kristannafever-fics

[kristannafever-fics]

Wait in the Truck

Kristanna Modern AU - ONESHOT Rated: EX (for theme) WC: 2175

I love the song "Wait in the Truck" by HARDY so I was inspired to stick my otp in this little oneshot

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Pounding rain obscured his view through windshield, the furious wiper blades barely able to keep up.   The dark, unfamiliar country roads had him driving slower, trying to navigate his way.  A while down the road, he had come to the conclusion that he had made a wrong turn somewhere.

He was lost.

A string of curses under his breath with a heavily furrowed brow, he continued, watching every street sign until he finally saw one pointing his way to a town.  Taking the turn, he aimed to see if it was one big enough for a motel for him to wait out the night.   If not, he’d continue on. 

Lightning lit up the sky, blinding white against the darkness beyond.  The thunder followed a second later, rumbling deep in his chest as he rolled along the unmarked road.  If this town was big enough for him to find somewhere to stay, it would be a miracle. 

Two miles later, headed due east, the lights of the town were shimmering.  Lighting and thunder continued in the fashion of violent summer storms.  He passed the first four-way intersection and was half way to the second when something darted in front of his truck; a flash in his headlights that stopped dead in front of him.

Both feet hammered on the brake, his shoulders jacking back against the bench seat with his arms straight as if that could somehow make the truck stop faster.   A breathless moment later, he was stopped, staring at a woman… soaked, bloody and beaten.  Her eyes were filled with terror and panic, brining an immediate response.  He threw the door open and ran out.

She shrunk back as he approached, making him pause and appraise her further.  One eye, red, blue and swollen shut.  A torn shirt, streaked with blood.  No leggings or hose under her skirt.  No shoes, her feet bare and cut up.  His teeth clenched to think what he would see underneath what she was wearing.

“Climb in,” he said, gesturing with his hand to the other side of his truck.  His shirt was quickly becoming drenched in the pounding rain.  He could not imagine how cold she must be.  How long had she been running…

She eyed him a moment, wide confused gaze…

“It’s okay,” he said more gently.  “I will help you.  Climb in.”

Then she blinked, and her whole body shivered as she wrapped her arms around herself.   A second to appraise him again, and she nodded. 

Back in his drivers seat she shivered away beside him.  He reached behind the bench and grabbed a spare coat and a blanket, and held them out to her.  She took them with shaking hands, her eyes darting from what she was taking to the floor and back.  Those eyes, with deep bags… the subtle scars on her delicate skin… one by the corner of her lip and another on the chin.  There was absolutely no need to ask her what had been happening.  He knew.

White hot rage simmered up in his soul.  He quickly glanced at her again.  Red hair that was barely in braids anymore.  Blue, red-rimmed eyes.  Button nose, freckles… small.  She was so small.  His knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel. 

He threw the truck in drive, and with the foot still on the brake, looked at her.  After a second, she met his gaze. 

“Where is he?”

She blinked, contemplating.

“Where?” he prodded gently.

Timidly, she told him.

Kristoff put his foot on the gas without hesitation.  He was on mission now.

Not a minute later he was pulling up to a double wide, glancing at his passenger.  She was crying.  His hurt wrenched further.

“Wait in the truck,” he uttered, his voice low.  She whimpered in response.  “Just wait in the truck,” he said, louder.

Stomping to the door he let the rage out of the cage he’d barely been containing it in.  He balled up a fist slammed it against it.  Slamming, slamming, slamming… going unanswered.

The world went red and he leaned back, brought his foot up, and kicked in the door with one savage thrust.  The occupant, ready and waiting, fired. 

Searing hot pain exploded in his shoulder.  He ignored it, trudging in to find a rat faced man with a revolver in his outstretched arm. 

He was shaking.

Undeterred, Kristoff surged forward, darting a wild shot, and when he was close enough, knocking the gun out of his hand and landing an upper cut to the man’s jaw.  He collapsed onto the floor, unable to protect his face for how hard he’d been hit.  It didn’t matter.  Kristoff started beating him.

He wasn’t sure what made him stop.  Perhaps it was the blood that coated his hands.  Maybe he was just tired.  Either way, the damage had been done.  No doubt the shot had been heard.  The only thing to do now was wait.

He stood and went to the kitchen, grabbing a towel hanging on the stove handle and wiping his hands with it as he looked around.  On the edge of the counter by the kitchen entrance he spotted a pack of smokes.  It had been nearly two years, but if there was a night to indulge, it was this one.

Sauntering on to the deck he looked at the cab of his truck.  Her wide, wet eyes appraised him, and he nodded once, letting her know.  She broke down again and disappeared, likely having laid her head down to where he normally sat.

With steady hands he lit a smoke and sat on the top of the stairs.  He waited.  Half way through the cigarette, the sirens blared in the distance.  They came screeching up and he didn’t bother with formalities.  He stood, crushed the smoke with his boot, and kneeled on the ground while he put his hands behind his head.  

A moment later he was pushed face first to the ground and cuffed.

----

Not a day went by where Anna didn’t thank God for who he had sent.  He wasn’t an angel.  He was her Savior.   

The trail had been vehement.  In one corner, the family who defended the man who beat her mercilessly.  On the other, her, and the man who’d beat her tormentor so badly he would likely never make it off of life support.  Regardless of the bullet that had been dug out of his shoulder and the documented torture her body, he was sentenced to six years. 

Anna’s heart fell when the judge read that sentence.  In her mind he didn’t deserve any of it.  He didn’t even know her.  She was a stranger in a strange town and he had helped her.  No!  Saved her.  For she had no way of getting out had it not have been for him.  When she realized what he was facing for her, she broke down in the courtroom.

Through the trial she had come to learn his name.  It suited him.  Anna decided something right then and there, crying for a man she did now know.  As soon as she was done getting her life back together, for the next six years, she was not going to go a week without seeing him, or a day without writing to him.   

And she kept her promise.  In fact, she’d come to see him so much more as the time drew on, even abandoning the letters for how much she was talking to him in person.  And it became very apparent very quickly that he was incredible.  It was two years into his sentence that she realized she was in love with him.

The next week she told him, and his sad smile gave her pause.  “This is not what I wanted for you, Anna.  I was kind of hoping you’d leave.  Get out while the getting is good.”

“Don’t you see?  I can’t do that with you in here.  For what you did to save me.”

“I didn’t save you, Anna,” he said, eyes cast down.  “I brutally beat a man to death.”

Anna gulped.  She didn’t know it had made it back to him that her ex had eventually been taken off life support as decided by his family, and passed away.  Although she should not be surprised.  It was just something she hoped to never think on again.  Ever.  How can you measure the kind of sacrifice that this man had made for someone he didn’t know from hole in the ground. 

“Get out, Anna,” he whispered, his eyes sad, then he hung up the phone and left without giving her another glance.

She went the next day and he refused to see her.  The same for the day after that, and then the one after that.  Frustrated, Anna took pen to paper again.

She poured her heart out in ten pages, back and front.  Without a second thought or worry about reading what she’d admitted, she sealed the letter in an envelope, slapped a stamp on it, and shoved it in the mail box. 

A week later, he finally agreed to see her. 

She waited eagerly, knees bouncing up and down in her favorite sun dress, until he sat across from her and her body went ridged with fear.  His hallowed eyes, one almost swollen shut, took her in with a fatigue that she could not imagine.

“Are you okay?” she whispered, unable to hold back the tears. 

“I am,” he said, looking into her eyes.  “Just a tough week.”

Her chest started to heave at the thoughts of what he might have gone trough and she tried to hold the sobs at bay.  Incdedibly, the corner of his mouth turned up in a ghost of a smile. 

“Don’t worry, Anna,” he whispered.  “I am more formidable in here than you think.”  He winked with his good eye. 

She didn’t smile, catching up on what he was laying down.  He was doing whatever he had to and she was not going to ruin that in any way shape or form.   Oh how unfair it was that she was going to have to wait four more years to know what is was like to hug him.  To hold him close and to smell him.  To kiss him. 

It didn’t matter what he thought or what he said.  She was in love with him, and she knew damn well beyond a shadow of a doubt he was in love with her. 

-----

At first it was the clarity to her eyes that caught him off guard.  It was a month in the hole before he was told he had a visitor.  While he’d been hoping, he held on to the belief that it wasn’t her.   

And yet it was. 

Those eyes… wide, bright, blue… unmarred except for the faint scars on her unbelievable soft looking, gorgeous skin… he smiled for the first time in a month.  These eyes held a future.  These eyes he was gazing into held so much life in them, that it tightened his throat to see someone freed from a place they were falsely imprisoned in. 

Being inside was rough.  More than rough, but not as rough as the place he’d sent that bastard to.  And he’d had his own troubling thoughts about what he had done.  Until he looked into her eyes that day.  After that, there was not a single part of him that found any remorse.

It carried him through.  It was his inspiration during his time, keeping himself safe, looking out for those who couldn’t defend themselves, earning the respect of more than one person who he initially thought was going to kill him.  In the end, it was her eyes, full of hope, that saved him.

The day finally came, and he took it in with shattered nerves until he was marched outside with all his things… the clothes he’d been wearing, his watch, wallet and pocket change, including the lucky silver dollar; the only thing the bassinette besides him that had been dropped off at the orphanage.  When the sun hit his skin as a free man, he closed his eyes and felt the weight of his imprisonment lift off of his soul.

She was waiting there for him, of course.  Heartbreaking smile, freckle kissed face, in her favorite pink sun-dress, her hair twisted into her trademark braids, and he finally had to admit to his tortured heart that, fuck, he was in love with her too.

He stopped in front of her and smile down, looking into those eyes.  Wow, they were more amazing in the sunlight than he ever could have imagined.  A smile stretched out on his face.  “So, what now?” he asked.

“Now,” she grinned wider, “we go on our first date.”

He could not help but grin back.  He climbed into the passenger side of her car, content for her to take him wherever she wanted to go.  He’d thrown away his life for this woman, and she was going to give him a new and better one, of that he had no doubt.

[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 16

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 2495

Chapter Index

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Anna was just about to head out for work when her phone rang.  It was Mr. Weadick.  “Hello?”

“Anna, I have arranged some meetings in the city today.  I apologize for the late notice.  I’ve been distracted and forgot to let you know.  You can take the day off.”

“Oh… okay, Mr. Weadick.  Thank you.”

“Have a good day then.”

“You too, sir.”

He disconnected and Anna put the phone back in her purse.  “Huh.”

She wandered away from the front door where she was just about to put on her shoes and sat at the kitchen table.  Since she had started on the ranch, her days had been so full, that she had no idea what to do with some free time.  They hadn’t even hooked up her TV yet.  It sat unplugged on the stand that she’d moved in with it. 

Anna grabbed her phone and texted Kristoff, letting him know to call when he had a moment.  She knew his workload was light today, but he would still not respond to her if he was in the middle of a task.  They’d agreed she would only straight up call him if something was really important so that he would know and could drop what he was doing.

Not really knowing what else to do, she began tidying up the cabin a bit, not that it needed much of anything.  After hand washing, drying, and putting away the breakfast dishes – the spot on the edge of the counters in Kristoff’s kitchen that would be space for a dishwasher housed a washing machine instead – Anna put in a load of Kristoff’s dirty clothes.  She then set about hooking up the TV on the stand and got it working.  It looked almost out of place in the rustic space, and it covered half of the front window that looked onto the porch.  She turned off the TV with a bit of a frown and went to see what was in the fridge that she could make for her lunch.

She’d just opened the door when her phone rang.  It was Kristoff.

“Hey,” she answered.

“Hey, Baby.  What’s up?”

“I got the day off.  Mr. Weadick said he had some business in the city.  You guys maybe need help with anything or…”  She trailed off, knowing there was nothing for her to do but wanting to offer anyway.

“No, we’re good.  But thank you, Anna.  That’s very sweet of you.”

“Is there anything you need I can get in town?  Like… um, maybe clothes, or underwear or deodorant or something?”

He chucked on the other end of the phone.  “You know, I don’t really have any idea.  I suppose you can check.  Maybe see if I’m running low?  I’ve been a touch distracted with other things lately to notice.”

Anna smiled a very knowing smile to herself, understanding exactly what he was talking about.  “Sure, I’ll check it out.  Can you think of anything else?  Maybe something you want me to make for dinner this weekend?”

They all had the weekend off.  With the cows being pushed to the biggest pasture today, it meant they could all knock off and only need to deal with anything if it arose.

“I am up for anything you want to make, Anna.  And I’ll help.  Go out, have a great day, and I’ll call you if I think of anything, okay?”

“Okay.  Love you.”

“Love you too, Baby,” he said, and hung up.

Anna abandoned her plans to make herself lunch, deciding instead to treat herself to a meal in town.  She left the cabin, slipped behind the wheel of her car, and drove the half hour to the diner. 

The ladies she’d made friends with when she first got there, gave her a warm greeting, then resumed working.  Anna sat at the diner counter and ordered a clubhouse sandwich and chatted in passing with the staff she had worked with.  In between, she was on her phone looking up ideas for meals she could make over the weekend.  She wanted to challenge herself and make something that was kind of ‘gourmet’.  In the end, she settled on trying a beef wellington for Saturday night, and an easy meal of grilled chicken burgers for Sunday in case they were too tired to make anything more complicated.

Leaving the diner full and happy, she drove to the bigger town about fifteen minutes away where there was a Walmart to pick up some much-needed socks and underwear for Kristoff.  She was somewhat appalled by how many holes she’d found in his current supply.  She also got him more shampoo, deodorant, shave cream, and razors, taking careful note of the brands and scents that he liked.  Then she stocked up on some things for herself and had fun perusing the aisles for sale items.  A lovely shallow wooden bowl caught her eye, and Anna could suddenly see it sitting on Kristoff’s kitchen island filled with fruit.  She put it in her cart with a smile.

After loading her car with her purchases, she drove back to their small town and went to the one of the two grocery stores that Mr. Weadick preferred.  She understood why after shopping there for him.  Not knowing, she was always in the other one when she first moved there, but her boss’s preferred place had much friendlier staff and focused heavily on supporting local supply.  She found everything she needed and then some.

Back at the cabin she put everything away where it belonged and threw out all the socks and underwear of Kristoff’s that were full of holes.   Then she bided the rest of the day by organizing her things a little better since they’d hastily been put all over the place when they’d moved her in. 

Kristoff showed up shortly before she was to head to the houses for dinner with the guys, telling her he was going to take her out instead.  She was thrilled, since she hadn’t gone out with him on such a date type thing since he’d taken her to the mini golf course. 

It was perhaps a little strange how fast their relationship was progressing in terms of actual dates they’d been on.  Not that it bothered Anna.  There were times that she still couldn’t believe she had the affections of a man like Kristoff.   Every time he smiled at her or looked at her with those gorgeous brown eyes, she felt a bolt of electricity down her spine.  She had no idea that she could love another person as much as she loved him.

He took her to a fancy steak house in the bigger town north of theirs and they had a wonderful meal.  Then when they were waiting for the chocolate brownie and ice-cream Anna had ordered for dessert, Kristoff pulled her hands into his and gave her a brilliant smile. 

“So, tomorrow I was thinking we’d get you out on a horse.”

Anna’s eyes widened as her body filled with excitement.  “Really?”

He chuckled softly.  “Yeah, really.  I know how much you want me to teach you.  We all got the weekend off, why not?”

“Oh, I can’t wait!  Thank you, Kristoff.”

“Don’t thank me yet.  I do have ulterior motives here, like how I know I’m not going to be able to keep my hands off you when we get home from ridin’.”

Anna smiled seductively.  He’d mentioned once before he fantasied about her riding and couldn’t wait to see her out with him.  “That better be a promise, cowboy.”

Kristoff lowered his head and looked at her through his eyelashes with that damn sexy smirk of his.  “You can take that to the bank, pretty lady.”

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

The next day, Anna found herself in love with another.   He was a gorgeous silver dapple morgan named Dusty, once the beloved horse of Mrs. Weadick in her older age.  He was sweet, gentle and calm.  Anna had been nervous about learning to ride until she settled herself on him and felt an almost kinship with the animal, as if it sensed something in her that reminded him of the woman who’d raised and rode him until she had passed away.

Kristoff, sat upon his red roan quarter horse, Kosta, smiled brilliantly at her throughout teaching her how to ride.  By the end of the day, she was getting the hang of it and Kristoff applauded her natural ease with the horse.

The sun was starting its descent into the horizon when they rode slowly back to the stables.   Anna felt something inside of herself that was giddy and satisfied.  She had no idea she would love riding so much, nor love the horse so much for that matter.  Dusty was an angel, and she leaned over and patted his neck. 

“You really like him, huh?” Kristoff asked.

Anna looked at him with a sheepish smile.  “I don’t like him, I love him.”

Kristoff laughed heartily and Anna’s eyes, much like they’d been doing all day, took in the sight of him up close and personal on his mount.  He had the reigns in his left hand, his right resting casually on the top of his thigh as the horse’s gate was at a steady walk.  He was a sexy man and seeing him handling the beast so casually up close and personal was making her hot all the way to her core.

“Well, I am happy that you are enjoying this,” he said to her as his eyes scanned the path ahead of them.

They were riding through the pasture that led down to the houses.   It was up on a bit of a hill, painting the ranch out below them in stunning golden light with long dark shadows as the sun prepared to bid them goodnight.   Anna pulled in a deep breath and let out a slow and steady sigh.   

“I absolutely love this place,” she began, surprising herself by becoming a touch emotional.  “I know Mr. Weadick doesn’t want it to get sold off, but I’m worried that Alyssa might get her way someday.”

Kristoff heaved a sigh of his own.  “I know what you mean.  Even though I have absolutely no ownership here, it feels like home.”

“It does,” Anna agreed, and fell silent.

They had planned to head back a lot earlier so that Anna could prepare her Beef Wellington for them.  Instead, they’d been having so much fun they opted to press on, have their picnic a bit later, and save the fancy meal for the next night.  Not only that, Kristoff had made some sexy promises that would make their dinner much later anyway.  She was thinking about that when he broke the silence between them.

“You know, Anna, I don’t think I’ve realized that life could ever be this good for me.”  Anna looked over, a little taken aback by the sullen touch to his tone.  He looked back at her and gave her a sad smile.   “If we had to say goodbye to this place, it would be kinda devastating, but I know that no matter where we might end up, I will be happy as long as you are with me.”

Anna was touched with his vulnerable honesty.  “I know what you mean, Kristoff.  I feel the same way.”

He nodded, his eyes going back to the landscape ahead of them.  “You want to go out for a bit of a ride tomorrow too?”

“I would love to, but I have to admit, my butt is pretty saddle sore.”

Kristoff chuckled.  “Been ridin’ so long I’ve forgotten all about that.  You’ll get there.  I was thinkin’ about building a little stable by the cabin so we can take the horses home from time to time.”

Anna smiled, picturing it in her mind.  “That’s a great idea.”

They rode the rest of the way to the stable in silence where Coop and the ranch hands were sitting around in a circle by the grill, finishing their dinner in the calm early-summer evening.  They waved at them as she followed Kristoff to stable Dusty and Kosta for the night.

When they were done, they went to where everyone was still sitting by the grill.

“You look happy up on ole Dusty there, Anna,” Buck said as they approached.  “And he looks happy too.”

“Oh, I am so happy.  He’s wonderful,” Anna cooed. 

Buck passed a look to Kristoff and gave him a subtle nod.  “We was talking before you went out, and we all think that Dusty should be your horse from now on.”

“Really?” Anna smiled, looking over to Kristoff smiling at her then back at Buck. 

The old man nodded.  “I took it upon myself to take ole Dust out from time to time for some exercise when Annie passed, but I’ve never seen him as calm as he is with you.  I think it’s the best thing for him if I am to be completely honest.”

“I would love to take care of him,” Anna said with sincerity.  “Thank you, Buck.”

He nodded his agreement once and the conversation flipped to what they’d all done with their day off.  Anna was only half listening, watching Kristoff laugh and talk with his buddies and falling in love with him all over again.

A short time later when they got back to the cabin, Kristoff kept his promise and his hands didn’t leave her body until she was panting and coming down from her third incredible orgasm. 

Breathless, she said, “your stamina is going to be the death of me, I swear.”

He laughed, and it dissolved into a moan.  “Don’t worry, I’m just about spent.”

A moment later his breath hitched, his body tightened against hers, and his cock started pulsing in her center.  Anna relished every moment of it, holding him as he let out a low groan.  After, his body relaxed against hers and he was still for a moment before moving and flopping into his back.

His eyes were closed, and he was smiling at the ceiling when Anna came back from the bathroom and sat on the bed beside him.  “You know, the first time I was with you I thought I’d just had the best sex of my life, then you go an outdo yourself and I’ve pretty much thought that every time since.”

He laughed, his eyes staying closed.  “Same, Anna.”

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow then?”

One eye opened up a touch and he looked sideways at her.  “Don’t matter too much to me.  Long as we do it together.”

“How about we go to the diner for breakfast then figure out what we feel like after that?”

“Sounds like a plan.”  He smiled again and closed his eye.  “But we gotta invite Sven.  He’s gonna be butt hurt if he finds out we went out for breakky and didn’t ask him.”

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 15

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 3404

Chapter Index

------------------------------

Anna was nervous about meeting Mr. Weadick’s daughter.  The old man had been extra surly all afternoon.  At least the dinner he’d requested, the Beef Stroganoff dish she’d done for him on her first day, was an easy one.

Weadick was in the great room, pacing back and forth in front of the large stone fireplace while Anna was in the kitchen.  Everything was ready and prepped to begin when the guests arrived.  She let herself daydream a bit since there wasn’t much to do until she was set to start cooking.

It was ten minutes after they were set to arrive before the bell finally rang.  Anna went to the door, straightening her apron and her ponytail as she did so.  Pausing, she pulled in a deep, settling breath, then opened the door.

She smiled at them.  “Good evening.”

Weadick’s daughter, Alyssa, was statuesque.  Her long brunette locks fell over her shoulders in thick waves.  She was dressed in a tight midnight-blue, knee length dress that hugged her generous curves, with matching colour stiletto heels.  Her make up was bold, with smoky eyes and red lipstick. 

She furrowed her brows at Anna.  “Who are you?”

“Alyssa,” came a warning from the down the main hall.  Mr. Weadick strode up to them, his face hard.  “This is, Anna.  My new cook.”

Alyssa’s face morphed into a huge grin.  “Hello, Daddy.”  She clicked forward on her heels and pulled her father into a hug.

Her husband followed her in, barely glancing in Anna’s direction.  He was almost a perfect match to his wife; tall, brunette and dressed in a sharp charcoal grey suit with shiny black wingtip shoes.

He went up to Mr. Weadick and stuck out his hand.  “Art, nice to see you again.”

“Dale,” Weadick replied in a somewhat unpleasant tone.

Anna waited until Mr. Weadick threw her a glance.  She knew his first name was Arthur, Kristoff and the boys all told her, but she hadn’t known he went by Art.  Not that would serve her any use, she would always address him formally. 

“Can I get anyone some cocktails?” she asked the group when he gave her the signal with his eyes.

“Sauvignon Blanc,” Alyssa demanded, then turned to walk into the great room.

Her husband, Dale, looked at her as if he was bored.  “Negroni.  Plenty of ice.”

Anna nodded and looked to Mr. Weadick.  “My usual, please,” he said, enunciating the last word that his guests didn’t seem to know.

She went past the kitchen where a wet bar sat off the wide main hallway.  Mr. Weadick had already given her a heads up on what they were going to ask for and she had prepped it all.  She made the drinks quickly and set them on a tray.  After carefully balancing it on her right hand, she grabbed a stack of cocktail napkins and went to the great room.

Working quickly, she set the drinks on the coffee table in front of the three people who were talking about something that Alyssa and Dale did for work.  After the rather cool reception she’d received from the two, she didn’t have much of a desire to listen to what was being said.

As instructed by Mr. Weadick, Anna went to begin dinner straight away, breaking only to peek in the room to see if anyone needed a refill on their drinks.  The first time she checked, Alyssa’s glass was almost empty, and Anna rushed to grab the chilled bottle of wine and refilled it.  Dale was drinking his cocktail slowly and Mr. Weadick already told her he would have his refill when dinner began.

Anna had the table set and when the food was done, she lined it all up with the serving dishes and went to announce that dinner was ready.  She went back to the lavish dining room and waited as the three people filtered in and took their seats.

Mr. Weadick sat at the head and his daughter and son-in law lined up on the side of the table to his left.  Anna was ready for when Alyssa sat down and asked if she would like some more wine as her glass was empty again.  She nodded, and Anna tipped the bottle into her glass and poured.

“Let’s get down to business, Daddy,” Alyssa started as soon as Anna went over to the cart to place the serving dishes on the table, starting with Mr. Weadick.

“Can we dish in first?” he asked tiredly, and reached for the buttered egg noodles Anna had just set down.

Alyssa looked down at the food he was putting on his plate and her eye snapped into the back of her head.  “Ugh, Beef Stroganoff again?”

Mr. Weadick’s face turned down into a frown and he kept dishing in, then passed the dish to Alyssa without a word.

“You know what you should try, Art,” Dale said, “Butter Chicken on rice.  It’s delicious.”

Alyssa’s eyes went wide.  “Oh yes, it is fantastic.  There is a place we order from all the time that has the best Indian food.”

Mr. Weadick said nothing as he scooped some of the stroganoff onto his noodles.

“Or maybe next time we can just bring some sushi?” Dale added, looking like he thought himself the most helpful guy in the room. 

“Pretty much anything is better than this old recipe.”  His wife sneered, putting a measly portion of noodles on her plate and skipping the meat entirely.

Anna set the bowl of salad and the garlic rolls next to Mr. Weadick and took her leave of the room to grab him the refill on his drink.  She was just about back to the table with a fresh glass when she heard Alyssa’s harsh whispers from just outside the entrance to the dining room.

“… young.  Seriously, Dad, what are you doing with her?”

“She is my cook, Alyssa.”

“Right, like that’s all she does.”

“There is absolutely nothing going on.  She lives with her boyfriend on the ranch, now drop it!” he said, sounding exasperated and on the verge of real anger.

“In one of the ranch houses?”  She cackled, her husband joining her.  “I’m sure a pretty little thing like her has already gone through all those men.”

Anna wasn’t sure what to do.  Her face was burning with embarrassment and anger, and she couldn’t keep loitering just outside the door.  Mr. Weadick would be wondering about his drink.

“What kind of place are you running here, Art?” Dale asked him.

“Not that anyone here needs defending, but she’s living with the fellow who’s in the cabin if you really must know all the details.  They are in a serious relationship and there is no such tomfoolery like that going on on my ranch!”

Anna used her free hand to wave her hand in front of her face to cool it.  Mr. Weadick was letting more anger into his tone now, making her increasingly nervous.

“Why do you let him stay there anyway?” Alyssa sneered.  “You were supposed to tear that place down.  That’s a prime spot for the estate lots with the creek running through it.”

“Because he took the time to fix that place up himself,” Mr. Weadick answered.

“Why?”

“Because he cares, Alyssa.  He cares more about this ranch and its history than you do.  Now if you want to get down to business, drop it!”

Anna waited for them to start talking about their business then walked brisky into the room like she’d been hurrying.  “Apologies on your refill, Mr. Weadick.”  She set the glass down and picked up his empty one.  “I had to run down to the cellar to grab a new bottle.”

Mr. Weadick looked quickly up at her.  He knew damn well she had only opened the bottle that evening for the nip he had before his daughter arrived.  Anna didn’t want to lie to him though by pretending she hadn’t heard.  She felt like it would bite her in the ass if she did, and she really did love her job.

“Can I get anyone else anything?” Anna asked the other two people at the table.

They both silently waived her off and Anna hurried back to the kitchen.

-----

They cleared out back to the great room as Anna cleaned up the last of the items from the dinner table.  Anytime she was in the room during serving, the conversation was tense.  She tried her best not to eavesdrop, but it was hard not to listen to three people argue as she cleared their dinner plates. 

Mostly it was about breaking up the ranch, half of the entire thing to start with, and selling that portion as estate lots.  The back and forth went on right up until the very end of dinner when Mr. Weadick shut the discussions down and asked his daughter a very pointed question.

“You’re never having kids, are you, Alyssa?”

She’d scowled at him and crossed her arms.  “Hell no.  I already had my tubes tied.”

Mr. Weadick had looked surprised and saddened by that news.  Then he dropped the conversation and Alyssa launched into how much money they could make with estate lots again.  Anna left quickly and returned with the plates of pie that she was very proud of, refilled the water glasses, then hid in the kitchen until they moved their conversation to the great room.

When the dishwasher was full, Anna set it to run then went about washing all the large serving dishes.  She was just finished drying the last of them when she heard Mr. Weadick saying goodbye to them at the front door.

She was putting all the dishes back in the cupboard when he walked slowly into the kitchen.  He sat at the island and looked at her.  “I apologize, Anna, for what you overheard.”

“It’s okay, Mr. Weadick.”  She walked around the island and stood across it from him. 

“Her behavior is getting worse.  She is pressuring hard for me to sell.  She doesn’t care at all how long it’s been in our family.”

“What will you do?” Anna asked tentatively, unsure how much she should press.

His mouth turned into a firm line.  “Deal with it.”  He nodded once to himself, stood, and left the room.

Anna was a little nervous with such a terse reply.  She would not ask him about it again.  She looked around the kitchen to make sure all the dishes were dealt with, then added the apron and kitchen towels she’d used that day into a hamper in the corner of the large walk-in pantry to clean later.  Then she let herself out the kitchen door and locked it with a key she’d been given for when the evening was finished.

She hurried to her car and drove quickly to the cabin, anticipation eating away at her to see Kristoff again.  They’d all eaten their supper together with the other hands like usual, only a little earlier since they knew Anna had to work, and she was appreciative of the offer.  She did find herself a little peckish now however, having worked all evening.

It was no surprise that Kristoff was sitting in one of the chairs on the deck of the cabin as she pulled up, her headlights illuminated his wonderful smile.  He set his guitar down and stood when Anna got out of her car and walked up the steps.

“How was it?” he asked and pulled her into a hug.

“Oh my God,” she said, exasperated.  “That is a story.  But first, I need my fix.”

She wrapped her hands tight around his neck to lift herself up to kiss him.  Halfway there, he grabbed her waist and brought her lips the rest of the way to his.

*****

Anna was sitting back against his chest on the couch as they listened to country music playing quietly from the radio in the kitchen.  It was some local station playing new country songs that he liked.  While Sven was all about the satellite radio, Kristoff didn’t mind the commercial breaks on the local FM too much to bother with getting it himself.

They were nibbling on a bowl of chips in her lap while she filled him in on the awkward dinner.  Kristoff also found it interesting that he’d asked Anna about if her and Kristoff were thinking about having kids.  He knew the old man wished he had a grandkid to leave the ranch to.  He’d said as much one night when it was just him, Buck and Sven, on one of the rare times he came to have a drink with the ranch hands. 

“So, circling back to that weird conversation I had with him,” Anna said, “to clarify, you do want to get married.  Right?”

He chuckled, Anna bobbing up and down against his chest.  “Of course, I do.”

She twisted her torso sideways from where she was sitting between his legs and placed a kiss on his chin.  “Good.  Me too.”

“What kind of wedding would you want?  Some fancy do?”

“Maybe once,” she answered, her voice holding a touch of sadness.  “Not anymore.  The person I used to be…”  She shook her head.  “I’ve changed, Kristoff.  And all of it for the better.  I love life here.  I love working with you on this ranch.  I love the town and the foothills and the backdrop of the mountains.  Do you know what my life was like in the city before I came out here?”

“No.”  He had been curious, only he didn’t want to bring it up for fear that it would trigger some more anger in him if she mentioned again about being mistreated by her ex.  Apparently, he hadn’t worked on toning down his intense protectiveness.

“I’d wake up at seven, make breakfast, serve breakfast, clean up from breakfast, walk three blocks to the office, change into my heels, work nine to five chained to my desk, come home, make dinner, clean up from dinner, run on the treadmill, have one or two hours of leisure time, then go to bed.”

“That sounds awful,” Kristoff said, and he meant it.

She laughed halfheartedly.  “It was, Kristoff.  It was.  I didn’t realize how much of a hamster in a wheel I had become.  Not only that, I let my ex control a lot of my life.”

His body tensed involuntarily, and Anna put her hand on the side of his thigh, snuggling her back further against him.  “I’m going to say this once, Kristoff, so I can get it off my chest and we can never have to think about it ever again.”

He relaxed his body as best he could and sighed.  “Okay.”

“I let my ex control our lives, because I thought that’s what success meant.  Does that make sense?”

He shook his head.  “No, I’m sorry.  I don’t understand.”

“When you live a life like that, success looks a certain way.  It’s the work promotions, and the house, and the car, and the fancy dinner parties where everyone brags about how great their lives are.  It’s flaunting your accomplishments for everyone to see.”

“Ah,” he said, finally understanding what she was getting at. 

“The thing is, that was not the success in life I was looking for.  I didn’t realize that until I had a pregnancy scare.”

Kristoff pulled in a steadying breath, knowing this was going to be difficult for him to hear but that Anna needed to get it out.

“I was four days late, which is rare for me.  I told my ex I was going to take a pregnancy test, and he was livid.  He wouldn’t even talk to me.  He blamed me for forgetting to take my birth control pills, which I told him I didn’t, then stormed out of the apartment.  After that I marched down to a pharmacy and got myself every brand of test they had, and they all came up negative.   He disappeared for that entire weekend, ignoring all my calls and messages that I was not, in fact, pregnant.  And I even got my period the next day, so I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I wasn’t.”

“Fuckin’ piece of fuckin’ shit,” Kristoff muttered unable to help himself.

