Page 11 of Falling For Her Cowboy (Silver Creek Ranch #9)

Ridge respected any woman who enjoyed food.

He glanced across the table at Melah who currently worked on her barbecue ribs dinner.

They had arrived at the perfect time. They were able to be seated immediately.

Now there was a wait for tables. The decor was modern with a country kitchen flair to it.

The color palette of the establishment was whites, tans and browns, and had a homey feel to it.

Frankie had outdone herself with the diner, and so far, the townsfolk of Ironhaven loved it.

Her food was rich with flavor, filling, and had one wanting to come back for more.

Ridge had eaten here on several occasions and had tried many things so far, but his favorite had to be the short ribs and risotto meal.

The meat was so flavorful and melted off the bones.

Frankie had a talent that was not going to waste.

“This was a good choice.” Melah wiped her hands on her napkins and reached for her drink.

“I’m glad you are enjoying yourself.” He sat back and exhaled slowly .

He wanted to enjoy the food and actually taste it and savor it besides just shoveling it in his mouth. The atmosphere was pleasant with soft rock playing from hidden speakers. Servers moved around taking care of the customers. There was plenty of laughter as patrons enjoyed themselves.

“I am. I guess I should have been exploring the town a little more. When I got here, I wanted to dive straight into the ranch and learn my job and stuff. I figured I’d learn about the town later.”

“That seems reasonable. How long do you plan to stay on at the ranch?” He reached for his Coke and took a sip. The length of time hands stayed was up to them. They’d had people for a couple months to those who’d stayed on permanently.

“Not quite sure. I wanted to see how everything would be at first, but now that I’ve met everyone and I actually do like it, I was thinking at least six months.

” She took her fork and stabbed a large piece of her broccoli.

She took a bite out of it and moaned slightly. “Even the vegetables are so damn good.”

“Yeah, they are.” The sound of her moan went straight to his cock.

He watched her tongue sneak out and slide along her bottom lip.

The air in his lungs burned, reminding him to inhale.

He coughed slightly and took another sip of his Coke.

He couldn’t sit here and fantasize about Melah naked, spread out on his bed. No, that wasn’t right.

“All this food, I’m going to have to go for a run in the morning.” She laughed, reached for her large cornbread muffin, and tore it in half. She took another bite—another moan escaped her. “Damn, this is so good and buttery, too.”

Ridge shifted in his seat. His cock had a mind of its own and pushed against his jeans. He had to think of other things. Her moans were driving him crazy. It wasn’t the sound of them, it was the fact he wanted to hear them louder and her saying his name while he pushed inside her.

He tore his gaze from her and caught sight of Frankie, the owner, walking around greeting customers. Her eyes met his, and he gave her a little wave to come over to their table. Her smile widened, and she made her way over.

“Hey, Ridge. How the hell are you?” Frankie’s warm golden skin practically glowed. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail.

He pushed back from the table, stood, and gave her a short hug. “I’m good. How’s your grandfather doing? I haven’t been out to his farm in a while.”

“That old fart is doing just fine.” She laughed, turned to Melah, and offered her hand. “Hi, I’m Frankie. I own this place.”

“Hello. I’m Melah. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m in love with you—I mean your food.” Melah took Frankie’s hand.

She moved to stand, but Frankie motioned for her to remain seated. Ridge sat back down.

“Please don’t get up. I’m happy you are enjoying the food.” Frankie pointed at Ridge. “This one is here at least once a week. He’s helping keep me in business.”

“Nothing like supporting a small business,” he teased.

“Well, I see why Ridge is here so often. I’m new to town, and this is the first restaurant I’ve tried,” Melah admitted.

“You will find Ironhaven does have its gems. Like me, we all use nearby farms for almost everything. I love supporting the local economy.” Frankie had been determined to utilize all the farmers around here for all of her meats, dairy, and vegetable needs.

She was a respected businesswoman who had cut deals with the residents.

That was why so many people loved coming to her diner.

Not only was the food cooked to perfection, but the fact everything was locally grown held the interest of the community.

“You want to sit for a minute?” Ridge motioned to the empty chair at their table. He was sure the woman had been working all day. She was a workaholic, and it showed with how well her place was doing.

“If I sit now, I will never get up, but thank you.” She smiled and turned her head in the direction of her name being called. “I have to go. It was so nice to meet you, Melah. Please come back soon, and Ridge, I’ll see you next week?”

“Of course.” Ridge chuckled.

She gave them a wave before dashing over to another table.

“She’s so nice.” Melah returned to her plate. She picked up her rib and bit off a chunk of meat.

