picture courtesy of pixabay
Welcome back to Take a Peek Tuesday. Each week I will post a little tease from what I am currently working on. Right now I am doing a self-edit on a story I wrote during NaNo 2015. I am hoping to release it this summer. Baseball Bats and Cowboy hats is a contemporary sports/cowboy romance. It is sweet and spicy with a touch of humor.
Remember this is very raw, not having been beta read or edited.
This week I take up where I left off last week but in Annie’s view.
Baseball Bats and Cowboy Hats Copyright 2016
picture courtesy of pixabay
Annie
What the hell is with this emotion roller-coaster? I come in madder than hell and end up grabbing one of my young charges in an embrace. I meant to comfort him. Instead, I found myself turned on. This young man is sexy as hell. I don’t want to move Thankfully he is smarter than I am and broke the embrace. I wanted that moment to last forever. I wanted to kiss him. I should feel horrible. He is young enough to be my son. Why don’t I? Why does being with him feel so right?
“I’m sorry.” He placed a finger to my lips to stop me. Heaven help me. I wanted to taste it.
“Don’t. There is no reason to apologize. I appreciated the comfort more than you will ever know” TJ poured us both another glass of tea. I would rather have a shot of Jack. Maybe later. I don’t want to drink in front of the boys. It would be a bad influence.
“Can I ask you something personal?” he asks, his caramel brown eyes met mine. I hope I am not drooling.
“Yeah go ahead.” I don’t know why I felt so comfortable talking to this young man. And yes, now suddenly I see him as a man. I lay in my bed every night wallowing in self-pity over losing Steve when this young man has lost his father, a brother, and his mother. From what I gather, he has an uncle that tried to get him to be a part of a gang, yet he has pulled away and somehow managed to go to college on his own. I feel so small in his presence.
“Is there something between you and Caleb?”
I nearly swallow an ice-cube.
“That’s not easy to answer. We go way back. Caleb and my husband Steve were best friends. Both played ball were in FFA and rode horses in the local rodeos. Every girl in school fawned over them.
My dad owned a ranch. He housed animals for the local rodeo teams. He also raised horses and bulls to rent out or sell. He had an arena for the locals to train in and my uncle the co-owner was one of the best trainers around. Caleb and Steve would come over to train and practice. I sat and watched them, helped brush down their horses afterward. Caleb caught my eyes first with his sandy golden hair and crooked bad-boy smile. He always winked at me from the ring. Steve was more laid back, though not a bit less physically handsome. I had a crush on them both for as long as I could remember. When I started high school, the two handsome cowboys took me under their wings. Steve, Caleb, Vicki, and I became inseparable.
To make a long story short, I married Steve, got pregnant with my first son right off the bat. Steve bought this place for me, knowing I dreamed of having a farm. We couldn’t afford anything as big as dad’s, or a lot of horses, so I settled on the hobby farm.” I stopped to take a drink of my tea to wash down the knot forming in my throat. I don’t want to cry.
“Where is your husband? We haven’t met him yet.”
Electricity shoots through me as his warm hand covers mine.
“He died when Christopher, my youngest, was eight. Eleven years, and I still miss him. Some days I am sad, other days I am angry at him for leaving me with two kids and a farm to care for all alone.”
“I’m sorry. I had no idea.” He invaded my personal space once again. Strong hands, running up and down my arms soothing me.
“I guess I should have told you guys I was a widow. It just didn’t occur to me.”
***
So what do you think about Annie? Can you relate to her? Is she likable enough? What do you think she needs to improve her character?