Montana Sky

Chapter 11: Bare Your Soul

As the sun rises above
Shadows are formed, of the two of us
As the bird calls out its song
See flowers dance, with the two of us
As we bare our souls, to the purest form
And let our hearts run free
Loving comes naturally
Loving comes naturally
– Mark Owen: Naturally –

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Bradley tightened the saddle belt around Jewel, the black mare shifting restlessly, pawing at the ground; she was clearly eager to get going and he grinned, gave her neck a strong pat.

"Hold on a moment there, girl."

Stefani smiled at him, fondling Jewel's head tenderly; Charlie was sitting next to her, panting happily and patiently waiting for the horse and rider to be ready, but things were taking a while as Bradley was experiencing major difficulties taking his eyes away from the blonde for long enough to focus on what he was doing. She was just so damn gorgeous, her wavy hair braided over one shoulder and her green eyes soft and full of light; after everything that had happened today, after sharing the most intimate and most breathtaking experience of his life with her, twice, all he really wanted was to take her back to bed and keep her there, possibly for at least a few days...

"Earth to B," she whispered, tickling his side teasingly. "What are you thinking about, cowboy?"

He chuckled, leaned to kiss her, exploring her silky, warm lips for a long blissful while. "What do you think I'm thinking about, beautiful?"

"Hmm. Well, let's see now." Stefani pulled back a little, her face flushed, chewed on her lower lip and the sight made him groan. "Bookkeeping?"

"Absolutely. I never realized before how damn fascinating that is; I just can't get it out of my mind at all anymore." He grinned, kissed her again, felt her laughing against his lips; it took a while until Bradley finally managed to pull away, shook his head. "You are way too tempting for your own good, angel."

"I try my best." She smiled, reached to give Charlie a quick scratch. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask about... finances; I should imagine this place takes up a lot of money to run and if I can help with anything... we should at least contribute to the food costs."

"Stef, we're all right." He kissed her forehead tenderly. "We're doing very well, in fact. I promise we can afford to feed you and Nat and Bobby; there is nothing to worry about. Cattle and horse sales are good right now; in this business quite a bit depends on factors outside our control, weather conditions, amount of rain and things like that, but at the moment, all is well."

She gave a small nod, still looking slightly hesitant. "But I want you to tell me if there's anything I can do, all right? And I would really like to buy some cute stuff for Lea, if that's okay?"

"Be my guest." Bradley smiled, untied Jewel from the fence post as the mare was finally ready; then the sound of an approaching car drifted from the driveway and Stefani groaned.

"More unexpected visitors?"

"I'll be damned; it's Tim." He grinned upon recognizing the black car, rock music drifting audibly from it; Charlie barked joyfully, and Bradley turned towards the stable to call out for Sarah, who was getting some of the horse stalls ready to receive occupants for the night. The blonde appeared a moment later, released a scream as she spotted her fiancé and rushed past them; Tim met her halfway, grabbing her into a tight hug, spinning her around and Sarah squealed, kissing him deeply.

"Stewart! What the hell are you doing here; you weren't supposed to get in until tomorrow?"

Bradley chuckled, feeling very touched as always to see his friends so happy; Stefani grinned, her face a little surprised and he could guess why, as Tim perhaps didn't look like the quintessential ranch worker with his closely clipped hair and thoroughly tattooed arms. The two made their way over and Tim gave him a quick hug, smiling widely at her.