Here goes anotha!
Finally lol
:D
"So this, bull riding, is a dream for yours? You want to do this for the rest of your life?" Maura questioned, sitting in the passenger seat of Jane's black pickup truck.
"Yeah, it is a dream of mine. Going to the PBR and winning, well that's almost like winning the lottery for me. I know I'll never win the lottery, but I keep buying tickets, ya know? About the same chances of me winning the PBR." Rizzoli chuckled.
"I think you have a much greater chance at winning in your sport than the lottery. I'm sure there aren't two hundred million bull riders."
"Ah well, ya do have a point there, Nurse Smarty Pants." Jane looked over and flashed her dimples. She caught Maura's hand after the blonde popped the rider's thigh. Lacing their fingers, Rizzoli kissed her knuckles. "We're here."
Isles looked out the windshield and smiled at the ranch as the couple drove down the dirt road and passed under the 'Italian Stallion Ranch' sign. "You have horses?" The nurse beamed, watching Frankie in the round pen lunging his mare around and around.
"Twelve of them." Jane threw her hand out the driver's side window, waving at her brother. "That's Frankie."
Maura smiled and waved quickly, as to not be rude to the man, but feared he couldn't see her through all the dust Jane's ride was stirring up behind them.
As the truck pulled up in front of the house, Buck was circling and barking. Un-cranking the vehicle, Jane got out and the moment she moved in front of it, the Aussie jumped up in the brunette's arms. "Alright, alright." She kissed his cheek and set him down before opening up Maura's door and taking her hand and helping her out. "C'mon. Let's go let my first brother get the pleasure of meeting you, first." Buck was barking, excitedly, as he met his master's new friend. Dogs were always a good judge of character. If this guy didn't like someone, chances were Rizzoli got rid of them quickly.
Hand in hand the women traveled to the pen. "Bro! I want you to meet someone!" Jane called out, the man stopping his exercise and walking up to the logs to peer between them. He opened the gate, stepping out and leaving the horse behind. "Hey Janie." The younger sibling kissed her cheek then looked to Maura. "Hi, I'm Frankie." He greeted with a smile.
"I'm Maura. Its very nice to meet you."
"Ditto. So uh, how do you know Janie?"
"Well, she gave me her hat after I watched her ride in utter amazement." Maura bragged and looked up at Jane with a goofy smile.
"So you're the one I've heard about?" Frankie grinned stupidly, earning an eye roll from his sister. Moving between the women, he put his arms around their shoulders and started walking toward the house. "Ma is going to love you, Maura. You've planted a smile on this cowgirl's face that just can't be wiped off."
"Really?" Maura beamed and looked from Frankie to Jane. "She happens to put a permanent smile on my face too."
Jane could only smirk with a blush as she looked at the dirt on her path.
"OH! Is that her, Janie?!" A voice called out from the porch of the house, still twenty yards away.
Angela Rizzoli stood just outside the front door with Tommy's help, hands clasped together in excitement. "And that would be my Ma." Jane chuckled as she broke out of Frankie's hold and took the other woman's hand, escorting her toward the porch.
"Ma, this is Maura. Maura this is Angela."
"Oh, you can call me Ma too." The older woman brought the nurse in for a tight hug, already acting as if the blonde was part of the family.
"And this is my little brother, Tommy."
Still encased in the arms of Angela, Maura giggled as she reached out behind the woman and shook Tommy's hand. "Nice to meet you both."
xXx
"My goodness, that was superb." Maura grinned from across the table at the cook of the house.
"That was really good, Ma." Jane spoke up before standing with her empty plate in hand. She reached for Maura's but was stopped by a gentle voice.
"I'll help you clean up, Jane." Isles flashed her single dimple and stood to gather a few plates herself.
"I'm so glad you all enjoyed it. So, Maura before ya absolutely have to leave Texas, I want ya to have a plate to take with ya."
"Ma," Tommy chuckled, "I doubt she can take food on the plane."
'Oh.." Mama Rizzoli deflated.
"I'll be sure to stop by before I leave and eat with you." The blonde promised. This seemed to brighten the cook's mood instantly.
Once the kitchen was cleaned up, Jane helped her mother get back in bed she tucked the older woman in. She leaned down and kissed Angela's cheek goodnight.
"I like 'er, Janie. Ya need to hold on to 'er." She said catching her daughter's arm lightly.
