Kristen Ashley - Play It Safe

“Hey, Gray,” we heard and I watched his eyes go down the table where more greetings were being called.

He did a chin lift then introduced, “Folks, this is Ivey.”

I lifted a hand, looked down the table as a whole and gave a lame wave.

Then I realized it probably looked lame so I dropped it and tucked both between my thighs. As I did this, I took in a bunch of curious, friendly looks, smiles and a few greetings.

Then, to my surprise, that was it. They turned to each other or their meals.

Giving us privacy (kind of).

Wow. That was nice.

“Evenin’ Gray, hello beautiful creature that embodies the reason I put my ass on the line for this country,” I heard, my eyes grew wide, my head turned to the gravelly voice and I tipped it back to look at an old guy standing by our table to see him looking down at me. “Gray knows the drill. Gray gets a T-bone, rare, potato, loaded and loses the veggies. I gotta know about you. You want a T-bone, which, little thing like you, will kick your ass. A strip, which I recommend. A fillet, which melts in your mouth but there ain’t much to it. Or a sirloin, which is okay, still recommend the strip.”

“Uh… then, I’ll um, go for the strip,” I told him.

“Right, then how you want it cooked?”

“Medium rare,” I ordered.

“Pansy but you’re a girl, I’ll let that slide.”

My eyes got wider.

He kept speaking.

“Baked potato or fries and before you waste my time, a loaded potato comes with butter, salt and pepper, sour cream and chives. If you’re gonna eat a potato, I won’t like you if you don’t get it loaded.”

My eyes got even wider.

“Okay, then potato. Loaded.”

I mean, what else could I say?

Still, truth be told, I wanted it loaded.

“You want veggies?” he asked.

“Uh… sure?” I asked back.

“Women, they eat the veggies and/or make their kids eat ‘em. Men are men ‘cause they got out from under their Momma’s thumb and can say a big ‘eff you to vegetables. I carry no judgment, a woman wants her veggies,” he informed me.

“Well, that’s good,” I muttered.

“Still, you could bust my chops, order a steak well-done, a potato plain and ask me to steam the veggies and I’d do it for you ‘cause you’re just that beautiful.”

Wow.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

“Though, that said, it’d still be a pain in my ass.”

I heard Gray chuckle and I liked it, I liked seeing his face when he was amused but I couldn’t tear my eyes off this guy.

“Sonny,” a female from down the table called, “there’s children present.”

Sonny, our unusual waiter, looked down the table and asked, “My seed make that kid?”

I heard Gray chuckle again as my eyes got even wider.

“Of course not!” she cried, offended.

“Then do I care?” Sonny fired back.

I pressed my lips together. Gray’s chuckle became laughter.

“Honestly!” the woman huffed.

“That’s about it,” Sonny muttered then without another word he took off.

I watched him go then my eyes dazedly drifted back to Gray to see the dimple on full display which did nothing to assist my daze.

“Sonny’s a character,” he pointed out the obvious.

“I think I got that,” I returned the favor.

His dimple pressed deeper.

Seeing that, my mind became consumed with the hope that this date would end with a kiss.

“He went to school with my Dad,” Gray informed me.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and nodded.

“Granddad died, he left Dad the place. Dad died, he left it to me,” Gray kept sharing.

I nodded again and there it was. His Gran was living with him and it was her home. He didn’t lie and I was glad to know it.

His voice was quieter when he asked, “What’s your Dad do?”

My eyes slid from his as I felt steel bands clamp around my ribs.

“Ivey,” he called and my eyes slid back.

“Don’t know my Dad.”

He held my eyes and I let him.

Then he asked, “Ever?”

I shook my head.

I watched him pull in a soft breath.

I changed the subject.

“What is your place?”

“Say again?”

“What’s your place? Is it an orchard, a ranch, a farm?”

“Ranch and orchard. We got peach trees and we got horses.”

That was interesting.

“Horses?” I asked.

Gray nodded. “Breed ‘em, raise ‘em, break ‘em, train ‘em, sell ‘em.”

“Oh,” I whispered, liking this. I’d never ridden a horse but I thought they were very pretty.

“Mustangs,” he went on and my gaze sharpened on him because I liked that more even though I had no idea why. “Or they used to be,” he continued and grinned. “Obviously not wild anymore.”

“Right,” I said softly really not knowing what he meant.

He must have read my face because he leaned toward me and explained, “Mustangs were and still are free-roaming. In other words, wild. Sometimes, to control the population, they’ll let them be captured and adopted. But to be a true mustang, the horse needs to be wild. My great granddad and his dad before him, before they were managed, used to go out and capture them, break ‘em, breed ‘em. Sometimes we’ll adopt to get new blood because we need it since all our horses’ ancestry is mustang.”

I thought that was fascinating.

“Have you captured any?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he answered.

That was even more fascinating.

So much, I smiled.

Gray smiled back.

Then he offered, “Hang around another day, dollface, take you to my barn, show you my beauties.”

I was going to hang around another day. Definitely. Absolutely. I didn’t care if Casey’s blooming love went up in a fiery ball of flame and he was desperate to beam out of Mustang to another galaxy. I was sticking around because I was going to see Gray’s “beauties”.

“I’d like that.”

He smiled again.

“I’ve never ridden a horse,” I shared and his brows went up.

“Seriously?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“Then we’ll get you up on one.”

Oh no.

That was when I shook my head. “That’s okay. Just seeing them would be nice.”

“No way, Ivey. You haven’t lived unless you’ve been on the back of a horse.”

“I –” I started but he leaned further in.

“You ride with me. You don’t like the feel of it, you’re safe, you don’t have to control anything. I got it. You like it and want to give it a shot; we’ll get you up on one alone. Your call, honey, but you gotta let me give this to you and you gotta let yourself have it. You do, swear to Christ, you’ll never regret it.”

I ride with him.

I was stuck there. Riding on the back of a horse with Gray.

“Okay,” I agreed and earned another smile.

I smiled back.

Then suddenly I felt the mood at our table change. It was swift, palpable and I would know why when a presence hit the end of the table and a woman’s catty voice sounded.

“Same Gray, big spender. VFW on a first date.”

My eyes were on Gray and I saw his eyes turn stone-cold as his jaw went rock hard and he turned his head and looked up.

I did too.

She was pretty, not beautiful, pretty. Very pretty.

But she thought she was God’s gift. It was clear as day.

“Cecily,” Gray muttered not in a welcoming way and I got the feeling he intended to say more but she beat him to it.

Her eyes came to me. “Know you’re new in town and every girl in town knows so, fair’s fair, you should too, this is where he takes all of us.”

“Goodness me,” a woman down the table muttered.

I stared.

“I should believe this, it’s you, but I still don’t believe this,” Gray ground out but I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t tear my eyes off her as her venomous gaze swung to Gray.