Getting out of bed, or well off of the couch, had been hard for Rhett. He'd stumbled around the house gathering things he needed and making sure everything was accessible for Taylor. He checked on her multiple times through the crack of the door just to make sure she was still asleep.
She was looking much better now that she had relaxed for two days, and he was sure she would go snooping around the house today while he was gone. The weekend had been the most relaxing time he'd had in a long time. Tae brought an aura of happiness with her wherever she went.
Checking on her once more, he slid out the door ten minutes late. He didn't have time for breakfast, but he planned on coming home early anyway, so he would sacrifice.
He slipped into the back of the morning meeting that had already started and listened for his assignment. Once it was over, he quickly tried to escape so he could start early. Start early: finish early. As he went to slip out of the room, he heard a catcall.
"Man, Rhett, you're smiling like a fool. Did you finally find a girl to put up with your moodiness?" Lake asked.
"Shut it, Lake," he laughed.
"Ooh, he did," Lake hollered.
"Oh shut up, I did not. I just slept good, okay," he said shaking his head with a laugh.
"Uh-huh, sure. Whatever you need to tell yourself, buddy. Whoever she is, keep her. I've never seen you smile like this before," Lake said in awe.
Rhett shook his head and slipped out of the barn before anyone else could catch him.
He thought about what Lake had said. If only he was right. Tae was just a friend. Neither one of them wanted a relationship.
Thanks to the rain stopping, Rhett didn't have a very busy day. He had just jumped in his truck from checking a herd in the south pasture when his phone rang.
He answered the phone as he pulled up to the gate, Axel was on the other end of the line. The youngest of the Montgomery brothers, Axel was by far the craziest. He had just turned eighteen and was using his newfound freedom to run wild.
"Hey, big brother. Just wanted to let you know that your secret is out," Axel said to him.
"What are you talking about," Rhett asked slowly.
Rhett's thoughts instantly went to the pretty girl he had left in his bed this morning. He'd argued with her for thirty minutes the night before to get her to sleep in it. He was trying to be a gentleman and sleep on the couch, but she wouldn't have it. She thought that it was only fair for her to sleep on the couch since it was his house. He thought that idea was stupid and didn't mind telling her so either.
His brother yelling at him on the other side of the phone brought him back to reality. He'd found himself spaced out all day thinking about Taylor's situation.
"Hello, are you listening to me dude?"
"Yeah, yeah I'm here. What are you talking about?"
"I was just down by your house. I had to borrow something from your barn-," he was broke off by Rhett.
"What did you take from my barn, Axel?" he said in his 'stern older brother' voice.
"That's not the point at the moment. The point is, inside the barn, I saw the pretty little thing that you've got shacked up at your house. She didn't see me, but I sure saw her. Man, she's a beauty," he said letting out a whistle.
"Shut up," Rhett growled through his teeth at his brother. "What was she doing in the barn?"
"She was petting Moody," he said simply.
He decided to mess with his obnoxious brother since he was calling him to try to blackmail him into taking stuff from his barn.
"You left her to mess with Moody? You know he doesn't like anyone but me! What if she got hurt?" he bellowed through the phone at his brother, smiling broadly to himself.
"Uhh, well she looked like she knew what she was doing. Ol' Moon was rubbing all over her," he said sounding startled.
Rhett was trying not to chuckle. That sounded like Tae and Moony. Moony had decided that Taylor was born to love on him. He wasn't worried a bit about Moony hurting her. It was too fun not to mess with his brother, though.
"That doesn't mean anything, because you know his attitudes can switch on a dime," he growled to Axel.
Axel's quick reply followed, "Yeah, he's a lot like his owner."
"Watch it," he barked.
"Wait a minute, you're the one who has been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, not me. You have a girl staying at your house, Rhett? What the heck is that about?" he asked.
"She is just a friend in need, okay?" he said to his brother. "She needed a place to stay, so I let her stay at my house," he explained.
He waited for his brother to respond. He thought back to what he said about Taylor being out in the barn talking to Moony. It might be good for her to be part of the ranch for a little bit. She could obviously cook. She had made that clear the last two days when she cooked meals for him.
Mama needed someone to help her at mealtimes. She went down by herself to fix breakfast at the bunkhouse, now that Mrs. Patsy had quit.
I want to retire, Mrs. Patsy had said.
