Blackhill Ranch (15 page)

“Wait, before you get too
mad, I told him I would give him a blow job if he spilled. You
can't blame the guy.”

Chloe laughed and laid
back down, “You went down on him now? Who are you?”

I giggled and pulled the
pillow over my face.

She pushed it off and was
staring at me, “Details please?”

“Ugh, well I was nervous
for sure because you know, Brian and I rarely did that, but then I
remembered your tricks. Thanks, by the way.”

Chloe bowed her head and
said, “You’re welcome.”

“He really seemed to like
it, and he asked me to marry him. So yeah, I would say it was a
huge success.” I smiled and turned bright red.

“No. That's awesome! My
little Lexi, the BJ Master.” We both busted up laughing, but then I
got serious again.

“About Cole, is everything
okay?”

“Yes, no. I wish we would
have never kissed. I mean he really is a catch, you know that, but
I could never be with him. I was there when Sarah broke his heart
into a million and two pieces, and I could never, EVER risk losing
you, Lexi. You mean too much to me,” she said sweetly and gave me a
soft hug.

“You are such a good
friend, Chloe, but am I? Should Rhet and I be doing this? What if
it compromises his and Cole's relationship?” I said sadly, and
Chloe grabbed my face, hard.

“Listen to me. I may not
be one who believes in a forever love but I'm telling you that you
can control this. You and Rhet are perfect for each other, and no
you don't know the future, but I see it ending amazingly for you
two. Make me a believer. You know I would have just broken Cole's
heart and it would have ended badly.” She smiled and it made me
feel a lot lighter.

“I know, but damm it, I
really REALLY like Rhet. I even called Brian and completely ended
it tonight.”

Chloe's brows shot up.
“Really? Are you okay?”

“The scary thing is, I am
not sad at all, I feel nothing but excitement and this other
feeling I have never had, even with Brian. I mean, Chloe, I loved
Brian, but not like this.”

“Lifetime love,” Chloe
whispered and laid her head back down.

“Lifetime love,” I smiled
and whispered, “love you.” I reached over and turned off my lamp
when she said, “Love you, too.”

**

I knew the next few days
were going to suck, and suck they did. I already was missing Rhet
and it was completely pathetic. Chloe and I stayed busy helping out
here and there, I even told her about my dad and Tina which made
her hoop and holler for about 10 minutes straight. I thought my dad
would spill their secret, but by Thursday I was guessing they had
changed their mind. Cole apologized to Camden and the rest of the
guys, and they all ended up getting along really well.

Cole took the bachelors on
their over night trip, and decided he needed another guy so Ricky
volunteered to go with them. It sounded like they were having a
great time and that made all of us excited. They even commented
that the food was really delicious and they liked all the different
types of food, which made Tina's entire year, I'm sure.

When Friday morning rolled
around, Chloe and I were beyond excited to have the next night off
and spend some time in the city. There was a new country western
bar that opened and they had a good band that was set to play.
Chloe and I would go to a few western bars out in LA together, but
I was thrilled for her to see the real deal.

Cole and the bachelors
returned from their trail ride a little after 9:00 a.m., and it
seemed like they had a great time out in the wilderness together.
Even Toni, the cousin, was in high spirits, and was commenting on
how amazing our land was.

I was also ready to see
Rhet, and see how his time with his nephews went. He flew out of
Denver early that morning and was back at the ranch about 11:00
a.m. I was down in the barn letting the horses out so they could
graze out in the meadow when two strong hands wrapped around my
waist and pulled me in, and I smiled knowing who it was.

“I missed you,” Rhet
whispered into my ear. I turned around and looked up at him. I
couldn't possibly imagine him getting any better looking, but I'm
sure he did every day.

I reached up and kissed
his lips, and breathed him in. This time he smelt amazing. I pulled
back and looked up at him, “Mmm, you smell good.”

He blushed a little and
gave me another small hug. “Did I miss anything? Are your Dad and
Tina an item yet?”

“No, I think they got cold
feet. Chloe almost opened her big mouth, but I got to her in time.
I don't want to ruin anything for them, you know?”

Rhet nodded, “Yeah, it
needs to be on their own time.”

I tilted my head and
swooned over at him, “ I really missed you.”

“Me or my mouth,” Rhet
said and winked at me.

“Now don't start getting
cocky with that mouth of yours.”

Rhet barked out a loud
laugh, grabbed my hand, and brought it up to his luscious,
beautiful lips, “I really missed you, too.”

We held hands and walked
back to his cabin so he could get changed for his work day. I gave
him a small kiss and said I would see him later at the
dance.

I walked over to the lodge
and helped out with a few things that were coming up the next week.
Kim told me a few people had called to make sure they could bring
their tent with them, and come out to our concert/dance. We all
thought that would be neat, but I also started to worry that it
might get too wild. Maybe I shouldn't have opened it up to the
public.

Chapter 14

“I can't find my other
boot!” Chloe screamed, as she thrashed and tossed clothes all over
our very small living quarters.

“How do you lose a boot in
a one bedroom cabin?” I smirked and spotted it right away under the
bed. I decided to not to say anything quite yet, because she was
being quite amusing.

“Dammit it! I can't wear
this cute dress without my new hot boots. Ahh!” I reached over,
grabbed her boot, and threw it over to her. It hit her in the arm
and she looked over at me and flashed me a very dirty look, but
when she looked down and saw her beloved boot she yelled, “My boot!
Yes,” and quickly slipped it on her left foot just in case it
decided to sneak off again.

