Never Kiss a Cowgirl, page 16
“Do you want me to drive you to your appointment?” Reagan asked when they stepped into the house.
“I don’t want to monopolize your time. One of the guys can take me.” She led the way to the main bedroom and took out a pair of shorts and a shirt for Reagan. “You’re welcome to use my bathroom, or the guest room next door is fully stocked.”
“Asher, please relax.” Reagan kicked her shoes off and accepted the clothes. “And please don’t be upset that we might be on our way to being friends again.”
“Why would that upset me?”
Reagan placed her hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You’re tight as a drawn bow, and you’re frowning. Sit, and I promise I’ll be quick, and once we’re both clean, I’ll drive you to the doctor’s office.”
It didn’t take long for both of them to get dressed, and Reagan only stared at her when she started the Land Rover and the classical music came on. Silence had never bothered Asher, and from the beginning of their relationship there hadn’t been a need to fill their time with small talk. This morning was no different. She waited in the car while Reagan ran up to her place and came down wearing khaki shorts and a black shirt with the clinic’s name on the front.
Harry didn’t say anything when Reagan led her into the exam room after her X-rays and watched as the cast came off. “The boot will be next, and if you try walking without it, the cast goes right back on.”
“We’ll start slow on the range of motion exercises,” Reagan said.
“I’ll talk to Kendra,” Harry said, “so she knows you’re going to be tied up with Asher for more time than you have been. It’s okay to extend the two hours you’ve been doing and kick it up a notch. We both know who we’re dealing with, so do your best to tire her out. It’s the only way to make her behave.” Harry typed notes into the computer in the room and ignored Asher’s glare.
“I’m sitting right here. You remember that, right?” Asher wiggled her toes, glad it was less painful than before. “Stop talking about me like I’m out in the waiting room.”
“I do know that, and you can tell me I’m wrong, but we both know I’m not. Be prepared to spend most of your days with Reagan, and when she’s done with you, I promise you’ll be grateful.” Harry fitted the boot on her foot and pumped air into it for a snug fit. “I’ll see you in two weeks, so we can assess from there.”
“Thanks, Harry.” She stood, and Reagan handed her crutches. She was cleared to put weight on the foot, but Harry warned about overdoing it.
Reagan led her through the circuit in her home gym, adding to the routine until Asher’s eyes burned from the sweat falling into them. She was tired, and her body was tight from all the lifting Reagan had her do, but nothing scared her more than when Reagan called it a day and pointed to the massage table. This had never been part of her PT experience before, but Reagan was a licensed massage therapist, and she’d spouted off all the studies that showed it promoted healing, so Asher didn’t argue.
“Can you take your shirt off?” Reagan’s question made the top of her head tingle. “If you don’t relax the muscles in your shoulders and back, you’re going to regret it tomorrow.” Asher watched as Reagan removed her boot.
It was a dare, had to be. If she refused, Reagan would know she’d wormed in more than Asher had planned to allow, so she had no choice. She walked to the table and sat. Reagan didn’t look away when she dropped her sweaty T-shirt to the ground and waited for further instructions. She smirked when Reagan unfurled a sheet and held it up for her. If someone was going to walk away affected, it wasn’t going to be her.
“It’s pretty private back here, so I don’t think we’re going to need that,” she said.
“Are you sure?” Reagan asked. “The shorts and sports bra have to go too.”
“I’ll leave it up to you.” She stripped and lay down, closing her eyes when the cool surface of the table raised goose bumps when the front of her body hit it.
The sheet stayed off when Reagan worked her way down her body with sure, firm hands. She’d put on the same music she’d played in the car, and it helped Asher forget she was naked and being touched by Reagan. When she rolled over, Reagan covered her body, only moving the sheet to uncover the area she massaged. Asher never remembered falling asleep, but Reagan was watching her when her eyes opened.
“I’m not a creeper, I promise, but I couldn’t take the chance you’d roll off and hurt yourself.”
“Thanks,” she said, sitting up. She nodded her thanks when Reagan handed her shirt over and put her boot back on. “How long was I out?”
“An hour but you must have needed it, so no worries. Do you want me to go?” Reagan sounded unsure of herself again.
“Do you mind driving again?” She put her shorts on before standing up and grabbing her crutches.
“No, did you need to go somewhere?”
“It’s meatloaf day, and Frida and Uncle Wade are expecting us. I just have to shower and throw on less stinky clothes.” She wasn’t surprised Reagan followed her to her bedroom and sat there to wait for her.
She stood with the weight off her foot as the hot water made her sigh from how good it felt. There were interesting days, and then there were the last couple of days. Asher couldn’t define them. If she wanted to romanticize it, the truth was her heart needed Reagan in her life. Having her close was like being given back an important part of herself that had been missing for way too long. Her brain, though, knew better. To keep herself grounded and safe, she had to proceed with caution.
“Ready?” she asked Reagan.
“Yes, I am,” Reagan said, and it sounded as if she meant more than just meatloaf.
