Page 33 of M!lking Mina

“Yeah, I live about half an hour from here so I can visit pretty regularly. The Ridge is fairly new, but the Ranch has been here as long as I can remember.” He kept talking as they went along the road.

And it was always nice to listen to Patrick talk. He had such a deep, smooth voice, she could listen to him talk for hours, and it wasn’t nearly that far to the Ridge. Really just down a few streets over once they got past the gate into Rawhide Ranch, it was less than five minutes before Patrick was turning onto another street and it wasn’t far past the turn that they stopped at another gate that hadn’t been visible from the main road. Next to the gate was a large wooden sign that readThe Ridge.

Mina couldn’t see much other than the sign and the gate. The road went up a rise that blocked the view of whatever was beyond it. Patrick punched in the gate code and they headed up the rise.

Her initial impression of the Ridge was that it was sprawling. The first building she saw was a huge three-story, yellow Victorian gingerbread-style house with a sign in front that saidRobyn’s Nest.

“Ooo, oh my gosh it’s so pretty,” Mina cooed. “I’ve always loved Victorians.”

“Yeah? I live in a Victorian.” Patrick wasn’t looking at her, he was looking out the window when he said it, but her heart did a little flip in her chest. Was he telling her to make conversation or because he wanted her to know that he lived in the kind of house she loved?

And how crazy was she going to make herself today psychoanalyzing everything?

“Is it haunted?” she asked. “It’s not a real Victorian unless it’s haunted.”

“Not as far as I know, but I’ve never really believed in that sort of thing,” he said with a shrug.

Somehow that didn’t surprise her. So he could totally be haunted and just not realize it because he would explain the happenstances in some other, completely logical and much more boring way.

They drove around for a few minutes just so Mina could see the community. She loved how unique each house was. No cookie cutter homes here. Some people might find that chaotic, but it really spoke to her.

Eventually he brought them back to Main Street. Unfortunately, Mina was so excited to visit Angel’s Heavenly Bakery and Chocolate Shoppe that she fell getting out of the truck and hurt her ankle… so their first stop ended up being the Urgent Care Center instead.

Patrick

“She’s fine,” Dr. Nelson reassured Patrick, looking like he was tryingnotto appear amused. “It’s just a little twist. Some rest, some ice, and some Ibuprofen to help with the inflammation and she’ll be right as rain.”

“I told him that,” Mina muttered, giving Patrick a baleful look. He gave her one right back. She was going the right way for a spanking with that attitude. She’d hurt her ankle, not her butt, when she’d tripped her way out of his truck.

Twisting her head to the side, she twiddled her thumbs, apparently going to pretend she hadn’t seen his look. Little brat.

When they left the office, Patrick insisted on carrying her. Which she wouldn’t agree to until he finally said he was putting her up on his shoulders.

“I’m so tall!” she squealed, throwing her hands up in the air. “Okay, if I could get shoulder rides all day, I think I’d be more interested in being a Little.”

“I’ll give you a shoulder ride,” he muttered. If he just twisted her around so that she was riding on his shoulders from the other direction…

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

He took her to a park where they could eat their picnic before hoisting her back up on his shoulders to go to the bakery for dessert.

It wasn’t a long walk to the bakery, but Patrick wished it had been twice as long because Mina was enjoying it so much. Being taller than everyone on the street was clearly a new experience for her and one that she was thoroughly enjoying… and Patrick enjoyed her enjoyment.

He liked hearing her laugh. Seeing her smile. And he was really going to miss it after tomorrow.

After picking out a piece of cake for her and a cookie for himself, they sat down at one of the little tables in the shop. He felt a bit big for the chairs, which were more delicate than the ones at the Ranch, but they seemed sturdy enough. Before he settled in, he made sure that Mina’s foot was elevated on another nearby chair, the ice pack that Dr. Nelson had given them still securely wrapped and taped around her ankle.

“Mmmm, this is good.”

“It is. Do you have any bakeries like this back home?” He couldn’t help it. He didn’t want to talk about her going home, but it was happening tomorrow whether he liked it or not and he felt compelled to ask.

“Not where I could be dressed like this, well, you know what I mean. But there’s a pretty good bakery.” She took a bite of her cake, moaning the same way she did when he was sucking her nipples. “Oh my God, this cake is so moist.”

“Can I try a bite?”

“Sure. I’ll trade you for a bite of your cookie.” She held it up with her fork and fed it to him, and then he held out the cookie for her to take a bite.

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