Page 5 of Flirting With Fire
Mom shook her head. “What’s going on here, boys? I’m got so many questions. Why are you here? Where’s your car? Why are you on the back of Dex’s horse?”
“My car broke down near the McKay farm. Dex was riding by and offered me a ride.”
I stopped as his name sunk into my brain. “Dex?” He smirked at me. “You’re Dex Chase?”
“Well, of course he is,” Mom said. “Didn’t you recognize him? Goodness, you lived in the same town for long enough.”
“No, no, I didn’t.”
I scowled at Dex, whose smirk grew broader.
“It was so kind of you to give Meyer a ride, Dex,” Mom gushed, seeming not to notice the tension between us.
“It was my pleasure,” Dex said, leaning forward to give her a kiss on the cheek. “I could hardly leave him stranded on his first day back in town.”
I gritted my teeth as they talked about me. They were clearly friends. For a moment, I felt like the outsider looking in. Except Iwasthe outsider. I hadn’t been back more than a week or two at a time in ten years.
I studied Dex. Where was the scrawny kid I remembered, all lanky limbs and huge eyes? I hadn’t seen Dex since high school when he was a freshman and I was a senior, and the hat that covered half his face hadn’t helped. And the solid muscled body. He was all man now. My dick pricked up at the memory of being pressed against him.
“I’d better get Junie back to the stable,” Dex said. “I hadn’t planned to be out for so long.” He held out my pack. “This is yours.”
I’d almost forgotten about my bag. I blinked and then yanked it out of Dex’s hands. “Thanks,” I muttered, knowing from the scowl Mom was aiming my way that she was going to scold me for being ungracious.
From the grin Dex shot my way, he knew it too. He swung up on Junie’s back—the horse had been waiting patiently—and waved a lazy hand as he ambled off.
“Good to see you again, Meyer. Good luck with the new job,” he yelled over his shoulder.
“He’s such a nice boy,” Lindy sighed.
“Sure,” I grumbled.
Mom gave me her patented death stare that had cowed me every time as a child. “What’s gotten into you, Meyer Race Jones? Dex did you a favor. The least you could do is be grateful.”
I was being scolded by my mom with the glare and my full name, and I hadn’t been here five minutes. I needed to retrieve the situation. I slung an arm around her shoulder and guided her toward the front door.
“I am grateful, Mom. It’s just been a long drive, and breaking down was kinda like the final straw. Let’s go inside, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
From her expression she wasn’t convinced, but her curiosity won out as I knew it would.
She chatted away as we climbed the stoop, pointing out new flowers she’d planted during the summer. I smiled and admired them, and all the while my brain was still whirling.
Dex Chase. I’d just ridden into Charming with my arms wrapped around Dex Chase. My first crush.
Chapter Two
Dex
“Mornin’, Abe.”
I tipped my hat at the new stable hand as I led Juniper to the grooming station for her post-ride washdown and brushing. He was in the middle of hoof-picking our gentle giant, Magnum, a stallion I’d recently acquired. But Junie was my girl and the only of our now six horses that I ever rode. I’d convinced myself that she’d get jealous otherwise.
“I’m almost finished up with Magnum, sir. You can leave her attached to the rail, and I’ll take care of her in a few minutes.”
“That’s all right, Abe. I’ve got it.”
He gave me a smile and nod, clicked his tongue, and Magnum raised his back hoof. As he continued working on the black stallion, I turned my attention to the beautiful chestnut mare I’d owned since middle school. Junie had a stripe down her face, white socks, and a patch of white on her left ear that was shaped like a heart. When my dad and I went looking, the white patch was what sold me.
As I brushed Junie down, my mind raced. Since running into Meyer, I hadn’t been able to keep my thoughts straight. Meyer Jones. I thought he’d put Charming in his rearview forever. Yet, there he was on my road, intruding onmymorning peace bydaring to return, his sexy swagger and tight ass scorching my brain cells as if it were yesterday.
