Goodbye Girl (Hidden Lane Ranch) (6 page)

It wasn’t long before I heard her
shallow breathing as she slept. I watched her for a while, her face so
peaceful. I traced the bruise on her cheek with my fingertips, feeling the rage
boil inside of me at whoever did this to her. If I ever got my hands on them…

I wanted to ask her about it; I
wanted to find out what she was running from and who thought it was ok to hurt
her. She’d been so open about her mother; I didn’t want to push her by asking
more questions. I didn’t want to risk her closing up and possibly never letting
me in.

My heart ached when I thought about
her losing her mother at such a young age. I’d lost my dad not much later than
she’d lost her mom, so I understood the pain she felt. There wasn’t a damn day
I didn’t miss Dad.

He would have liked Rachel. When I
used to go out to check on the longhorns with him and it was the two of us, he
would tell me stories about him and Ma, especially as I got older. When Hope
had left me, he told me one day I would eventually find ‘the one’. He teased Ma
all the time when she said she knew the moment she saw him that she was going
to marry him, but he confessed to me he’d felt the same. He said when I saw
her, I would know. I’d rolled my eyes at him, the pain of my break up too fresh
to believe I’d ever find love again, but after meeting Rachel, I was beginning
to wonder if he wasn’t right.

I ran my fingers through her hair,
my heart full of emotions. It was crazy; I’d laid eyes on this woman a little
over twenty-four hours ago, but I had to admit I was starting to get feelings
for her. I couldn’t tell her that yet though, or she would think I was crazy.

I looked over at the clock and
fought back a groan; it was two in the morning already. My alarm would be going
off in about two and a half hours. It was going to be a long day - for a lot of
reasons. I was going to be tired as hell but all I would be thinking about was
Rachel and how amazing tonight had been.

There was no way I was going to fall
asleep with her on top of me, so I gently turned to my side, holding her tight
so she moved with me. I managed to maneuver us so we were on our sides and I
was spooning behind her. She sighed and wiggled back against me, making my cock
stir. What if I slid inside her and she woke up with my cock buried deep?

I reached up and cupped a breast in
my hand. I was fully erect now and there was no way I was going to sleep. I
teased her nipple with my thumb and she gasped but never woke up. I nudged a
knee between her legs, spreading them slightly. How was I going to get a condom
without waking her?

“Fuck me, Clint,” she mumbled. She
turned her head with a lazy smile.

She didn’t need to ask me twice. I
rolled back to the nightstand and grabbed another condom. I ripped it open and
put it on before coming back to her. She was still on her side so I slid my
cock into her from behind. She snaked an arm back around my neck while my lips
traveled to her neck.

“Sorry I woke you, babe, but you
wiggled against me and my body just responds instantly to you.” I teased her
nipple more, pinching it lightly, pulling it and rolling it between my fingers.

“Right,” she gasped, pushing back
against me.

I slid my hand down her body and
fingered her clit, already swollen. I teased it softly and she moaned. “Yes,
just like that. Don’t stop.” I smiled to myself; it was crazy how I’d gotten to
know her body in such a short time.

I dragged my teeth across her
shoulder. “Come again for me, Rachel.” I kept my finger on her, whispering in
her ear how sexy she was and how wet and tight she felt around my cock. Her
moans got louder and her breathing more labored until she finally cried out my
name. Her walls twitched and pulsed around me with her release.

I moved my hand from between her
legs and dug my fingers into her hip. I thrust hard into her, letting her pussy
milk me into my own orgasm. I growled loudly into her neck as my body tensed
and shuddered with release.

I held her tight against me, planting
tiny kisses along her neck as we lay there in silence. This woman was amazing
and I could get lost in her for hours.

“I have to get up in like three
hours,” I groaned into her neck.

She turned her head to look at me. “Seriously?”

I nodded and reached up to cup her
breast and hold her tight against me. “Yes, life on the ranch starts with sun,
sometimes earlier.”

“I’m so not an early riser,” she
mumbled. “I’m sorry for keeping you up so late.”

“Hush, being here with you like this
has been worth it,” I replied softly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Should I go back to my room so no
one suspects anything?” she asked. “And shit! Your sister has all of my stuff
we took from the hotel in her truck.” She started to get up from the bed but I
pulled her back down to me.

“No, I want you in my bed tonight,”
I said firmly. “You can get that stuff tomorrow. Or should I say in a few
hours? I’m sure she brought it inside and if not, you can get it from her
truck.”