Anna chuckled lightly.  “He definitely is.  When he got back on Sunday night, he apologized and said he was sacred and that he’d just freaked out.  I was still mad, so things were a little tense, and we didn’t talk much.  Then a couple of days later when he was supposed to be out at a work luncheon, I came home on my break to get more tampons for my work stash and found him in bed with another woman.”

He let out a frustrated sigh but held his mouth.

“After I confronted him, I found out he’d been cheating the whole time we were together.  Some bimbo that worked in an office a floor down from ours, who was also cheating on her husband.  Who knows how many times they fucked each other in that building.”

The corner of Kristoff’s lip turned up in a smile, despite her story.  He liked it when she cursed, and she was doing it a lot more often since she was hanging out with all the guys.

“Anyway,” Anna continued, “I moved out to my own tiny little apartment and found a new job.  Then I just gave up on life for a bit and came home every day to watch TV and eat ice cream.   It went on way too long.  Then one day, there was this commercial for supporting local dairy farms, of all things, and I decided to hell with the city.  I am going to move to a small town and make a go at it.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.  If you don’t know already, I am rather impulsive at times.”

He chuckled.  “I did pick up on that actually.”

She giggled halfheartedly, then heaved a heavy sigh.  “I wasn’t sure what to think when I first got here.  I took a couple days to orient myself to the town then went looking for work.  Those first few days though… I did a lot of thinking.  And I realized something I should have picked up on immediately.”

“What was that?” he asked, when she paused.

“If I had been pregnant, my ex would have absolutely asked me to end it.”

“Jesus…”

She was nodding against his chest.  “I know.  We never actually had that conversation, but part of me just knew he would never want kids.  He loves his lavish lifestyle too much.  If I hadn’t texted him and left voicemails when he disappeared that weekend to tell him that I absolutely wasn’t pregnant, he would have come in and told me he wanted me to terminate it.”

Anna pulled in a shaky breath and Kristoff knew right away that she was on the verge of tears.  He was about to move to get up and comfort her, when she pulled off his chest and put the leg that had been stretched out along the sofa with his onto the floor to turn around and face him.

She looked at him with glassy eyes. “And I was just naïve enough to not even consider that before the scare.  I should have, because I have always wanted kids.  I could have saved myself a lot of time and pain.”

His heart broke for her in that moment, realizing why she’d asked him that particular ‘deal breaker’ question.  It was all starting to make sense now, the reason she did the things that she did.  “I’m so sorry, Anna,” he whispered. 

She smiled at him, wiping a tear from her cheek.  “It’s okay, because none of that matters now.  And everything turned out amazing for me, obviously.  I… just wanted you to know.”

He nodded.  “I understand.”

Her eyes flicked to the wall clock he had near his kitchen table, then back to his.  “We should head to bed.  I’m beat, and we have to work tomorrow.”

He was beat too, and anytime he could crawl into bed and hold Anna against him, was more than welcome in his book.  He nodded, and pulled her in for a soft and gentle kiss before they got up and went to the bedroom.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 14

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 4484

Chapter Index

-------------------------------

Anna was cleaning up the breakfast from Monday morning as Mr. Weadick read the paper at the kitchen table, when he set it down and looked at her.

“And how was your weekend, Anna?”

“It was good!”  She smiled.  “Saturday, we went for a late breakfast to a place in town, then we watched a baseball game at Sven’s place.  None of us were too lively because we went out on Friday night.  And yesterday when Kristoff was done his chores, he took me to my place to grab my things to move in.”

The old man’s eyebrows rose slowly.  “You’ve moved into the cabin with him?”

Anna’s face flushed hot with embarrassment.  “Oh, Mr. Weadick, I am so sorry.  We should have run that past you first.”

He regarded her very closely for a moment then leaned back in the chair a little.  “It’s alright.  I’m glad he won’t be out there all alone anymore.”

Anna smiled nervously.  “Thank you, Mr. Weadick.”

“Things are serious with you too?”

“Yes, definitely.”

“That mean you plan to get married?”

Her cheeks lit up with heat again and her fingers fidgeted with the bottom of her apron.  “Um, we haven’t discussed that per se.  We did talk about a future though.”

“Were kids discussed?”

Anna had to wonder where this borderline inappropriate line of questioning was going.  It seemed he was speaking to her more as a friend than a boss, so she answered him truthfully.  “Actually, yes.  We do both want kids someday.”

He nodded, then his eyes turned to the table looking thoughtful.  He remained quiet, so Anna went back to her duties.  She was just setting the dishwasher up for its cycle when he broke the silence.

“My daughter is bringing her husband over for supper on Thursday.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Anna said, wiping her hands on her apron.

“Not so much.  She’s invited herself over again.  Likely to pressure me to sell the land.”

“Oh.  I’m… sorry.”

“Boys haven’t filled you in on this yet?”

Anna wasn’t sure how much to reveal.  She didn’t want to get anyone in trouble.  “I think maybe I heard something about it in passing.”

He nodded and got up from his chair, bracing his palms on the top of the table and leaning over it.  “They always arrive late and want supper late.  I don’t suppose you’d mind working it?  Serving and all that?  You can start at noon instead of first thing.”

The fact that he was asking and not telling, gave Anna a sense of relief that he was happy with her services and was not going to send her packing back to the diner.  “Yes, I can certainly do that.  No problem.  I don’t mind starting in the morning either if you want.”

He shook his head.  “No, just start at noon.  I don’t usually sleep well after her visits, and I plan to let myself sleep in that morning.  Which reminds me, when you go to the store later, please add some more of my sleeping pills to your list.”

“Absolutely, sir,” Anna said, and pulled out her phone to add it immediately so that she would not forget.

Mr. Weadick left the kitchen without another word and Anna busied herself with her chores until she served him up lunch and then the chicken pot pie he’d requested for supper.  With her day done, she returned to the houses and ate with the guys.  Coop had made them a delicious stew that had simmered all day, and they all ate it with warm biscuits from the oven.

Then it was her and Kristoff back at his cabin, undressing each other with unfettered urgency, and they only made it as far as his couch when they joined together, kissing each other relentlessly, until they both found their release together.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

The next morning, Sven showed up at the main house with another new hire.  He looked to Anna a little nervously when she’d answered the door, and she wished the guys would stop giving her glances like that when they talked about new hires.

“Hey, Anna,” he said quietly.  “This here is Levi.  We had a good interview in town, so I brought him to meet the old man.”

She was informed of the new hiring practices that were put in place after the incident with Bill.  Initial interviews were no longer going to be how well they handled a day on the ranch.  They were now conducted before they even left the parking lot of the hardware store and then straight to Mr. Weadick for approval to proceed.  Only after they proved themselves on the that ranch would they then be hired.

“Come on in.”  Anna smiled and stood back.  Levi was about their age, dressed in the typical cowboy outfit.

Levi threw her a quick glance as he passed, and his hand came up to tug quickly at the front of his hat.  “Ma’am.”

Anna smiled.  There was nothing but politeness behind the gesture.  Not to mention he was wearing one of those rubber wedding rings. 

The men went into the kitchen and Anna detoured to the laundry room.  After Sven had told Mr. Weadick about the last new hire, he’d apologized to her and suggested that to uphold more of an air of professionalism, that it would be better if Anna wasn’t working in the room when the interview took place.

She went into to the master, took off the bedding, and changed it out with the clean set.  Then she did all the towels in the bathrooms and set the machines up with a new load.  Not knowing if they were done in the kitchen or not, she started to dust the shelves in Mr. Weadick’s study.  He only wanted her to do it when he wasn’t in there, so it seemed as a good a time as any.  She was working away when a clearing of a throat from the doorway caught her attention.

“We’re all done, Anna.  Thank you.”

“No problem, Mr. Weadick.”  Anna stopped her dusting and walked towards the door as he strode into his office.  She was about to leave when he spoke again.

“Can I ask you something?”

She turned, very curious considering the conversation they’d had the other morning.  “Sure.”

“I’ve been adamant about not breaking up this land to sell out to make estate lots.  Perhaps I am being bullheaded and should be more open to my daughters’ suggestions.  I’m not getting any younger.”

Anna frowned.  She was not prepared for a question as loaded as that.  She loved the ranch and Kristoff and the guys loved the ranch, and no one living on it wanted to see it sold off like that.  She could lie to the old man, then figured it would be better to speak from the heart.  “I think it would be sad to see this place broken up.  I know I haven’t been out here all that long, but it’s just so beautiful.”

“It is,” Mr. Weadick said, giving her a distracted smile as he rounded his desk and sat in the chair.  “If I did let my daughter have her way, it would be an end of an era.”

“I understand.  Kristoff had mentioned to me how long the ranch has been in your family.”

His eyes, that had wandered to his desktop, came up and met hers.  “Do you think I should listen to my daughter.  Maybe sell off just a portion of it to begin with?”

“I think,” Anna said carefully, “that you should stick to your convictions.”

Something glimmered in Weadick’s gaze then that Anna hadn’t yet observed.  It was like his apathetic nature was just an act.  Then just as quickly as she saw it, he looked back down at some paperwork on his desk.

“Thank you, Anna.”

She nodded at his dismissal even though he wasn’t looking, and quietly left his study, closing the door behind her.

-----

Anna spotted Kristoff and Sven when they were still a way off, heading through the pasture that bordered the fenced land around the houses.  She watched his approach the entire way, unable to take her eyes off of him on that horse.  The desire to ride them along with him arose within her again, and she reminded herself to ask Kristoff to teach her soon.

He grinned at her as they rode past to the stables.  Her and Coop were taking turns keeping an eye on some ribs they were grilling low and slow.  She’d already helped him prep the potato and Cesar salad, so there was little else to do but talk.

“So, you and Jett getting along?” Anna asked.

“Yeah, he’s a solid dude.  And he’s neat, so it kind of makes me keep the place a bit tidier too, you know?”

Anna nodded.  “You meet the new guy yet?  Levi?”

“Yeah, briefly this mornin’ when they guys were giving him the rundown of the place.  He ain’t movin in with Buck though, him and his wife rent a little place in town.”

“Ah, I was wondering.  I saw the ring on his finger.”

“Buck don’t mind too much.  He likes havin’ the place to himself.  Set in his ways and all.”

“So how long have you been on the ranch yourself, Coop?”  Anna knew from a previous conversation that Buck was going on his thirty-fifth year.

“Oh, just over a year now.  Started during last year’s calving season.”

She thought back to Weadick’s odd line of questioning about the ranch.  “And you like it here obviously?”

He nodded quickly.  “I love it!  Before I came here, I was on a road going nowhere fast, when my parents sent me to town to live with my grandpa.  I helped him here and there and took a job at the hardware store.  Then one day, Sven comes in and says he’s lookin’ to leave a job notice up on the bulletin board.  I was curious so I checked it out when I was done my shift and I figured, what the hell.  I applied and they hired me on the spot.”

“That’s cool… kinda kismet.  Does your grandpa still live in town?”

Coop’s face twisted with disappointment.  “Nah.  I used to go back to his place every night, then I came home late one day from workin’ and he’d taken a fall.  My parents made him move back to the city to a retirement place after that.  And I moved here.”

“That’s too bad he had a fall.  Is he doing better now?”

Coop smiled.  “Yeah, he’s livin’ it up actually.  Says he’s got more dates now than when he was in college.”

Anna laughed.  “That’s awesome.”

“You have family in the city, Anna?”

She shook her head.  “No.  I have a sister.  She moved to the East Coast.  We usually talk on the phone every couple of weeks, but we don’t get a chance to see each other much.”

Coop nodded, looking thoughtful and remaining quiet.  Anna was glad he didn’t press to know about her parents or anything.  Every time someone did there was always that awkward ‘oh I am so sorry to hear that’ when she told them that they had passed away when she was a teenager.

Kristoff and Sven exited the stables a moment later and headed in their direction.  He walked up behind where Anna was sitting in the lawn chair and placed a kiss on the top of her head.  “What are you ladies talking about?”

Anna laughed and Coop gave him a sarcastic smile and the middle finger. 

“Just shootin’ the shit, as you guys say,” she said.

He grinned at her.  “Well, I for one, am glad to be done work.  Those ribs smell amazing.”

“Don’t they though?” Sven added, walking past the group of chairs and towards his house.

“Hey, we should have a fire tonight,” Coop piped up, eyes wide with excitement.  “Haven’t had one of those yet this year.”

Kristoff sat in the vacant chair beside Anna, stretching out his long legs in front of him and crossing his boots at the ankle.  “It’s certainly a nice night for it.”  He looked at her.  “What do you think, Babe?”

Anna nodded eagerly with a big grin.  While she loved having Kristoff to herself at nights after dinner, she wanted to have all of the experiences she’d so far missed out on in this country fed life.

He chuckled.  “Well, that settles it.”

“Settles what?” Sven asked his brother as he descended the steps from his house.

“Bonfire tonight!” Coop answered.

Sven walked up to the circle of camp chairs.  “Sounds like a solid plan to me.  Gorgeous night for it.”  He looked around, eyes out on the pastures beyond the house.  “Others back yet?”

“Oh, the old man came down earlier when they were workin’ in the barn and sent them to town with the trailer because he bought some more horses from some guy he knows on the Waldron Ranch,” Coop answered, then looked down at his watch.  “Should be back soon.”

“He bought some horses, huh?”  Sven looked at Kristoff.  “Can’t remember the last time the old man did a task like that himself instead of throwin’ it to one of us.”

Kristoff nodded, reading Sven’s thoughts.  Something was going on with him, and hiring Anna on the spot seemed to be the start of it all.  He’d asked her what Weadick did in his house all day while they worked, and she told him he mostly resided in his study, pouring over paperwork or squinting at his computer screen.  On one occasion, she’d seen him hunting and pecking the keyboard with a pace that suggested he was writing a letter or something.  Other than that, she hadn’t observed him doing anything too productive beyond reading a book.  Yet there was still a change in the old man, and him and Sven could feel it.  Anna herself had mentioned his odd questioning and a gleam in his eye that seemed like a renewed spark of life.

Coop said, “Think it’s got anything to do with his daughter and son-in-law comin’ over on Thursday?”

They all looked to Anna for the answer that she didn’t have.  She shrugged.  “I don’t know.  He seems a little stressed about it, otherwise he’s pretty much the same.”

“Well, based on their last visit with the old man,” Sven said, “it should be an interesting dinner to say the least.  You’ll be our fly on the wall, won’t you, Anna?” He winked at her.

Anna laughed.  “I don’t intent to eavesdrop, Sven.  But if I hear anything, yeah, I’ll probably spill.”

He grinned at her just as they heard the sound of a vehicle approaching on the gravel driveway.  The large black dually hauling a horse trailer, slowly made its way over to the stables.  When it stopped and shut off, Coop, Kristoff and Sven went to help the other men unload and stow the new animals on the farm.

Anna watched them, taking it all in with a smile of pure contentment.  It was fascinating watching the men work.  They were all efficient, working together with little to no communication.  It was like a dance; everyone knew the moves.  Even Jett and Levi fell in step with ease. 

She got up to check the ribs, keeping her eyes on Kristoff and watching his half smile as he led a beautiful chestnut horse into the stables, his muscles flexing, those long legs striding confidently beside the magnificent beast… it was a sight to behold.

She moved the racks off the hot spot on the BBQ and turned it all the way low, intending to keep them warm because she was pretty sure they were done with their flexibility as she moved them with the tongs.  She had watched so many videos about grilling she was confident she could cook them well, even if it was her first time.

After sitting back in her seat to wait, Buck, Jett and Levi emerged from the stables and jumped in the truck to return the horse trailer to where it was normally parked behind the long building.  Sven, Kristoff and Coop came out shortly after, heading her way with smiles.

They were talking about the ‘beauties’ Weadick had bought and marveled over the wonderful creatures.  The other guys joined them shortly after and they all gathered around in the lawn chairs to have dinner with paper plates perches on their laps.  Even Levi stayed, telling everyone his wife was out with her folks for dinner anyway.  He turned down the beer, having to drive home and all, but the rest of them all had a bottle in their hands.

After dinner, Anna and Coop cleaned up while the guys went about setting up for the bonfire.  There was a large stone-built circle off the back of the houses, and when the fire was up and roaring, everyone except Levi, who’d taken off for home, grabbed their chair and hauled it around back.

There were conversations and stories and laughter, giving Anna another sense that this was her true calling in life.  She kept her eyes to the sky as the sun set, painting the clouds in glorious colours of gold, pink and purple.  It was breathtaking.  She understood now why the place was called Big Sky Ranch, because she’d truly never seen so much gorgeous sky in all her life.  Given a choice between looking out over a sparkling, sprawling, city each night, or the sunsets of the ranch, she would now choose the ranch.  Every time.  There was nothing she missed about her old life.  Not a single damn thing.

Then as the sky got darker, the stars came out and Anna was flabbergasted.  She had never seen such a breathtaking night sky in all her life.  She had no idea there were that many stars.   Being away from the glaring lights of the city, or even their small town, she felt like she could see into a different dimension.

Everyone was sipping on beers, no one getting crazy since the morning came early and they all had to work, yet someone – Anna had been using the bathroom when it was brought up – suggested that Kristoff show off those pipes of his.  She had concluded with the look he was giving his brother as she rejoined the group, that it had been Sven.

Her cowboy had his mouth set into a firm line.  “I said no.”

“Ah come on!” Sven pouted.  “It’s been ages since I’ve heard you sing.”

The rest of the men around the fire piped up that they would love to hear a country song.  Buck even went so far as to go back into his house and came out with a guitar while Kristoff continued to brush them off.

He looked over at her then.  Even in the dark with the only light from the fire, Anna could see that his cheeks were red with embarrassment.  His eyes pleaded for her to help him, but she sided with every other man who was pestering him.

“I personally would really love to hear you sing again, Kristoff,” she told him.

His eyes narrowed, not in a mean way.  More like a mischievous and playful ‘I’ll get you back for this’ way.  He had admitted to her that he did love to sing, and hoped maybe someday he could feel comfortable doing it in front of people.  And what better people than your friends.  Anna told him that with her eyes and she could see that he agreed and was about to relent.

“Please, Bro!” Sven said, dramatically clasping his hands together and sliding off the edge of his chair to sink to his knees.

“Yeah, Kris, come on!” Coop was amped.

Buck just walked over to him and held out the guitar.  Kristoff finally took his eyes off her and looked at the instrument for a moment.  “Ah, fuck it,” he said, then slowly reached out and grabbed it.

Everyone cheered and Anna could see the redness in his face get darker.  He didn’t look at anyone, he positioned the guitar in his lap and settled his hands on it, plucking the strings to see if it was in tune, and Anna took the liberty of pulling her chair right up next to his.  He lifted his eyes to give her a quick look, then resumed settling himself upon seeing her encouraging smile.  Everyone was silent, waiting, and Anna put a hand on his shoulder.

He cleared his throat gently and then looked up at everyone.  “Any requests?”

Everyone started shouting out country songs and Kristoff shut them down quickly.  “Never mind,” he grumbled.  “I’m just gonna sing the first one that comes to my mind.” 

He took a deep steadying breath while he thought.  Everyone waited, silent and ready.  Then he looked down at the fire and started to strum the guitar.   

Anna wasn’t sure of the tune, but she could see from Sven’s reaction that he did.  He slapped his knee and grinned, his eyes flashing over to Anna’s with pure glee, and perhaps a note of gratitude.  And when the guitar intro was done, Kristoff’s absolutely gorgeous voice filled the still night air.

“I bet you've never heard ol' Marshal Dillon say Miss Kitty, have you ever thought of runnin' away? Settlin' down, would you marry me If I asked you twice and begged you, pretty please?...”

Anna was mesmerized by the confidence coming from him then.  Even when he was singing quietly to himself in his kitchen the first time Anna had ever heard him, there seemed to be a tentativeness about it.   Now he was like a country music star, singing his biggest hit to his family around the fire.  Her eyes flicked to every other man as he sang.  They were all staring, wide eyed and mouth agape.  Even Sven, although with a big smile. 

The tempo of the guitar changed, and Anna knew this must be the chorus even though she’d never heard this particular song before.

“…I should've been a cowboy I should've learned to rope and ride…”

After the first two lines, the rest of the boys joined in singing the chorus. 

“Wearin' my six-shooter, ridin' my pony on a cattle drive Stealin' the young girls' hearts Just like Gene and Roy Singin' those campfire songs Woah, I should've been a cowboy…”

Everyone, including Anna, gave a hoot of enjoyment and settled in to listen to Kristoff sing the rest of the song, and everyone sang along to the last two choruses, Anna too, with the words that she’d remembered from just hearing it.  And when he strummed the last note of the guitar and fell silent, it was only a half a second before everyone started clapping and hollering about how good it was. 

Kristoff looked over at her, his eyes shimmering with nerves and joy and love, and Anna got up and placed a very passionate kiss on his lips as he leaned over the guitar. 

Naturally, everyone wanted an encore, and then he did take suggestions for the next song, shooting down any he wasn’t familiar on the guitar with.  In the end it was Buck who had the winner with ‘Low Places’ by Garth Brooks.  Everyone joined in for the entire song that time, singing happily together with remarkable harmony.  Even Anna had learned that one in the short time she’d been hanging out with the guys and belted out with them at the top of her lungs.

After that song the guys kept throwing more suggestions at them, only to be ignored as he looked over to her again. 

“What about you, Anna?  Anything you want to hear?  If I know it.”

She smiled at him, thinking back to what she had come to consider their very first date, sitting on the banks of the creek that ran by his cabin and fishing, while Kristoff laid on the blanket beside her.  The nerves she had felt that day about what life might be like with him, had been left so far by the wayside that she couldn’t remember exactly what those unfounded fears had even been.

She looked into his eyes.  Into his soul.  “Fishin’ in the dark?”

His smile widened and his expression was impressed, loving, and completely understanding as to why she had chosen that song even though she’d never told him her feelings about it. 

The other guys around the fire commented their agreement that it was a great song, and joined in, unable to help themselves, although quietly so as not to overshine Kristoff’s amazing talent.

*****

Kristoff could not get enough of her lips on his.  He kissed her with all the passion he felt, leaving her melting in his hands and moaning with a sort of desperation as they came together. 

The entire night… finding the courage with Anna’s help to sing to his friends – family, really – and getting back to the cabin to be intimate with her…  he’d never felt happier in all his life.  His entire being was filled with joy, and love, and unbridled lust as he made love to Anna. 

He truly thought he knew what living was.  It was a simple life, being on the ranch, doing his job and doing it well, drinks with the boys, playing his guitar or fishin’ on his days off.  Only now he knew that had just merely been existing.  Now, with Anna… that was what living life really was.  It was in every look she gave him, every sweet smile, every touch, every kiss… It was everything to him.

They climaxed together, lips still locked and bodies writhing against each other as pleasure rolled through them.  Afterward Kristoff shifted and pulled her against his side, hugging her tight to him as emotion welled up.  He told her loved her more than anything in the entire world, and had to will himself not to tear up.  He was not a crier by nature, couldn’t even remember the last time he’d shed a happy tear like this, but the feelings she made him feel were more intense than anything else he could ever imagine from anyone else. 

Anna hummed happily, telling him she loved him more than anything as well, and he was relieved that she didn’t pick up on how close he was to breaking down.  He swallowed hard and composed himself while Anna went to the bathroom, thinking not for the first time that he was the luckiest sonofabitch on the planet to be able to be with a woman so completely amazing.   When she came back to the bed, he pulled her against him once more and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

---

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Big Sky Ranch - 13

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 2933

Chapter Index

----------------------

“How did it go?”

Sven trudged past him into the stables.  “’Bout how you’d expect.”

“How much did you tell him?”

His brother kept walking down the length of the stable.  “All of it.  I ain’t keepin’ that from the old man.  It happened on the property.”

“Was he pissed?”

Sven turned and have him a pointed look.  “What do you think?”

“I told you I’d be the one to tell him.”

“I’m the asshole that brought Bill up here in the first place even though I knew he was a new-to-towner.”  Sven turned away and opened the stall door to his horse.  “Those drifter motherfuckers never work out.  I never should have even given him a chance.”

Kristoff went to the next stall and got his.  “Let’s not get into the blame game again.  That didn’t work so well for us last night.”

Sven twisted his lips into a grimace and went about his work.  Kristoff did the same and they saddled up the horses and got them ready for a day of riding.  They had to finish the rest of the fence check on the eastern perimeter today to see if there were any more repairs needed.

Just as they were leading the horses out of the stable, a police cruiser was coming slowly down the drive and stopped near the grouping of houses.

“This can’t be good.”

Kristoff sighed.  “Nope.”

The car parked and Frankie got out and waved to the men.  They led their horses over to talk. 

“You boys know anything about a Bill Johnson?” Frankie asked as they approached.

Sven said, “Yeah.  We hired him to work on the ranch, he assaulted a member or our staff, and he was fired.”

“And delivered a little frontier justice on this staff members behalf?”  Frankie raised an eyebrow. 

“You’re fuckin’ right I did,” Kristoff spoke up. 

“Ah.”  It was clear to the both of them that Frankie had deduced who’d been assaulted.  “How serious of an assault are we talking?”

Kristoff shrugged, still mad as all hell about it even though he knew Anna wanted to move on.  “According to her, he got a little more than what he deserved.”

“And according to you?”

Kristoff’s jaw clenched tight, and he spoke through gritted teeth.  “Not nearly enough.”

The mustached cop appraised him for a moment.  “Well, that’ll certainly make my job easier.”

“And that would be?” Sven inquired.

“Well, Bill was picked up on a drunk and disorderly from the saloon last night.  Apparently, after you boys ‘fired him’, he tied more than one on and got a little argumentative when they tried to cut him off.  When the black and whites showed up, he said he was a hapless victim and wanted to press charges to some big blond guy on Big Sky Ranch who beat the shit out of him for no reason.”

“And you believed him?” Kristoff was incredulous.

Frankie gave him a pointed look.  “I am an officer of the law, Kristoff.  There is a code of conduct, no matter what I think.  You ever hear of innocent until proven guilty?”

He frowned.  “Point taken.”

“Regardless of the situation of why you handed his ass to him, it’s my duty to follow the lead.  Even if I didn’t know you boys would have a good explanation, I would never have let him press those charges.”  He winked.  “Paperwork and all.”

“Well, we appreciate your due diligence, Frankie.  The taxpayer dollars are well at work.”

The cop gave them a big smile.  “Fuck you, Sven.”  He tipped the imaginary cowboy hat he was wearing.  “Take care, boys.”

The cop got into the cruiser and pulled back onto the road and left.  Kristoff and Sven stood there watching him leave.

“Man, I’m glad it’s Friday.  I’m looking forward to going to the saloon tonight.”

Kristoff smiled halfheartedly.  He was still upset about everything.  “Anna is too.  She can’t wait to line dance.”

Sven turned to him and gave him a very emotional look.  “Is she really okay?  I mean, she kept insistin’ she was fine, but it bothered me all night.”

It had bothered him too, despite the talk that they had.  They’d gone to bed not long after, taking a night off of passion to catch up on some sleep.  Then when Anna woke him up in an amorous way in the morning and crawled over him, he saw a faint grouping of narrow bruises on her breast from the fingertips of that piece of shit that had grabbed her.  It was the first time in his life that he was unable to finish after getting started.  After Anna reached her release, he separated them and hit a cold shower because he was burning up with rage.

She was upset when he got out.  He knew she would be.  Instead of fighting about it, he pulled her into a hug and apologized.  Then he promised he was going to let it go.  It was just that seeing the bruises had thrown him for a loop.  He hadn’t realized she’d been groped that hard and he couldn’t imagine how much it would have hurt her.  After he explained his feelings and his reaction, Anna was very understanding.  She’d kissed him and thanked him for giving that guy a good beat down on her behalf.

“She’s okay,” Kristoff answered.  “I’m way more pissed about it than she is.  She says my protectiveness is intense.”

Sven slapped his hand onto Kristoff’s shoulder.   “Brother, it is.  And it saved my ass countless times when we were kids.  Frankie’s too.  He does a good job rememberin’ that.”

“Hmmm.  Well, like Anna said, at least we don’t gotta worry about Boone and his boys showin’ up tonight.  Should be good to have fun without ending it early in the parking lot.”

Sven grinned at him.  “Amen, brother.  Amen.”

-----

He watched Anna get dressed as he lay naked on the bed.  The boys were pregaming before the saloon but he needed her too badly to join them.  It had started to bother him throughout the day that he’d disappointed her.  Twice.  That was something he needed to set right.  And set right he did.  She had come undone three times before he joined her.

“You just going to watch me the entire time?” she asked, looking over her shoulder as she pulled on her jeans.

“Yup.”

She turned and faced him as she did up the fly and button on the jeans.  She was still shirtless, standing there in her bra.  Absolutely gorgeous.  His cock twitched with want.

“Don’t get any idea’s, mister.”  She pointed a finger at him, smiling.  “I want to let loose tonight.”

“And let loose you shall,” he said slowly, finally sitting up to get himself ready. 

Anna walked over to him as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.  She put her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to give him a soft kiss.  “I adore you.”

He smiled.  “I adore you, too.”

She planted another beautiful kiss on his forehead then went to finish getting ready.  Kristoff went to his closet and pulled out some clothes and dressed quickly.  Everything he had was so similar, it didn’t take any effort to get dressed.  He slipped his belt through his pants and did the buckle.  It was old and worn out and very sentimental to him.   He’d worn it every day since Sven gifted it to him on his eighteenth birthday.

Going into the kitchen, he picked his cowboy hat off the hook he had set into a support post that resided behind his couch, and set it on his head.  Then he grabbed a beer from the fridge and went to the kitchen table to wait.

Anna had been excited when he rode up to the houses after his day, telling him all about how Mr. Weadick was impressed with the steak dinner she’d made him.  He was happy for her and reminded himself again that he was going to have a good time and forget about his rage over what happened.

It had been bothering him about where this Bill Johnson ended up, so he called Frankie just before he was going to quit for the day.  Apparently, he was fined with a drunk and disorderly change and sent on his way.  Frankie had personally made sure he got onto a Greyhound and followed that bus all the way into the next county to make sure he didn’t get off.  And he assured Kristoff all the cops had their eyes open if he did decide to come back, even after he was strongly encouraged by Frankie himself not to. 

Sven was right; Frankie did do good in remembering the protection Kristoff had blanketed over all his friends when they were growing up.  Hearing about what he did to make sure Bill wasn’t going to come back lifted a lot of the weight off his shoulders.

Anna came out a short time later, a vision in what she had told him was a ‘cowboy outfit’.  The only thing she was missing was a proper belt buckle, like he wore.  Since her birthday was coming up, he aimed to get her one.  Not that the large embellished buckled belt she had on didn’t look good on her, he just wanted to get her something special.

Kristoff happily held out his arm to escort Anna to his truck.  Coop was still going to drive them all in the dually, and Kristoff and Anna had accepted Sven’s invitation to crash in his spare room for the late night they were likely to have.

He used the country roads to skirt Weadick’s pastures and pulled into the main drive that split to the ranch houses.  The boys were standing there with a beer in hand, laughing and shooting the shit.  Jett was joining them, which was good because the young guy was proving to be a valuable hand and everyone wanted to get to know him better. 

The guys polished off their beers and everyone piled into the truck.  With Coop in the driver’s seat and Buck riding shotgun, Anna had to sit on Kristoff’s lap again.  Neither of them was upset about it, and they started at each other like love-sick morons the entire ride there.

Being a Friday night, the Saloon was rightfully busy, and the only tables left were standing ones.  Sven led them to the far corner of the bar away from the Jukebox like he normally did so that they could all hear each other better. 

Drinks flowed, shots were had, laughter was constant, and everyone had a spectacular time.  Then the moment that Anna had been waiting for finally happened.  As soon as the song started, the bar went to the dance floor.  Anna lined up right beside Kristoff and have him the most brilliant smile he’d ever seen.  Then they danced.

She flubbed up the first go around, forgetting the sequence of steps, which only made Kristoff love her even more.  Then she fell in expert rhythm with him and everyone else like she’d been doing it her whole life.  He expected to enjoy watching her dance, but he was a little unprepared for how much it seemed to arouse him.  She looked so damn sexy!  If he knew of a place they could steal away and have a tryst, he would be tempted to do it.  Except the bar was surrounded by grasslands and he wasn’t about to take her to the bathroom or the truck that Weadick paid for.  When the dance was done, he settled on pulling her into a passionate kiss that was more PDA than he’d ever engaged in.

The rest of the night was a blast, and when Coop drove them all home, they drunkenly sung at the top of their lungs to the old country song on the radio.  Even Anna knew most of the words, furthering his deep feelings for her.

They all had a rare day off on Saturday, so beers were pulled from the fridge, and they drank into the wee hours of the morning.  At three, people started dropping like flies, until it was just Anna, Kristoff and Sven sitting around his kitchen table.

Sven had just finished telling them a story Dixie had recalled to him on the phone the night before.  He turned to Anna.  “I can’t wait for you to meet her.  She is going to love you!”

“You think so?” Anna asked.  Her cheeks were red, her eyes shiny, and she was pretty drunk.  They all were.

“Absolutely!  I already told her about you.  She is so excited.”

“I can’t wait to meet her too!” Anna exclaimed, moving her hand in a gesture that knocked over her bottle of beer.

All three of them watched the little bit left pour onto the table.

“Bedtime,” Sven announced.  “I’m seeing double here.”

“Me too,” Kristoff and Anna said in union, and they grinned at each other.

