Chapter Four
Natalie awoke with an extra bounce in her step. For the first time since she had been in Texas she felt refreshed and it was an amazing feeling. She had even picked up the phone and talked to very worried Gigi.
"Texas, your in damn Texas!" she had said in shock as Natalie sat on her bed.
"its actually pretty nice here, you know I use to come here as a kid" Natalie smiled some..
"You sound different" Gigi said quickly..
"yeah well a little sunshine does that to a person, now how is the paper going, are you ok. I feel horrible putting it all on you" Natalie said honestly..
"yeah well I don't envy you at all, ive become a slave driver here, I'm pretty sure they are referring to me as the evil queen" Gigi laughed some.."Please tell me your coming home soon"
"yeah I mean I just don't know when" Natalie said quietly..
"Have you talked to him at all" Gigi asked with concern..
"no but he is constantly blowing up my phone, honestly I have nothing left to say to him" Natalie said honestly as she heard what sounded like a lawn mower outside and she got up and headed to the window. Smiling she saw John using the ride on tractor..
"yeah well he has already come by here twice" Gigi began..
"what? You can tell him to" Natalie began..
Gigi cut her off.."kiss your big white ass" she laughed and Natalie began to laugh too..
"so I take it you heard" Natalie continued to watch John. He was shirtless again and his hair was pulled back in a pony tail. Seriously it didn't get any hotter than that..
"Um I don't know who hasn't, that my friend was priceless.. im sure your dad wasn't too happy" Gigi laughed..
"Yeah well he wasn't the one who was screwed over, no pun intended" Natalie rolled her eyes as she continued watching him..
"well you are missed girl but take the time you need, who knows maybe you will wrangle yourself up a cowboy" Gigi smirked..
"maybe" Natalie smiled..
The girls hung up as Natalie made her way downstairs. She was actually humming a tune as she came down the stairs. The house was quiet as she went into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.. She moved back to the front of the house where she peeked through the window to watch him some more but the lawn mower was now unoccupied. She moved the curtain some more as she tried to find him..
"Looking for someone" his voice came up from behind her as she jumped, spilling her coffee some as she spun around and there he was. Shirtless, covered in sweat and looking unbelievably hot. He had a smirk on his face as he wiped it with a towel..
"Oh um, I just I heard a noise" she lied nervously..
He couldn't help but smirk at her scrambling for words, she was checking him out!.."a noise, what kind of noise" he decided to play along with her game..
"um it was loud" she said nervously..
"Kind of like a lawn mower" he smirked..
"yep that was it, you know us city girls, a lawn mower is like totally rare" she felt so embarrassed as she spoke..
"wow no lawn mowers in the city, interesting" he smirked some.."i can show it to you up close and personal" he grinned..
"sure, why not" she said quickly..
"come on lets show you this mysterious grass mowing machine" he laughed some and she did too but hers was more of a nervous I just got caught peeping kind of laugh..
They stepped outside and she immediately felt the humidity and she was grateful that she had worn a sundress and flip flops, seriously this weather was scorching. She watched as John walked in front of her and she looked at his back and how the muscles moved. Hot damn! He was wearing another pair of rugged jeans, this pair had a few holes in them but it only added to the pure hotness of him..
"so like a car you drive this bad boy, I changed out the motor so it goes pretty damn fast like 35 miles an hour" he grinned proudly..
"wow you changed the motor?" she asked as she walked up to it..
"well normally these things are pretty slow and I had some time on my hands" he smirked.."wanna give it a go?"
"what?me? Now?" she said in shock..
"Oh come on, you may even like it, fun...remember" he grinned big..
"Oh I wouldn't even know what to do" she began as he tossed his towel aside and looked at her..
"You can drive, right?" he cocked his head..
"sure.. I mean yeah who cant drive" she said nervously but in all honesty she hadn't driven in years and why would she have to, she always had a driver..
"You cant drive" he said with a grin and she gave in as she sighed..
"well maybe I don't drive often" she said nervously..
