Disclaimer: None of the characters here are mine! Don't sue me!
Hey Nightowl here for the last installment of "Those Cold Winter Nights" I'm glad I finally finished it and I'm glad people out there are enjoying my Jill X Griffin paring as much as I do. And I forgot to mention in the last chapter, the song that Griffin plays for Jill is a real song that you can find on YouTube if your up for it ;D I hope all you cool cats out there will review my work and I must again thank Fearless Fox for being such an awesome person. Kudos to you Foxy! Well I hope y'all enjoy chappie four!
Jill stirred quietly as the early morning sun peered in through cracks in the curtain. She drowsily opened her eyes and rustled under quilt blanket that was laid over her.
"Stupid sun…it's mocking me" she muttered as she looked around only to see the sun shining only on her face. For a brief second she tripped out, wondering where she was since the normal scene of her ranch house did not surround her. But she let out a suppressed laugh as she noticed her body entwined with Griffin's. Jill sighed contently as she didn't really want to get up yet as she rested her head on his strong shoulder and gazed over him as he slept. She noticed his face lost the semi-stern face he normally wore when awake. He mouth was curved into a sensual half smile, his dark lashes fanned out against his cheek, and his muscular torso slowly went up and down with each steady breath. Jill covertly gave him a hug, loving how he was so warm from sleep and quietly slipped out of his bed. She hopped around discreetly as the cold from the hard wood floor sent a shock up through her body. She scanned the room for her clothes and ambled around as she picked up her clothes that were strewn around the room. She quickly dressed her self before walking out and closing the door softly behind her.
A while later…
Griffin yawned groggily as he sat up and stretched. He rubbed his hands over his morning stubble and expected to see Jill beside him but was slightly surprised and sad as he looked over.
"Ahhhh I wonder where Jill went…" he wondered forlornly as he got up and threw on some long denim jean pants and a red and black flannel shirt. He sighed as he walked out to the front oh the Blue Bar but almost fell over with surprise as he saw Jill bustling around the Blue Bar whipping up breakfast. A wave of relief passed over him as he walked over.
"Mornin'sweet heart! Thought you'd never get up!" Jill exclaimed as she sent some pancakes spiraling into the air. She skillfully caught them in the cast iron pan as they descended back down and slid them onto a few plates. "Care for some pancakes? I also made some sunny side up eggs but they're not done yet." she said as she poured some orange juice into tall glasses and checked on the eggs.
"You're such a sweet little darlin' Jill! I'm just glad your still here!" Griffin replied as he sauntered up behind her and gave her a tight hug.
"Why on earth wouldn't I be here?" she said with a laugh as she turned to face him. She flashed a smug grin as she noticed his hair was still down. Jill played with a lock of his perfectly chestnut brown hair as she waited for a reply.
"Oh it's nothing now…but I thought you woke up and realized that you still loved Rock or something like that." Griffin muttered shamefully as he realized how stupid a thought it was now. Here Jill is being as wonderful as can be, making breakfast for him and he was off thinking that she had left.
"Awww Griffin! I'm completely and utterly over that immature little boy! " Jill said in mock anger, she already knew that she loved Griffin much more.
"I've found a stronger and much more masculine man that's means the world to me." Jill whispered quietly as she slipped her arms around his neck. Griffin flashed a pearly smile, happy to see that his love was returned. Falling for a younger girl like her could have ended in a horrible heartache but he knew that this was a boundless kind of love. He tilted his head and kissed her softly yet with the utmost passion. Jill was surprised by this only briefly before entwining her fingers into his hair and kissing back as if to say "Don't worry, I love you too." Yet soon after a bit of this Jill could hear Muffy's voice, it had a far away kind of sound.
"Hello! Earth to lovebirds! Sorry to jump in on y'all's little mushy moment here but uh, the eggs are on fire." she said nonchalantly. Jill jumped up startled, noticing that she was so wrapped up in Griffin that she didn't even smell the eggs burning. Griffin sprang into action, sliding in front of Jill protectively as he threw the pan into the sink and extinguished the mild flames.
"That was amazing Griffin! Well forget the eggs, I guess we can have just pancakes then!" she said happily as she hugged him from behind. Griffin smiled and untangled himself from Jill.
"Pancakes sound absolutely wonderful right about now Jill. Absolutely wonderful." he said as he took her hand and walked about the bar to the other side. He propped himself up on the side of the bar and helped Jill set out breakfast.
"Care for some good ol' pancakes Muff?" Jill said chirpily as she sat herself down on a barstool and swiveled around to face her once she and Griffin were done setting up the food.
