When Single Riders Come Together (COMPLETED)

Chapter 5

Dan has been helping Tylee for a week and has enjoyed every minute. He was amazed, but not surprised, by how well she handled both horses and cattle.

"Would you like to go in to town for supper?" Dan asks Tylee as they get in her pickup heading back to her house. Tylee really wanted to spend time with him, but defiantly not in town.

"Uh, what about watching a movie instead?" She offers catching him completely off guard.

"Sounds good." He says smiling while trying to keep his shock from being noticeable. Tylee makes French fries and hamburgers. Tylee insists he choose the movie so he picks Coyote Summer, they sit down on the leather couch and eat while the move plays.

After they had finished with their food Tylee takes their plates to the sink. While she was in the kitchen he rested his arm on the top of the couch around where she had been sitting. When she comes back and sits down in the same spot, about six or seven inches away from him. A few minutes later he gets up to fill his cup up, when he comes back he intentionally sits a little closer to her replacing his arm on the top of the couch.

"You look tired." Dan whispers to her, she smiles with a small nod. Dan had to resist the urge to kiss her, she was so beautiful. Tylee felt safe and cared about next to him, not to mention the relaxing mood was weighing on her eye lids. After the movie is finished they say good bye and Tylee goes up to shower. She has no problem sleeping that night. 

***

After the movie last night Tylee fought back feelings she knew she didn't have time for. She didn't have for time for a relationship, she hardly kept one up with Becca let alone a serious one with a guy.

"Breakfast was really good, Tylee, as usual." Dan comments bringing her out of her thoughts and sending a pang of want through her as her name rolled off his tongue with ease. She wanted to hear her name spoken by him more often, she wanted to feel the security she felt last night.

"Thank you." Her voice is soft like normal, but he doesn't miss the sound of sadness flicker through it. He couldn't read her like he could most people, what had changed so drastically from the night before? She had seemed to enjoy herself and hadn't pushed him away when he had scooted closer. Was that the problem? Had he over stepped when he had moved closer and put his arm on the top of the couch?

They gathered the last pasture by lunch, it was smaller than the last two. After a sandwich they had worked the claves along side one another and again he wondered how she had done it by herself. When the last calf had been branded and ear marked they turned the cattle out and loaded their horse. The drive back to her house was filled with silence and heavy minds. She was trying to push down the feelings she had developed for Dan while he was trying to figure out why she had been extra distant.

Tylee had looked in her Papaw's records a couple of nights ago at how much he had paid and got an idea of how much to pay Dan. As she handed him the envelope he felt as if he was letting something he wanted, that he felt God was telling him he needed go.

"Thanks for the help." Tylee forces herself to speak loud enough to be heard.

"No problem. If you ever need help I'd be happy to." Dan tells her, she nods putting on a smile, but its not the smile that makes him weak in the knees.

"I'll keep that in mind." She smiles again this time making him lock his knees before he becomes a heap of leather in the floor.

"See you around." He says placing his hat on his head.

"Yeah." She mumbles with a nod of her head.

As he drives away Tylee's phone rings. Becca.

Tylee~ Hey Becca