No one said anything to Vaughn regarding Chelsea's visit to his ranch, but he felt their eyes burning into his head with curiosity. He didn't see her around town almost all day. She finally caught up to him as he was headed to the Diner that night.
"Oh Vaughn!"
He noticed the silver chain around her neck as she ran towards him.
She jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pecked him on the cheek and exclaimed, "I love it!" When she let go she pulled the necklace out of her shirt and displayed it proudly.
He smiled, it looked good on her. His eyes lingered on her chest longer than he usually allowed them to and he felt a warmth spreading through his body. He jerked his eyes away and mumbled, "You hungry?"
She nodded and grabbed his hand. They walked together into the diner and Vaughn kept his head down. Denny was the only other customer there and Vaughn could feel his eyes on them as they sat dow table. He had one arm around Chelsea and he tried to focus on her as she happily chatted about her day as she browsed the menu but Vaughn was only half listening. Denny walked over and sat down across the table from the couple. He had a devilish grin on his face and Vaughn glared up at him from under his hat.
"Hey what are you guys up to?"
Vaughn sighed. "Ordering something to eat."
"Uh-huh yeah." He winked and made a kissy face at Chelsea. "I could give you a few pointers if you need em." She shifted uncomfortably in her seat and Vaughn stood up and banged his hands on the table.
Vaughn gritted his teeth and hissed, "Leave her alone Denny."
Denny shrugged. "I was only joking geeze. When did you decide that you had feelings for, what did you call her? An annoying little wanna be farmer?"
Vaughn's face flushed in anger. He shoved his chair away and stormed out of the door.
Denny shook his head. "Can you believe him? " He looked over at Chelsea who had tears forming in her eyes.
She shook her head. "It's you I can't believe. I thought we were friends. I thought we were all friends." She quickly got up and left to look for Vaughn.
Denny stood there with his mouth open. He closed it and frowned. He hated to admit it, but his jealousy had taken things a little far. He thought that Chelsea was starting to like him, but it seemed that she fell for another.
Chelsea searched everywhere for Vaughn but she couldn't find him. Discouraged she went back to her farm assuming that he went back to his ranch for the night. When she opened the door she was surprised to see him lying on her bed with his arms over his eyes. His boots and hat were on the floor and he seemed to be right at home. He peeked out at her and seeing the tears streaming down her face he got up and ran to her. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed. He held her in his lap as she continued to cry. She eventually calmed down and he set her on the bed as he went to retrieve a box of tissues. She gratefully took them and blew her nose. Vaughn rubbed her back and asked,
"You want me to make us something?"
Chelsea nodded and Vaughn headed to the fridge. She kicked her boots off and took off her bandana before flopping back onto the bed. She could hear Vaughn banging around in the kitchen and she smiled a little. It was nice having someone who could take care of her.
Chelsea and Vaughn were lying out in the pasture under the stars. It was getting late and Chelsea nervously asked, "Do you want to stay the night?"
Vaughn rolled towards her. "Ah sure, I do have to be at Mirabelle's again tomorrow."
Chelsea smiled and blushed as she heard herself saying, "Well maybe we could make a habit of it."
Vaughn chuckled and kissed her head. "You're such a tease."
Chelsea smiled and tried to act like she wasn't being serious. She got up and held out a hand for Vaughn. He took it and followed her into the house. Once they were inside he glanced around and realized that he would have to sleep on the floor. He didn't really mind though, the thought of sleeping so close to her made his heart pound. "I have to run to Mirabelle's to get my stuff ok?"
She nodded and after he left she ran to her dresser and rummaged for a cute pair of pjs.
When Vaughn got back Chelsea was already in bed. He went into the bathroom and changed into a pair of shorts. He came out and unrolled the sleeping bag Chelsea had laid out for him next to her bed. She playfully hit him in the back of the head with a pillow and he glared at her. He held out his hand but she smacked it too. Vaughn sighed and dove at Chelsea. She screamed as he landed on top of her and tried to take the pillow. They wrestled for a few minutes but he eventually commandeered the pillow. He pulled her in for one last kiss before burrowing into the sleeping bag.
Chelsea rolled to the side of the bed, reached down, and brushed Vaughn's bangs away from his eyes. He smiled up at her and Chelsea shyly asked, "Will you sleep by me tonight?"
Vaughn felt a wave of heat rush through his body. "Ah you mean in your bed?"
She blushed, "Yeah, you ah put my mind at ease and it's been kind of a crazy day sooooo. . ."
Vaughn sat up and kissed her, "Whatever you need babe," he gently whispered. Chills ran down her spine as he got up and slid into bed next to her. She clicked off the light and he pulled her close. She gently ran her hand over his chest and he shivered.
She smiled in the dark as she said, "I hope you don't mind my bed, I guess it's kind of small."
He laughed. "Absolutely not, it just gives me an excuse to be close to you."
Chelsea rested her head on his chest and soon fell asleep listening to the sound of his heart.
Chelsea woke up still wrapped in Vaughn's arms. She tried to wriggle herself free, but with a mischievous chuckle he just pulled her closer. His lips brushed her ear, "Good morning babe."
She leaned up and kissed his lips. "Good morning. Did you sleep well?"
"Better than I ever have."
"Good. Now let me up, it's my turn to cook breakfast for you."
He groaned but released her and got up. "Alright. Do you mind if I take a shower?"
Chelsea shook her head and rushed to the kitchen to make breakfast. Vaughn smiled and grabbed his bag off the floor.
Vaughn walked out in his jeans and black shirt. Chelsea had laid out a breakfast feast to rival his own. He noticed that she had changed into her normal work clothes but hadn't put on her bandana yet. He liked it when her hair was free. He sat down across
from her and said, "Wow this looks great."
She beamed back at him and they started to eat. Their breakfast was interrupted with a knock on the door. Chelsea wrinkled her eyebrows in confusion; no one was ever over this early.
The visitor knocked again before calling out, "Chelsea are you up? It's Denny. I wanna talk to you about last night."
Vaughn pushed his chair back and got up. Chelsea started to say something but he held up a hand to silence her. He went to the door and opened it. "You got a lot of nerve coming here."
Denny was visibly shocked. "Vaughn!? What are you. . ." his words trailed off as he put two and two together. He shook his head. "Never mind. I just wanted to come by and apologize for yesterday."
Chelsea appeared by Vaughn's side and Denny blushed as Vaughn protectively pulled Chelsea to him. The cowboy glared down at him and Denny understood that his little crush on Chelsea was over. He fumbled over his words as he tried to explain. "You see I thought that you felt differently about me Chelsea. I just got jealous seeing the two of you together. That conversation I mentioned happened when Vaughn first met you and was confused by the attention you were giving him. I was way out of line." He avoided
Vaughn's eyes as he looked to Chelsea for a response.
She smiled, "It's ok Denny, no harm done. I hope that the three of us can still be friends in the future." She looked up at Vaughn and he sighed.
"I guess." He held out his hand.
Denny nodded as he shook it. "Agreed."
Chelsea smiled. "Alright good, now if you could excuse us, we just sat down for breakfast.
Denny nodded and left the farm. He kicked at a stone and mumbled, "You'd better take good care of her."
