Chapter Twenty-Two

Penny felt the delicious ache filling her body as she woke and stretched. Ace moaned behind her, pulled her a little closer to his chest and buried his face in her hair.

Feeling a smile curve her lips, Penny couldn't help but be amused. Her man was definitely not an early riser. Deciding there was no reason to start the day just now, Penny relaxed in his arms and thought about the night before. Ace had loved her in ways and shown her things that Penny had never known existed.

While part of her wanted to focus on the fact that he'd learned all that by laying with other women; another part kept repeating that what they shared was more meaningful to Ace than any other time shared with any other woman.

"Quit thinking so hard," Ace grumbled, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"What makes you think that I'm thinking?" Penny countered.

"For one, you're awake and when you're awake you're always thinkin'. Second, you're gnawing on your lip again."

Penny cursed under her breath and quickly stopped her chewing as Ace's laughter vibrated against her back. "Good morning, Princess."

His fingers traced her arm beneath the covers they were snuggled in and Penny smiled. "Good morning, Mr. Montgomery."

"Uh-oh, you're calling me Mr. Montgomery again. Did I do that bad?"

The flush that covered Penny spread from her head to the tip of her toes. She swallowed hard. "No...no, you didn't do bad at all."

Laughter followed her admission. "Well, I sure am glad of that. I was worried I'd have an off night."

Penny snorted. "An off night?"

"Yeah." His lips found her ear. "I've never been so nervous to be with a woman in my life. You aren't just any woman, Penny Burkart. You're my forever."

Tears gathered in Penny's eyes. "And you're mine, Ace Anderson."

Her breath caught when Ace teeth suddenly nipped at her ear. "Care for an encore of last night?"

Would she ever? Penny flipped around to face him and Ace wasted no time in finding her lips. Before the kiss could be deepened, a knock sounded on the door.

Penny pulled away with an annoyed sigh. "Does this happen every morning out here?"

Ace grumbled throwing his legs over the bed and reaching for his pants. "Only since you moved in."

"Penny? Are you all awake? I need to speak to you."

"That's Patricia," Penny gasped. "Do you think something's wrong?'

Ace buttoned his pants before sliding into his shirt. "You get dressed and I'll see what she needs." He stooped down to place one more gentle kiss to her lips. "I love you."

She smiled despite her worry. "I love you too."

Ace left the room, closing the door behind him. Penny quickly hunted for all her clothes and began pulling them on. She needed a bath but that would have to wait until she found out what her sister needed. She hoped nothing was wrong... what if something had happened to Luke? But then why would Patricia come looking for her?

What could it be?

Finally dressed, Penny fixed her hair the best she could, though Ace had done so damage to it in the night and without a good brushing, it was impossible to tame. When she joined Ace in the main room of the cabin, her worry faded instantly when she saw the smile on his face.

"It's good news, Princess."

She sighed and felt as if a million pounds had been lifted from her shoulders. As Ace came to her side and wrapped his arm around her waist, Penny focused her attention on Patricia who had come accompanied by Maggie.

"Good morning, Penny. Did y'all have fun last night? I'd say ya did judging by your wild hair and crumpled clothes."

Penny would have disappeared right then if she had the power to. Ace grinned. "Don't be jealous, little sister. Jeremiah will be better one day soon and maybe then you can wake up with crumbled clothes and even wilder hair."

It was Maggie's turn to flush and grumble under her breath. Penny swallowed down her embarrassment and focused on Patricia. "What brings you out here this morning?"

"Morning?" Patricia smiled. "Penny, it's one in the afternoon."

Her eyes widened. Ace's cabin sat in such a shaded place it was hard to tell the time of day simply by the sun coming in the windows. "We slept until one?" she demanded of Ace.

He shrugged as he yawned. "We didn't get much sleep last night."

Damn these Anderson's and their love of embarrassing her.

"Okay, Patricia, then what brings you out here this afternoon?"

"I have wonderful news for you Penny!" Patricia exclaimed taking her hands. "Luke, Maggie and I went into town this morning and I was stopped by Mrs. Meyers. She wants to order an entire wardrobe off of you, Penny! She has seen your dresses and is eager to have clothes made by you!"

