Manny’s Mission (Broken Wheel Ranch #7)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

“I do,” Manny said with a laugh as he got into his bag to retrieve a pair of boxer briefs. It ended up that he beat her into the shower and had it warming as she joined him. As soon as she stepped into the shower, Manny immediately grabbed the soap, lathered his hands, and began massaging the suds into her skin. He was very thorough with his massage, and by the time he was finished, he grinned when it looked like Ann was nothing but goo in his hands.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she returned the favor. However, when she reached his cock jutting out, she looked up at him, then quickly dropped to her knees before him.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know,” she said as she leaned forward and took him into his mouth. In under ten seconds he now was the one who was a puddle of goo in her hands and mouth.

“Stop,” Manny said several moments later, and tried to get her to release him. “I won’t last if you keep that up.” She did something that he would never know if it was her mouth, her hands, or the combination of both that set his release free. When he was done, he looked at Ann standing before him and gave her a sappy smile.

“Thank you, though you didn’t have to do that.”

“I know, I wanted to.”

They finished washing, and when they went back out to the room where the beds were, they tossed the covers back and climbed in, while still wearing their towels. In less than two minutes they were both sound asleep.

The next morning, they made their coffee, and got ready for the day as they drank it. Before they left the room, Ann looked at Manny with a frown.

“What?”

“Do you think we’ll make it home today?”

“I do. The trip was only nine to ten hours to begin with, and we took our time and traveled for seven hours yesterday. I’ll look when we get in the truck, but according to my calculations, we should be home by mid-afternoon.”

“Got it,” Ann said as she lifted her pack and headed toward the door. She paused to look back at him. “Do you think your friend will be home by the time we get there?”

“No clue. I don’t want to worry about it yet. I’ll wait until we’re home and talk it over with Ryan before I contact Scott.”

They left the hotel room and walked down the hall to the elevators. Once inside, she turned to him with a scowl. “Why not call him now?”

Manny drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “Scott is touchy about people calling him all the time.”

“Manny, I’m not trying to tell you what to do here, but it’s been over three weeks since you first arrived at The Double A, and we removed all the animals to send to Colorado. Then we went home, and we were both exhausted and took a couple days to catch up on our sleep. What’s to say Scott didn’t encounter the same thing?”

They stepped off the elevator, and just before they reached the front desk, she stopped him with her hand on his forearm. “Besides, what if he is in trouble and has no one to have his back.”

Manny stared at her, then shook his head. “Fine, let’s get checked out first.” They did what they had to do, got their receipt, then headed to the truck. Once settled, Manny didn’t start it right away, instead he pulled his phone, made a call, and put it on speaker.

“Gould,” came a barked reply after only two rings.

“Scott, it’s Manny.”

“Oh, hey, what’s up? I should be seeing you later today, or tomorrow.”

“Okay.” Manny looked over at Ann with a small smile. “We ran into a couple of snags and had to go back to Yellowstone. We’re a few hours out from Colorado Springs.”

“Okay, but who is ‘we’?”

“Ann and me. I’ll explain it when I see you.”

“Okay, quick question.”

“What’s that?”

“Do you think LT would have a problem with me bringing a couple of other people besides Clemmons?”

“I don’t see why not, but I think Erin would be the person to ask and not LT.”

“Okay, I’ll explain when I get home. I’ll be driving directly to the place where we met up with Carter when we took Royal down.”

“Good, Carter should be there, I’ll talk to you then. And, Scott, it’s really good hearing your voice. I know you don’t like to have people check in, but I needed to be sure you were safe.”

“Like I said, I’ll explain when I get there, but I’m safe now, and so are the two women I will eventually be bringing with me.” There was a significant pause, then Scott’s voice came over loud and clear. “Manny, don’t worry about contacting me. I appreciate it. I’ve learned after what we went through, it’s good to know that someone will be there for me.”

