“You can’t work seven days a week Emily, I think Edward already told you on the weekends everyone fends for themselves,” Mark said, before stuffing his mouth full, like he was on his last meal.

“I know that normally but with your family here, they probably would’ve enjoyed a nice breakfast,” she defended.

“If the rest of your food is anything like some of those salads and desserts you made last night, we would’ve most certainly enjoyed your breakfast. It’s nice to have a make your own sandwich lunch, plus I found a couple bowls of your salad that somehow didn’t make it out to the food table last night,” Amy said, looking pointedly at Mark.

“Hey I love Potato Salad and I wanted some saved for today,” Mark defended.

Emily knew she’d brought that bowl out, so Mark must have snuck it back in. It actually made her feel pretty good he liked her food. He obviously did, as he was piling the stuff into his mouth.

“Seriously, I snuck into some early last night and then had to sneak it away. I haven’t had this good of homemade salad since…well hell since never. No offense to Mom,” he added as an afterthought.

“Well you know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach…among other things,” Alex said with a wink.

“Amen,” Mark added, without even pausing in his chewing.

Emily must be getting used to his family, because she was blushing far less already. She knew the brothers were just ribbing each other and they didn’t mean any harm. She simply had to get used to the way they talked to each other if she wanted to be comfortable around them.

After everyone ate, the adults gathered up the younger kids, while the older ones clung onto Mark as he led them all to the barn. Emily was amazed when she saw the newborn foal up and wobbling around in the open space of the barn.

“She was just born, I can’t believe she’s already walking,” she gasped.

The three brothers laughed. “Animals are much more independent than human babies,” Lucas said.

“Hey speak for yourself, I’ve always been one of a kind and able to do things faster than the average person,” Mark added.

“I don’t think so, we all know I’ve always been the smartest one,” Alex said as he thumped his chest.

“You’re all abnormally strong, sexy and very, very smart,” Jessica said to appease the men.

“You’re all those things and so much more,” Alex said before kissing her.

“Okay I simply haven’t gotten enough sleep to deal with the two of you playing kissy face,” Mark grumbled.

“Considering I found you down here, asleep on the hay, gives you a little bit of leeway for grumpiness,” Alex conceded. “Of course a romp in the hay would’ve put you in a much better mood than having fallen asleep on it,” he added with a wink at Emily.

She pretended to not hear that last statement or notice the wink. “Isn’t the baby horse sweet?” she asked Trevor.

“Mom, horses aren’t sweet, they’re cool,” he grumbled, trying to sound like a big kid.

“Well I’m sorry about that,” she said with a twinkle in her eye. She loved how much her son was growing up. Some days it broke her heart to think he would be a man before she knew it but at the same time he had so much personality and such a great heart. She wanted to keep him close to her forever.

“She’s a great looking girl,” Lucas said.

“Agreed brother, another fine addition to the ranch,” Alex chimed in.

“Thanks guys,” Mark said.

“We have to get going but can come back next weekend,” Lucas said.

“Ah dad, I want to play with Trevor some more,” Jasmine cried.

“I promise we’ll come back for you to play with Trevor but Mom has an appointment she can’t miss, Honey,” Lucas said sadly. He hated to see his little girl upset about anything. He was a very easy pushover for his daughter. The business men he’d dealt with throughout the years would have been completely amazed if they could see how easily his daughter was able to get her way from him.

“Okay daddy,” she said on a wobbly voice. She then threw her arms around Trevor, “I will miss you so much,” she sniffled. He was about to tell her they could stay a while longer, when Amy gave him her mother look. His wife was the only other person able to get away with anything and he wasn’t going to argue with her.

Trevor hugged her back, before noticing what he was doing. “See ya soon,” he mumbled. Emily could tell he was trying to be tuff in front of Mark but he was close to tears himself.

“Hey little guy, after all these other kids get out of here, you and I can take a horse ride up the trails,” Mark said, as he ruffled Trevor’s hair.

“Really?” Trevor’s sadness instantly evaporated, as he looked hopefully up at Mark.

“Really.” Mark stated. “We can even invite your Mom if she’d like to come,” he added.

Trevor looked over his mother, as if he was really thinking about it, before finally saying, “I guess she could come with us. She does make good picnic stuff.”

“Thanks,” Emily said. “I know that was such a hard choice for you,” she added with a smile.

“We have to take off too, see you really soon. We will go have a spa day,” Jessica said, before grabbing Emily in a hug.

“That sounds really great,” Emily said, even though she didn’t know how long it would take for her to be able to afford that. If Jessica invited her too soon, she would have to make up some excuse to put it off.

