Chapter 6: The Invitation

The question was still on his mind as he drove slowly past the large corrals. With only a dozen horses he'd been able to provide extended areas for them to roam, making them more like paddocks than corrals.

As he pulled to a stop to visit with his horses, they walked across to the fence and stared at him hopefully, looking for any treats he might have. But climbing from the ATV and ambling up to them with carrots in his hand, he heard a loud whinny. Darting his eyes across the area, he noticed Cathy approaching her mare. As if sensing his stare, she raised her head and looked back at him, then strode towards him at a fast clip.

He couldn't help but smile.

She'd pulled her hair back, and he found himself thinking about how delicious it would be to have her on her knees pleasuring him, with the blond, bouncy pony tail curled around his hand. Though he tried to push the image away, it was still with him as she neared.

"I'm going to say this before I chicken out," she exclaimed, stopping in front of him and fixing him with a steady gaze.

"Okay, you have my attention," he said, but as he detected a faint scent of raspberry, her glossy lips suggested they were the source of the delicious aroma. He suddenly found himself fighting the temptation to press his mouth on hers in a fervent kiss to find out.

"I was thinking, maybe, uh..." she began haltingly, then her voice trailed off.

He leaned his head down next to hers.

"You wanna whisper?"

"No, I don't want to whisper," she retorted, abruptly stepping back.

"Hey, I was bein' sincere," he said with a frown, straightening up. "You don't have to bite my head off. What is it, Cathy? I've never known you to be shy."

"Well, I've never done this before!"

"Done what?"

"Ask a guy out for coffee," she declared. "Shit. There, I've said it."

"Hey, I'm honored to be the first," he declared with a grin. "Sure, I'd love to join you. How about after your ride? I'm always up for a cup late mornin'. We could cruise over to the Java Clutch."

She had dropped her eyes to the ground immediately after speaking, but as he accepted her invitation, she slowly lifted them. Her face was still red, but she was smiling, and Scott suspected her pulse was probably racing faster than a thoroughbred's galloping to the finish line.

"Sounds good, okay. I, uh, I'm going to get Cinder now."

"I like that nickname for her. It's easier than Cinnamon."

"Yeah, it is, but Cinder, Cinnamon, either one is fine, but I like to call her Cinder, or Cinders. Good grief, listen to me, I'm babbling. Sorry, I'll see you later."

As he watched her hurry away, he leaned against the corral fence and crossed his arms.

"What am I doin, Dusty?" he muttered as his mare nudged him for another carrot. "Do I really wanna go there? Oh, what the hell, it's just a cup of coffee. No big deal."

But giving both his horses the last of the treats and climbing back on the ATV, he knew it was a big deal, a very big deal.

In her mare's corral, Cathy's heart was banging against her chest, and her fingers were still shaking, making it difficult to buckle the halter. When she'd glanced in Scott's direction and seen him standing with his arms crossed staring at her, she'd felt butterflies flutter to life in her stomach.

He positively took her breath away.

From the moment she'd laid eyes on him, she'd thought he was the sexiest cowboy she'd ever seen. His deep voice with its southern drawl melted her, and she was sure his smoldering brown eyes could see right through her. When she'd failed to get his attention, she'd started breaking the barn rules hoping he'd come looking for her. He did, and when he'd scolded her, her legs turned wobbly, and it was all she could do not to fling herself against him and beg him to hold her.

But the bucket incident hadn't been deliberate.

After taking Cinnamon from the wash rack, she'd meant to go back and pick it up, but she'd become fixated on brushing the knots from her mare's tail. Hearing the commotion, she'd suddenly remembered, and knew immediately someone had tripped over the telltale pink bucket. Racing to the wash rack, she'd been mortified to find Scott sitting on the wet rubber mats holding his ankle, and the accusatory lie blaming Robyn had suddenly spilled from her lips. The whole thing had been calamitous.

But being summoned to his office had been a dream come true, and though she'd walked in prepared to tell him the truth, she couldn't find the courage.

Then it had happened.

The unthinkable.

The shocking, embarrassing, stunning moment when he'd yanked her over his lap and started slapping her ass. It was the most humiliating, surprisingly painful thing that had ever happened to her.

When he'd finally released her, she'd dashed out to her car and sped home, and though her face was as hot and red as her backside, all she could think about was how she wanted him to do it again, and again, and again.

For two weeks she'd constantly relived the events of that day. Now standing in the corral brushing off her mare and feeling his eyes on her, she was so lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed the wind beginning to gust.

"You're not still planning to ride are you?"

Startled by the unexpected sound of his voice, she jumped, then spun around.

"I wish you wouldn't creep up like that. You scared the crap out of me."

"I didn't creep up," he said, frowning at her. "You were a million miles away."

"Oh, yeah, I guess I was, sorry," she muttered, wishing she hadn't snapped at him. "What was it you asked me?"

"If you were plannin' to ride."

"I am, why?"

"The clouds are comin' in fast," he declared, glancing up at the sky. "I've gotta hunch the rain will be startin' pretty soon, and I'm bringin' in the horses. You might wanna rethink goin' out."

"Oh, thanks, you're right," she replied, staring up at the ominous clouds and embarrassed she hadn't noticed. "I'll take her to her stall right now."

"It's that time of year," he remarked as a gust of cold wind swirled around them. "They were talking about the chance of a storm on the news this mornin'. You about ready to go?"

"I sure am," she replied, a chill pricking her skin, "and I wish I'd brought my jacket from the car."

"To be honest, I didn't expect it to get here so fast," he said, holding open the corral gate.

As she led her mare past him and headed into the barn, to her great joy he stepped up to walk next to her, and stayed at her side until they were safely in the barn. Watching him hurry back out to fetch the other horses, she let out a happy sigh, then moved Cinnamon into her stall.

"Maybe there's a chance for me after all," she murmured, sliding her hand down her mare's neck. "Going out with Scott Sampson would be amazing. Mom will have a cow, but do I care, Cinders? Nope, not one bit."