“But she’ll know - “

I stopped her, putting my finger to
her lips. “I’m pretty sure they know what happened when we left anyway. She
caught us kissing and kicked us out of the bar.”

“True,” she said, relaxing again
next to me on the bed. “I didn’t even hear them come in; do you think they’re
even home from the bar yet?”

“Um, we were a little busy and
making enough noise of our own. They probably got back a couple of hours ago.” I
snuggled up behind her. “Now let’s go to sleep. Tomorrow’s another busy day and
I’m sure Eliza will keep you hopping until you figure out the routine here.”

She yawned and nodded. “Yeah, I’m
tired. Someone is keeping me awake.”

“Funny,” I smirked, smacking her
round ass lightly.

She giggled and I kissed her
shoulder. We were spooning again and I had her tight against me, like I was
afraid she would get away if I let go even a little bit. And there was no way I
was letting her get away.

***

I woke up to the painful sound of my
alarm. It felt like I’d just fallen asleep. I wasn’t ready to get out of my
comfy bed that had a sexy naked woman in it. Even though we’d only been
sleeping for a few hours, I felt like I’d slept better than I had in maybe
forever.
 

I let go of Rachel and she stirred
as I rolled over and reached for my alarm clock. It took a few slaps of my
hand, but I finally turned it off.

“Shit, you weren’t kidding about
early,” she mumbled, taking her pillow and putting it over her face.

I rubbed my eyes and grinned,
pulling the pillow from her hands, hitting her with it. “Time to get up!”

She opened an eye and glared at me. “It
should be illegal to get up this early.”

“Whatever, sleep is overrated,” I
got up from the bed and stopped to look at her. Damn, she looked good in my
bed. “You can sleep when you’re dead.” I came over to her side of the bed and
held out a hand. “Now you can lie there for a few more minutes or you can join
me in the shower. I can wash your back.” I winked at her.

Her eyes moved over my body and she
reached out to grasp my semi-erect cock. Please let her say yes. I wasn’t ready
to leave her just yet. “Hmm…shower huh? Do you have enough room in there for
two?”

“Oh yes,” I leaned down and scooped
her up into my arms. She laughed and put her arms around my neck. I would
probably be late and catch hell from Wyatt, but I didn’t care. I needed another
Rachel fix before I started my day.

I carried her to my bathroom and set
her down so I could turn on the water. It wasn’t long before the bathroom
filled up with steam. I stepped into my shower and turned to offer her my hand.
“Ready?”

She grinned and took my hand. “Yes.”
She stepped inside and I quickly pulled her against me, my erection pressing
hard against her stomach. My hands cupped her face and I teased her lips with
my tongue before kissing her hard. I pulled away and grinned down at her as I
spun her around carefully so she wouldn’t slip on the wet shower floor and held
her against the wall. I began to sink to my knees in front of her and her head
fell back as her eyes closed.

“They say you shouldn’t skip the
most important meal of the day,” I mumbled into her skin as my lips traveled
down her stomach.

Clint snuck out of the bedroom after
one last passionate kiss. Our ‘quick’ shower ended up taking a bit longer when
he decided to go down on me until I came a few times and then held me up
against the shower wall while he fucked me.

I felt a tingle deep in my womb as I
thought about how many times he’d made me come in just the last twelve hours. My
body was sore in all the right places from our night together.

I looked around the room for my
clothes, finding them scattered all over his bedroom. As I walked around
picking them up, I took the time to check out his bedroom. It had been dark
when we got here last night and I hadn’t had a chance. It was just like I would
expect from him - simple with the basic furniture he needed. The room was huge
and even had a fireplace in the corner. It was so warm and cozy, I imagined
lots of nights snuggled in here with Clint.

I couldn’t find my thong so I
slipped on my shorts and tank top. I toweled my hair dry a bit more before
pulling it back up into a messy bun. I walked to the door and took a deep
breath, praying there was minimal fuss if I was caught coming out of Clint’s
room.

I opened the door, surprised to see
the lights at the end of the hall and hearing noises coming from the kitchen. He
wasn’t kidding when he said life started early here on the ranch. I’d never
been one to get up early; I was usually a night owl that stayed up late and
slept the morning away. Guess that would have to change here. I hoped they had
a lot of strong coffee.