They all took turned giving each other a hug goodnight and Kristoff took Anna into the spare room.  They stripped to underwear and crawled into the bed, saying ‘I love you’ and wishing each other a good sleep.  A moment later they were both snoring into their pillows.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Kristoff woke up first.  He had to piss like a racehorse and got out of bed, stumbling bleary eyed in the sun lit house to the bathroom.  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d woken up so long after sunrise.  He relieved himself with a groan.  He felt like shit.  His head hurt.

After washing his hands, he went back to the room and crawled back into the bed beside the warm body he couldn’t wait to hold.  He settled, pulling her against him while she sleepily mumbled at him something that sounded a lot like ‘knock it off’.  He didn’t care, he just needed to have her beside him.  She fell back asleep in an instant, pressed against him, while he remained awake thinking about life.

It worried him sometimes, that Sven might someday move away with Dixie.  She was really accomplished in the rodeo circuit, and like Sven had mentioned, she could live anywhere she wanted, even if she had grown up in their town.  The thought of not seeing his brother on a daily basis was one that made him a little sad.  The only solace was that he had Anna now, and she would fill that loneliness with her amazing and supporting love.

Then he thought about things that bothered him and ended up having to force himself to push them from his mind.  It was hard for him to do that sometimes.  The dark thoughts liked to build, and he had to remind himself that there was way, way worse things in life than any issue he was currently facing.  Him and Sven had gotten into an argument about it once, that perhaps it was a touch of depression that made him feel that way, because as much as he tried to practice positive thinking, sometimes it was too damn hard.  His brother, the insufferable optimist, just didn’t deal with what Kristoff did sometimes.

He dozed off and on for a bit before he heard Sven moving about the kitchen and decided to join him.  He gently rolled Anna off his arm and got up to put his jeans and shirt on, then quietly shut the door behind him. 

“Hey brother,” he said, walking up to where Sven was digging around in the fridge.

“I feel like shit,” Sven answered, and straightened with a jug of milk in his hand.

Kristoff chuckled.  “Me too.  Where you keepin’ your Advil these days?”

Sven pointed jerked his thumb over his shoulder as he stood at the counter, pouring milk into a glass.  “Bedside table.  I’m sore almost every night lately.  Getting older his bullshit.”

“It sure is.”  Kristoff went into the bedroom and grabbed the bottle.  Back in the kitchen, he shook two pills into his hand and two into Sven’s outstretched palm.  He was handed a glass of milk and they downed the pills.

As much as Kristoff didn’t particularly like drinking milk by itself, it helped with the nauseous feeling that came with taking a painkiller on an empty stomach.

“I was gonna go back to bed and wallow in my own self-pity, but since you’re up we can wallow together.”

He chuckled and they both sat at the kitchen table.  “What are we doing for breakfast?”

“Diner.  Me need greasy food.”

Kristoff looked at the wall clock in Sven’s kitchen, a little surprised how late they’d all slept in.  “The Royal Duke opens in a half hour.”

Sven snapped his finger and pointed at Kristoff.  “Greasy Pub food!  Better idea.  You’re driving.”

“You gonna chase your meal with a Bloody Mary like you normally do?”  His brother made a motion like he was going to be sick and Kristoff laughed.  “Coffee it is then.”

“Morning!” came a cheery voice from behind them.

“Mornin’ Anna.  How’d you sleep?” Sven asked.

“Not too bad, actually.”

Kristoff stood up and turned to give her a kiss before she wandered in the direction of the bathroom.  He sat back down with a happy sigh. 

“I like seeing you like this.”

Kristoff smiled.  He liked feeling like this.  It was everything he had ever wanted.  “She’s the one, Sven.  There’s no question.”

Sven’s smile was as brilliant as it was emotional.  “Fuckin’ A, Brother.  Fuckin’ A.”

---

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Big Sky Ranch -12

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 3451

Chapter Index

*Content warning in tags!*

-------------------------

Anna was clearing up the dishes from the supper that she had made while Mr. Weadick read a book at the kitchen table when the doorbell rang.  She wiped her hands on her apron and went to answer it.   Sven was standing there with a scraggly looking middle-aged guy in a trucker cap.

“Hey Anna,” Sven greeted her warmly.  “Got a new hire to meet the old man.”

“Oh sure,” she said, and stood back to let the men enter.

“Well, hey there,” the stranger said directly to her, as he stepped through the threshold, eyeing her up and down.

Sven turned quickly to the other man and brought up a finger.  “She’s taken.”

The man held up his hands.  “My apologies.  She yours?”

“No, my brothers.  Now drop it.”

The man gave him a rather exaggerated apologetic look while managing to appear thoroughly amused. 

Anna brought them into the kitchen and they took a seat at the table with Mr. Weadick.  She busied herself with cleaning up from the rest of dinner, listening to the interview.  The guy, apparently having just arrived in town, had worked hard with Buck all day.  Mr. Weadick threw him some tough questions and he seemed to manage them easily.   In the end, he was welcomed on and Anna had to wonder if Buck was going to get along with him sharing the house. 

She couldn’t quite place it, but there was something about the guy – Bill, apparently – that seemed a little off.   Perhaps it was the rather lewd look he’d given her when Sven wasn’t paying attention when they were leaving the kitchen.  Maybe it just creeped her out a bit now that she was with Kristoff.  She’d had plenty of looks like that before from her ex’s friends and at the diner by certain men, and never thought much of them beyond plain disgust. 

With everything cleaned up and prepped for the morning, she bid her boss a good evening and happily went down to the ranch houses to help Coop with their supper.

He was planning on doing smokies on the grill and there wasn’t much to help with, so Anna sat in one of the lawn chairs and waited for the rest of the ranch hands while she chatted with Coop.  Kristoff, Sven and Jett filtered in a short time later and Anna was happy to see her boyfriend.  Bill was chatting with Buck, having accepted the invitation for dinner, and seemed to pay her little attention.

The guys put the horses away and everyone shot the shit over a beer before Coop fired up the grill to cook the smokies.  Anna was pretty tired with how much her and Kristoff had been going at it, and she happily let him handle the BBQ while she relaxed with the other guys.

“We should eat outside,” Coop said, looking over his shoulder from the BBQ as he brushed it clean to cook on.

“Sounds good,” Sven said, and everyone else agreed.  “I’ll grab the condiments and shit.”

“I’ll grab another round a beers,” Buck added.

“I gotta take a piss,” Kristoff said quietly to himself and got up with a faint groan.  He threw a smile Anna’s way and went into Sven’s place.

“Oh, I should grab that little folding table from the stables for the fixins’,” Coop said and turned away from the grill.

Anna looked to see that Bill and Jett were in a conversation and she didn’t want Coop to grab it with his broken arm.  She stood.  “I got it, just tell me where it is.”

“Oh, it’s somewhere buried in the storage room at the back.  Thanks, Anna!”

She took off for the stables and opened the man door beside the barn doors.  The smell of horse was prevalent, yet there was a cleanliness to it.  Coop was doing a great job managing it himself with his broken arm. 

Anna walked the length of the stable to the storage room.  Looking in, she spied it right away and went to grab it.  She was leaning over to lift it when someone grabbed her ass, hard.

Anna turned, startled, half expecting to see Kristoff grinning at her.  What she saw instead was a threatening and seriously creepy look from Bill.  “What the hell-”

He moved as quick as a snake strike, clamping his hand against her mouth.  He didn’t say anything as he shoved her towards the wall, slamming her back painfully against it.

“You stay quiet if you know what’s good for ya,” he hissed, as his hand came up and grabbed her breast through her shirt and squeezed painfully.  “We gonna have a quick little party in this room here.”

Anna’s fight response kicked in and she did the only thing she could think to do in that moment, which was to bring up her knee as fast and hard as she could.  It connected with the man’s testicles with a satisfying thud.

He dropped her and doubled over.  Anna turned and ran out of the stables, banging her shoulder against the jam of the man door and stumbling to her knees on the ground outside.  She looked up wildly to see who would help her, when Kristoff looked casually over at the movement in her direction as he descended the steps from Sven’s house.

His face changed instantly, and his entire body snapped into action.  If she thought Bill had moved fast, there was nothing as fast as the way Kristoff started charging in her direction to see her on her hands and knees with a pleading look for help.  Only his focus wasn’t on her, it was on the open door to the stables.  He didn’t even look at her as he barreled past and into the building.

The next thing Anna heard was the sound of a fist hitting a face, something she’d never even heard in her entire life until that fight that Boone had gotten into with Kristoff.

Anna scrambled to her feet, looking at the other men near the house.  Jett and Coop were wide eyed with a confused ‘what the fuck?’ expression on their faces, and Sven had his arms full of condiments as he’d been following Kristoff out of the house.  He locked eyes with her.

“Kristoff’s gonna kill him,” Anna yelled to his brother.

Sven dropped everything in his arms and charged forward with instant understanding.  Anna scrambled to her feet and beat him to the door and ran inside.  As she’d expected, Bill was on his back on the stable floor, taking hit after hit to the forearms that were trying to protect his face and failing half the time to do so.

“Kristoff!  Kristoff!”

He wasn’t listening, his face twisted with that rage she’d seen when he was choking Boone.  

Sven came in and launched himself at Kristoff’s back.  “Kris, stop!  Stop!”  He put his arm around Kristoff’s neck and tried to haul him back while he mercilessly kept pummeling the man on the floor.  Jett and Coop ran into the stable a moment later, and upon seeing what was happening, tried to help haul Kristoff off of the prone man.

There was a struggle until Buck appeared in the threshold of the door and used his incredibly loud voice.  “Stop it you fucks!”

Kristoff finally relented and the ranch hands were able to haul him away from the other man and up to his feet.  Bill was scrambling away on his ass, screaming about how crazy Kristoff was pretty much every curse word Anna had ever heard.  His face was a bloody mess, and it was clear that his nose was badly broken.

Her cowboy was panting with clenched teeth, his wild, furious eyes locked on Bill as he scrambled to his feet.   Kristoff remained silent, seething, while every other man on his side started shouting at Bill.  It was hard to make out what they were saying, they were all shouting over each other, but it all had similar tones of ‘fucking off’, ‘getting lost’ and ‘you come back and we’ll kill you’.  In the end, Bill heeded their advice and ran from the stable.

When he left, Kristoff was still panting, staring ahead down the length of the stable.  Every man holding him back released their grip slowly, like they were afraid he’d take off after Bill.  Instead, he sank slowly to his knees and hung his head between his slumped shoulders.

“Come on,” Sven said quietly to the other men, and they retreated slowly, all looking down at the ground.

Kristoff remained where he was, still breathing deeply while Anna could only stare at him.   She was a little shocked, a little scared, and madly in love.  He’d been hitting Bill mercilessly, and yet the man was still able to take to his feet.  A man Kristoff’s size could have easily bashed Bills face in in the time it took Sven and the others to haul him off, and as crazed as Kristoff had looked while he pummeled the man, Bill was still able to leave under his own power.  That kind of restraint spoke volumes.

Anna walked over to him and slid her hands onto his shoulders.  They tensed at the touch only did not relax.  She started to rub his rock-hard shoulders.  “I fucking love you so much.”

He let out an exhale and his entire body finally relaxed a little.  He pulled in a shaky breath like he was on the verge of tears.  “What exactly did he do?” he whispered.

Anna suddenly understood.  Kristoff knew Bill had hurt her, only he didn’t know how.  And to him, that didn’t matter.  All he knew when he looked at her was that she was in trouble, and he acted.

“He groped me,” she said with a wince, unsurprised he tensed up again under her hands.  “But I’m fine.  I kneed him in the balls.”

He was silent for a moment and then there was a very light shaking of his shoulders with a nearly silent chuckle.  “Atta girl.”

She moved around him and kneeled in front of him, ignoring her clean jeans on the dusty stable floor, then hooked her finger under his chin so that he would look at her.  “I never once worried about my safety, Kristoff.  I knew you were here.”

His eyes darted away from hers.  “I shouldn’t have left you alone.  That guy had a creepy vibe.”

Anna would have chuckled if this wasn’t so serious.  “Well, he’s gone now.  So, let’s just go eat, okay?”

His eyes rolled slowly back to meet hers.  “Where?”

Anna understood by the look he was giving her, his brows turned up with worry.  Her hand came up and she touched her palm lightly to her left breast.  “Here.”

His lips pursed in rage again.  “I’m so sorry.”

That surprised her.  “Don’t be sorry for his actions!  You set him straight.  I’m sure he’ll think twice before doing anything like that again.”

“He won’t.” 

His eyes seared into her, and she shook her head slightly, wondering again the ways of men.  There was so much goodness in them, and yet so much evil.  At least for her experiences, the good ones far outweighed the bad.

“Come on,” she said, standing to her feet and reaching out for him to grab his hands with an encouraging smile.  “Let’s go eat.”

He looked up at her, regarding her, then nodded and stood up.  As soon as he was on his feet, he pulled her into a fierce hug.  “I fucking love you so much, too.”

He held onto her as long as she let him until she decided it was over and she let go of him and waited.  While he did not want to, he knew it was time to do the same.  He looked back down at her face when they pulled apart, his mind still clouded with fury.   Despite the fact that the old man was a pretty good judge of character, they’d all missed something with that guy.

Anna asked again if they could go eat and he was helpless to resist, even if he wanted to just take her back to the cabin and barricade themselves in.  She was hungry and he didn’t have much on hand, so they left the stables to eat some smokies.

The scene that was unfolding at the grill was tense.  Every man was on their feet, speaking harshly to one another.

“… fucking know better, Buck!” Sven was shouting in the older man’s face.

“You and the old man are the assholes that hired him!” Buck shot back. 

Coop shouted, “Where the hell was Jett when Bill took off?!  They was talking a minute before!”

“I had to take a leak too!” Jett threw up his arms.  “I went around the side of the house to piss!  You’re the one that let her get that table on her own!”

“She offered!” Coop shouted, holding up his casted arm.  “I was grillin’ the dogs, I didn’t see him take off for the stables!”

Sven turned his rage on the group.  “None of that matters!  Buck saw him suckin’ at a flask all day and didn’t say nonthin’”.

“I was gonna tell you after he left and see how you assholes wanted to handle it!” Buck shouted, taking a step towards Sven with a raised fist.  “Not like we’re exactly innocent of doing the same thing from time to time, and we’re hurtin’ for help here!”

The arguing continued and Kristoff had had about all he could take.  His nerves were already fried.  “Enough!” he roared.

The four other men looked at their direction, all eyes on him until they realized Anna was beside him and every focus went to her.

“I’m so fucking sorry, Anna,” Sven said, getting a little choked up.  “I thought the dude was on the level.”

His eyes slipped to Kristoff and he saw the panicky apology in them.  He wasn’t mad at his bother, but it wasn’t so easy to let go of so much sudden adrenaline and his furrowed brow refused to relax.  No one would have guessed that the guy would try and pull something like that with them all around, even if he had been nipping at a flask all day long.  Perhaps he figured it was his only chance to get as far as he could.  The dude clearly had a screw loose.  Not that any of that mattered to Kristoff.  If he ever saw the guy again, he’d resume beating him.

“Sven, it’s okay!” Anna was saying, bringing his focus back to her.  “I thought he was okay too!  When you guys were up at the house he seemed on the level.”

Sven’s eyes turned to the ground.  “I’m sorry,” he muttered again, looking more than ashamed.

Kristoff knew it was because his brother had looked to him for a reaction and only received a hard stare.  He was still furious.  And ashamed of himself too.  If the other guys hadn’t stopped him, he wasn’t sure if he would have stopped himself. 

“It’s my fault, Anna,” Coop piped up, speaking quickly and looking as sacred as a rabbit in a snare.  “I should’ve got that table myself.”

“I offered!” Anna protested.

“I should’ve said something about the flask right away,” Buck said to the ground.  “Even though he was a hard worker and got a bunch of shit done, that’s still not right.  I’m sorry, Anna.”

Before she could open her mouth, Jett spoke up.  “He glanced at you headin’ to the stables when I got up to take a piss.  I should’ve clued in on that.”

“Guys!” Anna pleaded.  “Please, I’m fine!”  She reached down blindly and Kristoff knew she was looking for his hand.  He slid his into hers.  “I knew y’all would protect me.”

The way she said that, mimicking their accent, made every single man relax their shoulders and smile ever so slightly.

“I know you boys got my back,” she added, in the same fashion, and the last of the animosity dissolved into nervous chuckles.

Kristoff looked down at her when she turned her face up to him.  Her eyes were pleading, and he understood.  Crisis was averted, and Anna did not want to dwell on what happened.  He nodded once at her.

He turned back to the ranch hands.  “Let’s just eat and forget about that fuckin’ piece of shit.”

-----

As soon as they stepped into Kristoff’s cabin and shut the door, he turned and pulled her into a protective hug.  “I’m so sorry.”

Anna let out a quick exhale of air against him.  “I know!  That’s all you guys did all night long was apologize! It wasn’t your fault!”

He knew she was mad and she tried to pull away.  He held her tight, unable to let go, and his eyes welled up with tears.  He sniffed and Anna relaxed in his embrace, allowing him to hold her for a very long moment while they breathed against one another.

His mind was a wreck.  He hated what happened, he hated himself, and he hated that fucker Bill like nobody’s business.  He didn’t think there was anything that could pull him out of his current mood.   Anna moved away from his hug and brushed her palm against his crotch.  He was unfazed.

He shied away from her, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt he would not be able to perform.  He was still mad and had an overpowering sense that he’d failed her.  It was also hurting him that she wanted normalcy and he was unable to provide it.  He paced the kitchen, mind lost in troubling thoughts.

“Kristoff, talk to me, please.  I’ve never seen you like this.”

He wasn’t sure what to say.  They’d talked about it a bit over supper, with Anna constantly telling the guys to stop apologizing.  In the end they’d let it go, but the meal wasn’t a happy one.  The mood was low.

Sven had pulled Kristoff into a hug before he took Anna back to the cabin.  It was rare of him to do so in front of the other guys, and Kristoff had greatly appreciated it and hugged his brother back tightly, letting him know that all was right with them.  The only person he blamed for what happened to Anna was himself.

Anna crossed her arms in front of her chest.  “You’re being ridiculous.”

That immediately pissed him off all over again.  “He groped you,” he said through gritted teeth.

She dropped her arms with a frustrated sigh.  “It’s not the first time that’s ever happened to me.”

His eyebrows shot up.  “It’s not?”  It surprised him.  He knew there were a lot of bad dudes out there and he knew the shit that women faced on a daily basis, he just hadn’t really thought about anything like that happening to her before.  Why would he?  Thinking on such things would be torturous.

Anna sat on the couch and patted the seat beside her.  He sat obediently, ready to hear what she had to say.

“One of my ex’s friends got too friendly one night when he was drunk.  He was always giving me dirty looks and gross suggestions, like I should serve them drinks in my lingerie.  And when my ex caught his friend when he had backed me into a corner and had his hand up my skirt, he blamed me.  They both did.  Said I’d been flirty and it was my fault.”

Kristoff didn’t think he could be any angrier, and here he was, seeing red with his hands balled up into tight fists and his teeth clenched so tightly it hurt.  He was vaguely aware that his body had started to shake.

Anna put her hand on his forearm.  “That’s why I haven’t told you about that stuff, Kristoff.  Your protectiveness is pretty intense.”

He thought on that a moment and then did his best to let go of the tension in his body.  It was true, and something he supposed he might have to work on.  Anna wanted to let it go and get right back to living happy and he was holding her back.

“Okay, Anna.  I get it.  I’ll work on that.”

She smirked at him.  “Not too much, I hope.  I do like it.  Just, you know, when I say I’m good, I’m good.  Okay?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

That made her smile, which made him happy, and he was finally able to let go of the simmering rage he felt.  It abated, but the anger did not.  He had a feeling it never would.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 11

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 3139

Chapter Index

----------------------------------------

Anna woke to the smell of… something.  It was meat.  Not bacon though.  Sausage maybe?  Ham?  Her stomach rumbled.

She rolled over and looked at his alarm clock, thinking again how cute it was that he had an alarm clock, and saw it was just about four in the morning.  Despite the tiredness she felt, she smiled.  She truly had never been happier in life, and things with Kristoff were just getting started.

Settling back into the incredibly comfortable bed, Anna figured she could lounge in the covers until he came to wake her.  Then a faint sound broke through the closed bedroom door and Anna shot bolt upright in bed.

“It was seven hundred fenceposts from your place to ours Neither one of us was old enough to drive a car…”

Kristoff was singing!

Not even caring that she was naked, she moved quickly to the door and opened it to hear him better.   He was standing at the stove with his back to her in nothing but a pair of jeans.  From the very top of her head, all the way down to her toes, her body tingled with sudden intensity.  She shivered as her skin broke out in gooseflesh listening to him.

“…I'd start walking your way You'd start walking mine We'd meet in the middle 'Neath that old Georgia pine

We'd gain a lot of ground 'Cause we'd both give a little And their ain't no road too long When we meet in the middle

It's been seven years tomorrow since we said our vows Under that old pine tree, you ought to see it now Standing in the back yard reminding me and you That if we don't see eye to eye there's something we can do…”

Anna hadn’t even realized she carried herself into the kitchen and was standing right behind him in a sort of a trance while he pushed sausages around in a frying pan with a spatula.  Even though he was singing quietly, likely so that he didn’t bother her, his voice was glorious and rich.

“I'd start walking your way You'd start walki-AHHHHH!”

He’d startled her by her starling him when he’d turned around to get something from his fridge, and she jumped, taking a step back.

“Jesus, Anna!”  He grabbed at his bare chest.  “You nearly gave me a heart attack.”

Yeah, well, he nearly gave her a heart attack with his absolutely heavenly singing voice.  Sven was right, he could sing like an angel.

He looked down at her.  “And you’re still naked.”

Anna shook her head and crossed her arms.  “How dare you.”

He seemed a little taken aback.  “What?”

She turned and started walking back towards the bedroom.  “Turn off those sausages or they’ll burn.”  She paused at the door and looked back.  He was standing there, looking very confused.  “Hurry up or I’ll start without you.”  She reached down and smacked her hand against her bare ass cheek.

His faced morphed into an ‘Oh, I get it’ expression and he promptly turned off the burner on the stove and hurried after her.

-----

Anna’s day started at six a.m. by making Mr. Weadick his breakfast.  He’d requested blueberry pancakes and Anna made them from a recipe in the old beat-up cookbook.  The first pancakes came out a little burnt since she was unfamiliar with cooking in cast iron, so she put them aside, adjusted the heat down, and made him better ones.  She tasted the slightly burned ones while she cleaned up.  The batter was delicious, and she could see why he wanted to use the family recipe.

After that she set about doing the laundry and the dusting while she thought about Kristoff.   She was a little sore from their lovemaking the night before and that morning.  It was a nice kind of sore though, a welcome sore that just made her happy thinking about being with him.  At his voice!  That song ran through her mind all day in his stunning voice, even though she didn’t really know all the words.  Anna could not wait to get him to sing for her again.

He asked her, afterward, as they laid side by side panting together, ‘how dare he’ what, and she explained that on top of everything, the lovemaking, the hotness of him, his incredible physique, the fact that he was making her breakfast again, and that his voice was more beautiful that she had even imagined, that he was just too damn perfect.  He’d laughed and kissed her and said that she was perfect one, that they were perfect for each other, and she had agreed with him on the latter.

Anna had brought her travel bag packed with things to stay with Kristoff into the cabin in the morning after their breakfast, and she had an idea that maybe she’d just ask him to straight up move in when the week was done.  They were both looking at having Saturday off, and while he did have a few chores on Sunday, they were light, and he said he’d only be a couple of hours.

After she made Weadick his lunch, another simple sandwich, she asked him about what kind of meals he would like over the weekend so that she could make and store them for him.  She thought he might grumble and just tell her to figure it out, but he was surprisingly willing to go through the book with her to see what she was and wasn’t comfortable making.  In the end, he chose a lasagna that he said would do him for both suppers over the weekend, and that if she just made some waffles he could heat up in the toaster, he was more than capable of using the leftovers from the week for his lunches.  It was a lot easier than Anna assumed it was, although she knew things were going to get harder the more time went on.  There were a few recipes in the old book that she wasn’t too sure about and didn’t want to mess up.

After lunch she finished the laundry and put it away, then took it upon herself to try her hand at a pie.  Weadick was in his upstairs study working on something, and she figured if he didn’t want the pie, or if it sucked, she could take it to the ranch hands… or throw it in the trash.

There were apples in the fridge, and while they weren’t Grany Smith like the recipe in the old book called for, she figured they’d do for her first ever stab at making the pastry.  Which proved harder than she thought, even with the recipe.  The dough was finnicky, and the first attempt was too crumbly and was hard to roll out.  She googled it and discovered she might need to add more water and to refrigerate the dough for at least an hour.

Her next attempt at the dough was much better, and she put the pie together and slid it into the oven.  While it baked, she went through the recipes again and googled anything she wasn’t sure of and tips and tricks for certain things.  He did warn her that he wanted a steak on Friday night, so she spent a considerable amount of time looking up grilling tips, the most common of which was to use a meat thermometer to achieve the doneness you want.  Looking through the kitchen drawers, Anna found one.  It would come in handy for the pork chop he wanted her to pan fry for him that evening.

When the pie was done, she pulled it from the oven and wished she’d remembered to check on it.  The edge of the crust seemed a little dark, and there was a note in the book to cover the edge with tin foil if it was getting burnt.  So, her first attempt at a pie wasn’t so great.  At least it still looked edible.

Weadick wandered into the kitchen a short time later.

“You’ve made a pie,” he stated, looking neither pleased nor displeased. 

“Um, yes,” Anna answered him, hoping she hadn’t overstepped or made it awful.  “I figured I should take a stab at it, you know, for when you really want a pie, so I don’t mess it up.”

“Crust looks a little burnt on the edges.”

Anna looked back down at the pie.  Somehow it looked worse than when she’d first pulled it from the oven.  “Uh, yeah.  It does.”  She looked back up at him and gave him what she hoped was an encouraging smile.  “But now I know how to prevent that for next time.”

He regarded her closely a moment, then said, “Well, let’s try it then.  It smells good.”

She nodded and quickly set about getting him a slice of pie.  It cut better than Anna felt it would, even if the burnt edge pretty much crumbled all over the place.  Part of her really wanted to try it before he did, worried that she might have messed it up, or maybe forgotten something.  She really, really, liked this job and she did not want to go back to the diner after getting a taste of what it was like to be working on the ranch with Kristoff.

She set the plate in front of him where he’d sat at the kitchen island and went to busy herself with other things.

“Won’t you join me,” he asked.  “See how it turned out?”

Anna was a little surprised and touched by the offer.  At least then she could know if it did taste good or not.  She served herself a slice and sat at the other end of the island on a stool. 

They each took their first bite at the same time.  Anna was immediately relieved that it was edible.  Actually, it was really good!  Perhaps a little too sweet.  Maybe that was because the apples were sweet, not tart like granny smith.  Anna reminded herself to google how to combat that for next time.

“You know what this needs?” Weadick said after he’d swallowed his first bite and stood up.  Anna worried she’d messed up something.  Why was he standing?  To throw it away?

He left his plate on the island and walked over to the fridge.  He opened the bottom freezer and grabbed something.  As soon as he turned around, Anna understood. 

After he grabbed a scoop from a kitchen drawer, he plunged it into the vanilla ice cream and put a huge scoop right beside his pie.  Then he offered it to Anna and she copied him.  The warm pie with the cold ice cream was a match made in heaven.  She was a chocolate lover, most of the desserts she liked were heavy with it, but Anna vowed to herself to practice pies at Kristoff’s to get better at making them and to have some ice cream on hand because it was damn delicious.

“For your first ever pie, I’d say this was pretty good,” Weadick said, standing from the stool and looking at her.  “Leave me a small slice for later and you can take the rest to the boys.”

Then he turned and walked out of the kitchen, presumably to go back to his study. 

Anna cleaned up their plates with a smile.  They both had the burnt crust left as neither of them wanted to eat it, but she smiled nonetheless because the rest of the pie had turned out and there was only one way to go from there.  Up.

*****

Kristoff and Sven rode back to the ranch houses with Jett in tow.  The kid knew what he was doing which was a great relief to the both of them.  Moving the cattle to another pasture was easier when they didn’t have to bark out instructions like they had to the Greenhorn when he first started.

It was still later than their normal quitting time since no one else had dropped off a resume.  At least Coop was picking up the slack wherever he could.  Sometimes it looked like was doing things he wasn’t supposed to and Buck had to yell at him to take it easy. 

Anna was sitting in one of the lawn chairs that no one had put away from the evening before, talking to Coop when they rode up.  Kristoff had to laugh to himself at the expression she was giving him to see him mounted on his horse for the first time.  It was somehow even more lusty than that look from the bar.   Her mouth was hanging all the way open and her unblinking eyes raked over his body several times.  He knew when he eventually got her on one of the beasts, he’d find it sexy as hell to see her there too.

Buck helped them stable the horses, giving Coop a break since the kid had started to complain that his arm was hurting.  Jett worked hard alongside them all, and the horses were dealt with in short order.  With all the chores done, they went to see what the Greenhorn was making for dinner, to find Anna at the Grill.

Kristoff wandered over to her and pulled her away from her task for a deep kiss, then he went into Sven’s and grabbed a round of beers for everyone.  Anna had her phone open when he passed her a beer on some kind of video about grilling steaks.  He found that adorable and kissed her again for good measure.

“How to you boys like your steaks?” she asked when Kristoff sat down in a lawn chair.

Nearly in tandem, all five men said, “Medium-rare.”

Anna laughed to herself and said, “Alright then.”

Kristoff chatted with Anna about her day while she did the steaks.  Coop said he’d already made some mashed potatoes and green beans he was keeping warm in the oven.  When the steaks were done, they all went inside to eat, gathering around Sven’s table.

There was laughter and excitement amongst the six people as they enjoyed their meal.  It hadn’t been this relaxed in mood for a long time, and Kristoff felt like there was going to be some real positive change on the horizon.  Having Anna working on the ranch being around him as much as possible, was like the biggest breath of fresh air to him.

Everyone gave Anna props for nailing the cook on the steaks, and she laughed saying that the meat thermometer she’d used was a life saver, otherwise she would have accidentally cooked the hell out of them. 

Buck and Jett busied themselves with cleaning up and Anna served up everyone a piece of the pie she’d made earlier.  She appeared adorably sheepish as she handed them out and explained the edge got a little burnt, yet every man there ate every last bite of that pie, burnt crust and all.  It was delicious.

Throughout their meal, Kristoff and Anna had been eyeing each other, and since they were now done supper, they hastily left for the cabin on one of the quads.  Much like the night before, they were on each other as soon as the door was shut.

Ever since that first time they’d come together, he’d wanted her to have her way with him again.  He told her so and her answer was “sure, I’ll save a horse and ride a cowboy”.  It made him laugh long and hard, Anna giggling with him as they undressed each other with goofy smiles and anticipation shining in their eyes.

-----

She was laying pressed against his side, her arm resting on his stomach and her fingers tracing little shapes against his chest.

“I’m glad I nailed those steaks for you guys.  It was great practice.  Mr. Weadick wants me to make that for him on Friday.”

He smiled at the ceiling.  “You’ll do great.  Those steaks were perfect.”

“So, do you guys eat together every night?”

“Quite often.  Sometimes we do our own things.  Every once in a while, someone will want to go out to grab a bite, or if I’m tired, I just come back here and cook something for myself.”

“Can I make just the two of us dinner, on Saturday?”

“Sure.”

“And will you take me out to the bar on Friday night?  I learned how to line dance, and I really want to join in this time.”

He chuckled softly.  “Absolutely.  As long as you’re cool with the boys taggin’ along.  They won’t want to miss out.”

“Of course!  The more the merrier.  And now we don’t have to worry about Boone and his idiot friends ruining the fun.”

“That’s right.”

They both fell silent, Kristoff enjoying Anna’s fingers against his chest and her breathing against his side.  The moment stretched on, until Anna broke the silence.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Do you ever think about the future?”

He turned his head to look at her and met her gaze.  “Sometimes, sure.”

“What do you think about?”

He shrugged.  “I dunno.  Maybe things that might seem a little fast… like you movin’ in?”

Anna gave him a beautiful smile.  “Is that an invitation?”

“It is.”

“Then yes.  But I need to ask first, if there’s other things you think about… like… family.”

Kristoff understood at once what she was asking and why.  This was the dealbreaker conversation.  It made him a little nervous.  “Um, to be completely honest, I haven’t really thought about that, Anna.”

She frowned slightly.  “Because you don’t want kids?”

He sat up and Anna followed him, clutching the sheets to her chest.  He turned to face her and gave her a reassuring smile.  “Anna, I haven’t thought about it because I have never been with anyone I thought I could ever have that with.  Ever even wanted to have that with.  You understand?”

She nodded, still looking a little sad.

“That was, until I met you,” he added, and her apprehension relaxed.  “I was being honest, I really haven’t thought much past you livin’ with me, and if you’re lookin’ for an answer about that, it’s yes, Anna.  With you… I want kids.”

Her eyes started to shine and she nodded quickly.  “Okay.  That’s good.  Because I do too.”

Kristoff sighed.  These very real feelings he was having were not going to remain at bay very long.  Might as well get it out in the open so that he could free himself of the burden of holding it in.  “I love you, Anna.”

Her lips parted and she pulled in the softest gasp.  Then she gave him the most heartbreakingly beautiful smile.  “I love you, too.”

---

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Big Sky Ranch - 10

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 2859

Chapter Index

------------------------------------

Mr. Weadick had her make him scrambled eggs and sausage for breakfast with a cup of fruit on the side.  Anna was a little relieved her first task was easy.  She could definitely scramble eggs. 

