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She pulls out her phone, most likely putting a call into her mother to figure out this mistake. “I need to make a call.” She holds her finger in front of my face. “Mother, what site did you use to book my accommodations?”
“Mmm hmm. I see.” I watch her as she paces only a few steps back and forth as she listens to, I guess, her mom on the other end. “Well, we will be discussing this as soon as I get back.” She brings the phone down from her ear and turns towards me. Those brilliant emerald eyes connect with mine, and I have a hard time pulling my attention away.
I clear my throat to break the thought of taking her immediately to my bed rather than giving directions to the guest room down the hall from mine. “Look, this must be a huge mistake or something going on between our mothers. I’m an asshole, but since my mother does have something to do with this misunderstanding, she’d kick my ass if I left you on the porch all night. Let’s sleep, and then we can find out what’s going on in the morning. What do you say?”
Rusty chooses that very moment to come barreling into the living room to greet our new guest… intruder… I haven’t decided yet, since my cock is doing way too much thinking at the moment.
“Eekk! What is that?” Julia yells, and Rusty jumps around her, trying to get her scent as his tail waggles like it’s a windshield wiper on high.
“That is Rusty. A dog…” Yes, I could call him off, but I’m enjoying myself watching her squirm and trying to get away from him when all he wants to do is smell and lick her. Hell, I want to smell and lick her also, but in a very different way. Dammit, just stop thinking like that, you horny bastard.
“I know it’s a dog. Why is it not on a leash?” she asks and ducks behind me, grabbing both of my shoulders to steady herself. I can’t help but laugh. It’s a full-on belly laugh; which has not happened in an extremely long time.
“Rusty, stop,” I command, and he immediately obeys and comes to my side. “He’s not on a leash because he’s in his home. You woke him up, and now he wants to play.”
“Well, I’ll only stay here if you promise to keep him on a leash.”
“Look, lady. I’m not going to beg you to stay. The option for you to leave is always there. If you’re stayin’, the guest room is that door right there.” I point to the room just off of the living room. “My room is down this hall.” This time, I point in the opposite direction, then I start walking to my room. “Come on, boy,” I call to Rusty and let her make her choice.
Chapter 4
Julia
“I stayed here last night and that was long enough. There’s no way I'm going to stay here in the middle of nowhere. I was supposed to be at a quiet place right now. You know, alone, to plan upcoming action tasks for work, Mother."
“Darling, just stay and refresh your mind by the different scenery. I’m sure it’s handsome… I mean, beautiful out in the Texas hill country. Plus, it’s way too early to be making changes. Why don’t you go find some coffee, wake up a little? Better yet, let me get some coffee and wake up, then I’ll call you back,” she suggests.
“There’s even a dog here.”
“Oh, what kind of dog?” she counters.
“It looks like a golden retriever. You know I’m afraid of dogs.”
“And it’s about time you grew out of that. Nothing bad has ever happened to you from any dog. I told you not to watch that horror show with all those dogs. Yet, you didn’t listen to me, and you’ve been on edge with dogs ever since.”
“No, Mom…” I start, but I’m cut off.
“Bye, Julia. I’ll talk to you after a while. Love you.” With those parting words, the call disconnects.
Well, fuck. If she worked for me, I would fire her on the spot. She knows that too, and that's why she would never work for me, even if I offered to pay her more than she could imagine. I toss my phone on the bed and take a chance to go explore to find caffeine.
With the light shining brightly in the room through the sheer curtains that hang on the large window, I get a good look at my surroundings. It’s nicely decorated with what looks like handcrafted furniture made from wooden logs, and a multicolored patchwork quilt covers the bed. So, I take a few steps to the window and pull the fabric back to peek outside. It takes my breath away at how green it is.
At home, smack in the middle of downtown Houston, is all concrete, metal, and glass that I look at on a daily basis. Here, there’s lush grass that a few horses munch on behind a long wooden fence, full trees roll down a line to border the flat landscape, and a white barn sits only about fifty yards away with the sliding doors open at the end of the structure.
Excited for the explorer inside of me that’s been dormant for so long, my need for caffeine is forgotten. I quickly dress and venture outside to scope out the area.
I open the back door. The air here is so crisp and clean and easy to breathe in versus the smog of the city. It’s quiet too. All I hear is crickets communicating amongst themselves and a few birds chirping between the trees.
Through the open barn doors, it’s just what I expected. A few horse stalls sit, one on each side, and there’s a corner of hay piled high with a tack room on the opposite side. However, there’s more to this barn than just an animal stable. It’s bigger than that, and the other set of sliding doors proves it.
At first glance, I know just where the furniture came from in the room I slept in last night. There are rows of logs lined up along one wall, a variety of saw tables arranged neatly around, and the sweet smell of fresh cut wood makes me smile. Creativity and artistry lie around this room in unfinished pieces, waiting on their master to complete and make them into their fullest glory.
Looking beyond the equipment, I see a tall, fit man, with arm muscles that are defined by the work he does in this very room. Ryan, with his head down in obvious concentration on a large work of art before him, doesn't notice me. So, I take a moment to admire his work. And him.
He’s only the most handsome man I’ve ever laid my eyes on. That circular wood carving, of what looks like it’s going to be an owl with intricate designed feathers, is stunning. It’s amazing. This man has so much talent. It blows me away and pulls me in to walk towards it for a closer look.
I take only a few steps inside the workroom when Ryan takes notice and raises his head to see who's invading his personal space.
