A Cowgirl's Rodeo

Chapter 25

"Son of a Nutcracker!" I groaned, once again I had forgotten about the cast on my foot and dropped my foot to the ground from the coffee table.

"Okay, you've watched Elf one too many times, Sweetheart." John Ross laughed, switching the TV over to football. I had never seen Elf before and once I had finally watched it at John Ross' demand, I've watched it five times since. He sat down next to me on the couch, getting as close to me as possible before setting his arm across my shoulders. "I love you, Anastasia." He whispered, his facial hair tickling my ear.

I turned toward him slightly, running my finger along his jaw line. "So does this get to stay or is your dad making you shave?"

He just shrugged, "My dad will probably bitch but then my mom will compromise and ask me to just trim it up a little. "

I smiled, "They should just be happy you don't look like a lumberjack." He'd be a very sexy lumberjack, but I kept that to myself. He laughed, kissing my temple but quickly scowled when the team playing the Giants intercepted the ball. "Has there been any news from the vet yet?" I asked nervously, praying that my worst nightmare wasn't going to become reality.

He shook his head, "Nothing yet, but calm down. You won't have to put her down. She'll be fine, maybe not race worthy anymore but you could still breed her or something."

I did relax a little bit and subconsciously brought my hand to my neck, running it along the chain of my necklace. After everything I've been through, I like to think that my parents have been with me along the way. "The key!" I suddenly yelled, and undid the necklace. I held it out and looked at it, then glanced at John Ross.

He seemed confused, so I explained to him, "This has to be the key to that safety deposit box. Of my dad's stuff, this is the only key I've found. He gave it to me when I was about six and always stressed the importance of never losing it."

He massaged my shoulder gently, pulling me back into the couch slowly. "That's cool, when you're healed up more we'll make the trip. I think we need to destress and recuperate for a while. You've gone this long without your inheritance, plus with your $100,000 another week or so won't hurt."

"I just want Pete to get what's coming to him. Taking advantage of a dead man and his orphan, he's the scum of the earth." I growled, still pretty riled up but his rubbing was getting its desired effect as I calmed slightly.

He pulled his eyes from the TV, lightly trailing his nose against my ear. "I know but right now we need to focus on you" I giggled lightly when he seductively sucked my earlobe into his mouth for a second before continuing, "getting healthy so I can have my stunningly beautiful and sexy cowgirl back to full operating order."

I smirked at him, my eyebrows raised. "To do what exactly, City Boy?"

He chuckled at me, leaning out of my space. "Well for starters, I'd like you to come back to New York with me. I have class on Monday and I'm missing practice as we speak. But mostly, I want you to be able to be you again. Take care of the horses, wrangle up cattle, and kick ass at anything you set your mind to."

The mention of New York got my heart racing in a not so good way. "What would I do in New York, John Ross?" My fears coming back ten fold, our dreams and realities trying to lead us in separate directions.

He ran his thumb between my eyes, smoothing my worry lines out before swiping some loose hairs out of my eyes. "Relax. I only need to finish this year and next, then I'll be free of New York commitments. If you honestly want to stay here with Grandpa, then so be it but I have no choice unfortunately." It hurt but I understood. Though a long distance relationship was the last thing I wanted. "Or," He continued, "you could look into a two year program and go to school with me?"