Page 22 of Huckleberry Hill (Saddles & Spurs #1)

Chapter Twenty-One

The Ranch

“Oh my God.” My eyes immediately watered, and I pinched my nose as I approached the cabin porch.

Declan was in the middle of taking off his boots when he saw me. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Too late. I can smell you from here. Is that cow dung all over you?”

“Yeah.” He sighed. “Merlin got uppity and knocked into me. I fell into a pile of wet cow shit.”

I covered my mouth but couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped. It only worsened when Declan began hopping around on one foot in an attempt to remove his boot.

“I was about to spray myself off outside and then shower before you came over. Bad news, though, Merlin’s antics cost me my grocery shopping time. I don’t have anything to cook.”

“Oh.” I bit my lip.

“I’d kiss you hello, but . . . yeah.”

I stifled another laugh and moved toward the side of the cabin where the hose was. “Come on, I’m hosing you down.”

“You’re going to derive pleasure from this, aren’t you?”

“Probably. Strip down, cowboy.”

He began to unbutton his shirt. “I’m about to show off my pelt. Don’t get overly excited.”

I smirked. “Thanks for the warning.”

Declan stripped down to his army green boxer briefs, showing off a lot more than just his pelt.

I fiddled with the knob on the spigot. Cold water gushed from the hose. I picked it up and held it like a gun. “Are you feeling lucky, punk?” I asked in my best Clint Eastwood impression.

“Not even a little bit. Aim away from my crotch. I don’t want shrinkage.”

I hit him with water and he let out a garbled, “Ahhhhhhh!”

When he was rinsed off, nary a smear of cow dung on his skin, he ran toward the cabin.

“Fuck, I’m freezing!”

“Make sure to wash twice!” I called as I trailed after him.

Declan beelined for the bathroom. “Make yourself comfortable.”

The door to the bathroom closed and I was alone.

I went to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

It was bare bones despite the fact that he’d made nachos for me last night.

There was a third of a block of cheese and a few eggs.

We could make do with a cheese omelet, but that wasn’t what I was in the mood for.

I looked in the freezer. Two mini frozen pizzas.

My cell phone buzzed. I pulled it out of the side pocket of my overalls and looked at the screen. Nerves skated through my belly. I glanced at the bathroom and heard the faintest sound of the shower.

I marched to the front door and closed it behind me as I answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Hey . . . Hadley,” Nico greeted awkwardly. “How are you?”

“Fine,” I said, my heart pumping rapidly in my chest. “How are the renovations going?”

“They’re going,” he said.

He fell silent for a moment.

I closed my eyes, wondering why Gianni’s cousin was calling me.

“Is there a reason you called?” I asked.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I was just—I’m making out the server schedule for when we open again and I was wondering about your availability.”

“Ah,” I said. “Because I’m not in Italy.”

There was some shuffling of papers in the background and then I heard the sound of a shutting door.

“Gianni hasn’t said much,” Nico stated. “I mean, he told the family you guys ended things and that he was going to Italy alone, but that was all.”

Well, at least he hadn’t aired our dirty laundry. I could thank him for that at least.

“I like you, Hadley. You’re a good server and I’m sorry shit didn’t work out with Gianni. I just wanted you to know that. And you can have whatever shifts you want. I’ll make it happen.”

The idea of returning to Gianni’s family restaurant and seeing my co-workers gossip behind my back—to see Gianni’s cousins and sisters, hell to even see Gianni himself, was not something I was going to subject myself to.

“I quit,” I said.

Nico sighed. “Yeah, I had a feeling it would come to that. I don’t blame you. If you want, I can make a few phone calls. I know people. I can get you another serving job if you’re interested.”

“Why, because you feel bad?” I asked with a wry snort.

“Yeah, I feel bad. But like I said, you’re good at what you do. You shouldn’t not have a job because my cousin is a dick. You were really good to him. You were a part of the family.”

My throat thickened. I’d mourned Gianni and the life we were supposed to share together. I hadn’t thought about everything else I was losing. His big, amazing, nosy Italian family.

“Don’t call around,” I said. “I’m not sure when I’m coming back to New York.”

“Back to New York?” he repeated in confusion. “What do you mean back to New York? Where are you?”

“I came home for a visit.”

The front door of the cabin opened, and my spine tensed.

“Thanks for calling.” I hung up and shoved my cell phone back into my pocket. I didn’t turn around, choosing instead to grip the wooden porch rail until my knuckles turned white.

