A Broken Cowboy (BWWM Interracial Romance) (7 page)

Looking around frantically for something to dry off with, her eyes rested on the burlap curtain that covered the closet. Stepping out of the tub and tiptoeing carefully across the floor, Mimi took the curtain off the nails that held it in place and shook it out the best that she could, dismayed when clouds of dust flew up into the air.

So much for my bath,
she thought miserably as she wrapped the dusty curtain around her body, rubbing her arms to get warm. She went back over to the stove and turned on both stove eyes, grateful that the previous owner had gone with electric as she held her wrinkle pruned hands over the heat coming off it.

As Mimi stepped outside to grab some firewood from the covered back porch, she looked at the sky and saw no signs of the rain letting up. It took her several tries, but she was finally able to get a fire going in the small fireplace and soon curled up next to it to try to get warm.

By bed time, the rain was still coming down with a vengeance. She had eaten her dinner still huddled by her fireplace, wrapped in her sad little curtain. All that was left was to make up a bed near the fireplace and try to stay warm. She pushed the small couch over closer to the heat, as close as she dared without fear that it would go up in flames, and arranged the couch cushions on the floor to try funnel more heat in her direction. She stacked more wood on the hearth next to the fireplace, and cried herself to sleep.

By morning, the rain had lightened somewhat to a hazy drizzle, and Mimi kept looking out the windows for any sign of a sun that could come out and dry her clothes. She thought about running out and grabbing something off the line to wear still wet, hoping her body heat would dry it eventually, but the distance between the porch and the clothes was practically a lake, mud oozing here and there around the standing water.

Instead, she busied herself at her computer all morning, checking emails and searching for information online while still wrapped in her curtain.

By nightfall, the rain that had come and gone throughout the day had finally left, leaving a delicious, fresh smell behind. If she hadn’t been so forlorn and cold, Mimi would have loved to wrap up in heavy blankets and sit on her porch, maybe even sleep out there all night, breathing in the pure air. Instead, she spent another sad night on the floor by the fireplace, waking every hour or so to add more wood.

At some time during the night Mimi thought she heard a noise, and her heart leapt hopefully with the possibility that Gabriel had finally come to check on her. She pushed that thought away when she remembered that he would never come inside, and began to hope instead that it wasn’t another raccoon.

In the morning, she felt her eyes fill as she cried real tears of relief at the sight of the sun coming up over the rocky walls that ringed the valley. She ran outside naked and felt the clothing on the line, relieved that most of it was only very damp and not still completely soaked. Maybe once the sun rose all the way up and dried things off, she’d have something to put on by bed time, and be able to sleep in an actual bed with real sheets and everything.

“Why are you standing in your yard stark naked and crying?” Gabriel asked, his voice back to that same emotionless tone.

Mimi jumped at the sound of his voice and ducked under the clothes line, hiding herself behind the laundry. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “And why do you keep sneaking up on me?”

He didn’t reply, obviously waiting for his question to be answered since he had asked his first.

“If you have to know, I’m crying because I’m happy that it’s stopped raining, and I’m naked because all of my clothes are wet,” she said patiently, sniffling and wiping her nose in an unladylike way on the back of her hand. “Are you happy now?”

“Why would you wash all of your clothes at once? What would you do if it rained?” he asked, apparently not taking in the situation.

“Well, duh, as a matter of fact that’s exactly what happened. I washed all of my clothes two days ago, and have been freezing to death ever since.”

“Yeah. You shouldn’t do that again,” he replied flatly, eyeing the quilt where it hung over the dead tree. “Your delivery is almost here.”

“What delivery?” Mimi asked, confused.

“The roofing supplies.”

“Oh crap! I forgot about that! I got so upset over the rain and the laundry that I forgot I told them to bring them. Shoot!” Mimi dashed from the laundry line to the backdoor, hoping to sprint fast enough that Gabriel wouldn’t get much of a view, only to find that it was still locked from the inside. She rested her head against the closed door and shut her eyes, opening and closing her fists again. Holding her head up high and squaring her shoulders, she walked proudly around the side of the house, right past Gabriel’s gaze, and went to the front door. She stepped inside and closed it behind her, then heard the strangest, most amazing sound, a sound that stopped her in her tracks and made her cock her ear, not certain she was really hearing it.

Gabriel laughed. An honest, real laugh bellowed out from deep inside his chest.

CHAPTER EIGHT

The nonstop banging of Gabriel’s hammer against the roof over Mimi’s head was about to drive her mad. She couldn’t very well complain since he’d been at it for two days, staying up there for hours at a time, working away, but every time the hammer hit its mark she wanted to scream.

Mimi had tried hanging out outside the cabin during the process, even taking her laptop out into the outdoors, but the rock formations on every side of her echoed the hammering, making her hear double the number of blows. Somehow, it was actually quieter inside the cabin as he worked.

She moved through the cabin, avoiding the little drifts of sawdust that fell as he worked, stepping around piles of wood chunks that had fallen in. As she moved through the kitchen and into the living room, she heard a very distinct sound: “Psst.”

Mimi looked up and saw Gabriel looking at her through the hole where a roof slat belonged. He stared at her for a minute, then slowly smiled. He had to have known the effect it had on her, and she appreciated how much effort it took. She smiled back, then on a whim, she slid the fabric of her button up shirt aside, flashing him some skin briefly. He raised his eyebrows, watching her, so Mimi grew more bold. She began to undo the buttons one at a time, looking up at him and biting her lip as she did so.

That’s one way to get the hammering to stop,
Mimi thought smugly, glad that she had this kind of power over Gabriel. He watched intently as she opened her shirt all the way, revealing her breasts before running her hands over them and tracing her dark nipples with her fingertips.

