Not being one for dresses, Kara took a hot bath with Epsom salt and baking soda to ease her sore muscles and put on jeans with a nice top and her newer pair of boots. In fact she did not own a single dress and she had no intention to go to that expense at this time. They would just have to meet her as she was. Pulling her auburn hair back in a ponytail with a few strands framing her face that always refused to be tamed, she glanced one last time in the mirror, before she got in the old Jeep and drove to the ranch next door.
By the time she got there it seemed that most of the people had already arrived. The yard was filled with vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Clearly the curiosity was greater than she had expected. That or they just wanted any excuse for a party. Brad parked his car just as she was getting out and he greeted her jovially and offered an arm, before he barged in the front door without knocking. She was grateful to know at least one person at this party full of strangers.
When he’d walked up to her outside she had noticed that he’d taken the time to shower and change. The beige suit jacket he wore was slightly more casual than the dark suit he had worn that afternoon and he had paired it up with pressed, dark jeans and a striped, two-toned blue button up shirt, his shoes were also more casual than what he had worn that afternoon. The smell of aftershave that came to her was pleasant and she smiled slightly. Clearly he was very proud of his appearance and cleanliness.
Absently she wondered what his line of work was, since he did not look or act like a rancher. But then he could be a gentleman rancher. She would have to remember to ask him when she had a chance.
He took it upon himself to introduce her to each person and then start the conversation, whether anyone else planned to do it or not. Kara noticed that everyone was amused with his character and he was clearly on the top of the guest list to anyone’s party. His outgoing personality seemed to endear him to most of the people at the party.
Apparently, from the conversations that came up, his company did the bookkeeping for most of the farmers in the area and Kara made a mental note. If she kept working as she did the last week, she would need his help sooner or later as she had yet to sit down in her Grandad’s office to work through his paperwork.
Kara tried hard to remember the names that were thrown at her, but she knew, as Brad had stated, that she would never remember them all the first time around.
When Brad went to get her a glass of wine and some tit-bits to eat while she was involved in a conversation, Kara was once again introduced to yet another group of ranchers. As she took the offered hands in the circle of men, she smiled at each until she came to the last man. The smile froze on her face when she looked into the eyes she had seen before. Except now she could see more detail than just the eyes that was all she could recall of him afterwards.
The man had longish black hair and the shadow of a beard was already showing on his strong jaw, though it was obvious that he had shaved that morning. He had a straight nose and handsome face and he was once again giving her that crooked smile he had at the river. He seemed to be about thirty. She sensed that his taste in dress was casual and clearly meant for comfort, a lot like her own. She just hoped that he would not remember her.
“Matthew Connor.” Came the introduction and she took the hand he offered; this was then his ranch. Apparently he was not a vagabond she could just forget like she had hoped. She had stripped and swam naked in front of her closest neighbor.
Perfect! Just something she would manage to embarrass herself with in her new home.
He grinned with pleasure and she knew without a doubt that he remembered her all too well. “Good evening, Miss Daniels. I hear you had to explore your ranch on the first week you came here. Did you get to see the little Utopia we have on the border of our two ranches? Some believe there are sprites in that clump of woods.”
Kara was chagrined to feel a blush rise and even more so to know that he was blatantly reminding her of the day she had met him by the small waterfall. Not only was he causing everyone in the conversation to look questioningly at her, he also seemed to fancy her as a mischievous forest creature. She gave him a cold smile. “Really, Mr. Connor? And would you be one of those who believe such a silly tale?”
The other people in the conversation were sure there was more being said than what they understood and they were even more certain when they saw a slight flush come to her cheeks, but they knew that anything they were meant to know would be told willingly. But then they also knew Matthew Connor very well since he had a tendency to torment people who were easily annoyed.
All they were left to was to speculate about the joke, but they could see that he had already hit some nerve with her especially when he answered her question with a smirk. “Honestly, I haven’t decided, yet, although I did seem to dream of a nymph that swims in that river, a while back.” He replied with an amused grin.
Kara narrowed her eyes while she stared at him. She honestly could not think of anything she could say without embarrassing herself. Luckily Brad came to her rescue when he returned with the wine and food and he kept the conversation going in a safer direction, keeping her attention occupied, even if she could feel Matthew Connor watching her with endless enjoyment when she was drawn away and introduced to other people, though she also knew very well that he would not be caught at it.
She had tried to glance casually in his direction, attempting to catch him in the act, but he had always seemed to have his full attention on the person who was talking to him.
Finally, Kara felt she would scream if she had to feel his intent eyes on her much longer and she excused herself to go home. Of course now she knew who he was and she also knew that he would take as much pleasure out of her embarrassment as he possibly could. “You stupid fool! Do you have to be so impulsive?” She demanded angrily of herself while she drove the short distance back to her ranch; just her luck that she would embarrass herself in such a way in front of her neighbor. Her parents had often lamented her recklessness and it would seem that they had been right; it would get her in trouble one day.
What would she do to get it out of her life? For now she could avoid Matthew Connor, at least until she could figure out a way to free herself of what her impulsiveness had thrown her head first into. At least he had not had a camera, she thought with some relief. She had no doubt that if he had he would have somehow used that against her.
Her embarrassment would only last as long as his memory could recall, or until his attention had been caught by something else. She just had to find a way to divert his attention from her moment of recklessness. She had no idea how to do that, but she knew for a fact that avoiding him in such a small town would be near impossible since they would eventually meet again somewhere.
She did not doubt that he was taking great pleasure out of what he had seen, in more ways than one would think, but she had no intention on having that hang over her head indefinitely. Perhaps soon he would lose interest if she gave him no more ammunition.
