Bad Boy Rancher’s Baby by GiGi Reine
Chapter Five
Dee
feeling more alive than I had in a long time, I floored it out the driveway and down the dirt road that led away from Red Dirt Ranch. Laughing and whooping at the top of my lungs I blasted the radio and headed back to the log cabin.
At any moment, Uncle Tim was going to call me to find out if I had completed the paperwork with Wade. I didn't know what I was going to say. My uncle was forgiving and fairly patient, but he expected me to get things done.
I was still stunned that I slept with my best friend’s estranged older brother, Wade Marshall. I couldn’t believe that I didn't recognize him last night, but he looked so different than the last time I had seen him.
My body still remembered his touch all through the night when I had gotten home and couldn't fall asleep, and feeling the same longing again today was unbearable. It was clear he still wanted me badly, and from the way he felt, I couldn't deny my own feelings either.
I still felt the way my body tingled when he touched me, the way he’d pressed me against the door. Remembering his hands all over me, every inch of his hard, muscular body pressed against me, I had a hard time focusing on my driving.
When I finally made it back to the cabin, I had to put my feelings on the shelf and come up with a plan for dealing with Uncle Tim, so I wouldn’t lose my job. I was prepared to do whatever I had to for my uncle, even if it meant persuading Wade with sex to sign.
That idea swirled around in my head as I showered, grabbed a bite to eat, and got comfortable on the couch with a movie. My phone rang just as I was about to start eating.
“Hey Dee, how’d it go at Red Dirt Ranch? Did Mr. Marshall sign the paperwork?”
“No, something unexpected came up at the ranch, but I am stopping by tomorrow to get him to sign. I know it’ll be Saturday, but I will get it done, don’t worry.”
“All right. You did a great job with the Morrison house, no trouble getting them to sign the papers. I feel kind of bad, since I grew up with their son, but I got to do what I got to do. Nice work anyway, and if you have any trouble tomorrow, you just let me know and I can come out and give you a hand. This deal needs to get done ASAP, there is a lot at stake with this one.”
“Okay, I got it. Thanks. Are you coming home soon?”
“In about an hour, I got some stuff to do, but I will see you soon. Keep my chair warm for me.”
“Love you.”
“Love you more, sugar plum.” He hung up.
I let go of all my worry about the ranch, but I couldn’t let go of Wade Marshall. Thoughts of him kept coming back into my head over and over again, and every time they did, I felt intense electricity run through my body that made me shiver.
The way he thought he could push me around and talk down to me like he did, because of the way I carried myself, was a huge surprise considering how close I was to his family. He infuriated me so much, I knew I shouldn’t give him the time he wanted to get this deal done, but he was smart, and I needed to figure out a way to have the upper hand.
That’s why, when I drove back to his ranch early the next morning, I was prepared. Paperwork in hand, I stepped up to the kitchen door well before breakfast and rang the bell.
“Who in the hell?” He whipped the door open, his eyes immediately moving from my head to my toes and back. “What are you doing here?”
I pushed the door aside, ignoring that urge to punch him that was eating away at me. I had business to attend to, and I was going to get it done one way or another. “I’m here to get that paperwork signed.”
I tossed it on the table, and leaned back on it in front of him, letting my legs running up from my alluring black high heels be the focus of his attention.
I wore another fine Chicago number, a slick black dress that hugged my curves and fell just above the knee, showing enough skin to tempt him. I bit my lip when his eyes fixated on me and he stepped forward.
He tore his eyes from my legs and looked at me, passion filling his eyes. “You’re playing with fire, Dee. If you’re offering what I think you're offering, you disgust me. A beautiful woman like you shouldn’t be selling yourself for this, you’re behaving like someone with no principles.” He turned away, a frustrated look in his eyes.