I managed to slip into my room
unnoticed and I silently thanked Eliza for putting me in the room right next to
Clint’s. I noticed my bags on the bed with a piece of paper. I walked over to
it and smiled when I read it. It was from Eliza and just said she figured I
could use them in the morning.

I pulled out some fresh clothes,
including another thong, and my make-up and headed into my bathroom. I
undressed again, noticing the marks Clint had left on my body. There was
nothing obvious, just little bites and some whisker burn that no one would even
notice except me. I reached up and cupped my breasts, squeezing them as I
thought about his lips on my nipples. Fuck, he’d gotten me off more times than
I could count, but one thought of him and I was already on edge again.

I jumped at the sound of a knock on
the door. “Rachel, are you up?” It was Eliza.

“Be right there,” I called, throwing
on the rest of my clothes and running to answer the door. I opened it and there
she stood, looking like a million bucks; didn’t she ever have a bad hair day. Her
jet black hair was pulled back again in a high ponytail, but this time it fell
down her back in waves. Her makeup was perfectly done, looking like a professional
had done it. How did she look so good this early?

She pushed her way into my room and
sat on the bed. “So,” She said, crossing her legs and propping her chin on
fist. “How did it go last night?”

I could feel my cheeks getting warm,
remembering last night. I wasn’t one to kiss and tell, but it was obvious this
family was close; secrets were probably hard to keep. “Good,” I managed to
stammer. I had no idea why I was so shy about what had happened last night; I
was a grown woman and not at all ashamed of my sexuality. I really liked these
people though and didn’t want them to think less of me because I slept with
Clint after only knowing him a day.

She rolled her eyes and looked down
to examine her nails on her right hand. “Please, I heard you when I put your
bags in your room. Things had to go way better than ‘good’.”

“Well,” I mumbled, totally unsure of
what to say. Clint had probably seen them all already this morning and I had no
idea what he may or may not have told them.

“Don’t worry,” she said, waving her
hand. “Clint didn’t say a thing. He was sorta late so he grabbed some coffee
and headed outside. I’m sure he’s getting an earful from Wyatt though.” She
stood up with a grin and glanced down at my stuff. “Come have some breakfast
and then we can get a little work done. Then you can come back here and get
settled a bit more.”

I slipped into my sandals and Eliza
looked down at them. “We have to get you better shoes. You can’t be running
around this place in those things.” She pointed to her cowboy boots. “We’ll get
you a pair of boots.”

I shook my head and laughed. “Never
in my life did I think I’d ever wear cowboy boots.”

She winked at me. “You’re in Wyoming
now, girlie. Better get used to it.”

We laughed and headed out to the
kitchen. Rachel headed into the office to make a quick call, leaving me with
Clint’s mom. She was at the sink washing dishes. Embarrassment washed over me
again; what had she heard from our escapades last night. Her eyes lit up when
she saw me and I felt relieved.

“Good morning, dear,” she said,
wiping her hands dry on a dishtowel. “Coffee?”

I nodded. “Yes please.”

She nodded and grabbed a mug from
the cupboard before pouring me a cup. “Cream or sugar?”

I shook my head. “Black.”

“A girl after my own heart.” She set
it on the table and motioned for me to sit down. “Let me get you some
breakfast. Eggs? Pancakes?” She walked over to the fridge.

“Oh no, I’m good.” I didn’t want to
put her out when it was clear everyone else was done with breakfast.

“Nonsense,” she said. “You have to
eat something.”

I tried to think of something simple
that wouldn’t require too much effort. “How about some toast?”

“Perfect,” she said, pulling a loaf
of bread from the pantry and walking over to the toaster. She put a couple of
pieces in the toaster and pushed the lever down. “What do you think of this
place?”

“It’s beautiful. I love it
actually,” I admitted, taking a long sip of my coffee. I closed my eyes in
bliss; this was the best cup of coffee I’d ever had, even better than all the
coffee shops I’d been back home.

She smiled and looked out the
window. “I came here with Clint’s dad after we got married. At first I wasn’t
so sure ranch life would agree with me; I was a city girl too. I quickly
learned to love the peacefulness and serenity of it all.”

She took a drink of her own coffee. “It’s
hard work though. Those boys and the ranch hands work long days in the summer
and the winters here are tough, I won’t lie. If you had come here in January, I
may have told you to run far far away.” She winked at me and we both laughed. Just
like the rest of the family, I was quickly learning to love Mary; I’d missed
having a mother figure in my life.