The massive chef’s kitchen was a dream.  It was well laid out, a large island lined with stools dominating the middle of the room.  In an alcove opposite the entryway there was the kitchen table with room enough for eight.  The cabinets went all the way to the ceiling and the butler’s pantry was bigger than Anna’s own kitchen in her basement suite.  It was complete with wine fridge and its own separate stove, which Anna would likely not use anyway.  The large chef’s stove in the kitchen proper was the one she fell in love with.  Not to mention the huge Wolf double door refrigerator.   Cooking in a kitchen so well equipped was definitely going to help her along the way.

After breakfast, which he’d thanked her for, he showed her around the house and pointed out the light housework he wanted her to do, making comments here and there about the structure and when it was modified and added on to by the previous generations.  It was a bit of a maze.  Then he showed her his well-stocked library if she had down time when the tasks were done between meals, she was told she was welcome to read, making a careful point that the ‘tasks’ included prepping his meals if she wasn’t going to be around.

The next thing he showed her was a rattly looking, hand-written recipe book that had been passed down from generation to generation.  He told her to familiarize herself with many of the recipes, as that’s what he usually wanted for his suppers.  Anna had done so, amazed with the recipes and reading all the notes made in the margins as things changed with times, like using butter instead of lard or swapping honey for sugar.

She was still buried nose deep in the recipe book when Weadick wandered into the kitchen and requested lunch.  Again, he wanted a simple sandwich that Anna was able to whip up in no time.  As he ate, he asked her more questions, such as if she could use a grill.  She had to admit she did not, and his answer had been ‘you better learn’.  She’d seen a BBQ in the far corner of Kristoff’s front porch.  She was confident he could teach her.

And that was another thing.  If this worked out for her and she had a permanent job on the ranch, she wanted to live with Kristoff.  Hell, already she was thinking about going back to her place after work to gather some things to stay with him a while.  Only, that was rather presumptuous, wasn’t it?  Just because she wanted to be in his space, didn’t mean he wanted her in it.  It was moving rather quickly after all.  Perhaps if she had a chance to talk to him later, she could test out the subject with him.  

It made her happy to think of being there with him.  If Weadick took early suppers, perhaps she could join Kristoff for his?  The old man mentioned that Coop could cook for them while he healed.  Did that mean they ate together all the time?  Perhaps took turns prepping dinner?  Would Kristoff be happy to come back to his cabin for a meal she’d prepared for just the two of them?  It was something they hadn’t yet really talked about, and Anna realized it was a blank spot when she thought about what his days were like.

She had wondered perhaps not so long ago if she could be happy living this kind of ranch life and worried that she could not.  Only now, after the more time she spent there, the more time she spent with Kristoff, there was a pull in her towards it.  Maybe the country songs she’d been listening to were making her soft for a simpler life.  It certainly was a far cry from what she’d known her entire life, growing up and living in a big, busy city with anything she could think of at her fingertips.  She had a feeling Amazon didn’t deliver out to a place so remote, and that didn’t really bother her one bit. 

Now that she felt like she could have a place, a real place, on the ranch, she was alight with excitement, just like she was on her drive over that morning to offer Kristoff any help she could.

When she was done cleaning up from lunch, Weadick gave her a grocery list and told her he wanted to see what her stroganoff tasted like, and if it was good enough, he’d put up with the time it took her to learn things like how to grill and make a pie; she’d had to admit she didn’t know how to do that well either.  Anna imagined with all of the cattle on the ranch, that he often ate steaks, and there were plenty of pie recipes in the old cookbook.

She told him her car was at the cabin, so Weadick drove her over to it in his very brand-new looking Dodge truck.  It even had that new car smell.  He told her to park back at the house when she returned since she’d have groceries and all, and she wondered again where the night for her was going to lead when she was done work. 

She drove into town, stopping at the diner first to let her boss know she was moving on.  He was upset until she mentioned her new employer, then he was oddly accepting of Anna’s short notice to leave them without a waitress. 

With that done, she went to the store he told her to go to and got everything he’d asked for.  Then she took a chance and quickly stopped by her place to grab some things in case Kristoff was on board with her staying with him for a bit.  Or maybe, from now on?  Anna had to admit to herself, she was falling in love hard and fast with the big blond cowboy.  The connection they had was impossible to describe.   Or deny.

He was so unlike anyone she’d ever known before.  So genuine.  The disappointment on his voice the night before when he cancelled their date had been profound.  And the way he’d just accepted her barging into his place in the morning and basically forcing herself onto him.   Anna just knew, had a feeling deep in her soul, that he was absolutely the one.

Unlike her ex.  He’d been so falsely supportive, encouraging her to take on new things that he would like and getting mad or disappointed when she couldn’t master them right away.  Like golf.  Or how he’d made her learn a bunch of cocktails to serve to his friends when he entertained in the den; Serving drinks, the only time she was allowed in there.  He would get upset on behalf of his friends when she made White Russians and they curdled, despite her telling him several times that you can’t make a double in a short glass.  That much Vodka will always curdle the cream, and if his friends wanted a double shot White Russian in a short glass, she was supposed to make it work.

Assholes.

The first thing Kristoff and his friends had done after she’d talked to him at the bar and defended him in that fight, was invite her back to have drinks with them where they laughed and shared stories and Anna had one of the best times in her life at that point.  She felt instantly and completely accepted by the group of men.  That, right there, was the contrast from her old life.  She hadn’t yet told Kristoff much about her ex or anything that had happened, and somehow, she knew that he would be furious to hear about it.  That almost insane look of rage on his face when he was choking out Boone after he tapped her chin… this man would lay down his life for her, she had no doubt.

Okay, so maybe the notion of falling in love hard and fast was foolish thinking.  She was definitely already there.  More than already there.  And she aimed to let Kristoff know, because every so often he would look at her with a touch of sadness that seemed like he was afraid she’d bolt away from him at any moment.

*****

All day Kristoff wondered how Anna’s day was going.  He was confident she would not disappoint the old man, only he’d never really spent all that much time with the guy since his son died.  He wondered often what Weadick did in his house all day while he ignored the world around him.

The idea of her working on the ranch thrilled him.  How wonderful would it be to have her around him all the time when the workday was done.  It made him smile like an idiot to think she might want to move in with him in the cabin someday soon.

Sven noticed of course, and he was teased mercilessly. 

The mood had lightened between all the men when Sven showed up with a guy after he’d returned from town.  He’d been leaving his resume with the woman that held them for the ranch when Sven walked up and told him to follow him back to the ranch because his interview was going to be how he handled himself that day.

His name was Jett, and he turned out to be a solid dude who had a decent amount of ranch experience in the area.  They all meshed with him right away, and at the end of the day when Sven took him up to the house to meet old man Weadick, it agreed he was to be hired and start right away.

Sven and Jett returned from the main house with Anna in tow.  Kristoff didn’t think he’d be so happy to see her.

Ignoring everyone else, he went to her.  “Hey Baby!”  He leaned over and kissed her quickly.  “How was it?”

“It was awesome!” she said, her excitement like a breath of life into his soul.  “I do have some things to learn.  You can teach me how to grill, right?  I have such a good feeling about this!”

He grinned at her.  “That’s awesome!  Yeah, I can teach you a thing or two, although Sven is the better griller than I am, I must admit.”

She laughed jovially.  “Perfect!  I’m sure between the two of you I can pick it up in no time.”

The other men were bidding Jett a good evening after it was decided that he was going to move in with Coop the next day since he was on the younger side.  And when they found someone else, he’d take up with Buck.  As Jett drove away, everyone turned to Kristoff and Anna.

“Hey Anna, you gonna stay for dinner, right?” Coop asked.  “We’re doin’ burgers.”

“Absolutely.”

She was beaming and Kristoff felt that happiness all the way down to the deepest depths of his being.  Her happiness was the only thing in the world that seemed to matter to him in the moment. 

They all headed over to Sven’s place where the BBQ resided on a couple of patio stones a few feet away from the front door.  Since the evening was warm, Buck and Sven both disappeared into the stable and came back with camp chairs and set them in a circle near the grill.  Beers were passed around and everyone took a seat and chatted about the day, mostly bombarding Anna with questions about how hers was.  She answered them with a constant grin, telling them how excited she was and that Weadick had praised the stroganoff she’d made him for supper.

The mood was lighter than it had been for a long time amongst everyone in company.  Kristoff’s cheeks actually started to hurt for how much he was smiling. 

They ate and laughed and celebrated the turn of events that led them where they found themselves, while Anna helped Coop with the burgers, jumping at her chance to start on learning to grill.  And when diner was over, Kristoff took Anna back to his cabin on one of the quads.

No sooner had he shut the door behind him, and he was on her, kissing her passionately.  She returned the favour with a fervor he felt all the way down to his toes.  An overwhelming feeling of need blossomed within him, and he undressed her as quickly as she undressed him. 

They fell into his bed, kissing and caressing and Kristoff removed his lips from hers to kiss his way down her body when she put a stop to it.

“No, I want you now, Kristoff.”

He really wanted to taste her, but he would be lying to himself if he wasn’t a little relieved to hear her say that.  The ache in his cock was ungodly.  Wasting no more time pondering the matter, he shifted over her and did what she asked of him.

“Fuck,” he muttered, making his way into her tightness.  It was a little maddening how good it felt.

Anna apparently agreed with him for every moan she gave him as he thrust deeper until he was fully enveloped within her.  He let out a shaky breath and held still for a moment, eyes closed and savoring the feeling.  Then she let out an impatient whine and he started to move again.

He had his hands braced on the bed until her arms came around his back and pulled him down on top of her.  He was a little worried about hurting her with his weight until she groaned loudly with what could only be described as delight.  Giving in, her rested himself against her and kissed her while they made love.

She held onto him tightly as he rocked his hips, her legs coming up and squeezing him around his waist with her ankles hooked behind him.  He did have great stamina, but this was giving him a serious run for his money.  Perhaps he was just exhausted.  Every time he slowed down a moment, he felt her quivering around his cock, and it pushed him further to his own edge.  The feeling was rushing towards him, and he had a moment of worry that he was going to get there before she did, when she pulled in a breathy gasp.

No sooner did the strong pulses grip his cock, he was right there with her, coming undone with one more deep thrust, dropping his face into the crook of her neck and moaning against her skin.  It took him a full minute for his mind to come back from such pleasure.

“Oh, Kristoff,” Anna said through a sigh, and kissed his temple.  “That was amazing.”

He nodded his head, unable to move from her for the moment.  It was amazing indeed, and as soon as he was ready again, he’d give her round two.  For now, he waited, relishing in the bliss that he felt.  Anna’s hands caressed his back gently.  He could feel her breathing under him, pinned against the bed, and figured he better get off of her before he crushed the air out of her or something.

Pulling out of her and rolling onto his back, he let out his own satisfied groan.  Anna slipped from the bed, and he closed his eyes, waiting until she returned from the bathroom.  While he was tired and could easily fall asleep, he wanted to have her again before he did.

His eyes opened when the bed shifted as she got into it and snuggled her naked body against his side.  He looked at her and smiled.  “I don’t suppose you’d want to stay with me while you get into rhythm working for the old man?”

Her expression, easy to see from the moonlight streaming in through the bedroom window, went blank.  “Are you serious?”

His brow furrowed.  Perhaps he was overstepping.  “Uh, well, yes.  But if you don’t, please tell me.  You won’t hurt my feel-”

She shifted up quickly, her lips smashing against his as she crawled over him.  He took that as a yes, and that made him incredibly happy, kissing her back and feeling the blood flowing slowly back into his cock.  It was going to take a little time before he was hard enough to push into her again, so he figured he’d do what he’d wanted to do earlier, and he flipped her gently off of him and onto her back. He wasted no time in kissing his way down her body as her fingers curled tightly in his hair.  A short time later, she came against his mouth, and he was ready to have her again.  She was already tugging his back to her chest, so like before, he laid himself against her.  And like before, he met his climax when she did.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 9

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit WC: 3877

Chapter Index

-------------------------------------

For the day before being the best of his entire life, the day he found himself in now was absolute horseshit. 

Davy had informed them all in the morning that he was moving back home to the East Coast to help his mother who had suffered a massive stroke.  Kristoff, Sven, Buck and the Greenhorn all felt for the guy, and silently wondered about how much it left them in the lurch to pick up his portion of the work while trying to find someone to replace him.

Old man Weadick didn’t want to be bothered with any of the menial shit that happened on the ranch, except when it came to purchasing, selling, and staffing changes.  Buck had let him know that Davy was leaving, and he told his ranch hand to handle it and bring by any perspective applicants for his personal approval after they were vetted.

Sven was sent into town to try and scrounge someone up, which meant Kristoff had to go repair the damn fencing by himself as Buck and the Greenhorn were busy with other things.  And of course, the fence that needed mending was the one for that brute of a bull, Bruce.

A couple of the fenceposts had rotted out and collapsed, leaving a tangled mess of wood and barb wire for him to sort out.  It was hard to work while he kept his eyes peeled for that damn bull.  He was just about done when the beast showed his ugly head from the thicket of trees on the north end of the pasture.  As soon as the bull locked eyes with Kristoff, he charged.

Being on the other side of the fence didn’t put him in any sort of ease.   He backed up quickly to the gator, ready to jump in as the bull surged towards him, then it skidded to a stop a nose length away from the fence and huffed at him.

“Jesus,” he muttered, watching the one-ton animal eyeing him furiously.

He had a bad feeling that one of these days that bull was going to get him.  He’d never even done anything to the animal.  It was just a mean old asshole and no one believed him.   Kristoff had to wait twenty minutes for that bull to stop staring at him before he wandered away and he could quickly finish the last of the repair by hammering in the top row of barbed wire into the newly repaired fenceposts.

Sven had no luck in finding anyone in the local hardware store who wanted work, so he left after placing an ad on the bulletin board and no one to pick up the slack.  It was perhaps an archaic practice in their day and age of computers to find someone looking for a job, but in their town, that was where ranch hands went to look for work.  With no joy, Kristoff had to call Anna and let her know he was going to be late to pick her up for their date. 

Just before they were going to quit at noon for a quick lunch, the greenhorn got buried when a couple of stacks of square bales collapsed on him in the barn.  Kristoff was the only one around to hear the commotion, and dug frantically to get him out, choking on the straw and dust.  He found the kid plenty quick enough, and as he pulled him from the stack, the kid screamed out in pain. 

Apparently, he’d broken his arm.  Kristoff had to drive him to the urgent care centre in the bigger town over, and with no other choice, left him there to go back to the ranch and finish the chores.  He had to call Anna and tell her he needed to cancel their date.  She was very understanding, likely hearing the utter dejection in his voice, and he could tell she was disappointed too.

Two hands down meant him and Sven had a lot to do.  Buck still pulled his weight and worked as hard as any of the guys.  However, he wasn’t a young man anymore.  He moved slower.  Not only that, Kristoff had to take an hour out of his chores later that afternoon when Coop called him to be picked back up from urgent care.

He had a broken ulna from where he fell onto a stack of railroad ties they used for repairing old posted gates around the property when they deteriorated.  He’d be in a cast for four to six weeks meaning he was going to be pretty useless around the ranch despite him insisting he could still work hard.  The kid had gumption at least, except you should not ride a horse with a broken arm.  The doctor specifically told him that. 

The whole incident had been his own damn fault.  He was trying to take a shortcut by pulling on a middle bale to get the stack to tip over instead of grabbing the tractor.  In the end the entire stack had come down, pulling three others along with it, burying the kid.  If anything, it was a learning experience for him.

Coop sulked in his room for the rest of the day while Kristoff and Sven worked past nightfall to finish what they needed to get done.   When they got back to Sven’s place, both men were frustrated, tired and hungry.

Kristoff tossed his hat upside down onto the couch when they entered Sven’s house and ran his hands hastily through his hair.  “Fuck today.”

“Agree,” Sven said, putting his own hat on the hook by the door.  “Think Weadick will send the kid away while he heals?  Can’t pay him if he can’t work.”

He shrugged, sitting at the kitchen table with a faint groan.  “I dunno.  Right now, I don’t really give a shit.”

Sven set a bottle of beer in front of him.  “Man, I’m sorry you had to cancel your date.  Was she pretty upset?”

Kristoff smiled faintly, shaking his head.  “Not at all.  Just disappointed.  Like me.”

It was things like this that made him afraid Anna would start to lose interest in waiting around while he broke plans.  It wasn’t the first time something unpredictable had happened on the ranch, leaving them scrambling.   He told Anna he’d keep her posted with when they could go out again and that he would be working late, meaning that they couldn’t talk after his day because she would be asleep.  They needed to find two more guys to cover for Davy leaving and Coop being injured to return to normal, and he had no idea when that was going to be. 

Sven pulled a bag of All Dressed chips from the cupboard and dumped it into a large bowl.  He brought it over to the table and set it between them as he took a seat.  All the hands agreed they were too tired to gather for and make dinner, and that they were going to just find whatever they had on hand in their own places.

“Has the kid gone up to the house to tell the old man yet?” 

Kristoff shook his head.  “Nah, he’s just sleeping it off.  I told him to do it in the morning.”  He shoved a handful of chips in his mouth.

Sven sighed.  “I kind of wish Dixie was going to be back sooner.  She could help us pick up the slack while she’s here.”

“You talk to the old man yet about her comin’ on when she’s not on the rodeo circut?”

“Eh, not quite yet,” Sven said through a mouth full.  He swallowed.  “Figured I’d talk to her first when she got back in case she changed her mind.”

“She back for that break in two weeks?”

“Yeah, she said she can stay for ten days then she has to head out again.”

He smiled.  “I bet you can’t wait to get her back for a bit.”

Sven leaned back in his chair with a loud exhale.  “Brother, you have no idea.  Phone sex ain’t nothin’ like the real thing.”

Kristoff sneered his nose.  “Dude, I don’t want to hear about that.”

He laughed.  “Let’s talk about you then.  How was last night?”  Sven waggled his eyebrows.

“Again, I am not sharing that with you.”  Kristoff took a sip of his beer, his cheeks feeling suddenly warm as he thought back to Anna making love to him.  It had been special, and he was not going to talk behind her back about it to anyone, even his brother.

Sven appraised him and nodded.  “Well, I’m glad that whatever happened with you guys, you sure did look pretty fuckin’ happy when you turned up this mornin’.”

He had been happy, and then the day turned to shit.  He had wanted to take Anna out for dinner, and maybe to the little bowling alley or something, before maybe ending back up at her place.   More than anything he wanted to have her again.  Despite the frustration of the day, it was on his mind throughout.

“You’re in love, aren’t you?”

Kristoff had been picking the label off the bottle of beer and his eyes came up quickly. 

Sven laughed heartily in response.  It was the exact same thing Kristoff had said to Sven nearly a year ago when he’d been dating Dixie for a while.  They both had a good poker face, neither of them betrayed too much emotion when they didn’t want to.  Only when it was just the two of them, well… they could read each other like an open book.

“I knew it, man.”  Sven grinned at him.  “From the moment you took a second glance at her in the diner, I knew.”

Kristoff was surprised, thinking he’d been rather subtle. “You saw that?”

“It was a long look, dude.  Yeah, I saw.”

It was hard not to smile then.  As shitty as the day had been, talking to his brother and thinking about Anna… he was indeed a happy man.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

A knock at his cabin door woke him up.

Kristoff groaned as he got up.  He looked at his alarm clock to see that it was a quarter to four in the morning.  His alarm wasn’t set to go off for another fifteen minutes.  That could only mean that whoever was at his door was there to deliver him some more bad news. 

“What now?” he muttered, blinking his bleary eyes as he made his way through the cabin.  Sven would have called him.   Buck too for that matter.  So, who the hell was at his door at this hour?

He flicked on the porch lights when he got to the door, then unlocked and opened it.  His eyes went wide.

Anna was standing there with a sweet smile, looking eager and excited.  “Hey!  I’m sorry I woke you.  I figured you were sleeping when I didn’t see any lights on, then I also guessed you might be getting up soon anyway, so I… uh…”

Her eyes went down his body as her voice trailed off.  He slept in his boxers and realized looking down that he had woken up with some morning wood.  His confused mind was taking it all in slowly as he looked back at Anna.  “What are you doing here?”

“I came to help.”

“Huh?”

“On the ranch,” she clarified.

Kristoff’s mind was still groggy with sleep.  That and she kept looking down at his body, making him a little warm under the skin.

“Come in,” he said, and stood back.  He was still trying to process what was going on.

Anna walked into his place and pushed herself into him as soon as he shut the door.  He knew what she wanted, so he kissed her gently, hoping that he didn’t have horrible morning breath or something.

“When do you have to go to work?” she asked, hands trailing down his lower back to his waist, resting on the elastic waistband of his boxer briefs.

He knew exactly what she was getting at.  Perhaps Anna would be the death of him.  “I have to get ready in about ten minutes.”

She gave him a wicked smile as she hooked her fingers between the waistband and his skin. “Well, we both know that’s more than enough time for me.”

He wondered, as he kissed her again, if there would come a time when he didn’t succumb to her whim.   He’d done it after their first date, promising himself he would be patient, only Anna wasn’t taking no for an answer.  It didn’t take him too long to cave, did it?  Just like he was doing right now, her hands sliding off his underwear as she kissed him and fondled him clumsily while she pushed him back to his bedroom.

At least they made good use of his erection.

-----

They drove over to the ranch houses in the gator Kristoff had taken home the night before.  While the morning tryst was going to make him late, it was worth it.

“So like I said,” Anna was saying to him.  “I’m here to help.”

“I thought you worked today?”

“I switched my shift.  I just felt so bad for what happened to you guys yesterday.  I sure hope Davy’s mom can recover quickly.  How is Coop doing?”

Kristoff shrugged.  “He’s okay.  Pretty choked up about getting hurt, but he’ll heal just fine.”

“Poor guy.”

His mind was still a little confused with the surprise wake up as well as the incredible, albeit quick, sex that they just had.  “So, forgive me, what are you helping with?”

“Anything!” Anna answered cheerfully.  “I figured I may not know how to ride a horse or whatever, but I can figure out how to feed some cows and stuff.”

He didn’t know what to say.  It was the sweetest gesture he could imagine.  How could he tell her that there was nothing she could do.  All the cows were grass fed from Spring to Fall.  Short of pushing them to a new pasture when they’d eaten through the one they were on, there was nothing she could do to help with that.

“Did I… overstep?”

Dammit, his silence was upsetting her.  “No, no,” he said quickly.  “Anna, it’s so nice of you to want to help… really, it’s amazing.  There’s just… not much that we can throw to you that doesn’t involve teaching you how to do it.  You understand?”

“There are things I can do without that,” she insisted, smiling at him again.  “I can muck out the horse stalls.  I’m pretty sure I can shovel horse poop without too much instruction.”

Kristoff glanced between her and where he was driving.  Fuck, he was absolutely in love with her.  Head over heels.

“Not to mention I can brush the horses.  And… well, I can make you guys lunch and dinner.  Or!  I can go and get groceries for you.  Or pick up anything you need from town.”

“Okay, Anna,” he said softly.  “We’ll see what there is.”

She nodded happily and turned her attention back to the pathway to the ranch houses.  Kristoff kept stealing glances at her, suddenly feeling a little unworthy of her.  He loved ranching, it was his life, and yet there was a little part of him that felt Anna’s life could be so much better with someone else.  That left him wondering if he could walk away from the life he’d built for himself if Anna demanded it.  Not that she ever would, and if for some reason she did, he was pretty sure he’d go… it just made Kristoff wonder how much things might change going forward.

They pulled up to the ranch houses and Buck was standing there talking to Sven.  As soon as Sven noticed Anna, he broke out into a grin.  “Anna!  Nice to see you!  What brings you in with Kristoff this morning?”

They slid out of the gator and walked over.  “I’m here to help,” she announced proudly.

Sven glanced quickly at him before looking back at Anna.  “Awesome,” he said to her. 

Kristoff saw the question in his eyes, however.  It was the same one he had.  Besides mucking stalls, what could they really give her to do that they didn’t have to take a bunch of time to teach?  A lot of what they did around the ranch actually involved a fair amount of skill.

Buck and Sven started to talk with her a bit about maybe showing her around the horses, when Kristoff noticed Coop walking back down from the main house with old man Weadick.

“Head’s up,” he said quietly to the group, and they all shushed their conversation.

The old man had a scowl on his face that Kristoff was familiar with.  It was basically permanent.  The only time he didn’t look ready to beat the shit out of somebody was when he was talking about his own ranching days.  In contrast, Coop looked miserable and sorry for himself, which Kristoff supposed he was.  While he might be able to stay while he healed, he wasn’t going to be paid for sitting around.

“Buck, Sven, Kristoff,” Weadick addressed each man with a nod of his head.  “We found ourselves in quite a predicament this morning, don’t we?”

“Yes, sir,” Sven spoke up.  “I’m headed into town this morning to try and wrangle up some help.”

“I’m taking over Davy’s chores for today,” Buck told him.

“And I’m going to pick up all the other slack,” Kristoff chimed in.  “Coop’s, and Sven’s while he’s busy.”

Weadick nodded his approval.  “Scrap the horses off your lists.  Everything except riding them is going to be Coop’s job while he heals.”

Kristoff sensed Anna stiffen at his side and spared a quick glance in her direction.  She was still smiling, only he could see there was disappointment behind it.

“You boys know I like to keep things above the board.  Coop will be knocked down in pay for not being able to contribute his full portion.  He’s gonna stay on and he can help y’all out with gettin’ food and cookin’ yer meals and all that as well.”

He looked to Anna again, her smile was gone, replaced with a patient expression that was hard to read.  His heart felt for her in that moment.  She had been so excited to help out.  So willing to lend a hand to make thigs easier on him and the guys, and everything she could have possibly taken over on her own was now assigned to Coop.  She was as generous as she was beautiful, and that love washed over him again, oddly making him a little melancholy. 

He looked back to the old man who was now looking squarely at Anna.  “And who is this?” he asked.

Kristoff’s eyes flicked over to Anna.  She looked a little taken off guard to be addressed.  “This is, Anna,” he said quickly, looking back to Weadick, knowing how intimidating the man could be.  “My girlfriend.”

Weadick didn’t take his eyes off of Anna.  “Can you cook?”

Anna’s mouth moved a second, like she wasn’t sure how to respond, then she finally spit out a response.  “I can… make food, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Can you whip up a proper meal off the top of your head based on what’s in the fridge?”

She winced.  “Um, I don’t really know… I’ve never done that before.”

“Can you follow a damn recipe?”

Kristoff watched the exchange anxiously.  Weadick was mad about something and he knew it wasn’t directed at Anna.  He just hoped she knew that, because she still looked a little shocked.  It was just the way the old man was.

“I can follow a recipe, sure,” she answered tentatively.  “Unless it’s something that involves a tricky technique or something seriously gourmet.”

“How about stroganoff?  Can you handle stroganoff?”

She nodded.  “Yeah, definitely.  I’ve made that for myself before.”

Weadick got to the point.  “I fired my cook yesterday.  He never makes it right no matter how many times I ask.  Always changing my recipes and adding some extra spices that I can’t stand.  I like salt and pepper and I need a new cook.  You want a job?”

Anna looked to Kristoff, and she appeared just as surprised as he was.  She seemed to gather her thoughts quickly and turned back to Weadick.  “I work at the diner.  I have a shift tomor-”

“I’ll pay you what I was paying my last cook,” he interrupted.  “I imagine that’s about double what you’re making now, with tips.  And if you don’t work out, I’ll make sure the diner takes you back.  I know the owner.”

Of course, he does, Kristoff thought.  The old man had more pull around their town than anyone he’d ever seen.  If only be bothered with any of it.

“What are you expecting of me if I take the job?” Anna asked.

Every man except Weadick glanced at each other.  All of them, likely including Anna, knew that this job wasway better than the diner and she’d be crazy not to take it.  The guys all took the ‘accept then question’ approach with the old man for things like this, not the other way around.  He was very fair, but he did have a reputation for being volatile to those who did not agree with him. 

“Three squares a day.  Light housework in between to fill your hours.  You go home after cleaning up from supper.  And don’t worry, I take an early supper.”

Anna dared to frown at him, her nose wrinkling as if she smelled something bad.  “Every day?  I don’t get a day off?”

Weadick stared at her, and then he did something Kristoff hadn’t seen in years.  He slowly smiled.  It was almost as if you could hear the rusty hinge sound of those barely used muscles.

“I like you,” he stated to Anna.  “You’re hired.  And no, I won’t make you work every day.  You can take off any days you want or need.  Just prepare me some things I can heat up.”  He raised his eyebrows and flicked his head over to Kristoff without breaking his gaze with her.  “I imagine your days off will coincide with his.”

Anna nodded, her expression turning happy again.

Weadick turned back to Sven.  “Find two guys.  Once Coop’s all healed, it should make things easier on all of ya.  Sometimes I don’t see your house lights on until a lot later than I would expect.” 

“Sounds good, sir,” Sven agreed right away. 

Weadick turned his attention back to Anna.  “When can you start?”

“Um, when did you want me to start?”

“Right now.  Haven’t had my breakfast yet.”  With that, he turned and started walking back to his house.

Anna turned to Kristoff and gave him an incredulous smile.  “What the hell just happened?”

“Sounds like you found yourself a new job.”  He smiled back at her, then leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.  “Better hurry, he gets grumpy when he’s hungry.”

“Oh boy,” Anna joked with a laugh, and pressed her lips to his once more before running after her new boss.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 8

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: Explicit! :D WC: 4233

Chapter Index

----------------------------

The day where Kristoff was taking her out had finally arrived. 

Every day for the last week and a half, Kristoff called her in the evening so that they could talk.  Even though it kept Anna up a little later than she usually went to bed with her early diner hours, it was absolutely worth it.

As soon as she got off work, she set about getting ready.  Anna had no idea what he had in store.  She was just beyond thrilled just to be spending some quality time with Kristoff that didn’t involve the saloon or people trying to pick fights and cause trouble.  He’d asked if she liked sport type things, and she said that she didn’t mind them at all, so maybe it was something along those lines.  There was a little baseball stadium for the WCBL in the bigger town over, perhaps he was taking her to a game. 

She was so excited that she was ready to go hours before he was set to pick her up.  The afternoon dragged on until there was a knock at her door.  Anna held back the squeal of delight that he was finally there.

She opened the door, and he gave her the most joyful smile she’d ever seen, and he bent down and kissed her.

Anna had no idea what it was to swoon.  She’d read about it.  Seen it in movies.  But to experience it for herself, it was surreal.  Just like his fantastic kiss; opening his mouth slightly, teasing her gently with his tongue, pushing the front of his body against hers as he pulled her tight against him… Anna truly thought for a moment that her knees were going to unhinge, until he pulled his face away from hers. 

And he smelled delicious; Old Spice mixed with clean linen. 

“I could hardly wait for the work day to be over.”  He grinned, like he had no idea what he’d just done to her.

Anna let out a shaky breath.  “Me either,” she agreed, and shut the door and locked it then followed him up to the street where his truck was parked, wondering if ‘in due time’ meant that it was too soon to ask him to take her to bed when their first date was over.

He was wearing his boots, jeans and belt buckle as she’d seen him in before, and a crisp white t-shirt that hugged all the right definitions of his torso.  And he’d left his cowboy hat at home.  In its place a trucker cap sat backwards on his head.  A sultry vision, walking towards his truck.  The thought of jumping his bones right then and there did cross her mind again.

He opened the passenger door of his truck and Anna hopped inside.  She watched him through the windshield as he walked around to his door, smile still plastered on his face.  He got in and they started driving away from town.

They talked as he drove the country roads, getting to know each other even better.  And while she enjoyed it very much, her eyes kept scanning the profile of his body sitting in across her on the bench seat.  The long legs, the way his biceps flexed with every turn of the wheel, that tight shirt stretched across his pecs.  Anna had never wanted to have someone this badly before.  It left her feeling a little sheepish, like her lust was clouding her judgement a little.

Soon they came to a building that kind of looked like a really large barn, with a whole bunch of outside areas that appeared to be children’s playgrounds and a few other attractions.  As they pulled in, Anna could see that the building was a market.

“Hope you like mini golf,” he said as he parked.  “Then we can hit the market after and grab a bite?”

Anna grinned at him.  “I love mini golf!  I haven’t played in years.”

She hadn’t.  Her ex only liked real golf, and Anna was strongly encouraged to learn it.  Then every time they played left Anna feeling frustrated and her ex expressing his disappointment.  In retrospect, that should have been a bigger clue to her that he wasn’t good for her.

They walked into the gift shop to pay for the mini golf.  The cashier gave Kristoff the total and he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a wallet.  Somehow even that movement looked sensual to Anna.  She reached into her purse to help pay.

Kristoff noticed out of the corner of his eye and he turned to her, getting his face close to hers with the side of his mouth slightly turned up.

“You’ll have to forgive me, Anna,” he said quietly, his eyes looking intently into hers.  “I am a little old fashioned about things like this.  I won’t ever expect you to pay on our dates.”

He turned away before Anna could answer and her hand fell away from her purse.  Her cheeks, and another certain part of her, started to heat uncontrollably.  Gentlemanly, chivalrous, undeniably sexy… what the hell did she ever do to find herself actually dating a man like him. 

He was handed two putters and they were each told to pick a colour of ball.  Anna chose purple and Kristoff went with blue.  Then they walked across to the course and started playing.

Anna was having so much fun, time ceased to exist.  And Kristoff was a surprisingly bad mini golfer.  Either that, or he was letting her win.  By that much however, made her think he just didn’t get a chance to mini golf very much.  Not that he was upset.  That beautiful smile remained on his gorgeous face as they played and joked around.