Well, now Mama was doing all of the work herself.
Lost in his train of thought, again, he didn't realize Axel had been talking.
Chuckling, Axel continued, "So, she's single? She is a pretty lil' thing that is for sure. She was basking in the sunlight when I left. You should have seen her glowing under the sun. She was shining. What I wouldn't give-."
"Shut the hell up, Axel. You will not talk about Taylor like that, and you will make sure you are respectful to her if you ever see her again. Now, if you want me to forget about you stealing something from my barn, then you better forget that you saw Tae. Got it?" he asked gruffly.
Rhett listened as he heard his brother gulp. Yeah, he hadn't forgotten about whatever it was his brother had taken. His barn was off-limits to all of his brothers. There were multiple barns across the ranch full of stuff that they could use. His barn had the stuff that he had won and bought himself.
"Okay, you bargain a hard deal brother, but I guess I'll leave it be," Axel assured him.
Needing to make himself clear Rhett added, "If Mama finds out Taylor is here, I'm coming to go through your stuff and taking back every bit of it that's mine."
"Damn. Okay, you're really serious about this girl," Axel chuckled.
"No, I'm serious about her wanting privacy while she tries to get back on her own two feet. Until she's ready for people to know she's hiding out, I will respect her wishes," he stated simply.
Taylor had never said that she didn't want people to know she was there, but she had reacted badly when she thought his mama knew. It was probably only her pride talking, and she just didn't want people to know her story. Either way, he wasn't going to chance upsetting her.
He didn't wait for Axel to reply. He hung up the phone and turned the truck towards home. Axel had put him in a bad mood, and he was ready to go see how Taylor was feeling.
Pulling up in front of his house, he smiled as he saw that Taylor had rearranged stuff on the porch.
That woman just can't stand the clutter, he thought to himself, smiling.
He walked up the steps to his front porch before opening the door. He sat down in the mudroom to take off his boots, and then made his way inside.
When he stepped into the kitchen, he smelled the wonderful aroma of baked goods. He was drooling at the thought of anything edible.
He had spent too much time making sure everything in the house was where Taylor could access it before he left this morning. It caused him to be late, and he didn't get to eat breakfast.
Walking into the kitchen, he looked into the oven. Cookies. That would be just fine. He felt a pair of arms wrap around him and he stiffened.
"Hi Rhett," came Taylor's sweet voice.
He looked down and sure enough, it was her arms.
"Why, hello, Tae," he said confused about why she was hugging him.
He turned around in her arms and looked down at her crooking an eyebrow.
"How was work?" she asked sweetly.
She smiled up at him sheepishly and pointed her head towards the bathroom down the hall. This was the guest bathroom that only his mother ever used. He heard a toilet flush and he instantly felt the dread rise. His mother stepped into the hall and saw Taylor's arms wrapped around his waist.
"Why, welcome home, Mr. Secrets," she said smiling coolly at him.
He knew that smile. That was her 'I'm about to rip you a new one smile'.
"Now, Rhett Frankly Montgomery, you explain to me why you didn't tell me that you had a sweetheart of a girlfriend. I had to come in here this morning to restock your pantry since I know that you've been busy," she said guilt tripping Rhett, "and find her here myself," she finished putting her hands on her hips. She looked so much like Taylor did, when she got on a rampage, that it was funny. He couldn't help but snicker at the thought.
"Rhett, is this funny to you?" his mother asked throwing her hands up.
"It's not. It's not," he stammered through his laughter.
Her actions only made him chuckle more because that was exactly what Taylor did when she got frustrated.
"Rhett, quit laughing," Taylor said smacking him in the stomach.
He looked down to see she was looking up at him in amusement. Oh, so she thinks it's funny that I'm a grown man getting in trouble, from my mother, like a child, he thought.
"Well, mom, Tae has only been here for a few days, and-," he was cut off by Taylor.
He looked down at her in confusion.
"And we're sorry that we kept this from you, but it was just so new that we didn't want to ruin it," she said smiling softly at his mother.
His eyebrows furrowed as he studied Taylor, confused.
"Taeeeee...," he drew out, warning her.
"Oh shush. She was going to find out eventually," she said looking up at him.
Her eyes were begging him to go along with it.
He shook his head, staring at her, and her arms tightened around him.
