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Elise looks mighty fine sitting astride Whiskey, Autumn Pride’s father. I’ve had him for about nine years and he’s damn reliable and loves the ladies. My father often joked, as I became older, that we should have named him Rogue because a filly can’t go anywhere near him with catching his eye.
But watching Elise as she rides him around the outdoor arena, to give him some exercise, is starting to play havoc with my body. Watching her bounce up and down on the saddle is also giving me ideas that I shouldn’t be having right now. Not only is it cold and snowing again, but Anna is walking toward me with a couple I haven’t seen before.
The man looks vaguely familiar now that he’s getting closer. He’s tall, but looks to be on the lean side, as though he’s lost weight by the look of his clothes. The woman beside him has a head full of dark hair, which she’s tried to shove inside a hat without much luck. She looks to be a lot younger than the man, and doesn’t look bad in jeans. His daughter, perhaps?
As Elise trots past on Whiskey, her knowing smirk doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Jake.” Anna arrives beside me. “I’d like you to meet Roger Sullivan and his wife, Georgia.” She turns to the couple. “This is my brother Jake, and his fiancée is Elise, who’s on the beast in the arena.”
I clasp Roger’s outstretched hand in greeting. There’s certainly a lot more years between the couple in front of me than there is between Rona and my father. Georgia looks uncomfortable, and maybe nervous.
“Do you live around here?” I ask in the uncomfortable silence.
“We moved into the old Thacker residence about a month back.” Roger looks around and spends more time than I’d like watching Elise before his eyes drift back to me. “We’ve been waiting to have the house furnished before showing up. We arrived in a blizzard yesterday so I’m glad it’s not as bad today.”
Is he an idiot? Blizzards up here are the norm during the winter months.
“Yeah, well. I hope you like snow because we get a hell of a lot over winter.”
“I like snow enough and so does my wife.” He wraps an arm around Georgia who still seems uncomfortable. “Isn’t that right, honey?”
“I do love snow, although I haven’t skied for some time.” Her smile lights up her whole face.
“Hello. I’m Elise.”
I’d spent too much time trying to work out the dynamics of the strangers’ relationship to realize Elise has stopped riding.
After everyone has introduced themselves to Elise, I wrap my arm around her and pull her into my side wondering whether or not it would be rude for me to excuse us and let Anna deal with the couple. This guy is setting off my bullshit radar, and I sure as hell don’t want Elise anywhere near them, but then that would leave Anna alone with them.
Fuck!
“We better get going.” Roger takes hold of Georgia’s arm in a tight grasp. He notices my eyes on his hand and releases her slightly. “It’s been nice meeting you all. Perhaps you’ll come to our housewarming once Georgia gets one arranged.”
“That would nice.” Elise smiles.
Standing with Anna and Elise as we watch them head back to the house. I can’t help wondering what is going on with them. Georgia seemed more like a possession than a wife.
“That was weird,” Elise comments.
“I know, right?” Anna agrees. “I bumped into Georgia in town. I overheard her talking about moving close by so I introduced myself and told her about the house. She seemed okay until Roger showed up. Then she was skittish, I suppose. What do you think is going on?”
“I don’t know, but I’d rather see both of you avoid being alone with him.”
“You really got that bad a vibe about him?” Elise asks, while Anna waits for my answer.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Okay.” Anna smiles before walking away. “I’ll see you both later,” she shouts over her shoulder.
Elise
Shaking my head, I wrap my arms around Jake and snuggle into him. All the way around the arena, I knew what he was thinking because it was written all over his face especially with the direction of his gaze. Purely focused on my bottom as I rode Whiskey.
I wanted him to join me and put out the fire he’s created within me. The flames diminished slightly with the other couples arrival, but now they’re starting to rise again.
Lifting my head, I meet Jake’s gaze, bring my lips to his. The kiss is slow and lingering. “I love you,” I whisper against his mouth.
When Jake smiles his whole face lights up. “I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing those words until