With a sigh of satisfaction Kara walked among the corrals filled with all kinds of livestock. The steers she had put up for sale had brought in a good price and she was walking around, looking for ideas to minimize her costs and hours of input. She had managed the timeline she had set for herself with the drive despite being shorthanded, but she was under no confusion that she could not keep up the pace indefinitely.She had to find solutions to make her life easier.She came upon a demonstration for cattle dogs and she watched with interest. The dog was so efficient that she wondered if he could help her with the drives, maybe even speed it up a little, not to mention the general work with cattle. After a while she put up her name for a demonstration on her own ranch and then walked on to see what else she could find, even while her mind wandered.She had been on the ranch six weeks now and the work just seemed to keep adding
Mat had a grin on his face as he walked away; he knew she had hated the way he had said goodbye before walking away and he could not explain why he took so much more pleasure out of teasing her than he usually did.Perhaps it was because she seemed to anger so easily and he did like the way her eyes flashed when she was angry, though the blush was quite comely when it graced her face. But the golden shards in her green eyes seemed to flash like lightning if she was annoyed and he could not resist seeing the sparks whenever he met her.After he had met her at the party and had realized who she was, he was more than intrigued as he had realized that his interest was closer to home
She turned around and looked at Matthew to see him smile with a mixture of pride and enjoyment. She did not know how to react. In shock and unable to think of what to do or say, she turned back to the painting.There on the easel was a painting of her in all her naked glory, as she had stood in the river when they had first met. He had perfectly painted her in the surroundings and it seemed so real that she had an insight on what he had seen. He had painted her form perfectly. Her face was very recognizable, as her wet hair had been pushed back to reveal her features; a stubborn strand hung over her shoulder and framed her one breast as if to draw attention to it. Her skin glistened with the moisture still clinging to her. Her hands were at her side, fingertips gently touching the surf
And so Friday afternoon at two, Kara was packed and ready to go, though not eager in the least. A knock sounded on the door and she opened to see a well-dressed Matthew Connor standing in the doorway. He wore dark blue jeans and a casual, button-up short-sleeved shirt. The light blue of the shirt made his blue eyes that much more intense. His casual elegance froze her for a moment. He smiled a greeting before he took her luggage and loaded it in the back of his 4x4.Well, at least he had some manners, she thought as she locked her front door and came down the steps, trying to calm her nerves. He held the car door open for her before he went around to the driver’s side. Kara angrily shoved the thought aside; he had never been anything other than courteous, except for the threat with the painting. And the threat trumped any manners he might have.There was a long silence when they left the road leading to her ra
It seemed the entire family was waiting for them on the sidewalk when the car pulled up to a large, but unassuming farmhouse style house with a wrap-around porch. Kara was slightly worried at the many people embracing Matthew and then turning expectantly to meet her, only to greet her the same way his older brother had. Her nerves were shod by the time the greetings were over with and she wondered at how his family seemed to enjoy touch so much. She had noticed that even in conversation they would touch an arm or a shoulder as if they found the contact to be important.Her family only touched when it was expected or needed, but then her parents had usually dropped her off at her grandfather whenever they had better plans in mind. But despite her grandfather’s gruff love, she had a tendency to avoid contact herself as well. Touching and being touched seemed like it was an intimate gesture and she was not used to it.There were t
Kara awoke pleasantly to the warmth of her bed and the smell of bacon, fresh coffee and toast. Still half asleep she turned towards the warmth that lay behind her and snuggled closer with a sigh of contentment. This was entirely comfortable and she was in no rush to wake up just yet.She lay with her eyes closed while she allowed herself to wake gradually. As the memories of the previous day returned she suddenly froze when a heavy arm went around her and pulled her closer. A deep contented groan escaped close to her face and she slowly opened her eyes fearing the worst.With a shock she looked into the still sleeping face of Matthew while he held her to him. How dare he sneak into her room when she was sleeping and get into bed with her uninvited? Instantly, Kara felt her blood boil and she leaned back and pushed her legs between them, casually kicking him out of the bed so he hit the floor with a heavy thud.She smiled sweet
Kara caught a reflection of herself in the mirror inside the wardrobe door and wished she had brought the long dressing gown instead of this one that barely came to her knees. She remembered the hanger she still held and curiously opened it only to catch her breath. He wanted her to wear this?Slowly she took it out of the protective cover and stared at it in shock. The dress he had bought her would stop well above her knee and it had a tie over the right shoulder leaving the other bare. It was black and tastefully sexy and she wondered if she should really wear this outfit. But then, he had left her no choice in the matter.With a sigh, she hung the dress against the wardrobe door and started putting on make-up and doing her hair. With her hair tied up in a style that kept it out of her face, but allowed delicate curls to hang around her face and to her back she finally turned to the dress with a sigh. Staring at it for a few
Kara was sure she had calmed down and sorted through the strange emotions that ran through her by the time they headed to the venue for the party after the beautifully emotional ceremony. She was sure it was the champagne that had got to her. And she promised herself that she would not drink champagne again tonight. It was a romantic setting with paper lanterns and flowers everywhere, all of it enhanced with fairy lights.It turned out that it was very close to the home of the Connors. There was even a pool with a water feature that was reminiscent of the little waterfall where they had met the first time. And the tables were small and intimate. It was a quiet wedding, not many people were invited, since they wanted to keep it romantic.Kara glanced around her and realized that they had indeed succeeded in their plan. Another glass of champagne was pushed into her hand before they made the toasts and she had to drin