just like a star.
Noel sat beside the easel leg and watched her paint. Angel left her fighting triplets and watched from the middle of the living room.
“I love you both and I love your babies, but I want a little girl like that one. I want her to have dark curls and green eyes and I want her to be raised in the canyon and put a decoration on the tree at the church at Christmas,” she said.
Noel’s tail thumped against the hardwood floor and Angel purred.
“So we are in agreement. Your puppies and kittens will be grown by the time I get a little girl like that, but you wouldn’t mind sharing the ranch with a child?”
The purring got louder and the thumping sounded like a bass drum.
“Okay, then, I’m admitting it. I want a family.”
She picked up a brush and squirted several globs of paint onto a palette. As she began to paint her mind went to the wild sex on the credenza the night before. That urgent, demanding need had engulfed her and taken over her body. It was a brand-new experience and the first time she’d had sex without a bed involved.
She wondered what it would be like in a hayloft or in the front seat of a pickup truck. Maybe an experience like the night before only came along once in a lifetime.
You got that wrong, her heart said. It didn’t have Grand’s voice but she recognized it as the sassy tone that argued with her all the time.
“Oh, yeah,” she said aloud.
It can happen lots of times if you just let it. He’s the one, just like your Grand knew in the beginning. Creed Riley is the one that this ranch needs to bring it back to its splendor and to make you happy at the same time.
The door opened and the force that was Creed was back in the house. Noel jumped up with a yip and ran that way. Angel stood up and stretched, yawned, and then went to rub around his legs.
“Fickle pets. They leave me when you arrive.” Sage was grateful the voice had stopped and that she didn’t have to deal with her newly found revelation anymore.
“It’s not me, darlin’. It’s the milk bucket they are interested in. We’ve got to go to town tomorrow and get them some proper food. Roads are clear and traffic is flowing. Let’s go to Amarillo.”
She cleaned her brush and laid it on the easel tray. “We can get dog food and supplies in Claude.”
He set the milk on the table and met her halfway across the floor. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his chest, tipped up her chin with his gloved fist, and kissed her hard.
“Miz Sage Presley, would you go to dinner with me tomorrow in Amarillo? I thought we’d have dinner and then take in a matinee in the afternoon or else do some shopping after dinner. Your choice and you can pick the restaurant since I don’t know what you like.”
“Are you asking me on a date?” she asked.
“I am.”
“Yes, I would love to go to dinner with you and afterwards I’d like to go to a little art shop and pick up some paints and then do some Christmas shopping at the mall. I haven’t bought a single present.”
He kissed her again and she felt the edges of that same raw need she’d felt the night before. So it wasn’t a one-time thing. It had nothing to do with the season or the party and everything to do with the cowboy.
Chapter 17
Creed reached across the table and covered Sage’s hands with his. Big white cloth napkins were folded into a point and set on a red and white checkered tablecloth. To one side a green wine bottle held a bright red candle. The candle’s wax melted slowly, traveling at a snail’s pace toward the bottom of the bottle. The flicker from the tiny fire reflected in Sage’s eyes.
Creed had seen that sweet look in them the night before when they’d gone to bed together. They’d fallen asleep after sex before and spent the night together but last night was different. They’d gone to bed together like a couple and it had been so natural, so right.
He squeezed her hands gently.
“You are beautiful,” he said.
“Thank you, Creed. You look pretty damn fine yourself.”
“Cowboy puts on his best for a date with a gorgeous woman.” He picked up her left hand and kissed her