Hell's Coming with Me

Only Devils Left

A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. I have no excuse. None. Well holidays :D But no excuse! Please enjoy though.

Only Devils Left

Even though the wedding was in June and the contractors had promised to finish our house by the beginning of fall, it was still unfinished. That meant that we did not have a house to settle into – Ryan had moved into the bunkhouse for the weekdays, and we stayed in the cabin on the weekends.

Our relationship hadn't changed much since the marriage. Even though people claim that marriage is different from dating, Ryan and I hadn't found it too difficult. We did have to understand each other's routines and work out the chores around the cabin, but it had been relatively peaceful.

Beth and Monica called it the honeymoon phase. I had rolled my eyes at those two chuckling over how happy we were in our marriage. Beth had stated that we would soon have an argument. I wasn't certain about that – Ryan and I had disagreements, but we had never resorted to a full blown argument or a fight.

But now, fall was upon the valley. The trees were shedding their leaves and the time had came for frost. Pretty soon we would experience snow – maybe a little earlier than anticipated at this rate. Though, we had yet to encounter the Indian Summer that would promise a heatwave.

I was happy with the cooler weather, as it meant that I wouldn't fry while working with clients' horses. Dr. McCullough had spread word to his equine clients about my miracle work with the Morgan. Suddenly, I was receiving calls from people asking if I would be willing to work on their horses.

Ryan was proud of the fact that maybe I wasn't a veterinarian, but at least I could still work with animals. It wasn't ranchwork, but it was a honest living and I loved being able to work with the problem horses. I felt satisfaction when I could call the owners and tell them that they could pick up their horses.

Daddy had to start building a new stable on the property for the new horses. Our barn was completely full, and we had little room in the barn. It was an easy fix – just to build another barn for the client's horses. During my downtown, I had started to enter show jumping competitions. Midnight Dreaming was winning ribbons right and left in the competitive show jumping world. But now that it was fall, I fully intended to compete in the Barrel Racing competitions as well. I just hadn't told Ryan about my plans yet.

"Hey," Ryan came in the door, shedding his coat and boots, startling me out of my thoughts as I sat on the couch supposedly enjoying reading a novel. He came into my sight just to press a kiss to my lips. As he stood close to me, I could smell the fall and the scent of the crisp night air on his skin. Ryan smelled like hard work, horses, and the outdoors. It was a familiar and nice scent.

"Hi, cowboy," I murmured against his lips between the kisses which were growing more insistent as the minutes passed.

"How was your day?" Ryan asked, after he had given me one final kiss and stepped back.

"Pretty good," I smiled. "Flint picked up his horse, Crimson Thunder today. Gave me a check for two."

"Two hundred?" Ryan questioned, raising an eyebrow in surprise.

"Thousand, Ryan," I smiled, proud and happy with the way that my business was getting a reputable name. "He gave me a bonus for getting the work done when no one else could. Flint also said he'd call all his friends and recommend me if they have any troubled horses."

"There is no finer horse woman this side of the Rockies," Ryan agreed, a proud smile on his face as he sat down on the edge of the coffee table.

"Just this side of the Rockies?" I teased, raising an eyebrow in question.