Page 74 of Grit
“I am.” She rose. “Why don’t you and Cary relax and let your mom and me clean up? You’ve been running around all day.”
Melissa glanced at the clock, then at Abby. “It’s that time, kid.”
“Noooooo.” Abby ran behind Cary’s chair. “Cary, hide me.”
He laughed and stood up. “Sorry, kid. You’re on your own. Only a foolish man goes up againstMissMelissa Oxford.”
Melissa rolled her eyes in his general direction. “Abby, bed. You had a very fun day—please don’t end it badly by being stubborn about bedtime.”
“Fine.” She slumped her shoulders and trudged down the hall. “I can’t believe it’s already eight thirty.”
“It’s almost nine. Don’t push it. And don’t forget teeth.”
“Fine.” Abby stomped off down the hall.
Melissa’s eyes went to Cary and she mouthed,Fine.
He smothered a smile.
She asked, “Did you get enough to eat?”
“I did.” He ran a hand over his muscled stomach, and Melissa’s eyes went straight there. Cary clearly noticed. “I heard Brian was doing some work on the bunkhouse this week.”
Melissa glanced at Joan and Rumi. “Uh, yeah. Do you want to see what he’s done?”
“I’d love to.”
“Cool.” Melissa walked toward the front door. “Mom, we’ll just be down in the bunkhouse for a few minutes.”
“Take your time!”
Melissa felt Cary at her back when she grabbed a flashlight and the keys. “Eventually we’ll put lights along the path, but for now it’s pretty dark.”
“Mm-hmm.”
Cary walked behind her as she led him down the porch and around the back of the ranch house.
The bunkhouse sat in a copse of sycamore and oak trees at the east boundary of the ranch. It was the oldest building on the ranch, dating back around a hundred years, and was probably the original house. It was made of adobe bricks and covered in flaking stucco.
Old trees shaded the small house, which sat nestled in the curve of the creek. It was dry this time of year but would fill with water as soon as rain came in the fall. Dry or not, it was one of the prettiest places on the Oxford ranch.
“You gonna put gravel on this road to keep the dust down?”
“I already have a load ordered,” she said. “It’ll come in a couple weeks.”
“You’ll want it in before the rain comes or this will be nothing but mud.”
“That’s what I was thinking too.”
He walked closer to her and ran a hand over her bottom. “I’ve been wanting to do that all night. You’ve got such a great ass.”
Her cheeks felt hot again. “You do too.”
His smile flashed in the darkness. “Thank you.”
“You like my legs. My ass. My hair.” Melissa took the lock and the keys in hand. “Is there any part of me you don’t like?”
Cary put his hands on her hips. “I could do without the hair-trigger temper you have sometimes.”
