Patty's Homecoming, page 7
part #1 of Montana Wranglers Series
“But not anymore, right?” He leaned in and lightly pressed his shoulder to hers. “We’ve gotten past that bump in the road now and you won’t hesitate to say what’s on your mind to either Corbin or me, will you?”
“Yes, we have gotten past that bump and now you won’t be able to get me to shut my mouth about the things that I feel when I feel them. So buckle up, big boy, because you are going to have me. Have all of me from now until the end of time and that is not a joke, at all.”
“Good.” He smiled at her. Leaning in, he kissed her again. “I’m going to check on Matilda, you good for a couple minutes?” He stood but didn’t move away. “She’s right over there.” He pointed to the middle stall where she could see the mare’s ears twitching slightly.
“I’m good,” she told him and winked at him. “Go, do what you need to do. We are in here alone and that’s a very good thing. It’s all good, okay?” She asked quietly. She knew that the barn was locked down so there was no way that anyone could get in without going by Blake first.
“All right.” He smiled and moved around the workspace. “If you need anything, give a yell,” he said as he walked toward the stall. He opened the door slowly, his voice low as he talked to Matilda. The mare let out a whinny. “I know, girl, soon,” she heard him say quietly.
“I will yell,” she said with a smile. Listening to the sounds in the barn, Patty simply braided the leather that he had given her and then when she was done she stood. Moving quietly and slowly, she leaned against the door and watched Blake with Matilda. “When we have a kid, are you going to soothe me like that?”
He looked up from where he was rubbing the mare’s neck and chuckled. “Probably not quite the same, but the concept would be the same. You can come on in, she’ll enjoy the company. Anything that distracts her for now is likely a good thing. I need to check the other end of things so if you’ll stay at her head and talk with her, maybe she won’t feel the need to kick me just because I’m male.”
“Sounds good.” Patty took a seat in the hay at the horse’s head and began to pet her. “Hey there girl,” she said with a smile and rubbed the nose of the mare. “You are such a good girl. You have always been stronger than any of the other horses out there. You are going to do this, Momma, and go and show them how proud you are of the babe that you are bringing into the world.”
“It’ll be her sixth since she came here,” Blake said as he moved to the rear end of the horse. “No clue if this one’s a male or female, but she’s had one female and four males so the odds are good on another male. Keep an eye on her and let me know if her ears go down,” he asked of her as he moved Matilda’s tail over his shoulder.
“Don’t worry, I will.” She knew that meant that the horse was getting ready to kick, or about to become mean and that was just not a good thing. “Just do what you need. She and I are doing just fine, aren’t we girl?” She asked and ran her hand slowly down the muzzle of the horse before her.
“You might be doing fine, but she’s progressing nicely. At this rate we should have a new baby sometime around dinner.” Blake reappeared and slapped a hand gently to the mare’s side. “You always did have one hell of a sense of timing, girl.”
Looking up at him, Patty smiled, “Well, whatever happens happens, right? We will be together in all of this. We will figure it all out. We will ensure that this girl has her foal and from there we will figure everything else out, right?”
He smiled and nodded, moving to sit next to her on the hay bale. Kicking out his feet, he leaned back as he crossed his ankles. “We’ve definitely got a few hours to wait, so if you felt the need to go and get snacks from the house I wouldn’t be opposed.” He gave her an innocent look and even batted his lashes at her.
“Sounds good. What would you like?” she asked and moved a little. “Don’t worry, I would rather you be here with her because if she began to crown right now, I might just lose my lunch,” she admitted to him. “What do you want?”
“Whatever Miranda has on the go is good, as long as it isn’t something that has strong smells. Matilda’s got a fairly sensitive snout right now and she’ll want to steal part of our lunch. So nothing that is bad for her. Grab a couple apples and we’ll give her those if she feels the need to eat.”
“Sounds good. I will get the apples and maybe a couple carrots as well. If I recall right, this one loves carrots.” Which was completely fine with her, she loved carrots as well. “I will be back soon. If you need anything, shout?” Leaning in, she kissed him. “I love you,” she said, and then pulled back and walked away from him so she could get them snacks.