* * *
A week of working Asher through her new therapy and exercise routine followed by a massage was systematically dismantling Reagan’s willpower. Years of spending time in the gym had changed Asher’s body in big ways that were hard to see if you weren’t really allowed to look. As Asher’s therapist, Reagan wasn’t supposed to be looking, much less fantasizing about doing the massage naked.
“Are you busy tonight?” Asher asked when she hopped on the massage table and stripped. If Asher had been unsure about massage when they started, it seemed to have grown on her.
“No,” Reagan said and had to clear her throat. She doubted Asher was teasing her, but she had to look out the window. Albert and Booker were chasing each other around the gated area where Asher kept them. She wondered if Booker was pregnant, which didn’t matter since she doubted she could force Booker back to Moon Touch at gunpoint. It was like even her horse understood the allure of the Evans family.
“Would you like to have dinner? You’ve been stuck with me for a while, so I thought you deserved a treat.” Asher lay down, and Reagan moved to cover her ass with the sheet. In a word it was perfect, and the sheet was the best reminder to behave.
“I don’t think of it as being stuck with you.” She dug her thumbs into Asher’s shoulders and hesitated when Asher moaned. “Dinner sounds good, though.”
“Good, how about we cut this short even if it’s become my favorite part of the day,” Asher said and laughed. “I’ll deny that if you call me out on it.”
“Your secret is safe with me, and I’ll finish, thank you. Think of it as different pieces of a puzzle, so you can’t skip any.” She had a hard time losing her smile as she finished, taking longer than she usually did. “Are you okay?”
“I’m great,” Asher said, standing without the boot to put her shorts back on. She’d never been shy and that hadn’t changed. “How does seven sound?”
She glanced at her watch, seeing she had three hours to get home and dressed. “Sounds good. Do you want me to come back and get you?” Maybe in the time she had she could transform herself into someone Asher would have a hard time resisting.
“My foot feels good, so how about I pick you up?” Asher slipped her T-shirt on and put the boot on last. “I can drive without it, and I promise I’ll put it on to walk anywhere.”
“Do you remember where it is?” She followed Asher out of the gym into the kitchen. Being in the house for weeks and Asher’s acceptance of her being there had softened Rickie’s attitude toward her as well. Rickie smiled at her when she came in and handed her an iced tea.
“I haven’t had that many blows to the head.” Asher winked at her and waved before heading to her room. “See you soon.”
Rickie took her drink back and poured it into a to-go cup. “You’re moving up in the world, I see.”
“Just a friendly dinner. See you tomorrow.” She wasn’t about to fall for Rickie’s teasing.
All she could wonder on the way home was what the hell tonight was about. There was no way Asher would set her up after all this time. They’d moved squarely into the friend category, so dinner was just dinner. Right? Neither of them had mentioned their past relationships again—no new information about the gorgeous Jacqueline Blanchard.
“Shit,” she yelled into the car. What if that’s what this was. Asher had spent that evening entertaining Steph, so maybe this was payback. “I don’t want to fucking do that.” She didn’t know for sure, but she’d put money on the fact that Asher and Jacqueline were more than friends. And if they were, there’d been plenty of benefits involved.
Her feet felt leaden as she walked up to her place, having convinced herself the night held nothing but heartburn. She could at least feel good about how she looked. She took out the white sundress she’d bought but hadn’t found a reason to wear. She put her hair in a twist, put on makeup, and dusted off a pair of heels. All of it was date-wear as she called it, but she wasn’t about to concede quietly.
She smiled at the knock on her door—six thirty. Asher, as she’d noticed so many times, was hardwired in many ways, and being early was a big one. When they’d been together, she’d taken pleasure in throwing Asher off those traits in numerous ways. She opened the door and whatever she was about to say was replaced by a deep breath. It was necessary when she found Asher in a suit holding a beautiful bouquet of flowers.
“Wow, you look great.” Asher handed over the flowers and stepped in. The cowboy boot Asher chose balanced out the boot she’d promised to wear.
“You do too. I don’t think you looked this good when we went to the prom.” She took down the vase that had belonged to her grandmother and watched as Asher glanced around the room. “Do you want a tour?”
“Sure,” Asher said, her hands sliding into her pockets. “It’s nice.”
It’s nice probably meant Asher would die a slow death if forced to live here. Reagan put water in the vase and fixed the flowers, allowing Asher to finish her visual tour. “Thank you, and I know it’s not your style, but it was the first place I liked and was available for a fast sale.”
The doors to the balcony were open and that’s where she led Asher first. “It doesn’t matter if it’s my style,” Asher said. “All that matters is you like it. If it feels like home, that should be all that counts.”
“It’s missing, as you said, a few cows in the yard to truly make it home, but I like it.” They walked around, and it hit her. The interior was nice, tasteful, and stylish. It was all that, but it also could’ve been in the Pottery Barn catalog, unlike Asher’s place with the history of who she was along with the nice antiques that defined every space. “I bought it so I could sit out there even when it’s hotter than hell and talk to Daddy. It’s stupid, but I thought he’d hear me here. He never talked to me in Seattle.”
“I talk to him all the time when I’m riding the fields, so it’s not stupid.” Asher placed her palm on Reagan’s cheek and swiped away the few tears that fell. “That you found your way back, and into a job you like, should be proof he’s listening. He led you here, and here’s a hell of a lot closer than Seattle.”
