[WS02] Taming Alex (13 page)

By the time they drove up to his parents’ house, she'd talked herself into being nervous
again. She didn't know why. After all, she'd seen his parents every week of her life.
She knew every detail about them and had on numerous occasions been over to their
house. But this time, it was different. She still couldn't put her finger on why,
other than she wanted their approval for seeing their son. It wasn't as if she was
going to marry him. After the whole ordeal with Travis, she'd sworn off marrying anyone
for at least several years. After all, twenty-four was way too young to know what
you wanted, or who you wanted to be with, for the rest of your life.

Grant walked right in the front door without knocking. The place was just as she remembered
it—spotless. Her house was clean, but nothing compared to this. Not even Grant's house
was kept this clean. Alex was sure that a crew from Better Homes and Gardens was waiting
just outside to rush in and take pictures of the place for the next month’s magazine.
There were fresh flowers on the tables in crystal vases, and little doilies sat on
the shiny wood surfaces to keep the vases from damaging them. The old wood floors
gleamed, and she swore she could see her reflection in them.

Just then Grant’s father walked into the front room. “Oh, there you are.” His dad
smiled and crossed the sitting room, shaking Grant’s hand.

“I brought beer.” Grant held up the six-pack and shook it.

“That's a good boy.” His father took the case from him and reached for Alex’s hand.
“Alexis, you're looking very lovely tonight.” He smiled and leaned down and kissed
the back of her hand. “A spitting image of Laura.”

She hadn't heard her mother's name in years. It still shocked her to hear people talk
about her, especially when they had a sad look in their eyes upon mentioning her.

“Glenn?” Grant's mother Carolyn came walking into the room. Her simple flowered skirt
and silver top looked pristine, as did her husband’s shirt and slacks. “Oh, there
you are. Right on time, too.” His mother smiled and walked—no, more like glided—over
to them, and placed a kiss on her son's cheek. She turned to Alex and her smile got
bigger. “Oh, look at you.” She took Alex's hands and held them out. “How beautiful.”
She looked her up and down with a smile on her face. “What a lovely dress, it suits
you well.” She leaned in and placed a kiss on her cheek as well.

“Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Holton. Thank you both for having me tonight,” Alex said
nervously.

Grant's father huffed. “What's all this Mr. and Mrs. stuff? You've been calling us
by our first names since you could talk. No use in changing that now.” His father
walked over and took her hand from his wife's. “Now, tell me all about how you plan
on beating everyone in the barrel races tomorrow.” He walked her into the back of
the house, towards the dining room.

By the time the chocolate mousse was served, Alex was sure she'd have to loosen the
belt around her waist. She hadn't eaten such a wonderful homemade dinner in years.
Although Travis' parents prided themselves on being some of the best hosts in town,
she'd never warranted a dinner invitation. Not even after their engagement had been
announced. She'd never even really been inside their large mansion, which sat at the
top of a hill, just inside the town's city limits.

Grant's folks, Glenn and Carol, as they had always liked to be called, had been old
family friends. Her mother had been best friends with Carol all throughout high school.

“Carol, do I really look like my mother?” she asked her as they sat out on their back
porch under the candles and tea lights as the men stoked the fire in the fire pit
and drank beer.

Carol looked at her and sighed. “Yes, dear. Out of you three girls, you are the one
that reminds me the most of Laura. Not only do you have her eyes, I hear you have
her singing voice.” She smiled and leaned over to pat her hand.

Alex nodded her head. “Dad used to tell me that.” She looked down at her hands sadly.
“I wish I could remember more about her.”

“Oh…” Carol stood up quickly. “I can help you out, there. I don't know why I've never
thought about it before.” She turned to her husband and said. “Glenn, why don't you
grab the old projector from the garage. Grant, follow him and bring the old movie
screen. We'll sit out here for a treat.”

As the men walked off towards the garage, Alex watched Carol rush into the house.
“You stay right there,” she said over her shoulder with a grin. “You're going to love
this.”