Ridge zoomed in on the sauce that was smeared on the corner of her mouth and her cheek. Without thinking, he scooped up a clean napkin from the table and reached over to blot at the corner of her mouth. She froze in place, her wide brown eyes on him while he wiped the barbecue sauce from her face.

“There. You had a little something on your face.” He settled back. He had needed to touch her in some way. Sitting across from the table appeared to be too far.

“Thank you. I appreciate it,” she said softly.

“Not a problem.” He decided to go back to his food before he did something else crazy. He picked up his fork and snagged a piece of meat and raised it. “So tell me something about you. Where are you from?” He popped the meat in his mouth. It was soft and had been slow cooked for hours.

“Missouri. A little town called Dunwich. It’s about an hour and a half west of Jefferson City,” she said.

“Your family still there?” Ridge was curious about this woman in front of him. He had the sudden urge to want to discover all there was to Melah.

“Yeah. I’m an only kid. It’s just been me and my dad.

We moved around a lot because he was in the Army.

When he retired, he bought a house around the corner from his brother so we could be close to his family.

” She flicked her gaze to him, tilted her head to the side, and studied him.

“What about you? I already met your brother, Draven. Any other siblings?”

“Nah, my parents could only handle the two of us. My dad said that when I turned two, they realized they were done.” Ridge chuckled .

His mother had her hands full when Draven and he were younger. They’d got into everything. When she’d died, there was definitely a change in the house. Nothing had been the same. Andy had tried his best to keep things as normal as possible, but there was always something missing.

“You were a little hellion?” She arched one of her perfectly sculpted eyebrows.

Those plump lips of hers curled up in the corners again. He tried to not focus on them but couldn’t help it.

“I mean, define hellion. Was I always pulling pranks, sneaking out, having the school call the house—guilty as charged.” He grinned.

He had to admit he did have wonderful childhood where love was definitely in the air.

There wasn’t a day that went by that he didn’t remember how much his mother loved him and Draven.

The world was cruel to take a woman like Flo Harvey from them.

Andy was never a man to shy away from showing his boys affection. Ridge had grown up admiring the old man. His father had worked hard to make the Silver Creek what it was today.

“What about you?” he asked.

“I was a good girl. Never got in trouble.” She made an imaginary cross on her chest and tried to give off an innocent look.

“Sure you were.” Ridge snorted.

“I’m serious. I had good grades all through school, and when I graduated, I knew I was going to enter the Army.”

They continued a steady conversation while they finished their food. Once they were done, the waitress came over with the check. Automatically Ridge reached for it, but Melah’s hand appeared and pushed his away from the tab.

“My treat, remember?” Melah said.

Ridge grinned and raised his hands in the air. He settled back and allowed her to take the bill.

“I told you I’m not used to this,” he said.

She pulled her card from her wallet and waved down the waitress who hadn’t waited for payment. The woman returned and took Melah’s card and the bill.

“I’ll be right back,” the waitress said. She spun on her heel and walked away.

Melah turned her attention back to him with a silly grin. “You mean to tell me that there’s not one woman who has scooped you up and treated you to dinner?”

“You are the first.” His smile slowly faded. At the moment, he didn’t want to think of any other woman. He had a beautiful one in front of him who he wanted to get to know better. There was an attraction between them, and he was sure she felt it, too.

“Why aren’t you taken? Why isn’t there a Mrs. Ridge Harvey?” Her smile slowly disappeared.

The waitress returned at that moment, giving Ridge time to think of the answer. Why wasn’t he married? He couldn’t say there hadn’t been candidates. He’d dated plenty, had a few steady girlfriends with Raquel being the last serious relationship.

Melah signed her copy of the bill and handed it to the waitress.

“Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the rest of your night,” the waitress said, leaving their table again.

Melah placed her card back inside her purse, turning back to him.

“So…why is there no Mrs. Harvey?” Melah asked again.

Ridge ran a hand along his jawline and didn’t have any other answer but the truth.

“Just haven’t met the right one yet.” He jerked his chin to her. “How about you? Why isn’t there a mister out there somewhere?”

“There almost was, but then he showed me who he truly was.” She reached for her drink and finished it off.

He was now even more curious about the woman. What man would fumble her? Whoever he was, Ridge would have to one day thank him.

He blinked. Did he want to pursue her? He took one look at her again and knew without question that he wanted her.

“Have any room left?” He wasn’t ready for the night to be over.

Her face relaxed again, and her small smile returned. “What do you have in mind?”

“Ice cream. There’s a place not too far from here that has the best ice cream, and this would be my treat,” he said.

“Lead the way, Doc.”