"then how do you get around" he asked and she shrugged her shoulders some.."let me guess you have a driver that does that for you?"
"you know its not really that big of a deal, and plus its the city, have you ever seen the traffic in the city" she said quickly..
"alright, were doing this, come on, your gonna drive" he said with a smile..
Her eyes got wide.."now? But I have coffee in my hand" she began as he walked over to her and took the cup..
"and now you don't" he grinned and then took a sip of it. There was something so incredibly sexy about him drinking from her cup, she felt the temperature in her skin spike as she quickly looked at the lawn mower.."so its pretty simple" he said as he pointed to a few parts as she came over.
Even though he was covered in sweat he still smelt amazing and it made it hard to concentrate as she tried to pay attention.."Ok so this is the gas, this one here is the brake and then you just steer, we'll keep the blades up for now" he looked at her. She was so close and everything in him wanted to just grab her right then and there and kiss her. He was fairly certain she wanted it to by the hazed over look in her eyes, either that or the heat was getting to her. He quickly looked back at the lawn mower.."so all you gotta do is get on"
"what if I cant stop" she said nervously and he laughed some..
"as long as you step on this pedal it will stop" he smiled..
"Ok" she swallowed hard as she stood next to it and then with a deep breath she sat on the seat and quickly she jumped up. "Holy shit the seat is burning hot" she said quickly as he laughed..
"that's the Texas sun for ya, here" he pulled another towel out of his back pocket and placed it on the seat.."this mower isn't use to having someone wear a dress"
"oh so you don't wear a dress" she laughed some..
"maybe I do, maybe I don't" he smirked as she laughed some more and then sat down on the towel. It was definitely a lot better now.."Ok so remember, gas here, brake here and just steer" he said as he leaned over her some and turned the key as it revved to life and she jumped and laughed as she sat there..
"wow that's really loud" she called out..
"now when I put this into drive your gonna start moving, so just give it some gas not much just a little you don't want to jerk yourself all around" he said as he pulled a lever by her legs and she smiled at him and then the darned thing began to move as she held onto the large steering wheel..
"woo.. holy crap im driving a mower" she called out as he watched her. It was funny because even though this was on a lawn mower she felt empowered by it. She was actually driving a large machine.."woo hooo!" she yelled out as she drove across the yard..
"don't forget to turn the wheel" he began as she headed towards the only tree in the yard.."Natalie turn the wheel" He yelled out as he ran after her..
"Oh my god, im trying, im trying" she began to panic as she turned the wheel finally just in the nick of time as John got over to her. His heart was racing, he was sure she was going to crash right into the tree.."that...was...amazing!" she said as John came over and laughed as he shook his head.."i thought I was going to crash and then I didn't, I wanna do it again" she smiled big..
"Yeah well you nearly gave me a heart attack, I think we should lay off of it for a little" he said honestly..
Natalie pouted now as she looked at him.."no fair, I wanna see how fast this bad boy goes"
"yeah and I would rather you stay in one piece" he laughed as he ran his hand through his hair..
"Your no fun" she said playfully..
"Oh im no fun huh" he said and then surprisingly jumped on right behind her as she gasped.."I created the word fun" he breathed into her ear as he leaned into her and she could barely think. Then he was slamming his foot onto the gas as they took off fast and she yelled out with excitement.."you wanna take that statement back" his breath was right in her ear and his strong body pressed against hers..
"your fun" she said quietly, her body was reacting in all sorts of ways from his contact..
"what I cant hear you?" he said a bit louder as he turned the wheel and they headed for a small hill..
"Your FUN!" she yelled out as she laughed and then they dipped down the hill and then back up again as she yelled out more and laughed..As they came to a stop she felt absolutely exhilarated."Now that was cool" she said with a grin as she turned her head to looked at him as he breathed heavy..
"very" he said with a heavy breath and then their eyes locked and their mouths moved closer but the sound of her grandpa calling out that breakfast was ready made her jump up and then off the mower as her heart raced.."I'm gonna finish this up" John said as he quickly put it into gear and then drove off as Natalie stood there for a second and then quickly ran over to the house. Her heart racing a mile a minute with what had almost happened..
