Page 12 of Falling For Her Cowboy (Silver Creek Ranch #9)

Chapter Seven

“ I don’t think I need to eat for the next three days.” Melah groaned, sat back in Ridge’s truck, and rubbed her belly.

After dinner, he’d taken her for ice cream and, as promised, it was the best she’d ever had. She’d been brave and asked for two scoops, and their scoops were monstrous. She was even tempted to undo the top button of her jeans but resisted.

“I tried to tell you the scoops were large.” He chuckled.

He had warned her, but usually when people said big scoops, they really weren’t that big. The amount of ice cream they’d given her should have been a crime .

But she’d eaten it all.

There was no way she was going to let ice cream go to waste. They also had donuts at the shop. She’d grabbed a plain glazed for Daisy. She planned to check on her before she headed in for the night.

“Whatever.” She hid her smile.

Ridge had been a gentleman and helped her eat some of her ice cream.

Tonight had been wonderful. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed herself so much.

Everyone in town appeared to know Ridge.

He’d stopped and chatted with random people, then introduced her to them.

Not that she was going to remember any of their names, but everyone knew Dr. Harvey.

He’d even encouraged a few of them to call his office for some issues they had with their animals.

“You want me to drop you off at the bunkhouse or do you want to go check in on Daisy?” he asked.

He’d given her a side-eye when she’d purchased the donut, but when she’d explained it was for Daisy, he hadn’t said a word. Her horse loved a sweet treat, too, and after not being able to work today, Melah figured she’d treat her girl to a good donut.

“You can take me to the barn. I want to give Daisy her donut. I also need to check in on her foot and dressing. ”

“I can do that if you want while I’m here,” he offered.

“Hmmm…I want to do it, but would you mind watching to make sure I do it right?”

Daisy was her responsibility, and she wanted to make sure she could do it. She couldn’t have Ridge changing it all the time. He had plenty else to do on the ranch and with his practice.

“I don’t mind overseeing.” He pulled onto the dirt road that led to the barn.

They fell into a comfortable silence. It was amazing to her that even though she’d only known Ridge for a short time, she felt completely relaxed around him.

That usually did not come right away. After her ordeal with Theo, she’d been leery of new people, but for some strange reason she couldn’t explain, Ridge was different.

He drove up to the barn and killed the engine.

“Here we are.” He slipped out of the truck and walked around the front of the vehicle.

Melah tracked him with her eyes. The confident way he handled himself had her squeezing her legs together. The man was the epitome of sexiness. He arrived at her door and opened it, then held his hand out for her.

The man was a complete gentleman. Pierce had stopped opening the door or assisting her in his car about six months into their relationship.

After they’d broken up, she’d thought of all the red flags in their relationship.

There were so many she’d ignored because she’d tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.

“Thank you.” She slid her small hand into his larger one and allowed him to help her down. She tilted forward and lost her balance slightly. Her body fell into his. “Oops. I’m so sorry.”

Her body was flush against his as he helped lower her to where her feet rested on the ground.

His hand remained on her hip, and he hadn’t stepped back from her.

She tilted her head back to meet his gaze.

The moon was high, set against the perfect nighttime backdrop with a few stars scattered across it.

The sounds of the night greeted them. The occasional cow lowed, but otherwise nature’s orchestra was in full swing off in the distance.

“I got you.” His voice rumbled in his chest.

She inhaled sharply. The scent of his cologne had been teasing her all night. She didn’t know what it was, but she wanted to nuzzle her face into the crook of his neck and breathe it in.

“You all right? ”

“Yeah. I think my foot got caught on something,” she whispered.

She couldn’t look away from his bright-blue eyes.

Her hand came to rest on his chest above his heart.

The gentle beat thudded against her palm.

Melah’s moved it up his hardened chest. She didn’t know what was coming over her, but she wasn’t going to stop now.

She cupped his cheeks. He didn’t shy away from her.

She studied his face as if to memorize every inch of it.

He leaned into her touch. She stood on her tiptoes while he stared down.

She guided his face to hers. She touched her lips to his in a soft kiss.

She groaned the moment her mouth opened for him.

She may have initiated the kiss, but Ridge took over.