Humiliated again when he turned away, I didn’t know what to do. Before I left, papers signed or not, I was going to say my piece. “You know, Wade Marshall, you are the most confusing, infuriating man I have ever met. You want me, I can see it in your eyes, and you’ve always looked like a bad boy. Even your attitude comes off as arrogant and obnoxious, and you don’t know how to treat a woman. You talk about me dressing provocatively, but look at the way you’re lecturing me as if I’m your property, as if I’m not an adult who knows what I’m doing when I do it. You think you have a right to say such things. What I do with my body, how I walk, what I say, where I go, and how I dress is none of your business. You're no better than the way you see me!”
I was near tears now, feeling foolish.
He turned back to me and saw the depth of emotion in my eyes. “I’m humiliating you because I call you out on how you dress? Your uncle would be humiliated by how his niece carries herself. If this is how you dressed in Chicago, I’m sure the men there took it the same way I am. I might seem like a bad boy who wants you, but that’s because of the way you carry yourself. I know how to treat a woman, a real woman who behaves as such. Of course you’re not my property, and what you do is your business, but I won’t have you using that to make your deal, and I don’t think your uncle would appreciate it.”
Angry and upset, yet longing for him to hold me again, I suddenly felt out of place. I have always enjoyed dressing revealingly, it is just who I am. Wade Marshall didn’t know that about me, and many of my friends back in Chicago dressed the same way.
I lowered my head, feeling shamed and embarrassed, and hating Wade Marshall all the more for it, because I longed for him to take me into his arms. I hated myself for that too, for wanting him and wanting his approval so much.
After silently gathering up the papers, I refused to look at him. “I will have Uncle Tim stop by on Monday, and you can deal with him directly. I don’t need you to sign this with me, and I’m not going to get fired because I am valuable to my uncle. He appreciates my work and who I am, regardless of how I dress or what you think.”
I looked over my shoulder at him. He still stood where he was before, his face unreadable, arms folded on his chest. “Good day, Mr. Marshall.” I turned away and headed for the door, praying I didn’t start crying.
Suddenly, he was there, his hand stopping the door from opening. I could feel his breath on the back of my neck. I felt my emotions were about ready to unravel. I turned around and held my ground as I stared him straight in the face. “Please remove your hand.”
“No. Not until you sit down so I can talk to you for a moment, please. I’m sorry I snapped at you. Please.”
I studied the ceiling, let out a breath, and tried to compose myself for a moment, the tears still threatening to break free. “Why should I? Why should I listen to anything you have to say when you’ve been so rude to me?” I looked at him again with eyes that pierced through him.
“Because I am asking you to, that’s why. I don’t want to leave things here. Just hear me out.”
I tried to remember my upbringing and how it formed the way I behaved. Something about Wade Marshall always rubbed me the wrong way. We both rubbed each other the wrong way, but I owed it to my uncle to hear what he had to say before I admitted I couldn’t work with him.
“Fine. You have five minutes, nothing more.” I turned and sat at the table, my hands folded rigidly in my lap.
He sat down beside me and rubbed his scruffy, short beard. “I’m sorry for all the things I said about you. I had no right to act that way or say those things to you. Since I met up with you at the bar, I have treated you poorly. Can we start again? I will try to behave myself, so we can get through this issue.”
I wanted to believe him, since he was apologizing, but it felt like he was doing and saying what he needed to so he could keep his ranch. That stung, knowing he didn’t really care about me or my feelings, that he really wasn’t sorry for the way he’d treated me since meeting me at the bar.
The only thing he wanted was his ranch, and he would do whatever he had to do to keep it. I could appreciate the determination and understand it. That was one of the reasons men from Texas survived and succeeded. They had a fighting spirit and never gave up.
“I guess, we do need to get this done. I imagine we should shelf our personal feelings and just get this paperwork over with. You don’t really want my uncle to come out here anyway. He can be pretty forceful.”
When he threw me a look of obstinance, I laughed. “Okay, fair enough. Let me get this all ready and you can sign, then we can be done with each other forever. How’s that?” Speaking those words hit a nerve with me, but I didn’t want to dwell on why.