"I would really REALLY love to… but I'm on this "no bread" diet so it's a sacrifice I have to make." she replied as she stared at the plate longingly before quickly walking out of the bar hastily.
"Just us now, huh?" Griffin said as wrapped him self around Jill as she sat on the barstool. He placed his head on her shoulders and nuzzled her neck, loving how she smelled so much like the outdoors. Not many girls spent as much time actually working outside as much as Jill did on her ranch, and he loved her for that.
"Is this your idea of eating pancakes?" Jill said with a laugh as she turned around and played with a loose strand of his hair. She leaned in and kissed him, her hands fingering the outline of his muscle beneath his shirt. She pulled back briefly as a stray thought entered her mind. "How am I supposed to break this to Rock?" she said as she looked up at Griffin. If she remembered correctly it was only last night that she gave up on Rock and found a more sophisticated love somewhere else.
"Hmm…You're darn right Jill. How are you supposed to break it to Rock?" Griffin said as he placed his on her shoulder in thought.
"Well I might as well head over to the Inner Inn now while he's still there. Wish me luck." Jill said as she untangled herself from Griffin and grabbed her jacket off the hook near the door.
"Good luck darlin' "Griffin's southern voice twanged as he kissed her again. Jill's knees went weak as she was once again mesmerized by his amazing kisses, she felt dizzy just from the pleasure of it. She pulled back reluctantly as she gave a wave before walking out of the bar and making her way over to the Inner Inn. She braced for the cold winter wind as it whipped around her, spraying her chocolate colored hair up into the air. Jill walked along hurriedly, her eyes focused on the ground as she thought up something to say once she got to the Inner Inn. Yet she was jerked from her thoughts as she crashed into somebody since she really wasn't paying any attention to where she was really walking.
"Sorry I didn't mean to hit you." she said as she kept walking, her mind on a mission to hurry and break up with Rock.
"Mmmm I don't care where you hands are when you hit me." the voice said in a familiar alluring tone. Jill stiffened as it struck her of who the voice belonged to.
"Keep you mind out of the gutter Rock!" she said as she turned on her heels to face him. He looked the same as he always did; boyish grin and apricot eyes that always seemed to linger south of her face. Plus the fact that he had slightly noticeable rings under his eyes from a hangover from last night.
"What? You know my mind's in the gutter quite a bit." he said as he flashed a mischievous smile as he stepped closer to get a better view of the inside of her shirt.
"Listen Rock, this is what I'm talking about! I can't stand much of your playboy actions. I come to see you at night practically sleeping on the barstool and ready to pounce on my body when you're sober! Rock I think…I think we should just be friends." she said as she came to the end of her rant. She ran her hand slowly through her hair as she looked back up at him.
"Well…Well fine! I always thought I was too sexy for you anyway!" he said angrily as he ran off towards the beach. His honey blond hair streaming behind as he sprinted down the stone walkway and made a sharp turn to avoid crashing into Gustafa. Jill let out a suppressed sigh, any other boy would have at least stayed calm and walked off with their dignity but Rock was different. She jumped slightly as she heard the door to the Blue Bar slam closed. Her heart thudded against her chest as she saw the masculine silhouette of Griffin approaching her through streaks of sunlight.
"You done great darlin', it took a lot might to get through to that ol' tenderfoot. He was all hat, no cattle." he replied in his southern drawl. Jill laughed a jingly bell laugh.
"Griffin, you make me love you more every time you say something as cowboy-ish as that." she said as she walked over to him. Griffin grinned as he pulled her close.
"Now how bout' you and me mosey on over to the waterfall for a picnic? It's a mighty fine day for one and we never did finish our pancakes." he said as he picked up an old woven picnic basket from the stone walkway beside them.
"You're just the sweetest cowboy out there." Jill said with another laugh as she went up on her toes to kiss him on the nose. She continued to walk next to Griffin, enjoying the beautiful moment. Yet she laughed as she looked over at the picnic basket. "Oh Griffin, why is the bottom of the basket duck-taped on?" she said as she took the basket from his hands and examined the bottom more closely.
"Now Jill, it's an old basket and if duct tape can fix it, it ain't broke." Griffin said with deep laugh that pealed like a bell. "Come on Jill, its high time you and I have that picnic!" he said as he grabbed the basket and ran off towards Vesta's farm. Jill laughed as she chased after her cowboy, glad to have a man like him keep her warm on those cold winter nights to come.
Hey! Thanks for taking your time to read this! Hope you liked it as much as I did :D ~Nightowl45