Ford
Alona pulls away from me and stares up into my eyes. At first, I worry I bothered her with my words, but her expression does not show irritation, but relief. Plus something deeper.
“Thank you, Ford.”
Alona goes up on her tiptoes and brushes her soft lips across my cheek. I turn to look at her face when she goes for my mouth. We kiss, her tears giving her lips a salty taste, and then we break apart. She turns to look at the mama and kid when her phone buzzes.
“It’s my ranch hand, Dale. He offered to spend the night in the barn when the mama gave birth. I texted him earlier. He’s on his way now.”
I hate stepping away from her curvy, delicious body, but I walk over to the goats to check on them. I am happy that the kid is already a good nurser. Dale walks into the barn while I do this and takes over.
“Thank you, Dale. It was a bit of a difficult birth for her, but so far the kid seems to be doing well. Do you need anything from the house?” Alona asks.
“No problem. And, no, I packed a bag. I’m good. You can go back to the house whenever you want.”
Alona and I head back to the house after a few minutes, running through the dark, rainy night. I offer to make a fire in her living room as she goes upstairs to shower. She agrees, but then insists that I spend the night.
“It’s too dangerous for you to drive home in this weather. I have a guest room. You can also shower after me. I actually have some random men’s clothing I found in my aunt’s dresser that I think could fit you.”
“Was your great aunt shacking up with a guy?” I tease.
“Honestly, I think she must have been at one point.” Alona replies with a laugh.
After my shower, I find her popping corn kernels on the stovetop.
“I thought we could watch a movie? If the power stays on,” she says when I walk into the kitchen.
“Sure. Do you have our old favorite? Die Hard?”
Alona grins at me.
“It’s not Christmas, Ford.”
"John McClane is a holiday treasure people should enjoy throughout the year."
Alona smiles at me with a flirty eye roll, turning my insides into a quivering mess. This woman is doing me in.
“Fine. And, of course, I own it. You can find it in the entertainment stand.” she says.
The storm rages on outside as we watch the movie, filling up on buttery popcorn and drinking red wine from Duskwood Winery. I make a mental note when she tells me that’s her favorite vineyard.
We start another movie once Die Hard ends, and Alona surprises me by lying down on my lap.
I grab the throw blanket from the back of her couch and cover her with it.
She murmurs a thank you to me, clearly tired from the day.
Within minutes, she is softly snoring on my lap.
I stroke her hair while putting my feet up on the coffee table.
Looks like I’m sleeping here on the couch tonight.
The rainstorm ends during the night, and the morning greets us with sunshine beaming through the windows. Alona sits up on the couch, rubbing her eyes, and looking confused.
“Did we sleep here all night? Did I fall asleep on you? Ford, oh my goodness, that could not have been comfortable for you. Why didn’t you wake me up to go to bed?”
I yawn and stretch. My 46-year-old body creaks to let me know I am not made to sleep like this, but I ignore it.
“I didn’t want to bother you. You had a huge day and were clearly exhausted.”
Alona stands up, stretching.
“Still, Ford, you must ache all over.”
I shrug my shoulders and stand up next to her. An electricity crackles between us, which she appears to feel as well. I want to kiss her again, but I behave myself.
“I’m good. And I’m making breakfast. What do you have?”
In the kitchen, I cook up eggs, bacon, and home fries as Alona juices some oranges she recently picked from her trees out back. We eat, mainly in silence, giving each other shy smiles once in a while.
After breakfast, I start cleaning up, but she stops me.
“You cooked. I will clean up. And isn’t today a workday for you?”
I check my watch. She’s right, I need to get going.
Alona walks me to the door to see me out. I step out the door, hesitate, and turn back to her.
“Al, I’d like to see you. Date you, I mean. I know you’ve been unsure about me since returning, but I still have really powerful feelings for you.”
She nods and says, “Same.”
I reach out to her arm and lightly stroke it.
“Well? Are you willing to see if grown-up us actually has something real here?”
Alona gazes at me as she touches the side of my face.
“OK, but I can’t promise anything. But, yeah, OK.”
I bend down, and we kiss.
“See you later, Al.”