Lingerie and Lariats (Rough & Ready#7) (8 page)

The following morning was bright and sunny, the ground dark from last night’s rain. Renee stepped onto the porch as she waited for Dan to return to the house. It was Saturday morning and he wasn’t working today. He’d gone out to do chores early this morning while she was still in bed. He usually gave his ranch hands weekends off.

She braced her hands on the porch railing, the painted wood feeling rough and weathered beneath her palms. The rain-washed air smelled sweet and the breeze off the wet ground felt cool on her bare legs and arms. Later in the day the ground would dry from the strength of the sun.

Water in mud puddles rippled in the breeze and she felt like a little kid as she eyed them and had the overpowering urge to go walk in a particularly large one between Dan’s sheriff department’s SUV and his big white truck.

She pushed away from the railing and jogged down the steps that were rough beneath her bare feet. When she reached the ground, she walked through a tire track and mud squished beneath her toes. She wore jean shorts and a red tank top. Rocks pricked her tender bare feet. As a youngster, the soles of her feet had grown tough and callused from running around barefoot all of the time. That wasn’t the case now.

When she stepped into the mud puddle she grinned. The cool dark water went up to her ankles and mud and silt shifted beneath her feet. She kicked the water and it splashed up to her shins.

“Don’t you look cute.” Dan’s voice had her turning around. He wore an old work shirt and faded Wranglers along with scuffed brown boots with muddy soles. His thumbs were hooked in his front pockets and he wore an amused expression.

She grinned impishly at him. “Why don’t you join me?” She kicked the water and it splashed it near his boots.

“I’ve got a better idea.” He moved the few feet to where she stood, caught her by the waist and flung her over his shoulder in one fast movement.

She giggled and swatted his ass with her hand. “Put me down, you big brute.”

He swung her down and settled her on her feet. “Why don’t you get some shoes on and I’ll show you around?”

“I left my sneakers on the porch.” She jogged up the porch stairs and picked up her old canvas shoes before returning.

He ran water from a hose and she rinsed off her feet. She put on the old shoes she’d used for gardening in the little plot she’d had in her backyard in Philadelphia. Because of her stepfather’s death and all that she’d had to take care of, she hadn’t planted anything this year and she missed having a garden to tend to. It had been relaxing, a stress reliever.

After she had her shoes on, she walked beside Dan and they headed toward the corrals and outbuildings. She shoved her hands in her back pockets as they passed a small riding arena. They walked up to a corral that penned a small herd of red Hereford cattle with their distinctive white faces and underbellies.

The pungent smell of manure carried on the breeze along with the low mooing sounds of the cattle as Dan and Renee passed the corral.

They entered the barn’s cool, dim recesses. It smelled of manure, alfalfa hay, and sweet oats. He had four horses, all Quarter Horses, which included a black stallion, two sorrel mares, and a blue roan mare. She liked the blue roan in particular, a pretty horse named Apple. Because of her petite height, Renee had to step on an upside down paint can by the stall door. When she looked over the door, she noticed a wobbly-legged palomino foal beside Apple.

“What’s the foal’s name?” Renee looked over her shoulder at Dan.

“Peaches.” Dan smiled, seeming to enjoy her delight.

She glanced at the palomino. “That fits.” She looked back at Dan. “Can we go riding sometime?”

“How about this afternoon?” he asked as he went to a fifty-gallon oil drum and removed the lid then scooped out a small can of pellets. “I need to visit Mrs. Grady down the road. I can introduce you to her.”

“I’d love that.” Excitement flowed through her veins.

He returned with the feed and handed the can to her. “You can feed the girls some pellets if you’d like.”

She accepted the can, poured some of the pellet feed onto her palm and let Apple snuffle her hand. Her nose felt soft, her breath warm as she ate the pellets from Renee’s hand. From her position on the paint can she couldn’t reach Peaches, so Dan fed the foal some pellets.

Renee ran her fingers down Apple’s face and looked into her big eyes that seemed to study her so patiently. Dan swung Renee down from the paint can unnecessarily, but causing her to laugh. She fed pellets to the other horses and stroked their necks. Only the stallion didn’t seem to appreciate the attention.

“Firebrand is a little high strung sometimes.” Dan patted the stallion’s neck. “He’ll get used to you.”