"Please, don't be mad at Rhett, it's my fault just as much as it is his. I've kept him awfully distracted the last couple of days," she said winking at his mother.
He looked down at Taylor, who was acting as calm as could be. She was smiling from ear to ear, and his mother was hanging on to her every word.
Deciding that if Taylor was going to make him go along with this, then he was going to make her pay, he formed a plan.
Finally, he said, "Yes, I have been very distracted lately. In fact, I seem to be a little distracted right now, and that would be why I can't take you seriously, Mama. So, if you will let us be, and then come back later, then I will take you seriously as a heartbeat," he sealed off his speech by reaching down and tipping Taylor's chin up to meet his eyes.
"You and I have business to attend to, sweetheart," he reached down and picked her up throwing her over his shoulder.
She squealed as he began walking towards his bedroom.
"See you later, Mama!" he called over his shoulder to his mom, who was blushing and making her way to the door very quickly, slipping out of the house.
He kicked his door closed and waited until he heard the truck door slam out back. With Mama safely away, and out of earshot, he dropped Taylor on his bed.
"What the hell just happened?" he asked Taylor who was looking up at him with flushed cheeks.
"You could have dropped me," she replied.
Rolling his eyes, Rhett shook his head.
"I would not have dropped you, now would you tell me what is going on?" he asked again.
"If you had dropped me, I would have kicked your butt," she said.
She was still stuck on the fact that he had picked her up, it seemed.
"Tae, you weigh about the same as an extra-large bag of feed. I promise you, you may even weigh about the same as most calves. I would not have dropped you. Now, would you focus," he said sitting down in a chair, one that Taylor had moved into the room, and crossed his arms, waiting.
"Do you have to carry calves around a lot?" she asked.
She was looking up at him with a wonder that surprised him. Why would she care? he thought to himself.
"Yes Tae, that's what you have to do during calving season," he said, answering her question.
"Wow," was all she said.
She stared off in space with a faraway look in her eyes.
Rhett watched her wheels turn. He had no clue what she was thinking, but he would have paid a lot of money to see inside that head of hers.
She sat on the edge of his bed completely distracted by her own thoughts. Frustrated, Rhett threw his hands up and huffed. He stood up and walked to the bed. Standing between her legs, he grabbed her chin to make her look him in the eyes.
"Hey, pretty girl, could you take a trip back to the real world for a minute?" he was frustrated, and when she gave him a sheepish smile and focused, he silently rejoiced.
"I'm sorry, what were you asking?" she asked him bringing them back to the conversation at hand.
"I was asking what exactly do you think you were doing just now, and why did you tell my mother you were my girlfriend?" he asked her his voice growing louder as he went.
"Well, she found me in the house this morning, and the first thing she said was that I must be your girlfriend. She was so excited Rhett. She was beyond thrilled to meet the first girl you had ever brought home," with this, she gave him a sharp look, and he felt a blush coming on. "I tried to tell her we weren't in a relationship, but she just kept saying you wouldn't bring a girl home, no matter what the situation was, if she wasn't special to you. I finally quit trying and just listened to her talk about you," she shrugged.
He looked closer at her. He wasn't buying her story by a long shot.
"You just gave up. The woman who argued with me for thirty minutes on who would sleep in the bed, just gave up?" he questioned.
"Okay fine, when she sat there talking about you, I couldn't help but notice how much she loves you, Rhett. You have no idea how much she loves you. She was so happy about it, that I just couldn't bear to tell her differently," she said avoiding his gaze.
"Umm, yes you could have," he said seriously.
She finally met his eyes when she said, "She looked as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, Rhett. She had been worried about you. She didn't think you would ever find anyone," she added softly.
He was taken aback. His mother had been worried about this? He knew that she wanted him to meet someone, and give her grandchildren, but he didn't realize that she had been this concerned.
"Okay, but that wasn't your place to do that, was it? Now, I have to explain to her that my 'girlfriend' wasn't actually my girlfriend, and she will be ten times more heartbroken than she would have if you had told her upfront," he said shaking his head.
He watched as Taylor chewed on her lip while in thought. Her eyebrows rose as if she was talking to herself in her head. It was obvious that she wanted to say something, but she wouldn't spit it out.
"Oh, what is it? You never seem to have a problem speaking your mind any other time, what is it now?" he asked her.