Declan sidled up next to me. The scent of lanolin and tea tree oil wafted toward me.

“No trace of cow dung,” I said, forcing a smile and looking at him. His hair was damp and his five o’clock shadow looked more like three-day stubble.

His brow furrowed as he adjusted the collar of his flannel shirt. “You okay?”

I shrugged.

“You want to talk about it?”

I bit my lip. “It’ll ruin our date.”

“Not possible.”

I wanted to tell him, but it wasn’t fair to dump all my feelings onto him. Especially when it was about another man—a man I’d been planning on sharing my life with.

He went back inside for a moment, but quickly returned, carrying a pair of clean boots and socks. Declan took a seat on the porch steps and pulled them on.

“Come on,” he said, rising, holding out his hand.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“We’re going for a ride.”

“A ride?” I asked in confusion. “Why?”

“Because you need it. It’ll clear your head. And then you can decide if you want to confide in me.”

I blinked. “It’s not that I don’t want to confide in you. It’s just I don’t want to talk to you about my ex. It’s not fair.”

I let him tug me toward the direction of the stables.

“You’re all tied up in knots. So we’ll go for a ride. And then we’ll get back to my place. You’ll shower, wear my clothes, and I’ll make you a frozen pizza. Come on, bear snack. Let’s go.”

We rode long enough for my brain to clear and my mood to lift. As if Declan could sense the change, he turned Merlin back in the direction of home. Goldie happily trotted after him.

I was beginning to feel like Goldie was mildly obsessed with Merlin. She threw a fit when they were separated. And like the horses’ attraction to each other, Declan was becoming a calming, protective beacon that I was gravitating to as well.

After we stabled the horses, fed, watered and rubbed them down, we went back to Declan’s cabin. The moon had risen and it lit the path to his porch. He took my hand and guided me up the steps.

We hadn’t spoken on our ride, but Declan didn’t push to fill the silence.

“How did you know that was exactly what I needed?” I asked as I took off my boots.

“Just did.” He shrugged. “Oh shit, I forgot to throw my clothes into the washer. Go ahead and get in the shower. I’ll get you some clean clothes.” He fingered the strap of my overalls. “I like these.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He leaned down and captured my lips with his. “I have a pretty vivid fantasy involving these overalls.”

I grinned. “Don’t tell me. Just surprise me with it.”

He swatted my butt playfully. “I’ll oblige.”

I went into the cabin and unbuckled the straps on my way to the bathroom. As the water heated, I stripped down.

While I was in the middle of washing my face—and lamenting the fact that I was washing off all my makeup—the bathroom door opened.

I thought it was Declan just leaving me a pair of his sweats and a T-shirt, but when he yanked back the shower curtain, I yelped in surprise.

“Easy,” he said, his hands going to my hips as he pressed his chest to my back.

I whipped my head around, lashing my wet hair against his skin. “What are you doing in here?”

He raised his eyebrows. “I thought it was obvious.”

“You didn’t say you wanted to shower with me. That wasn’t the plan.”

“It wasn’t?” His hand slid from my hip to my belly and then traveled upward to cup a breast.

“No.” I batted his hand away. “You said go shower. Nothing about you following me in here.”

“It’s just a shower. Why are you getting bent out of shape?”

“Bent out of . . .”

His finger flicked across my nipple as his other hand pressed my hip, silently urging me to lean against him.

“Showering is intimate.”

“Intimate.” His hand wandered toward the apex of my thighs, sliding between my folds and finding my clit. “What’s wrong with intimate?”

I clawed at his wrist, more to hold on than to stop him.

“Intimate is . . . intimate. ” I closed my eyes as his fingers spread me, teased me, pleasured me.

“Failing to see the problem,” he rasped as he plunged a finger into me.

I shuddered and clenched around him.

He gently bit my ear. “You think showering together is a bad idea? You’re wet. I want you to come on my fingers, Hadley. I want you to fucking drench them.”

I moaned as he added another finger and began to thrust them inside me. I clung to him, my body begging for release.

Declan was relentless and sure enough, I came on his fingers. When I stopped shaking, he slowly removed them.

“Any more complaints?” Declan asked.

“Bite me.”

He bit my shoulder.

“Hey!”

“You told me to bite you. Just following orders, ma’am.”

“Hmm. Following orders.” I slowly turned in his arms to face him and then I gently urged us to switch places to give him the water. “What other orders can you follow?”

He grinned. “I don’t know. Let’s find out.”