Dan showed her around the rest of the small ranch. The back of the house with its lawn and shady sycamores was as well kept as the front, but there was a fenced-in patch of land that was weed-choked.

“Was that a garden?” Renee asked as she met Dan’s gaze.

“My mama raised tomatoes, peppers, squash, lettuce, radishes, garlic, and onions, along with watermelon and pumpkins,” Dan said. “I never have had time to keep it up. I’ve thought about taking down the fence and letting the lawn overtake it, but just haven’t had the heart to.”

“I love to garden.” Renee looked at the patch of land, itching to plant something now that she saw the small plot. “The one in my backyard was much smaller but gardening was something I enjoyed doing. This summer is the first time I haven’t had a garden in ages.”

Dan’s cell phone rang. He un-holstered it and answered with, “Sheriff Cooper here.” He glanced at Renee. “Hi, Zane. Yes, Renee is right here with me.” Dan paused as he listened, then said, “Just a moment and I’ll check.” He held the phone away from his ear. “How does tomorrow sound for the barbeque with the Cameron bunch?”

She smiled. “Terrific.”

“Yep,” Dan said into the phone. “What time?” When the call ended, Dan closed his phone and re-holstered it. “Noon tomorrow,” he told Renee.

“That should be fun.” She imagined getting to see the twins, Wayne and Wyatt, and Dillon again. She’d never met their little sister, and she wondered if Danica would be there, too. Renee would love to meet the youngest Cameron and her bull rider husband.

“Ready for that ride?” Dan asked as they walked toward the house.

With a nod she said, “Can’t wait.”

Inside the house, she changed into jeans and a pair of sturdy shoes in the guest room then jogged downstairs to the kitchen. Dan had prepared roast beef sandwiches on multi-grain bread cut in halves. He also had a bag of potato chips out and bottles of cold water.

They sat at the kitchen table and her stomach growled as she put a sandwich and chips on her plate. She happily munched on her food. “Do you remember putting chips on our sandwiches when we were kids?” She opened the second half of her roast beef sandwich and laid chips on it then grasped it by both hands and bit into it. It crunched and she laughed as he grinned and did the same with his sandwich.

When they finished their lunch he helped her apply sunscreen to all her fair skin that showed. She liked the feel of his callused hands on her as he rubbed in the lotion. Even though the atmosphere between them was for the most part relaxed, there was still a sexual tension that always hummed beneath the surface.

Once they were ready, Dan saddled up the twin sorrel mares, Nanette and Natasha. He would ride Nan. Both mares were spirited but well trained and easy to ride, according to Dan. He put bottles of water into one saddlebag.

He helped her mount Tasha and for a moment she had to gain her bearings. She hadn’t ridden a horse for almost thirty years. Dan mounted his own horse and then they started out.

“Wow, but it’s been a long time.” Renee felt the coiled energy of the big horse as it moved beneath her while they headed over a rise behind the outbuildings and corrals. She gripped the horse with her knees and clenched the reins for a few minutes before she started to relax and fall into the rhythm of the horse’s gait.

“Like falling off a bike,” he said as he looked at her.

“Only a lot higher up.” She smiled at him. “Not to mention a horse has a mind of its own, as opposed to a bike.”

 “You’ve got me there.” He grinned. “Why don’t we ride around a bit and then we’ll go to Mrs. Grady’s.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They rode over rolling grasslands and through pockets of oaks and mesquite. There were places where washes had carved out small canyons that made for secluded areas. Thanks to the rain last night, water was in the washes and in the two small tree-shaded canyons. In those areas, the ground was untouched by the sun and cool and soft, the horses leaving deep hoof prints. They saw rabbits and ground squirrels along with birds, but no other animals.

The day was nice and they rode up to a rise that was high enough that they had a wonderful view of the valley that stretched far and wide until it ended at the foot of steep mountains.

As they talked and laughed, a part of her felt a little sad that she had missed out on so much of this country life once she was taken and moved back East. But a greater part of her chose to live for the moment, to enjoy today. She pushed Jerry and all the problems that went along with him to the back of her mind. Only small flits of thoughts came to her here and there—all of which she banished. She wasn’t going to miss out on having fun with Dan.

