Just One Kiss

Chapter 2: Cowboy, Take Me Away

Your plan landed, but you did not have a rush to get out of the plane. Part of you wanted to go to the nearest desk when you got out and buy a new plane ticket back to New York City, but you had promised Nat and she had really played on your emotions. Now you were going to spend the next five days at her brother's home without her there. The whole 4-hour flight made you nervous. At least you had a decent lunch on the plane. You had tried reading, watching a movie, even sleeping, since you were at the airport at seven in the morning, to make sure you did not miss your flight, which left at ten. Leaving the plane and walking out in the terminal made you take three deep breaths and then you followed the signs to the baggage claim. You'd ended up taking two suitcases, three if you counted your carry-on. But you wanted to be prepared for whatever Montana had to give, and you did not know how the weather would be. Nat had not agreed on all the clothes you had packed, but it was what you had. She had warned you that even if they seemed durable, they would not be durable enough for ranch life. In your carry-on you had your beloved camera, hoping there would be time to take some pictures. You collected your bags and walked to the arrivals terminal to see if you could find Steve. If you did not find him you knew that you would have to call Nat and get her help. Since you had not even bothered to get Steve's number. You really should have done that.

You glanced around, trying to see anyone that might be looking for you, but to no avail, so you started your phone and a text from Nat came in.
It was a pic of a smiling man that made you do a double-take. Who was this? Then you saw that it was Steve with a smiley face under the picture. This was Steve?! Wow. You understood what Nat meant when she said he was handsome. He might just have been the most handsome man you had ever seen. It was hard taking your eyes off the photo, but you needed to find this man in real life. So after one more quick glance, you started to look around for Steve. Leaning against a pillar to the left was a man who looked a lot like the photo. He was tall, with broad shoulders, sandy blonde hair, a beard, and a cowboy hat on. To be honest, he looked better than the photo, and that was with a frown on his face. How could anyone be that hot? Once again you took three deep breaths and then you walked over to the man. He stood up straight when you came close. His gaze made it feel like he could read your mind. He felt kind of dangerous. Not like he was going to hurt you, no, just that he could hurt your heart.
"Y/N Y/L/N?" he asked and you nodded, having trouble forming any words since the man was more than handsome. He looked like a model and for the first time since you were a teenager you wished that you looked like a model as well. Silly thoughts, but they were still there.
"I am Steve." He gave you a small smile and held out his hand. You shook it and the heat from his hand, as well as the calluses on his hand, made butterflies fly in your stomach. It took every ounce of willpower not to think about having those hands caressing your body. Instead, you looked you in Steve's face and were met with bluer eyes than you would have thought.
"Hey, nice to meet you." That was all you could come up with saying and Steve took your bags. He offered to take your carry-on as well, but you said you could take it.
"The truck is in the parking lot outside." With that, he lifted your two bags as if they weighed nothing at all, not using the wheels. His steps were longer than yours so you kind of half-ran, following him out from the airport.
"Nat said that it is a three-hour drive from the airport to the ranch. I am thankful that you took time out of your busy day to pick me up," you try to make conversation. Steve looks back at you and gives you a small smile before he walks out through the sliding doors. The sky was clear blue and in the distance, you could see some mountains. You really had left New York City, this was different then what you were used to. It's an adventure, you think and smile to yourself. Something new and exciting.

Steve walked towards a deep blue truck and walked to the passenger side of the car, opened the door, and held out his hand. You took it and he helped you up. Touching him made things happen in your body and you almost slipped on the metal step, but Steve held you steady. When he was sure that you were inside he closed the door and walked over to the driver's side and placed your bags behind his seat before jumping in. He took off his hat and placed it on the seat between the two of you. All during this time, he was quiet. Not a word. It made you understand that this would be a long drive to the ranch. When he started the truck the radio started and People Are Crazy by Billy Currington was on. It made you smile. It was a favorite that Nat and you usually sang together in the car. It also had pretty accurate wording in it: people are crazy, and you just proved that you were one of them by flying to another state just because a friend asked. You looked over at Steve, and even his profile was handsome. His hair was a bit unkempt, but not bad. Seeing as he was both running a ranch and raising a teenager, it did not surprise you that keeping his hair in top condition was not the main focus. You tried to think of something to talk about while he left the parking lot.
"Is this as strange for you as it is for me?" you wondered and Steve looked over at you with a raised brow.
"I mean, we don't know each other and now I am going to help you with organising a cattle drive," you continued and swallowed hard. "Maybe we should get to know each other better since we are going to be living together for a while."
"Why did you come here?" Steve wondered, keeping his eyes on the road. You shift some in the seat.
"Nat convinced me to come."
"She told you I would lock Peter up in a dungeon with just water and bread," Steve muttered.
"No, nothing so extreme," you tried to laugh, but there was tension in the air. "She just wants to help make things easier for you until she can come on in a few days."
"Mmm," Steve muttered. "Nat has a soft spot for Peter." He looked unhappy and almost as he was in pain.
"He must be a genius by making that website at his age." You tried to see the positive in the situation. "I mean to pull something like that off and get people to find the page and be interested in going on a cattle drive."
"He committed fraud by lying to a bunch of people and then gambled away the money on day-trading." Steve looked at you and his lips were pressed together.
"Well, that's also a way to look at it," you mumbled and looked out the window. You did not know what you were going to say to Steve, so maybe it was best to not talk. He did not seem that happy to have you there and you did not want to make him regret taking you in. After a few minutes in silence you saw horses to your left. They were grazing and there were foals playing around them. It made you laugh and smile. A big part of your childhood and teen years had been about horses. Caring for your horse as well as competing. Long days in the stable. You missed it a lot.