Before I could grab the papers, his hand touched my hands. “I am not signing today, Dee. I need more time. I am asking you to help me with that. I need a week, maybe two or three, I don’t know yet. Can you give that to me?”
Wade sighed, knowing he would have to be more specific. “I have a loan I am trying to secure from another ranch in Colorado, from a friend of mine. I am working on a deal with him, so we can both benefit. If that doesn’t work, I have another friend out there I am hoping to make a partner on the ranch, and he could be an angel investor, so we can pay you. I need a bit more time to secure these two deals.”
I didn’t know how to handle this new information. “I don’t know that I can give you more time, Wade. As much as I want to help, I just don’t know if I can make that work. How sure are you that either of these deals will happen, and how soon?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure, but I need to fly out to Colorado and meet with my friends. If one of them agrees, it will be a week before I know, so if you could buy me at least two weeks, that would work, I think.”
I sighed heavily, feeling the weight of his hopes and fears. “My uncle is going to kill me for this, but I will see what I can do. I can’t guarantee anything, and Uncle Tim might still show up on Monday, but I think I can buy you a week. I can’t guarantee more than that, Wade.”
He smiled. “That’s fine. I will fly out tonight. Maybe tell him someone died, and I have to attend the funeral in Colorado. I don’t care what you do. Just get me that time and I will keep you posted on what's happening.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. I’ll figure out what to say, but you need to fly out there now. I just want this whole thing done, so we can go our separate ways.”
Suddenly exhausted from all the emotions, I gathered up the paperwork and headed out. “Send me a text to let me know what’s going on.”
I didn’t listen to his words as I walked out the door. Whatever they were, it didn’t matter. I was going home to relax, and hopefully see Malorie later, but she kept changing our plans to do something fun because she and her husband had stuff to deal with at their own ranch.
On the way home, I wondered how I had managed to make such a fool of myself. Wade Marshall only wanted one thing from me, even though he judged me for giving it to him. He didn’t know me at all if he thought that clothing was the only part of a person that mattered, and he’d clearly forgotten his own role in all of this.
It didn’t matter what he thought. I wanted nothing to do with him no matter how good the chemistry and sexual connection were between us. As soon as I could make enough money and find work back in Chicago, I would head back to my true home.
I thought I could call Dumas home again, but with Wade around, that wasn’t the case. I would forever hate and want him all at the same time, a bad mix for anyone.
My uncle called me an hour later, while I was making some cookies. “Hey sugar plum, how’d it go with Wade Marshall? Did he sign the papers?”
“No. Remember when I told you something came up yesterday? Well, someone died, and as it turned out, he flew to Colorado. He wasn’t even there when I arrived, but I called him, and he told me what happened. He did say he would be back in a week, after the funeral takes place.” I bit my lip, angry at myself for lying to my uncle for Wade.
He sighed heavily. “Well, I guess that can’t be helped, but if he isn’t back by Friday, I am flying out to Colorado to find him and make him sign those papers myself. You just keep up the good work until then. Come Monday, I want you to visit Mr. Tremont. I know he doesn’t want to sign papers either, but we have to get moving on his property. That house needs to be turned over immediately, almost as fast as Red Dirt Ranch. Anyway, I’ll be home later. Maybe we can go to dinner tonight.”
I smiled. “Sure, I’d like that, Uncle. I’m making snickerdoodle cookies right now. Your favorite.”
“Oh, always after my heart. See, I don’t need a woman companion around when I have a niece baking me all sorts of goodies. Save me a few, sugar plum, okay?”
I laughed. “Okay, there will be plenty. But, don’t give up on the idea that it would be nice to have a woman in your life, for those lonely nights when I’m not here. At some point, I want to go back to Chicago, Uncle Tim.”
