Hazel
Sunlight streamed in through the open window in the cabin. It woke me gently, but the cold of the early morning made me shiver. Erin was still sound asleep next to me, her hair spilled across the pillow in a tangled rat’s nest. I, unfortunately, couldn't sleep any longer. My bladder demanded attention.
Getting to my feet, I pattered across the cold wood floor until I found the bathroom. After taking care of my needs, I washed my hands and went to the kitchen in search of my single cup of coffee for the morning. The little kitchenette included a small coffee press, a grinder, and some beans. It was more sophisticated than I expected. But I wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I started the kettle boiling on the stove, then, unable to wait any longer, I ground some beans and laughed as Erin jolted upright in bed.
"Good morning, sleeping beauty. How was your night?”
She yawned and stretched before getting out of bed and wrapping a blanket around her shoulders. "It was nice. I guess most of the other guests are leaving today. We’re here for the tail end of their season. They’re going to be closed for the next two weeks to get things ready for winter.”
"Really?" I hadn't realized that. For some reason, I just assumed they'd always be open. "Did you meet the rest of the family?"
"No. I met the ranch hands. A couple of them. Tucker, Justin, and one guy named Clay. Perfect cowboy name. They’re nice enough. And, I did get to talk to Clint. He's kinda surly."
"He's the oldest?"
The kettle started whistling and I took it off the heat. Then I started the brewing process for the coffee. My belly fluttered, a strange sort of bubbly feeling that caused me to press my hand to the outside, willing it to happen again.
"Are you okay?" She rushed around the room, coming close to me. “Is it the baby?"
I grinned like an idiot. And then, when that same fluttering happened again, I laughed. "I think I'm feeling the baby move."
She squealed in delight and pressed her hands to my belly. I laughed again and shook my head. "You're not going to be able to feel it. You won't be able to feel from the outside for a long time."
"Well, that's not fair. You get to have all the fun."
“If you think morning sickness sounds like a lot of fun, why don't you go get pregnant?"
She wrinkled her nose and grabbed two mugs from the cabinet behind me. "No, thanks. I think I'll let you take that one for the team.”
"You do know this isn't your baby, right?”
"What's mine is yours. Besides, I'm going to be the best aunt this kid could ever ask for.”
Smiling, she handed me a cup of coffee.
A sharp knock on the front door had both of us jumping out of our skin.
“It's seven in the morning. Who could possibly be at our door?" She frowned but didn’t make a move to answer.
"I have a feeling I know who." I walked to the door and opened it to see exactly who I thought would be there. Tristan Ryker stood staring at me, his denim jacket and dark felt hat just adding to the sexy smolder he wore almost constantly.
"Morning, darlin’.” He took off his hat and pressed it to his chest. "Hope I didn't wake you."
"Nope. We’re making some coffee. Did you want to come in?"
He nodded, stepping inside and hanging his hat on the rack next to the door almost instinctively. Erin was seated at the table still wrapped in a wool blanket as she nursed her cup of coffee, but Tristan's gaze was locked on me.
He opened his mouth as if to say something but stopped. Then he looked away and returned his gaze to me. "If you're cold, you should use the fire."
Cold? I glanced down and saw that my nipples were hard little points pushing against my very thin tank top. Rushing to the couch, I grabbed the other blanket that was on the back and wrapped myself in it just like my sister had done with hers. Tristan's boots clanked on the floor as he strode to the fireplace and began lighting a fire for us.
"I can do that." I couldn't stop myself. I didn't want him to think I was helpless.
He shrugged as the fire started blazing. "I'm sure you can. But I'm here, so I'm gonna do it. I'll do whatever you need."
“Hazel, he said he'll do whatever you need. Right now, you need to ask him about the interviews." Apparently, Erin expected me to get her the interviews rather than her.
Tristan cocked his eyebrow. "Interviews?"
“I mentioned Erin has a YouTube channel. She reviews reality TV while she does her makeup. It's a whole big thing. Lots of people do that kind of thing. Some just do regular makeup tutorials. There is this one girl who talks about true crime as she does amazing makeup looks…" I trailed off when I saw his eyes had gone glassy. He didn't need to know a lot about every single YouTube star I knew about. "Anyway, she started watching Saddle Up, and that's how I found you. So her idea was to come here and tell you about…the baby, and she could have some personal experience to share with her subscribers. We thought maybe having a couple interviews with some of you guys would be helpful."
"I think we could probably do that. I'm sure I have to check with the network. They're weird about that stuff."
Erin raised her coffee cup in a sort of salute. "Thank you, Tristan. You won't regret it."
Tristan stared at Erin for a moment, then chuckled. "You're not gonna learn anything sitting there wrapped up in a blanket. Work started an hour ago, and that's for the ones who were late."
"Work?"
He laughed. "Yeah, work. That's what you do when you come to a guest ranch. Sure, you can get some relaxation in. But you come here for the experience of working a real ranch. Not for sitting on your ass drinking coffee. So if I were you, and I wanted some interviews, I'd go make sure that every single one of my family members sees you working your butt off, so they decide that they will give you exactly what you want."
Erin stood, folded her blanket and laid it neatly on the chair, then stomped over to her suitcase. She grabbed a pair of jeans and boots and a long sleeve shirt before heading into the bathroom to change without another word.
"So what kind of work do I get to do?" I asked.
"You get to come with me. We’re gonna check the fences."
"On a horse?"
He shook his head. "We also use trucks here. You and me are gonna ride in my truck and check all the fence that goes along the edge of our property. If there's any broken, I'll teach you how to fix it."
"And just how long are we going to spend together in this truck?"
"All damn day, darlin'."
That didn’t sound awkward at all.
Tristan
Hazel smelled like flowers and something sweet. In fact, it was the exact same scent I’d been dreaming of since she left my bed months ago. It was fucking torture in the truck. I was already painfully hard behind my fly from the sight of her tight nipples under that shirt this morning and the husky, sexy sound of her voice.
The weather was cold enough that I had to turn the heater on, but that made her scent fill the cab of the truck, and memories overwhelmed me. Memories of her naked, warm, soft, and tasting like heaven. Shit, I needed to pull myself together.