Gabriel swallowed as he watched Mimi move. When she looked up and saw the need on his face, she smiled and started removing more of her clothes for him, dancing lightly as she stepped out of her jeans, then slowly inching down the see through fabric of her underwear before stepping out of the delicate lace panties.

When she was naked, Mimi stretched out on the floor beneath Gabriel, giving him the best view. She kept a hand on one of her large breasts, massaging it with an achingly slow rhythm and teasing her nipple into a hard point, while the other hand slid down her flat stomach and reached the soft hair above her mound. She teasingly traced circles around her sex, watching Gabriel’s face silently as she put on a show just for him. His breath caught when she dipped one long finger inside herself, sliding it in and out.

Finally, Mimi beckoned to Gabriel with one crooked finger, inviting him to take over where she’d left off. She saw him struggle with what he wanted, the desire to feel her and taste her again fighting with his primal need for safety above all else.

When Mimi realized with horror that she’d been hinting for him to come inside, her expression softened and she immediately jumped up to run to the door, snatching a blanket off the back of the couch as she did.

Gabriel met her halfway, coming down from the roof and grabbing her in his arms as she reached the edge of the porch. He lifted her up so her legs were around his waist, kissing her roughly, passionately. He held her tightly with one hand as he fumbled for his zipper with the other, and soon enough was sliding inside her, pressing her against the wall of the house as he brought her to the very edge of ecstasy. He continued to thrust into her, harder and deeper, long after finding his own release, patiently giving her what she needed to experience her own pleasure.

Afterward, Gabriel held her in his arms and kissed her tenderly, smoothing away the animalistic, aggressive passion from only a few minutes before. When Mimi could stand, she smiled at Gabriel and sauntered into the house, daring him to follow her.

Back inside and back in her clothes, Mimi noticed the hammering didn’t start back up. She looked out through the window and caught the last glimpse of Gabriel off in the distance, just as he disappeared from sight. Instead of returning to work on the roof, he’d left, something that would have been insulting to Mimi if she hadn’t already begun to understand and even anticipate his strange ways.

He returned not long after, his arrival sped up by the fact that he rode a silvery horse with a long black mane, its tail so long that it almost touched the ground. He led another horse, this one a reddish-chestnut color, as he rode. Gabriel came to a stop in the yard and tied both horses to the dead tree.

“What is this?” Mimi asked, stepping outside as she wiped her hands on her jeans.

“They’re horses,” he answered in his usual tone.

“Okay. I know they’re horses, Gabriel,” she said, working very hard to keep the sarcasm out of her voice. He visibly stiffened when she said his name, almost like he wasn’t used to hearing anyone use it, a mannerism that made her realize once again how many layers there had to be to this guy. “Where did they come from? I didn’t know you had horses.”

“They’re your horses.”

“You’re giving me horses?” Mimi clarified, wondering what she would do with them and more importantly, in what society did a man bring back horses for a woman he’d just had unbelievably dirty sex with?

“No, I’m returning them. They belonged to the previous owner, and I took them when he died so they wouldn’t starve. Then I had to see first what kind of person you are, to see if you could be trusted with them. And you can. So here.”

“Wow. That’s…great! But I’m not very good at riding a horse. The only experience I have is just walking around like we did over at Sarah’s place, and even that was only for a week.”

“You’ll learn,” Gabriel said before climbing back up the ladder and resuming banging on the roof. He watched Mimi from his post carefully, as she took tentative steps toward the large animals, holding out her hand for them to smell like she was approaching a growling dog instead of two gentle horses. Soon she was rubbing their noses and picking tufts of pollen and twig out of their manes, scratching their flanks in slow, careful circles.

After working for another hour, Gabriel came down from the roof and announced that he was done. Mimi thanked him profusely and admired his handiwork, then went inside and returned with a check.

“You didn’t tell me how much to make it out for, so let me know if this isn’t a fair enough price,” she said, flinching when a look of anger crossed Gabriel’s face.

“You’re going to pay me?” he demanded.

“Well, yes. That’s what we agreed to when you first pointed out that you could do it.”

“That was before. So now, I’m done and you’re going to give me money for helping you. I thought things were different between us,” he said, more confused sounding than hurt.

“What do you mean? I’m not going to assume that you’re going to do labor on my ranch for free, just because we’ve had sex! So take your check and leave!” She went into the house and slammed the door, angrily kicking at the little piles of sawdust that had fallen in as Gabriel worked, spreading any evidence that he’d been nearby before sweeping them up with her broom. As she turned to dump the dustpan out the back door, she saw that Gabriel was still standing in the yard, not half a mountain away as she’d expected.

He looked at her, completely at a loss for words. Mimi returned his stare from her place on the porch, her hands firmly planted on her hips, willing herself to be strong and not fall completely apart from the look of hurt on Gabriel’s face.

Too late
, she thought to herself.
I’ve already fallen apart, and I didn’t even know it
.

“I’m sorry,” Gabriel began quietly. “This is all kind of new to me.”

Mimi dropped her gaze and waited, then stepped down from the porch, crossing the yard to stand in front of Gabriel. “I’m sorry, too,” she said. “And if it’s any consolation, I don’t know what I’m doing either. I bought a farm, for cryin’ out loud, all because being out here made me feel alive for the first time in years. I didn’t know you were part of the package when I bought the place, and I think I’m still trying to figure you out.”

Gabriel nodded. “I’m still trying to figure me out, too. It just hasn’t happened yet.”

Mimi cringed a little before asking, “Have you ever thought maybe you’re just too much to figure out on your own? There’s a reason that support groups exist. You are certainly not the only messed up soldier to come home from war a completely different person.”

“I’m not just different,” Gabriel answered, “I’m not even sure I’m a person anymore.”