9781618857279MakeMineaCowboySullivanNC (21 page)

“What
are you havin’?”

“Omelet.
You?”

“Bacon
and eggs.”

The
waitress appeared at their table, barely glancing at Mesa, but focusing
entirely on Joel. “Hey, Joel.”

“Hey,
Marie. Coffee, Mesa?”

“Yes
please.”

He
looked up at the waitress and said, “Two coffees. I’ll have bacon and eggs over
medium with hash browns and my lady friend will have?”

“Ham
and cheese omelet.”

“Got
that?”

“Yeah,”
she said, simpering over him and batting her eyes. “Are you busy tonight?”

“Yes,
I am actually.”

“What
about tomorrow night?”

“Sorry,
Marie. I’m not interested in dating you. We’ve already had this discussion
before. You’re a sweet girl, but you aren’t my type.”

“And
she is? Look at her!”

“What’s
between me and Mesa is none of your business. I’ll thank you to remember that
and please call us another waitress.”

“But
I…”

“Ann?”

“Yeah,
Joel?” an older woman called from behind the counter.

“Can
you come here and take our order please.”

“Be
right there.” She grabbed a coffee pot and two cups before she headed over
toward their table. “I got this, Marie.”

Marie
huffed off toward the kitchen, glancing behind her several times.

“Sorry
about her, Joel. You know she’s had the
hots
for you
for a long time. She just doesn’t know when to quit.”

“It’s
fine. I just didn’t want to subject my friend here to her.”

Ann
poured them two cups of coffee, smiling at Mesa and whole time. “You ain’t from
around here.”

“No,
I’m staying at the ranch for a few days.”

“Ann
Quimby
, this is Mesa Arraguso. She’s from L.A.”

“Nice
to meet you, Ann,” Mesa replied, taking her hand in a firm shake.

“You
too, Mesa. I ain’t sure how you corralled this
youngin
’,
but hang on tight. You’re in for the ride of your life, honey.”

Mesa
blushed to the roots of her hair. Was it so obvious they were sleeping together
that the whole town could tell by looking at them? “Thanks for the advice.”

“No
problem, darlin’. What are you two eatin’?”

Joel
repeated the order to Ann then she took off toward the kitchen to get their
order up. Mesa bit her lip and sipped her coffee. Joel watched her over the rim
of his cup, his eyebrow raised over his left eye. “What?”

“You’re
blushin
’.”

“I
didn’t think it was so obvious we’re lovers, but apparently it is.”

“Are
you ashamed, because I’m not.”

“No.
I really didn’t think it was written on my forehead though.” She tapped the
spot between her brows. “You know. Joel’s slut.”

“You
aren’t a slut, Mesa, for God’s sake. There’s a big difference between someone
who goes around sleeping with everyone and anyone and someone who hooks up with
one person for a short term fling.”

“Did
you just hear yourself? It means the same thing, Joel.”

“No,
it doesn’t.” He lowered his voice. “Sluts sleep with everyone or anyone. You
are only sleepin’ with me. Of course, we aren’t doin’ much sleepin’.”

“Shush.
I don’t want everyone hearing you.”

“It’s
none of their business what we do, Mesa.”

“I
still don’t need everyone hearing you talk about our sex life.”

“What
does it matter? After you leave, you won’t ever see them again.”

“What
if I come back?”

“Are
you?”

“Am
I what?”

“Coming
back after you leave.”

“I
don’t know, Joel. It all depends on what happens between us. I mean, maybe we
could just have a fling every year around the same time.” She sipped her coffee
before setting the cup back down. “Isn’t there a movie with the same storyline?
I know.” She snapped her fingers. “It’s called Same Time Next Year. We could do
that.”

He
drank a little of his coffee. “I don’t want to think about when you’re goin’
home.”

“I
don’t either, but it’s reality. I have a life back in Los Angeles. Your life is
here.”

“You’re
becoming a very important part of my life, Mesa.”

“Here
you go, folks.
Omelet for the lady.
Bacon
and eggs for you, Joel.
More coffee?”

“No,
I think we’re good, Ann. Thank you.”

They
ate in silence while the thoughts of going home soured her stomach. She didn’t
want to go back to Los Angeles. She didn’t care about her life there anymore,
but Joel didn’t want to talk about her leaving either.

After
they finished their breakfast and quietly sipped their coffee, Joel asked, “Are
you finished? We can hit the small western wear store for a pair of boots
before we go back to the ranch.”

“Yes,
I’m done.”

She
grabbed her wallet to pay for her breakfast, but he beat her to the tab,
thrusting twenty dollars into Ann’s hands as she brought the bill. “Keep the
change.”

“Thanks,
doll. See you around?”

“Of
course, darlin’. You know I can’t stay away from you.”

He
kissed her on the cheek and jealousy rushed through Mesa.
What the hell? She’s old enough to be his mother.

“Tell
my sister hello for me when you get back to the ranch.”

“I
will. Ma needs to come in here once in a while to get away from the house. She
spends too much time on the books.”

Her sister? Nina is Ann’s sister?
Well that explains the familiarity of Joel with Ann. She’s his aunt!

“Are
reservations up this year?”

“Yeah,
business is doin’ good. Now, if the damned
housin
’
development people would back the hell off and quit
buyin
’
up the properties, we’d be fine.”

“Are
they
buyin
’ up more?”

“Yeah.
One of our neighbors sold out.”

“Y’all
have enough land to keep them from bein’ too close to you.”

“True,
but it cuts down on the range land overall, which makes it difficult for the
wildlife.”

