Riding the River (20 page)

Matt had explained all this on the ride over
to his grandfather’s ranch. It wasn’t that far from the Walker
guest ranch, but they took Matt’s truck to see the smaller ranch
later.

“Do you think he’ll like me?” asked Sarah
nervously.

“If I love you, so will he…” Matt took ahold
of her hand to calm her nerves.

She’d moved over to sit by him in the front
seat.

Sarah gulped. Absolutely everything she’d
done on this trip was a first for her. Now she was meeting her
boyfriend’s grandfather.
Boyfriend? Lover? What was he
anyway?

“Please don’t be nervous, Sarah. Just be
yourself… You’ll do fine.” He looked over at her. His encouraging
words weren’t making much of a dent. He tried again. “Okay, think
of how I’ll feel meeting your father.”

She turned her head and blinked several
times. Robert Hughes?

“I hadn’t thought of that. It should be a
very interesting meeting, indeed.”

“Why is that?”

Sarah smiled. “You’ll be in jeans and he’ll
be wearing a Gucci suit probably – or Prada. The guy’s a
fashionista…”

“What’s that?”

“A person who loves clothing, fashion.”

Matt knit his brows thinking about that. “…
It does sound interesting. Do you think he’ll like me?”

She kissed his cheek. “Matt, you’ll have to
go to Baltimore to meet him. Have you thought of that? Why would he
come here?”

That stopped him… Baltimore… Way across the
country… On an airplane…

“…Ah…”

Her face fell. “…That’s what I thought. You
don’t want to go there, do you?”

“Not particularly.”

“Then why am I meeting your grandfather?” She
gave him a stern look.

“… He’s closer?”

“… Weak answer…” She’d moved farther away
from him and folded her arms across her chest. Matt knew he was on
thin ice, so he pulled over and stopped the truck. He turned and
reached for her – She moved farther away.

“Sarah, honey…”

“Don’t ‘honey’ me. You never planned on going
back East, did you? It’s not convenient.” She held his gaze. “What
kind of a relationship is this? Was it only because I’m here now?
If we’re just playing around, please let me know – Maybe we got too
serious too fast…”

Matt blinked hard wondering how things got so
crazy so fast. One minute she was kissing his cheek and the next,
she was angrily moving to the other side of the truck. He ran his
hand through his hair and looked as nervous as he felt.

“Wait a minute, Sarah. Let’s not twist this
up into a mess. I fell in love with you – I don’t care where you
came from or how fast it all happened…”

He could see she softened a bit, so he
plunged ahead. “And this is a love relationship, pure and simple. I
love you and you love me. We’ll have to sort out the rest as we
go.”

Even though she was still somewhat pissed,
that actually made sense. Matt could see he’d broken through the
anger when she turned to face him.

“And my father?”

It was Matt’s turn to gulp. “If it’s what you
want, I’ll meet him anywhere on this planet.”

That did it… To his great relief, Sarah moved
back over by him and fell into his waiting arms. He kissed her
hair, her cheeks, nose and lips over and over. She kissed him back
with equal fervor and passion. He’d won her back…

Thank God… After a few more minutes of being
wrapped around each other like vines and a sexy kiss that seemed to
be never-ending… They broke for air. He was breathing hard…

“… Honey, you scared the crap out of me.
Could we please always talk out our differences? I don’t think I
could take your being away from me for very long.”

Sarah gazed at his wonderful face. She
reached up to touch his hair… his cheeks… nose… Matt closed his
eyes at her gentle touch. When she outlined his lips with her
finger, he parted them to softly suck on that finger. He opened his
eyes to her big smile and she caressed his cheek before kissing him
sweetly.

“We’re never going to make it there, are we?”
He whispered in her ear after nibbling on her earlobe.

“Is there much traffic on this road?”

“Never, why?” And then he saw why. His mouth
dropped open as Sarah unzipped her jeans and pulled them off, along
with her underwear. He swallowed hard when she unzipped and opened
his jeans to find what she was looking for -- His erection was hard
and waiting…

“Sarah…what…” he tried to say more, but his
lips went dry.