Ten minutes later, after listening to Grant's father explain to him how to open the
old movie screen, they all sat in the cushioned porch chairs as the old projector
flicked on.

Black-and-white images of teenagers on the old high school stage filled the screen.
The noise coming from the projectors speaker was garbled. The high school auditorium
looked the same. Even the same dark curtain hung in the background.

“I think your mother was up next,” Carol said, fast-forwarding the old film. “Here
we go.” She walked back over and sat down next to her husband.

Then Alex saw her mother step up on stage with an old guitar. She wore a white skirt
and a light-colored blouse. Her hair was a little longer than Alex's and hung much
like hers did, straight with the slightest of wave. Then she started to play and Alex
forgot to breathe. She listened to her mother belt out an old Dolly Parton song, her
voice soft and much like Alex’s as she sang:

Sometimes I try to count the ways and reasons that I love you
But I can never seem to count that far
I love you in a million ways and for a million reasons
But more than this I love you as you are
More than this I love you just as you are

You are my inspiration, you are the song I sing
You are what makes me happy, you are my everything
You are my daily sunshine, you are my ev'ning star
Ev'rything I'd ever hoped to find, that's what you are
Ev'rything I'll ever want for 'mine', is what you are
 

As the song progressed, she felt tears slipping down her cheeks. Grant slipped his
hand in hers as her eyes focused, unblinking on the woman who had given up her life
for theirs.

She could faintly remember her mother whispering to her before bed, leaning down and
placing a soft kiss on her forehead, saying to her, “
You are my everything
.
”

When the song ended, the audience at the gym stood and applauded.

Carol handed her a tissue and she quietly wiped her face.

“Thank you.” She smiled at her mother's best friend and knew that she had a new memory
of her mother that she would never forget.

G
rant dropped Alex off shortly before ten. She had a big day tomorrow, which he knew
would start before the crack of dawn. He'd entered Mojo and the girls into the fair
and had to be there early, as well.
They would be competing against thirty other goats for the blue ribbon, so the competition
was stiff.
The girls had to be loaded up and delivered to their stalls no later than seven tomorrow
morning.

They had decided Alex had better stay home that night since she had to load up and
be there herself shortly before then.

He tossed and turned for the first hour, then finally gave up and text her.

“You awake?”

She replied a few seconds later. “Yes.”

“I miss you. What would you say if I climbed up your drain pipe and crawled in your
window?”

“I'd say it's a good thing Chase reinforced our gutters last spring. LOL.”

“?”

“LOL? It means laugh out loud.”

“Oh, I'm still learning how to do all this. How are you typing so fast?”

“LOL, do you see the little microphone button on the bottom left? Click it, then speak
clearly into your phone and hit send.”

He tried it and watched as what he'd said showed up on the screen automatically.

“What does this…Oh, how cool is this?”

He tried saying a few other things, getting used to the new technology. Finally, he
text,
“Well, I better let you go. Good luck tomorrow.”

“Thanks, you too. I'll see you around. I'll try to stop by the girls’ barn before
I'm on. Miss you.”

“Miss you too, night.”

He lay there for a while longer, thinking of Alex before finally drifting off.

Morning came too quickly and things didn’t go smoothly. By the time Grant had the
girls loaded up, he'd had to change into his back-up shirt. All of them except Buttercup
had walked easily into the trailer. Buttercup, however, had decided it was time to
play in the mud that had formed from the rain two nights earlier. After hosing her
off and trying to dry her the best he could, he’d rushed into the house and changed.
He got to the rodeo grounds on time, but then had to sit and wait in all the mess
as everyone unloaded their animals. It took almost two hours, with the help of several
fairground hands, to unload the girls and get them tucked into their spots. He'd been
given numbers for each one that matched the numbers that hung on their gates. He took
a few minutes to brush each one and make sure they were clean, especially Buttercup.

When he finally wandered away from the large barn, he headed towards the food booths.
The sky was clear of clouds and the heat was causing lines at the ice cream and lemonade
stands. He stumbled across a few friends along the way, enjoying catching up with
each one.

