43
Rough, Raw, and Ready
“We had extra time so I took Ed on a tour of the ranch.”
“Durin’ this private tour with Ed, did it occur to you that you hadn’t taken your goddamn cell phone along? And maybe I worried that you’d gotten stuck or something?”
Stung by his sharp tone, she retorted, “If you were so worried you could’ve tracked me down on one of the four-wheelers.”
Trevor growled.
Sugar worked better than vinegar with her grumpy—jealous?—husband. Chassie jumped into his arms and he staggered backward. Before he started another diatribe, she peppered his scowling face with kisses. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to give you more gray hairs, darlin’. Let me make it up to you. However you want.”
“I like the sound of that.” Trevor whacked her ass twice before setting her down.
Edgard stopped in front of the truck. Trevor took a step back from Chassie and from Edgard and they didn’t so much as look at each other.
Weird. “You guys hungry?”
“It’s at least an hour until lunchtime,” Trevor pointed out.
“We on a shed-jewel now?”
Her snooty pronunciation of schedule always amused him. He gave her his dazzling cowboy grin and her stomach flipped. Lord, she loved being married to this man.
Trevor bent down and kissed her. “Lunch later. I wancha to look at something in the barn first.”
Edgard said, “I’ll leave you to it. I’m going up to the house for a bit.”
Chassie followed Trevor into the metal barn. Stalls covered half of one side. Tractor parts littered the walking space on the other side. She stepped over the makeshift partition and saw Trevor stopping in front of the farthest stall.
She sidled up beside him, needing to stand on the lowest rung of the gate to see over the top. Meridian, the beautiful quarter horse they’d purchased the first month they’d married, stared back. “Is it time already?” Chassie asked Trevor.
“Either that or there’s a big storm comin’ ’cause she is mighty restless. She don’t wanna eat, neither.”
44
Lorelei James
“Hey, girl.” Chassie held out her hand. “It’s okay. Come on. Come over here.”
Meridian didn’t move.
Normally whenever Chassie showed up, Meridian pranced right up to her. Not so today. “Is she okay?”
“For now. We’ll have to see. That’s why I brought her in. I didn’t trust that she wouldn’t run off to that grove of trees she’s so partial to.”
No amount of coaxing would bring Meridian any closer.
“Forget her. I have something else I wanna show you.” Trevor snagged her hand and half-dragged her to the tack room. “Ta-da.”
A big mound of tangled ropes and reins were piled in the middle of the room.
“What’s all this?”
“I finally cleaned out the horse trailer. Lookit what I found. Hell, I forgot I even had half this stuff.”
Lined up alongside the snake-like pile were saddles, spurs, spurs and more spurs.
Saddle blankets. Flank straps. Bits. Bridles. Brushes. Halters. Lead ropes. It looked like they’d opened a Western tack store.
“What’re you gonna do with all this?”
“Separate it out. See what’s worth keepin’, what’s worth sellin’ and what needs hauled to the burnin’ barrel.”
Chassie glanced over at him. “Is this a project that requires my help?”
“Nah. Just tryin’ to tie up a few loose ends. Been a pigsty and I needed to reorganize it because I won’t get a chance when calvin’ starts.” Then Trevor stepped in front of her, forcing her to look up at him. “I found something else you’ll like.”
“Is it a candy bar? ’Cause, I’m jonesin’ for a big chunk of chocolate.”
“Nope.” He snatched a braided purple rope from the slats. “Feel this. Isn’t it soft?
You’ll appreciate that, trust me.”
“Why’s that?”
45
Rough, Raw, and Ready
“Because it won’t mark your skin.” Trevor eliminated the short distance between them. “Now’s the time for you to make it up to me for playin’ hooky with another man.
Put your hands behind your back.”
“But—”
“I can use one of the scratchier ropes to tie you up if you’d prefer?” She shook her head. “Good. Wrists together, behind your back.”
Chassie complied. Might not be politically correct, but she was secretly thrilled when he demanded her sexual obedience.
Trevor moved behind her and wound the rope tight—but not too tight. “Let’s go out in the main room, where there’s a little more hay.”