The sunlight streamed in like a laser beam through the window as Cassie groaned and rolled over on her bed & slowly opened one eye. Birds chirped faintly from somewhere outside her sleepy mind. She remembered yesterday's events with her body aching. She had been riding the new 2 year old colt, Smarty, who had spooked at something and leapt to the side so fast he left her in the air like a cartoon character she used to watch on Saturday mornings as a kid. Even though Cassie was 23 years old everything still hurt like she hit a wall.
She pushed herself to stand up with a groan because it was time to feed the horses and clean stalls. She had been training young horses and older horses that needed a refresher since her father had passed away and left her alone on their small ranch in North Dakota. As she passed by the kitchen table, she glanced at the stack of past due bills and left out a short breath. When she stepped outside Cassie felt 100 years old as she shuffled down the dirt drive to the barn.
Working with horses was the only thing she could ever imagine doing with her life but the money was barely enough to make ends meet and sometimes she had to scrimp on food for herself. Horses were her life's calling. Sometimes she felt they understood her better than people. She had cried many times into the long mane of an equine friend. It was a lonely life, miles from anyone and only a few friends in town from high school that she only saw occasionally. Cassie didn't have many friends in school because she was labeled the 'weird horse girl' who preferred the company of horses to boys and shopping.
After feeding the hungry horses, Cassie got to work cleaning the horse stalls in the hot summer air. It was morning but already the air was thick. In the distance she heard her dog, Queenie, barking. She tried to ignore the barking but finally yelled to the dog to be quiet as she dumped her heavy pitch fork into the wheel barrow. Queenie was a white German Shepard and very easy to spot along the dry grass and dirt that dotted the pasture. Cassie wiped sweat off her face with the inside collar of her shirt. She looked up and saw someone in the distance walking back and forth in the pasture holding up a cell phone looking for signal that wasn't there. As she walked closer, she could see it was a man, a very dirty man. He had blood on his head and face & his clothes where stained with blood and grease & dirt.
The man stomped back and forth swearing holding the cell phone up in the air. He tripped on a clump of dried grass and stumbled forward, almost falling. Queenie jumped back with a huff and slowly crouched inching forward to sniff the stranger. "Easy girl, it's ok" Cassie said softly to the dog putting her hand on the dogs head.
Cassie giggled "oh be careful there now" as the man straightened up with his back to her. He tensed and looked back to see who was speaking. "Where the Hell as I and who the Hell as you? " he sneered and glared as he looked like he was looking at an insignificant bug not worthy of his attention. He looked tense and ready for a fight with his fists clenched into fists.
"Well you are on my property. I am Cassie Howell." Cassie stated calmly like she was speaking to a spoiled child having a temper tantrum. As she was closer now, she could see the man was very attractive under all the blood and dirt. If you could get past the entitled attitude which was proving to be extremely difficult.
She hadn't had a boyfriend or been with a man in 5 years since she tried to go on a date with her high school crush, Jake Malone. Jake was a year older than her and his family owned the largest ranch in the county, which was directly next to her family's ranch. The date had only been an excuse to try to buy her ranch for pennies on the dollar and of course try to sleep with her. His family had always wanted her family's ranch to add to the Malone land. She sighed as she knew the her high school feelings were just a fleeting crush. For a time, Cassie thought she was in love with Jake. Jake was extremely good looking and he knew it. There was no shortage of girls from town & surrounding towns that saw him as a sexy good time. Cassie knew that good looks and money does not equal a good soul and someone who would be there through thick and thin.
Jake was now married to Kim Johnson, her high school bully. Kim was captain of the cheer leading squad, Homecoming queen, and pretty much anything else you could think of that mattered in high school, except for valedictorian - that honor belonged to Cassie. Kim was tall, slim, popular, and blonde. The perfect all-American girl. Kim was always the one that lead the other kids to tease and Cassie all through out their school years. She had also started the rumor that Cassie gave her horses blow jobs and was not interested in boys. Jake had cornered Cassie many times in town & whispered in her ear that he would pay all her bills if she would be his beck & call piece on the side. Even though Jake was very sexy and good looking, Cassie wanted more than just a physical relationship.