Penny's jaw dropped. Mrs. Meyers was the wife of the wealthiest railroad and oil tycoons in the small town. She could afford clothes from anywhere and she wanted Penny to make her some?

"That's great, Penny," Ace beamed. "Fancy folks like to change their clothes a lot, so you'll be sewing your fingers to the bone."

Penny still couldn't find words. Patricia continued. "I hope you don't mind that I set up a meeting time for you. She'll be expecting to meet with you at the café tomorrow at lunch."

"No..I mean.. Yes.. I..."

Ace silence her stammering with a hard kiss. "Use your words, Princess," he whispered, pulling away slightly. "I know you know some big ones."

Penny was tempted to punch him.

Instead, she nodded. "I will most certainly meet with her at the café tomorrow. This is amazing... I don't even have a sewing shop yet and I'm already getting orders!"

"You'll have your shop soon, Penny." Ace assured her. "Tomorrow while you're in town you can figure out where you want your shop at and we'll do what we need to make it happen."

Penny smiled. "Thank you, Ace. And thank you Patricia! This is some of the best news I could have gotten this morning."

"It's good to see you happy," Patricia admitted. "You've spent far too much of your life without that."

Ace hugged her tight against him and smiled. "She's going to be happy a hell of a lot more than unhappy from here on out. I can guarantee that."

***

"You want me to what?!" Penny exclaimed, drawing chuckles from a nearby Michael. Penny didn't care. She didn't care if the entire ranch heard her outburst. Her fiancé was completely and utterly mentally unwell!

"I want you to ride Quincy."

Penny motioned toward the barn Quincy was housed in. "Quincy is an asshole! You said so yourself. He'll throw me off and stomp me into the dust."

Ace had the nerve too laugh at her. "I've been thinking about this for a while, Penny. You're a natural on horseback and I think the reason Quincy never worked well for any of us is because he was waiting on you."

Penny crossed her arms over her chest and quirked a brow. "How romantic. The answer is no."

But Ace clearly had his mind made up. "At least come in the barn and spend time with him."

Ace took her hand and gave her a tug. Penny grumbled. "I'm not riding him, Ace."

"Just come on," he insisted.

Penny grudgingly allowed herself to be pulled into the barn. Allowing her eyes to adjust to the change in light, Penny's gaze immediately found Quincy's stall. The gray had his back to the door and his head in the corner.

She did feel a little sorry for him. But not sorry enough to hop on his back and let him kill her. "Do you remember the key to his heart?"

"Treats," Penny replied with a nod. "Which you nearly always have in your pocket."

"Yes, and today you have some in yours."

Penny frowned before reaching in the pocket of her split skirt. "How on earth did you get treats in my pocket?" she demanded, feeling the sugar cubes and carrot chunks hidden inside.

Ace winked. "I have talented hands. You know that."

Flushing, but unwilling to simply let Ace have the last word, Penny met his gaze. "Perhaps I hadn't noticed."

Ace laughed lightly as he stepped closer, snaked an arm around her and pulled her body flush against him. "You noticed." Penny bit her lip but Ace shook his head. "I won't let you seduce me into forgetting about this," he stated. Give Quincy a chance, Princess, he won't hurt you."

Penny sighed. She wasn't getting out of this barn unless she at least attempted what Ace wanted from her. Damn stubborn man.

Pulling a sugar cube from his pocket, Penny took a step closer to the stall. "Hey Quincy..."

The horse seemed nearly excited at the sound of her voice. He turned and quickly came to the gate throwing his head over it. Ace chuckled behind her. "I told you so."

Annoyed by Ace's smugness and yet humbled and surprised by Quincy's sudden friendliness, Penny clicked her tongue. "Here, boy, you want a treat?" she asked. Remembering what Ace had said about keeping her hand flat and not showing fear, Penny held the treat out to the large horse.

He sniffed at it for a moment before taking it and munching happily on his snack, tossing his head up and down. "Why is he doing that?" Penny asked.

