Page 149 of When We Were Us
We stop halfway for gas, and I text her to let her know I’ll be back around three, but that I have a few things to check on at the ranch. We agree to meet up at her place later this evening because she has a few phone calls to make, and the cell service can sometimes be spotty at the cabin.
Last night, we talked a little about when she'll head back to California to wrap up things there. While she’ll likely be gone for only a few weeks at the most, I don’t relish the thought of her leaving for even one night, but I know this is something she has to do.
Shebooked a flight for five days from now, and thankfully, it’ll overlap some of the time Jack, Beau, and I will be headed out west to bring down the rest of the herd. We’d wanted to wait a little longer, but the weather was predicted to turn cold quickly, and I don’t particularly like the thought of moving cattle in a foot of snow.
She’d been great about me leaving for this trip. It is something that happens every year. The co-op is run by members and is a big part of our business. It helps ranches as well as local farmers market and process their crops and livestock, while also helping to secure needed production supplies and services. Pop still goes with me every year, and I think it helps him feel connected to the ranch on a bigger level, having been part of it for so many years as the owner-operator of the ranch.
We pull up in front of the main ranch house just after three. Dad heads inside while I head to the barn to find Jack. We spend thirty minutes or so shooting the shit while he catches me up on all the happenings over the last few days. Thankfully, it's been pretty quiet.
I head into the barn and climb the stairs to the loft Norah uses as an office, but I don't find her there. Rather than go searching for her, I scrawl a quick note to her, then head down to my office to catch up on some emails and make a few phone calls that can’t wait.
An hour or so later, I emerge to check on Apollo. His tail swishes when he sees me, and I work the brush over him for a few minutes before refreshing his water and hay. It’s just after five when I head for my truck. I need a shower and a change of clothes before heading over to Wren’s.
The rain has been coming down for hours and is falling at a steady drizzle when I pull onto the dirt road to my cabin. A small current of water runs along both sides of the dirt road, and a lightning strike splits the sky to the west, followed by an incredible boom of thunder.
Glancing at my watch, I have just enough time to shower and change before I have to pick up dinner and head over to Wren’s place. Hopefully I get there before the storm gets too bad.
When I pull around the bend, the cabin comes into view, followed by the old Chevy. She returned the Jeep a few days ago and I love that she’s driving her granddad’s truck again. Just the sight of that smear of yellow paint through the rain-splattered windshield makes my heart rate kick up and my stomach dip in anticipation.
She’s here. Waiting for me.
She’s sitting under the shelter of the porch, with the hand-tied quilt from the bed wrapped around her. Tuck is laying at her feet and his head comes up, ears at attention, when he sees my truck.
I roll to a stop next to her truck and kill the engine, grabbing my hat and bag from the seat next to me. Then, I jog the thirty feet or so to the porch. When I get there, she’s standing on the top step, grinning down at me. Her hair is undone and slightly wavy, I’m guessing from the rain or possibly the shower, but she’s so beautiful that it steals the breath from my lungs.
“Hey,” she says softly.
“Hey.” I drop my bag, grab her around the waist, and haul her against me, devouring her mouth with my tongue. “God, I missed you.” I kiss her again, and when we finally pull apart, we’re both breathless. “What are you doing out here? You’re gonna freeze.”
She’s dressed in an oversized T-shirt and joggers, so there’s really no chance of that. Plus, her skin is perfectly warm when I run my hands over her arms.
“We don’t get rain like this in California. I love it. And I wanted to be here when you got back.”
“I’m glad you are.” I kiss her again and she laughs against my mouth when I nip at her bottom lip and grab a fistful of her ass, grinding my hips against hers. I’ve missed coming home to her at the cabin the last two nights. Being alone never bothered me that much before, but since she’s come back into my life, it feels so lonely when she’s not here.
“So needy.” She laughs.
“Says the woman who put her panties in my bag so I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about her,” I say against her throat and lift her shirt in search of soft skin. The groan that escapes me is more of a growl when I realize she’s not wearing a bra. I shove her shirt up and her bare nipples pebble against the cold air.
“Thatwaspretty clever of me,” she says with a moan when my thumb rubs across her left nipple.
I suck it into my mouth and my hand dives down the front of her sweats, working my fingers into her panties. She’s already so wet for me, and my cock throbs against my zipper.
She gasps, her throaty laugh bubbling up out of her as she pulls my face back up to hers. “What about dinner?”
“You are dinner.”
The blanket around her shoulders drops to the porch and I yank her shirt off over her head. Her tits are bare and perfect and all I can think about is getting her into bed.
“You’re soaked right through your panties, and I’ve barely touched you,” I rasp out as I find her clit, circling two fingers around it as she cries out. “I think this pussy is the one that’s needy.”
Her answer sounds a lot like a strangled sob, and I can tell she’s already close.
“You want me to finish getting you naked, Wrenley? You want me to fuck you until you forget your name?”
“Yes,” she breathes out and then whimpers when I pull my hand out of her panties to move her back a step.
“Get inside.”