She looked up at him, irritated. "Hey now, that wasn't nice, cowboy."
She pushed him back away from where he had been standing between her legs. She crossed her arms over her chest and continued.
"All I'm saying is, you could pretend that I was your girlfriend for a couple of weeks, and it would make her feel better. She would know that you are trying to find someone, and you aren't trying to die alone," he cocked an eyebrow at her while she continued, "Then, you could say we broke up, later."
She gave him a smile that said she was proud of herself.
He shook his head and said, "That would never work."
"Yes it could," she argued.
Walking around to the other side of the bed, he plopped down and stretched out. His six-foot-four frame easily stretched to the end of the bed, and he could smell Tae's perfume on his pillow. He breathed in her smell as he sank into the mattress.
Taylor turned around on the bed to face him, sitting Indian-style.
"It could totally work. I could even stay here for a couple of weeks and help out around here," she said grinning from ear to ear.
He remembered what he had planned to tell her earlier, and thought about the cook job again. She could fill the role easily. Taylor was bobbing up and down now and clapping.
"I see the wheels turning in that big head of yours. You're thinking this through," she squealed.
"How rude. My head is not big," he said feigning mock horror.
"Oh, yes it is. It's twice the size of mine," she said giggling.
He gave her a hurt expression and pretended to shed a tear.
She reached over and knocked on his forehead.
"And see, it's hard as a rock. Sometimes I think that's all that's in there too, she said laughing at her own joke.
"Hey now, you'll pay for that one," he said as he lunged for her.
Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her to him. Tickling her ribs, he got her back for her rude words.
Giggling through tears, she cried, "Stop, stop. Please stop, Rhett."
"Not until you apologize for what you said," he chuckled down to her.
"But it was true," she croaked through her tears of laughter.
"That was the wrong thing to say, Pretty Girl," he said, tickling her harder.
"Ahhhhrr" she squealed into his side.
After several brutal minutes of his tickle attack, she finally squeaked.
"Fine, I'm sorry that you have a big, hard, head," she squealed.
He let her go and she stared up at him. A smile cracked her face and he realized what she had said.
"Hey, wait a minute," he said, but she was already snaking her way out from under him.
She slid off the bed and dashed out of the room. He chased after her giggling form.
"You're too slow, old man," she goaded him.
"Oh really, now, is that so?" he asked her from the other side of the coach.
She dashed around it, and he grabbed her by the waist, hauling her over his shoulder for the second time of the day.
She kicked and squealed this time though. He threw her on the bed, and again, he attacked her middle. She thrashed around under him, giggling until they both heard a loud buzzer going off. They stilled, confused. As realization dawned on Taylor's features, she tried to get up.
"I have to get the cookies out of the oven," she said.
He didn't remove his arms from around her.
"Rhett seriously I have to check on the cookies."
"I'm not falling for another one of your tricks," he said to her.
She looked up at him with an exasperated look. "You're not going to get any cookies if you don't let me up," she said giving him a stern look.
"Fiiine," he told her allowing her to slip away from him, "But this isn't over yet!"
She walked into the kitchen and he followed along. He watched as she bent over to open the oven. Making himself look away, he turned to the fridge.
He grabbed a cup as he set out the milk. Pouring a glass, he turned back to Taylor. Slipping up behind her he grabbed a cookie from the cooling rack she was filling.
"Rhett! Get out of the cookies. They have to set up first," she yelled at him, turning around and putting her hands on her hips.
If he had a dime for every time his Mama had done this same thing, he would be rich.
Chuckling he mumbled, "Sorry Tae. They taste fine to me though," he said through a mouthful of hot cookies.
Shaking her head she turned back to her cookies. Setting the rest out, she put the cookie sheet by the sink to cool.
Rhett grabbed two more cookies off of the rack and rushed out of the kitchen.
"Cowboy, I'm going to take a spatula to you if you don't stay out of my kitchen!" She called after him.
He chuckled as he sat down on the couch.
Her kitchen. Yeah right, it's my kitchen.
He turned on the TV and put his feet up.
Taylor came around the corner and saw him spread out on the couch.
"Move your legs, Bigfoot," she said, sitting down with him.
He looked at her and chuckled. He was happy that she was finally comfortable to be her sassy self again.
"Jeesh, first it was a big head, and now it's big feet? You'd think I was a monster," he said pretending to be sad.
