“I should go talk to your father first and make sure.”
“Oh come on, are you really that afraid?”
He hesitated for a moment and then looked at me as he tried to figure out what to say. His adorable smile had been wiped away and I felt bad for putting him in a position where he thought I was trying to trick him.
I took a step forward and was obviously within his personal space as I looked up at him and smiled mischievously. Suddenly, I felt the urge to convince him all on my own. Could I bat my eyes and get him to just say yes?
Garrett took in a deep break and I could tell having me that close to him had rattled him just a little. But he quickly composed himself and gave me just enough of a smile that I knew he was ready to play a little.
“So you’re trying to convince me to go with you?” Garrett said huskily as he leaned against the building.
“Yes,” I whispered.
I let my hand press against his firm chest and bit my bottom lip as I tried to seduce him. He was into it; I could see how his breathing quickened and how his body tensed up as he looked down at me. My breathing also quickened and I felt my resolve weakening at the power of his flirtation. Garrett was obviously much better at this game than I was.
“What if I wanted a kiss?” Garrett asked as he watched my lips closely. “That seems like a fair trade.”
Nervously I bit my lip as I contemplated his request. I wanted to kiss him. Damn I wanted to do more than just kiss him, but I was trying to avoid this man. My mind was trying to avoid him, at least, but my body kept longing for more and more time with him. I couldn’t resist; I couldn’t say no to such an offer without feeling regret.
“I suppose that wouldn’t be too high of a price,” I said nervously.
“Um, I still think I should talk to him. Or you can if you’d like. I would just feel better if he agreed. I hope you understand.”
I didn’t understand. My anticipation was squashed as he took a step away from me. I had no idea what the hell was going on, all I knew was that my father had scared Garrett so much that he didn’t even want to look me in the eye when I talked to him. I had briefly caught his attention, but then he moved away and it was all over. It wasn’t fair and I was going to get to the bottom of what was going on. If my father trusted Garrett enough to be on the ranch, then why couldn’t he trust me alone with him?
“I’ll go talk to him right now. Would you like to come?” I said with resolve to get to the bottom of whatever was going on between the two of them.
“No, I trust you. Just let me know that he agrees and I’ll be ready right after breakfast tomorrow.”
“Actually, we will need to saddle up the horses around three in the morning if we want to get to the river by sun up,” I said with a grimace on my face.
I knew that waking up at three in the morning wasn’t going to sit well with Garrett, but frankly that was one of the main reasons I wanted him to come with me. Three o’clock felt much more like the middle of the night than four o’clock did and I didn’t want to be out there all alone.
“Now you’re getting close to an hour where I’d rather just stay awake all night than get up that early,” he laughed. “Talk to your father and then we can make our plans. I don’t think he will agree that I should go with you.”
“I know, it is early, but I need photos of the sunrise and want to have time to set up and be ready.”
“You get your father’s permission for us to go and I’ll go with you.”
That was all I needed to hear, I hugged Garrett briefly and turned to go find my father. It wasn’t until I was a few steps away from him that I realized how great having his arms around me felt. My legs wobbled slightly as I regained my composure and tried to pretend as if I wasn’t totally shaken by the electric feeling of Garrett’s arms as they briefly wrapped around my body.
My mother saw me hug Garrett and I smiled at her as I made my way toward father’s office. She followed me and joined me just before I opened the door. I hadn’t realized she was watching me, but my embarrassment wasn’t long lived because I wanted to take Garrett on a riding trip out to the river.
The pictures did need to be taken, but I could have had one of the guys drive me out that way if I had to. Driving was rough on the trucks since that area was still so remote, but we would have gotten there eventually. The beautiful of riding over the hill that sat between our ranch and the river was hard to avoid when you rode horses over there though, and that was what I wanted Garrett to experience.
“Dad, I need to get some photos from up by the river and I thought sunset and sunrise would make the best photos. Are you all right with that?”
My mother looked at me with a smile on her face as she waited for me to drop the next question. She knew what it was that I really wanted and seemed amused in anticipation of me asking my father. I had added the sunset option to give my father something to say no to. He could simply say no to one option and yes to the other. That way I ended up getting what I wanted in the end.
“No, you can’t go out to the river over night by yourself. Just get some photos in the morning, that’s fine. Forest can drive you up there or you can take the four-by-four Jeep out tomorrow.”
“Dad, I was right about selling off those bulls, wasn’t I? You made a huge profit. I also don’t think you’re asking enough for the land. If you decide to sell it, at least let me help you with some listing photos and see if we can get some better offers. There’s no reason to sell it at a discount. The property is worth much more than old man Joe is offering you. I’d like to ride and get some photos from the top of the mountain nearby also.”
I was adding more and more in an effort to get him to say yes. I really didn’t need any photos from the mountain, they wouldn’t be all that mesmerizing until the sky was incredibly clear. But I just wanted him to agree that I could go.
“Joe and I have been friends since we were boys. I’m not going to gouge him on the price.”
“But he’s low-balling you and taking advantage of your friendship,” my mother chimed in. “This is our livelihood. Let Sarah try to get more money for the property; please, Sid.”