,” she said quietly, turning to look at him. In all her years of dating, she couldn’t remember enjoying a first date more than she had this one. She’d been on all sorts of exciting dates to fantastic places, but none that spoke to her heart the way Ty had tonight. A stroll in the moonlight along the river was a memorable finish to the wonderful experience.

Throughout the evening, Lexi hadn’t missed the admiring glances women continued casting Ty’s direction. Several had come during the course of the evening. How could any woman in her right mind fail to admire the tall, fit man with the finger-tempting waves of brown hair that practically begged female hands to run through it? Coupled with his bright blue eyes, strong jaw, and the dangerous look he always seemed to have, he was more appealing than any man Lexi had ever met. The boots and snug Wranglers only amped up his appeal.

“So you have a sigh for every occasion?” Ty asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“No.” Lexi grinned. “What about you? You look pretty pleased with yourself.”

“I am.”

“About what?” Lexi stopped walking so she could intently gaze into Ty’s eyes. Lit by an inner fire, they glowed and threatened to suck her into a place she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to leave.

“You.” Ty took her hand and pulled her along the walk as they circled back to the parking lot.

“What about me?” she asked, curious why he seemed to be in a hurry to leave.

“It’s just…” Ty wasn’t comfortable sharing his feelings. Intoxicated by Lexi’s warmth and presence at his side, though, his tongue loosened. “I never imagined being here with you, never dreamed you’d actually go out on a date with a homeless mechanic without a thing to offer the world.”

“I wouldn’t go out with someone like that.” Reassuringly, she tightened her hold on Ty’s hand. “But I would go out with a hardworking man who is compassionate and caring and always tries to do what’s right.  A man incredibly funny and exciting. The one man on the planet my dog actually likes.” She cast him a saucy grin. “Then there’s that whole good-looking bad-boy factor.”

“Is that right?” To lighten the mood, he moved his fingers around Lexi’s side and began tickling her.

As she giggled, he continued moving them toward his truck. When he opened the door, she pressed against him, still laughing. The sound wound its way from his ears past his heart right down into his soul.

“Lexi Jo, what am I going to do with you?” he whispered in a husky voice, wrapping her in a warm embrace.

“What do you want to do?” Her hands slid around the back of Ty’s neck and she pulled his head down.

“Lexi,” he growled before giving her a kiss that would have caused heads to turn their direction had anyone else been in the parking lot to witness the ardent exchange.

 Ty wanted to find some dark, secluded place to park his truck and ravish Lexi with kisses. Instead, he gave her one more searing kiss, gently picked her up and sat her on the pickup seat, then shut her door.

“We have a long drive home, babe, and if we keep kissing like that, I can’t promise I’ll get you there in the same condition we left the ranch.” He started the truck and headed out of the parking lot. Lexi gave him directions back to the highway and it didn’t take long to leave civilization behind.

For a while, they chatted about business and communities in Bend. However, fatigue soon got the best of Lexi and she found it impossible to keep her eyes open. Leaning her head back, Ty’s hand clasped hers as they drove through the miles of sagebrush.

Past midnight when they arrived back at the ranch, Ty pulled the truck up by the front gate of the house and parked. After turning off the engine and lights, he unfastened his seat belt and stared at Lexi for several moments. He released a sigh and walked around to her door, surprised she still slept. Carefully, he unbuckled her seat belt and scooped her into his arms. He remembered the last time he carried her inside while she pretended to be asleep just so he’d hold her longer.

From her deep, even breathing, this time she definitely wasn’t pretending. He hurried up the porch steps and somehow managed to open the door then step inside. Baby waited in the foyer, glaring at them like a parent who’d sat waiting up for a child out past curfew.

“Sorry, Baby, we didn’t mean to be out so late,” Ty whispered, debating if he should carry Lexi upstairs or leave her in the foyer. The dog glared at him and sank down to the floor, letting him know she would maintain her role as chaperone. He decided to take Lexi to her room and started up the stairs only to have Baby grab his pant leg. He frowned at the dog. “Baby, stop that. I promise to behave.”

