Chapter 1
Parker returned to Colorado after visiting his mother and her husband in New York. Before heading back to his ranch, he stopped to see his friend CJ Fisher at his office. Walking in carrying two cups of coffee, he was greeted by the nurse at the front desk, Judy. Judy was a petite brunette with a killer body, a bit of a flirt, and engaged to another friend of his and CJ’s, Joey Palmer.
“Hey, cowboy, you back from the city already?”
“Hi Judy, is the doctor busy?”
“No, go right in,” she said, giving him a wink.
Walking in, he had to chuckle when he saw CJ talking on the phone with his feet on the desk. And judging from the smile on his face, he was probably talking to a woman. CJ had inherited his father’s good looks and his mother’s charm.
“I’ll call you later, baby,” he said when he spotted Parker.
“Who is it this week? The waitress from the diner or the one from the bank?” Parker asked and placed the coffee on the desk in front of CJ.
“Neither. About time you got back. I thought you were coming back yesterday,” he said and reached for the cup of the steaming beverage.
Parker sat and shrugged his shoulders. “I stopped at a bar, had too much to drink and decided to stay the night. You know me, I don’t drink and drive.” He scratched his face; he needed a shower and a shave, but first, he had to get something off his chest.
“Ok, Parker, what’s wrong?” When he received no reply, he leaned towards him. “Look, pal. I’ve known you my whole life and can tell when something is bothering you. Spill it.”
“I made a mistake, a big one.”
“What type of mistake?” CJ asked, sitting back to listen.
“On the way back here, I stopped at this one bar, and I met a girl. She was standing over at the pool table talking with another girl, and when she looked my way, our eyes locked. There was this instant chemistry between us, a spark. I went over and asked her for a dance. After the dance, I bought her a drink, and we talked. One drink led to another, and so on.”
“So what was she like?” CJ asked, leaning back in his chair.
“Blonde hair, the top of her head just reached my chin. This girl had the most amazing eyes, green, not just green, but an emerald color. The cutest little nose and her lips were not the usual full type, nor thin; they were perfect. She had the sweetest laugh I’ve ever heard, pretty with a hot body.”
“Ok, Parker, sounds like you two hit it off, so what’s the problem?”
“We had drunk too much, and we ended up in a motel and spent the night together. We barely entered the room before we tore off each other’s clothes. I have to say she was hot and it was the best sex I’ve ever had.”
“What’s her name, and are you planning on seeing her again?”
“I only know her first name, Dakota. That’s all I know, and when I woke up the next morning, she was gone. I doubt I’ll ever see her again.”
“So you slept with a beautiful woman, there’s no crime in that, so I don’t see how it was a mistake.”
Parker leaned forward. “We didn’t use protection.”
CJ’s jaw dropped, and he shook his head. “Christ Parker, you know better than that. What the hell were you thinking?”
“That’s just it, CJ, I wasn’t thinking. I got carried away, never even thought about using a condom, it was like she had cast a spell over me. You know me, I have never had sex without using one. The last thing I need right now is a kid, especially with a stranger.”
“This Dakota is a city girl, so I’m sure she’s on the pill. But that’s not your only problem; you have to worry about sexually transmitted diseases. I will set up an appointment for you and get you tested.”
Parker shook his head. “That’s not necessary. She didn’t seem like the type to sleep around.”
“Will you listen to yourself, Parker? You don’t know this girl or who she’s been with. She may have done it before if she had jumped into bed with you after only knowing you for a couple of hours. Now I’ve got to get back to work, I have a patient coming in five minutes.”
Parker stood. “I guess you're right, make the appointment. See you later, CJ.”
Leaving the office, he headed straight home. he needed something to eat and was tired. All he wanted was a bite to eat, a hot shower and his bed. It was back to work at the Fisher’s ranch tomorrow, and he was itching to get back in the saddle. He loved working on the ranch, rounding up the cattle and helping around the place. Calvin and Dawn were the best bosses anyone could ask for. But they were more than that to him; they were his family in a sense.
