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"That sounds like a threat, don't it Butch?" Dan the youngest hollered.
"And we don't take to being threatened." Butch put his hand on top his gun. "Especially by the likes of you, Cord."
"Easy," Jason warned him.
"Neither do I." Cord grimaced.
"We'll be seein' you Cord." Butch jabbed his horse with his heels.
Cord watched them ride off, wondering how long it would be before they decided to come calling again. He didn't want trouble, but it seemed to follow him. How was he going to manage a wife and kid with them staring down his neck? He needed to be rid of the Dubs boys, but violence didn't play a part in his future anymore. So how was he gonna arrange that?
He needed to get rid of them, but how did he do that legally?
He went back to working his brain and his body. He had no answers today, but it would come to him.
Thoughts of Lilly ran through his mind many times since he'd been home, today being no exception. He couldn't believe the skinny little kid of a girl he left behind had turned into such a beauty. And he wasn't forgetting that welcome home kiss she gave him either. He'd never forget that. It came at a time when his heart was heavy, with the loss of his mother. No sir, he wouldn't be forgetting that kiss as long as he lived. To an ordinary person that kiss might not have meant much, but to Cord, it meant the world. It made him hope for the future. It made him dream.
And Cord wasn't a dreamer!
He worked for another hour, then went inside and made himself some lemonade. He sat on the porch and waited for Pedro to come back from town.
But the rider coming toward him wasn't Pedro, it was Lilly.
She rode up slowly, taking him all in with one glance. "Hot isn't it?" She smiled. She was wearing a leather riding skirt and vest with a white shirt. Her hat was kind of crooked but her hair was gorgeous, falling over her shoulders in ringlets down her back. Cord always loved her hair, the sun seemed to bounce right off of it.
"Sure is. Been digging post holes, so yeah…" He smiled at her.
"Charlie was so talkative after that fishing trip. He had a million things to say all of them praising you." Lilly chuckled. "You made quite an impression on him."
"Well, it's nice to hear." Cord watched her walk up the steps to the porch. It was the way she walked up, swaying her hips and looking at him like he was a piece of pie. He thought she might just drift right into his arms, but she politely sat down in the rocker next to his.
"You told him he was yours?"
Cord nodded not taking his eyes from her. "I did."
"What if he finds out?" Lilly asked hesitantly.
"He won't. Who knows different?"
"His father, I guess…I hope you don't regret it."
He glanced at her with a sexier than sin smile and his eyes went over her with nothing less than pure pleasure. "The only thing I regret is that I didn't have the pleasure. And I mean that in a nice way. If it had been me, it would have been much different. And don't think I didn't think about it back then, because I did. And I've got to admit, I'm thinking about it a lot more now."
Her face pinked.
He let that sink in.
Lilly stared wide-eyed as her jaw fell open in surprise.
He chuckled softly.
"What's so funny?" She asked.
"You are gorgeous when you're flustered. Your gorgeous when you smile, hell, your gorgeous all the time."
"I-I'm glad you like me." She tried to laugh. "And I’m glad I rode out here."
"Like you? Honey we are way past that." He winked. "And I’m glad you came out too."
