“Sure. It fits him. He’s always going around telling everybody what to do.” He shrugs, and his soft smile is back. “Let me show you the house and we can talk about what you’ll be doing here.” A teasing glint hits his eyes.
“I didn’t say I was staying.” I pull my hand from his grip and take a step back. I need to get my head in control, and I can’t when he’s so close to me and giving me those panty-combusting smiles.
Ignoring me, Blake goes over to my car and opens the passenger door and takes out my bag. Yep, Blake does what he wants. I open my mouth to tell him to stop, but he turns around, puts my bag on his shoulder, and cuts me off.
“The way I see it, Lucy, you’ve got two choices. Stay here on the farm to do the work you need. Or stay here on the farm and do the work you need. Seems like an easy choice to me.”
I roll my eyes and watch him walk past me. “That’s not a choice. And my name isn’t Lucy,” I say, and then let loose some Spanish. I tell him just because he has a great ass doesn't mean I’m going to do what he says. He stops on the porch and looks back at me, and for a second I worry he understood what I said because I see the heat in his eyes. But he simply winks at me and walks in the door, somehow knowing I'm following him. He does have my bag, after all.
I let out a frustrated grunt and follow him. It’s hot as hell outside, and I’ve got on jeans, boots, and a white tank top. I’m used to the Texas heat, but this much is only going to make me a sweaty mess in ten seconds flat. My long, dark, loose braid is flipped over one shoulder, and I brush my bangs out of my eyes as I step into the shade of the porch.
Walking in, I see Blake standing in the living room. The house looks new, and I can’t help but appreciate how nice it is. After living in a house built by my father, I appreciate the craftsmanship of building a home and notice all the details of the wood here. Someone took their time building this and their dedication shows.
“This is really beautiful,” I say, looking at the stone fireplace.
“Thank you. I built it myself,” he replies. I glance over at him, not sure if I believe that. “I swear.” Something about that does something deep inside me. He's built a home. Not only a home for himself, but a home for a family. Showing me a part of who he is. What Blake wants out of life.
He laughs because he must see I’m skeptical about him building it. The place has a homey vibe to it, but it feels so spacious. I shared a room with my sister most of my life, and then moved to the attic when she got married and started making babies. Living with six other people in a house is cramped. All of a sudden, a wave of homesickness hits me. I miss the loud sounds of the kids and everybody yelling. This isn’t forever, but it feels like a big step away from the life I knew.
“Hey,” Blake says, coming up in front of me and taking my chin in his hand. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Sorry. Just the first time I’m away from home.” I feel comforted by his touch and the wave passes. I feel silly for reacting childishly, but it’s part of the reason I’m doing this. To grow up and experience the life I’ve always dreamed of. I'm so used to being home and surrounded by people, by family.
“Hopefully I can make that as easy as possible. Let me give you the grand tour.” His steel-blue eyes sparkle with delight, and I can’t help but smile at him in return. He seems delighted to have me here. Excited even, like he's bursting to show me his home. Wanting me to like it.
He takes his hat off and tosses it on the couch, then runs his big hand through his dark locks. God, I didn’t think he could get any hotter, but damn I was wrong. His hair is longer than I expected, and it falls into his eyes as he takes my hand again and leads me to the kitchen.
“This is the place I know nothing about. Apparently food comes out of it, but it only works for me if someone else is doing it.”
I shake my head and laugh as I walk into the space and see how big and new it is. This is the kind of kitchen my mama would have killed for. I’m already thinking of all the breads I could roll out on that huge island.
“Dr. Long said I’d be here working with the animals until I reached my clinical hours. Then you’d possibly have a full-time position for me. Or at least enough work in this area to keep me from having to go back into town and to keep him from having to travel out this way so much.”
“That’s right,” Blake says, leaning a hip on the counter. “I have two brothers and a sister, and we all have land out here with animals that need looking after. We need someone to do vaccination, well checks, and be on call if something goes wrong. We've had a couple of instances before where Dr. Long couldn’t get here fast enough and we lost some animals. We don't want that happening again. It would be nice if we could do it all in-house.”
I nod, understanding that it's a long way from town, and seconds count in emergencies. With this much land and this many animals, I could see why they’d want their own vet.
“Let me show you to your room and we can talk some more. Help you decide.”
