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Heavenly trinkets
GhostWriter Ebooks
Category:
Romance
Publisher: Lulu.com
Type: Fiction
Pages: 253
Copyright: Dec 2006
After her hard breakup with Sten, Allie swore off men forever, but that was before her eyes laid on Cord, the dashing, somewhat aggravating cowboy, who owned the ranch across the street. A man she’d known for most of her life, but had somehow overlooked. Allie’s attentions became obsessed with Cord, and it frustrated her that she couldn’t capture his attention... but then she did, finding herself totally taken in by his good looks and charming ways.
Unbeknownst to Allie, Cord had loved her for many years, and though the thought of having her love him back thrilled him, he was afraid of it. Allie had always followed another calling, and he feared his settled ways wouldn’t be enough to keep her attention.
After a few months without her, Sten decided he wanted Allie back, driving back to the place he hated, to bring her home, and learning of her involvement with Cord only enhanced his desires, but after seeing Allie in Sten’s arms, Cord vowed out, knowing he could never trust her.
Fate stepped in-in a hard way, inevitably disrupting everyone’s plans.
Cord already had his horse saddled and ready to go, long before the evening set in. He thought about a moonlight ride, but it was a bit cold, and the ground was still mucky from all the rain, so he considered maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, ‘but the horse was already saddled…’ He stood at the stall’s opening as he tried to decide, opening the swinging door and grabbing the horses reins. ‘Might as well,’ he concluded, straddling himself over the saddle. Adjusting his seating before he clicked to the horse to move. He could hear slushing mud beneath the horse’s hoofs, as they paced toward the ranch across the street. The lights were still on, which he was thankful for. He didn’t mind about helping Jim out, but he was really there to see Allie, and he wasn’t quite sure how to ask for her without bringing on a lot of speculative teasing. ‘Please let her answer the door,’ he thought as he knocked, disappointed to see her brother’s face when the door opened.
“Cord… to what do we owe this honor?” Jim appeared behind him.
“Me and dad were talking and we thought it would be a good idea to offer our services,” Cord explained, his eyes looking beyond them for a sign of Allie.
“Come in here out of the cold,” Jim instructed, grabbing Cord’s coat and pulling him inside. “Can I offer you something? Just brewed a fresh pot of coffee.”
“Coffee would be fine,” Cord accepted, but his eyes still wandered, and it wasn’t without Cal’s notice. Cal curiously watched the man from the dining room doorway, thinking he was acting a bit strange even for him.
“So help us how?” Jim asked, sitting down in his chair at the head of the table.
“Well we’re about done with our crops and with the cold weather setting in and your equipment not running too good, we thought it might be nice to offer our services.”
Jim nodded with his thoughts. “You sure it won’t hamper your own work?” he asked.
Cal had a recall of several years earlier, when he’d notice Cord sitting in his field in front of their house, just staring to get a glimpse of his sister, and Cal wondered if he still had that same crush. ‘Smooth move, Cord, win over the parents first,’ he thought to the man. He’d never had that much control over himself, but it wasn’t because his father hadn’t tried to teach him manners, he just had his own way of doing things. ‘I mean what good are manners if the girl doesn’t like you?’ he mentally reasoned, and he wondered if his sister did have a dwindling flame inside of her for this cowboy. Cord was nothing like Sten, but her relationship with Sten hadn’t worked out at all. Cal knew his sister pretty well, and he hadn’t been surprised when she left for the big city. She’d always had a tinge of wildness to her, and he just couldn’t picture her and Cord living happily ever after on that big ranch of his. ‘She just wasn’t that kind.’
“Can I offer you something to eat?” His mother’s voice broke Cal’s trance.
“Uh, no thank you, ma’am,” Cord replied, sipping on his large cup of coffee.
“When are the cattle sales this month?” Jim asked.
“Next week,” Cord said.
“You have quite a stock, don’t you?” The questions went on and on, and Cal was certain Cord wished he were someplace else. He felt somewhat incline to rescue the man, but decided to see what Cord did for himself. ‘You got yourself into this, now let’s see how you get yourself out.’ Cal smiled with his thoughts.
