Raindance Part 4

Easton extracted a lump of sugar from the pocket of his shirt and offered it to her, Caldonya immediately seizing it with her large wet lips, crunching it lady-like while Chasity looked on in amusement.
"So, you've been bribing my filly. That's why she has the hots for Bandera."
"She has the hots for Daemon," he corrected with a deep laugh and Chasity tensed, unwilling to admit that she loved his laugh. Three long weeks - and not even a call!
Easton kept his attention onto the horse for now. He was aware that Chasity wasn't happy with him right now. Three long weeks. He barely trusted himself around her right now. He wanted to toss her in the hay and allow nature to take its course - but he wouldn't because he respected her.
"There is a dance in Del Rio next weekend and I want you to come with me," he told her, scratching Caldonya behind the ears.
"No thank you," she quickly rejected.
"Why not?"
"I-I'm going by myself," she lied on the fly. She hadn't even known about the dance before he'd mentioned it.
He studied her a moment, then tried to reason with her. "Lester has informed everyone at Bandera that he intends to ask you to go with him. He claims that you've fallen madly in love with him. And Hal - well, it seems that he has a real 'boss' set of plans cooking in his brains - what little there are, that is."
"Yes, something to do with the space in between his front teeth," she mocked and she couldn't believe it when Easton nodded in agreement then continued, "Yes. And he mentioned something about a threesome."
His eyes darted to her lips and he told her, "Don't ask."
"So....everything is very clear now," she eased out, the situation dawning on her. Easton's brow creased in confusion and she explained, "The reason that you've stayed away these three weeks. Hal and Lester have been spinning a web." She paused, then went to him saying, "Oh Easton! I don't know what they've told you but none of it is true-"
Easton halted her by placing a finger on her lips. "Wait. Didn't Custar and Lester let you know that I've been away in New Mexico on business for the last three weeks?"
She shook her head in confusion.
"Back-stabbers," he commented, then he looked down into her beautiful face and eased out, "But I should have called you. If I'd known that they hadn't passed along the news, I would have. It was a grueling three weeks," he tried to explain, once again wanting to kick himself in the seat of the pants for his oversight. If he wasn't careful, this one was going to get away. And a mermaid like her only came along once in a lifetime.
Chasity pulled away, telling him, "Look. I'm....well, I'm not sure about anything right now. And yes - you should have called me." She sighed, obviously frustrated and then she continued, "I'm not sure how much I can trust you, Easton Trevor."
"With your life, Chasity," Easton assured her, eagerly pulling her to him.
"I'm not going to the dance with you," she eased out, and she was firm on the matter.
"The dance starts at eight-thirty. What time shall I collect you?" he asked, stamping her fragile neck with a line of sweet kisses.
"Eightish," she eased out, wanting to strangle herself for not being able to resist him.
Hal left for the dance in Del Rio a good two hours ago dressed in a wild multi-colored shirt and lilac pants, a cheap unlit cigar stuffed into one corner of his mouth. Before he had taken off he had dropped by the main house to ask Chasity to accompany him and his face was drained of color when she told him that she would be going with Easton.
But Hal's colorless look hadn't been disappointment; rather fear.
What was it about Easton that frightened him? Power? Looks? Brawn? Brains - or perhaps all four, Chasity considered after Hal's departure.
White Feather collected Little Sparrow shortly afterwards. They made a handsome couple dressed in colorful authentic Indian garments.
The minutes had slowly pressed into hours and Easton had yet to arrive.
Chasity had spent half of her afternoon dressing for the event. And now, she wasn't even sure she would be going. More importantly, was it really so important to impress Easton?
The full-length mirror revealed an hourglass figure decked out in a delicate yellow jumpsuit embroidered with tiny yellow roses. She had left her blond hair loose as Easton seemed to prefer it that way. He sure enjoyed touching it, she reflected in silence.
She glanced at the phone; the least he could have done was call her, particularly given the most current disaster. The dance had already started by now. The drive to Del Rio would take a good hour. Maybe he had forgotten that he had asked her, she went on to speculate, growing angrier with each passing moment.
She had dated some louses in her lifetime, but she'd never been stood up!
Fifteen minutes later, he arrived looking calm and collected, extremely handsome in the designer jeans and blue silk shirt.
He explained but offered no apology. "The business meeting ran longer than I had intended," he eased out, his dark eyes caressing her curved shape. "My, you look like a million bucks, Chasity."