Afterward they walked around the market.  Anna found some scrumptious looking cookies she wanted to try and just as she was about to reach into her purse, Kristoff handed over some cash to the cashier.  He smirked, and gave her a sideways glance as he did so that told her ‘I meant what I said’.   He did the same thing for the handmade candle she wanted from the next booth, even though she actually had her wallet in her hand that time.  He just floated up with cash before she could get out her card.

With the shopping around finished, they went to the food court and decided to share a wood fired pizza from one of the vendors.  Paired with some craft beers, it was delicious, even if Anna found the beer a little bitter.   She was just so happy to be on a date with him, when he suggested she could get something else to drink, she shrugged it off and said she’d gladly have what he was having. 

It was still early evening when they left the market and Kristoff asked if she wanted to grab a drink at the saloon or one of the Pubs in town.  Anna picked the saloon since she was familiar with it, and he drove them there while he chatted about the various situations that he’d found themselves in in that place over the years.

Being a weeknight, the place wasn’t too lively.  The music was at a volume for easy conversation, and while there were still a lot of patrons, there were plenty of open tables. 

“Want to stand, or sit?” Kristoff asked as they walked through to the other side, away from the jukebox. 

“Either is fine for me.  What do you prefer?”

“Mind if we stand?  I get a little back sore if I sit in those chairs too long.”

“No problem, we can definitely stand.”

They picked a high table in the corner away from most of the other groups and ordered some drinks when a waitress came around.  After she left, Anna excused herself to the washroom.

When she was washing her hands, she looked in the mirror and smiled.   She’d never been on a date so fun, and Kristoff was such an amazing man.  The more time she spent with him, the more she wanted to be with him.

Two ladies walked in mid-conversation as Anna finished washing her hands.

“…. didn’t need to be so rude.”

“Right?  Like calm down, you can reject someone without being an asshole.”

“It’s a crying shame too, he is really hot.”

“I know!  I’m such a sucker for blond dudes.”

“Ugh, and he’s so big, isn’t he?  Whoever catches his eye is one lucky lady.”

The women went into stalls laughing about something else as Anna dried her hands, knowing exactly who they were talking about.  And as a confirmation, there was a woman standing with Kristoff at the table when she walked back to it.

Anna watched it play out in real time, the side of his nose coming up and giving her a curt answer, the woman turning away with a look of disgust and brushing past Anna, telling her not to ‘waste her time with that one.’

He looked over at her as she approached the table and his face held that animosity for a split second before he realized it was her, and it melted away into a bright smile.  

Their drinks were on the table and he picked up his beer.  “Cheers.”

Anna hefted her own glass and clinked it against his.  “Cheers.”

They each had a sip and set their glasses down, smiling at each other, and Anna took a moment to glance around the bar.  Any table with women had their eyes on him or was glancing in his direction… and hers.  Some looked jealous, giving Anna an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach, like she was amused and bothered by it at the same time.

“So… I take it you get hit on a lot?”

His shoulders slumped and he let out a long sigh.  “Like moths to a flame.”

Anna’s curiosity got the better of her.  “How does a man who gets hit on so much, not have lots of dates?  You told me once you haven’t been out with too many women.”

He looked away from her to the other side of the bar towards the empty stage.  “It gets tirin’, being approached only because of the way I look.”

Anna thought back to her own thoughts about how attractive he was.  It was her eye-fucking him in the first place that seemed to start this spark between them.  “I hope you don’t think that’s what I did.”

His focus came back to her in an instant, his eyes wide and a touch panicky, pretty much telling her all she needed to know.  “No, not at all!  That night, Anna, when Boone and his cronies rushed me outside, I came to the bar looking for you.”

“You did?”

He nodded eagerly.  “I was planning on asking you out.  And well, as you know that night kind of went off the rails.  In the end, I still got the outcome I was hopin’ for.”  He smiled at her.  “I mean, that way you were lookin’ at me definitely boosted my confidence that you would say yes, but I had already pretty much decided I was going to ask you out, even if I hadn’t admitted it to myself until you looked at me.”

Anna giggled.  “You know, I was hoping you were single and might ask me out from the very first time you were at the diner.”

His eyebrows went up.  “Really?”

She nodded.  “Well, I know a lot of cowboys don’t wear wedding rings, I still assumed you were taken.”

“Not then.  I sure am now though.”

Heat blossomed in her cheeks.  “Let’s finish this drink and go back to my place.”

His eyes scanned hers a moment.  “Alright then,” he said slowly.

-----

As soon as she had the door shut behind them, she pushed herself against his chest, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled herself up to kiss him.  It took a half a second, like he wasn’t sure what she wanted, then he reciprocated and Anna’s toes curled with the sheer pleasure of it all. 

His tongue glanced across hers, sliding into her mouth, and Anna tasted him back, heart hammering away in her chest to finally be able to know what it was like to be intimate with him.  He held her tight, his hands caressing her back as his kisses deepened. 

Then he stopped.

Anna was left chasing her lips after his as he pulled away and gently lifted her arms from around his neck.

Kristoff smiled as he spoke.  “Anna, I’m not that kind of man.  I don’t take that gift so lightly.  Or so quickly.”

He said that with all seriousness while still looking like the happiest man in the world.  Anna knew it right then and there; this was absolutely the man that she was going to fall in love with.  Hell, maybe she was already most of the way there.  Which made it all the more frustrating that he was being a true gentleman.

“When then?” she whined.

He laughed, the sound rich and satisfying, deepening the ache she felt between her legs.  Truly, she’d never had that part of her throb so much in anticipation.  It was almost as if she simply sat down the right way, she’d come.

“Anna, I feel it too,” he said, then looked down at himself. 

Anna’s eyes followed and widened at the shape pressing against the fabric of his jeans.  She groaned with frustration and turned around and took a few steps away.  That was all she wanted right now, and he wasn’t going to give it to her.  

She turned back to him.  “What do I have to do to beat that gentlemanly attitude out of you?” she pouted, crossing her arms across her chest. 

His head tiled to the side, a smirk playing out onto his lips.  “You really want it that bad, huh?”

Anna nodded eagerly.  “Yes, Kristoff.  Fuck, yes.  I’m on fire.  You have no idea what this feels like.”

His voice was low and deeply intimate.  “I have an idea,” he said, running a hand slowly over the shape in the front of his jeans.

Anna pinched her bottom lip in her teeth watching that movement.  “I mean it,” she said, eyes slowly going to his.  “I’ve never felt the need for someone like this before.   I need you.  Like now.”

His head dipped down and he looked at her through his eyelashes. “Right now?”

She grinned and nodded quickly, her heart beating so fast it felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.  That look on his face, the pure sexuality of it, Anna felt shaky with anticipation.  And yet he didn’t move.  His eyes betrayed a touch of concern.

Anna walked back up to him as he stood still, tracking her movements.  She stopped in front of him and looked up into his face.  She was going to speak, when his mouth opened.

“I knew you were going to have your way with me someday,” he whispered.

She smiled.  “That’s today, Cowboy.”

He nodded once and then bent down to kiss her and it was about ten times more forcefully than before, leaving Anna moaning euphorically into his mouth.  He gave her a deep back-of-the-throat groan in response as soon as Anna started tugging on his shirt.  He broke from her lips only long enough for her to tear it off of him.

Anna had never been kissed so passionately or fondled in such an arousing way.  His hands worked at the buttons of her blouse, his long and thick fingers deftly plucking them apart until he could slide the shirt off her shoulders.

He pulled back from her lips and looked down at her, his pupils large with desire.  Staring into her eyes, he reached behind her back and unhooked her bra, then pulled it slowly off her.  He glanced down for a quick moment before kissing her again, his hands sliding up her bare back, making her quiver.

Needing so much more, Anna impatiently dropped her hands from his shoulders and started tugging at his jeans.  Thing was, she hadn’t yet figured out how the buckle stayed on the belt, and trying to pry it free wasn’t working.

He laughed against her lips then pulled his face away from hers.  Both of them looking down, he showed Anna how to take it off.  Her mind so clouded by the intimacy happening between them, she’d been trying the wrong end of the buckle.  He slipped the entire belt off his jeans, tossed it aside, and kissed her again.  Apparently, he still wanted her to take off his pants, so she did.

When they were pooled at his ankles, Anna broke from his lips again and looked down, the shape of his manhood much more defined against his boxer briefs.  She grabbed his hand and dragged him to her bedroom, then turned to face him.  Slowly, feeling his eyes on her the entire time, Anna freed him of his underwear.  She figured he was big, but she hadn’t expected him to be that big.  And thick.  Jesus.

Still looking down at him, wondering some logistics about how this was going to work, he hooked his finger under her chin and brought her face gently back up to look at him.  He was smiling, lopsided, his eyes hooded and staring at her lips.  Then he kissed her again, a little slower than before, while he took his time removing her jeans and underwear with warm handed caresses that made her practically melt.

Once she was fully naked like he was, he picked her up and laid her on the bed, then leaned over on one arm.  Anna shifted to accommodate him, knees falling apart as he moved between her legs.  Hovering over her, he pressed his pelvis to hers and made a movement with his hips so that his cock pushed up through her labia, gliding across her clit.

Anna gasped.   It sent a shockwave of pleasure through her for how much that part of her was throbbing.  Even though she wanted him inside of her more than anything, she was about to ask him to do it again, when he did just that, and Anna gasped once more.

“Oh… that…” Words stopped as he did it again and again, sliding his manhood across her sensitive clit.  The tightening in her abdomen quickly gave way to the sensation of ecstasy.

“Oh… I’m…”  she breathed.  Then she was there, her center pulsing and rolling in wave after wave.  Her legs came together, squeezing against him, and she let out a strangled moan.  Curling up, she writhed against Kristoff’s chest, drowning in pleasure. 

It was wonderful and deeply gratifying and over too soon.  She had no fear however that was going to be it for her.  She was still about to experience Kristoff, after all.  Her eyes fluttered open as he pulled away from her body and looked down at her.  His expression was soft, dare Anna say loving, and he bent down and kissed her gently for a moment, like he was waiting for permission.

“I want you now, Kristoff,” she said against his mouth. 

His cock, still resting between her legs, moved and gently pressed against her entrance while he continued to kiss her softly.  Anna let her knees fall back to the bed, waiting, then ever so slowly, he pushed into her.  She had to take her mouth away from his at the sensation, letting out a shaky exhale of air and arching her back on the bed.

His generous size felt like nothing she had ever experienced before.   She was wetter than wet, and yet it still felt a little tight, only in a way that was all pleasure and no pain.  In other words, she was definitely going to come again.

Wanting more, Anna lifted up her legs and hooked her ankles around his waist as he rocked into her, kissing her neck, her collarbone, she gasped softly with every one of his strokes.  Only it still wasn’t enough.  If this was Kristoff letting Anna have her way with him, she was going to have her way with him. 

“Wait,” she panted, and he immediately slid out of her and pulled up his head to look at her in question.

Anna pushed his chest away from her.  “I want to be on top.”

He obediently shifted off of her and moved to the side of the bed, waiting as Anna sat up and moved so that he could lay down.  He did so, after his eyes scanned her naked form in a way that made Anna blush. As soon as he was on his back, she crawled over him.

It was intense the way he was looking up at her, and Anna took her time sliding herself down onto him.

“Fuck…” he whispered, his gaze falling from her eyes to where they were joined.  His large palms slid up the sides of her thighs and settled on her hips, his fingers curling around to grab her ass as she moved against him.

The angle, the way she tilted forward so that her clit would rub against him with every movement, was exactly what she needed.  Anna put her palms on either side of his head on the pillow and did what she wanted with his body while he caressed her everywhere, giving her soft moans of pleasure.

And then that feeling came up on her again and she wondered if he was close too.  “Oh…” she moaned desperately, letting him know.  His hands moved back to her hips and tightened around them, gripping her and moving her more forcefully, matching her rhythm.

Then her mind went blank again as she collapsed on his chest and rode it out.

She slowed her breathing, laying on him with her eyes closed and her cheek pressed to his shoulder, her face pointed away from his.  After her body was fully calm again, she realized he was still rock hard within her.

Anna pushed herself up and looked down at him.  “I’m getting tired here.”

His face broke out into a smile and he started to laugh, the feeling of his body moving under – and in – her, delightful.  “What can I say?  I’m not a two-pump chump.”

“I’ll say,” Anna said through a tired chuckle.  “Although you are starting to give me a bit of a complex.”

His eyes went wide and serious.  “No, Anna, it’s not that.  I’ve always had good stamina.  I mean, in my experience it usually takes longer for a woman to… you know… and… well… to be fair… you seem to be able to get there amazingly quickly.  Honestly, it’s a first for me.”

That made her smile.  “If the man I’m with knows what he’s doing, and you certainly do, yes, I can.”

He smiled back, relieved.  “Trust me, I’m not going to last too much longer…”  His mouth worked like he had more to say, only nothing came out as his expression became thoughtful.  He pulled his lips closed and then let an exhale out of his nose.  “This is by far the most incredible moment of my life,” he said quietly.

Anna’s stomach started doing flips, and she leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Why don’t you have your way with me now then?”

He shook his head.  “I’d rather just watch you come undone again and I’ll join you.”

And that’s exactly what he did.

*****

Despite how tired he was, he couldn’t sleep.  Anna had rolled away from him some time ago, sleeping on her stomach with her bare back to him and the covers bunched at her waist.  He stared at the ceiling in thought.

He knew that taking that intimate step with Anna was going to make him different, and dammed if it didn’t.  It was a feeling that nothing in his life was ever going to be the same.   Not necessarily in a bad way… more like in a very unknown way.  While he’d never been in love before, nowhere near it, he concluded that the feeling must be love.  And with that came fear.

What if it didn’t work out between them?  What if this was some flash in the pan, some incredible sex before things fizzled out and died.  What if he was the one left broken in the end.  Could he handle that?

Anna rolled over again, her hair a mess, and her hand slapped lightly against his chest and came to rest there as she settled back into sleep.   He smiled.  She was a restless sleeper.  Heartbreakingly beautiful.

Sven had said he worried about him and Dixie too when they were getting to know each other better.  Maybe this was that, just jitters, because Anna had done nothing to make him think that she wasn’t as into him as he was into her.  Even though things in the past had never worked out for him, the connection between him and Anna was undeniable, and he had to remember that.

He put the unease from his mind and pictured instead Anna in his cabin, living with him and loving life with him.  Soon, he found the sleep he desperately needed.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 7

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 2611

Chapter Index

------------------------------

Kristoff hopped into the cab of his truck with a satisfied sigh.  He was tired as fuck.  Anna’s couch was a little too short for him to stretch all the way out, and he’d only caught about two hours of sleep before he had to head back to the ranch.  That, however, was nothing in comparison to what he’d received.

She’d kissed him again.  Only this time, she parted her mouth, and while he still wondered what her tongue felt like against his own, it was another beautiful, soft kiss.  And she kissed him a little longer than last time, definitely leaving him wanting more while appreciating what he got.

He left while she was still sleeping, telling her before they turned in that he was going to do so.  The sun wasn’t even up yet and he wanted her to catch up on some sleep, even if it meant he’d miss out on perhaps another kiss goodbye.

He yawned and raked his hand through his hair, suddenly feeling a little naked without his hat.  He’d forgotten to grab it from the dually.  He knew Sven would have grabbed it for him and brought it into his place though.   It was the plan for Kristoff to stay in the house with Sven for a bit, just in case Boone tried to cause them more trouble.  He’d had to text him to let him know he was sleeping on Anna’s couch, and Sven agreed that wasn’t a bad idea so that Kristoff could try and catch up on some sleep himself.  While he hadn’t, he was happy that he’d stayed. 

-----

As the day wore on, all he thought about were Anna’s lips.  And when he wasn’t thinking about her mouth on his, he thought about what had happened the night before and wondered if he was in any real danger.

It ate away at him, the thought that those group of guys would do something like that.  He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt it was Boone’s idea, what he couldn’t understand was why the others went along with it, right up until they were caught red handed.  They were sheep to Boone.  Did none of them consider how awful of an idea that was?  Perhaps it wasn’t their intent to kill him, except they had to see how easily that could have happened if they set fire to the cabin with him sleeping in his bed, didn’t they?

Would they go crawling back to their shepherd in time?

Anna had seemed confident that something was going to be done about it, only he had to wonder.  He’d never been in any sort of beef with someone else like that before.  Nothing went beyond the saloon parking lot.  He really hoped that she was right, even if he had his doubts.  The world is plenty full of bad men.

It was about noon, he and Sven were finishing the last of the outer fence that needed to be mended, when his phone rang and Buck asked him to come back to the houses only would not say why.  Kristoff had a feeling it certainly had something to do with Boone.

He was not wrong.

Sven drove them up in the side by side with all the fencing material in the back, to find a very new, very shiny Ford truck that probably set its owner back a hundred thousand dollars.  Beside it, a man in a fancy cowboy hat and sunglasses waited, leaning against the side of the hood.

Sven parked the vehicle and Kristoff slid out and approached the man.

“You Kris?” the stranger asked.

Kristoff nodded as he stopped in front of the man.  He knew Sven would make himself look busy not far off so that he could hear what was going on. 

The man stuck out his hand.   “I’m Hank Carson, Boone’s daddy.  Frankie Wheeler said I might find you here.”

Although he didn’t want to, Kristoff did the polite thing and shook the hand that was offered to him.  Hank gripped his hand very tightly, trying to be intimidating.  Kristoff gripped back just as hard, nowhere near in the discomfort the man shaking his hand had wanted him to be.  He knew it wasn’t personal.  A man with a shake like that did it to everybody. 

“And how might I be able to help you?” he asked.

Hank took his hat off his head although he left on his dark sunglasses.  “I hear my boy caused you and your friends some trouble last night.”

“Trouble?  No, it wasn’t trouble.  He had every intention of burning down my house.  Probably with me in it.  That ain’t trouble, that’s criminal.”

Hank nodded.  “Yes, I suppose you are correct.  I apologize.  And I apologize on my son’s behalf.  I wanted you to know that.”

“What of him then?  He gets to go home because Daddy got him out of jail again and has to try to smooth things over with his wallet?”

Even though Kristoff’s couldn’t see the man’s eyes, he got the feeling that they narrowed in anger for being talked to in such a way by subtle way the man’s chest puffed up.   “While Boone might not be in jail, I’ve sent him somewhere that he can get the help he needs.  Clearly, he has issues.”

“Clearly,” Sven spat from somewhere behind him. 

Kristoff didn’t turn to look, he appraised Hank carefully with a furrowed brow, waiting, until the man finally took off his sunglasses and looked into his eyes.   “You have my word that he will not set foot anywhere near you again.”

“Your word?” Kristoff asked, a little mockingly.  “What’s that to me?”

The older man pursed his bottom lip while he considered.   “You know, I am starting to understand why Boone had a bone to pick with you.”

“No.  We had a bone to pick with Boone.”  Kristoff clenched his jaw thinking about it.  “Any man who’d hit a lady isn’t tolerated in these parts.”

Hanks eyes widened.  “He did what now?”

“Oh, he failed to mention that?  Yeah, he tagged my girlfriend when him and his friends rushed me.  She was tryin’ to help even the five on one odds.  Your boy sure don’t fight fair.”

Kristoff could see Buck and Coop meander a little closer in his peripheral vision and he knew Sven was now only a couple steps behind him, not even trying to hide the fact that he was listening. 

To his credit, Hank now looked furious.  “Well, he must have left that out,” he said slowly.  “Anything else I should know about?”

“You mean aside from that, driving drunk, trespassing with the intent to harm, picking fights with us in the bar, harassing women, and having no idea what the word ‘no’ means… not that I can think of in the moment.  But give me time and I’m sure I will remember something.”

Hank let out a deep sigh.  The man was done with this exchange.  “I suppose I should have been paying better attention.  As I said, now he is in the right place now to get some help.  And for whatever it may be worth, you do have my personal guarantee he won’t bother you again.  He knows the consequences he will face from me if he does.”

He stuck out his hand and Kristoff gripped it back even tighter.  Without the glasses, Kristoff could see that Hank got the message.  He swiftly got in his truck and left as the other ranch hands came to gather around Kristoff.

“Think he’s on the level?” Buck asked.

Kristoff nodded.  “Yeah, I think so.  If Boone is like his daddy, that took a lot to come here and apologize like that.”

“So… your girlfriend huh?” Sven teased.  “I like the sound of that.”

Immediate heat took to his cheeks.  It had sounded good to him too when he’d said it.  And it had kind of just slipped out.  He’d have to run that by Anna to see what she thought.  Not that she didn’t know he was courting her, but because they hadn’t had an actual date yet.

-----

“Hello?”

Kristoff smiled.  Her voice sounded so excited.  “Hey, Anna.  How was your day?”

“It was good!  I got some good tips and it wasn’t too busy.  And you called me, so yeah, really good.”

He chuckled.  “You’re sweet.  My day is good too now I’m talking to you.”

“And the rest of it?”

“Well,” Kristoff started, “got a visit from Boone’s dad today.  And you were right, he’s doin’ something about his son.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.  What did he say?”

Kristoff told her what was said, almost word for word as he paced slowly around his front porch.  Now that Boone was being taken care of, he decided to go back to his cabin.  He really did enjoy the solitude of the place.  Only now he pretty much wished Anna was there all the time.

He was definitely falling in love.  With that came wondering about the future.  If Anna would be happy living there with him, or if he’d find somewhere else.  He was going to get a TV, he’d already decided that.  If Anna had shows she liked to watch, he would happily watch them with her when they were hanging out.  And he hoped that they would hang out a lot more in the coming weeks.  Work was going to slow down for a spell before it got busy again and he was going to take every opportunity possible to take Anna out and spend time with her.

“So, I was meaning to ask you,” she said after they’d finished talking about his encounter.  “What was the other time you guys had to face off with some people like that?”

“Oh, that.  Bit of a story.”

“I don’t mind.  I like talking to you.”

He smiled.  “I like talking to you too.”

“So, what’s the story?”

“Well, it all happened back when Weadick’s kid was alive.  His name was Denny.  He was ‘bout a decade older than Sven and I.  He died only about two years after we started here.  He was a good dude, but he let a lot of what the family had built get into his head.  Had this idea that he was gonna expand the ranch and started to bother the smaller ones surrounding it to sell to him.  At first it was fairly innocent, then it got a little aggressive.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It definitely wasn’t.  Weadick was funding it, and supported the idea because he thought Denny was playin’ above the board.  Instead, he was startin’ to make threats, and then when those threats were ignored, he got creative.  One night, he hit all five of the smaller ranch’s main houses after another.  He took a rifle and fired a shot through the window into the master bedroom of each one.  Just into the ceiling, you know, as a warning.”

“That’s still incredibly risky and stupid.  What if someone was walking through the room and got hit?”

“Exactly,” Kristoff agreed.  “The other ranchers were rightfully pissed off.  They planned to hit our ranch to get Denny to back off once and for all.  Buck somehow caught wind of it when he was at the saloon, and he went to straight to old man Weadick and let him know what had been goin’ on.  I’ve never seen a man so furious.  He laid his kid out with one punch then came and found us.”

“What were the other ranchers planning to do?”

“Take out all of the cattle with Rodenticide.”

“What’s that?”

“Basically, poison for all those small pests like gophers and moles and such.  They had tons of the stuff.  The night that they came, we surrounded the cattle lyin’ in wait, rounded up the trespassers as soon as they set foot in the pasture, and sent them on their way with Weadick’s personal apology and guarantee they would be left alone from there on in.”

“And they listened?”

“Yup.  Afterward, Weadick sent Denny down south to work on a ranch for a bit.  Real tough place where they don’t take shit and would have treated him like shit.   He was grateful to come back, and he brought a whole new attitude along with him.  The guy was practically a saint.  Stopped drinkin’, didn’t argue, helped his daddy with anything… he seemed a lot happier.  Then eight months later he got hit by that drunk driver and died.”

“That’s so sad.  He was finally doing well and then his life was taken from him.”

“It was very sad.  I remember his funeral.  His mama, she took it hard that day.  When they lowered the casket into the ground, her sobs were so heartbreaking it made us all cry.  No one there had a dry eye.”

“I can’t even imagine how painful that would have been.  To lose a child…”

Anna’s voice fell away, choked with emotion.  Kristoff felt it too by the tightening of his throat.  He swallowed hard.  “Yeah.  I can’t either.  It’s no wonder why Weadick just shut down.  I probably would too.”

“You mentioned his wife started to heal from it before she died?”

Kristoff smiled.  “Annie.  Yeah, she got better.  Kind of adopted Sven and I because we were so young.  I suppose we were filling in for what she had lost.  She would bring pies and pastries and home-cooked casseroles down to the houses all the time for all of us.   She liked to laugh and rib everybody.  I think she had a soft spot for Buck because he’d been on with them so long.  She always teased him the most.  We all took it pretty hard when she died.  Especially Buck.”

“What happened to Mr. Weadick… it’s so tragic.  And you poor guys too for losing your friends.”

Kristoff nodded to himself, a little surprised by his throat tightening further.  In truth, the Weadick’s were practically family to them all.  Him and Sven had gone back to Kristoff’s cabin that night after her funeral and cried into bottles of whisky while they sat at the table and reminisced.  The sun was just rising in the sky when Sven stumbled to his couch and Kristoff collapsed onto his bed.

“It was a very hard time,” he said slowly, and cleared his throat gently.  “That’s the reason Weadick is the way he is.  Maybe if the situation with his daughter was better, he’d be happier.  But I think he’s about given up on her.”

“That’s sad too, that she just wants to sell the land and make money.  How many generations has the place been in the family?”

“I actually don’t really know.  A lot.  Four or five maybe?”

“Wow.  That’s a lot of family history.  It’s not hard to understand not wanting to tear that all down just to make money.”

He smiled.  Anna got it.  “Yeah.  It’s a different story if the ranch isn’t making a profit anymore or the land is needed for housing and whatnot, but that’s so far off from what’s happenin’ down here, it’s laughable.”

“Seems so.  I mean, the ranch is kind of in the middle of nowhere.  At least near town here it makes sense that people are putting in estate lots on the old farmland.  There’s that big one on the edge of highway that’s only five minutes from the diner.”

“It’s an eyesore.”

Anna laughed.  “It is!  Big, rich-people house’s sitting surrounded by still working farms.  It makes a person sad to see that.”

Fuck, did she ever get it.  “I agree.”

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 6

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 4460

Chapter Index

--------------------------

Davy and Buck hopped in Frankie’s truck, leaving Kristoff sitting alone with Anna in the back seat while Sven rode shotgun and Coop drove them back to the ranch. 

He was frustrated and tired as hell.  “This isn’t safe,” he said to her again.

Anna shook her head, utterly defiant.  “Like I said, I don’t care.  You are not keeping me out of this now.”

She was angering him.  And she was also arousing him.  He’d been with a cowgirl once who could give it as good as she could take it, and that was nothing compared to the fiery determination in Anna’s eyes.  Fuck, he was a goner with this woman. 

And he had to admit, having her in his corner like she was, that pissed off look like she had when she’d tasered those guys in the back, made him feel pretty damn good.  Whatever thoughts he had that she might give up on him before giving him a proper chance, were gone.  Ever since she hopped into his lap in the truck and looked at him, he could see it in her eyes, and it was all reaffirmed by the fact that she insisted on coming along.

“I’m putting my money on two,” Sven said.  “No way they’re waiting until near daybreak.”

“Yup,” Kristoff agreed. 

“And you really think they won’t split up and hit our houses too?” Coop asked from the driver’s seat.

Sven shook his head.  “No way, too close to the main house.  They know better than to draw Weadick’s attention to them.”

“He’s the man that owns the ranch?” Anna asked.

“Yeah,” Sven answered.  “His family has been ranching in these parts for over a century.  Everyone knows who he is, even Daddy’s boy.”

“And Mr. Weadick… was at the bar tonight too?”

“No,” Kristoff said quickly.  “He doesn’t want any part of what happens outside of this ranch and everyone knows it.  No one fucks with him.”

“He had a son that he planned to take over the ranch someday,” Sven explained.  “Then he was killed when a drunk driver hit him and flipped his truck into a flooded ditch.  Drunk guy passed out and that poor kid drown to death in his own truck.  The old man didn’t really care about much after that.  Waved his rifle at anyone who dared to bother him.”

“Jeez,” Anna muttered, looking sad and bothered by what was said.

“He has a daughter,” Kristoff said, reaching down and grabbing Anna’s hand to give it a reassuring squeeze.  “She lives in the city with her husband.   Old man Weadick is hopin’ to have a grandkid someday to leave the ranch to.”

“His daughter doesn’t want anything to do with it?” Anna asked.

Sven chimed in, “Nah, not so much.  They got into a bit of a fight about it last time she was visitin’ him for dinner.”

“Could hear them arguin’ all the way at our houses,” Coop said.

“Apparently her and her husband want to sub-divide the land, build housing developments on it.  You know, big estate lots.  Get rich,” Sven added.  “Course, old man Weadick said ‘over my dead body’.”

Anna smiled slightly at the old-man voice that Sven put on when he mimicked his boss. 

Kristoff said, “So, he just sits up in that house, pays us to take care of the ranch, and bides his time.”

“That sounds lonely,” Anna murmured, still looking a little troubled.  “Is he… or, was he, married?”

“He was,” Sven answered.  “She died couple years ago.  Cancer.”

Kristoff nodded. “She was sick for a while and he knew it was coming.  Still, tragic though.  She was really nice, even after what happened to her son.”

“She made the best apple pie,” Sven said with a dreamy voice.

“Wish I could have met her,” said Coop, taking a turn off the country road onto a gravel laneway that Anna recognized as the driveway to Kristoff’s cabin.

Sven laughed.  “She would have liked you, kid.  She could tease the new greenhorns as well as any of us.”

“Huh,” Coop mused.  “Maybe not then.”

Everyone in the truck chuckled a little as Coop drove past where Kristoff’s truck was parked in front of the cabin and around to the back onto the grassy field that rolled up to a wide berm.  He took it a couple hundred meters further and into a ticket of trees that had space enough for the vehicle where it would be out of sight.  The men took off their hats and left them in the truck as they got out.

The moon was just a sliver in the sky, making it near pitch black as they walked the way back to the cabin.  He offered Anna his elbow so that she wouldn’t trip in the dark, and she held it tight walking along beside him. 

At the cabin, Kristoff went inside while everyone else stayed on the porch.  He grabbed the items he needed and joined them, closing his front door and walking back into the darkness.  He handed the rifle to Coop and his other shotgun to Sven.  Moments later, Frankie’s truck rolled up the drive and Buck and Davy got out, each holding a rifle, and walked to where they all were standing. 

Frankie leaned out his open window.  “You boys got this?”

All the men nodded. 

“Alright,” Frankie said.  “I’ll stay hidden and keep an eye on these guys’ approach.  I send the signal, you get ready.  You get into trouble, you call me.  When this is all said and done, I’ll escort those boys outta here myself.”

Kristoff, Sven, Davy, Buck and Coop all murmured an agreement and got into a circle as Frankie pulled away.

“How we playin’ this?” Buck asked.

“Just like the last time,” Sven said. 

“Last time?” Anna and Coop both asked in unison.

Kristoff turned to Anna and gave her a smile, even if she could barely make it out in the near complete darkness.  “Story for another time,” he said quietly.

Buck gave orders. “Davy, you take up point in the back on the left.  I’ll take it up in the back on the right.  Sven, you take up front by your brother, and Greenhorn, I need you to go hide on the slope to the river.  As soon as Kristoff and Sven make themselves known to these boys, you come up slowly, rifle ready, let em know you’re there, and try to look intimidating.”

Coop said, “Sure, no proble-”

“And keep your damn mouth shut,” Buck ordered.

Coop nodded and every man peeled away from Kristoff, Sven and Anna.

“What do I do?” she asked.

That bit of anger flared up again that she was even there.  “Nothing,” Kristoff said quietly.  “You keep your head down until this is over.”

“I have my taser,” she said, voice defiant.

“We’re playing with guns, Anna,” Kristoff said, and started walking down his drive to where they would lay in wait.  “Unless you know how to shoot, you keep quiet and keep your head down.”

She was silent as she followed them and he had to wonder if she was mad at him, or upset with him, or maybe even done with him?  This was certainly not how he wanted to be spending time with her.  Even though it was dark, he’d seen the surprised look on her face when he came out of the cabin with the firearms.

Shit, maybe she was scared? 

Kristoff turned to her as they walked and spoke quietly.  “Just so you know, we have no intention of shootin’ anyone.  Just a precaution, you know.  In case they come in hot.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Anna said back quietly, making it hard for him to gauge her mood.  “I wouldn’t be here if I thought you were going to kill anybody.”

That made him wonder again why she was even there at all.  She had to have known there wouldn’t be anything for her to do in this particular fight.  Did she just want to make sure nothing happened to him?  Or did she want to make sure that no one got hurt with the high levels of testosterone about to face off.

He thought back to his threat against Daddy’s boy in the bar, saying he’d kill him if he laid a hand on Anna.  At the time it was an empty threat, only now, with the thought of Anna possibly getting hurt, maybe not so much. 

Sven peeled off into the bush next to the laneway and ducked under a tree branch to put himself on the far side of the big Oak, hiding from the road behind the trunk.  Kristoff and Anna followed and took up a place out of sight near him.

“So, what is the plan?” Anna whispered when they were settled in hiding. 

“Couple of them will come up the lane,” Sven said quietly. 

“We flank them and Davy and Buck handle the others sneaking up the back,” Kristoff added.

Anna said, “So when you said like last time, you meant it.  Literally.”

“Unfortunately, yes.”  Kristoff sighed.  They didn’t have time to get into the whole story right that instant. 

“With the same guys?” Anna asked.

“No, different scenario altogether, but we don’t-”

Kristoff’s phone vibrated.  He pulled it out of his breast pocket and looked at it the same time Sven looked at his own phone.  Frankie had sent a group text to all the men lying in wait.