"Wish I could, but she'll be leaving in a few days to go back to 'er real life. She'll forget all about me." The brunette shrugged, trying not to show that it is going to devastate her. "Maur's got a daughter and a job, a really good job, it would be unfair of me to ask 'er to stay."
"There is such a thing called 'long distance relationships'. With the money ya could be gett'n with this bull riding thing, ya could go visit 'er when ya want." Ma shrugged like it was no big deal. "You're finally going for 'yer dreams, why not make Maura part of 'em?"
Jane took a breath and squeezed her mother's hand. "I don't know if it's that easy, but I'll try for ya, Ma."
"No, stop do'n everything for me, do somethin' for yerself."
The older woman had a point. These last few years Jane had been the one to work the hardest to keep her mother comfortable. No, she didn't mind but there was very little Jane did for purely herself. Even with her new gig, it was mostly because of her mother. Suppose it's time to change that and fight for a relationship with Maura all for her own good.
xXx
The two women walked out into the clear night air together and headed for the barn. "Seems ya made a great impression on my family." The cowgirl spoke up, taking Maura's hand. "It wasn't too overwhelming for ya was it?"
"Not at all! I enjoyed their company. I've never laughed so much in my life."
"Good. They can be a bit much, but ya gotta love 'em." Jane chuckled as she cut on the lights in the barn, exposing all the stalls. "And here ya get to meet all our horses. Maybe I'll take ya riding soon, if you'd like."
"I would like very much to go riding with you." The blonde beamed and went up to the first stall.
"That there would be Tommy's horse. He's the worst one we got, but Tommy has always been the only one to ever ride Blast." She chuckled then quickly stopped Maura from petting the stallion. "I wouldn't do that. Blast isn't really a fan of new people. He's strictly for Tommy and for breeding." She smirked and led the nurse to the next stall.
"She seems friendly." Maura noted as the brown mare stuck her head out of her stall and instantly tried to give the woman kisses. With Jane's nod, she moved her hand to the horse's snout. "What's her name?"
"This is Belle. She's Frankie's mare, the one ya saw with him in the pen. Belle's one of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet."
"She's beautiful." She moved her hand over her large cheekbone and down her neck. Buck came in then, wagging his stub of a tail and licking Maura's legs. She bent down to pet the Aussie.
"Wanna see somethin' cool?" Rizzoli questioned. With Maura's 'yes', Jane moved to the stall across the aisle and opened it up. A quick whistle, the gelding trotted out with his head held high and stopped right in front of the woman. His long brow resting against Jane's forehead. Steppin back, Jane looked to the dog. "Buck, up."
The tan and white dog barked once and jumped up on the tall buckskin and stood on his back. With a laugh and a pat to both pets' heads, Jane looked at Maura. "These guys are best friends and will ride like this forever."
"That is quite amazing." The blonde giggled, walking up to pet the both of them.
"This is Apollo. He's mine. I rescued this guy from a meat trade when he was just two years old and I've trained him to be one of the best cutting horses in Texas." She smiled looking at her pride and joy. "You'll have to ride him before you leave. No saddle, no reins, just freedom. Apollo is trained with hand signals and body language as well as whistles."
"Its truly a gift. I can't believe this beautiful animal was going to be slaughtered and no one would have ever known his potential. Have you ever done shows with Apollo?" She asked as Buck jumped down, from the horse's back, and went to lay down on a hay bail.
"Nah, I don't want anyone try'n to buy him from me. However, I do use him on cattle drives quite a bit. Our neighbors have a herd of 40 and every once in awhile they need help." She pointed back to the stall and Apollo turned back around and headed into his 'bedroom'. Jane closed the door and gave him a treat.
After finishing the meet and greet, Maura stood at the back of the barn with Jane and moved her hands up the cowgirl's arms slowly. She couldn't help but notice the lean muscles under her shirt. "You are the most fascinating woman I've ever met, Jane. Everything about you… I'm slowly becoming addicted."
Rizzoli placed her rough hands on Maura's hips, just under her shirt, and pulled her closer. "Do you regret that?" Her words fell on the nurse's lips.
"Hell no."
xXx
Ahh finally got that one out. So sorry for the delay, guys! I had a bit of a writer's block and finally got inspired and found the right words to use for the rest of this chapter. Hopefully it was worth the wait.
Please review and tell me what you think!
Love yall!