Page 15 of Possessive Cowboy

“Well…yes. That’s very true,” she says with a small smile.

We pull into the drive of my ranch, and although I usually park in the back next to the barn where I keep my equipment, I pull the truck up to the front entrance, away from the mud and the mess.

Make a good impression, Mav.

“Oh wow,” Raina sighs. She’s looking out her window, surveying the large ranch house with wonder. “This is amazing!”

“Could use a coat of paint,” I grunt, unbuckling my seatbelt.

“And some landscaping,” she grins, nodding at the overgrown rose bushes in the front. “But even so…Maverick, this is the most amazing house. Iknowthis house!”

“You do?”

“Abby and I drive by it all the time,” she says, turning to me. “The ranches on this road are so picturesque. But this one…this one is my favorite.”

“Why’s that?”

She points to the pond in the distance.

“That,” she says. “There’s a time of day, about eight o’clock lately. The sun hits the water at just the right angle and it shimmers. With the willow trees around it…it just looks like a painting, you know? Too beautiful to be real.”

I look at her quietly and consider this. Truth be told, my ranch house is nothing special. It’s a little smaller than the others down the road, and it’s more than a little bit neglected; especially since Tex ran off and left me to handle things on my own.

The selfish bastard.

But…if I squint, I guess I can see what Raina is saying.

“I guess it’s kind of pretty,” I shrug.

“It’s gorgeous,” she assures me. “Especially at that time of the day. Right now it’s too cloudy…but trust me.”

“I trust you,” I nod.

She looks at me and shakes her head.

“You don’t see it,” she says. “What a shame. You live here! You get to see it every single day.”

“Not really,” I say. “I work here. I’m working from sun up to sun down lately, sometimes longer. Not a lot of time to watch sunsets in my world lately.”

She tilts her head and gives me a sympathetic look, and I kick myself for being so damn negative. I’m sitting in my truck next to a beautiful woman who won’t stop gushing about my house.

“But,” I say. “I could change that. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be a little clearer. What about you come over for dinner? We’ll sit on the back porch and watch the sun go down over the pond. You can show me exactly what you mean.”

“You know, that sounds amazing…” Raina says.

“But?”

“But it also sounds like a date,” she continues. “And…knowing how we met, I know you probably expect a different kind of relationship with me. That night we hooked up, I was thinking strictly short term. I was in a different place…needed different things from a man. But now? I think I’m ready to begin thinking long term again.”

Good god, it’s like she’s personally granting my fucking wish list, one wish at a time.

“Thinking long term,” I nod. “That sounds good to me, sweetheart. Because one night with you wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.”

Before she can respond, I’m getting out of the truck and coming round to her side, unbuckling her seatbelt and sweeping her into my arms.

“First date is tomorrow,” I say, carrying her to the porch.

“Where are you taking me?” she asks. “We’re supposed to be taking photos of the grounds, not of the house!”

---