Just One Kiss

Chapter 2: Cowboy, Take Me Away

Steve looked over at Y/N, he both heard and saw her happiness at seeing the horses. Nat had promised him that Y/N could handle a horse and that he would not regret opening up his home for her. Nat had also made it clear that Y/N was family and should be treated as such. But it was hard for Steve, not only because she was a stranger. The moment he had seen her coming against him in the airport he almost swallowed his tongue. She was beautiful with glittering eyes and a smile that felt like sunshine. He had flexed a bit more than necessary by carrying her bags to the truck, but there was something in him that wanted to impress her. When he had helped her into the truck he had gotten a whiff of her perfume and it smelled like a floral fragrance that reminded Steve of a summer meadow. He could not say what flowers it smelled of, just that it was like walking on a meadow with the evening sun on it and the flowers that grew all around. Then his focus had been on how her hand in his felt like it was made to be together. She awoke feelings in him he never thought he would feel. Now seeing her smile and looking at the horses made him want to show her around the ranch. Show her the horses he bred and the foals he had at the moment. During the next hour, Steve snuck glances at Y/N while he drove. She on the other hand seemed mesmerised by the scenery outside the window as they drew closer and closer to the ranch. She seemed relaxed and happy, even though she was in a car with someone she never meet. He was happy that she trusted him, but the though that for most part had to do with Nat, seeing as Y/N was Nat's best friend. Sometimes he wondered why he had ever meet Y/N before, why Nat had never brought her home, but he also remembered Nat talking about Y/N and said she was a hard worker, who usually worked during the holidays. Steve did not remember much, since it was not the kind of things he put to memory. He regretted that now. What did Y/N do for a living? And what had Nat told him that he had missed? Was she in a relationship? Steve looked ahead on the road and tried to think of other things than Y/N, but it was hard seeing as she kind of light up the whole truck just by being in it. Her scent filled the truck and made it hard to think about anything but her.

You would have thought that sitting in a quiet car would be boring, but with the scenery outside the window and country music on the radio, time flew by. Not to mention the handsome man sitting next to you. Steve might not have been a talker, but man was he hot. There was a bit of a tension in the air, but not the kind that made you feel uneasy. Instead, Steve made you feel at ease. He was Nat's big brother, well step-brother or ex-step-brother as Nat usually put it. But you knew that he was a caring man. Nat had sometime said he was more likely to talk to his animals than to people. You figured he was just one of those quiet men.

When you had been sitting in the car together for almost an hour you just needed to ask him about the ranch. You had so many questions and Nat had not told you a lot about it.
"Nat says you have cows," you said and looked over at Steve. He raised a brow and nodded.
"Do you have a lot?" you asked since he did not say a word.
"We have some," Steve answered.
"Like a hundred?" you wondered, thinking about the dairy farm you visited when you were a child.
"We have a couple of thousand heads of steers and then we have a couple of hundred of cows that we use for breeding," Steve answered.
"What are steers?" you wondered.
"Steers are neutered male cattle that end up on your plate in the end," Steve said and looks at you. "You aren't a vegetarian, are you?
"I could never live without a steak," you smiled and Steve chuckled. "But no bulls?" You couldn't help but smile big.
"We have about 20 bulls."
"20 bulls for a couple of hundred cows?" you felt your eyebrows rising. "Is that really fair to the cows to have to share bulls? I mean the bulls get a lot of cows."
"Are you going to argue that I would have a bull for every cow?" Steve asked, looking over at you with a sparkle in his eyes.
"No, I am not going to do that," you laughed. "I am just making an observation about cow's rights." Steve chuckled at that.
"Please tell me you are not a lawyer like Nat." Steve gave you a glance.
"No, I am not a lawyer," you answered. "And I am not crazy either."
"What are you then?" Steve wondered. When you shrugged your shoulders he chuckled again. "I mean what do you do for a living?"
"Oh, I am a nurse," you answered, realising that he did not ask if you were crazy.
"That can come in handy," Steve commented, and then the conversation kind of died out. You are happy that he did not ask you anything more about your job. What would he think about you being suspended? After ten minutes of silence, you decide to give it another try.
"Nat told me that you grew up on the ranch. Did you always want to be a rancher?"
"It was expected of me," Steve shrugged. "We have been on the Rogers Ranch for five generations and it's always been the oldest that have carried on the tradition."
"But would you have wanted to do something else?" you wondered. Steve was quiet, looking straight ahead on the road, and you thought you had messed it all up.
"When I was little I wanted to be a fireman." Steve looked over at you. "But I love the ranch and the work on it. Even when times have been tough. I would not want to spend my life doing anything else." Something in his eyes and bodylanguage made you realise he was absolutely truthful. He seemed at ease with what he was doing and happy about his life.
"That's great," you smiled and the conversation died out again. You did not try and pick it up again. Instead you focused on the scenery outside the window again.