“Stand up, let me see,” I
said as she stood and did a little twirl. “Well, if Camden was
lusting over you before, he definitely won't be able to stay away
tonight. You look good girlfriend.” I whistled and she did a little
curtsy for me.

“Are you wearing that?”
she said with an almost disgusted look on her face.

“Gosh no, I was in the
barn this afternoon. I have a cute dress but I need to jump in the
shower really quick. I'll make it!” I said and rushed into the
bathroom. Twenty minutes later I was dressed in a very cute white
dress with my dark brown boots. I braided my hair and we were out
the door fifteen minutes later.

“We look freaking hot.
Just wait for tomorrow, I have a skirt for you that is going to
blow everyone's mind!” Chloe shrieked and jumped around.

I laughed and shook my
head, “I know it can seem a little isolated out here, I am ready
for a little getaway myself.”

We linked arms and waited
for the band to arrive so we could help them get set-up. There were
already people putting up tents, and picking their spot for the
night. It seemed like everyone was really excited, and it wasn't as
crazy as I thought it was going to be.

The bachelors were dressed
nicely and you could tell they had been waiting for tonight to
come. Carol, my dad, and a not so happy Tina were clearing chairs
and making room for a dance floor in our new dance barn. It ended
up being the perfect venue because it was spacious and it cleaned
up really well. When the band arrived everyone clapped and they
setup quickly.

Before we knew it the band
was playing some catchy tunes and everyone was up and dancing
around. I even led a group of people and taught them how to do a
new line dance, and that seemed to be a big hit.

Rhet and I danced a few
times and I'm sure he noticed how I was dressed, because he would
whisper sweet words into my ear.

Camden and Chloe obviously
couldn't keep their hands off of each other-Yes, my dad noticed-
and Cole pretty much kept himself busy making sure everyone else
was doing okay.

At one point I needed a
little rest and saw my Dad, Tina, and Carol sitting at a picnic
table in the back of the barn. I decided to join them, and to see
how their night was going. “Hey guys, what do you think?” I asked
and waved my arms toward the band and the people
dancing.

“I think it's great, Lexi
I haven't had this much fun in a very long time.” Carol beamed, and
I caught Tina rolling her eyes besides her.

“Tina, having a nice
night?” I said tightly and shot her 'be good' look. She replied
with a nod and a sassy ‘yes.’ I could tell Carol felt the tension
and so did my Dad. They looked very uncomfortable, so I decided to
try to make Carol feel more welcomed. She seemed nice, and maybe it
would help Tina get over her this thing with her.

“So Carol, I am so glad
you decided to move out to the ranch, and the yoga class Chloe and
I took yesterday was amazing. Tina you should join us.”

Tina snorted,
“Right.”

Rhet sat down at that
moment next to me and I shot him a nervous look.

Carol put her head down,
and then shot it back up quickly, “You know what Tina, that's
enough!” Carol yelled and took us all by surprise, especially Tina
who quickly jerked towards her with a shocked look on her face.
“You know, I really didn't want it to go here, but I can see there
is no other way. I know you're mad about Chris and how I 'took' him
away from you.”

Tina interrupted and put
her hand up for her to stop, “Carol, really this isn't
necessary.”

“No, I need to tell you
this so you understand. Please just listen.” Carol ran a nervous
hand through her hair and Tina sat back and didn't say another
word. My dad looked at me and shrugged his shoulders, so I shrugged
mine back at him. “Tina, I never intended to 'steal' Chris from
you, it just happened. He had this pull on me that I couldn't
ignore. He was perfect, he treated me like I was a princess, and
acted like he couldn't live without me.”

“Really, this isn't
necessary Carol.” Tina said tightly.

“Just listen, please,”
Carol said sternly and my dad put his hand over Tina's. “One night,
during our senior year, we were out in his car at a drive-up burger
joint, oh you know what was the name... Frankies. Anyway a song
came on that I didn't really like so I went to change it and he
backhanded me in the mouth... Hard. I was so caught off guard that
I didn't know how to react. He looked over to me and told me I
needed to ask before I touched his radio. I was so taken aback and
it happened so fast I guess I just thought he had a bad day and it
wouldn't happen again. Later that night he apologized and told me
he was just stressed and he would never hit me again, and I
believed him. Well, it didn't stop and by graduation I had
perfected the art of hiding my bruises, and he perfected the art of
hitting me so it wouldn't show easily. My parents thought something
was going on, but I reassured them I was fine. I always thought it
was my fault I made him so mad.” Tina bent her head down and shook
it softly. Carol closed her eyes, but then quickly opened them and
continued on.

“When I found out I was
pregnant I just lost it... I knew I was stuck with him and no
matter what I did I would never make him happy. Tina, Chris beat me
and beat me for twenty years. I was hospitalized one time because I
thought he was going to go after our youngest son and pushed him
down. He lost it and hit me in the head, hard. Charges were pressed
against him and he had to take an anger management class. It got a
little better after that, but then he was at it again. The boys
tried to protect me, but it only made it worse. Then, a few months
ago I just couldn't take it anymore and since both boys were out of
the house, I took the opportunity and used it as my way out. I
really thought he was going to end up killing me. Chris is not
happy about me leaving. He calls and threatens me all the time. I
have a restraining order against him, which Byron knows about, but
I just don't know if I will ever really feel safe,” Carol finished
quietly and looked around at us, waiting for someone to
speak.

Tina had tears in her eyes
and placed her small hand against her mouth. “Carol, I had no
idea,” Tina said softly and turned to face her.

“No one did. I was good at
hiding it, and I was so embarrassed.”