She had resigned herself to accepting that men were just too much work. There were a few men that had shown interest in her but the relationships were not going anywhere. Every man that seemed to want her to change herself into their version of a perfect woman. Like she was something to be won and trained to their liking. Or they just wanted her for sex. Did they stop making good men, she wondered?
One of the men trying to get her attention was Kyle Larson, the banker's son, who had a crush on her throughout all their school years. He though training horses was not appropriate work for a lady. He thought she should be a wife and take care of the house and their future kids. He was sweet but their relationship had never gone past a few dates, holding hands, and a very vanilla kiss.
Kyle usually asked he out when she went to town for supplies & groceries. Kyle's family was well off but she wanted more in life than to clean and push out a bunch of kids. There just wasn't a spark between them.
She was trying not to stare a the stranger in front of her but shit that blood & dirt covered man stalking around her pasture was very hot. It was difficult to keep her eyes from dropping to his full lips and muscular torso. You could get lost in his deep blue eyes even though they had a very cold irritated look now. She caught herself sneaking a glance at his nice firm ass and broad shoulders when he turned.
"I need to call an Uber. My car crashed a few miles back last night. I have been walking in the dark forever! Am i still in the United States?!", the man demanded. He ran his large hands through his dark hair and swore again.
"What is your name? And where are you from? There are no Ubers anywhere around here. And the closest road is a level B road that you can barely get through in a four-wheel drive truck", Cassie asked gritting her teeth trying to keep her patience.
"Tell me about it. That fucking road destroyed my Mercedes! I'm from Chicago. My name is Gil Sartori. What kind of shithole doesn't have Uber or car service? I am almost surprised you have electricity" Gil whispered shouted clenching his teeth and clenching his fists.
"Well apparently you must not have been taught manners. I am trying to help you and you are acting like a dick" Cassie retorted. "If you can calm down you can use the phone in the house to call a tow truck or something and get out of here". The sooner this man was out of her presence the better. She was getting a headache just trying to be civil to the asshole.
"Like a land line? I didn't think those existed anymore. Who the hell uses a land line still? Well don't just stand there. Take me to the fucking phone". Gio said pinching the bridge of his nose & huffing in a drawn-out irritated breath.
Cassie quickly started to walk to her small ranch house to get some space away from Gio. The old house wasn't much to look at with the faded peeling paint and worn floors but it was home. It was warm and kept the rain & snow out. She smiled thinking of all the happy memories the house held before her mom died from cancer and now her father from a heart attack a year ago.
Her father had been her rock always providing for the family through working on engines and doing construction. She missed the sound of his laugh and hadn't been able to make herself get rid of any of his things yet. Cassie sighed as she walked past her rusty Ford truck. It ran ok if you didn't need headlights or put your feed on the floor boards too hard. The headlights has burned out and she didn't have money to spare to buy new ones.
As they approached the house she could tell Gio was looking at the small home and judging it from the expression on his face. As they stepped into the dim sunlight filtering through the house she gestured to the old phone hanging on the wall and said to Gio "go ahead and call whoever you need " and stepped quickly away from the source of her new migrance headache.
Gio raised his eyebrows & looked at the phone like he might catch a disease from it. He picked up the hand piece and started to place it to his ear a couple times. Cassie looked at him confused, thinking "does he not know how to use a land line?" Gio didn't know how to explain that he didn't want his family to know where he was and wasn't sure who he could trust yet. He ran his hand through his dark hair and said "i just need to get my car towed to town. Do you know a tow service?"
Cassie found the information on a local tow service and handed to him & walked away. He couldn't help but watch her walk away and feel his pants getting tight as he focused on her shapely ass. Gio let out a breath slowly and dialed the tow company to have his car towed to a shop in town. He needed to focus on how he was going to deal with his life & not be getting hard for the rancher's daughter. He didn't know how his life had taken this turn. One minute he is happy living a carefree life going to clubs and hanging out with friends, the next his father's health is failing and wants Gio to take over the company chaining him to a life of endless meetings and reports. Gio wasn't sure what exactly he wanted out of life but being forced to endure business meetings and wearing suits wasn't it.