His big body pushes away from the counter and he walks over to me. He surprises me by taking my hand again and leading me down a hall. As we pass a few doors, he explains they are empty rooms needing to be filled, bathrooms, and an office. His bedroom is at the end of the long hall, and there’s a door beside it. He opens it and we step inside. It's full of light with a daybed against one wall. There are white pillows and soft blankets laid on it and it looks like someplace you’d want to lie down and take a nap. The room is cozy and smaller than I imagined.
“Sorry about the size, but the other guest rooms aren’t done yet. I built this one as a nursery since it’s close to the master.”
“A nursery?” I ask, looking up at him. “Do you plan on kids?”
The thought of him having a baby with someone makes a little green monster rumble inside me. I hadn’t thought about him having a girlfriend, and suddenly I’m not liking the idea. But I was right. He’d built this home for a family. His family.
“Someday,” he says, reaching out and tucking my hair behind my ear. “As soon as I can.”
The tingle between my legs should be a warning sign. But for a moment I allow myself to pretend he means me.
Chapter 5
Blake
I watch Lucy as she stares at the wild horses running through the field. I’m unable to take my eyes off her as she gazes at them in wonder. The wind blows locks of her hair that have slowly escaped her braid throughout the day. She looks like she belongs here. That thought has been running through my mind all day.
She has a way with animals like I’ve never seen before. Her touch is always soft and calming, making them come easily to her. They do exactly what she wants them to. Even when I took her out to see our ornery goat Billy, who bites anyone that gets near him. He was rubbing against her like he was a fucking dog wanting attention. I’d started to get jealous a few times. She’d run her hands along their fur and speak to them sweetly in Spanish. I don’t think she was meaning to ignore me, but this is how most of the day went - Luciana lost in the animals and me lost in her. She couldn’t take her eyes from them, and I couldn’t take my eyes from her. She’s perfect. She has so much sweetness in her, and I want it. It shows in everything she does, and I can see why she became a veterinarian. She was born to love and heal. It’s who she is down to her core. I didn’t know such sweetness could even be real.
“Sun’s starting to set and I really shoulda fed you,” I tell her. She’s so small, she shouldn’t be skipping meals, and it makes me wonder if she does that often. Gets so wrapped up in everything around her, she forgets about herself. Well, that’s fine by me. I’ll make sure she’s looked after. Make sure she gets anything she needs.
She turns to look at me, the sun lighting up her dark hair. I’m going to have to get her a hat if she plans on being out like this all day. I’d taken the Gator today instead of a four-wheeler or a horse. I’d wanted to give her some protection from the sun.
I reach out and rub my hand across the top of her head before sliding
it down her braid, feeling the heat from the sun on her black-as-night hair. Her eyes widen, probably shocked by my bold move, like I can touch her however I want, but I make no apologies for it. I’ve been trying to give her small touches all day. Get her used to me, little by little. Not only that, I need them. I don’t think I could stop myself from touching her if I tried. It feels natural. Like I’ve been doing it my whole life.
“We’ll come back in the morning if you want,” I add, hating to take her from here if she doesn’t want to leave. Hell, if I’d planned it better we could have spent the night out here if she wanted. She likes being with the animals as much as I do. The thought of her and me out here under the stars makes my ever-present hard-on even harder.
“It’s so perfect here. Almost unreal.” Something passes between us, or maybe only I feel it, before her eyes move back to the horses. Instantly I miss them on me. It does feel almost unreal for as long as I’ve been waiting for this moment.
“He won’t leave her side.” Her full lips part, and she looks back at me, giving me what I love most. Her attention.
I nod towards the wild horses. “I know all I have to do is round her up and he’ll come, too.”
“Really?” Her eyebrows draw together in question, because this isn’t normal. Horses don’t mate for life. Usually stallions breed with one and are on to the next. But not him. Where she goes, he goes. No question. I've never seen anything like it in my life, and I've been around horses since I could walk. Been training them for as long as I can remember.
“I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s actually why I got them. The seller tried to break them apart, I was told, and he went nuts. Once they got him under control he wouldn’t eat. Wouldn’t do anything. They’d talked about putting him down.”
She gasps at that, already attached to the two horses she’s been watching for the last twenty minutes. I had been the same way when I’d seen the stallion. Felt a likeness to him. His devotion for the horse he felt was his. How he couldn’t bear living without her.