Against the Odds A Love Story

Chapter 9

Oh, the joy of new love!

Nine

During the next couple of weeks, Hayden and I stayed pretty busy around the ranch during the day. With summer officially here and new calves and colts to keep up with, there was always something to do. Even still, one of us usually managed to get away from our work  for a few minutes to see the other. Occasionally, we even managed to sneak away for a few moments to be alone. Now that we were officially together, we couldn't seem to stay away from each other. And we were frequently kidded by Tom and the other hands. They jokingly accused us of slacking on the job.

Once when I was out walking, Hayden emerged from the barn and quickly pulled me in and shut the door. He pinned me against the wall, and for five minutes we practically devoured each other. There was so much heat generated between us, I'm surprised the barn didn't go up in flames. When we finally came back out, Ted was standing by the door waiting with a big grin on his face. He said he didn't want to interrupt, so he waited. Normally, I would have been completely embarrassed, but as I looked up into Hayden's eyes and saw the emotion burning in them as he gazed at me, I wasn't embarrassed a bit.

I lived for breakfast, lunch, and dinner time, but not because of hunger. I usually sat staring at Hayden more than I ate, which he finally commented on one day by saying, “I told you darlin', if you're not careful, you're gonna disappear.” I laughed and forced myself to finish my meal. But I did tell him it was definitely his fault that I didn't feel like eating. He quickly kissed me and told me he was sorry.

Never in my life had I ever felt so emotionally connected to someone. I couldn't even be near Hayden without touching him, without having him touch me. He was on my mind almost every minute of the day. I missed him when he worked and he told me he ached to be with me as well. So, I went from one moment to the next, anticipating the time when I would finally get to be with him again.

And so went our days. But our evenings were spent in each other's arms. I loved evenings.

~ ~ ~

On one particular day, Hayden had been out all day on another part of the property repairing some fence lines. When he made his rounds to check the animals that morning, he found that a couple of cows had gotten out. After bringing them in, stitching up a few cuts, and administering antibiotic shots, he went back out. So I didn't get to see him at breakfast. He hadn't even come back for lunch, and I missed him terribly.

When he finally came through the door for dinner, I was so happy to see him, I immediately ran to him and jumped into his arms. He lifted me up off the floor, holding me against him. He was dirty and sweaty, but I didn't care. I was with him again and nothing else mattered.

He pulled back a little and pressed a salty kiss to my lips. “Missed me, huh?” he said, a tired grin on his face.

“Missed you is an understatement,” Caroline said as she set another plate on the table.

“Well, I was having some Raine withdrawals myself,” he said, kissing me again.

Caroline grinned. “Oh, I think we are way passed withdrawals here.”

“Poor thing didn't know what to do with herself,” David added with a wide smile.

“All right, you two. I haven't been that bad,” I shot back with feigned annoyance.

“Whatever you say, darlin',” David said, trying to keep a straight face.

Hayden chuckled. “Well, if you two don't mind,” he drawled, grinning down at me, “I think I'll take my dinner back to the house. I'm starving.” He glanced at the table and added, “Oh, and I'll take some food, too.”