“Shh, now don’t say that! You’re going to find a nice young man around here and get married, have a bunch of babies, and keep working at the bank. You're good at everything you put your mind to, and I know a few young men that would be perfect. I can’t have my only niece going back to some big city to make a life. I’ll see you for dinner, around 5 p.m.”
He hung up without much more of a goodbye, typical of my uncle, as his work was his life. I kept busy throughout the afternoon, cleaning the house and rearranging the furniture. When I got a call from Malorie, it was the perfect excuse to take a break and sit on the front porch to enjoy the fresh air.
“Hey, girl. Are you free to go for drinks tonight? That husband of mine finally went on his man vacation, so I am free. What do you say?”
“I’d love that, Malorie! I’m having dinner with my uncle, but I can meet you at the bar at 8 p.m. How does that sound?”
“Perfect! Bring your dancing shoes. Tonight, there is a live band and I know you and I both want to have some fun!”
“Okay, I’ll see you later.”
Hours later, after sitting for longer on the front porch than I thought I would, I got dressed for dinner by putting on a pair of comfortable jeans and a nice top. Uncle Tim showed up at home at 5 p.m., took a quick shower, and was ready to go not long after.
“Alright pretty lady, I like your style tonight. Let’s go get some good food and we can finally get caught up. I’m sorry I’ve been so busy, but work always calls. You’re doing a great job by the way.”
“Thanks, Uncle Tim. Thank you for helping me out. I was really feeling awful when I lost my job in Chicago, and it feels good to be home.”
“That’s because this is where you belong, not some big city. Dumas is and always will be home to you. Don’t ever forget that.”
The dinner was filling, and I had forgotten how much food Fey served at the diner. After eating half my meatloaf and mashed potatoes with gravy and peas, I was full. Uncle Tim and I talked about my life in Chicago, and he made it clear on more than one occasion how much he disliked everything and everyone there.
“Listen, I get it. A young woman like yourself needs the excitement of a city. But, if you’re going to go to a city, why go so far away? Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio are so much closer, and the bank has offices there. This way, we don’t have to go so long without seeing each other.”
“I suppose you’re right, Uncle Tim. I will keep that in mind down the road, but you might be onto something about city life. I know there are plenty of women who would love a handsome, smart man like yourself. Maybe we should go to one of the cities in Texas for a weekend and see what we see. Better yet, why don’t you try joining a dating app on your phone?”
My uncle looked horrified. “Heck, I barely even know how to use this thing you got me a few years ago. I only know how to make a phone call. You know I don’t even send those text messages if I don’t have to. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to do or say on those app things. No way.”
I laughed and held out my hand. “Give me your phone. Before we leave this diner, we are going to put an app on your phone, take a picture, and set up a profile for you. I guarantee by this time next weekend, you will have a date with a lovely woman.”
He didn’t immediately hand it over. “I don’t want my face plastered all over that internet. No picture. Can’t we just take a picture of my boots, they're much better looking than I am anyway.”
I managed to grab it when he set it back on the table. “No, we are taking a picture of you, and it’s going to be handsome.” I spent the next twenty minutes setting up his profile as he drove back to the cabin.
Five minutes later, he was getting likes and looking at pictures, learning to swipe left or right. “This is insane, I feel like I’m ordering a mail order bride or something. Your great-grandfather tried to do that, you know.”
“I know, you told me before. Now, have fun and if anyone messages you, you can message back here. Don’t give out personal information. Can I use the car? Malorie wants to meet for drinks.”
“Sure. Here you go.” He handed the keys to me.
Half an hour later, when I came out of my room dressed in a way Wade might have had some choice words for, my uncle was so engrossed in his phone he didn’t even look at me. “Have fun, darling. Tell Malorie I said hi.”
“Okay. Love you, Uncle.”
“Love you too.”
I went out the door quickly and headed to the bar. Before I went inside, I deliberately took a photo of myself looking sexy in the parking lot and sent it to Wade’s phone, just to get his reaction.