Play It Safe(32)

I nodded but didn’t move.

“Now, Ivey.”

I nodded again but still didn’t move.

He grinned and I saw the dimple.

And I fell, right then, right then, straight, fast and hard…in love.

“Eight, baby,” he whispered.

“Eight, Gray,” I whispered back.

“Get warm, honey.”

I nodded. “Thanks for a nice night.”

“We’ll have more.”

We’ll have more.

I felt tears sting my nose as my mind sent my gratitude heavenward.

Thank you, God.

“Eight,” Gray repeated.

I smiled.

Then, so he could get out of the cold, I scurried in, closed the door, flipped the lock and set the chain.

Then I moved to the curtain. Trying to hide, I peeked out but I didn’t need to try to hide.

He was sauntering away.

I watched, smiling.

Then, when I lost sight of him, I moved from the curtain and looked around the hotel room.

Then I wrapped my arms around my belly.

Then I smiled so big it hurt my face, I twirled around like what I didn’t know was a teenager, danced to the bed and dropped on it on my back, giggling the whole way.

Chapter Eleven

I Was Free

Twelve hours later…

Gray pulled back on the horse’s reins and although the view was stunning, the snowy plains, the flowing creek, its sides crusted with ice twinkling in the bright sun, the far off mountains blue against the skyline, I didn’t want him to.

This was because, being held tight against Gray with one of his arms around my belly on top of a magnificent equine beast, I didn’t want to stop. Not ever.

Not ever.

Still, he did.

Then again, we were far from his ranch-slash-orchard (and I saw, in daylight, the rows and rows and rows of densely planted, short peach trees that nearly surrounded the house and the outbuildings that also undoubtedly in spring were amazing) so we’d have to climb back on to get back.

Again, something to look forward to.

Something to look forward to.

I didn’t know if I could get used to that. I’d never had that either until last night.

I loved it even though I was so excited for the morning to come, I didn’t sleep a wink. And I didn’t care that Casey didn’t come back before I left again. I just wrote him a note, got ready and was waiting impatiently by the time Gray knocked on my door.

Breakfast at the diner, meeting his “beauties” which were just that (there were twelve of them, twelve!) and now this.

A ride over his land.

And there was a lot of it.

He shifted, throwing off a long, heavy leg, he dropped down then his hands came up to my waist and pulled me down. Then his gloved hand curled around mine which was also gloved since he went into the house and grabbed a pair of his Gran’s that I could borrow.

Grandma Miriam was not there, by the way. She was in town with some ladies, “knittin’ or whatever they do, probably just jabberin’,” (as Gray said).

This, too, surprised me about Grandma. She was in a wheelchair so, stupidly, I didn’t think it was easy for her to get around so I guessed she wouldn’t.

Obviously, she did.

Gray led me to the edge of the creek, his horse trailing behind us since Gray still held his reins. He stopped, dropped my hand but curled an arm around my shoulders and looked to the creek.

I curled my arm around his waist and looked to his profile.

“Is this your favorite place?” I guessed and he stopped looking at the creek to grin down at me.

“One of ‘em. Got a lotta land, dollface, and it’s gorgeous land. So got a lotta places.”

I could see that. We’d been riding awhile, maybe ten minutes and not at a sedate walk (which was fun). Everything I’d seen had been a candidate for top spot.

He turned his head, jerked his chin in front of him and my eyes followed.

When they did, he shared, “Across that creek, Bud Sharp’s Daddy owns that land.”

Wow.

“Really?” I asked, staring at it.

“His Daddy tried to buy ours from mine. His Daddy’s Daddy tried to buy it from my Granddad. This goes on, darlin’, for four generations. Four generations they wanted their hands on Cody land.”

That explained that.

Gray went on with brutal honesty.

“Bud wanted Cecily before me, had her after me.”

My body jolted.

No. Now that explained that.

His arm gave me a squeeze and I looked up at him to see his eyes on me.

“Before her was Connie. Before her was Donna. Before her was Debbie. All the way back to junior high when he picked up with a girl named Emily after I got tired of makin’ out with her at recess.” He grinned again. “Which was around about the time she got braces. I liked my lips the way they were. Bud’s were torn up for a month before he cottoned on.”

I didn’t want to find this amusing because it was kind of scary in a lot of ways. One of those being that he started kissing in junior high which put him around twelve or thirteen and I thought that was kind of young. And another was that he’d been kissing at that age and I’d just had my first kiss last night. But I couldn’t stop the small giggle from escaping.

Gray’s grin became a smile.