All of her anger suddenly melted and she shyly inquired, "A business meeting?"
"Actually, a phone conference. The rodeo is coming up soon and Bandera is committed to put forth a good effort. Which reminds me," he continued, ushering her out the door and into the black jeep, "there's also the county fair during Independence week. The Horseshoe has put on an expedition of the Arabians for as long as I can remember. Your uncle would have been pleased to know that you continued the tradition."
"What?"
Easton had cranked the jeep to life and they were headed towards Del Rio now.
"Yes - riding and a few tricks. White Feather taught him most of the routine and I am certain that you could learn a few of the more simpler moves. It's only June," he went on to point out as he checked his hair in the rear view mirror.
He hadn't needed to look in the mirror - he was perfect, not a hair out of place.
"White Feather?" she echoed, a bit frustrated with herself for becoming the questioning dummy. What was wrong with her? It wasn't as if she'd never been complimented before. Like a million bucks...
And Easton's presence was doing strange, delightful things to her.
"Yes, that is if you would ask him," he suggested.
Chasity barely knew the front end of a horse from the back, much less how to ride. Her mother had never allowed her to within one hundred feet of a horse.
She told him, "I think that I'll skip it this year. With uncle's passing, everyone will understand."
"Surely you aren't frightened to learn a few simple tricks?" he probed in a mocking tone, refusing to let the matter die.
Chasity tensed. Easton was going to be difficult tonight and she just wasn't in the mood. She supposed that he was trying to show her how useless it was of her - trying to fit into ranch life - that she just didn't belong. But then again, why did he seem to care about her - as if he enjoyed her presence? He wanted her to leave; he wanted her to stay. Suddenly, she felt more confused than ever.
And even though she had gushed over his compliment this evening, she'd do well to keep in mind that his tardiness had been rude. Just as the 'three-week failure to contact her incident' had been. Suddenly, she felt depressed.
Easton was concerned about what Chasity might be stewing in that little head of hers. He didn't want to come off pushy, but he knew that once she got involved with the horses, she would never want to pull up roots. He would be an idiot if he hadn't been concerned about her leaving now.
Sure, he'd thrown that in her face multiple times, but it took a special woman to adapt to ranch life. And now, he wanted her to stay more than anything.
"Well?" he asked when she didn't make an attempt to respond.

Then, "Chasity, the expedition would carry a lot of weight with the community, particularly with the ranchers in the area that you are bound to do business with sooner, or later. They'll be able to know how serious you are about running the Horseshoe," he told her, not wanting her to know that he was a mite anxious himself to see her salt.
"If you must know - I can't ride!" she finally tossed out, completely frustrated now.
His brows perked. "You aren't serious?"
"I am," she assured, refusing to back down, particularly now that she'd admitted just how inexperienced she really was regarding the ranching business.
He suddenly mocked her with a deep laugh that seemed far too loud for the limited space of the vehicle. "You're telling me that you're running a horse ranch and you can't ride?"
"Fine. Rub it in," she grated out through clenched teeth.
She melted again when he grasped her hand and kissed it unexpectedly. "I'll teach you how to ride."
"You will?"
"Yes," he assured in a clipped tone. "You wouldn't want anyone at the ranch to discover that you can't ride, now would you? Especially White Feather. Indians are practically born on horses - some are grand equestrians before the age of two," he went on to exaggerate, using all the ammo that he could to convince her.
"Well....no....I guess that I wouldn't want my.....inabilities to be discovered."
"Good. It's settled," he eased out, taking care not to address her inabilities. "Oh - I almost forget, Chasity. There is a box for you on the back seat. Can you reach it?"
Puzzled, she collected it and looked inside. One long-stemmed yellow rose bud lay cushioned against white tissue paper.
"For your beautiful hair," he told her, flashing a smile.
"Thank you," she said, drawing the rose to her nose to drink in the fragrance. He had remembered that she liked yellow roses, she went on in silent retrospect, her spirits suddenly soaring again.
Then after a silent space, she asked him, "Easton, why are you doing all this? I-I thought that you wanted me out of Cherokee county."
"It appears that my interest has shifted from your ranch, to you Chasity. And I want you to know that you could never bore me," he added, wanting to rectify his loosely-spoken comment he'd made when they had shared dinner at Bandera.
He touched her face to caress her cheek with a strong thumb and she was glad that she had asked him her burning question. And for the first time, she smiled contentedly, completely relaxed in his presence.