He found Alex and they walked over to the food court area and grabbed a couple plates
of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and potato salad, and two sodas. They made their
way down a grassy hill towards a small pond full of ducks and geese and ate under
the large oak tree that hung over the cool waters. When they'd eaten everything on
their plates, he pulled Alex into his lap and they watched the ducks swimming and
listened to the children rolling down the hill.

Alex looked sexier than ever in her dress outfit, ready for her barrel racing competition.
Her hat hung around her neck, and she wore a white shirt, a belt, and boots that were
all lined with turquoise beads.

When it was time, they walked up to the main arena, and Grant found Haley in the stands
as the first round of competition started. Everyone laughed as they watched the small
kids mutton busting. When the barrel racing started, Grant was on the edge of his
seat as Alex bolted from barrel to barrel. He'd always been amazed at how fast she
rode and how well she and the horse moved as a unit.

At the end of the first competition, Alex was safely in the lead. Grant made his way
down to the gate and talked to her as she brushed her horse, Sophie.

They talked until Alex had to ride again. Before leaving, she leaned across the gate
and planted a kiss on Grant’s lips. He pulled her closer and deepened it, taking his
time to explore her mouth and enjoy the taste and feel of her.

She pulled away and walked back over to her horse, smiling and waving at him. He turned
around and almost walked into Travis and his folks. Roy and Patty Nolan were some
of the highest-class people in town. At least that's what they wanted everyone to
think. But the people of Fairplay knew better.

Roy had been the mayor for several terms now, and there was no end in sight. But at
home, things weren't as in control. Travis was reckless and had a skill for ending
up on the wrong side of the bars at the local jailhouse, and Roy was a pushover. Patty
was the one that ruled the house. Maybe that's how Travis had ended up the way he
was.

The trio frowned in his direction, and then Roy stepped forward and stretched out
his hand for Grant to shake.

“Grant, good to see you. Still sticking around these parts, I see.” He laughed.

“Yes, sir. I'm back home to stay.” He saw something flash in the man's eyes, but tried
to avoid feeling bitter. This was the man who was trying to get his law license revoked,
or at least that's what he and his father thought. The complaint had come from the
mayor's desk, after all.

“Good, good. You staying with your folks?” Grant could feel Travis' eyes pierce into
him, but avoided looking directly at him.

“No, sir. I purchased the old Wilkinson's place late last year.”

“Wilkinson's? Out by Saddleback, huh?” There was a spark in the older man's eyes.
Then he cleared his throat. “I was just talking to my old buddy down at the state
board about that new business you and your daddy are starting up,” Roy said with a
smile, as his wife coughed. When Grant looked towards her, he could see that her face
and neck had turned a deep shade of red.

“Yes, sir. We're real excited about it. My father's been looking forward to getting
it up and running. Well…” Grant tipped his hat and tried to excuse himself from the
odd situation. When he finally did break free, he walked around the oval arena and
sat down next to Chase just as Alex and Sophie came rushing out of the gate.

She shaved four seconds off her last run. The final rounds were set for tomorrow evening,
just before the broncos came out.

Alex changed into a jean skirt and blouse, then came out and sat with Grant. They
watched the rodeo for another half an hour before heading back to check on his goats.
Alex sat with all the girls, brushing them and cuddling with each one. Their ribbon
ceremony wasn't until the next day, but Grant and Alex spent some time walking around,
looking at all the other animals.

Then they walked hand in hand around the fairgrounds, taking everything in, including
the food tent where several of Grant’s mother's pies and canned goods had big blue
ribbons attached to the nameplates.

After a couple plates each of several different pies and goodies, they made their
way across the field towards all the rides just as the hot sun was dipping lower,
causing the fall sky to turn a pretty shade of fuchsia. The noise level here easily
tripled. It seemed that most of the crowd had followed them here. Little kids ran
around with brightly colored balloons tied to their wrists and cotton candy stuck
to their faces.

