Page 10 of Possessive Rancher

She tries to laugh it off, but I can sense how uncomfortable she is. “He really liked me. It started off by sending me flowers, presents, gifts like lingerie, and weird things. I quit after a girlfriend out here said she was going away to school and didn’t want to lose her apartment. Only by the time I got out here, she’d changed her mind. Lucky for me, you posted that ad and here I am.”

“You think he’s going to follow you all the way out here?” I ask her.

“No, he wouldn’t even know where I am or where I went. It’s not like I told a bunch of folks when I quit how to get a hold of me. I’m just getting messages from one of the guys that used to work there, saying they want to mail me my check.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I got direct deposit. They’re saying they can’t do it electronically since it’s my last check. I have to either pick it up or they can mail it to me. I gave them my mother’s address at work so they can mail it to her and she’ll send it.”

“You need me to look into anybody or anything? I don’t want you uneasy. I can turn on every security feature this place has. The motion sensors turn on obnoxiously bright flood lights along the perimeter. There’s some alarms and things that get set off out by the cabins.”

She laughs. “Thank you, but no, I think I’m just overthinking it.”

I tip her chin up to look her in the eyes. “Ain’t nothing stronger than a woman’s intuition. You let me know if you’re truly worried. I’ll turn everything on for you. Okay?”

“Yes, Daddy.” She smiles, stroking the side of my face. It soothes me for now, but thunder booms, and a massive bolt of lightning flashes across the sky. The lights flicker before they blaze brightly and shut off.

“For fuck’s sake,” I growl and look out at the shed. Thankfully, the stove is still on, but I’m certain that the entire house is out.

Heather starts to giggle before she falls into a fit of laughter. “I guess the weather has other plans for all of your security features.”

“No, just for the house. The main here is the only place still on County power. The cabins and security are running off my own little generator. I haven’t gotten around to getting the house here off the grid. I figured I could dig a trench from here out to the cabins to run the lines and then cover it with the roadways for the golf carts.”

“I like it, and what about lunch? Dinner? Can we bring this food out to the cabins? I wouldn’t want all of your hard work to go to waste.”

“I can pack this up and put it in the fridge. Power’s usually not out for more than a day. As long as I keep it shut, it should stay.”

Heather’s shoulders relax, and she looks around. “You’ve really thought of everything.”

“I don’t know about that. I still need you to do the managing thing once we’re ready to start taking in guests.”

“There’s no way to get out to the guests during storms?” she asks, getting up to look out the back door.

“The ATVs need new tires, that’s why I had to tow ya back in. The treads ain’t deep enough. Just another thing on my To-Do list. I’ll figure it out once we get the lines run out here to the main and the roads out there to the cabins. For now, we can ride my truck the long way around to one of the turn-offs. What do ya say, Heather? Wanna head into town and grab a bite?”

“Why do I feel like you’re trying to get me out of the house?”

I am. I’ll end up fucking her in every room, on every surface, and I won’t stop until I make sure she knows that sweet pussy of hers belongs to me.

6

HEATHER

Hudson deciding to get me out of the house is probably the best idea of the day.

We don’t waste too much time hanging around Heaven’s Haven as Hudson leads me outside to his truck. He opens the door for me to get in before running around to the driver’s side.

“We can call this market research,” he says with a smile. “It’ll be like those books that recommend the best places to eat in town.”

“We should try them all,” I tell him. “We can have our own little list of Best of Conklin that we leave in the cabins.”

“All is a stretch, Heather. There’s three places at best. We’re going to the Black Box.”

I laugh a bit and look at him. “Really? I think you’re forgetting something, Hudson.”

“What’s that?”

“Barely21, which means the Black Box ain’t gonna serve me. Bar and dance club?”

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