He gripped her to him, holding her firmly while the kiss deepened.

Melah held on to him as if her life depended on it.

She hadn’t been kissed like this in so long.

Ridge’s tongue boldly thrust forward and swept inside her mouth.

She closed her eyes and relished the moment of being in his arms. The warmth of his body, the hard planes, and the bulge pressing into her stomach had her whimpering.

He moved them to where her back was flush to his truck. She didn’t care at the moment. This had her feeling desired, wanted, and needed. She was tempted to rip her clothes off and climb this man so he could take her. Her heart slammed against her chest as a groan was ripped from him.

Ridge tore his mouth from hers. The only sounds that greeted her was their panting. The kiss had affected both of them. Ridge rested his forehead on hers.

“Melah. I’m?—”

“Don’t apologize. Please don’t.” She opened her eyes and met his gaze.

She was the instigator of the kiss. She had been wanting it from the moment she’d met him and she refused to have it ruined because of an apology.

He hadn’t done anything wrong. “I wanted to kiss you. I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. ”

His eyes darkened, and he brushed his thumb along her bottom lip. Her mouth still tingled from their kiss. Her body ached in places that hadn’t been awakened by a man in a long while.

“I’ve been wanting to kiss you, too.” His voice was low and sent a wave of desire through her.

“Is that so?” Her heart skipped a beat. When one accused their superior of sexual assault, everything private was brought to light in a trial.

She’d had all of the intimate details of her life brought to the forefront.

Even though she was not the one on trial, everything about her had been put on display.

Her sexual encounters to her job performance.

As if she had welcomed the assault.

Afterwards, she had gone into a dark place.

Terri, Issac, and Cora had stood by her side through it all.

It was because of them that she was able to even smile.

They refused to allow her to fall into a dark depression that she may not recover from.

They’d ensured she’d enrolled in therapy.

They’d taken care of her and ensured she’d got dressed daily.

Those were her real friends, and she missed them fiercely.

Now, here with Ridge, and his one look had her feeling like a woman. Someone who was desirable. Someone he wanted. The heat in his eyes stole her breath. She hadn’t even thought of being with a man until she’d met him.

“Well, if you want to do it again, you can,” she whispered playfully.

His lips curled up in the corners with a smirk.

“Is that so?” He lowered his head again, and this time, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. He lifted his head and stared down into her eyes.

Melah would swear he could see into her soul.

This man was dangerous .

She wasn’t here for relationships. She was here as part of a plan to find herself and to figure out what the hell she was going to do in life.

She’d be gone in about six months.

Finding a man hadn’t even crossed her mind.

“I better go and check in on Daisy,” she whispered. She hated to move. The feeling of him next to her was divine, but she had her horse who needed her. What kind of mom would she be if she didn’t go and give Daisy her treat and change her dressing?

“Let’s go see about Daisy.” He stepped back from her and snagged her purse and the bag with the donut in it. He handed them to her before shutting the door to the truck.

He held out his hand to her. She glanced down at it, and the butterflies in her stomach kicked in.

She took his hand and allowed him to lead the way into the barn.

A few curious horses peeked their heads out of their stalls at the sounds of their footsteps.

They arrived at Daisy’s and found her sitting on the floor.

“Hey there, Daisy,” Melah called out in a sing-song voice.

Daisy turned her head to them. Her dressing was barely hanging on to her leg. She stood and walked over to them. Her limp wasn’t as pronounced, which made Melah feel better.

Melah reached up and rubbed Daisy’s head. “Are you feeling better?”

Daisy blew out a deep breath and tried to go after the bag in Melah’s hand.

“Smart horse. She knows you brought her something.” Ridge chuckled.

“Spoiled horse.” In all honesty, she was happy to see that Daisy was acting like herself.

The items that Ridge had left were tucked away in the bag that Melah had hanging outside her stall.

She hung her purse up on an empty hook and grabbed the bag.

She tapped Daisy on the nose. “Move back, girl. We are coming in.”

Ridge opened the door and ushered her in. It was evident that he went into doctor mode the second they were standing next to Daisy with the way his gaze swept over the horse.

“Did you miss me?” Melah reached inside the bag and brought out the donut.