After everyone left, the three of them set off for their ride. Emily rode an older mare that was tame and easy to handle. She’d never ridden before but found she really liked it. Trevor sat on the horse with Mark and looked way adorable in his arms. She was really going to have to fight her attraction to him with every ounce of willpower she had. It wasn’t going to be easy.

The day ended about as perfect as it had begun. Mark was witty and charming and had unending patience for her son. She told herself repeatedly they would just be friends and she figured if she lied to herself enough she would start to believe it.

One day started to run into the next. Mark made no more new moves on her and kept things completely friendly. He was amazing with Trevor and spent hours each day with him. Trevor was even starting to ride on his own.

Every time she looked at her young man with Mark, it reinforced her decision to fight her attraction she had for her boss. She had to keep it professional, because if she started a relationship with the man, when it ended she and Trevor would have to move.

It wasn’t like she really had to worry about a relationship though, as Mark hadn’t shown any more personal interest in her. Trevor and her had been at the ranch for a full month and Mark hadn’t touched her once since that steamy night, which seemed like so long ago.

What irritated her was the fact she wanted him to touch her. She was actually grateful he wasn’t putting the moves on her because she didn’t think she was strong enough to tell him no.

His family came up a couple of more times and she was becoming good friends with Jessica and Amy. She would be so upset if she somehow lost all she’d gained since accepting the cooking job.

She finally had a real spa day scheduled the coming up weekend. She’d never done anything like that and it sounded like heaven. To have real girlfriends and a day she was allowed to pamper herself seemed unreal. Most kids got to do things like that during high school but she’d been far too poor to frivolously spend money on girlie things.

With her resolve set, Emily pulled her gaze from the window where Mark and Trevor were rolling around on the lawn with the ever-growing puppies. She focused on cooking, which always eased her tensions away.

Emily couldn’t sleep. She laid there for about an hour, tossing and turning, until she finally started feeling claustrophobic. She got up and stepped out onto her balcony. She actually spent a lot of time there in the evenings, enjoying the cooler evening air.

She started to feel a bit better, as she leaned against the railing and breathed in the fresh country air. She laughed a little bit out loud, as she thought about her weird phobias. She didn’t understand why she got so claustrophobic at times.

“What are you doing out here?” Mark asked.

Emily jumped at least a foot off the ground, as she spun around to see Mark standing a few feet away from her, wearing nothing but a pair of boxer shorts, which showed far more than they hid.

“I…I j…just needed some air,” she finally managed to stutter.

Mark couldn’t take his eyes off of her. He was looking at her from head to toe and taking his sweet time about it. It was a full moon that night and she was wearing an almost see through short nighty, which was showing him far more of her body than even the bikini had shown. The moonlight seemed to turn the white gown iridescent.

He could see the dusky outline of her nipples, which hardened to peaks as his eyes roved over them. He could see the outline of her legs all the way up to her most intimate of places. Before he even knew what he was doing, he started walking towards her.

He was slow and steady as he took those few paces that separated them. Her eyes never wavered from his as he made his approach. It was like they were both in some inevitable trance. He reached his hand up and brushed back the escaped tendrils of her hair, which were floating in her face.

She couldn’t contain the sigh that escaped her lips, when his fingers made contact with her burning flesh. She started leaning toward him in an unspoken invitation. That was all the prompting he needed.

He wrapped one arm around her back, pulling her tightly up against his nearly naked body. The other hand wrapped around the back of her neck, tilting her head up, giving him access to her full lips.

He gave her a moment more to turn him away. It would kill him if she denied him but he would never force a woman. When the moan escaped her moistened lips, he finally brought them both the satisfaction they wanted and brought his lips down to hers.

She had thought the kiss would be urgent, like it was in the pool but was surprised when his lips barely brushed hers. She moaned again and raised her hands to grip his neck, pulling him closer to her. She wanted to feel him pressed against her in every single way. She had no time for regrets, she wanted him and she needed him to fully kiss her and take the ache away.

He finally gave them what they both wanted and crushed her lips underneath his. He tilted his head, opening her mouth wider, so he could slip his tongue inside. Their tongues mated, as their hips ground together, mimicking lovemaking.

He let out a moan as she pushed her softness into his engorged manhood. His hand ran down the round perfection of her backside, until it found the hem of her nightgown. Then he slowly inched his way up her silken thighs, until he was gripping her, pulling her even tighter against him.

He let out another long moan, as he realized she wore nothing under the wisp of a nightgown. The only thing that separated him from entering her right then was the extremely thin cotton of his boxer shorts.

He suddenly swung his arm under her thighs, picking her up in his arms. He never broke contact from the passionate kiss they were sharing. He carried her the few feet to his balcony door and walked over to his bed, where he laid her down.