“And I do so love your ass,” he said. Shooting him a look, she saw his head stuck out the stall watching her. “Shake it like you mean it,” he teased with a huge grin. “Don’t be long,” he added before vanishing back into the stall.
She grinned and did just that. She shook her ass just for him. Walking out of the room, she headed for the main house with a smile on her face. Gathering up a small cooler of drinks and goodies for them, she was walking back out to the barn when she heard something. She stopped and turned, frowning as she did so. She knew she had heard someone. “Hello?” she called into the air. “Someone there?” No shadows, but she knew she had heard someone. Shrugging, she continued on. She had to have been hearing things.
“You talkin’ to me babe?” Blake’s voice drifted out of the barn. Hearing like a bat on that one. “What’d ya get us for lunch?” he asked, stepping out of the stall. He closed the bottom half of the door but left the top half open. Moving closer, he frowned at the cooler and then shot her a look. “Tell me you didn’t make any of it.”
“No, I didn’t make any of it at all. I took cold cuts from the fridge and Miranda helped me put together sandwiches. The only thing I did was put chips into baggies for us,” she told him with a grin. “Yeah, I didn’t make any of it, so your stomach is safe.” She took a seat and added, “No, I wasn’t talking to you a moment ago. I could have sworn I heard someone.” She shrugged. “But I saw no shadows and no one said anything back so I must have been hearing things.”
“Could have been a rabbit or even a prairie dog,” he pointed out with a shrug. “We’re in the middle of God’s country, who knows what it was. But since I know most of the guys are out working, I doubt it was any of them.” Settling on the floor of the stable, he leaned back next to her legs. “Hand a sandwich over, woman.”
“I don’t know. Do I get a kiss first?” she asked with a smile. “Come on, give me a kiss,” she said with a smile. “You know that you want to give me a kiss.” She wanted one too. Damn, she wanted a kiss like nobody’s business.
He smiled and then, with a quick tug, had her landing in his arms and lap. He did it so there was barely a jolt to her body and he kissed her slowly. Groaning into her mouth, he changed the angle and took from her, demanding even more and basically turning her inside out with his kiss.
When they parted, she licked her lips. “Damn,” she muttered. “You are so fucking awesome. I love the way that you kiss me. The way that you make my toes curl. I love everything about you.” She curled up close to him and sighed. “Goodness you are amazing.” And hers. All hers.
“You are damned good for the ego,” he said with a chuckle. He brushed a kiss over her neck, making her shiver. “I love how sensitive you are and honestly am having a hard time remembering you still need time to heal.”
“I’m having a hard time recalling that as well. You sure that I have to heal?” she asked as she rubbed against him. “I want you, Blake, I think I will always want you. Even when our toes curl up and we move on to the next stage in life I am going to love you and need you.”
“Yes, you need to heal because when I take you that first time, I want you to be able to feel all of me and not all your aches and pains. I want you to be able to remember that first loving between us as pleasure, pure and fresh, not tinged by wounds.” A quick kiss to her lips again and he leaned back. “Now, let’s eat shall we, that will help your body recuperate quicker as well.”
“Yes, food.” Food, ha! All she could think about was just how hard he was under her, and she had felt every inch of his body against hers when he was holding her. Good lord, she wanted him but he was right, she wanted to feel all of him too when he made love to her that first time. “Two days. That’s all I’m giving you because in two days I will want you, both you and Corbin to make love with me. To be with me.”
“We shall see,” he said softly. Reaching up over his head he snagged the cooler and set it down next to them. “It will all depend on how well you recuperate. Because I refuse to hurt you and, once I tell Corbin your plans and you tell him what’s going on, he’ll be on board as well.”
“Oh, now that is just not fair.” She grumbled. “But I will hopefully be healed enough by then that I will be ready for us to be together. I mean it. I need you boys, so very much I need you. God, I think I will always need you.” She admitted. “So please, please don’t leave me?”
