Faded Cotton (Erotic Romance) by Lara Sweety

herself
comfortable on one of the sofas. “Where were we?”
    __________________________

Chapter 16
     
     
     
     
     
     
    When seven-thirty came and went, so did
breakfast. Derrick finally descended the stairs after nine o’clock.
The kitchen was clean, and there was no sign of Laurel. Derrick
grabbed a banana off the counter, moved out onto the deck,
scratched his head, and worked the sleep from his eyes.
    He found her unloading feed, carrying the
fifty-pound bags over her shoulder into the stable aisle. Horses
nickered to her for a treat. Walking her way, he stubbed his
flip-flop-bared big toe on a rock and decided to head back to the
house for his boots.
    Finally arriving at the barn, he heard her
snicker. “Jeans, okay. Shirt, maybe,” she commented on his baggy
Levis and sleeveless tee. “Tie your boots and untuck your pants
from them. Okay, boys-in-da-hood? Good grief, no real man runs around like that,” she said in disgust.
    Tired and still hungry, Derrick wasn’t up to
an argument. He sneered at her comments, but complied with Laurel’s
demands. Bag after bag spilled into the grain bin after he finished
his banana and decided to help.
    “Breakfast?” He queried.
    “We have to get hay in from the hay barn.
I’ll show you how to stack.” Ignoring him, she jumped into the farm
truck and waited for him to do the same. She thought he’d
eventually get the picture. He slowly got in and they headed down
the hill to the hay barn.
    Without the gloves he had refused, his hands
were blistered and throbbing when they were done. Derrick was
covered in dust, his back hurt, his arms hurt and sweat was
stinging his eyes. It was after one when they finally finished that
afternoon.
    “Strip in the laundry room. I won’t have all
that hay and dust spread around my house,” Laurel ordered.
    “Bossy bitch, aren’t you?” Derrick slipped
under his breath.
    Laurel heard him plain and clear.
    She turned to him, “Damn right I am. The
boss !” She gestured quotation marks in the air with her
fingers.
    He grunted in disgust. “This is crazy!”
Derrick wanted to be done with the whole charade. He turned over
his shoulder, “What do I have to do to make you happy so I can get
the hell out of here without my father giving me shit?”
    “You’re a grown man, Derrick. You can walk
away any time you want to.”
    “It’s not that fucking simple and you know
it.”
    “This isn’t about me, Derrick. You need to be
the man you were meant to be, instead of acting like a spoiled boy.
That will solve your problem.” She studied his face before
continuing. His nasty scowl served to piss her off.
    “You just need to believe in yourself the way
he believes in you. So far, however, I agree with you. This is
crazy. It might possibly be the stupidest thing I have ever agreed to in my whole life—,” she broke off as she
sneezed. She looked back at him. Her words had stung. She saw the
hurt in his eyes behind the nasty smirk. “I need a shower. Then
we’ll grab some lunch.” She walked off—mad at him and mad at
herself.
    The hot shower felt good. Laurel sneezed and
snorted out hay dust, laughing at herself. It felt odd to use the
master bathroom again. With the kids gone, she had the luxury of
using whatever bedroom she wanted. She’d been avoiding hers, living
out of Shannon’s room and the upstairs bath. It gave her an eerie
feeling that Jahn was somehow with her or maybe he would just walk
in the door, catching her naked, tickling her until she was in his
arms once again.
    She leaned on the shower wall. That’s not
going to happen, Laurel , she told herself. She realized the
water had grown cool and she questioned how long she’d been
standing there, lost in the past. The thick terry hotel robe he’d
given her would have to do since all of her clothes were upstairs.
She headed upstairs to dress.
    Retrieving her hairbrush from the upstairs
bathroom, she noticed Derrick’s door was open. Human nature willed
her