"Oh dry your tears. You're a very handsome monster," she said giving him a look.
"Aww, you sure have a way with words, Pretty Girl," he said giving her a smirk.
She shook her head, "Okay, now for the conversation that you so rudely interrupted with your attack," she started.
He set his glass of milk down on the coffee table.
"Well, if you want to do it, I will go along with your plan for a few weeks. I knew my mom wanted me to settle down, but I never realized that she was so worried, I'll go along with it to make her feel better," he told Taylor.
He hoped he wouldn't regret it.
She squealed, clapping again.
"Okay, so is there any way I can help out around here? I don't want to stay here and not do anything," she said shrugging.
He liked the fact that she wasn't going to take anything from him without her doing something to make it equal.
"Actually, there is something. The cook position is open. We've always had two cooks. My mama, and someone else. Our last cook just retired, so we're trying to find a replacement for her. I've tasted your cooking, so I have complete faith that you could do it," he said to her happily.
"Okay, I can cook. What exactly would I be doing?" she asked him curiously.
"Well, you'll meet Mama at the bunkhouse every morning to cook breakfast. I can take you up there because I usually go up there to eat breakfast with the hands," he explained.
She looked at him curiously and cocked her head.
"So breakfast, what about lunch and dinner?" she questioned.
"Lunch is usually something light. It's open for everyone, but some of the guys go in and eat in town if they're free," he explained.
"Okay, that doesn't sound terrible. Now for dinner?" she asked nodding her head in understanding.
"Dinner is little a little more complicated. You'll only have to do Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays though. On Fridays, there is a big dinner that everyone is required to come to. Mama says it keeps us together like a family and not just a ranch.
"On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and the weekends, the guys are on their own. It's a simple job, and you'll have Mama, right there with you to help," he said.
He watched as a smile spread across Taylor's face.
She nodded her head and clapped.
"I think this will be great," she said joyfully. "I have plenty of experience with food and service, so you don't have to worry about that. I've been waitressing since I was fifteen. That's almost ten years now. Well, almost nine, but that's not what matters."
Rhett held back a sicker as she got sidetracked. She was so passionate with her words, and thoughts, that she often got distracted, but it just made Rhett like her more.
"Okay, well, I think we'll go see Mama tonight at dinner and tell her our plans," he said smiling at her. "Since she won't show up here for the rest of the day," he said smirking.
"I can't believe you said that in front of your mother. I won't be able to look her in the eyes now, because she's going to be thinking that's what we've done all afternoon," she said getting worked up.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said innocently.
He stood up to walk to the mudroom.
"Want to take a drive?" he asked her grabbing his truck keys.
"I'd need clothes if I went out into public," she said looking down at her hands.
She was embarrassed again it seemed.
He looked her over. He liked her in his clothes.
"You look fine," he said ogling her long legs in his boxers.
She glared at him.
"Rhett, I'm in men's boxers and your shirt that hangs to my thighs. I do not look fine," she said crossing her arms over her chest.
"Taylor, you'd look good in a brown paper sack. Now, go put on the outfit you were in when I picked you up," he said remembering it.
"Oh, I forgot about those. That's smart," she said running to the washing room.
He was sitting down on the couch putting on his boots when Taylor stomped into the room.
"Rhett Montgomery, did you rip my shirt?" she asked, mad as a wet hen.
He smiled innocently and said, "I couldn't figure out how to get it off of you, and you weren't working with me in your passed out state, okay? I was rushing and panicked, and so, yes, I ripped your shirt," he said to her, crossing his own arms over his chest.
She growled at him and turned back to the room.
"Men," she sighed out.
He waited five minutes and when she hadn't returned he went to the bedroom. Not knocking he walked right in. She was in her jeans and her bra.
"Rhett!" she yelled.
He turned around and put his back to her.
"Sorry, okay, the second drawer in the dresser has a couple of white tank tops. They'll be the closest thing I have to fit you," he said gesturing to the dresser.
She huffed, and he listened as she stomped over to the dresser.
"You can leave now," she said to him irritatedly.
He chuckled at her sass and went to leave the room.
Turning back, he threw over his shoulder, "Oh, and Tae, I have already seen them. I did undress you the other day."
Smirking, he listened through the door at her gasp, and then her squeal.
Yeah, she's affected.