Sassy Cowgirl Kisses by Kathy Fawcett

Chapter 28

“I’ll ask you again. Who are you, Sassy?”

“What do you mean, Ash?”

The two were reclining on the blanket, staring up at the sky beyond the mountain range. Neither one anxious to get back in the ATV, or, it seemed, anxious to move away from each other.

“I mean, I’ve called you Bo Peep, and Scarlett O’Hara. We’ve joked around and had a few meals, but I don’t know much about you, or why you’re here. Rowdy and Gunnar said you were persistent about working at West Ranch this summer.”

Sassy just shrugged.

“There’s no mystery. West Ranch is the biggest and best, and you have to be persistent to get the job you want in life. Especially if you don’t get one handed to you on a silver platter after graduation.”

Ash frowned at her comment, but chose his response carefully.

“I’ve been handed a few silver platters in recent years, it’s true. There’ve been a few hard knocks along the way, too. But you’re making this about me, and it’s not.”

“There’s nothing to solve. I’m an accounting grad with an interest in managing a ranch—the experience here is priceless. I’ll be able to go anywhere and work after this summer.”

Rolling towards Ash, Sassy propped her head up with a bent arm. Ash did the same. They were just inches away as they lay on their sides, facing each other.

“So you plan on leaving.” He stated this, more than asked.

“I’m not planning anything just yet,” Sassy said with an unmistakable edge in her voice. “I’ll have to leave if I’m not offered a job, but I’m not sure I’d stay, anyway. There’s a lot of unknowns, Ash.”

Ash clenched his jaw as he looked over her shoulder at the mountain peaks, then back to Sassy and her golden hair. Her eyes were dark with mystery and a little unease.

She couldn’t meet his stare. Distractedly, she looked down and began picking small leaves off the blanket and tossing them behind her. She was so beautiful, Ash thought, and he’d made her angry with his questions. As if reading his mind, she met his gaze again.

“And by the way, Ash West,” she said quietly, “what makes you think a person—a girl—ought to share her whole life story the first time she meets a guy? There’s a lot I don’t know about you, and yet I’m willing to let it all unfold.”

“Fair enough…” Ash attempted to appease Sassy. “I guess because I rescued you…”

“Rescued?”

“Well, yes...” He sounded unsure of himself now.

“What’s so noble about stopping on a deserted road, simply because you can’t go any further with a flock of sheep in your way? What’s noble about being able to get cell phone reception? You’re going to have to work a little harder to be my hero, Ash West.”

She was right, he knew. If he wanted her to open up more, he would have to be patient and tread carefully. Sassy was an employee of the ranch, and he had to protect their reputation, and hers. But the closer he was to her, the harder it was to be cautious.

“I’m sorry, Sassy,” Ash whispered. “I’m being selfish, wanting to know where you’re going to be when the summer’s over. I have a thing, I guess, about people in my life leaving.”

Her face softened.

The two were so close. Ash reached his hand up and one by one, moved thick strands of curls from her neck to the back of her shoulder. She could feel every nerve ending as his fingers tenderly brushed her skin.

They were close enough to feel the warm breath as each other spoke.

“I don’t know where I’ll be, Ash,” Sassy whispered, helplessly frozen in place by his hypnotic touch. “I wish I could tell you.”

“Then tell me,” Ash whispered back.

“I can’t,” she managed.

Not yet,she thought.

“Even this morning,” she said, “I didn’t know I’d be spending the day up on this hill, with you by my side.”

Her eyes reluctantly pulled away from his own—she was getting hopelessly caught up in him—only to rest on the pearl snaps of his shirt. Her eyes traveled slowly down each one to where the hem hung open, revealing a few inches of his tanned torso. Her hand was so close, and when she reached over and lightly touched his warm skin with the tiny tip of her finger, Ash gasped.

“Sassy,” he choked out.

“Shh,” she managed, “no more questions.”

Watching her eyes for permission, Ash found it instead upon her lips. As she tilted her head towards him, they parted in a sweet smile.

He closed the gap between their lips until his rested upon hers. Moving his free hand to her waist, Ash gently kissed Sassy, lingering until they were breathing in sync, and until she inched closer towards him on the warm blanket. Ash should have pulled away, but he didn’t. He could feel her long eyelashes flutter against his face like butterflies, and practically hear her heartbeat getting louder—or maybe that was his own.

After a few minutes, Sassy moved the arm that held her head up, lowering herself slowly to the quilt where she lay on her back. Ash’s mouth stayed with hers, and he tucked his free arm under her shoulder, where he could feel the softness of her hair as they kissed.

Her lips tasted warm and sweet. Like ripe berries dipped in sweet honey, then dipped in an electric current that ran from her mouth and through his entire body—down to the boots on his toes.