Miranda slowly found herself settling back into the ranching life. She almost welcomed the sound of the farm animals early in the morning as her own personal natural alarm system. She remembered telling Bethany how the rooster had a good pair of lungs, to which Bethany had replied saying he was sure to make a tasty family meal.
She missed Francine something terrible but Bethany was quickly becoming a good company to have around. One thing she could pick up on was the way Bethany was fiercely protective of the Walter boys. Where Jessica was concerned she could tell the two would tolerate each other but wouldn't go as far as to say they were friends.
As for Joseph, the man was a dream, sometimes she was afraid to wake up and fund that that's exactly what this was, a dream. He was attentive and patient and understanding. He shared so much with her that she knew without a doubt that was his way of telling her he trusts her.
Miranda remembered how great it had felt to sit on the porch swing wrapped in a blanket and snuggled to his side after they had put Zeke to bed. The conversation they had was a tough one.
His driving phobia had stemmed from losing his parents in an accident and it didn't help that shortly after that, he had been driving drunk with a bunch of his buddies and almost lost his life when they crashed into a utility pole.
Every time he was behind a wheel in a busy city he felt like something would go wrong. He had shared with her that the first time he had moved to the city and gone out in his car he had frozen in the middle of traffic and it had taken the firefighters to come and defuse the situation.
That was part of his reason for staying in the countryside and working behind the scenes for his company but of course, that wouldn't have lasted forever.
Miranda glanced at the clock on the bedside table and smiled. It was after ten in the morning which meant Joseph had let her sleep in and gotten their son ready for school without her help, not that she was complaining.
She got out of bed and headed for the bathroom before going downstairs to grab some breakfast.
"Good morning beautiful." Joseph greeted her as soon as she entered the kitchen.
She blushed and went to his outstretched hand. She didn't complain when he pulled her into his lap and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
"Good morning," she said shyly
The way he was looking at her made her tingle inside. His eyes were glowing with his happiness.
"How did you sleep?" he asked her.
"Good. What about you?" she replied
"I would have slept better if someone didn't close me out of her bedroom last night," he complained.
"How can you resist that face?"
Miranda started and tried to climb off Joseph's lap but he wasn't having it. She turned and saw Bethany flipping pancakes by the stove. She was surprised she hadn't seen her, then again lately she had only eyes for Joseph. She blushed again and looked at him.
"You're beautiful you know that?" he asked brushing a kiss at the side of her neck.
"Flattery will not get you anywhere mister." she teased him.
"A man can try." he grinned then patted her butt when she stood up.
Miranda sent him a playful glare before helping herself to breakfast.
"Y'all are so sickeningly cute," Bethany commented quietly enough for just Miranda to hear.
Miranda bit her lip to try and hide her smile but failed miserably when instead a soft giggle escaped. Joseph looked over at her and smiled and she smiled back and walked back to him as though she were compelled.
"Did you get Zeke off to school on time?" she question as she took a bite of pancakes. She couldn't get over how tasty they were.
"He drove him to school today, he wanted father-son time," Joseph explained.
"Oh?" said Miranda looking at him over her cup of steaming peppermint tea.
"It seems our son has a crush and a certain girl in his class. He needed advice." Joseph replied
"A crush!" Miranda exclaimed
"Yep, don't make a big deal of it alright? It will only embarrass him." Joseph told her.
"I won't, I promise," she said looking away from him.
"What's wrong?" asked Joseph reaching for her hand across the table.
"Before you know it, he will be dating, then he will be off to high school and college and university, and then he will be married. I'm losing my son and I don't think I'm ready for all that," she replied sniffling.
"Don't jump the gun sweetheart, it's just a crush," Joseph said softly squeezing her hand.
"That's easy for you to say," she complained.
"Come on, eat up and come take a walk with me?" Joseph offered.
Miranda smelled at him and dug into her pancakes. They left a few minutes later holding hands and said hi to some of the ranch hands when they passed the barn. The expansion of the barn was being done quickly and Mira dame was glad when Jordan told his wife he was hiring more workers so he could spend more time with her and their baby.
Miranda and Joseph walked until they reached a small clearing in the woods. It was a small lake that she use to steal away to when she was younger. She never felt comfortable going to the public pool in a bathing suit when she was young but here she could pretend to be as sexy as she felt. She always pictured Joseph finding her here one day and giving her, her first kiss. It never happened then so it was so surreal it was happening now, years later.
He let go of her hand and pulled his shirt over his head.
"What in the world are you doing?" she asked staring at his rock-hard chest.
"Going for a swim, care to join me?" before she could give her answer he dropped his pants and ran off into the water.
"You're a crazy cowboy." she laughed.
"Come on, live a little, don't leave me all by my lonesome," he complained.
When that didn't work he started pretending to drown so she rolled her eyes and stepped out of her summer dress and followed him into the water.
She loved the heated look in his eyes, he made her feel sexy and desirable. He made her feel like a woman.
As soon as she was close enough he pulled her into him, the evidence of his arousal pushed against her belly. She wrapped her hand around his neck and her feet around his waist. He walked them further into the water until they were just about waist level, all the while kissing her.
Miranda whimpered against his neck when he rubbed his hard member against her heated core.
When he backed her up against a large rock and rocked against her, she kissed him with all her pent-up feelings.
She lost it when his movements became more frantic, the bulge in his pants rubbing against her feminine parts. Before she knew it they were both shaking with their release.
"I don't think I've dried humped with anyone since high school." Joseph laughed as he lifted his head from the side of her neck to look at her.
"Technically it was very wet humping since we're in the middle of the lake. I would have been equally wet of dry land anyway." Miranda replied cheekily.
Joseph growled and captured her mouth again just as the ringing of his cell phone pierced the quiet serenity.
"It could be important," she told him.
"So is this," he complained.
"Go answer it, give me a minute?" she asked
He looked at her and sighed before walking away to answer his phone.
She watched his back as he walked away, she was debating whether or not she was ready to go all the way with him again.
Just as she was about to go after him and tell him she was indeed ready he turned to her and hung up.
"Something wrong?" she asked
"That was Nathan, I need to fly back to the city, seems he's found the culprit," Joseph explained pulling on his pants.
Miranda hurried out of the water and quickly pulled on her dress. They walked back to the house holding hands, neither said anything.