My toast popped up and she put it on
the plate. She brought it to me along with some butter and what looked like
homemade jam. “Thank you,” I said.

She sat at the table across from me.
“Rachel, can I ask you something?”

“Sure,” I replied, my heart suddenly
beating hard in my chest. Was she going to ask me about Clint and last night? I
began to butter my toast, trying to mask my nervousness.

“How did you get that bruise on your
cheek?” she asked softly.

I stopped buttering my bread and put
my knife down. While I was relieved she didn’t ask me about last night, I
wasn’t so sure I wanted to talk about the bruise on my face either. I was
speechless, unsure of where to start.

“Was it a boyfriend?”

I could see the concern in her eyes
and while I was normally a pretty closed up person, there was something about
this woman that made me comfortable enough to open up to her. “Yes, it was my
old
boyfriend.” I made sure to emphasize
the ‘old’ part. I didn’t want anyone to think I was still attached, especially
to that asshole.

She reached across the table and
took my hand. “Did it happen often?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

“No, this was the first and last
time,” I said. I might as well tell her the whole story. I took a deep breath
and started at the beginning. “My mom died six years ago when I was nineteen.” My
eyes filled with tears, remembering that horrible day.

She squeezed my hand. “Oh sweetie,
I’m so sorry.”

I gave her a half smile. “It was
just her and I, so I was all alone. I’d been dating someone at the time and he
sort of swooped in and took care of me. He became my family. Things were good
for a long time. Then he lost his job and started hanging out with a different
crowd. I had a feeling he was selling drugs and after awhile, I was sure he was
also doing them. He became controlling and possessive. After my mom died, I
swore I would never be with a man like that.”

I stood up and went over to the
window. “My mom was killed by her abusive boyfriend.”

She let out a gasp. “Oh my God
Rachel, how horrible for you.”

I nodded, the tears rolling down my
face now. “I made a promise to myself I would never ever be with a man like
that. When he started to get like that, I made plans to leave him. The night I
told him, he hit me. I waited until later that night and packed up what I could
and left.”

She got up from the table and came
over to me. I turned around and she held my arms in her hands. “I’m proud of
you.” She reached up and wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Your mother would be
proud of you.”

A sob tore from my throat and she
pulled me to her for a hug. She smoothed my hair. “You’re safe here.”

“Mom! What did you do to Rachel?”
Eliza came into the kitchen, done with her phone call.

I pulled away from her and wiped my
eyes. “She didn’t do anything,” I laughed nervously.

“Never you mind, Eliza,” Mary
dismissed her daughter. She handed me a tissue. “We were just talking.

Eliza narrowed her eyes suspiciously
at us. “Riiight.” She came closer to me. “Are you ok, Rachel?”

“I am, especially now,” I assured
her. I really was ok for the first time in days, maybe even weeks. It felt good
to tell Mary what had happened to me in Buffalo before I left. I didn’t tell
her that when I left Seth, I’d taken about five grand from him. He was more
than likely more pissed about the missing money than he was me leaving. There
was no way he would find me here in the middle of nowhere anyway.

“Well, I have to run to town to do
some errands. Come with me?” she asked as she walked over to her purse.

“Sure,” I glanced out the window and
noticed Wyatt walking into the garage. Where was Clint? It would probably do me
some good to get out of here for awhile so I wouldn’t obsessively watch for
him. I wasn’t sure how things would be between us after last night. Would he
act like nothing had happened? If I wasn’t here, I wouldn’t have to worry about
it.

“You girls be careful,” Mary said,
going back to her dishes in the sink. She smiled at me and winked. I smiled
back at her.

“Yeah, yeah, Ma,” Eliza waved a hand
at her mother. “Let’s go. Maybe we can do some shopping too.”

We headed out the door to her truck.
I tried to casually look around to find Clint.

“He’s way out in the fields,” Eliza
said with a grin.

My face felt warm with
embarrassment. Was I that obvious? “What are you talking about?” I stammered.

She laughed. “It’s ok. I could tell
you were looking for my brother.” She started the truck and looked at me. “For
the record, when he got up this morning, he was whistling and grinning bigger
than I’ve seen in forever.” She put the truck in drive and started the drive
into town.

I settled back into the seat,
watching the fields go by out the window. The past few days had been a
whirlwind and my life had gone in a direction I’d never imagined. I was already
in love with this family that took me in with no questions asked and, if I was
honest with myself, I was starting to fall for Clint.