Montana Skies

Chapter 22. Believe Whatever You Want

River and I had woken up early that next morning to set up the tent, but he then left me to go see how his mother was doing.

My phone rang, and without looking at the caller ID, I answered it. "Hello?"

There was a sound of heavy breathing but no response.

"Hello?" I asked louder. I pulled away to look at the number. The number was unknown, and then it hung up—panic built in my chest. I pushed the panic down and put the phone back in my pocket. Relax, Dallas. There is no way he got your cell phone number.

"Who was that, honey?" Helen asked worriedly. She came out onto the front porch and handed me my cup of coffee.

"I honestly don't know," I told her.

"Oh. Did River leave?" Helen asked.

"Just to go check on his mom. He'll be back."

We both sipped our coffee and headed down to the barn. Lyle followed us. I had been trying harder to help Helen with barn chores, so she wasn't swamped. She worked all day and almost every day. There was always something to be done on a ranch, and all ranchers knew that.

When all the animals were tended to, we went back up to the house. River pulled back up the driveway and got out of his truck.

"How's your mom?" I asked him.

River walked up beside us. "She's doing good. It's a good day," River said. He rested his hand on my lower back as we walked up the steps and into the house.

"I'm going to go take a shower," I told River. I turned on my toes and pecked his lips, then went up the stairs. The party would start in a couple of hours. River had changed and showered already. Helen still had to shower and get ready as well.

After I finished in the shower, I slipped into a summer dress, only knee-length, spaghetti-strapped, and light blue. I pulled my hair back and braided it over the top right side of my head. The rest of my hair fell in its normal thick long curls. My makeup was light with mostly natural pink shades. When I came out of the bathroom, I didn't expect to find River. River laid diagonal on my bed with his nose stuck in one of my books.

"What are you doing?" I asked. I stepped into my boots. It was like he didn't hear me enter the bedroom.

River finished the paragraph he was on before he glanced up at me. "Reading," he said. River looked down, but then his head snapped back up. The book dropped from his hands, and his lips parted. Even though he laid on his stomach with his ankles crossed, I saw his chest rise and fall. His breathing became erratic as his eyes explored me head to toe.

Heat rose into my stomach as I turned to my dresser and grabbed a couple of earrings out. It was a pair of earrings I had gotten from River on my sixteenth birthday and left them here with most of my jewelry. I was well aware of him behind me, but I tried to pay him no attention. I brought a necklace around my neck to hook it, but River's hands grabbed the thin chain and hooked it for me.

"Thank you," I said. I turned to face him.

Lust filled River's eyes, and it made my knees and hands shake. "You're beautiful," he said. Both of his hands rested on each side of my neck. He pulled me into him and pressed his lips softly to mine. His lips moved fervently against mine. The kiss wasn't like others. This kiss begged for more, but a little voice interrupted us. We broke apart breathlessly and saw Lyle.

"How do I look?" Lyle asked.

A breathless giggle escaped me as Lyle modeled his boots, jeans, and plaid button-up shirt for us.