A Second Chance for Cassandra

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

“She was pretty,” Micah told his uncle as they sat at the dinner table eating rib-eye steaks and Jamie lifted his gaze to his nephew. With his older sister out of commission and two states over, it meant he was having to play nanny. He adored his nephew. The kid was a bit of a smart ass and had a temper that matched that of his mother but he wasn’t Amy and Micah was a bit of a hassle while running a ranch. He looked up from his plate, dousing it with some steak sauce before taking a bite. He chewed thoughtfully before nodding.

“I guess she was,” he mused, not thinking that a seven year old would really and truly understand pretty. That librarian had been gorgeous. Even now he could still envision her in that pencil skirt and blouse. Slender but not bony. Soft womanly curves. He just wanted to slide her under the covers and make her scream his name. He had never been rejected by a woman before and though he wasn’t some green teenage boy, it was weird how much he anticipated her phone call. If she called at all. Not that it mattered. He would eventually have to get back to the library to return Micah’s library books and that meant possibly running into the pretty brunette with eyes that were shielded and strangely innocent. There was something about her. Something that pulled him to her and he was determined to go out with her and determine her secrets. She intrigued him.

Micah sighed and shoved his plate away and Jamie lifted his head and gazed at the boy. “Somethin’ wrong?” he asked, eating another bite of his steak.

He sighed and then looked at him. “How come you don’t like me?” he asked.

“Who says I don’t like you? You’re my favorite nephew kido.”

“I’m your only nephew…” he grumbled.

“Well that automatically makes you my favorite then. I do like you Micah. I’m…I’m just not used to having a kid around,” he said simply then cleaned his own plate. “You want to ride a horse tomorrow? I can show you the ropes,” he suggested but Micah looked at him and shook his head.

“Nah…I’mma read,” he said simply then got up and walked to the upstairs guest bedroom where he was staying until Amy came back. Jamie settled back in his chair and then finished up before grabbing the plates and moving to the kitchen. His dad had owned this ranch until he had decided to be a public figure. Ten years ago, his dad had joined the local police and Jamie had decided to overtake the running of the ranch. His older sister Amy had helped him till finding love with one of the officers and was now married with a kid and pregnant with another one. Jamie had put his life into his ranch and it was his, regardless of the fact that it was in his father’s name.

After washing up the dishes, he wiped everything down and then walked into the living room. There was no television out here. He guessed that was part of Micah’s problems but Jamie had never been the sort for a television. He still used a landline phone and spent his nights reading or doing some sort of crossword puzzle. He was always up before six am and spent his morning fetching eggs, milking cows and mucking stalls. By that time, he fixed his own breakfast which was normally a bit of bacon and eggs and then it was all washed down with coffee. After that, he did the accounts, made sure his hands were clocked in and spent the rest of the day checking fences and running his horses for exercise. He owned a cattle ranch and had about two hundred head of black angus cattle. It was a full time job but he made good money selling his cattle and raising grass fed beef that fetched a pretty penny in the markets.

As he reached for his crossword puzzle book, the phone rang and he looked at the caller ID but saw that it was listed as a private number. Even so, he lifted the receiver and put it to his ear. “Jamie Coker…” he said, uncapping his pen and then started to do the crossword.