“Hey,” he touched her chin and tipped her face up. “I’m not going anywhere, Tish. Not now, not ever. I’m going to be right here with you the entire time.” Another kiss to her lips and he drew back slowly. “Now please eat,” he said softly.
“That’s a very good thing,” she said with a smile. “And I am eating,” she teased, leaning in and brushing her lips to his again. “Goodness I could kiss you time and time again,” she admitted to him. “Okay, if I am going to eat I need out of your lap babe.” She gave him another kiss but moved out of his lap or she wouldn’t. Period. She liked being there too much.
Chuckling, he shrugged and took one of the sandwiches for himself. Leaning back, he lifted a knee and braced one arm over it. Chewing slowly, he tipped his head back and closed his eyes. “What did you get up to today darling?” he asked softly.
“Not a great deal. I spent most of the day with Daddy. He talked my ear off part of it and the rest of it I have been here with you.” Which was the best part of her day, to be honest. She loved spending time with him.
“And what all did your father impart upon you?” he asked. His tone was curious and yet slightly concerned. “Anything interesting, like the fact Mrs. Mann has been out here laying her claim on him? Apparently she and Mrs. Westerley are in direct competition for your father’s hand. Personally I think they just know he’s the most eligible bachelor about these parts and are looking for someone to knock boots with.”
Patty began to cough and giggle at the same time. She shook her head and grinned. “Oh God, that’s priceless,” she muttered. “Utterly and completely priceless. No, he didn’t mention Mrs. Mann but I knew that Mrs. Westerley has been after him for as long as I can recall.” She shook her head and said, “No, Daddy talked to me about you boys actually. He wanted to make sure that I would be happy with you.” Which was what Blake had been trying to ensure as well, she knew.
“And did you lie your fanny off or did you tell him the truth of how horrible it will be with us in your life?” He was grinning when he asked that, teasing her for sure. “Come on darlin’, how’d you answer your father?”
“I told him that I was looking forward to it. That I wanted the life with you boys. That Momma was happy as a Ranchers Wife so why wouldn’t I be happy? What matters is that I love you boys and you love me. That made him all kinds of weepy and he asked me just when you were gonna make an honest woman outta me, before or after our first kid.” She shook her head. “Silly man.”
“Me?” He blinked at her, the sandwich hanging mostly forgotten in his hand. “Or is that a general you in reference to both me and Corbin?” He lifted the sandwich the last couple of inches and took a bite, his eyes never moving from her face.
“One of those in-general questions. I tried to explain to him that I refused to ask you guys to give me anything that you didn’t offer.” She shrugged. “I don’t understand his thinking sometimes.” She shrugged and then added, “So do not let that old man try to force you into anything. I mean it.”
He shot her a droll look. “You have met the man right? You do realize that once he gets an idea in his head he will move heaven to get his way. And if you are in the way of what he wants, he will cajole, harass, or run your ass over with a bulldozer, backing up just to ensure you got his point.”
“He shouldn’t bother you. If he does, tell me and I will get after him again.” She made her point with her father and she had meant it, too. She loved Blake and Corbin, but no way in hell would she marry them if she thought they were doing it because of her dad. Period.
“Yeah, ’cause that never, ever works. Which, again, you should realize after all this time. Girl, what house did you grow up in?” he glared at her. “’Cause with that whole outlook, it sure as hell was not this one, with that man. It’s a nice outlook, one where your parents respect your life and how you live it. A fantasy really, but still a very nice fantasy.”
That had her laughing. Shaking her head, she passed off a bite of her food. She had forgotten how much actually doing work and getting up early in the country made one hungry and increased an appetite. “Well one can hope and dream, right? That is my hope at least. That Dad will realize we are all grown adults in this relationship.” Yeah right.
