Lifting a stuck window is no big deal. But it seems to be the only thing to shut Rose up before I make my exit.
I head back down to the kitchen and remember hearing Rose refer to me as ‘that ranch hand’ again.
Feeling it sting this time because I hope like hell that’s not all Tina really thinks I am.
Hope it’s not all she thinks I can offer her.
I find my piping hot meal waiting for me on the kitchen table.
Mrs. Corbett lingering in the doorway between the kitchen and her own rooms she keeps.
Already in her nightgown and with curlers in her hair, she stifles a yawn and bids me goodnight. Hanging back only long enough to make sure I’m actually eating. Which I never have a problem with whenever she’s made something special like she has tonight.
I thank her for dinner, and after promising not to leave a trace once I’m done, she retires for the night.
Alone again, I fork what should be delicious food into my mouth.
Only able to think of just how close I got to actually kissing Tina just now.
Trying to chew what I can’t even taste anymore. Because there’s only one thing I’m hungry for now.
Only one place I want my mouth.
And I know it’s going to be a long night ahead, because try as I might, I just can’t get the image of Tina’s sweet face moving closer to mine out of my head.
Can still feel the firmness of her hands as she pressed them against me.
Still smell the scent of her hair when I finally do go through the motions of cleaning up and then heading to my own bed, knowing I’ve got an earlier than usual start.
But sleep doesn’t come for me.
Not tonight or any other night I can’t be with her.
Having her so close, knowing that she feels the same way even though she hasn’t exactly said the words yet.
I can’t help but lay on my back in my huge bed. My sheets like a tent pitched in the dark.
My harder-than-ever cock making my bed look like a big top at the damned circus.
My mind swimming with images of her face, her body.
Those child-bearing hips I almost got to hold with both hands.
Already imagining just how hard but tenderly I’d fill her with my seed.
Fill her with our baby.
How long I’d kiss that mouth of hers and easily spend the rest of my days only making sure she has everything she could ever need or want.
This goes on and on, around and around in my brain, until it’s pretty clear I’m not going to get any sleep. And I can only wonder if Tina feels the same.
Smiling to myself as I feel my cock twitching under the covers.
Thinking about her thinking about me.
It’s an oddly satisfying but kind of tortured feeling. But something in me just knows.
Something in the way she parted her lips, and she stared up at me when I leaned in.
I know she doesn’t just want it.
She fucking needs it as badly as I do.
It’s only when I finally feel the heaviness of sleep coming that I know it’s also time to get up.
I lift my watch from the nightstand, same as I always do, and flick off the alarm before it even sounds.
Early to bed and early to rise is no joke out here. If you want to get shit done, you got to get up early, and by the time I’m usually through, my bed is a welcome sight.
But tonight’s been different.
An otherwise empty bed with just me in it isn’t something I look forward to. And if I’m going to stake not only my claim on Tina but also claim her proper, then I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.
Everything’s laid out so I only have to pack it into my truck before taking it out to the campsite so we don’t have to lug a ton of gear.
The regular plan is a hike and horseback ride out into the woods by the pristine stream that feeds into the lake.
I keep a trail bike by the cabin out in the woods, so making my way back in time for breakfast isn’t an issue.
Rough Camping on the ranch isn’t as harsh as it all sounds in the brochure either.
That old cabin has more mod cons than even my own place. But everyone has the option of sleeping out under the stars around an open fire, or in a bed like regular folk if they prefer.
Once I’m back at the homestead, I make my way in through the back again. Not surprised to see Mrs. Corbett already having prepared not just breakfast but packed hampers of prepared food most hikers and trail goers would only dream about.
She studies me for a moment in silence as I give her a good morning grunt. Already feeling my eyes hanging out of my head.