“Yeah,” Manny said, not knowing what else to say. They ended their call and after he put his phone in the cup holder he looked over at Ann. “Thank you. I know you don’t know him, but he sounded good to me.”

“Well, as long as it eased your mind and you trust that he was telling the truth that he would be home today, or tomorrow, then I’m glad.” She leaned over the center section of the truck seat and kissed him quickly on the lips, but pulled back before it could get hot and heavy.

“Okay, now that that is out of the way, what do you say about getting some breakfast?” She laughed, because as soon as she said that, both of their stomachs began to rumble. Fifteen minutes later they were at a table in the same restaurant they’d eaten at the night before. After their meal, they used the facilities, and hit the road.

When Ann saw the sign for Fool’s Gold indicating they had twenty miles to go, she turned in her seat and studied the man driving. They had been in a comfortable silence most of the trip, neither of them feeling the need for idle useless chatter.

“May I ask you a question?”

Manny looked at her with a smile, reached over to take her hand in his, and entwined their fingers. “You may.”

“Thank you,” Ann said as she gave his hand a squeeze, then sighed heavily. “When we get home, would you be offended if we started living together in the cabin you shared with Scott when you first arrived.”

“Not at all,” Manny didn’t hesitate to reply. “I was going to ask you if you wanted to move in with me. It’s not like Scott and I shared the same room. He had one upstairs, and as you know, I took one of the downstairs ones.” He looked at her with a grin. “Of course, I don’t think we’ll have to ask Erin’s permission, but I’d like to put it out there to her if you’re okay with that.”

“I am, and maybe you can oversee the building of new cabins like the other women already have. I’m only thinking this because if it’s done like you suggested earlier, then Clark could go back to building whatever he was, Ryan could do whatever he needs to do at New Double, and you and maybe Scott, could look into the cabins.”

“I’ll put that by Erin and Clark and see what they say. I know I have to keep remembering that even though Clark was my boss in the military, Erin is my boss on the ranch.”

“There is that.” Ann nodded, and with their hands still entwined, they continued toward home. When Manny slowed down to pull into the driveway to Erin’s Way, they released their hands and slowly entered the drive. As they approached the original farmhouse, they saw Erin coming out of the main house. She waved them down, and after she told them to park, they did, got out, stretched, then joined her.

“What’s up?”

“Are you home for good?” Erin didn’t waste any time getting to the point.

“We are,” Manny said as he looked at Ann.

“I’m free from my duties with Brotherhood Protectors. If you agree, I’d like to work full-time at New Double.”

Erin shook her head and laughed. “We’re going to have to find a new name for that ranch. While I don’t have a problem with you working there, because of everything I have going on with Erin’s Way, Riceman Stallions, and The Broken Wheel, I’m leaving New Double in Clark’s hands.” Erin waited for that to sink in, then nodded to Manny. “Until you get a one hundred percent clean bill of health from a doctor, you are not to work with any of the horses. I’m not being mean, I’m only saying this because I know they aren’t always predictable, and even if you have scars that have scabs on them, it wouldn’t take anything but a pull with the horse’s head to rip them open again. Trust me, I’ve been there.” She held up her right arm with the missing hand.

“Okay, what do you suggest I do then?”

“Get with Clark and see who can do what in the building locations. I’m not saying that you have to pick up a hammer and build something. I am saying that I need the construction crews to be supervised to envision what I want for the second stage of Broken, and the new cabins.” Erin saw the couple exchange looks and nodded. “Have you heard anything from Scott Gould?”

“I did, I called him this morning and he said that he should be here later this afternoon, or tomorrow at the latest. He’s going to take Patrick Clemmons directly to New Double, and he said he might have someone else with him, I don’t recall how many he said were with him, or who, or why.”

“Okay, if you see him before I do, send him and his people my way, including Clemmons.”

“Got it.”

“Okay, I’ll let you go to your cabin now. I just wanted to let you know that even though you won’t be working with any horses, your services are still needed on Riceman property. You will be receiving a paycheck.”

