Chapter 2
I broke from our kiss and sat down by the edge of the river. Tommy followed behind me and took his boots off to put his bare feet in the water.
"What are you doing tomorrow night?", I asked him.
"Nothing that I know of. Why?"
"Pa's leaving today for a couple of weeks. He didn't tell me where he was goin', but I'll have the house to myself. Well, Pa hired some guy named Tyler to help at the ranch when I start school. So he'll be there too."
Tommy looked at me with narrowed eyes but I shrugged it off. I checked the time on my phone and saw that it was almost six. I stood up and leaned down to Tommy and gave him a hug and a quick peck.
"Better get home for supper. Come by the house tomorrow night and it'll just be you and me." Tommy reluctantly let me go and I got on Blue and rode home.
When I was in view of the house, near the stables, I saw Tyler with a beautiful paint. Tyler was shirtless and had on his wrangler jeans, his boots, and his cowboy hat. I let out a low whistle and thought to myself, 'Damn, that boy is better looking than even Tommy.' I gave Blue a nudge and rode her to the stables.
**Tyler's POV**
I heard the light clopping of hooves and turned around. I froze at the sight of Rose riding her horse Blue. Her dirty blonde hair blew behind her when a breeze hit just right. I continued staring at this beautiful angel till she stopped in front of me. I felt my cheeks burning at being caught. I quickly turned back to Creek, my paint, and continued brushing him out.
"He's beautiful", said Rose.
'God her voice is so light it makes my heart race. Say something to her stupid!', I thought.
"Uh-yeah. His name is Creek", I said. 'Gee, why am I so nervous?'
"Well, I'm gonna go brush out Blue. See ya Tyler."
Rose walked off with Blue in tow and i couldn't help but watch her leave. My eyes followed the sway of her jean clad ass and when she was out of my sight, I turned back to Creek with a smile on my face. As soon as I was done brushing Creek, I put him in his stall and headed inside for supper. I heard the rough Southern drawl of Sam, Rose's dad, and the sweet, soft southern drawl of Rose. I heard the clanking of dishes and realized they were setting the table.
I quickly walked in and asked, "Is there anything I can help with?"
I froze when Rose turned to look at me with a sweet smile on her face.
"No you don't have to do anything. Just go ahead and sit down while I get the food on the table", she said.
I quickly sat down knowing not to argue with a lady when it involves food. I smiled to myself as I pictured us in our own home. I could definately see myself settling down with Rose. I had a goofy grin on my face and I didn't even notice that she had sat down next to me.
"Tyler!" I finally snapped back to reality and apologized to Rose and her pa. They were both giving me weird looks but I couldn't blame them. So I gave them a small smile and folded my hands and closed my eyes.
"Dear Lord, thank you for this deicious smelling food on the table, a safe roof over our heads, and I hope you're looking over us all. I know it's gonna rain tonight, so please keep watch over Creek so he doesn't hurt himself. In you name I pray Lord, Amen", I muttered under my breath. I opened my eyes with a big grin as my stomach rumbled. I reached for the bowl of potatoes when I noticed a dead quiet. I looked up and saw two sets of almost identical blue eyes staring at me.
"What? Did I do something wrong?", I asked completely confused.
"You pray before you eat son?", said Sam.
"Yes sir. My mama was a faithful Christian woman and raised me and my brothers and sister up in a Christian home. She told us to always pray before we eat and read the Bible every night before bed. Especially if we don't go to mass on Sundays."
"So you go to church?", asked Rose.
I smiled shyly at her and shook my head. "No ma'am. I ain't got time for church since mama died, but I make darn sure I pray every mornin', before every meal, and every night. I even read the Bible a little before bed."
Sam smiled and nodded approvingly. "Let's eat."
We all started to pile food on our plates. Rose and Sam had made steaks, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, and gravy. I piled my plate high with food. I sunk my fork into the soft, fluffy potatoes and took a bite. My taste buds were on a high from the delicious potatoes.
"Rose, these potatoes are delicious. I'd hate to say that these are better the my mama's but it's true", I said smiling at her. She started blushing slightly.
"Thank you Tyler", she said smiling shyly at me.
We continued eating supper and when we were done, Rose got up and brought out a cherry cheesecake she had made earlier today. She cut it into eight slices and served us each a slice. I took a bite and almost groaned at how good it tasted. It was even better than the steak and potatoes!
'Wow! She's an amazing cook! What I would give to have her and not just for her cooking!', I thought.
After everyone was done eating, I offered to do the dishes. This earned me a strange look from Rose and a grin from Sam. Rose stared at me as I took the dishes into the kitchen. I heard the TV come on and all of a sudden I felt as if I weren't alone. I turned around and there was Rose, staring at me like i had three heads.
"What? Do I have something on my face?", I quickly wiped my hands over my face.
"No. It's juust....no man, except my dad, has offered to do the dishes for me. It's nice, but different." She smiled at me and got herself a cup of tea. I watched her, mesmerized by her movements. She handled the delicate cup with care and poured the tea. She quietly went back to the table and sat down. I figured our silence would be awkward but it was actually comfortable. I could imagine everday like this. Just us. Together. I got started on the dishes.
**Rose's POV**
As I sat in the kitchen, drinking my tea, I watched Tyler wash the dishes. The silence was nice and he wasn't trying to get in my pants or feel me up like Tommy does when it's quiet. I decided to get up and dance around the kitchen. I have no idea why but i wanted to let loose a little and I kinda wanted to see if Tyler knew how to dance. So I went to our radio and turned it on. I grabbed Tyler's wet hands and swung him around. Water splashed the counter and my blouse but I didn't care. I saw the shock in Tyler's eyes and started laughing.
At the end of my laughter, my favorite song, Titanium by David Guetta, came on and I started moving to the beat and started singing along with the radio. I was amazed by how good my singing sounded today. Usually it sounds like pigs calling in a thunderstorm. I was glad I sounded good today because for some reason, I wanted to impress Tyler.