Baby released her hold on his jeans and wagged her tail.

Ty carried Lexi up to her room and gently laid her on the bed. After turning on the bedside lamp, he softly tapped her cheeks, but got no response. Uncertain what else to do, he gave her a quick kiss good night, lightly pressing his lips to hers. Just when he was ready to move away, Lexi’s hands slid around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

Melding their lips, their bodies pressed close together. Ty frantically grabbed at the last few threads of rational thought before he completely unraveled. As his forehead rested against Lexi’s, he released a ragged breath.

“Lexi, thank you for the best date I’ve ever had. You are amazing and I don’t know how you could look any more beautiful than you do tonight.” He kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, and her nose.

“Thank you for asking me, Ty. I had a wonderful time and I hope we can do it again. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed an evening more,” Lexi said, tugging Ty into another tight embrace.

After a quick hug, Ty stood and crossed the space to the door in a few long strides. The blue in his eyes appeared molten as he turned his heated gaze to hers, rendering her limbs languid and weak.

“Night, Lexi,” Ty said, forcing himself to keep moving away from her instead of going back to the bed and staying all night. “Sweet dreams.”

“Thanks, Ty. You, too,” she whispered. No matter how much she wanted Ty to take her into his arms, she knew he was doing the right thing.

He rushed down the stairs. Baby smiled and leaned approvingly against his leg.

“Come on, mother hen. You can turn in your chaperone hat for the evening,” Ty said, motioning the dog out the door as he locked it behind them. “What would you have done if I hadn’t come back downstairs?”

The dog growled, making him laugh.

Lesson Sixteen

Stand Up for What’s Right

“If yer gonna bring the hammer down,

make sure ya hit the nail square on the head.”

“We’re going where?” Ty asked, not quite sure he heard Swede correctly.

“To the Big Loop Rodeo in Jordan Valley,” Swede said as he helped himself to another helping of scrambled eggs. “It runs for two days, but we’re jes gonna go fer the day tomorra.”

“Why do I need to go?” Ty asked as Jimmy passed him a plate full of fluffy biscuits Jan had made that morning. After serving breakfast, she ran a plate of food over to Lexi at the main house and hadn’t yet returned.

“Boss said.” Swede gave Ty a look that dared him to argue. “We’re all going except for Gus.”

“If you’d rather go, Gus, I can stay home and keep an eye on things,” Ty volunteered. The idea of attending a rodeo kicked him into a tailspin. He could ride well enough no one casually watching wouldn’t know he hadn’t been doing it for a long time. He had adjusted to dressing like a cowboy. Secretly, he was quite pleased with the way the clothes looked on him, although he’d never admit it. Everyone on the ranch and the neighbors had gotten used to him and didn’t think anything of his background. However, he was sure at a rodeo he would stick out as a city boy.

“Thanks for the offer, dude, but I’d much rather stay home. I can’t hardly stand to sit in the truck for that long and resting my bones on those hard bleachers all afternoon don’t appeal to me at all. You go on and have fun.” Gus took a bite of crispy bacon.

“Have you ever been to a rodeo, dude?” Jimmy asked, glancing at Ty.

“Nope.”

A mischievous smile lit the young man’s face. “Well, maybe you’ll learn something new.”

Ty could only hope Jimmy wouldn’t get it into his head to pull one of his pranks while they were there.

“I think the best way for you to learn all about rodeos is to participate,” Jimmy commented, kicking Cal under the table.

Cal glared at Jimmy but readily agreed with him.“For sure, we better sign you up for something, dude.”

Cal and Keith planned to compete in the team roping event while Jimmy signed up to participate in the ranch-style saddle bronc riding.

“I don’t think so,” Ty said, envisioning them signing him up to do something crazy like ride a bull. He knew just enough about rodeos that he didn’t want them signing him up for any of the events.

“Aw, come on, it’ll be fun,” Jimmy said, not giving up on his quest to involve Ty. “You can barrel race or ride a cow.”