Gio called the tow company & arranged to have his car taken to a local shop/body shop in town. It would be a few days before the shop would be able to tow & look at the car and Gio planned to use this time as unplanned vacation time. He needed to stay under the radar where his family couldn't track him down just yet.
Gio stood on the small porch and breathed in the warm clean air. When was the last time the air hadn't smelled like car exhaust? He could hear the birds chirping and that big white dog barking at something she was chasing in the field. For the first time in years, Gio felt calm and he didn't want the feeling to disappear. He felt present for the first time maybe in his life.
He walked down to a pen with high fences where Cassie was inside with a loose horse circling her on the outside of the pen. Gio watched for a bit and was entranced. Dust kicked up as the horse made circles on the outside of the pen. The horse traveled around Cassie as she made a small step to be slightly in front of the horse as he circled her. The horse stopped, turned in to face her & spun in the other direction. Cassie repeated this several times when she suddenly turned to the middle of the circle, looked down, and rolled her shoulders forward. The horse slowed to a stop and turned toward her. The grulla gelding slowly approached her until he was sniffing her arm with his head lowered. Gio couldn't believe how sexy & powerful Cassie looked controlling a 1,200 pound animal with a look and body language.
Cassie started to walk forward without paying attention to or touching the horse. To Gio's amazement the horse followed closely everywhere she went without her holding the halter. Cassie stopped and started backing up beside the horse & the gelding backed up right beside her. She turned and rubbed the horse's head and put his rope halter on. As she was opening the gate, she saw Gio staring at her with a fiery intensity. He looked her body up & down before he looked at her lips. Cassie blushed and looked away, quickly leading the horse to the barn.
"So the tow truck can't come till tomorrow or the next day..i see you have a couple extra rooms. Can i rent a room for a few days?"
Chapter 2
Cassie immediately stopped walking and stiffened her back. What the Hell? Was he insane? Why would he want to stay in her house?
"What?! No, I can drive you to town to get a room if you want" she said nervously walking the horse into his stall.
Gio rolled his lips in and said, "I hate hotels. I can pay cash. How about $100 a night?"
Cassie narrowed her eyes, "No. Really, I can take you to town. It's no trouble." The money would be nice but she could not understand why Gio would want to stay in her home and wasn't sure how she felt about a stranger in her house.
"$200 a night" Gio offered and begins pulling out a huge wad of cash out of his torn pocket. More than Cassie has probably ever seen in her life.
"Why? Are you in some kind of trouble?" Cassie said frowning & walking out of the horse stall. She immediately stepped away from the tall, attractive man in front of her. She though maybe she should keep her distance from Gio.
"No, not in trouble. I am getting used to the quiet and want to cut the cord for a bit, " Gio said quietly hoping she didn't ask too many questions.
Cassie rolled her eyes & pinched the bridge of her nose, "No, there are nice hotels in town". This was taking a lot of her resolve to not say yes. She wasn't buying the 'liking the quiet' excuse from Gio. Why was he so insistent?
"$500 a night?"Gio says stepping closer to Cassie. Cassie almost couldn't breathe with Gio this close. She could feel his body heat and smell his sweat. This was most definitely a bad idea she thought as she tightened the muscles in her jaw.
"Ok, fine! Just the room though. No other 'service' are included if you get my meaing. I sleep with a big dog on my bed and a gun under the pillow" she said crossing her arms which pushed her breasts together. She saw Gio's eyes drop down to her chest and she immediately straightened her arms at her sides & took a step back.
Gio smirked with his sexy smile and said, " i understand. $500 is just for the room".
Cassie gave him a quick nod & walked out of the barn. "I have some clothes that might fit you if you want to wash your clothes." Gio looked to be about the same size and build as her dad had been.
Gio slightly frowned, "All my clothes are dry clean only but i would like to borrow some clothes that aren't covered in mud".