They rode almost every ride. When they rode the Ferris wheel, he pulled her close
as it stopped with them at the top. He wrapped his arms around her and dipped his
head for a taste. She was sweeter then he'd remembered. He felt her shiver as he pulled
her closer and looked down into her deep eyes. He took the kiss deeper and couldn't
stop himself from enjoying everything she had to offer.

They didn't notice when the wheel started again, and by the time the attendant was
pulling up the gate, they were both breathless and trying to figure out the quickest
way back to his truck.

“Hurry,” she said as they finally approached his truck in the back parking lot. She
pushed his shoulders up against the side of his truck, melting herself against the
front of him, using her mouth to heat him even further.

“Alex, my god, you have to slow—” He whispered and then groaned when she slowly undid
several of the buttons on his shirt and raked her nails across his stomach muscles.
He quickly reversed their positions, pulling her up as he dipped his head and took
her lips faster, harder. Their breathing hitched out loudly in the quiet parking lot.
The dim lights here gave them plenty of privacy. His boots scraped across the soft
grass under their feet as he pushed her legs farther apart so he could stand between
them. His hands ran over her hips, pulling her shirt up until he could finally touch
her heated skin. Her fingers dug into him, holding, pulling.

When they heard voices, they pulled apart and looked at each other. Alex laughed nervously
as she tucked her shirt in. He quickly opened the door for her and helped her into
the truck.

When he got behind the wheel, he noticed that his hands were shaking. Instead of starting
the truck, he sat there while his knuckles turned white on the steering wheel as he
tried to level his breathing.

“Grant?” He could hear the desire in her voice. “I didn't mean…I can't think…” When
he looked over at her, he could tell she was as affected as he was. Then she was in
his lap as her mouth took his again. His hands raked over her, grabbing at her clothing.
He heard something tear and felt satisfaction when finally her skin was exposed for
his exploration. She arched as he scooted further into the middle of the large front
seat so she could wrap her hips around his. Her tight skirt hiked up her hips. He
yanked her panties aside, sinking his fingers into her heat as she moaned.

She fused her mouth to his as her fingers fumbled to release him from his jeans, then
she was straddling him again, her soft skin up against his as his hands ran over her
silky softness. The windows fogged up as they feasted, moving faster than even he'd
ever imagined. Before he could get himself under any kind of control, she was sliding
down on his length and swaying those luscious hips to her own internal rhythm. He
leaned his head back against the headrest and held on as she drove him a little closer
to losing his sanity.

Alex came back to her senses when she heard a couple of car doors slam. When the lights
of someone's car flashed for a second into the cab of Grant's truck, she closed her
eyes to the brightness and cringed, hoping that some young family hadn’t gotten a
view of what had happened a few moments before.

He'd destroyed her. All day long, he'd been the perfect gentlemen, opening doors for
her, buying her little trinkets at the fair, kissing her softly at the top of the
Ferris wheel. She'd never experienced anything like it before. Travis had always been
too busy with himself to show her a good time.

In all the years she’d attended the rodeo, she'd never had more fun than she'd had
with Grant today.

Cracking her eyes open a little, she looked down at him and smiled. His hair was a
mess from her fingers. He was resting his head back and his eyes were closed as he
tried to steady his breathing. She could feel his heart beating frantically against
her own and smiled a little more. They'd destroyed each other. Satisfaction. Complete
and utter satisfaction.

“I've never done that before,” he said, without opening his eyes.

She chuckled. “Really?”

“Well, I've done
that
.” His eyes opened and she could almost see him blushing in the darkness. “Just not…”

She laughed and leaned down and placed a kiss on his lips. “Me, either.”

“Come on,” he said when they heard more car doors shutting. “Sounds like the gates
are closing. I'd better get you home so you can rest for tomorrow’s big event.”

When they drove up to the house, Lauren and Chase's truck was already parked under
the light.

Grant's eyes stayed focused straight ahead. “Listen, I didn't mean…” He trailed off
as he turned towards her. “I mean…We went so fast we forgot…”

She looked at him, her head tilted a little. Then she began to laugh when his meaning
finally hit her. He frowned even more until she leaned over and placed a kiss on his
lips.