His Ranch

Chapter 12 Better To Give Than To Receive

The ride to the restaurant was a quiet one, both Flannery and Coult enjoying the silence. Flannery kept discovering more and more about their relationship, if that's what could call it, and was looking forward to discovering more. 

Coult reached over with his right hand and took a hold of her left. She stared at his profile and couldn't help but feel her heart warm. The past few days had been harder than anything else she had ever been through. Her baby was gone and was taken from her violently. Beau had crushed her heart and Flannery suddenly felt her spirit dampen and tears rush to her eyes.

She didn't realize until then what had really happened. Her baby was gone. Her ex boyfriend had gone crazy and murdered her child. She wasn't on speaking terms with her family and she was far away from home. To top it all off, she was headed out to dinner with a man and she didn't know what he wanted from her.

Flannery looked away from Coult and bit her lip to keep the sobs at bay. She squeezed her right hand tight, trying to snap herself out of it. She felt her nails dig into her palms, yet the tears continued to flood her eyes. She felt the tears rush down her face and dampen her dress. Her body began to shake with force.

"So, I was think-" Coult started as he turned to face Flannery but stopped as he saw her body racked with sobs. He immediately pulled his truck over and jumped out of the car. He ran around the vehicle and ripped her car door open. Her mascara had run down her face and she had begun to hyperventilate.

"Shh, kitten, it's going to be okay. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you" Coult said softly as he held her body to him. She went completely limp, submitting to the emotions that were tearing through her heart like a bulldozer. 

Aunt Alice had warned Coult that Flannery would be emotional. She had told him that even though she was going to be okay physically, there was a lot of emotional damage.

Coult held Flannery for the next twenty minutes while she sobbed out her sorrow. 

"I'm so sorry, Coult. Just take me back to the ranch," Flannery said, attempting to hide her face from him. She knew she looked horrible and didn't want to embarrass him at the restaurant.

"You hungry?" Coult asked, climbing back in the car and helping her with her seat belt.

"I can make something for us if you want," she offered.

"I got the perfect thing," Coult said, pulling back on to the road. 

He knew what Flannery needed right now was a distraction, and a healthy one. Not a sexual one. He wanted her so badly, but he knew that that wasn't what she needed. She needed a man that would be there for her no matter what and that would take care of her in any situation; Coult was that man.

~~~

Flannery laughed so hard that she thought milkshake was going to squirt out of her nose.

"You didn't do that!" she yelled, desperate to erase the image that Coult had created in her mind.

"I did. Mrs. Hunters didn't know what was coming her way," Coult said laughing. Flannery laughed heartily again thinking over what he had just said. 

Coult had been sharing with her stories about his priceless high school moments, but especially one in particular. His high school English teacher, Mrs. Hunters, had yelled at Coult halfway through his senior year. She told him that if he didn't start applying himself he would end up like that idiotic naked cowboy in New York who walked around in a cowboy hat and tightie-whities singing for tips. Coult then told Flannery that the next day when he showed up to English he wore nothing, except a pair of tightie-whities and a cowboy hat.