“Shit, they didn’t waste any time.”  Kristoff put his phone back in his pocket and took a firm grip on the shotgun.

“Probably went by the bar and looked for our truck and figured we knocked off early.”

“It would appear so,” Kristoff whispered.  He turned to Anna, barely able to make out her expression in the dark.  “You stay behind this tree until it’s over, you hear me?”

“Yeah, okay,” she whispered back. 

“I’m serious,” he warned. 

“Trust me, I believe you,” she said, and shuffled closer to the tree trunk while Sven moved closer to Kristoff’s side.  He couldn’t worry about her or her thoughts in that moment.  Shit was about to go down.

They were silent as they waited and listened.  Everyone knew they would leave their truck a ways back and proceed on foot.  It seemed to take a long time, until the crunch of gravel under boots could be faintly heard coming up the laneway. 

Kristoff waited as three of them walked past, taking careful steps to minimize their noise and one of them with a flashlight pointed to the ground to see where they were stepping.  Of course, Daddy’s boy was leading the charge.  One of them had a shotgun and the other two had something else in their hands that Kristoff wasn’t quite able to make out in the dark. 

Now behind them, Kristoff and Sven crept silently up to the gravel, walking on the grass on the edge a few steps to get closer.  Kristoff stopped in place and Sven went to the left, flanking them on the side.  When he was in place, Kristoff made his move. 

He racked the shotgun, breaking the silence of the night with two loud metal clacks, and all three men stopped dead in their tracks and whipped around towards him. 

“Help you boys?” he asked in a low voice that resonated almost as loud as the shotgun in the quiet of the night.

Sven racked his shotgun, and their focus immediately went that way.  Then Coop approached from the other side and cleared his throat to let them know he was there.  Now all three men were looking back and forth to him, Sven and Coop, realizing they were effectively surrounded.  The one with the gun was keeping it low for the time being.  Good.  It was better this didn’t escalate much further. 

“You boys are trespassing,” Sven warned them without raising his voice too much.  “Not smart.”

“What you got in your hands there, shitheads?” Kristoff asked.

Both of the men holding the small-ish object moved their hands behind their backs to hide what they had.  Not one of them said a word.  Kristoff knew they were waiting for the other two coming up the back to get them out of their predicament. 

He started walking towards them slowly, gun up at the ready and aiming at their knees.  “Drop it,” he demanded through gritted teeth.

They listened, dropping the objects that sounded like thick, liquid-filled glass as they clinked off the gravel.   A second later a sharp whistle came from somewhere behind the cabin.

“Comin in,” Buck warned in his loud voice. 

“Davy too?” Sven shouted back.

“Yup.”

“Good, now we got ourselves a party,” Sven said as he approached the three men Kristoff had the gun trained on.  He reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone, using the flashlight to see what they’d dropped on the laneway. 

“Are those… Jesus shit,” Sven said.  “I knew you guys were fuckin’ crazy but I didn’t think y’all were this nuts.”

“What do we have?” Kristoff asked.

“Couple of Molotov cocktails,” Sven answered.  “No doubt with your name on ‘em.”

In a moment of pure anger, Kristoff raised the gun face level to the three men in front of him.  “You gonna burn down the cabin with me in it.  That the idea?”

Buck and Davy came into view from the side of the cabin with two men walking in front of them, rifles trained on their backs.

“Please, let me go.  I didn’t even want to do this,” said the other guy who had been holding a burn bottle.  He raised his hands slowly.  “I can’t take this shit anymore.”

“Shut your goddamn mouth, Lyle,” Daddy’s boy warned his friend.

The man with his hands in the air turned to his boss.  “No way, Boone.  You’re a fuckin’ psycho.  I’m done with you.”  He turned to Kristoff.  “Can I go, please?  I will never, ever, set foot in this county again.  You have my word.”

Kristoff jerked his head to the side in answer and the guy left hastily with his hands still up in the air.    “Let Frankie know,” he said to Sven.

Taking one hand off the gun, Sven got his phone and dialed.  It was answered right away.  “Got one coming out.  Let him go.”  Then he hung up and put the phone back in his breast pocket.

“Who the fuck was that?” asked the man next to Boone with the gun pointed low.

Kristoff answered, “Cops.”

“Oh, fuck no, I’m out.”  He raised one hand slowly, and with very deliberate and careful movements, bent to lay the gun on the ground. 

“Seriously, Chet?  You fucking pussy,” Boone spat at his friend. 

Chet straightened slowly. “Same deal.  I’m done.  I ain’t never comin’ back here.  I promise.”

“Fuck off then,” Sven said. 

“How about you two?” Buck asked the men stopped in front of them.  The assholes shared a look and then slowly raised their hands in surrender.

“We see you fellas again,” Buck warned, “this is gonna end very differently.”

“Yup,” they both agreed, and started walking quickly away.

“You fucking sissy ass motherfuckers,” Boone screeched in their direction.  Neither man answered. 

Sven grabbed his phone again and dialed Frankie.  “All four, good to go on foot.  Just got Daddy’s boy left to talk to.” 

Boone stood there stark still.  Kristoff could just make out the anger and defiance in his eyes.  He wanted to hit Kristoff… badly.  Hell, he wanted to set his house on fire with him in it no doubt.  He was a dangerous man who could not be turned loose to strike again.

Kristoff had wanted to settle this himself, but the only way this was going to end permanently was a line that he was not about to cross, regardless of his previous feelings of anger. 

Sven moved to his side.  “This is really fucking serious,” he whispered.

“I know,” Kristoff whispered back.  He knew damn well Boone could hear them from the look he was giving them.  The man was furious.

“Tell me those aren’t what I think they are,” Buck said as him and Davy approached, shining a flashlight at the ground where the gasoline filled bottles lay.

Kristoff nodded at the old man.

“Shit,” he said slowly.  “Sven, you better get Frankie up here.”

Sven turned away taking out his phone.  Kristoff watched him walk away and spoke quietly to the man on the other end.  Then he saw movement far past in the direction Sven was heading and was about to swing his gun around, thinking one of Boone’s boys had a change of heart, when he realized it was Anna.

He pointed the gun at the dirt immediately and swiftly walked over, telling Buck to ‘watch him’ over his shoulder. 

He strode up to her quickly, angry that she didn’t listen.  “What do you think you’re doing?” he hissed, then looked over his shoulder, hoping they were far enough away that Boone didn’t see her in the dark.   

“I saw four guys run out of here and didn’t hear anything for a while,” she whispered back to him with her own harsh tone.  “I was worried.”

“We’re fine, go back to the tree,” he said, and turned away.

“No.”

He stopped in his tracks and turned back slowly.  He stared at her, quiet around them except for Sven’s voice faintly in the distance, and the far-off drone of crickets and frogs.  His eyes, so much better adjusted to the low light, appraised her furrowed brow and serious expression.  Never in his life had he ever felt such a deep urge to kiss someone.

And never in his life had he ever felt such a deep urge to protect someone.

“Anna, listen, this turned serious.  I do not want-”

“What do you mean serious?  Is someone hurt?”

He shook his head quickly.  “No, no.  But Boone is a dangerous guy.”

“Boone?”

“Ringleader’s name apparently,” he said impatiently.  “Listen, Anna, I do not want him to know that you are here.  I absolutely do not want him to make a target of you.  Please, please, go back to the tree.  This is serious.”

Her wide eyes, shining in the scant moonlight, finally showed understanding.  She nodded and turned away without a word.  Kristoff trudged back to where Sven was just hanging up the phone, hoping they were far enough away now not to be overheard.

“What did he say?”

Sven pursed his lips.  “He’s pissed, of course.  And he’s headed over now to take this fuckwad into custody.  But even charging him probably won’t stick like it didn’t stick last time.  Daddy has deep pockets and knows how to go over Frankie’s head.”

“Yeah, I’m worried about that too.”  Kristoff rubbed a hand down his face.  “What can we do?”

“Dig a grave,” Sven said solemnly. 

“Come on, Sven.  We aren’t those men.”

“Kristoff, brother, if he ever hurts you, I am one of those men.”

He nodded, unable to help where his mind went all of the sudden.  If it was Sven, or Anna, and the worst happened… well, then he wasn’t sure what he’d be capable of, but he imagined it would be a lot.  Like Sven, he supposed he would be one of those men after all.

Headlights stabbed through the darkness on the country road and turned off onto the gravel laneway.  Kristoff and Sven stood where they were, watching as Frankie’s truck pulled up.   While neither of them uttered it out loud, they were both afraid of what Boone might be capable of should his father bail him out of jail again.

*****

Anna waited, eyeing the truck that was now leaving the ranch and wondering what was happening.  Then Kristoff was there a moment later, calling to her in the dark.  She finally came out from behind the tree and met him on the road.  He looked worried.  Exhausted. 

“Frankie has him now,” he said by way of a greeting.  He shrugged dejectedly. 

“What happened?”  She couldn’t help but ask.  Her curiosity was running amok. 

“I, uh… I need to get you back to your place.  Hop in my truck and we can talk on the way.”

Kristoff turned and walked away, so she followed.  When they approached the truck, he reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out some keys then went to the passenger side and unlocked the door.  It was clearly an old truck, made even more apparent to Anna that it didn’t have automatic locks.  He opened the door and waited until she crawled up into the cab before shutting it. 

He unlocked his own door and hopped in and had just started the vehicle when the big dually rounded the corner around the cabin.  Kristoff rolled down his window with a hand crank when the bigger, nearly brand-new truck stopped.  The back window went down.

Sven looked out at them.  “Drive safe.  See you in a bit.”

Kristoff nodded once and rolled up his window as Coop pulled away.  He put his truck in reverse, backed away from the cabin, and turned to head down the laneway to the main road.  He was silent as he drove, and Anna wondered how to approach the subject.   He was clearly on guard about something.  Perhaps the gentle approach would be best.

“I can see that you and Sven really are as close as brothers.”

Anna could see his mouth turn up in the smallest of smiles by the dim light coming off the instruments of the dashboard.  “Thick as thieves,” he agreed. 

“Do you guys still know your Norwegian?  After you told me the story, I got to wondering.”

He bobbed his head back and forth.  “We do, for the most part.  We have both forgotten a lot of it over the years.  I mean, we never did learn how to read or write it.  I guess we could figure it out if we really needed to, but we just embraced the English and kind of left all that behind.”

“You both speak it really well.  Aside from the names, I figured you were both born here.”

He nodded thoughtfully.  “Sometimes it feels like we were.”

Anna was silent a moment, then decided to get the information she wanted.  “I hope no one was hurt?”

He looked over at her quickly.  “No, not at all.”

“Can you tell me what happened then?”

He sighed, long and deep.  “They showed up with the intent to burn my cabin to the ground.  Likely thinkin’ I was in it.”

Anna’s heart dropped in her chest.  When Kristoff said it was serious, she did not think it was that serious.  She thought maybe someone hit someone they shouldn’t have, or maybe uttered some kind of threat.  Arson and a possible attempted murder weren’t even in her wheelhouse of possibilities. 

She suddenly didn’t know what to say.  Now she understood Kristoff’s rather harsh insistence that she stay put and stay out of danger.  It was clear to her that he didn’t think that those guys were going to do much worse than beat him up either.

“Anna, I don’t think this is gonna work.  Between us.”

She snapped her head in his direction, blindsided.  “What?” Her heart quickened in her chest.

“This life of mine… it’s not for you.  This is never going to work.”

Anger swelled up, setting her on edge.  After what they’d been through in such a short time, and the strong feelings they had talked about, she knew exactly why he’d said that.  “You get people trying to murder you often?”

Now it was his turn to look quicky at her.  “What?  No!”

“So, this Boone guy shows up with some seriously fucked up idea to set fire to the cabin, apparently with you in it, and you don’t think someone is going to do something about it?”

“His dad bailed him out of the drunk driving charges,” he said sternly.  “I’m sure he’ll bail him out of this too and he’ll try again.”

“You honestly think that?  After what happened, that he’d try and do it again?  With how serious this is?  With how serious those charges are?”

He looked flabbergasted as he kept his eyes on the road, his mouth working silently. “Yes!” he said after sputtering a moment. 

“And you’re worried about something bad happening to me because of it.”  It was a statement, not a question, and Anna knew exactly what she was doing in saying it that way.

His jaw tensed and he suddenly jerked the wheel, pulling them far into the ditch as he flicked a knob on the steering column.  A tick-ticking sound filled the cab as the hazard lights started flashing.  He turned to her, looking down at her where she braced herself against the passenger door for how far they were tilting into the ditch.  His eyes were wide.  “Yes,” he said, “and that horrifies me.”

“You know what horrifies me?  The thought of you getting hurt too.  Why do you think I was adamant about coming along?”  He didn’t react.  He just stared at her with intensity.  Anna pushed herself up a bit off the door to get her face closer to his.  “Do you feel this?  The way I feel this?”

After a second or two, his entire body relaxed along with his face and he just sat there, looking at her for a moment before he slowly nodded.  “I do.  I surely do.”

“Then don’t ever say something like that to me again.”

His eyes scanned hers and he nodded, the corner of his mouth turning up.  “Yes, ma’am.”

Anna smiled.  She liked that.  The other girls at the diner hated it because they were on the young side like her, but Anna had never been addressed with a near constant respect like that from Kristoff and all the other cowboys.  It was nice. 

“Alright then,” Anna agreed, something Kristoff had said to her numerous times already.  She even tried to mimic his slight accent and was rewarded with a bit of a smile. 

He looked contemplative as he pulled back onto the road, and they drove the rest of the way to Anna’s place in silence.  He parked on the street and shut his truck off, then he turned to her, only Anna wasn’t about to let him say whatever he’d opened his mouth to say.

“Stay with me tonight?”

He let out an exasperated breath and shook his head slightly.  “Anna…”

“On my couch.  I’d feel better if you did.”

His mouth closed slowly, looking at her with exhausted eyes, then to her delight, he nodded.

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 5

Kristanna Modernn AU Rated: M WC: 3302

Chapter Index

--------------------------

Much to Anna’s surprise, Kristoff texted her late Sunday evening when she was getting ready for bed to ask if he could call so that they could talk about their how their day had been.  She was delighted, thinking that she might not hear anything from him for a couple of days.

“Hey!” she answered when her phone rang. 

“Hey, Anna.  How are you?”

“I’m good.  How are you?  I’ll bet today was pretty hard?”

“Oof,” he grunted.  “It sucked.  At least the guys took pity on me and gave me the easy jobs.  I’m beat, but I’m home now to lick my wounds, so I’m good.”

Anna smiled.  “Glad to hear it.”

“How was work?”

“Pretty standard.  Friendly folks, decent tips.  All in all, a good day.”

“That’s great,” Kristoff responded.  “Hey, so, Friday night.  Can we pick up to go to the saloon?  Not a date though.  More of a payback kinda thing.”

Anna’s brow furrowed.  “What do you mean?”

“Our plan to get daddy’s boy to stay out of our town for good.”

“Oh, right.”  The guys had been talking about that when she went back with them to the ranch.  Anna immediately wondered if this was the whole reason that he’d called her.  “Sure, that would be just fine.”

“Okay.  I’m not sure when we’ll be done work.  Can I just text you when we’re on our way and you can give me your address?”

“That works.”

“Alright.”  He was quiet a moment, she could hear him breathing, as if he was contemplating what to say next.  Then he spoke.  “Also, I wanted to mention… um, thanks again for spendin’ the day with me yesterday.  I had a really great time.”

“I did too,” she answered truthfully.  She did have a good time.  She liked Kristoff, a lot.  Still, the future was uncertain.

“I think by the end of next week, we can get caught up to where we need to be and I can knock off early a couple of evenings.  You, uh… still interested in goin’ out?”

Anna realized that he must have picked up on a little of her apprehension.  He sounded so vulnerable.  And hopeful.   Anna felt bad all over again for her thoughts.  She had promised herself that she was not going to worry about something until it became a problem.   “I am.  Definitely.”

He gave a quick huff of relief over the phone.  “Awesome.  Hey, I’ll text you again tomorrow if that’s okay?  If it’s not too late, we can talk about our days again if you’d like.”

That uncertainty answered, Anna smiled.  She absolutely had to stop assuming she knew what the future held.  “I would like that, Kristoff.  Very much.”

“Okay.  Talk tomorrow then.  Have a great night, Anna.”

“You too.”

“Sweet dreams.”

She giggled.  “You as well.”

“Okay, goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Kristoff.”

“Kay… bye.”

“Bye,” she said through a chuckle, then the phone disconnected.

That fluttery, wonderful, amazing feeling came back in full force.  Just because she’d been neglected as a child and neglected by her ex, did not mean that Kristoff was going to neglect her too.  Even if he had some long work weeks.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

The next day after work, Anna went home and sat at her computer and googled things.   While she knew it wasn’t a date, if they happened to stay late and have drinks at the saloon, she wanted to know that dance everyone else knew to that Cadillac Ranch song.  It took her a few dozen run-throughs, and she figured by practicing all week she could join in with everyone else.

She googled their town and learned some history of it.  Then she researched the county.  After it became tedious reading, she looked up some country music songs.  When she was at Sven’s place drinking with the guys, he told her that all the best country music was from eighties and nineties.  She listened to a lot of it, and began to understand the appeal. 

So much of it told stories, a lot of them rather heartbreaking.   And there were also some wonderful simple upbeat songs.  Anna had learned that the line dance song she’d learned was done by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and listened to a lot of their other music.  One in particular stood out as her so far favorite, called ‘Fishin’ in the Dark’.   As Anna listened to the lyrics, she thought back to her and Kristoff sitting on the bank and fishing in the river, and while it hadn’t been at night, she now understood the meaning of such a song.  It made her happy, and it made her want to have a lot more of those experiences with Kristoff.

She recognized right away that life moved differently in the small town from that of the city, and it wasn’t until she listened to some of those songs that she began to understand exactly why.  Even her own life in the small town was vastly different than it was in the city.  Most of the folks didn’t go to gyms after work because their work was a workout; their small town didn’t even have anything close to a gym.  And most of the people went to the saloon on Friday and Saturday nights because that’s where the loud music and entertainment was.  While she hadn’t been there all that long, she’d never heard anyone mention the words ‘dinner party’ but she sure heard ‘backyard BBQ’ and ‘bonfire’ a lot.  Every time she was at a checkout, either at the gas station, grocery store or that western wear and tack place, people had conversations with the cashiers, holding up the lines, and no one complained because when it was their turn, they carried on a conversation as well.   Any time she approached a door, if there was a man in the vicinity, he held it for her.  When a bunch of young teenagers came into the diner, Anna thought they’d leave a mess, but everything was stacked nicely when they were finished eating, making Anna’s job to clear the table all the much easier.   When she’d stopped on the side of a country road to take a gorgeous picture of the rolling foothills against the backdrop of the stunning Rocky Mountains, someone had stopped and asked if she was having car trouble and if she needed a hand with anything.  The old lady at the farmers market stand had thrown in a free lemon loaf because Anna had purchased so many vegetables and had a lovely conversation.  The ladies she worked with at the diner, who she’d barely known, instantly became her friends and invited her out right away.   And when some gross guy got in her personal space and wasn’t taking no for an answer, a cowboy got in his face. 

Her cowboy.

Not only that, her cowboy nearly choked the life out of that man when he’d tried to hurt her.

Anna was really starting to get it.  She knew there had to be a reason she’d felt happier than she’d ever been in a long time after spending time in her new town.  When she first arrived, she’d only signed a six-month lease, wondering where she might head next when she became bored with the simple life.  Now, at that moment, she couldn’t imagine living anywhere else, and that seemed to have a lot to do with her cowboy.

When Kristoff texted her that night before bed asking if it wasn’t too late to talk, Anna was eager and excited.  He called her straight away, and even thought she was tired, they talked for an hour before hanging up.

Anna was definitely falling for him. 

Even though Friday night wasn’t a date, she could not wait to spend more time with Kristoff.  Even if it did mean being patient about it.  Like her initial instincts told her, he was absolutely someone worth waiting for.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

They picked her up in the big dually around eight on Friday evening.  With all the ranch hands in the truck, Anna went to squeeze in with Kristoff, Sven and Davy, when Kristoff simply put her on his lap and held her.  It was delightful, despite her nerves over the evening ahead.  She smiled, looking into his eyes as they drove.  They were sparkling with excitement.  She was happy to see that, and that his face was almost completely healed except for a shadow of a bruise around his eye and a small scab above his eyebrow. 

He leaned over and whispered into her ear, his warm breath tickling her neck.  “You look so sexy.”

Anna giggled quietly.  She’d gone to the thrift store to see if there were any cool clothes there and happened to find a black Harley Davidson tank top in her size and a worn leather jacket that fit well.  With that and her jeans and cowboy boots, Anna had put on some smoky makeup and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail in an attempt to look as intimidating as she could.  She supposed the result being sexy was good too.

When they piled out of the truck at the saloon, Anna noticed that nearly every vehicle in the almost full lot was a large newer pickup truck, and the music was a lot quieter than previous times.  Buck was first to the door and held it for her and everyone else, and when Anna stepped into the place, she immediately understood.

Every single person in the place turned to stare with hostility at who’d walked in.  Almost everyone was an older man, all with hard looks and weathered faces.  When Anna and everyone with her was appraised, the animosity immediately relaxed, and most of them turned back to their tables and went about their business.

Sven led them all over to an empty standing table near the door while people murmured greetings in their direction.  A waitress met them there and took the order for a couple of pitchers of beer.

Anna turned to Kristoff.  “That was intimidating as hell.”

He laughed quietly.  “Definitely.  We’re hoping that when those boys walk into this, we have some choice words with them and they decide to never come back.”

“I wouldn’t if it were me,” Anna agreed. 

One of the older gentlemen sauntered over to the table with a bow-legged limp.  His hair and burly mustache were completely white, giving a stark contrast against his black cowboy hat.  He looked at Anna first, reaching up to grab the front of his hat and tipping it in her direction. 

“Ma’am,” he said, then turned to the men.  “When you figure these boys will show?”

“Hopefully sooner rather than later,” Sven answered.  “We’ve got an early mornin’ tomorrow.”

“You button up your old pasture there, Mort?” Buck chimed in.

“What do you take me for, Buchanan.  Of course, I did.”

Anna sensed there was some history between those two.  The older man in the black cowboy hat – Mort – must be who they’d called old man Miller since Anna had heard Kristoff tell the cop that those guys cut through one of his pastures to avoid the main roads. 

“If those boys are stupid enough to let this get into a fight, we got your back this time,” said Miller.  “Everyone in this place don’t want those pissants coming around here anymore.”

His eyes flicked to Anna and she understood.  Kristoff had told her over the phone that week that Sven had gone and talked to him to tell him about their shortcut on his land and to get some help spreading the word that a message needed to be sent.  The fight, and the fact that daddy’s boy had managed to just catch Anna on her jaw with his fist, must have been one of the topics of conversation.

Sven said, “Thanks, Mort.  And thanks for spreading the word.  Good turnout.”  

Mort gave a sharp nod.  “Almost every rancher and farmer in the county answered my call.  We’ll clear out the riffraff.”  He tipped his hat to the table and sauntered back towards the men he’s been sitting with.

A waitress came by a moment later with two pitchers and six mugs.  She was setting them on the table when the front door opened and a group walked in. 

The low murmurs stopped, and everyone turned to look with another hard stare.  It was a group of young people, dressed in jeans and t-shirts, looking ready to have a good time in a country bar.  Even though everyone in the place turned back to their own tables upon realized this group wasn’t the one that they were looking for, it had apparently been jarring enough to the young people that they turned right around and went back into the parking lot.

Anna felt bad for them, but glad that it appeared to have the effect everyone was aiming for.

The guys started to talk about work when the front door opened again.  This time it was a single man who Anna recognized as one of the cops who’d stopped the fight a week ago.  Clearly, he was off duty.   When the people in the bar saw he was one of them, the mood relaxed again and many greetings were sent his way.  The man’s gaze swept towards their direction, and when he spotted them, he walked over.

“Glad to see ya, Frankie,” Sven said as he approached. 

“Sven, Kris, boys,” he nodded his head to each of them, then turned to Anna.   “Ma’am.”  He offered his hand.  “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure.”

She shook it.  “I’m Anna.  I work at the diner in town.”

“Nice to meet you, Anna.  These boys treating you properly, I hope?”

Anna smiled.  “Always.”

He nodded his approval and turned back to Sven.  “I assume from that warm welcome I haven’t missed the show?”

“Nope.  I do hope they show up soon though, it was a bitch of a week and we got an early morning tomorrow.”

As if on cue, the front door opened and a group of men walked in.  Everyone turned to stare, and the mood in the room shifted immediately.  The anger was almost palpable.  Someone even cut the music to the Jukebox.

Daddy’s boy was in front, trudging forward into the saloon confidently until he realized what he was walking into and stopped dead in his tracks.  His friends all bumped into his back as the front door swung closed.  A very intense silence stretched for a moment until someone broke it. 

“You boys think of cuttin’ through my pasture again, it’ll be the last thing you ever do,” said Miller, pushing himself to his feet from the chair he’d been sitting in.

Daddy’s boy looked around, putting a confident smirk on his face even though Anna could see there was apprehension in his eyes.  All five of them still had plenty of waning bruising from the brawl the weekend before, making it clear that they were the losers of that fight.

“Come on now,” he said to the room of hard stares.  “We can let bygones be bygones.”

Frankie was the next one to raise his voice. “We don’t want you in our town, let alone our country, ever again.”

The man standing with his friends looked over at them, anger flashing across his face as his eyes swept past her and then pausing on Kristoff, before looking at the cop. “Really?  This is a free country.  Isn’t it, Officer?”

“It is, and you are certainly free to go where you want.  Except you aren’t welcome here no more.”

“You’re free to get your asses kicked you ever come back,” someone in the back of the room shouted, and other people began putting in their two cents, all those voices starting to get loud as the tension in the room grew.

“Alright, listen,” Daddy’s boy piped up, raising his hands in a surrendering gesture, and the crowed quieted.  “I get it, you old timers don’t take kindly to us cuttin’ through a pasture.  We don’t do it anymore.”

“Can’t,” Mort spat.  “I fenced over all those broke down gates.”

“Fine, can’t.  I apologize, sir, for causing you any undue stress and aggravation.” He turned back towards them and Anna could see him staring right at Kristoff.  “These boys on the other hand… I got bones to pick with them.”

“You got a bone to pick with them, you got a bone to pick with all of us,” Mort warned. 

Now the ringleader of the unwelcome group of men was looking at Buck.  “You owe me a windshield, old man,” he said, making his voice low and threatening.  Then he turned his gaze to Anna and gave her a disturbing smile that sent shivers down her back.  “And you owe me a dance, sugar.”

“Boy, you really do want to get your ass kicked, huh?” Sven laughed. 

Kristoff spoke up over Sven’s laughter. “You lay a hand on her ever again,” he gave him a wicked grin, “I’ll kill you myself.”

“And then there’s you.” Daddy’s boy stared at Kristoff, real anger and no fear showing on his face.  He spoke slow and deliberate. “I owe you, friend.”

“I ain’t your friend,” Kristoff said through gritted teeth.  “Now you boys wanna get a beat down?  Or you gonna do the smart thing and tuck tail?”

Men from all over the bar started to take to their feet, and those already standing, took a step forward to the unwelcome group.

All four of the men behind their ringleader seemed to shirk into his back, seeking protection from a crowd that looked ready to go off like a powder keg.  Daddy’s boy suddenly looked around.  He’d been so focused on Kristoff he hadn’t noticed how threatening everything had become. 

Finally, a bit of nerves began to show through the anger.  “Whatever,” he said, taking a step back towards the door.  “We don’t want to be surrounded by a bunch of fucking hillbillies anyway.   You can have your shitty little Podunk town.”

“You stay the fuck out of our whole county,” Buck piped up with his incredibly loud voice.  “We see you fellas anywhere near here, you’ll need an ambulance ride home.”

“Consider this fair warning,” Mort chimed in. 

Daddy’s boy scowled at everyone and swiftly turned to leave the bar, sparing a quick and nervous glance over his shoulder as he opened the door and hastily went though it with his buddies close behind.  The whole bar was quiet, listening to five adult men outside run across a gravel parking lot and get into a truck, spitting rocks with the tires as they took off and peeled out onto the main road. 

“Well good fuckin’ riddance,” said the surly, tattooed bartender, and everyone started to laugh and talk.  The Jukebox started back up, and just like that, the place was a happy saloon again.

Feeling relieved, Anna turned back to the table, however, all the men standing there were sharing concerned glances, putting her on edge. 

Sven said, “This shit ain’t over.”

“Not by a long shot,” Frankie agreed.

“What do you mean?” Coop asked, clearly as confused as Anna.

“That dick is going to come after me,” Kristoff stated.  “Personally.”

Buck, Frankie and Sven all nodded. 

“After all that?” Davy asked, looking doubtful.  “He ain’t that dumb.”

“Got nothin’ to do with dumb,” said Buck.  “Like Kris said, It’s personal.  That piece of shit is gonna take it to home turf.”

“What?” Anna asked, feeling a little sick to her stomach.  “What does that mean?”

“It means we’re not getting any sleep tonight,” Kristoff said, looking sad and tired. 

“Finish off them beers, boys,” Sven commanded.  “We gotta get ready.”

---

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 4

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M (this will be EX eventually if that was not clear) WC: 4364

Chapter Index

-----------------------

Anna woke to the smell of coffee and bacon.  Her stomach rumbled.

She rolled over with bleary eyes and tapped her phone screen.  It was 6:30 in the morning!  They’d only gone to bed just over four hours ago.  Anna rolled over and prepared to go back to sleep since it was probably Sven anyway.  Kristoff had stayed up later with her and was going to be sore and tired.  He was probably still sleeping and Sven was getting ready for work.

Then whoever was in the kitchen started humming a melody.  Anna’s eyes flew open and she just had to find out for sure.  After hearing that Kristoff could sing, she found herself a little desperate to hear it.

She slipped on her boots and went out into the main room, Kristoff standing at the stove with his back to her.  He was in jeans and shirtless.  It looked bad.  The bruising seemed so much darker than only a handful of hours ago.  She couldn’t imagine how it would look the next morning.  It reminded her that he’d willfully stepped in to take a beating that first time – even though it didn’t happen – because he had noticed that group of assholes was bothering her and her friends.  Then the next time when he was outnumbered, keeping Anna out of harm’s way, getting furious when someone had tagged her while fighting off all the others…

That look on his face.  The protectiveness of it.  And they hardly knew each other.

He continued humming, pushing a wooden spoon around the pan on the stove, and it was beautiful.  Anna suddenly felt a deep urge to actually hear him sing.  Even without words, he could carry a melody that was as sweet as a songbird.  Anna had to take a moment to compose herself, then approached him.

“Hey,” she said, not wanting to sneak up with his back to her.

He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled.  “Mornin’.  Sorry if I woke you.  Early riser and all.”

“It’s okay,” she said, sitting at the kitchen table. 

Kristoff turned away from the stove and plucked the t-shirt he’d been wearing the night before off the back of a kitchen chair and slipped it on.  His movements were clearly careful, the stiffness showing in them.  Then he went to the counter where a mug was sitting beside the coffee maker.  He poured coffee into it and brought it to Anna.  “Cream and sugar?”

“Yes please.”  Anne felt bad again for the beating he’d taken.  The black eye and other bruising now showing all over.   The cut to his lip and brow looked swollen and sore.  It wasn’t something she’d ever really seen on a person up close and personal before, and Anna felt herself a little more drawn to him by it.  It wasn’t that it made him more attractive, it was that it made her attraction to him all the more real. 

He got the cream from the fridge and the little jar of sugar from the cupboard and set it on the table for Anna with a spoon, looking closely as her face as he leaned over.  “Are you okay?  You’ve got some bruising along your jaw.  I imagine that’s none too comfortable.”

Her hand came up and brushed the sore spot there.  It felt a little swollen, but not too bad, considering.  “No, it’s fine.  Like I said, he barely got me.  I was more surprised than anything.”

His mood darkened a minute, his eyes twitching narrower as he looked at her jaw.  Then he seemed to decide something in his mind as he straightened and walked back into the kitchen.  Anna fixed her coffee as Kristoff went back to the stove.

He said, “Hope bacon and eggs is okay.  Sven doesn’t have much else on hand right now.”

“That’s fine,” she responded, eyes wandering over his backside.  The man sure could fill out a pair of jeans.  She worried over his injuries, but it seemed like he was in good spirits, despite the slower movements that indicated that his body had been through it recently.

He snapped the heat off the stove and took the pan over to two plates that had bacon on them already.  He split the scrambled eggs between the two of them and then brought them to the table and took a seat beside Anna with a very slow and deliberate movement.  Anna couldn’t imagine how sore he was feeling.

“So, what do you want to do today?” he asked.

“I don’t know.  What do you do with your time off?”

“The little of it that I get in the spring?”  He shrugged.  “Fishin’.  Read.  Um, play my guitar.”

He looked embarrassed to reference him liking to sing again.  Anna found that adorable.  And she was starting to understand why what she’d said back at the bar had him looking sad.  It was clear to her now that his work was demanding.

“Is it always like that?  Working long hard days?”

His brow furrowed slightly and Anna realized she’d asked out loud what she’d been thinking. 

“No,” he started, then seemed to mull it over as he looked down at his plate to shovel eggs into his mouth.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t mean-”

He looked up quickly.  “No, it’s okay.  It’s just… sometimes, yeah.  It’s basically dawn until dusk for weeks on end.  But I still come home to my bed every night, and I do get days off.  It’s not like I can’t ever go on a vacation.  All spring and part of the summer though… the beginning of fall… we’re busy as hell.”  He paused a moment, then added, “And it’s not like there isn’t anything to do at all in the winter.  Still gotta tend to the horses and the cattle.  It’s just less busy.”

