Chapter 4

Chapter 4


Richie came down from cleaning up. Baseball cap on, jeans and another t-shirt. Brad shook his head. “What?” Richie said looking down at his pants. “Damn, city slicker, your on a farm, you don’t wear designer clothes to the country! Too late to fuss, she’s waiting!” he said heading towards the door. They got on the porch and Brad turned to tell Richie about Tim when they heard a woman’s voice “you men are as bad as a woman, I swear. It’s taking you long enough” Harley was standing beside the porch looking up at the men with a smile on her face. Brad came back with “that’s for all the times women make men wait” Harley smiled “fair enough then, hmmm”. Holding out her hand “Hi, I’m Harley”, Richie took her hand, taking in as much of her as he could, while saying “Hi Harley, I’m Richie, very nice to meet you, darlin’”. Harley smiled back and said “smooth talker huh? Well, it’s nice to meet you too, Richie” then pulled her hand away. The phone rang inside the house and Brad excused himself. There was a moment of silence when Harley spoke up and said “it’s really nice of you to bring that jacket all the way out here from the city on such short notice.” Richie rubbed his chin and said “Nah, Brad’s a good friend. Had no plans so I figured I’d come hang out. So are any of these horses yours?” He asked looking around the ranch but Harley couldn’t take her eyes off him, not even to blink. He was beautiful. Not rugged, like her husband but genuinely pretty. While looking at him it finally registered that he was speaking to her when he looked at her waiting for an answer. Feeling flushed and embarrassed, she looked away and said “I’m sorry, you said something?” He knew she was looking at him and rather liked it. He repeated himself , this time not taking his eyes off her. “No, these are all Brad’s. That one right over there used to be my husbands horse..” Richie heard husband and nodded like he had just been told useful info. Harley continued “before he died.” Richie got a sympathetic look on his face and Harley picked up on it. “it’s ok, really. I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have mentioned him yet.” Richie simply said “I’m so sorry for your loss. That must be a very difficult thing for you?” He said more like a question than a statement. Harley responded with “don’t be sorry. It was a very, very difficult time but it’s been nearly 3 years and it has gotten a lot easier.” Richie liked the way she spoke. Not too much Tennessee accent. Just enough to make you wanna listen to her talk for a very long
time. Brad walked back out with his keys in hand. “I gotta go the Opry, problems with the show tomorrow” Richie said “problems?” Brad responded dryly “Yeah aren’t there always?” Harley shimmed in with “well don’t you worry about your friend, Brad. I’ll feed him and maybe see if he can ride?” Richie let out a deep slight laugh, that Harley found to be beyond sexy. “I think I can handle it.” Richie said. “See ya later, sorry” Brad said getting into his car and taking off. “So is there anymore chores that need to be done today?” Richie asked looking around. Harley smiled “the only chores Brad does is pet the horses. Did he give you the line we don’t hire help, we do it ourselves?” imitating Brad.
Richie laughed, which made Harley laugh. “yes, he did” Richie said. “Don’t fall for it! Let’s go have some coffee and talk a bit, then go saddle up and ride, ok?” she suggested. Richie smiled warmly at her, “ok” he said. While she slid her hand into his and pulled him inside. She liked his hands. She felt worried about comparing him to Tim, but was thankful she hadn’t done it yet.

They got themselves coffee and went out on the deck that overlooked a beautiful forest. They talked about many things, their careers, tours, fans. Then got to more personal talk. He asked her how long she had been married and if they had any children. She explained that she could never have children and she was alright with that. He’d also asked if she had dated anyone since losing her husband and she told him, no. She just was never ready for that. Then there was a shadow of silence. Harley sat forward in her chair and said “I think I am ready now.” she looked down and let her fingertip touch his wedding ring finger, “No ring, no wife?” she asked. “used to be” he said but followed up with “divorced 5 years ago and no current girlfriend”. Harley smiled while they looked into each others eyes. Harley felt a pull, almost like gravity to him. “How about that ride?” She asked. Richie was really relieved to hear that as he was having to adjust the front of his pants, he was having his own reaction to her, he was getting hard. “Yes, you first” waiting for her to stand up, so he could. If he stood up first, she would be met with what was happening in his pants. He didn’t want to frighten her. Richie wondered what her marriage was like. That was a conversation that would have to happen later.