At breakfast Natalie sat with a silly grin on her face as she ate eggs and bacon. Seriously this whole vegan thing she had going on was crazy, meat tasted good and bacon was like heaven..
By the time John got inside he had a tight black tshirt on as Asa offered him to eat and he sat down.."so how did it go yesterday?" he asked as Natalie stared at her food..
"we got the little lady some boots" John answered as Asa's eyes got wide..
"well hot damn my granddaughter has herself some boots"he laughed..
"they are really cute, thank you again for getting them even though you didn't need to" she said quickly as Asa looked at her then John..
"well ain't that some southern hospitality at its best, thank you john" he smiled big..
"well it was the least I could do" John ate a piece of bacon as he looked at Natalie and she looked back at him..
"did you get to show her Mac's" Asa continued..
"it was nice" Natalie said with a smile..
"hows that old son of a gun doing?" Asa grinned..
"great as always, he said to tell you Hi and to stop scaring people away with your guns" John smirked..
Asa laughed loud now.."i may just have to stop by that place myself, so any plans today darling?" he asked Natalie now as she glanced at John and then back at her plate..
"actually I was going to see if Natalie wanted to take the horses out for a run" John said quickly as she looked up now..
"Now that sounds like a fantastic deal, you still remember how to ride right?" Asa asked her..
"Oh um...i think" she said a bit nervously but not because of the horses but because of spending yet more time with John..
"its just like getting on a bike you never forget" John smiled..
After breakfast they headed to the stable in somewhat silence.."You know if you have things you have to do today" she began quietly as he looked at her and smiled..
"I'm doing it right now" he grinned at her as they neared the stable and then walked inside.."they are all trained real well, so just take your time and feel them out, you'll know which one to ride" he said as he stood back and watched her walk up to the first horse.
"should I pet them?" she began..It really had been a long time since she had ridden a horse. She had to be about fifteen since last time and that was ten years ago..
"just talk to them and see who responds to you" he leaned against the wall and just watched her. His body ached to touch her. He couldn't remember the last time he had wanted a woman this bad and that dress she wore was making it hard to concentrate.
Natalie made her way up to Bessie first and she seemed to want to have nothing to do with Natalie and so she made her way to the white horse with light brown spots, immediately the horse was trying to nuzzle her as she rubbed against her snout..
"wow" John said with surprised as she looked at him..
"what, I like her" she said with a smile as he came over..
"Your grandma use to ride her all the time, she apparently knows your family" he said with a grin..
"wow" Natalie said in awe.."how much time did you get to spend with my grandma" she asked with curiosity..
"the year before she passed, it was when I moved here" he smiled some..
"I wish I would have been around more" Natalie said with sadness, she had let her career and her life rule over everything. She hadn't even come to Texas for the funeral because she had a huge meeting to go to but now she wished that she would skipped the damn thing and come there. Maybe she would of met John then. Maybe somehow things would have been different..
"it was a nice ceremony" he said as Natalie shook her head..
"my life has kept me away from a lot of things" she said solemnly.
"yeah well your here now right, cant change the past plus your I haven't seen Asa in this good of a mood in forever, your good for him" he smiled.."come on lets go for a ride, it will help to clear your head"
"do you think im a bad person for not coming to see my grandparents sooner" she asked because somehow she needed his opinion and that was weird cause she never felt like she needed anyone's opinion before..
"Your not a bad person Natalie, we've all done things we regret" he said honestly..
"and what have you done that you regret" she asked softly..
"alot" he ran his hand through his hair and then stepped closer to her as her breathing quickened.."but lately, the one thing I regret is" his hand came up slowly and brushed a strand of her red hair behind her ear.."i regret not doing this sooner" he said as his lips touched hers softly at first and then her arms were wrapping around neck and she stood on her toes and the kiss quickly got heated. He ran his hands down her back and pulled her close and he turned her as her back hit the stable wall as they kissed hungrily..
