Page 27 of His Virgin Woman
Leah laughed.“It’s something I would love to have one day.”She sighed.“It would be so magical.I would love to have a man just look at me, fall in love with me, and just ...want me.”
The truth was, Peyton wanted that too.
For the first time since her parents had passed, she looked around the shop, and it felt ...like a trap.She loved her parents, but what she had inherited from them had been nothing short of a nightmare.Constant debt.The fear of the townsfolk or tourists no longer interested in what she had to offer was a constant fear that never went away.It was why she was always working on something new.Trying to make things seasonal so customers wanted to return.Never a dull moment.
The problem was, Shae was right.She was exhausted all the damn time.Waking up early, getting into work, drinking her coffee while working, and not taking a moment, it was tiring.She loved this place and hated it.
And today, she couldn’t stop thinking about that damn ranch, and helping Shae and the other men.
Did she love Shae?Both her head and heart said yes and no.She did love him.What was not to love?He was a good man, and yes, he had a bad reputation and he did some bad stuff, but who cared?He was a good man to her.
She took a deep breath, and for the rest of the day, she couldn’t help but feel a little torn.It was hard, and then she was happy for it to be the end of the day.Leah took the last of the baked goods with her to the elderly home, and Peyton went to Shae who was waiting for her.The moment she climbed into the truck, she looked at him and saw him shivering.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.Just a little cold.”
This was not just a little cold.She reached out and touched the back of her hand to his forehead.
“You’re burning up.”
“It’s fine.It happens every year.”
“No, you’re not driving me home.Get out of the truck.I’m driving.”
“You can drive?”
“Of course I can drive.I learned at school, and I drove my car until it was too costly to keep and I sold it to pay some bills.”She climbed out of the truck and rounded to his driver’s side.“Out, mister.You are too sick to drive.”
“I have been working the ranch all day.”
“Yeah, and you probably shouldn’t have done that.”She let out a frustrated growl.“In you go.”
She helped him around to the passenger side, and then climbed behind the wheel.Turning over the ignition, she felt the beauty fire up, and then she pulled out.
Okay, it had been a long time since she had driven, and she had to get used to the feel of the car.The clutch, the brakes, and the smoothness of the wheel.He drove a damn good truck.
She already knew the way to his ranch, and the drive was long—a good thirty minutes—but she got there.Shae leaned over and typed in his gate code which allowed them onto the ranch.
She got to the main driveway, found his spot, and parked the car.Climbing out, she helped Shae inside, and knew until he was better, she was going to take care of him.
****
“You don’t need to takecare of me,” he said, shaking all over.“I’ll be fine in a couple of hours.You need to get to your shop.”
“My shop is closed for today.I’ve already called Leah, and she is coming by to help me.I’m going to take care of the orders from here, and I’ve already left messages for those that needed them.I’ve got everything organized so I can keep an eye on you.All you need to do is tell me how to handle your ranchers, and we’re all set.”
“My ranchers know what they need to do.They’ve already got their job descriptions.”
“Excellent.So that means you can sit back and relax today.Now, I’m going to make you some toast, because I don’t know if you remember, but last night you threw up.So, dry toast, and we’ll see how you handle that, and then we’ll take it from there.”
Peyton didn’t wait for his answer.For today, she was the boss.He was laid on the sofa, and she had put the television on.The front doorbell rang, and it was the strangest sound to him, because he didn’t recall anyone ringing that bell in a long time.
“That must be Leah.I’ll be right back.”She handed him the remote, and he listened as the two women started to talk, so it must have been Leah.
“Hey, boss,” Leah said, coming into the sitting room.
“Hey,” he said, not at all interested in making small talk.