"He's letting you know he's happy. Try petting his neck."

"What if he bites me?" Penny asked, nibbling her lip.

"I'll bite him back."

Penny was reminded of the night that Ace had given her a tour of the barns. She had truly begun to fall in love with him that night. A quick glance at his face told Penny that Ace's mind had gone to the same place.

Rising quickly on her toes, Penny gave him a peck on the jaw before turning her attention back to Quincy. Despite her best efforts to still it, her hand was shaking as she reached toward him. He seemed to be paying no attention to her at all and when she finally made contact with his soft fur, Quincy merely leaned into her touch slightly. Penny was soon petting, scratching and cooing away to the large horse.

"I told you so," Ace quipped again. He seemed to be growing far too fond of saying that.

Penny shook her head. "Petting and feeding treats is a far cry from riding."

Soon after, Penny had a lead rope on Quincy and was leading him around and around the corral. "Well, hell, that grouchy beast is following her around like a puppy," Ed stated coming to stand beside Ace at the fence.

Ace smiled. "She has that effect on men."

His father just chuckled. "Is she going to ride him?"

"I want her to try. She's not so sure of it just yet." Ace clicked his tongue. "Princess, you want us to get that saddle on him?"

Ace watched the storm of emotions as they passed over her face. It was clear she was still unsure and nervous, but she also seemed determined and more at ease than she'd been a short while ago.

Never had he been more proud of a person in all his life. His woman was one hell of a woman and Ace still wasn't completely sure how she'd fallen into his life and become his—but he wasn't going to complain.

"I can't ride him without one, can I?" she stated, leading him toward the barn.

Ace chuckled. "You can, but a lady such as yourself probably wouldn't see that as proper."

Ed and Ace saddled the ornery beast, though Ed nearly got bit three times in the process. "He'd just like that jackass I named him after," Ed grumbled.

"Did human Quincy like to bite you?" Penny teased, which left Ed stuttering and at a loss for words while Ace laughed. Finally, someone had managed to make the great Edward Anderson speechless.

Once the saddling was complete, Penny pulled Ace aside, "I really am afraid," she admitted, chewing her lip and glancing at Quincy.

Ace took her by her forearms and pulled her against him. He smoothed a bit of loose hair from her cheek and smiled. "You don't need to be, Penny. I'm a good judge at this kind of thing. Quincy trusts you. He was made for you to ride. The two of you could have a pretty unique bond if you want it. All you have to do is trust him."

"Are you a matchmaker between horses and humans?"

Ace smiled, kissed her nose and nodded. "Something like that." He hugged her tight and pulled away. "Now, have a little faith in Quincy and he won't let you down, Princess."

Penny took a steadying breath as she approached Quincy. "Good luck, Penny. You would have made a wonderful daughter-in-law."

Ace laughed at his father's teasing. It seemed to give Penny the jolt of confidence she needed. She put her foot in the stirrup and swung that delicious little body over up into the saddle.

Damn if that wasn't a sight he'd be thinking about all day.

"Okay I'm up here," Penny informed them, her voice shaking. "Now what?"

"Don't you start that," Michael scolded leaving the barn. "Maggie and I taught you well how to ride a damn horse. So ride him."

Pride beamed in Ace as Penny took Quincy around the corral several times, her nerves vanishing more and more with every lap. She truly was a natural on horseback. It didn't surprise him. He knew just how well that woman could move....

Damn! He was going to have to get her alone soon. He couldn't be working around all the men having these thoughts. He was sure one of them would be bound to notice what the thoughts were causing to happen in his pants.

"Look Ace! You were right!" Penny beamed.

"I always am," Ace assured her with a wink.

Penny laughted. "Terrible barbaric brute, ignorant drunkard, and horse matchmaker extraordinaire."

"You got yourself quite a man sounds like to me," Ace agreed.

"Quite a headache," Michael countered.

Ace didn't care what anyone said to rile him. He was the happiest damn man in the entire world now that Penny was his and there wasn't a person in the world who could convince him otherwise.