It was obvious that Cord’s attentions were elsewhere, but his darting eyes, and the disappointed look on the man’s face, told Cal he was hoping to get a glimpse of Allie. Cal sighed. Even if Cord wasn’t one of his personal friends, he couldn’t let him go through this. Without notice he left the room, light-footedly walking up the stairs to Allie’s room, knocking his knuckles gently against the door. Allie soon stood before him in her teddy bear pajamas, sighing when she saw his face.
“What is it, Cal?” she irritably asked.
“You have company,” he announced, flashing her a big smile.
Her brows tightened as she looked into his face. “Who?” she cautiously asked, fearing it was Seth.
“Just get yourself all pretty and come down,” he urged.
“No,” she defied. “I’m not going to get dressed again.
“Well throw a robe over your skinny ass then,” he taunted, “but hurry, the man needs rescuing bad.”
Cal left the doorway, leaving her perplexed. She combed through her hair with her fingers, throwing her robe over her shoulders as she marched down the stairs, stopping just before she reached the dining room. She recognized that voice… “Cord…” she whispered, suddenly realizing what she looked like. She couldn’t allow him to see her like this, she concluded, but it was too late, before she’d had the chance to escape, Cord stood in the room, his eyes blinking when he caught sight of her. He smiled at her nervous expression, tipping his hat in the same manner he always did when he saw her. She tightened the robe around her. ‘This is totally embarrassing,’ she mentally whined.
“Evening,” he broke the ice.
She nodded, fearful of what would leak out if she spoke, following his eyes downward to her flannel pajama bottoms. “I was just getting ready to turn in,” she explained, knowing he’d already guessed that.
Cal came up from behind Cord, slapping his hand against the man’s back. “You know there’s a warm fire in the family room,” he whispered into Cord’s ear, quickly retreating from the room.
Allie had heard him, and though she did delight in the thought of keeping company with Cord, she wasn’t exactly dressed for it. “Did you leave the note in my pocket?” she decided she had to know. He nodded. “You’re late then,” she scolded.
He nodded again. “My watch stopped,” he explained, “and when I finally realized it…”
He didn’t need to say more. Allie didn’t care, the point was, he showed up, despite the fact she wasn’t dressed to receive him, but this was awkward. With Cord it was a secret thing. Something she felt she didn’t want to share with anyone but Cord and herself, at least for now. They hadn’t quite decided what they were yet, and she didn’t want anyone else deciding for her, possibly driving him away before she had him where she wanted him. ‘If that was even possibly.’ “You have an uncanny sense of timing,” she said.
He shrugged ineptly, giving her a light glimpse of the younger man she once knew. A much younger insecure man, who acted as goofy as he nearly looked. She smiled. It hadn’t meant a thing to her back then, but now it was a fond memory. “Mom made a great apple pie,” she hinted. He smiled, but she was unsure of his thoughts. “Well do you want a piece or not?” she impatiently pressed. His hand reached forward as he stared into her eyes, taking her hand into his. She was uncomfortable with her surroundings, knowing that at any moment someone could walk into the room and see them. She pulled her hand from his, understanding his dismayed expression. “We need to talk,” she told him. His head nodded slightly. Her eyes looked to the adjoining room, hearing her parent’s talking in the dining room. “Come on,” she whispered, leading him to the stairs.
He stopped at the bottom. “I can’t do that,” he protested. “Not here.”
She sighed. “All right,” she resigned, but she did understand, and with her second set of thoughts she agreed it probably wasn’t one of her better ideas. “Let me get something else on then,” she said.
“Why?” He smiled in his teasing way.
“I can’t go out like this,” her reprimanding voice insisted.
“Where are you going?” he taunted, concealing his chuckle.
It was obvious Allie wasn’t amused. She was short on patience, which was something she feared she’d desperately need with him. “Do you want to stay here?” she questioned.