“No wonder he loved you. You inherited his outlook on life.”
Asher smiled and offered her hand. “You ready?”
“I am, and I’m sure you’re tired of all this emotion.” She picked up her purse and put her hand in the bend of Asher’s elbow to make sure she was okay on the stairs. They drove out of her neighborhood and headed into the Quarter again. “Are you going to give me a hint?”
“You mentioned Jacqueline, and we already had dinner with Steph, so I thought of a place that wouldn’t remind us of either.” Asher pulled into the Piquant, and the valet parked the car.
“Are we getting room service?” She raised an eyebrow and stared at Asher.
“We’re getting a pedicab, but I’ll keep that in mind if we’re feeling more adventurous next time.” Asher helped her up when a cab stopped by the car. “It’s a bit of a walk from here, and this was the easiest way to get there. I didn’t want you to fuss.”
Being this close to Asher made it easy to smell her cologne and feel the nice material of her suit. It was going to be a long night. She glanced up at the small wooden sign where they stopped and took Asher’s hand to get down. GW Fins was one of the new restaurants she’d heard about but hadn’t been to yet. The only other people she knew well enough to have dinner with were Steph and Kendra, and she was glad it was Asher who’d invited her.
The next two hours proved to her that Asher was still a great conversationist. They talked about a wide variety of things, including subjects she thought didn’t interest her. When she sat with Asher, the truest definition of a stunning butch with a great linen suit and perfect face, she was willing to listen to everything she wanted to tell her about cows.
“The dairy thing threw me. Why’d you decide on that?” Reagan was sorry they were headed home, and the night was almost over.
“When I moved home, one of the first things I did was to clean out my dad’s old office. I found his journals and he’d laid it all out. He was planning to start small and build a dairy herd until he had enough to make a business out of it.” Asher stopped in front of Reagan’s building and got out to get her door.
“Would you like to come up?”
“Only since you have the day off tomorrow.” Asher left her jacket in the car and followed her up.
She poured them both a drink and joined Asher on the couch after she’d taken her heels off. “So, are you going to be happy milking cows once you’re finished competing?”
“It’s what I’ve been working toward.” Asher sounded committed to that future. She was passionate about what she did, like Reagan was. Steph had once complained that Reagan loved her job but didn’t give anyone else the benefit of loving theirs. “You’re welcome to come and check it out once we finish the barn and get going.”
“Do you want me to visit even after we finish PT?” The love they’d had was always right under the surface, ready to break free. It’s how she still felt but didn’t know if Asher would ever get there again.
“I meant what I told you the night we spent out at the cabin,” Asher said. “I’m tired of being upset with you, and if you’re interested, I’d like you to come back as often as you want.” Asher didn’t pull away when Reagan reached for her hand. “When you asked about the name of the ranch, I didn’t tell you the whole truth.”
“Why?” she asked, staring at Asher’s mouth.
“I did read Pride and Prejudice in college, but I remember it was the one thing you wrote to me about that gave me back a piece of you. When I got the chance to read it, I fell in love with the characters and the place they eventually called home.”
Reagan put her glass down and moved closer. “I loved that book because it gave me hope for the future. All those misunderstandings, but they still found each other.”
“You could write the SparkNotes from your own experiences,” Asher said.
Asher didn’t turn away from her when she pressed her lips to hers. She couldn’t help it, having reached the limit of her control. Having Asher this close made her impossible to resist. Asher kissed her, but she was holding back. They’d kissed enough for Reagan to know that was true, and she didn’t like it. She ended it and grabbed the hair at the sides of Asher’s head and pulled gently.
“Either kiss me or go.” She wanted Asher to stay, but the ultimatum was serious.
“This isn’t too fast?” There was so much behind that question. Why did you leave me? Why did you break my heart? How can I trust you? All of those ran under the surface of Asher’s hesitancy.
“Can I be totally honest with you?” When all else failed, the truth was the best course of action.
“I’d like that.” Asher didn’t move away from her so Reagan counted it as a win.
“When I made the decision to come home, I convinced myself it was for Uncle Wade. He needed me here, and I wanted to get close to him again.” At that Asher did try to move away, but she held fast. “Then I arrived with Steph in tow, and the last person I wanted to see was you.”
“Damn, nothing like a little brutality with a story,” Asher said and laughed. It sounded more humorous than pained, so she felt like she could continue.
“I didn’t want to see you because I’m a failure compared to you. Jesus, you stayed, took care of my family, and you have that amazing spread. Add to that the beautiful woman I saw you with that night, and I was right.” She didn’t want to keep going, but she was all-in now. “I didn’t want you to see what a bullet you dodged even if it was me who left.”
“First, if the beautiful woman was a serious thing, I wouldn’t be here,” Asher said. She seemed comfortable enough to put her injured foot on Reagan’s coffee table. “And I believe the Seattle Seahawks don’t hire losers. Uncle Wade loves to brag a little when it comes to you. Besides, it shouldn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks.”
“The hardest thing sometimes is to forgive myself.”