“Thanks, do you have the plans for what you want the cabins to be?”

“Come see me tomorrow, and I’ll discuss it with you.”

“Got it,” Manny said, and because it felt right, he stuck his hand out to shake to make it a formal acceptance. He saw pride in Erin’s eyes as he did that. In no time the couple were back in the truck and headed toward the cabins. At the rise that looked down onto Broken, it was a sight of coming home that they both enjoyed.

At the cabin, they parked, grabbed their bags, and entered the home. In no time, they unpacked and Ann remembered where Ryan said the washer and dryer were, so she investigated and laughed when she found them.

Later that night, they sat there and ate, and Manny looked at her with a frown.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“I was wondering if maybe you and I, or at least you, could walk through one of the small cabins to get a feel for what you might be in charge of building.”

“I understand what you’re saying. If I see it, then I can better envision it. Maybe down the road there won’t be so many problems if I know what I’m looking for.”

“Correct, and I’m not being a bad person here, but where I heard Pru had chickens, if we are allowed to get a cabin for ourselves, I don’t necessarily want chickens, but I wouldn’t mind a small area where I could grow a garden.”

“What type of garden?”

“What do you mean, what type?”

“Food, like vegetables, or herbs, like spices?”

“Oh,” Ann said, then looked at him with a grin. “Both? I’m sure the herb garden could be closer to the house, and I wouldn’t need a large patch for that, I could even keep them in containers, but the vegetable garden would be further out. I didn’t see a lot of him, but I’m sure Ducky could help me with what I want to plant.”

“Would you share the spoils with the others?”

“Of course, I’m even willing to offer them to plant something they might like. Treat the area as sort of a community garden.”

“Then why don’t I suggest it to Erin tomorrow and instead of having it at any one cabin, give it a plot of its own.”

“I supposed you could do that.”

They cleaned up after supper, and because it was a nice night out, they settled on the back porch to watch the sun set, not going back inside until it was full on dark.

In the bedroom, Ann came out of the bathroom and saw Manny sitting on the end of the bed.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes.” He looked at her, then held out his hand to her. When she took it, he brought her forward to stand between his legs.

“I know we’ve only known each other for only a few weeks, but I like you, Ann. I don’t have a ring for you yet, but I’d like to ask you to marry me.” He held up his hand as he dropped hers, then picked up the bag beside him that Ann had failed to notice before. He looked at the bag, then looked up at her.

“As I said, I don’t have a ring, but when I saw these, I immediately thought of you. I have absolutely no problem or issue with your scar, but I know how you like to keep it covered. Here.” He handed her the plastic bag and sat there waiting for her reaction to his gift.

Ann slowly took the bag, opened it, looked in, then looked at him with tears streaming down her face at the implication of what he had just given her. She reached in and pulled out at least a dozen different colored bandanas. Some were the traditional blue and red, but others had different animals on them. With tears streaming down her face, she looked at him.

“Yes, I’ll marry you. You don’t have to get me a ring. These tell me everything I need to know about how much you feel for me. These bandanas prove that you are thoughtful and understanding of my wish to keep the scar covered. Thank you.” She leaned down and kissed him gently. When he reached up and wrapped his arms around her to bring her to the bed, it was hours before they broke apart again.

“I only have one favor to ask.”

“What’s that?”

“Because we both have physical scars, and I like to think that we are working through our emotional and internal scars from our experiences, I only ask that you don’t keep this covered in private with me.” He bent down and kissed the scar on her neck, then looked at her.

“Deal,” she said as she melted into his arms. “Like you said, we’ve only known each other for a few weeks, but I love you, Manny Sanchez.”

“I love you too, Ann Oakley.” He chuckled, then shook his head. “You’ll have to tell me how you got that name someday.”

“Someday,” she said with a grin, then reached up and brought his head back to her.