He shrugged. “Why not?”
“I’m changing. You stay right here,” she commanded, finishing her journey up the stairs.
Allie’s mind twisted with her thoughts. ‘He was toying with her,’ she suspected, and she wasn’t sure she liked that. Her romantic life had been too insecure to be facing the same thing again. She wanted to be sure she had the right one this time, but as she considered everything, she guessed she didn’t. Cord drew her attention, and she was desperate to know him better, but Cord already had a woman in his life, and if he could play around on a woman like Leanne, what was he doing with her?
She pulled her long sleeved blouse down over the top of her jeans, looking in her dresser mirror as she brushed through her hair. In her defiance, she’d had her hair cut short, but it was growing out, now sending her blonde locks sprawling over her shoulders. She pulled it back, securing it with a barrette before she hustled back down the stairs. Cord was not where she’d left him, which irritated her. “Men just can’t seem to follow instructions,” she quietly grumbled to herself, finding him in the family room looking over the hanging family pictures. He turned when she entered the room as if he’d sensed her presence.
“I remember you this way,” he said, pointing to one of the pictures.
“I hate that picture,” she complained.
“It’s you,” he replied.
“Not anymore,” she revealed with a sigh, plopping her body down on the couch.
He softly sat down next to her, leaning toward the edge with his hands folded together in front of him.
“What did you want anyway?” she asked.
His head turned to face her, expressing his confusion.
“With the note,” she explained.
He wasn’t sure what to say. It was weird with her, and though he sensed she was interested, his inner sense hadn’t always been real accurate. “Did you show up?” he inquired.
She smiled, wondering how she should respond. “Sort of,” she decided.
“Sort of?” His brows lifted.
“Well I went out to check the mail and ran into Seth…”
“Seth?” he repeated.
“He was coming over to see me and we ran into each other.”
“That’s interesting,” he said, sitting back against the couch cushion. “So you and he are an item?” He seemed nervous.
“We’ve dated a time or two,” she confirmed.
“I’m aware,” he stated, bringing back to her mind the memory of the night she and Seth had gone to the bar to shoot pool.
“Oh yea, I forgot.” She snickered at his obvious jealousy, and he suspected she’d figured it out.
“Well you two make a cute couple,” he announced, and though he tried, he was unable to hide his sarcasm.
“Cord, you haven’t answered my question,” she informed.
“What question?” he shot back.
She snarled with agitation. He was playing with her, she was sure. ‘No man could possibly be this ignorant.’ “Why was I supposed to meet you?” her voice rose.
“I just wanted to see you,” he confessed.
She smiled tenderly with his words, but it still wasn’t enough. “Why?” she persisted.
He blinked as he gazed at her. How could he possibly answer that question without sounding like a big time fool? He wondered. “I like you,” he admitted, “and I like spending time with you.”
“What about Leanne?” she was determined to get the truth, even if she had to go to the bitch herself.
“What about her?” he retorted.
“She’s your girl, isn’t she?” she challenged.
“That didn’t seem to bother you before,” he came back.
This wasn’t going in the direction she’d wanted it to go. She was intent to get answers, but it was obvious he didn’t want to go there. His direction was laid out without complications, or answering questions that pinned him down, but she wasn’t going to play this game.
“Look, Cord…” She sighed, remembering where she was, and how she didn’t want her family to know about any of this. She stood up, grabbing hold of the shoulder of his coat and jerking upward, urging him to go with her. He complied, following her out through the front door and into the dark barn. She flipped on the light, her attention briefly drawn to the neighing horses. She was so drawn to grab hold of him and pull his face to her wanting lips, but she resisted, instead pushing him backwards to the bales of piled hay. He sat looking stunned as she paced before him.
“Okay, Cord, I know you want to play this non-connected playboy, but I don’t work that way. I’ve had one serious relationship in my life and that turned out to suck, so before I go making another mistake, I need to know where your head is on this,” she demanded.
He laughed. “Where is yours?” he countered.