Walking into the house, Cassie gestured to the bathroom, "There is a showered in there if you want. I will find some clothes," Cassie walked to her dads closet and some worn Wrangler jeans, t-shirt, and socks. She even found a pair of boxer briefs still in the plastic & tossed that on the pile. Cassie walked back into the kitchen and set the clothes on the table. Goi wa in the bathroom and she could hear the shower running.
'Shoot. I was going to give him the clothes before he took a shower', Cassie thought. She turned to the small entry area to see what shoes & boots of her fathers were sitting there. She had no idea what size shoes Gio wore or if he would even want to wear some old cowboy boots but his fancy dress shoes were not really cut out for doing anything outside.
Suddenly, the bathroom door opened and she heard Gio step out. Cassie said "Hey, I have some boots you can try if you want. I wasn't sure…." Her voice trailed off and stopped as she turned & saw Gio standing there in a low slung towel with water droplets on his chest. His abs had abs and he had that Adonis's belt that made her breathing stop. Cassie's face and ears immediately turned red as she turned away, "..what size shoe you wore"
Gio licked his lips and smirked and picked up the pile of clothes. He disappeared into the bathroom. She swallowed hard & took a couple deep breaths to try to get her face to not look like a tomato.She groaned and let her head fall against the wall with a thud. Cassie turned to the kitchen to find something to make for lunch. She settled on grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. She wasn't a great cook but could make enough to survive. The bathroom door opened and said "i am making some food. Figured we are both probably hunger".
She heard foot steps behind her and suddenly felt the heat from Gio's body as he stood just a little too close to her. Cassie sucked in a breathe as she thought she felt him lean in a little and sniff her hair. It took all of her self control to not lean back into Gio's muscular chest. 'What as i even thinking? He probably doesn't even like plain girls like me who smells like horses most of the time. I have to be crazy to imagine he would sniff my dirty hair'. With that Cassie tried to subletly sniff her arm pit to check her body order status.
"Sound good. Can i help with anything?"he said with a deep voice. He wanted to wrap his arms around Cassie and inhale her scent. His fingers itched to hold her and he clenched his fists and stretched his hands out to keep control. 'This is crazy, i barely know her. I hope she doesn't notice how close i am' Gio thought.
"No, I have everything under control." Cassie said quickly. She flipped the sandwich and pulled the bowl with the soup out of the microwave. "So did the clothes fit?" Cassie turned to look at Gio and her jaw dropped as she held her breathe. Gio looked like a sexy cowboy model, sex on a stick, and her wildest fantasy all rolled into one. How could someone look that good in her dad's old clothes? The plain black t-shirt stretched perfectly over his muscular chest and was snug on his big arms. The jeans fit like a sin, tight in all the right places, and slightly clung to his long legs. He had to be 6'3".
Gio said,"the clothes fit good. Are these your boyfriend's?"he asked trying to feel out if she was single. He hadn't seen anyone else since he arrived but he was hoping he wouldn't run into some big guy wanting to smash his face in for looking at his girl.
"No boyfriend. They were my dad's" Cassie said putting the sandwiches on plates and walking to the table. After putting the plates down, she grabbed the soup bowls and crackers.
"Where?" Gio asked furrowing his brown.
"My dad had a heart attack last year", Cassie stately softly sitting in the chair across from Gio.
"Oh, shit. I will put my other clothes on right now. I didn't mean to…."Gio stuttered not knowing what else to say. He felt about an inch tall.
"It's fine. Actually, i like seeing the clothes get some use. I just haven't made myself go through his things", she said with strong smile. "There are some boots by the door if you are interested. I didn't know what size you wore."
"That would be great if you are sure you don't mind. The sandwich is good. Thank you".
They finished the food in a slightly awkward silence. After the table was cleared Cassie said, "I am going to the barn to check on one of the horses. Make your self at home." Gio nodded as she stepped outside.
Gio stepped over to look at the boots and tried on a pair of boots that was just a half size larger than what he wore. As he was putting on the second boot he heard a loud rumbling sound as a fancy jacked up pickup flew into the driveway. Gio looked out the window and saw a tall man get out and start walking to Cassie in the barn.
And Cassie looked anything but happy to see this man.