Anna nodded.  “That makes sense.”  She picked up a piece of bacon off her plate and took a bite.  Perfect crispiness.

“I haven’t really dated much, at all, and most of the women… hell, all of them, have had issue with how unavailable I am at times,” he said, like he was trying to test the waters of what was clearly building between the two of them.  It was written all over his face. 

Anna was truthful. “That doesn’t seem fair.  Didn’t they know what your job is?”

He gave her a long look.  “They did, until I’m on a couple week stretch where I couldn’t take them out on dates or spend any quality time with them, and they were tired of waitin’ I guess.  Or maybe I’m just an asshole, I don’t know.”  He shrugged, looking dejected.  “I usually get dumped pretty quick into a relationship.”

It upset her a bit to hear that.  He was a wonderful man.  There was nothing about him that didn’t seem worth waiting for.  Not to mention if any of those women had bothered to try, they might have been rewarded with his true affections.  Anna was getting the impression that he was one of those simple men, like her father had been.  It wasn’t going to be all fresh cut roses and floofy romantic gestures that didn’t mean anything.  With a man like him, it was going to be true love, the upmost respect, and steadfast devotion.  It would mean loving her the way she had always wanted to be loved.  Nothing flashy about it.  Just being there and supporting her and defending her, something that he had already done.

Wasn’t there plenty of romance novels written about such men?   

Her ex had been the opposite.  He showered her with all kinds of flowers and gifts.  A cover for the fact that he was cheating on her.  Anna knew a man like Kristoff would not come home with a box of chocolates, but he wasn’t going to come back with some other woman’s lipstick on his collar either.  A collar that was as blue as the sky above them.

“I have a feeling those women didn’t know what they were missing,” Anna said quietly, looking into his beautiful brown eyes. 

The hand he had hovering above his plate to put more eggs into this mouth dropped to the table, and the fork clacked to the ceramic, spilling eggs onto the tabletop.  He leaned back in his chair, giving her a look.  “Do you feel this?” he asked pointedly.  “Like I feel this?”

Anna knew exactly what he meant.  “Yes, I do.”

He pursed his lips, mulling it over a moment.  “All in due course though.”

She smiled.  What a man!  He was admitting his vulnerability because he knew that Anna would have her own as well. “Yes.  I would appreciate that.”

He gave her a single nod.  “Alright then.”

*****

Kristoff had to admit to Anna he was too sore to walk all the way to his cabin, and since she didn’t know how to ride a horse, they took one of the quads.  Anna sat behind him hugging his torso and Kristoff enjoyed every moment of that ride, even if it was hell on his sore body.

The log cabin was over a hundred years old, built by the current owner’s great-great-great grandfather when they’d first settled in the area.  It was their first house on the ranch, then when they expanded and swallowed up some of the other smaller farms in the area, they moved to the northern side where the well water was better and there was then the first access to electricity.  The old cabin was used as ranching quarters for many years until the three small houses near the main house were added in the late 1950s.

It had remained empty ever since then, deteriorating in the elements over time.  When Kristoff was just a young man, learning the ropes, they’d been tasked with taking it down.  As soon as Kristoff set foot in the place, he felt a sort of calling, and asked the owner that if he supplied the materials, Kristoff would do all the repairs when he was off the clock if he was allowed to live in it.  That way, a part of the history of the ranch could be preserved.

It took two years.  Mostly on his own but plenty of help from Sven as well.  They brought in plumbing and electric, replaced the rotting floor, pulled the entire dilapidated roof off and rebuilt it with insulation and proper venting, new doors, new windows, and they brought the small kitchen up to date and expanded it with an island lined with four bar stools.

Kristoff had never been prouder of anything in his life and he was graciously allowed to live there and make it his own. 

He parked the quad beside his personal truck and they walked up the steps to the front porch and Kristoff let her inside, telling her all about the old cabin.  Anna seemed to really like his space.  She asked him all kinds of questions and wandered around looking at everything.  Kristoff wasn’t sure why that put such a smile on his face.  Maybe because most of the other ladies he’d shown it to just didn’t understand why he’d been so proud to live in the old tiny cabin, or how he could live without a television.

There was only the one bedroom and Kristoff showed it to her, a little embarrassed that he never bothered to make the bed.  If Anna cared that it was messy, she never showed it. 

They walked back into the main room and stood in the middle between the kitchen and the couches.    “It’s very nice, Kristoff,” she said.  “I don’t know why, but this really suits you.”

“Yeah?” he asked, wondering where the hell this woman had been all his life.

“I notice you don’t have a TV.  Somehow that doesn’t surprise me.”

He laughed at that.  “Really?  No one else can seem to figure that one out.  Even Sven and the other guys.”

“Well,” she said, walking over to the threadbare sofa and sitting down, “I noticed all the books.  And you said you liked to play the guitar.  And sing.”

That made him blush again as he sat on the lounge chair facing her. 

“Plus, you work hard,” she continued, “and clearly you like to play hard.  And do things like go fishing.  So what does TV really offer you that everything else can’t.”

He shook his head in disbelief.  “Exactly.  If I want to catch a game, I’ll go to a sports bar or watch it at Sven’s.  Nothing else has ever really interested me.”

Anna nodded with a bit of a sheepish smile.  “I have to admit there’s a couple of shows I’m currently addicted to.”

“I’d get a TV if you wanted one.”  His eyes went wide.  He had not meant to say that.  It surprised him actually, how easily that just came out.

Anna regarded him closely for a moment.  Then she gave him a playful shrug.  “All in due course, right?  Who knows, things might change.”

It was his turn to let out a slow breath.  Shit, this was intense.  He’d never felt anything even remotely close to this before.  It was electric.  And exciting. 

*****

They lounged on a thick wool blanket on a grassy bank overlooking the small river that was more like a big creek, only a few meters from Kristoff’s cabin.  Anna found it tranquil as she sat with her grip on a fishing rod with a weighted line sitting in the slow-moving water.  He’d set it up for her and shown her what to do if she felt a pull.  So far, she hadn’t yet.

He said he was up for anything, only Anna knew his body was saying otherwise.  She suggesting hanging around his place and showing her around until he was tired of her and wanted to take her back to her car.  He told her such a thing was impossible, and he would take to her car anyway when she was ready to go home.

They talked about anything and everything, getting to know each other better, as they ate a type of picnic that Kristoff had packed for them.  Nibbling on the simple deli ham and slices of cheddar on saltine crackers wasn’t exactly like the charcuterie boards she’d enjoyed when she lived in the city, but it meant a whole hell of a lot more to her.

She looked down at him where he lay on the blanket beside her, his eyes closed to the high noon sun.  Despite the black eye and the other injuries, he was still undeniably beautiful, accentuated by the constant gentle smile he had as they talked.  Looking at his face, Anna started to notice faint scars here and there, and she wondered if the wounds from the night before would turn into any of them.  Clearly, he’d been through things, living a hard ranching life.  Not to mention she doubted that fight was his first.

As they chatted idly, Anna started to wonder how being with someone could feel so instantly comfortable.  It was like they’d known each other for years.  And yet, there were parts of him that seemed closed off.  Guarded in a way that suggested he’d been hurt in the past, making her wonder again why that hurt had come in the first place.

Anna had meant it when she said that she felt what Kristoff was feeling, and it was literally turning her entire world upside down.

Would being with him be as lonely at times as he had suggested it might be?  Anna suddenly imagined him coming home well after sunset, sitting down to a dinner she had kept warm for him from eating alone hours before.  Then him being too tired to do anything else besides kiss her and fall asleep at her side.

She thought back again to how things had been with her ex.  Was being with him really so different?  She had eaten plenty of meals on her own when he’d worked late.  She’d even spent plenty of weekends alone when he was off to some destination or another for business conferences.  Even if he called and texted her all the time, making her feel like he was more than a presence in her life than he truly was, he was still absent.  And on the other hand, Anna knew Kristoff would not have time for such nonsense, leaving her wondering after him, knowing that she was not going to get a call or a text.  Just left waiting.  Knowing he will come home, but not when.

And where would that leave her in terms of work?  Driving all that way to the diner every morning?  She learned that Sven’s fiancé Dixie was moving in with Sven when she returned from a rodeo circuit – she was a barrel racer and earned her keep that way – her place on the ranch, when she was there, would be much different.  Maybe they’d even offer her an off-season job.  Anna had barely even seen a horse in real life, let alone ridden one. 

She had told Kristoff that she didn’t think those other women knew what they were missing, and she had meant it.  Only now she wondered if they were perhaps seeing something that she wasn’t.  She refused to believe what Kristoff had said about thinking himself an asshole.  He had not shown her anything that suggested anything of the sort.  And yet, he said he was always being broken up with.  Was it the ranch?  Was it his work?  Was it something else?

This life was so foreign to her.   The future, so uncertain.  Part of her could picture it as clear as day, and the other part worried if she would be happy with the sacrifice it meant to be with Kristoff.  Could she ever really belong in this world?

Those thoughts made her feel like a piece of shit.  He’d come right out and told her that he struggled because the women he’d dated didn’t understand his lifestyle, and Anna was worried she might eventually become one of them.  She did need attention, having spent a lot of her childhood without it.  Would the attention she did get, be enough?

Anna realized she was lost in her own thoughts and Kristoff hadn’t said anything in while.  Leaning over and looking closer at him, she saw that he’d fallen asleep.  Even with all the bruising on his gorgeous face, he looked peaceful.

She shook her head.  She had no business thinking and worrying about such things when they’d only just met each other.   He was the most wonderful man she’d ever met and she was deeply attracted to him, and that was all that mattered.  The rest would come. 

All in due course.

*****

Kristoff drove back to his cabin feeling a little melancholy. 

Anna was so amazing he knew that he was going to fall in love with her.  Dropping her back off at her car, telling her that he would keep in touch and let her know when work slowed so that he could take her on an actual date, left him feeling depressed about his job in a way that it never had before.

He’d woken that afternoon to her smiling softly down at him, his stomach doing little flips to gaze at her again.  They talked for a while longer and then she asked to be taken back to her car since she did have to be at the diner early the next morning for her shift.  She was a little quiet on the ride and he figured it was because she was tired from having little to no sleep the night before.   While he hadn’t expected to get another kiss, he found himself a little disappointed to part with just a hug all the same.

And now that he was alone, he wondered if her silence was an indicator that she was having second thoughts about what being with him going forward might be like.  Perhaps he should be guarding his heart a little better.   He’d never had it broken, not even close, but if anyone could hurt him that way, it was going to be Anna.

He needed to be more careful.  Thinking back, he couldn’t believe how reckless he’d been with his feelings.  The things he’d told her, what he’d admitted… he’d never said those words to another living soul before.  Not even Sven, his best friend – his brother – who he’d known his entire life.  Maybe opening up was giving her some second thoughts.

Dark thoughts began swirling in his mind as he parked in front of his cabin and walked slowly up the steps.  Fuck he was sore.  Sore and ashamed of himself.  Angry.

He shuffled over to the fridge and grabbed a beer to take to the porch.  He had some serious thinking to do.  Just as he sat down with a loud groan, his phone rang.   Kristoff fished it out of his front pocket and looked at it.  It was Sven.

“Yeah?” he answered.

“How you making out, Hoss?”

“Sore.”

Sven was silent for a moment.  “What happened?”

“Nothin’.”  Kristoff sighed. “Nothin’.  We had a great time.  We hung out all day.  Talked.  Fished a bit.”

“Catch anything?”

“No.”

“So, what’s with the tone?  Are you havin’ second thoughts?  Was she not what you were expecting?”

Frustration flared up within him.  “No.  I just…”  Kristoff shook his head, not knowing what to say.

It was Sven’s turn to sigh.  “You never talk to me anymore.  Ever since I got with Dixie.  Jeg trodde vi var sterkere enn det.”   I thought we were stronger than that.

Kristoff felt like a piece of shit all over again for the sadness in his brother’s voice.  Because they were that, brothers.  Not by blood, by their shared experiences.   By the tandem in which they lived their lives.

It all began when they met as very young boys (toddlers really) in an orphanage in Norway.  Being virtually the same age, the boys glommed onto one another and did everything as a pair for the year and a half that they were there.  Then when a couple from all the way across the ocean said they wanted to adopt a child, they were told that the boys were inseparable.   

As luck would have it, the family looking to adopt was more than willing to take in both boys, and they’d taken a very long trip back with them to a country that was foreign and weird, and no one spoke their language.   Their adoptive parents were wonderful, caring, and provided the boys a family they’d never had.  But it had been lonely in the beginning, struggling to learn English when they couldn’t even yet read or write in their native tongue, and learning an entirely new way of life living and working on a chicken farm.  Him and Sven had formed an unbreakable bond.

As they grew, surrounded by the culture they found themselves in, their English became as accented as those around them.  They learned about chores and hard work, and gladly helped their adoptive parents as soon as they were done school until dinner time at night.  It wasn’t until they graduated high school, and their parents sold the chicken farm to retire to their native Mexico, that the boys took to learning the work of a big ranch.  They’d been hired together when they were both just barely eighteen.

Since they were kids, they always spoke English to each other, just wanting desperately to fit in and fully immersing themselves in their new country.  Yet those first couple of days on the big ranch, when things were tough and it was the two of them at night sharing memories over a beer, they’d occasionally slip back into speaking Norwegian, even if they were starting to forget some of it by then.

Everyone in town knew their story.  Even Anna had asked when they were fishing, telling him she was curious because names like Kristoff and Sven didn’t exactly sound like any of the others she’d head from the area.  He told her all about it fondly, and she had enjoyed his story, smiling that sweet smile of hers the entire time.

Now he felt a new sort of shame, because he had been shutting Sven out, feeling lonely since he’d be moving on with Dixie.  And he’d been too harsh to cast such judgements on Anna, although he was going to guard his heart a little better from her until things progressed.  It was Sven he needed to let in.

“I’m sorry,” Kristoff said.  “You don’t deserve that.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” Sven said softly.  “I get there are things you don’t wanna talk about, it’s just that this feels to me like somethin’ you need to talk about.”

That made him smile a little.  “Honestly, I’m just getting in my own head again.  Anna is really special.  I… really like her.  I’m just worried it’s gonna end like all the others and I’m gonna to get really hurt this time.”

“Ah, man, yeah.  That’s rough.  I know the feeling.”

Kristoff was surprised.  “You do?”

“Hell yeah.  When Dixie and I got hot and heavy.  I mean, what does a rodeo queen want to do with a ranch hand from some hick town… even if he’s from the hick town that she grew up in.  She could live anywhere, have anyone, you know?  Why me?”

“You guys are amazing together.  Don’t worry ‘bout that.”

“I don’t.  Now.  Back then though, when it was new, I did.”

Kristoff nodded to himself.  “Well shit if that don’t make all the sense in the world.”

Sven laughed.  “I keep telling you I’m the smarter one.”

“You just may be,” Kristoff admitted.

“So anyway, I wanted to tell you too, that I went and talked to old man Miller.”

Kristoff stook a swig of his beer.  “And?”

“He’s pissed.  And on board.”

He smiled.  Perhaps it looked slightly deranged.  “Good. ‘Bout time we kick those boys out of our town once and for all.”

--

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[kristannafever-fics]

Big Sky Ranch - 3

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 6346

Chapter Index

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The waitress wasn’t working when they went for a late breakfast the next morning.  Kristoff figured she might be off and realized he was disappointed all over again to discover that he was right, because this breakfast was going to be the last one that they could go to for a while with how busy their next couple of weeks were on the ranch.

All week long – and a long, busy week it was – he thought about her, and when the next Friday finally rolled around, he found himself wondering if she would be at the bar again.  It was the only place he figured he might bump into her and hopefully get the opportunity to ask her out on a date.  It probably wouldn’t work out between them in the end, like every other relationship he had, but part of him had developed an intense need to find out all the same. 

Him and Sven were hanging up the last of the horse tack in the stables when he decided he was going to go for it.  “So, we goin’ to the bar tonight?” he asked, trying to be casual.

“Man, I don’t know.  It was a bitch of a week and I’m dog tired,” Sven answered.  “Think I might just do my drinkin’ at home tonight and call it an early one.”

Kristoff nodded.  He was dead tired too, he just had to try and see her again.  “Maybe Buck or the greenhorn want to go.”

Sven paused where they stopped at the stable door to shut it up for the night and looked at him.  “Why so eager all of the sudden?  I usually gotta spend my hard-earned pay feedin’ you beer to get you to come along and have a good time with us.  Which, by the way, you always do.”

“I know.  I’m just tryin’ not to be so much of a stick in the mud.”

Sven’s eyes narrowed.  “Not buyin’ it.  I know you better than that.”

Frustration flared within him and Kristoff pushed past his brother.  “Never fuckin’ mind then.”

“Wait, hang on!” Sven called, following after him.  “I mean, if you really want to go, you know I won’t turn down a good time.  I just wanna know why.”

“Like I said,” Kristoff muttered through gritted teeth.  Part of him wanted to tell Sven the real reason except he found himself too embarrassed to actually do so.  That would mean admitting to Sven that he was right; Kristoff was starting to feel pretty lonely.

“Well, alright then.” Sven fell in step beside him.  “Let’s see if we have any other takers.  I ain’t drivin’ if the greenhorn don’t wanna go.”

*****

Anna found herself extremely disappointed that other two ladies she worked with at the diner had weekend plans and weren’t available to go drinking at the saloon that night.  She had really wanted to see if the blond cowboy might be there since he hadn’t been in for breakfast all week.  She hoped that he would have come back into the bar that night so that she could thank him.   Instead, it was the oldest man in their group that returned to pay the tab and then left right after.

She’d looked for him.  Every time she was in town, at the grocery store, the coffee shop, the place that sold all that western wear and stuff for horses, and she hadn’t had any luck in bumping into him.  At least she found herself some proper clothes, boots, and a brand-new hat.  She’d been so excited to wear them out to the saloon.

Would it be smart to go alone?  Anna wasn’t exactly sure what her friends had meant when they said it was a rough crowd that could get rowdy, and that was even with that parking lot fight that almost broke out the weekend before.  Perhaps things could get a lot rougher than that?

Then again, she did have pepper spray and a taser; an illegal gift from her ex because he had travelled and didn’t want her to be alone with no way to defend herself should someone intrude into their apartment.  She could put the items in her purse.  Unlike the clubs downtown in the city, there was no one searching the women’s purses when they entered the saloon, so Anna decided to go it alone.  She’d drive and only have one drink so she could take herself home if things got a little out of control.

Smiling to herself, she got dressed in her new ‘cowgirl outfit’ and drove to the saloon.  It was a bit earlier than the last time she’d and she’d hoped that it would give her a better opportunity to spot him if he was there.  When she arrived, much to her dismay, the place was packed.  She had to park in the overflow parking on the grass next to the gravel parking lot.

Feeling a little discouraged, she went in anyways to see if he was there.

*****

The four men took a table at the far end in the lefthand corner of the bar since they were all too tired to stand all night.  The greenhorn had come, and Buck as usual.  Buck probably would have been there anyway if none of the hands had wanted to go out.  Davy was the only one who passed.  He said that he drank too much the previous weekend and had no desire to repeat it.

Their conversation was a little lackluster and Kristoff was chagrined to be the one trying to come up with topics of conversation.  This was his damn idea anyway.  And the whole time, he looked around for her, hoping to spot her in the crowd.  He even had half a mind to wander over to plug some quarters into the Jukebox to see if she might happen to be on the other side of the bar.  Only he didn’t, because that would be a huge red flag to the others that he wasn’t there for their company as it wasn’t something he’d ever been known to do. 

And the longer they sat there, the busier the place got.  He hadn’t even known there was a live band, although when they did start playing about an hour after Kristoff and the ranch hands arrived, everyone seemed to perk up.  By then the drinks were flowing and all the guys were having a good time.  Except Kristoff.  He was getting drunk and he was upset that he hadn’t seen her. 

He knew there would be opportunity to see her again.  Sooner or later, they’d be back in the diner and she’d be there working.  Only what if she’d forgotten about him by then?  It was clear she was looking, and there was nothing to prevent her from looking elsewhere since she might get the impression it wasn’t his work keeping him from breakfast at the diner. 

At least if he got to see her again and ask her out, if she did say no, he could finally move on and push her out of his damn mind.  It was distracting – and if he was being honest with himself, very distressing – to be thinking about someone so much that his mind did little else with any free time.  

He sighed, and picked up his glass to take a swing when Sven elbowed him in the side, making him spill beer into his lap.

“Hey Kris, guess what?  The waitress is over there.”

Kristoff looked quickly at Sven and then followed where he was subtly pointing, then saw her. 

His jaw dropped.  No wonder he hadn’t been able to spot her.  He was actively looking for ladies not dressed like he was.  And holy shit, she was drop dead gorgeous in a pair of wranglers and a turquoise and black plaid shirt that just brought out all the similar colours in her eyes, to say nothing of the hat and boots she had on.

All the heat went to his cheeks as he stared.  She was standing and talking to a group of men and women, looking like she was having a good time while she glanced around the entire bar.   He didn’t see the ladies she was in there with last time.  Who was she looking for?  Them?  Perhaps someone else?

Part of him suddenly hoped she was looking for him.  That lust-filled look she’d given him last week… it was seared into his brain.  It was there, every time he closed his eyes. 

“Wait,” Sven said loudly, leaning over so that Kristoff could hear him over the music.  “Are you interested?  You are!  Aren’t you?”

He continued to stare at the waitress and nodded without even thinking about it.

“Ah, man.  Finally!”  Sven smacked his shoulder.  “Yeah, bro!  Go ask her out.”

Kristoff nodded again and stood up.  Just as he did so, the country cover band transitioned songs and everyone took to their feet.  It was Cadillac Ranch time.

*****

As soon as the song started, Anna knew this was going to be her best chance at spotting him in the busy crowd.  People swarmed the dance floor and Anna looked around at all of them, trying to find the hat that stood a little taller than most of the others.

Then out of the corner of her eye, movement in the near empty part of the bar caught her attention.  She glanced over to see him at a table of men, standing and looking right at her.  A fluttery feeling erupted in her stomach to realize he was coming over to her with a look on his face that was dazed, determined, and incredibly sexy.

He stopped in front of her and looked down, almost as if he was in a bit of a daze.

“Hi there,” Anna said at his silence, nervous and excited to be talking to him.

He blinked like he was coming out of a trance.  “Hello,” he said softly, barely audible over the loud music.

Anna smiled at him.  “Want to talk outside?”

He nodded, smiling back at her. 

Anna turned and made her way past the few people who were standing on the sidelines, fewer than last time since the country cover band seemed to be drawing more rural folks than city ones, and pushed her way outside, feeling his presence behind her.  She wandered away from the crowd that was smoking and over to the edge of the grass area that her car was parked in and turned around.

“I’m Anna,” she said, and offered her hand to shake.

The cowboy looked down at it and slid his palm into hers, then surprised her by shifting his grip gently to her fingers to bring her hand up as his head bobbed down.  He placed a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to officially meet you, Anna,” he said, letting go of her hand and straightening back up.  “I’m Kristoff.”

All of the nerve endings in her body were suddenly on fire.  No man had ever kissed her hand like that.  It was romantic as hell.  And that name!  Certainly not what she was expecting, but how wonderfully it suited him.  Anna was suddenly beyond flustered. 

“I’m fairly new to town,” she said, having no idea what else to say.  Her mind was blank except for the runaway thoughts of how unbelievable it was that she was standing there actually talking to the man that had been in her dreams every night since the first time she’d laid eyes on him. 

The side of his mouth turned up in a sultry smile.  “I know.  I’ve lived here nearly all my life.”

Anna struggled with how to respond.  She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind.  “I didn’t see you in the diner all week.”

His smile faded away like that was the wrong thing to say.  “Busy week on the ranch,” he responded.  “Sometimes I don’t have a lot of free time.”

Anna nodded.  “I understand.  I’ll bet you guys work really hard.  Lots of long days strung together, I’m sure.”

That brought strength back to his smile and his eyes scanned her face.  “Would you like to go out with me sometime?  My next couple weeks are pretty busy unfortunately, but I’ve got a bit of a break after that.”  He raised his eyebrows.  “If you’re interested?”

“I am very interested!” Anna grinned at him, glad that he apparently hadn’t changed his mind about approaching her in the first place.  In the back of her mind, she wondered why what she’d said seemed to bother him for a moment there.

He opened his mouth to respond when someone shouted in the parking lot.

“I got a bone to pick with you, cow-fucker!”

Both of them turned to look at the commotion and Anna was surprised it seemed to be directed their way.  Then she realized who was shouting at them.  It was the sleazy asshole who’d been hitting on her last Friday.  The guy with halitosis and the seriously creepy light-blue eyes who had no respect for women.

Anna still flushed at the thought that Kristoff and his friends had come over to get those assholes out of her and her friends faces.  And she wished she could have seen them kick their asses.  They certainly deserved it. 

“Leave me alone goat roper,” Kristoff said, then sighed, looking tired as hell all of the sudden.

“It’s because of you I got a DUI last weekend!” he shouted, charging in their direction.  “Cop told me.  How did you know we cut through old Miller’s pasture.”

Kristoff turned towards the asshole as he approached and shouted. “We all know, you fuckin’ wannabe.  You and your piece of shit friends have no fuckin’ respect, and we are all fuckin’ tired of it.”

Anna saw the loser’s friends rush up behind him and looked to the bar, hoping that some of Kristoff’s buddies were around.  None were, only people staring at them while they smoked.  The music from the bar was so loud, no one would know what was happening unless they were already outside.

“My father had to pay a fortune to get me out of holding and make the charge go away,” the asshole shouted.  “And you’re gonna pay for it through your teeth!”

Kristoff stepped quickly away from Anna to keep her out of harm’s way as the asshole and his friends surged forward, swarming him and hitting him as he fought them back.  It looked for a second like Kristoff was going to lay them all out with one punch and be done with them, when someone got in a lucky jab and he staggered, losing his stance and opening himself up to get hit again and again.

Anna was furious.  She reached into her purse and found her taser and jammed it into the back of the guy closest to her.  He jerked violently and fell to the ground, writhing in pain, his body twitching as his muscles seized up.  Anna took down the next guy, and then the next, then their pathetic leader noticed and turned to her, taking a wild swing at her face with his closed fist.

Anna knew it was going to hurt, and it did.  Although she did manage to swing her head far enough away that it glanced off the side of her jaw instead of hitting her square in the nose.  It wasn’t anywhere near as full force as the asshole had intended.  Still, it made her lose balance and fall to her ass.

She could only watch in a daze as the asshole approached her again, standing over her like he was going to take another shot while she was down to make up for the one he had missed, when suddenly a big forearm clamped around his neck and hauled him backward.  Kristoff had him in a chokehold, ignoring the guy who was pummeling him from behind.  

Anna had never in her life seen a man so furious.  Kristoff looked bound and determined to choke the life out of the guy who’d hit her.

Her sense slammed back into her brain and she reached for where she’d dropped her taser into the grass when she went down.  The other three men were struggling to get back to their feet as well, which meant it was going to be five on one again soon.  Or rather, five on two, because Anna wasn’t about to step out of this fight.

All of the sudden someone shouted from the front of the bar so loudly, that the entire inside of the place would have heard it over the roaring country music.

“Oi, boys!  Trouble!”

It was the oldest man who’d been sitting at Kristoff’s table.  He had a dart in his hand, clearly exiting the bar to have a smoke when he realized his friend was being attacked by a group of men.  He dropped the cigarette and ran forward, taking an expertly aimed swing at the man who’d peeled off from hitting Kristoff in the back of the head to deal with the older man.

Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.  The last guy she’d tased was on his feet now, scrambling to get to his boss who was turning red with Kristoff’s arm still clamped around his neck while he continued to take clumsy, halting hits from the other two assholes that she’d tased.  The old man was trading punches with the one who’d charged him, then two other guys came running out of the bar; the one Kristoff had been at breakfast with, and a beanpole of a kid who didn’t look old enough to even be in a saloon.

Someone got in a punch that made Kristoff release the grip he had on their boss, and he turned to start fighting the one who’d hit him.  The piece of shit he had in the chokehold fell to his knees, gasping for air.  Anna took the immediate liberty of taking him out of the fight.  She put her taser between his shoulder blades and put him face down into the gravel. 

Now every other man was hitting one another and Anna didn’t want to get too close and catch another wayward punch or accidentally taser someone who didn’t deserve it.  She felt a little helpless, watching as Kristoff and his friends appeared to be gaining a winning edge, all the while taking swing after swing.  And then like someone flicked a switch, it was suddenly over.  The group of douchebags seemed to decide simultaneously that they’d had enough, and backed up quickly to retrieve their boss, picking him up hastily, his body limp like a rag doll, as Kristoff and his friends halfheartedly chased them back to the pickup truck they’d come in. 

The old man picked up a rock and threw it at the windshield as they peeled out of the parking lot, smashing it right in the middle sending cracks out in all directions across the glass.

Anna was about to see if everyone was okay when large hands were turning her around and Kristoff gently grabbed her on either side of her head, his thumbs pressed lightly on the edge of her cheeks.  He looked at her, his eyes wild with concern.

“Are you okay,” he said quickly, scanning every inch of her face.

She nodded in his hands, scared with how much blood was on his face.  He’d taken quite a few hits before his friends showed up.  His lip was split, there was a nasty looking cut on his right brow, his nose was bleeding, and he had a few other scratches and scrapes all over his beautiful face.

“I’m completely fine,” Anna said, frowning with her own concern.  She grabbed his hands and brought them into hers.  “How are you feeling?”

He gave her a tired smile, blood showing on his teeth.  “Like I got punched in the face.  A lot.”

“Shit man, I’m sorry,” said his breakfast friend, coming up and placing a hand on Kristoff’s shoulder and leaning into him.  It was a very brotherly gesture and Anna dropped Kristoff’s hands so as not to take away from the moment. 

“What are we going to do about those pussy-ass motherfuckers?” asked the young kid.  He was going to wake up with a black eye and looked so highly caffeinated that he was ready to chase after that truck on foot.

“Kick their asses if we ever see them in our town again,” the old man said, and spit into the gravel.  “This shit is gonna stop.”

“Damn straight it is,” answered Kristoff.  “No one hits a lady and doesn’t get their ass handed to them.”

His diner buddy became more enraged. “Jesus fucking Christ, are you kidding me?”

All of them men looked at her, concerned and angry over the fight.   They looked much more worse for wear than she was sure she did.  All of them had blood and cuts on their faces, although none so much as Kristoff. 

“I’m fine, guys!  Honest.”  Anna rubbed her jaw where the fist glanced her skin.  “He barely got me.  It’s just a little sore.”

Kristoff grinned, staring into her eyes while talking to his friends.  “Anna took a few of them down with a taser.”

“No shit?” said Kristoff’s diner friend, giving her an impressed grin.  “Well hot damn, we owe you couple rounds of drinks then.”

“They won’t let me back in there, Sven.”  Kristoff spat blood into the ground.  “Not lookin’ like this.”

“We ain’t going back in there,” Sven agreed, staring at her.  “We’re takin’ Anna home with us to keep drinkin’.”

They all grinned at her and Anna couldn’t help but grin back.  Not a single fiber of her being was scared of going with these men.  She felt safer with them than she’d felt in nearly her entire adult life.  She’d just have to get one of them to give her a ride back to grab her car.

They all picked up their hats where they’d been knocked off their heads and piled into the big dually, Anna sitting in the middle of the back seat, snuggled up to Kristoff’s side as soon as he slid his arm around her shoulders.  He hadn’t stopped smiling at her.  While Anna had no idea what was in store for her, she was excited.  She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing she didn’t want was going to be forced upon her.   It was weird to her to have such an instant sense of trust in a group of people, which was likely large in part due to Kristoff and how he’d defended and protected her.

Thirty or so minutes later they were headed up a long drive to an impressive farmhouse.  When they were almost there, the road split, and they turned towards a grouping of three small identical houses in a row beside a large barn and a long stable.  The kid parked in front of the house in the middle and they all got out and headed inside.

The kitchen and living room were open to each other as soon as they stepped in the door.  On the back wall were three doors which appeared to be a bathroom in the middle and two bedrooms on either side.  Having no idea who lived here, she assumed it was Sven and Kristoff.

Then Kristoff asked Sven to lend him a towel so he could shower and she had to wonder which one of the houses he did live in.   Kristoff gave her a wink and went into the bathroom, leaving her feeling flustered all over again to think about him being naked.  She had been doing a lot of that since the first time she’d laid eyes on him in the diner, and even more since the last time they were at the saloon and he’d gotten that gross guy out of her face.

Each of the other men lined up took turns at the kitchen sink, splashing water on their faces to wash away blood and grime.  There was familiarity to their movements, like they’d practiced this before, which as she thought about it, they probably had.  Once clean, their faces didn’t look as bad they’d seemed, although all of them were likely to wake up with a black eye or two. 

When Sven was done at the sink, he wandered over to a stereo by a television in the living room and turned it on to a country music station.  Anna sat at the kitchen table while the other three men came over and gathered at the table with her.  Sven handed them all a bottle of beer. 

“Thanks for helping out my boy,” he said to her as he sat down.

“I’m glad I was able to,” she said.

“I’m Sven, by the way.  The old man there is Buck, and I don’t even remember what the greenhorn’s real name is.”

Everyone laughed. 

“Fuck you,” said the kid with a grin.  He turned to Anna.  “My name is Cooper.  My friends call me Coop, and these assholes call me Greenhorn.”