“True,
baby doll.” She patted his cheek before she hugged him. “Kiss your mama.”

“Sure.
Love you.”

“Love
you too, honey. Take care of that girl. She’s good for you, Joel.”

Color
spread across his cheeks as he blushed a deep red. “I will.”

The
warmth of his hand at the small of her back made her feel cared for. She wasn’t
sure why having him show his possession of her on such a visceral level brought
her spirits up, even when it wasn’t what it seemed.

Next
they hit the western store for boots. He helped her pick out a nice part of
Ariat
boots with soft rawhide. The pair hugged her feet,
molding to the shape of her foot so well, she felt like she was walking in
slippers. “These are fabulous, Joel. Thank you for helping me
pick
them out.”

“You’re
welcome, darlin’. I have a pair similar in my closet I wear out dancing because
they are so comfortable.”

“Do
you go to the club a lot?”

“I
wouldn’t say a lot. I don’t go every weekend or anything.”

“What
else do you like to do?”

“
Huntin
’,
fishin
’, four-
wheelin
’,
muddin
’. You know,
outdoorsy things.”

“What’s
muddin
’?”

“You’ve
never been
muddin
’?”

She
laughed and punched his arm. “If I had, I wouldn’t have asked you what it is,
now would I?”

“Well
hell, darlin’. We’ll get the boys together after work this
evenin
’
and show you what a good time
muddin
’ is! We usually
do it on the weekend when we don’t have so much work, but it’s fun in the dark,
too. We get the big ass lights on the back of the truck, turn them on and have
a great time.”

“So
what is it?”

“We
get our trucks out in the big mud bog down near the
fishin
’
hole and race around in it. It’s a blast! You get mud in places you never
thought you’d see mud.”

“Sounds
like fun.”

“Let’s
head back to the ranch. I need to do a little work today if we are gonna get
everyone to cut out early tonight. Mom and Dad will probably go, too. Hell,
they might even invite all the guests. We sometimes get people
settin
’ up their lawn chairs out there just to watch. Some
of the guys from town come out too if they know we are doin’ it, just to join
in.” Joel helped her into his truck before he went around to the driver’s side.
“This is gonna be fun. We haven’t been
muddin
’ in
several weeks. It’s been too busy at the ranch.”

“Are
you sure it’ll be okay?”

“It’ll
be great. It’s been kind of slow at the ranch this week so Mom and Dad
shouldn’t have a problem with it.”

He
started the truck and backed out of the spot at the western wear store.

Several
minutes later, he punched the code into the gate at the front of the ranch.
“Why do you lock the gate?”

“Mostly
to keep unwanted visitors out. We have a pool and some of the local kids want
to come by and swim. We don’t have a lifeguard, so for liability issues, we
keep the place locked. It also keeps out the people wandering around looking
for ranches to check out. We’ve had people poach our cattle before.”

“Wow,
really?”

“Yeah.
We have the longhorns who roam the ranch, but we also have the beef cattle we
use to sell for meat.”

They
pulled up in the front of the main lodge as Nina stepped outside. She waved and
started for the truck. “I’m going to the barn,” he said once they stood in
front of it.

“Chicken.”

“Yep.
I don’t want another lecture from my mother about our love life.” He reached
over and kissed her. “I’ll see you after while. I’ll get the guys set up for
muddin
’ later. You just wear somethin’ you won’t mind
gettin’ all dirty in.”

“Yes,
Sir.”

His
left eyebrow rose. “I like when you say that. We’ll work on it more later.” He
kissed her again just as Nina reached the truck. “Later, Mom.”

“Where
are you goin’?”

“To
work.”

“You
haven’t done anything all morning, young man. What’s
makin
’
you start now?”

He
grinned and started to whistle as he made his way toward the barn without
answering her.

“Where’d
you two go? I didn’t see you at breakfast.”

“We
went to the diner in town since we were late getting up.”

Nina
grinned. “I’m glad you two are gettin’ along much better.”

“Not
that you had anything to do with us not talking to each other yesterday and
then getting into a big fight so we would make up.”

“Me?”

“Playing
matchmaker, Nina?”

“I
just want my son to be happy. You make him happy.” She shrugged. “I haven’t
seen him in such a good mood in a long time.”

“We’ve
come to a mutual agreement.”

“Oh?”

“Yes.
We aren’t going to talk about anything past this week.”

“What
happens after this week?”

“We
don’t know at this point. We’re playing it by ear, so to speak.”

Nina
tilted her head, giving Mesa a look like her mother would. “What do you want to
happen?”

“I
have a life in Los Angeles, Nina. Joel is a great guy and we get along fine,
but I don’t think there is anything beyond this week for us.”

“I’m
sorry to hear you say that, Mesa. I think you two are fabulous together, but I
understand where you are coming from. Moving all the way here would be a huge
mistake on your part. I mean what happens if things don’t work out between you
and Joel?”

“I’ve
been telling myself the same thing for the last couple of days. I’m glad you
understand.”

“I
really do, but let me tell you a story.”

“Okay.”
Mesa took a seat on the picnic bench as Nina sat across from her.

“I
wasn’t born and raised here.”

“But
you’re Native American.”

“Yes,
I am, but Texas is not where I came from. I met the boys’ father when I
traveled with my own father to Washington on a business trip. He was high
counsel in our tribe. The trip was to try to talk the government into giving us
more money for schools and medicine. We didn’t have access to a clinic for the
young girls to go for birth control and my father wanted me to talk to them as
a teenager on the verge of womanhood with all the sexual urges of a budding
young lady.”