“Cord!” she scowled with frustration, wanting to strike him as he leaned his back against the upper level of hay. “Is this just a game with you?” she pried.
His lips pulled tightly together, his head slightly cocked. He wasn’t sure why he was playing with her this way when it was obviously making her mad, but the truth was, he didn’t know. When he first saw her after all those years, he felt a twinge of excitement, then when he saw her with Seth, his feelings turned negative. Then she kissed him, and his whole world turned around. He’d forgotten about his relationship with Leanne, and the way Allie had scorned him, but the memory of her lips against his, however so brief, had captured him, and that he remembered. He’d wanted more, but of what he was unsure. He remembered their bodies as they lay close together, and how much he’d wanted her that day. Thinking about it stirred something within him, and catching a glimpse of her eyes was more than he could endure. He rose to his feet, grabbing her and pulling her body to his. She gasped with surprise, totally immobilized in his arms. His head lowered, the heat of his lips sending a threatening chill down her spine.
“You want to know?” he whispered, seizing her lips with his. Their bodies dropped to the floor. She wanted him, more than she could ever remember wanting anything in her life. She felt his breath on her neck, taking in the tantalizing aroma of his cologne… she gasped out his name, feeling his arousal against her covered legs. This was not the way she’d envisioned it, but then she considered she’d never taken it that far.
His fingers stroked her neck, lowering to her chest, his large hand resting over her rapid beating heart, as he gazed down into her eyes, but something wasn’t right. ‘This is not what you’re here for,’ his mind scolded him, and he pulled away.
“What’s wrong?” she anxiously choked out.
His head shook as he sat on the floor with his back facing her. “Cord,” she persisted, touching her hand against his back.
He turned slightly to face her. “The truth is… I’m a simple guy, with a simple life. I like who I am and where I’m at, and I can’t be any other way,” he explained.
She stared, unsure of what to say, or what he wanted her to say. She’d already guessed all this, ‘but why did he feel the need to tell her?’ she wondered. “What do you think I want from you, Cord?” she asked.
“That’s just it, I don’t know.” He lifted his arms above his head, dropping them with a defeated sigh. “Everything was uncomplicated for me before you came back,” he griped. ”I didn’t have to worry about all this.”
“All what?” her stressed voice rose.
“You!” His face turned away from her. “I didn’t have to deal with you.”
Allie was flabbergasted. All this time she’d felt he was using her, or trying to, when what really had motivated him was his fear. His fear of her and his fear of what she’d do to him if he allowed her to get too close. She pressed her hand against his shoulder. “Cord,” she whispered for his attention. “My life has been just the opposite of yours in some ways, but it didn’t work, and now I need something else.”
“Yes, but what?” he asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t really know, but I do know that I like you.”
He snickered. “I knew that,” he acknowledged, “but this goes beyond that, doesn’t it?”
“It’s funny, but I’d planned on asking you about that tonight,” she confessed.
“Asking me what?” He looked confused.
“What we are,” she explained.
“You were going to ask me?” he shot back.
“Well yea. It’s like you said, you already had your life mapped out before I came back,” she reminded him.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Grrrrr!” she snarled. “Stop this! Just stop this!” she demanded. “Damn it, Cord, what in the hell are we talking about?” She’d lost track.
He smiled, which irritated her more. “I could have just gone through with… well you know, and walked away, but the truth is, Allie, I think I’m falling for you… again,” he revealed.
She smiled at his disclosure, taking his hand into hers. “Ditto,” she agreed. “but I think you have some poop in your stable to clean up.”
He laughed. “What?”
“Leanne,” she simply replied.
His head nodded as he understood. “So how are we going to handle this dilemma?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “You’re going to have to figure this out for yourself.”
He embraced her, holding her like he’d never let her go. Their fire had settled, but the embers still burned. Allie knew that at some point the situation was going to get critical, and after hearing Cord’s confession, she knew she’d have to be sure of what she wanted. He wasn’t in this for the physical satisfactions he’d receive; he was in it for keeps.
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