He had a good memory for things they had done as kids that she’d forgotten until he brought them up. She’d had fun being the only girl in the Cameron bunch and had been part tomboy. Aunt Grace and Maria had made sure she had girl-fun too, and she’d felt like she’d had the best of both worlds. When her mother and stepfather had taken her, she’d had to leave the tomboy part of her behind.

They had been riding for some time before they reached a dirt road that led to Mrs. Grady’s house. It was a weathered farmhouse with a well-tended vegetable garden in the back along with three apple trees. To the south was a pigpen containing three small pigs and one large pig. A milk cow stood watching them from a pen on the other side of the pigpen, and there was a vine-covered henhouse with close to a dozen chickens. Both the pigpen and the cow pen had lean-to shades for the animals to go under during the heat of the day, and they contained large water and feeding troughs.

“Mrs. Grady trades apples, vegetables, milk, and eggs to the neighbors in exchange for feed for the animals,” Dan said as he dismounted his horse. “When it’s time to butcher her pigs, she sells hams, bacon, and other pork cuts to pay for staples that she uses year round.” He looped the reins of both horses over the porch railing.

“How old is Mrs. Grady?” Renee asked as Dan came around, grasped her by her waist, and helped her dismount.

“She just turned seventy.” He set Renee on the ground. “I help her out when I can. She insists on sending me home with eggs. Farm raised eggs are the best, so I don’t complain,” he said with a smile.

The screen door squeaked as an older woman stepped out of the house and onto the porch. She looked more like she was in her sixties than seventies.

“How are you doing today, Mrs. Grady?” Dan said as he walked to the porch steps with Renee by his side.

“Doing good, Sheriff Cooper.” The woman smiled. “I see you have a friend with you today.”

“This is Renee Winfield.” He rested his hand on her shoulder. “She lived with the Camerons for a short time when she was young.” He, in turn, introduced Renee to the older woman. “Renee, Mrs. Grady has been a long time family friend.”

Renee smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“A pleasure,” Mrs. Grady said.

After introductions, Mrs. Grady showed Dan a few things she needed taken care of. He oiled the screen door’s hinges, fixed a broken kitchen drawer, changed some high-up light bulbs, and poured a fifty-pound bag of feed into a drum, along with taking care of a few other things.

While she helped the woman around the kitchen, Renee’s mouth watered the whole time because of the smell of the apple pie baking in the oven.

It turned out that Mrs. Grady was somewhat of a history buff and she talked about the nearby ghost towns and the history of the San Rafael Valley as Renee listened.

Dan came in when he’d finished the odds and ends Mrs. Grady had needed done.

“Time for some apple pie a la mode,” Mrs. Grady said as he walked through the doorway.

“Sounds wonderful,” Dan said and Renee chimed in her agreement.

Mrs. Grady served big pieces of hot apple pie with fat scoops of ice cream, and they sat around her round kitchen table. Dan and Renee cleaned up every bite of pie on their plates and Mrs. Grady looked on, obviously pleased by the way they ate their desserts with gusto.

“Amazing.” Renee sighed. Her fork made a light clinking sound as it settled on the plate. “Thank you so much for that wonderful dessert. I adore apple pie with French vanilla ice cream and I think that’s the best I’ve ever had.”

“You’re quite welcome.” Mrs. Grady went to the fridge as Renee carried the bowls and forks to the sink.

As Renee washed the few dishes and Dan dried them, Mrs. Grady brought out two cartons of eggs. “Here you go,” she said as she set them on the table. “Thank you for the help around the house.”

Dan dried the last bowl. “It was no problem. I appreciate the eggs and the pie.”

“Be sure and bring your special lady back soon.” The way Mrs. Grady said “special lady” made Renee’s cheeks warm. It was clear the woman believed Dan and Renee were more than friends.

“I’ll do that,” Dan said with a wink at Renee.

She felt her stomach flip just from that sexy little wink.

Renee and Dan said their goodbyes and then they walked to the horses. She tilted her head to the side. “How are you going to get those eggs home on horseback?”

He reached into a saddlebag and pulled out a padded insulated bag. “This usually does the trick.” He put the eggs away then helped Renee mount her horse before mounting his own.

In moments they were headed back to his home and Renee felt happier than she’d been in a long time.