Sassy Cowgirl Kisses by Kathy Fawcett
Chapter 13
Her skin was like silk!
Staring at his ceiling and struggling to fall asleep, Ash grabbed a handful of his soft sheet, trying to recall the sensation of having his hand on the small of Sassy’s back earlier when he caught her—the intrusion wasn’t intentional, but the feel of her tormented him nonetheless.
His head was swimming at the memories of their encounters and in his half sleep, he dreamt of holding her and dancing with her; being near enough to catch her any time she stumbled—over anything.
How quickly she’d gone from being a stranger to the pretty girl he’d rescued, touched, and holy cow, even tasted before the day was through. A big grin broke out on Ash’s face as he remembered.
Sassy’s presencedulled the surprising pain Ash had been feeling as he mourned the end of his university years. He never wanted to go so far away to school, yet Ridge had pushed him hard.
“Most teenagers can’t wait to leave the confines of home to cut loose a little,” Ridge told him. “And I understand why you’re reticent to leave home, Ash, but it will be here when you get back. So will I.”
Ash choked up at his words. Just the reminder that he had a home and a dad got him every time.
“Go find yourself, son. Explore the world and trust your safety net,” Ridge implored, with full understanding, Ash thought, of how hard it would be to leave the family he’d been gifted after his world fell apart.
“We’ll be here whenever you come back, and you’d better come back,” Ridge added.
At first sight, Michigan seemed a foreign land. Flat, for the most part, without any of the mountains and valleys that Wyoming had in spades. But he quickly learned to love its unique beauty—Michigan had trees for miles. Ash had never seen so many trees, or such vivid fall colors.
Kat was right.
Winters were amazing. There was none of the hunkering down that Wyoming ranchers had to do. In Michigan, winters were celebrated with skiing, snowboarding, ice hockey, and sledding down the nearby golf course hills on borrowed trays from the college cafeteria in the wee hours of the night.
And water! So much water, everywhere he turned. Someone told him that you only had to drive fifteen minutes in Michigan to reach a lake, river or stream.
While Wyoming waters never seemed to warm—even the smallest lake was newly melted snow from the mountain caps—in Michigan, lakes the size of oceans welcomed swimmers and boaters for months.
The Great Lakes blew him away.
By the end of four years, Michigan had gotten under his skin. Ash felt a sadness at leaving the crystal-clear water and beaches, and his friends. But Sassy reminded him of the youth and energy of his Michigan State University days—indeed, she grew up in the next state over from MSU, and her voice flowed in the same cadence as the Midwest girls in all his classes.
None of this y’all, or the aw shucks folksy speak he was made fun of for during his first year. Sassy sounded buttoned up and crisp, like a honey gold apple in a Michigan orchard.
“Sassy!” Still wide awake, Ash spoke her name to the ceiling.
Usually he had no trouble falling into a dead sleep after ranching or renovating. A good day’s work was the best remedy for insomnia Ash ever knew. But tonight, his thoughts were swimming in a beautiful sea of Sassy. Every time he was about to nod off, his heart raced at the memory of her golden dewy skin, bright smile, and hair the color of chilled curls of fresh-churned butter. Not every girl could wear sunshine in her hair the way Sassy did.
“It cannot be,” he scolded himself, pushing thoughts of her away. “Michigan is my past. There’s only Wyoming, now and forever.”