“Only if you come with me,” he says. My eyes roam the room as I look at the mess. “You can clean that up later.”
“How about I sleep on the couch?” I say, hoping he goes to sleep in his own bed.
“Fine.” He turns to walk away. I clean up as fast as I can and then turn on the little light over the stove. Walking over to the couch, I stop when I see him standing there with a pillow under his arm. “Get in.” I just look at him. “I have to sleep on the edge.”
“You don’t have to sleep on the couch with me.” Shaking my head, I walk over to the couch, then lie on my side with my back to the cushions. He puts a pillow next to the one my head is lying on, then covers us both with the blanket.
“Night, darlin’.” He turns his head and kisses my lips.
“Night, cowboy,” I say, putting my head close to his. I don’t know how fast it takes me to fall asleep, but the next time I open my eyes, the sun is slowly creeping in. I look over and see that Casey is trying to get up without disturbing me.
“What time is it?” I whisper, and he looks over his shoulder at me.
“Six fifteen.” He gets up. “Go back to sleep. I’m late.” He walks to his bedroom.
“How are you late for anything?” I ask him as the sound of his laughter comes from his bedroom.
“I’m up at five usually and in the barn by five thirty.” He comes out with his Levi’s on while he slips into his white T-shirt. “I’ll be back at seven, and we can walk over for breakfast.” He brushes back his hair with his hands. “Think you’ll be ready?”
“I’m ready now,” I say. Tossing the covers back, I get off the couch. I don’t notice that my shorts have risen, showing off my long legs. I’ve been told I have great legs, and they go on for miles. It’s why Victoria’s Secret took me. He looks at me up and down. “I mean, I can be ready in ten minutes.” Running to the bedroom, I slip on my blue capri yoga pants and a sports bra with a midriff black shirt. I grab my sneakers and walk out to see him putting on his boots.
“You have a sweater?” he asks, and I look over at him in a T-shirt.
“Why? It’s warm out.” Sitting on the steps, I put on my socks, then slip on my shoes. “I’m fine.”
“Darlin’.” He stands up, and I just look at him. “You are walking into a barn with your skin showing.”
“Ankles are not pieces of the body, cowboy.” I shake my head at him. “It’s just ankles. You know, in some countries, the ankles are considered the sexiest part of a woman’s body,” I say, tying up my hair, but my shirt rises, and he looks at me, shaking his head. “They are all covered from head to toe, but they keep their ankles out.”
“You don’t say?” he says from beside me. Our hands graze while we walk, and his pinky reaches out to hold mine. The rest of the walk to the barn is quiet. I listen to the sounds of birds in the distance, and I swear it’s the calmest place in the world.
When we get to the barn, he opens the doors. “Welcome to my office,” he says. Walking into the barn, I see it looks almost new. I follow him as he walks into the little kitchen to start the coffee. “Want to see Lady Princess?” he asks, and I nod as we walk to the first stall. The horse sticks her head out.
“Well, hello there, pretty girl,” I say, rubbing the front of her nose. She blows out, and her tail wags. “Aren’t you a beauty?”
“Do you ride?” I look over at him. Something about Casey is that I can’t keep my secrets from him. It’s almost as if I know it’s safe with him.
“I did when I was younger, and then it got in the way of other things.” I leave it at that. I don’t say that it got in the way of my pageant training, and the one time I came in second place, she sold my horse and refused to let me ride anymore. “I used to love it.”
He walks away from me, but I continue petting the horse. When he comes back out, he is holding two cups in his hand. He hands me one of the cups. “Come sit in the office.” I follow him in the office, and I don’t know why I’m expecting to see a dusty office with papers all over the desk, but what is there is a brown desk with four huge monitors on it. Then another desk on the side with six monitors as it flashes to different parts of the farm.