He put his hands on her hips as she straddled
him and took him in… right there in the front seat of his Chevy
pickup… on an old dirt road a few miles from his grandfather’s
ranch… And he held her steady as she started to move with him.
Matt’s mind was a complete blank… Sarah was in control. The truck
swayed with the constant rhythm of their movements and it heated up
inside the cab in no time. By the time they’d finished and had
their clothes on again, Matt’s mind was a muddle.

She was still sitting close to him,
absolutely relaxed. He marveled at the passion he’d unleashed in
her…

“Jesus, Sarah… What the hell was that?” He
rubbed his forehead hard.

She smiled sweetly at him. “What? Didn’t you
like it?” She leaned over to kiss his lips. “You certainly seemed
to at the time…”

“… Um…”

“Don’t you feel better?” she purred and
kissed both corners of his mouth.

Matt blew out a breath. “Actually, I do…” And
at that moment, he knew the reins had slipped away from him – She’d
always be able to bend him around however she wanted to. Damn…He
looked over at her. Again with that innocent smile… Hmmm… Matt
shrugged his shoulders.
If that’s the way it’s going to be…
Okay…

He couldn’t drag his eyes away from her full,
sensual lips. And that’s when the serious kissing started…

It was close to lunch before they finally
arrived at John Garth’s ranch home. Matt switched off the ignition
and the truck rumbled to a stop. He looked over at Sarah sitting
beside him and put his arm around her.

“I’m not sure what’s worth saying after all
that. That’s the longest it’s ever taken me to get here…”

“… Another first for me.”

“What?”

“… Sex in a vehicle,” she laughed. “Multiple
times…”

Matt leaned his forehead against hers.
“Honey, you’ve turned me inside out and not just from all the sex.
I’m crazy about you…”

“Good. I’m crazy about you too. Shall we meet
your grandfather since we’re here?”

“I barely have the strength to get out of the
truck. What have you done to me?”

She laughed. “Nothing you won’t recover from…
and quickly. I doubt we’ll sleep much tonight either.”

“… Promise?”

He stepped out of the truck and helped her
out. She was smoothing her hair back into her ponytail when she
glanced down.

“Matt, your fly’s unzipped.”

“Jesus…” He groaned and zipped as she doubled
up laughing.

John Garth was watching from the window and
started laughing as well. He remembered those days as a young man
when he’d done the same sorts of things. This girl he had to
meet…

He opened the big front door wide to welcome
them.

“Matt… Great to see you, son.” John gave him
a huge hug and then turned to Sarah. “And who have you brought with
you? Is this Sarah?”

“Yes, Grandpa, this… is Sarah Hughes. Sarah,
John Garth.”

John took a good look at the love of his
grandson’s life. Matt had told him so little about her that John
was sure she was the one. Matt hadn’t brought anyone home to meet
him in a long time…. She was a pretty blonde with a cute ponytail
and deep blue eyes that didn’t miss much. She had a lovely figure
and an expression that said she could keep his grandson in
line…

“How do you do, Mr. Garth. It’s nice to
finally meet you.” Sarah reached out to shake his hand.

“It’s John, please and no handshakes.” He
hugged her instead and liked her already.

“Come on back to the kitchen. You all
hungry?”

“Starved,” said Matt. “We didn’t have much
breakfast and have worked up an appetite.”

Sarah gave him a
Knock it off
look
that John caught part of and he almost laughed.

John’s kitchen was full of good aromas and
was decorated in bright greens and yellows. He had a hearty soup
going with fresh bread and a garden salad. Sarah was thrilled…

Once they were seated and eating, John asked
a few tentative questions.

“How’s your trip going, Sarah?”

“It’s going well, thanks. I love it around
here, John. It’s beautiful country.”

They discussed Baltimore, her job back home,
cooking, computers, horses and everything in between. An hour flew
by…

“Have you taken Sarah to see the ranch next
door?”

“Not yet. We came here first.”

“… Well, show her around here and then go see
the other place.” He turned to Sarah. “It’s a pretty little spread
– About a hundred acres with a sweet ranch house. It needs a bit of
sprucing up, but it’ll make a fine home. Has Matt mentioned he’s
buying it?”

She looked over to smile at Matt. “Yes. It
sounds wonderful.” He smiled back at her and held her gaze.