“You ain’t got any other friends.”  Buck laughed.  “Just us.”

Cooper gave the old man two middle fingers and everyone laughed again. 

Sven fished a phone out of his pocket and started typing a message.  “I’ll see if Davy’s still up.”

“He won’t be,” said Coop.  “He told me he was going to take a sleeping pill so he can catch up on some rest.”

Sven shrugged and set his phone on the table.  “Well, his loss then.  Fuckin’ pussy.”  His eyes suddenly widened and he gave Anna and incredibly sheepish look.  “Sorry.  That was inappropriate.”

Anna thought back to all the things she’d overheard her ex say with his friends through the walls of the den because she wasn’t allowed to hang out with them.  “No worries.  I’ve heard much worse, believe me.”

Sven gave her a big grin and then tilted the neck of his beer bottle in her direction.  Anna grabbed her bottle and tapped it against his and then they each took a big sip.  She was about to ask them who lived with who, when the bathroom door opened and Kristoff stepped into the main room with a towel wrapped around his waist. 

“I’m borrowing some of your clothes,” he said to Sven, and disappeared into the bedroom on the right.

After a long moment of staring after him, Anna let out a rather long and shaky breath.  She wasn’t prepared to see a damp, half-naked Kristoff, and she was taken completely off guard.   Heat flooded through her as she thought about being with him again, the picture a lot clearer now that she’d seen him in only a towel.  He was more muscle defined than even she had imagined.

Cooper laughed.  “Same, Anna.  Same.”   

“Yup,” Buck agreed.  “I’m straight as they come, but even my jaw dropped to the floor first time I saw Kris’s naked ass.  Only I got the view without the towel.”  He grinned and winked at her.

Anna’s face was on fire and she knew she was turning bright red.  She was hot and bothered, and now embarrassed to be caught ogling him again.  He was just so damn hot!  It wasn’t fair.

“He’s gonna feel that fight tomorrow,” Sven said, looking concerned.  “Got a lot of bruising forming around his ribs already.”

Buck and Coop nodded and Anna felt embarrassed again that she hadn’t even noticed the bruising on his body.  She’d been too captivated by everything else, not to mention some seriously dirty thoughts that had immediately blossomed in her brain.

Then Kristoff came out of the bedroom in a t-shirt that was a size too small and a pair of jeans without a belt.  He was toweling off his hair as he walked towards the table.  He threw the damp towel on the back of the couch as he passed, then grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat slowly in the vacant seat beside Anna, wincing a little as he did so.

Anna surveyed his face as the guys started talking about a plan to make sure those assholes didn’t come back to their town.  Aside from the minor scrapes, his bottom lip looked swollen and sore where it was split, and thankfully the gash on his brow wasn’t as big as Anna had initially thought it was.  Aside from the black eye, he didn’t look too worse for wear, which was amazing considering he’d been fighting five guys at once at one point.

The conversation soon turned to Anna and she told the men about her decision to move out of the big city and some of the other details of her life.  Then she asked them about growing up in the small town and they all regaled her with plenty of amusing stories about what life was like for them.

The beers turned into shots which turned into whiskeys for the guys and back to sipping beer for Anna with plenty of water in between.  She was getting pretty tipsy and could absolutely not handle much of the hard stuff.

They talked and laughed and Anna was having tons of fun even though it was getting late.  Sure, the cowboys were a little crass, and there were plenty of curse words flying around, but nothing they said was mean or offensive which was very unlike how her ex and his friends used to talk.  The funny stories the cowboys told were everything.  Anna couldn’t remember a time her sides had been so sore from laughing. 

And the amorous way Kristoff was looking at her all evening, had her practically salivating.  The more he looked at her with that lop-sided smile and those hooded eyes, the more she really wanted to know what it was like to be with him. 

Buck had just finished telling them all an embarrassing story about Coop’s first day on the ranch, when Kristoff excused himself to the bathroom.  As soon as the door shut, Sven leaned over to her, eyes glassy and happy.  “He sings you know.  Like an angel.”

“Really?” Anna asked in a hushed tone over the juicy secret Sven told her.

“Says Sven,” Cooper piped up.  “Aint’ no one else ever hear Kris sing.”

“I’ve known him my whole life, that’s how I know,” Sven said to the kid.  He turned back to Anna.  “I’m serious.  The man has an incredible voice.”

“I’d love to hear it sometime.”

“Hear what?” Kristoff asked, coming back to the table. 

“The set of pipes you got on you.”  Sven grinned at him.

Kristoff gave Sven and angry stare.  “You promised to keep that to yourself, you dick.”

Sven snorted.  “I told everyone.”

“It’s true then?” Coop asked.  “You can sing, Kris?”

“No,” Kristoff said, and sat down with another wince.  A smile was pulling at his lips. “He’s lying.”

“That’s what we all thought until you just confirmed it.”  Buck laughed.

“I’d really love to hear you sing,” Anna said, getting a round of agreement from everyone else at the table.

“It ain’t happening tonight, that’s for sure.”  Kristoff took a sip of whiskey.  “I need to be much more liquored up and we got work tomorrow.”

“You mean in a couple of hours,” Buck pointed out.  “That’s why I’m turning in.”  He stood and took his hat from where it sat on the table with most of the others and put it on his head.  He grabbed the front edge and tipped it to Anna.  “Nice to meet you, young lady.”

Coop was the next one to drop out.  Apparently, he shared a house with Davy, Buck was in one by himself, and Sven was in one, leaving Kristoff – by his own choice – staying in a cabin that was built over a hundred years ago down by a creek on the other side of the ranch.

Anna was curious to see it, but Kristoff had already accepted Sven’s invitation to sleep on the couch because he was graciously letting Anna sleep in the other bedroom.   Not to mention it was too far to walk and Kristoff was too drunk to drive, even if it was on a quad.

The three of them talked on for a bit then agreed to have one more beer and head to bed.  Kristoff got up to get them despite Anna already standing to do it.

“Need to stand for a spell,” he said, getting up with a grimace and going over to the fridge.  He passed her and Sven a beer, then went back to the kitchen counter and leaned back against it. 

Sven gave Anna a quick look as Kristoff tipped his bottle back to take a sip.  He winked at her then turned back to his friend.  “Let’s see those bruises, Kris.  You don’t got any broken ribs, do ya?”

Kristoff gave Sven a scoffing smirk as he set his beer on the counter and reached down to yank the tight t-shirt off.  Anna’s cheeks immediately flamed up again to see him without it.  He did a slow turn, looking down at himself as her and Sven looked on.

“Shit,” Sven said, looking like he’d regretting asking, even if it had been for Anna’s benefit.  The bruising was clearer now.  “You took a lot of his to your back and sides.”

“Probably when I was choking out that dickhead,” Kristoff agreed.  “Definitely no broken ribs though.  Just bruised.”

“You’re not pissin’ blood are you?  Couple of those look like kidney shots.”

Kristoff laughed and tugged the t-shirt back on.  “Nah.  None of them can hit hard enough for that.  Hands are too soft from pushin’ paperwork and talkin’ out their asses sellin’ farm equipment all day.”

Sven looked angry about what had happened all over again.  “You know what, Bro, you take tomorrow off.  Me and the boys will pick up the slack.  You’re gonna be hurtin’.”

“You know I’ve worked through worse than this.” 

Anna noticed that Sven flicked her eyes to her to make a point to Kristoff.  He said, “You covered for me when Dixie and I went celebrating our engagement a little too hard.  You take tomorrow.  And we’ll be back to bustin’ ass on Sunday.”

Kristoff’s eyes looked quickly to Anna and he grinned slowly.  “Alright.”

*****

They went into the other bedroom to talk since Sven had turned in to bed.  Kristoff had no intention of putting the moves on Anna, even if she was looking at him like she wanted to have her way with him.  He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she would.  Someday.

He was completely taken with her.  The way she laughed, the way she talked, the way she moved… those fuck me eyes she’d been giving him all night.   It was going to make work all the much harder waiting to take her on a proper date.

Anna sat on the edge of the bed and Kristoff took the chair that was in the corner.  “So how liquored do you have to be to sing?” she asked.

“Very.”  Kristoff chuckled.  “I’m pretty shy about it.”

“How come?” 

He shrugged.  “Never really sang in front of people before.”

“Except Sven?  He mentioned you grew up together.”

Kristoff smiled.  “Yeah, we did.  I used to sing quite often when it was just the two of us out on some chore.  Then we got older and he started bugging me, trying to get me to go to open mic nights and stuff like that, and I just stopped.  I only sing when I’m alone now.”

“Well, I really would love to hear you sing sometime.”

Looking down at his lap and smiling, he felt his cheeks heat even more, and it wasn’t the alcohol.  “If anyone will get to hear me, I reckon it’ll be you.”  He looked back up at her through his eyelashes. 

Anna regarded him for a moment with an unreadable expression, then let out a very slow exhale and stood.  He brought his head all the way up and watched her every move as she approached, looking up into her face as she stood over him and wondering what she was thinking.  Then she put her hands on the side of his face and slowly bent her head down towards his, her intentions clear.  He remained still, his eyes wide open until their lips were just a breath apart, and they closed.

He kissed her back, gently, respectfully, keeping it chaste and not moving his hands from there they lay on the armrests of the chair.  When Anna pulled back, it took a moment for him to open his eyes.  He’d never had such a beautiful kiss.  It was so soft, his split lip didn’t even have anything to protest.

His head was swimming.  “What was that for?” he whispered. 

Anna shrugged, sitting back on the bed.  “Just needed to know.”

“And?”

She gave him a soft smile and nodded slowly.

Kristoff nodded slowly back.  “Alright then.  I’m gonna turn in.”  He stood and went to the door then turned back.  “You have any interest in hangin’ out with me tomorrow?”

She stood.  “Absolutely.”

He gave her a wide smile.  “Have a good sleep.”

“You too.”

Kristoff nodded once and shut the door.  He stood there a moment and took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly.  He wondered if this was how Sven felt when he met Dixie and they started hanging out.  It felt fucking incredible.  He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt more alive.

He wandered over to the couch while he took off the t-shirt he’d borrowed from Sven and laid down, pulling the blanket off the back and covering himself up with it.   He closed his eyes and sleep found him quickly, despite how much his mind was reeling.

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Big Sky Ranch - 2

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M (for now) WC: 3212

Chapter Index

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Sven fed him another beer as they sat on the tailgate after the long day, shooting the shit with the other three ranch hands.  Kristoff knew damn well Sven was lubricating his brain so that he wasn’t a stick in the mud all night.  He didn’t mind going to the saloon per se, he always ended up having a good time.  Most of that due to the liquor.  However, he did hate how many women hit on him and how many men decided they wanted to fight him.  He’d been in his fair share of scraps that he didn’t start.  All of which he won. 

Most of the time they’d be out of there before any real trouble started, except Sven’s idea to pregame with the other ranch hands meant that they’d get there later and most likely end up in some sort of skirmish by the end of the night.  Especially since Sven had a big mouth and got ridiculously loud when he was drunk.  And it was clear to Kristoff that he was ready to go blow off some serious steam.

After they wolfed down cheeseburgers that Sven had cooked for all the guys, they piled into the dually and put the greenhorn behind the wheel.  The kid was their designated driver for the evening since he was barely even old enough to drink, and the guys had told him if he wanted to come that it was going to be his job.   He didn’t mind at all, he just enjoyed hanging out with the guys and was happy to do it, which worked out great for everyone.

The place was already packed when they arrived, loud country music filtering into the gravel parking lot as they walked towards the building in the last dusk of the day.  Inside, everything was wood; the floors, the bar, the stools, tables and chairs, even the walls were adorned in wood paneling.  A currently empty stage and dancefloor took up a sizeable portion of the righthand corner.  Large wagon wheels with old style lanterns converted to house electric light bulbs, hung from the ceiling across the entire space, separated only by dingy looking ceiling fans that turned lazily around.  There were neon signs around the bar in the center of the back wall, illuminating the area and showcasing the shelves of liquor bottles behind the bar top.  The place was filled with cowboys, cowgirls, city folk lookin’ for cheap thrills, surly bouncers and scantily clad waitstaff.   It stunk of stale cigarette smoke, spilled beer and fryer oil.  The food was good; the wings, a staple, and they had them going out of the kitchen all night long.

The five men found themselves one of the standing tables as far away from the Jukebox beside the stage as possible so that they could shoot the shit without having to shout too much.  It was pretty standard for them.  They ordered two pitchers of beer and a coke for the greenhorn.  In a short time, the table would be lined with shots.

The place seemed busier than normal.   Plenty of women came up to their table to hit on them, a couple targeting Kristoff exclusively.  He rolled his eyes, feeling tired of being singled out because he stood taller than any of the other men crowded around the table.  Sven was taken and Kristoff wasn’t interested.  The three other guys were looking, these ladies should stop wasting their time on him.

It still boggled his mind how Sven had managed to settle down and ask Dixie to marry him.  He’d been a wild man until the day he met her at a grocery store, of all places.  After that it was him starting to skip out on Friday nights and ignoring Kristoff completely for the rest of the weekend, forcing him to go fishing alone or just sit in his cabin at nights and read or play his guitar – he didn’t have a television –which Kristoff had to admit to himself, had left him feeling lonely at times.   But for him, being alone was far better than having to try so hard to impress a woman and maintain her interest when they had next to nothing in common.  And that included the few cowgirls he had tried to date.  It hurt a little, that even women who seemed as likeminded as him, apparently still had no interest in a romantic relationship.  Or maybe he was just that bad at it.

After the beers, the shots came and Kristoff felt a little more tipsy than usual.  Maybe it was the fact they’d worked through lunch to knock off early, or that he’d forgotten how many beers they’d crushed before they hit the bar.  Either way, he was smiling and enjoying himself because his mind was being intoxicated.  Which was why when Cadillac Ranch started blaring through the speakers, he didn’t hesitate to follow the rest of the guys to the dance floor.  It was an unwritten rule whenever that Nitty Gritty Dirt Band song came on.

No self-respecting cowboy didn’t know how to line dance to that song, and Kristoff fell in step with everyone else with ease, years dancing it every time they went the saloon behind him.  They were even taught how to line dance in school for fucks sake.  He grinned the whole time too, kicking his heels and turning in step with everyone else on the dance floor.

*****

Anna spotted him as soon as the new country song started.  He was making his way to the dance floor with practically everyone else in the place, her friends who had brought her included. 

From her vantage point along a wall – she had no idea what kind of dance this was after all – she could not stop staring at him.  He was absolutely gorgeous with a big smile.  And damn, he could dance!  The way he swung his long legs around, the way his hips moved… Anna felt desire stir deep within her to watch something so incredibly sexy.

Hell, all of the people looked sexy dancing in rhythm, all decked out in what Anna had become to think of the ‘cowboy outfit’.  In fact, the only people not in that outfit were the ones watching, and none of them were dressed like those dancing.  They were dressed like her; a city-based idea of what a western look might be, even if a lot of them were in jeans and t-shirts.  Not many of them had proper cowboy boots, or those worn in, scuffed, wear-every-day hats, and there was no tucked in shirts.  She realized that was one item she’d forgotten about the ‘cowboy outfit’… the belt and large shaped metal buckle.  It seemed as though every person on the dance floor wore one.

And none so well as that big blond cowboy.  In a t-shirt this time, tucked in of course, she got a better glimpse at his physique, which was nothing short of incredible.  His head stood out above the rest, his hat bobbing with every movement.  Anna pinched her bottom lip in her teeth and wished he would have been interested in her because she would have loved the affections of such a man.  He was something else. 

The song ended and everyone gave a hoot and holler followed by ruckus laughter.   Anna felt herself grinning watching them, and vowed to learn that dance so that she could participate the next time.  She couldn’t remember a time something looked so fun to be a part of.

Her friends came back and they found a table midway to the bar, Anna hastily sitting down in one of the chairs that faced the blond cowboy’s direction so she could look at him.  He might not be interested, or maybe he was one of the taken ones, but there was no harm in getting an eyeful of him for her to fantasize about later. 

The place seemed much louder after that dance, like it had recharged the crowd.  They’d only just stepped in the door when that song came on, and Anna tried to orient herself in a place like she’d never been in before.  It was somehow like the clubs in the city, and yet the furthest thing from them.   It confused her at first when her friends took off to dance in the midst of looking for a table, and she understood now that that song meant something to these people, and Anna found that endearing.

Someone ordered some pitchers and Anna didn’t complain, even though she didn’t drink beer that often.  She glanced at the table of cowboys to see the blond join his friends in tilting back a shot.  The way he did it, the fluid movement of it, and his face afterward, breathing out whatever he’d tasted through slightly parted lips before smiling at his friends, left Anna staring at him with her jaw on the table.  He was so good looking it was criminal.

Then his wandering eyes met hers.

Anna’s heart leapt in her chest and she snapped her mouth shut and turned her gaze to the left, then laughed along with whatever everyone else at the table had found funny.  She didn’t dare look back, embarrassed she’d been caught eye fucking him so blatantly.  Her cheeks were on fire.

It was torturous, keeping her eyes away from his table, only Anna wasn’t about to mortify herself further.  Instead, she pushed him from her mind in favor of paying attention to everyone else at her table.  It was hard. 

Until a group of men approached them to talk, she dared quickly glancing back at the table and he wasn’t standing there with his friends.  He’d probably gone off to the bathroom or outside to smoke a cigarette.  It surprised her how many people in their town smoked.  Did they not know how bad it was for them?  She had a second to wonder if that would affect her liking of that blond cowboy if he was indeed a smoker.

One of the guys in the group that approached sauntered over to Anna’s side and bent over, putting his face in her personal space.  His breath stank, and his icy blue eyes were the creepiest thing she had seen in combination with his unsettling smile. 

“Hey, sweetheart.  How’d you like to go home with a real cowboy tonight?”

*****

Kristoff kept glancing her direction to catch the waitress’s eyes again.  She never looked back his way.  He felt disappointed about that. 

The way she’d been looking at him… shit, it was lusty.  And he was drunk.  Longing stirred deeply within him and he suddenly did want to ask her out.  He realized, looking her way as she laughed and interacted with the other ladies at her table, she wasn’t just attractive, she was drop-dead gorgeous.  The pink hue on her freckled cheeks, that smile, those clear blue eyes that reminded him of his favourite glacier-fed lake up in the mountains… fuck, she was hot.  And every red-blooded man in the room could see that.

Which was why when he returned from taking a quick piss, he felt anger prickle inside when he noticed the table of women had been approached by a group of men that Kristoff knew were up to no good.  They’d been in scraps with those fellas plenty of times before.

“Kristoff, what the fuck, man?  You paying attention?”

He didn’t answer Sven, he could not stop staring at what was unfolding, his brow furrowed in frustration.  The greasiest of the assholes, their pathetic ringleader, was leaning over the waitress, clearly making her uncomfortable.  He saw her shake her head and say ‘no’, and the dickhole ignore her rejection.

“Those fuckers again?” Sven asked, following Kristoff’s line of sight.   The other three ranch hands turned to watch what was happening a couple of tables away.

“Thought we told them never to come back,” Kristoff muttered.

“We ‘bout to have another kerfuffle here boys,” Sven agreed. 

All five of them walked over, Kristoff’s focus like a laser on the one who was pestering the waitress.  They surrounded the other men and he took his position beside the slimeball who didn’t understand the word no.

“Not you cow-fuckers again,” one of them said.

“Thought we told y’all you wasn’t welcome here anymore,” said Buck, the oldest man on their crew.  The old timer had shown Kristoff a thing or two when he was a cocky eighteen-year-old coming up in the world of ranching.  Definitely had taken him down a peg, which he deserved at the time.  As did Sven.

“Fuck off old timer,” said the ringleader, who was still leaning over the waitress.  “Ain’t got nothin’ to do with the likes of you dude ranch motherfuckers.”

“I beg to differ,” Kristoff said with a menacing voice.  He’d had enough of these posers causing trouble in their bar.  Hell, in their whole damn town.  They were from the next county over and only came to theirs to stir up trouble.  They weren’t even ranchers.  Their ringleader’s daddy owned a farm equipment dealership.

“That so?” the ringleader asked, straightening to his full height and finally looking Kristoff in the eye.  The guy was just about as tall as him and had about fifty less pounds of muscle.  “We were just talking to the ladies.”

“These ladies don’t look too impressed,” Sven interjected.

“Damn straight we’re not,” the waitress spat.

Kristoff glanced at her, the redness in her cheeks and the anger on her face.  Shit, she was fiery when she was mad.  It made her even hotter.

“Aw, darlin’, don’t say that,” the man drawled, still staring Kristoff in the eyes.  “We were just tryin’ to show you ladies what us modern day cowboys look like.  We ain’t kickin’ shit with our boots all day long for pennies on the dollar.  We make bank.”  His eyebrows flicked up at the last word, driving in the insult.

“You are the furthest thing from an actual fuckin’ cowboy,” Kristoff growled.

Sven spoke over him, “Man, fuck off on out of here you goat ropers.” It was loud enough that some of the other patrons in the bar started to notice what was going on. 

That brought everything to a head.  A bouncer came charging over and shouted at everyone to ‘take it outside’.  All of the men immediately headed for the door.  Kristoff didn’t even turn around to look at the gorgeous waitress.

When they spread out into the parking lot, two groups formed on either side.  Kristoff and the ranchers on one, and daddy’s boy dickhead and his cronies on the other, while curious bar goers hugged the wall of the building to watch what was happening.  It wasn’t the first time the groups had found themselves faced off like this.  Kristoff had personally given each one of them a black eye.  Not that they didn’t get their licks in.  He wondered in the back of his mind if the waitress might abhor his appearance with a shiner.  He’d gotten his fair share over the years. 

And he was sure he was going to catch one tonight.  They’d all been in the liquor pretty hard.  He was sure that Davy, who’d been on the ranch only two years, was going to go down with one tap he was swaying so much on his feet. 

Kristoff curled his fists and the two groups of men traded threats, ready to swing, when blue and reds lit up the night sky and a vehicle gunned it through the parking lot in their direction and pulled to a screeching halt. 

“Shit, it’s the fuzz,” someone watching yelled, and everyone in the parking lot besides Kristoff’s group and handful of others onlookers, hauled ass into the darkness.  No doubt many of them were carrying something they didn’t want to get caught with.

Two cops, one that the ranchers knew well, walked into the circle of light cast off their headlights.

“You boys really need to stop picking fights with other patrons,” the one they knew said by way of greeting.  Clearly someone had called it in as soon as Kristoff and his group approached the other assholes.  It was probably that bartender who looked like a Hells Angels reject.  That guy did not tolerate shit.

“Come on, Frankie!” Sven threw his arms up.  “You know them boys just come here to cause trouble.”  He grinned.  “Just like you did when we was in grade school together.”

The mustached cop laughed.  “You’re one to talk, Sven.  You, and Kris, have brought your fair share.”

“Those guys are always botherin’ the ladies and pickin’ fights,” Buck piped up, then hocked a loogie into the dirt at his feet.

“It’s a free country,” said Frankie.  “We can’t stop em from going into a drinking establishment.”

“What you need to do is start waiting for them on the back roads those guys take,” Kristoff chimed in.  “I know for a fact they’re not drivin’ sober.”

“That so?” Frankie asked, turning very serious.  “And you boys have a DD?”

“Yo.”  The greenhorn raised his hand.

“Alright,” Frankie said, and started to step back towards his cruiser.  “We will keep our eyes peeled near there tonight if those guys come back to grab their truck.”

“They will,” Sven answered, “long as they don’t catch a whiff of pig.”

Frankie gave Sven a hard stare.  Sven, taking the hint, lifted his arms and lowered his head to the side in a gesture of surrender.

It went the same way every time those groups got into a fight.  When all was said and done, or the cops showed up, those boys took off running, found another bar or wherever else they wiled the time, and returned after closing to grab their truck to take home.  Yet every time the cops were told the group was driving drunk, those boys would see the police waiting and hold up somewhere overnight until one of them was sober enough to drive, or until the uni’s waiting quit their post for their shift change.  Every time those boys got away scot-free. 

Which was why Kristoff was glad it was Frankie who showed up this time.  He must have been filling in for someone’s night shift as with his seniority he was normally always on days.  The other cops had no idea that daddy’s boy’s crew used a shortcut through a barren pasture that kept them on lonely country roads and off the highway their whole way home.  But Frankie knew about it.

Kristoff hoped that this would be the night those assholes finally got what was coming to them. 

People started filtering back into the bar as the cops drove away and Kristoff caught the waitress’s eyes again.  She was looking at him in that lusty way that stirred the longing up within him again, only it didn’t last.  She turned with one last lingering look, then followed her friends back into the saloon, leaving Kristoff staring after her in a bit of a daze.

“Come on, Hoss.”  Sven slapped his hand on Kristoff’s shoulder.  “Let’s get on outta here and head home.” Kristoff nodded his agreement.  Nothing good ever happened after midnight anyway.

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Big Sky Ranch

Kristanna Modern AU Rated: M WC: 1829

In the foothills off of the Rocky Mountains, resides a generational Ranch known to all in the area. Kristoff, a humble hand on that ranch, works hard and enjoys his simple existence. It isn't until a new woman starts at the diner that be begins to acknowledge his loneliness and plans to ask her on a date. When his plans are foiled by a rival group of men, it sets events into motion that plunge Anna and Kristoff into getting to know each other through some very unexpected situations and their relationship blossoms as their lives begin to change.

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A/N: This had been my passion project for over a year, and is the most self-indulgent thing I have ever written. It is inspired by the ranch setting of Yellowstone and the rural area in which I live.

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Anna had only been working as a waitress at the diner for a week, and she was quickly learning what the biggest perk of the job was. 

It was the cowboys.

She’d moved to the small town only a month prior, desperate to get as far away from the city where her sleazy ex-fiancé was.  It was the fresh start she needed after wallowing about that cheating asshole for months.  Truly dark times they had been.

After finding a basement suite to rent since she wasn’t sure how long she would be there before she moved on again, she got the job at the diner, and was truly starting to enjoy life again.  And that was in large part due to the clientele. 

The town was surrounded by ranchlands.  Large farms spread out in all directions, and the roads were ruled by pick-up trucks and farm equipment.  Many times, Anna had gone for a drive to clear her head and she’d come upon some large tractor-thing, and she’d have to squeeze around the slow-moving vehicle in the wrong lane, or wait until it pulled into a pasture.  Even so, she never minded too much, because she enjoyed the drives and admiring the lovely scenery against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.

And every day, rain or shine, groups of men came in for breakfast or lunch.  Most of them in the full cowboy outfit; cowboy boots, jeans, roper or plaid shirts, and cowboy hats.  And no matter the size or shape of them, they were all ruggedly handsome in their own ways.

And decent!  Anna had never met so many decent men.  They were all extremely polite and respectful.  They held doors and said ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and ‘ma’am’, and they always tipped generously even if they only had a cup of coffee and a piece of pie. 

Anna truly did love her job, even if was a lot harder work than sitting behind a desk all day like she’d been doing when she worked at that insurance company with her ex. 

That asshole could rot in hell.

Now Anna had her eyes open for a cowboy.  A lot of them didn’t wear any wedding rings, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t married.  She’d asked one of the other waitresses and was told they don’t wear them for safety, not wanting them to get caught in ropes or machinery.  And the ones that did wear them, wore those new rubber ones that could break if they got caught in something.   It made perfect sense to Anna.  Although it certainly made it harder to tell who was and wasn’t attached. 

Which was why for the time being she just had her eyes open.  She never outwardly hit on any of them for fear of hitting on a taken man.  She just hoped that one day, one of them might just ask her out.  And until then, she would more than happily take in all the eye candy.

*****

Kristoff yawned as he got out of his truck and stretched out his tired back.  Him and Sven got up extra early and treated themselves to breakfast whenever they could, and right now they had a short break before calving season when their days were a little less long.

The air was still chilly with the last of winter’s tenuous hold, and their breath came out in white vapors as they walked through the parking lot.  At least the snow was mostly all gone, and while that meant that him and Sven’s work load was going to ramp up, it was hard to argue with the sun shining bright after six brutally long months of snow-covered ground.

As soon as they stepped into the diner, Sven gave him a nudge with his elbow.

“New girl,” he said under his breath, and flicked his head in her direction as they walked to a booth along the front windows. 

Kristoff glanced her direction then turned to Sven and gave him a hard stare.  Ever since he got engaged, Sven had been trying mercilessly to set Kristoff up with someone and it was starting to get on his nerves.  The girl was really cute, sure, he just wasn’t interested.  He was too damn set in his ways to be interested.

They sat in their favourite booth, took off their cowboy hats, and set them on the seat beside themselves.  Kristoff ran a hand through his hair a few times, shaking out the hat line, and the new waitress came over straight away and set menus on the table. 

“Morning, gentlemen.”  She smiled brightly.  “What can I start you out with today?”

“Coffee, black, and a water,” Kristoff said.

“Same here,” Sven said, “please.”

“Coming right up.”  She gave them another bright smile and walked away. 

“City girl,” Sven mused.

“Yup.”  He’d heard her accent too.

“She don’t have a ring.”

“Sven-”

“Come on, man.  You livin’ like that ain’t healthy.  All alone in that cabin.  You should move back to one of the main houses.”

“You know I don’t like being around people too much.”

“You like being around me.”

“Yeah, well, you’re the one exception and you know that too.”

“You could make another exception,” Sven flicked his head to the counter where she was pouring them coffee, “for her.”

“If you don’t cut this out, I’m gonna strap you to that nasty old bull out in the east pastures.”

“Ole’ Bruce?”  Sven laughed.  “That bull don’t got any fight left in him.”

“I beg to differ,” Kristoff stated.  It was only a month ago that mean old brute had him scrambling for the fences when he charged Kristoff.  And of course, no one had been around to see it and they all told him he was making shit up.  That bull had it out for him, Kristoff knew it.

The waitress came back with the drinks and they ordered their usual; the cowboy breakfast.  It came with two eggs, three strips of bacon, a pair of sausages, hash browns, beans and two slices of toast.  Both him and Sven would eat it all and be starving by noon. 

They ate quickly and Kristoff pulled his wallet out of his back pocket since it was his turn to pay.  The waitress came back with the bill and a card machine which Kristoff waived off because he always paid with cash.  He gave her a pretty nice tip since she’d kept their water and coffee cups full.  He hated it when he was halfway through his meal and he had nothing to drink because the cups weren’t topped off. 

On the way out, when Sven wasn’t looking, Kristoff glanced in the waitress’s direction.  She had her copper hair in braids, and actually, was very attractive.  He always had been a sucker for freckles.  If he was interested in a relationship, he might ask her out, but he was more than content not having to deal with what came in having that sort of thing.

*****

Anna watched the pair of cowboy’s head back to their big dually in the parking lot.  They’d been the best-looking ones yet.  Especially that blond with the big nose and the pretty brown eyes.  He was very handsome.  And built!  The guy’s biceps were giving that roper shirt a serious quality control test.  She felt a little flustered to suddenly think about what being with a man like that would be like.  Her ex had been on the skinnier side and nowhere near as tall.  Not to mention never really left her satisfied.  She had a feeling that the handsome blond cowboy sure wouldn’t disappoint. 

He didn’t really say much, he left her a very nice tip, and he did say thank you when she dropped off their breakfast, even if he didn’t say please when he ordered it.  Anna hoped she’d see him again soon and found herself hoping that he was single and looking.

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Sven suggested breakfast again the next morning and Kristoff damn well knew why.  Still, it was hard to argue against a big brekky that he didn’t have to make himself.   They drove to the diner and sure enough, the attractive waitress was working.

They sat in the same booth and she came over a moment later with coffees and waters.  It impressed him a little that they didn’t have to order, even if was presumptuous of her. 

“Same as yesterday, gentlemen?” she asked, after she’d set their drinks on the table.

“You bet,” Sven answered.

“And are we sticking with sunny-side up eggs and rye toast?”  Both men nodded.  “Perfect.  I’ll have that right out to you.”

Kristoff found himself watching her walk away.  She sure had a nice smile.  Very friendly.  Good for getting better tips for sure.   And those eyes were something else.

“You should ask her out,” Sven persisted in a hushed voice.

He turned to Sven and scowled.  “No.”

“Why not?”

Kristoff shrugged and couldn’t really come up with a good answer. 

Sven heaved a big sigh.  “You know what, I give up.  You’re hopeless.”

Kristoff sneered.  “Like you pointed out, she’s a city girl.  Only one way a relationship with her is gonna end up, and that’s me being dumped after a week.”

“Maybe if you would just try-”

“That’s enough,” he said, very serious.  “I’m not in the mood.”

Sven scoffed.  “Fine, whatever.”

Kristoff looked down at his hands and started to dig some dirt out from under his thumbnail.  Sven had no idea what he was talking about.  Kristoff had always tried.  He did his best, even though he was pretty damn clueless about romance.  Which seemed to be why none of the ladies he’d gone out with stuck around long.  He did try, and it was never enough.  It had left him jaded about dating. 

Their meals came out quickly and they ate even quicker to get a head start on their day.  It was going to be another long one, meaning come Friday night, both of them would be more than eager to blow off some steam at the saloon. 

*****

Anna gathered up the tip the other cowboy had left on the table.  It was still very decent even if he wasn’t as generous as the blond.  Neither of the men seemed like they were looking for a date, so Anna gave up on thinking that either of them were single.  Like most of them, they were probably taken, leaving Anna wondered what she had to do to bag herself a cowboy.

Another waitress had been talking about going to a saloon by the highway at the edge of town on Friday evening for some dancing and asked Anna if she wanted to tag along too.  She accepted, giddy at the chance that perhaps she might have her opportunity there to get herself a date, even if she was warned that the crowd could get pretty rowdy. 

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