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“I promise on my granddaddy’s grave, I’ll be a perfect gentleman,” I said and placed my hand over my heart.
She nodded.
I reached for my bodywash and lathered up my hands. Deciding we needed an ice breaker after all our fun conversation, I began washing her feet and asked, “Tell me your name.”
“Miranda,” she said in a clipped tone.
Clearly, she wasn’t a fan of me right now. I couldn’t say I totally blamed her. “Miranda. Like Thor? Or Cher?” I asked, hoping my joke would crack a smile.
It didn’t.
“No. All you need to know is my name is Miranda.”
I sighed as I worked my way up to her legs. “You know, this won’t work if you don’t trust me.”
“Why should I trust you?” She snorted.
“Well, I caught you when you fainted. I respected your wishes and didn’t take you to a doctor when most sane men probably would have. And because I’m a good, honest, and fair person, I always try to do what’s right and would never try to take advantage of someone when they’re down on their luck,” I stated as I reached her upper thighs. I noticed her breath quickened.
She gazed into my eyes as if she was trying to find the answer to her question there. With a slight nod, she said, “Caffery. My full name is Miranda Caffery.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’m going to wash your arms now.” I was skipping over a few areas—namely between her legs and chest—because I didn’t think she’d appreciate me cleaning those spots. I wanted to prove to her that I wasn’t the scoundrel she thought I was.
Slowly, she raised one arm out at a time, so she could attempt to save some of her privacy. Wanting to make this as easy for her as possible, I kept my head held high, so she could see I wasn’t sneaking a peek. “Want to tell me what brought you to my neck of the woods in beautiful Dixon, Wyoming?” Living in a small town, the other residents and I weren’t very used to outsiders. Every now and then we’d have a couple or family stop by for a long weekend. It was peaceful here and a nice place to get away from the rest of the world. But never had we had someone literally drop in during the middle of the week to visit.
“It’s a long story,” she replied and let her head drop forward as if she physically couldn’t handle the weight of it.
“Hey, everything is going to be okay now, I promise,” I said, cleaning her other hand and arm. We had only met, but I meant every word. This woman had clearly been given a shitty hand in life and I was going to change that for her. What good was being a multi-millionaire, if I couldn’t help out a person in need every once in a while?
“How can you say that?” she asked, lifting her head.
Tears pooled in her eyes, and it felt like I had been punched in the gut. She suddenly seemed even smaller and like she was carrying the weight of the world. I’d do anything to wipe the look off her face.
“Well, I’m a pretty determined fellow. Once I set my mind to something, I can fix most any problem.” I wanted to reassure her and try to take some of the stress she was feeling off her shoulders.
“Not this one.”
Her tears fell down her cheeks, and it took everything in my power to not lose control, march out of this bathroom, and kick whoever’s ass was responsible for causing her this much pain. I might have just met her an hour ago, but something about her pulled at my heartstrings.
Not wanting to upset her and to cool myself down, I thought it’d be best to switch the conversation. “Let’s table this discussion for now. How ’bout you tell me… do you like horses?”
She took a shaky breath, looking up at the ceiling momentarily and then focused back on me. “Honestly, they scare me. I’ve only been close to one a couple of times, but they’re so big and strong. I’m terrified they’ll stomp on me.”
“Turn toward the wall.”
“What?” She scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at me like I was nuts.
“I need to wash your back.”
“Oh,” she murmured and did what I had originally asked.
I took a seat next to her and continued our conversation. “You’re right. Horses are very large and powerful creatures and, if not treated correctly, they can cause some serious injuries to a human. However, I don’t think you’d end up harmed by one.”
“Really? Why?” She turned slightly so she could look at me.
“In my experience, folks who get hurt do so because they’re cocky. They think they can boss a horse around, and that isn’t true. You have to be firm with them, but kind. A horse will do whatever you want if you treat them well. Since you already have a healthy respect for them, I can’t see you meeting one and trying to show it who’s in charge.”
“Makes sense. Oh, that feels heavenly.” Miranda let her head and shoulders slump forward as I massaged her tense muscles.