“You can hope, you can dream, and you can even wish. But that man will see you as his baby girl, his little darling, who he must protect until his last breath in this world. I give him about three weeks of letting us get settled and then there will be a shotgun being carted around. A subtle hint to do right by his girl that will progress to all-out violence if he deems it necessary.”
That had her giggling and she shook her head. “Yeah, I’m sure.” She knew her father and knew that he would likely want to have her married sooner rather than later, and that just wasn’t something that she wanted. “Just don’t let him give you issue, please? I love my father but he has a tendency to want to have everything in place quickly.” At least they all knew where she got her impatience from, her father.
“I know that,” he said softly. “Don’t worry, he hasn’t been able to talk me into anything I didn’t weigh and consider fully, even then.” He shrugged. Finishing off his sandwich, he dug in the cooler again and pulled out another. “If it doesn’t feel right to me, no one, not even my mother, could ever talk me into anything.”
“Good,” Patty said and leaned against the bale of hay at her back. Sighing, she closed her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, I have a feeling that no one could move you if you didn’t want to be moved. That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about you. Just how strong you are. Period. Mentally, physically, emotionally. You are strong as a rock.”
“Thank you,” he said, and there was a pause. “That was a compliment, right? Not just a subtle way to saying I’m hardheaded and stubborn, right? Cause I’m never sure with you. You do have an interesting way with words that often has gotten me into serious trouble in the past.”
“Yes, it is very much a compliment,” she told him with a grin. “Don’t worry, I will tell you when it’s not one,” she promised. “But I seriously doubt that I would ever give you a hard time on that. At all. Don’t worry, honey, you are all mine. I would never give you a hard time or make fun of you, you know that. Don’t you?”
He stared at her for a very, very long time before he nodded. “You’re right, I know you wouldn’t. You’d like to but I’m sure you’d bite your tongue. Most days.” He smiled slightly. “Try not to go too far against your instincts, you’ll pull a muscle doing that.”
Patty laughed, she couldn’t help herself. Wrapping an arm around her middle, she shook her head and continued to giggle. “God, you are too funny. You know for a fact that I would never, ever do anything that would give you any type of pain at all. I happen to love you too freaking much.”
“I know, Tish.” He shrugged. “But I am a big boy and can handle myself. Even from a little thing like yourself. So, truly, if you have something to say to me, on any topic, just say it. I’d rather have it out in the open than to always wonder.”
“Really, Blake? After all of this time, you say that to me?” Shaking her head, Patty moved so that she could get into his lap and settled against him. “You should know I will always tell you anything that comes to mind. That I will always ensure that you know anything and everything that is going on in my mind. I just hope you will do the same.”
“Of course I will.” He cupped her face. Brushing a kiss to her lips, he let out a slow breath. “Some insecurities one never gets over, apparently. I’m sorry, Tish, I shouldn’t be putting that on you, it’s my issue and one I’m apparently not doing well with.”
“Don’t you dare apologize to me about that,” she told him and leaned in closer to him. “We are a team. Together in this from now until forever. We will be a threesome as well but you and I, we will always have each other’s backs just as we will have Corbin’s, right?”
“Yes ma’am.” He smiled in that crooked manner he had. “Whatever you say, darling.” He nodded before pressing a kiss to her cheek. “And I should apologize when I’m being an idiot or when I do something wrong. It’s only right.”
“How about you apologize by kissing me instead? Then I will want you to be an idiot often.” She snuggled up closer to him and added, “And I will do the same. I will apologize when I’m being an idiot too. I can see myself making a great deal of mistakes just to be able to apologize.”
“You have a deal, little darlin’.” He smiled. Tipping her head back, he rearranged her slightly in his lap. Tipping her back over his arms, he leaned in to kiss her. His lips smoothed over hers slowly, lightly, gently. Then, just when she parted her lips, he swooped in and took the kiss to a whole new level. One that had her clutching at him as he took and gave fiercely.
Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, she pulled him closer. Her hands clutched at his shirt as she kissed him back with everything she had inside of her. This was what she needed, what she wanted. Holy hell, she would never have enough of him and she knew it.