“Listen, Sarah,” began John. “I understand
you’re staying on here after your trip is over. You’ll be working
at the Walker guest ranch?”

“Yes,” she laughed. “I’ll be using my new
culinary expertise.”

“Where will you live?”

“That’s a question with no answer right this
minute.”

“Why don’t you and Matt stay here? I’ve got
plenty of room. There’s a huge bedroom on the other side of the
house with a bathroom…”

“I wouldn’t want to crowd you, John,” she
demurred.

He looked around. “Sorry, no crowd, but I’d
love for you to stay here.” He turned to Matt. “What do you
think?”

“Great… Sarah?”

She let out a deep breath. “If someone had
told me a few weeks ago, that I’d be moving to Nevada and taking a
job as a cook’s assistant, I would have told them that was
nuts…”

“… What about falling for a cowboy?” Matt
said quietly.

“That would be the nuttiest part of all to
believe.” She looked deeply into Matt’s dark eyes. “… But the
absolute best part…” He leaned over to kiss her, while John
continued smiling at them both. They were sweet and good for each
other… Anyone with eyes could see that.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Sarah went to freshen up in the bathroom,
while Matt helped his grandfather clean up the lunch dishes.

“Well?”

“Well, what?”

“Have you asked her to marry you yet?”

“… No…”

“Why not?”

“We’re still figuring each other out.”

John shook his head.

“… Don’t wait too long, son.”

“How long is too long?”

“… That’s your decision, but she’s here, now.
Anything can happen, Matt, so take advantage of the situation while
you can.”

“…Okay…”

John looked his grandson in the eye.

“Do you love her?”

“Yes, sir…”

“Does she love you?”

“Yes…”

“… What are you waiting for?”

“…Ah…”

“She wants to live here, correct?”

“… Yeah…”

“And you’ve saved up enough to put down on
the ranch next door? Plus, I said I’d help…”

“That would be a good summary of the
situation, Grandpa.”

He threw up his hands in frustration.

“…I just wouldn’t want you to lose her,
son.”

“Do you think I might?”

“She has a family back in Baltimore that
probably loves and misses her, Matt. Don’t underestimate their
influence… She’s a sweet girl and she’s waiting for you, just like
I am.”

Matt rubbed his temples like he was getting a
headache.

“I was married once before, remember?”

“All right, so that happened. But Sarah is in
no way like Betsy and you know it. Sarah’s crazy about you, even I
can see it from the little I’ve seen of the two of you together.
Don’t blow this, Matt…”

“Okay…”

Sarah came back into the kitchen and noticed
the serious expressions on their faces.

“… Somebody die?”

John cracked up at that. “Not yet.” He
glanced at Matt. “Take her out to see the ranch, but say goodbye
before you leave.”

Sarah walked over to give him a hug. “Thanks
so much for lunch.”

“Remember to get your things and come back
tonight. I’ll have the bedroom cleaned up for you two.”

She reached up on her tiptoes to kiss his
cheek. “Thank you.”

John’s eyes got a little misty and Matt
almost laughed. So Sarah had John eating out of her hand too…
Figures… This girl can charm the bees out of the hive…

Matt drove Sarah around his grandfather’s
ranch. After seeing the house, barn, corrals, cattle and horses,
she had a few questions.

“So this is a pretty big ranch?”

“… Close to two thousand acres.”

“And he can have a good sized herd of
cattle?”

“Yes, because he has a lot of grassland and
water on his property. Water’s gold in Nevada…”

“The ranch you’re buying?”

“What about it?”

“… Are you buying it to mesh with your
grandfather’s?”

He looked over at her. “Pretty good. How’d
you figure that?”

“Well… it’s obviously not large enough to run
a big herd, so the land must have other assets that will complement
his ranch.”

Matt smiled at her. “So you’re not just a
pretty face…”

“Ha…”

“You know I’m to inherit my grandfather’s
ranch someday…” She nodded.

“He suggested I buy the ranch next door for
the water rights and additional grassland. I’ll run a herd of
horses on my property and help John with his cattle. We’ve planned
it out for a while now.”

“What’s stopping you?”