Once home, he went and checked on his horses, all six of them. He had left them in good hands with Calvin, who offered to check on them while he was away. Going inside, he stripped off his shirt and flung it over the chair. Grabbing a beer from the fridge, he sat down, and his thoughts wandered to Dakota. She looked so damn hot in her tight leather pants and pink silk blouse, and a pair of dangling earrings hung from her ears. She smelled so good when she walked up to the bar where he was sitting and sat next to him. His eyes went to her lips when she ran her tongue over them, making the lip gloss she wore shine. In bed, she was passionate, a little on the wild side, which he liked. For hours, they satisfied each other until they fell asleep, exhausted. Thinking about his time with her he realized he didn’t know one thing about her, she mostly kept him talking about himself, where he lived, his name and what he did for a living.
When he did try to find out about her, she would stop him by putting her lips on his neck. Her lips kissing and running her tongue along his skin made him forget all about talking, and he made love to her again. Now that he thought about it, he wondered why she wouldn’t tell him about herself. She was gone when he woke up, fearing she had robbed him, he jumped out of bed, but all his cash was still in his wallet. He felt hurt and angry that she left without a goodbye. Now he understood how some women felt when a man did that to them, and he didn’t like the feeling at all.
He found it hard to fall asleep that night, he missed the feeling of warm soft flesh next to his. It felt like something was missing in his life. He avoided getting close to a woman after having been hurt four years ago by Emily White. They had dated for several years and thought he was in love at the time. And when she ran off with a biker who came roaring into town, causing havoc, he swore he would never give his heart to another woman, his body, yes, but not his heart.
Parker let out a disgruntled groan when his alarm started blaring at five thirty am. Reaching over to the end table picked it up and threw it up against the wall, shattering it into pieces. ”Shit, now I’ll have to buy another one.”
Getting up, he went to the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. Waiting for it to brew, he jumped in the shower, then later changed into a pair of clean jeans and a T-shirt. Between gulps of coffee, he scrambled eggs and popped bread into the toaster. Later, tossing the dishes in the sink, he grabbed his hat and headed out to the Fisher’s ranch. It was going to be a long day, what with the extra cattle Calvin had bought, not to mention repairing some fences.
When he arrived, Calvin and some of the men were already busy at work. “Sorry, I’m a little late, boss. I slept in.”
“That’s okay, son. You’ve had a long drive from New York,” Calvin said as they rode off to round up the cattle and move them to another area. After a few hours, Calvin said it was time for lunch and, as was the norm, took Parker back to the main house to eat with him and Dawn.
“You outdid yourself again, Mrs. Fisher; This stew is to die for.”
“Thanks, sweetie,” she said and ruffled up his hair. “You look tired.”
“Had a restless night's sleep,” he answered, giving her a smile.
“You need to get yourself a girl and settle down,” she said as she picked up his empty plate and filled it up again.
“You available?” he asked jokingly.
“Hey, watch it, boy,” Calvin chuckled and pulled Dawn onto his lap. His arms went around her as he started nuzzling her neck. “She’s mine.”
Parker loved watching the two of them. After all these years of marriage, they were still hot for one another. He was always so protective of her, and no one dared harm her in any way. Seeing the love between them and the passion, he knew he would never have what they had; it just wasn’t in the cards for him.
They were heading back out to mend the fence when he glanced back as Calvin kissed her goodbye. It wasn’t just a peck on the cheek; it was a full-blown, outright passionate kiss. Turning away, he waited outside, laughing to himself. CJ had told him stories about how he had walked in on his parents on several occasions, once in the kitchen and another time in the living room. After that, CJ always knocked loudly before entering the house.
It was different in his home growing up; there was just him and his mother. That was until a stranger appeared in town and swept her away, falling hard for each other. He was happy for his mother; she had worked hard all his life to keep them at home and ensured he always did the right thing. So when she said she was getting married and moving to New York, he felt sad, but as long as she was happy, he would support her in whatever she wanted.
After the work was done for the day, he headed back home. Tonight, he would make something quick to eat and, after cleaning up, would go to bed early. He hadn’t given Dakota much thought throughout the day, being kept busy. But now, as he sat alone eating chops and potatoes, he thought about the blonde beauty. They could have had breakfast together if she had stayed and not slipped out before he woke. He became bitter and angry, he was nothing more than a quick fuck for her.
Parker wasn’t one for caring about those kinds of things, but they bothered him this time. There was something different about Dakota; he just wasn’t sure what it was.