The sound of one of the horses making a loud noise made them quickly pull back as they breathed heavily...John ran his hand through his hair and tried to compose himself.."alright so this horse is the one, right"
"yep, that's it" Natalie said as she tried to control her breathing..
"well um let me um just get a few things ready" he said as he quickly walked past her and she touched her lips with her fingers, she couldn't help but smile. It was one of the single most awkward moments and yet it was one of the most sexiest as well. His kiss still lingered on her lips as she watched him move around quickly to get the horses ready with their saddles. He looked just as awe struck as she felt as he moved from place to place. She had just kissed John McBain and it felt amazing, absolutely mind boggling amazing!
John was right about not forgetting how to ride a horse because as soon as she got onto her grandma's horse it was like she had never stopped riding as they made their way out of the stables..
"so we should take it easy first until you get your footing" John began as Natalie looked over at him and smirked..
"not a chance in hell" she said and then she was whipping the reigns as the horse took off and she yelled out a loud 'woo hoo' as they charged across the yard..
"Holy shit" John said as he took off with his horse too so that he could catch up with her.
Natalie had forgotten how beautiful her grandparents land was. It was nestled on acres of trails surrounded by the thickest of woods and right at the end of the property was the infamous lake that she had spent so many days at as a child. She had even learned how to swim out there.
"so who watches your daughter when your out fixing things" Natalie asked him as they got to a slow trot..
"My mom mostly, it keeps her busy and since that is her only grandchild" he began.."she really is a great kid and what about you, do you ever want kids" he asked..
"Oh... I don't think I would be really good at that with my work schedule and what not" she said with a shake of her head and he just nodded his. He almost looked disappointed and that confused her some.."Chris, my ex" she began though she wasn't quite sure why she was divulging this information to him but she continued.."he wanted a bunch of kids and thankfully for him he is getting what he wants" she said a bit bitterly..
"Ouch, you don't mean that he uh.." he began as she looked at him..
"Oh yeah, its amazing how sometimes you think you know someone and then poof" she said with a roll of her eyes..
"he sounds like a douche bag" John said honestly as she looked at him..
"Oh he is, you have no idea" she said honestly and then she pointed.."Oh wow, look at it, the water looks so blue from here" she said with wide eyes. This was just the distraction she needed because thinking of Chris and how he screwed her over only infuriated her..She looked over at John.."last one there is a rotten egg" she called out and then took off..
"seriously what are we five" he yelled out as he laughed and then he went charging after her..
Of course she beat him there with the advantage she had and she stopped her horse as they got close to the water as John came up on his.."wow this really is beautiful" she said as she looked out..
"it really is" he said but he wasn't looking at the water at all and she turned and looked at him as she blushed some as he jumped off his horse and then came over to her..
"You know this whole short thing is really getting tiring" she rolled her eyes playfully as he helped her down and it left them standing literally toe to toe..She inhaled deep as she looked at him and then she smiled some.."how cold do you think that water is?"
"Oh that water, right there" he glanced at it.."why don't we find out" he grinned devilishly as her eyes got wide..
"what? No.. don't you dare" she went to run but he picked her up and put her over his shoulder as she laughed and squealed loud.."don't do it John, don't do it" she began to say as he walked closer to the water and held a tight grip on her as he began kicking off his boots..
"I'm sorry were you saying something, I couldn't hear you" he smirked as they got over to the dock as he began to walk on it..
"John this is so unfair, you have no idea" she continued and then she slapped his butt as he laughed..
" I don't know if that is suppose to be torture or not but keep it up" he laughed as he stood at the edge of the dock..
"you know Karma will get you" she teased and he swung her back in front of him as he held onto her.."No no no no no" she laughed loudly..
"One" he grinned..
"Oh you evil evil man" she tried to get out of his arms..
"two" he smirked..
"Oh hell two can play at this game" she laughed and then she wrapped her arms around his neck and crashed her lips into his. It completely took him off guard and a second later he lost his footing as they both crashed into the water..
