Chapter 14

True to her word, she wouldn't tell Jon where they were going, even when he showed up at her house on Wednesday morning. It wasn't that far to the stable, but she decided to drive so he wouldn't figure it out. She figured out a way to keep it a secret until they got there...she would blindfold him.

"Ok, in order for this to work, you are going to have to play along with me here, ok, Jon?" Katie told him, a sly grin on her face. "You have to trust in me completely."

Without question, he did trust her, so he nodded, "Ok, Katie, do with me what you will." She turned him around and said, "Close your eyes." She placed a scarf around his eyes, tying it snugly on the back of his head. He couldn't help but laugh,"Should I disrobe now, or later?"

She took it upon herself to deliver a firm spank on that incredibly tight ass of his. "No being fresh now."

"Oh, baby, I like it when you get rough." He laughed as she took his hand and led him out the front door, down the steps and into the car. Katie couldn't help but smile to herself. Oh, the thoughts that comment stirred up in her mind.

She backed out of the driveway, and took the short trip down the road to the stable. She opened his door and led him out. "Can I take this thing off yet?"

"Yeah, ok. But there is no backing out. You said you trusted me to. So you promise? Pinky swear?" She locked her pinky finger in his.

"OK, ok, I pinky swear promise." He nodded. She took off the blindfold and he found himself standing in front of horse stable.

"What are we doing here?" Jon asked her. "Are you going to try and kill me?"

"Nah, you will be ok. It will be fun, really." She tried to convince him.

He broke out into a smile, hinting at the fact that he just might be teasing her. "I'll give it ago."

Katie was nervous as she and Jon walked into the stables. She couldn't place why, after all this wasn't their first date. Maybe she was worried that he wouldn't like this side of her. Having grown up with horses in Tennessee, Katie was a country girl at heart. True, she had moved away from all that, but she was still a country girl. After all, they say you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. She just hoped that he would appreciate this side of her. She also wanted him to have a good time. Riding always relaxed her, and besides, it was just fun.

As they approached the stable her nervousness began melting away. Her horses had a way of making her forget about all the other stuff, worries and stresses. Honey, named so because of her golden colored coat, stuck her head out of the stall and neighed a greeting, nodding her head up and down.

"Hey, Honey Girl!! Are you ready for a ride today, sweetie?" Katie walked up, rubbed her neck and kissed her on the side of her nose. Honey nuzzled her back, almost pushing her into Jon. Katie giggled, "I know what you want, Ms. Impatient. Here is your snack." She pulled a few carrots out of the bag she carried.

As the horse began munching on her treat, another head, this time a beautiful chestnut, appeared in the the doorway of the next stall, neighing loudly as if to say, "Hey! What about me?"

Katie chuckled, "I hear you, Spirit! You're next." She turned to Jon, "Jon, let me introduce you to Honey. She's very gentle and loving. Would you mind feeding her the rest of the carrots while I take care of Mr. Jealous over here?"

Jon smiled, "Sure thing darlin'." He could see her love for the animals in her expression. His smile broadened. He loved seeing her so happy.

"Thank you!" Katie grinned back, "Just lay one carrot at a time on the palm of your hand and Honey will do the rest." She turned away. Jon watched her greet the other horse in much the same way she did Honey. Speaking quietly, patting, rubbing, kissing. He'd noticed over the week that she was that way with people, too. She was a very affectionate woman. And he had to admit he loved that about her, especially since he had been the lucky recipient of some of her affections this past week.

Having been ignored long enough and wanting her treat, Honey nudged Jon on the shoulder, not quite as gently as she had done with Katie. He had to take a step to keep his balance. Jon chuckled, "Ok girl, here ya go." He patted her neck as she took the carrot from his other hand.

Katie looked curiously over at Jon. "What's so funny?" she asked.

"Apparently I was not paying enough attention to her. She made that quite clear."

Katie laughed, "Well Jon, she is a female so of course she wants your attention! You shouldn't be surprised." Just then Honey nudged Jon again causing both he and Katie to burst out laughing. "My point exactly!"

As the horses finished their carrots, Katie asked Jon which one he would rather ride. "Both are somewhat spirited, but Honey is a little less so than Spirit as you can guess from his name." She said.

Jon thought for a minute absentmindedly rubbing Honey's neck. Katie couldn't help but think how his hands felt on her.

"I think I'll let you go with the more spirited mount since you are the expert." Jon replied.

He looked at Katie and she had sly grin on her face, but she didn't respond to his answer. Jon waited for her response. "Would you rather ride Honey?"

Katie, a little embarrassed at being caught daydreaming, refocused her attention on Jon, "I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something else. What did you say?" she stammered.

Jon chuckled, "I will ride Honey if that is okay with you."

"That works. Ready to get them saddled and mount up?" Katie said.

"I'm ready. Care to share what you were thinking about just now?" he asked with that ever present smirk on his face.

Katie smiled, "Umm..........no, not if we want to be on our way." She answered with that same coy grin. Jon was left to ponder what may have caused her cheeks to become so flushed.

They saddled the horses and headed out towards Katie's favorite trail. She led the way since she knew right where to go. There was a beautiful meadow about a mile away that would be a wonderful place for a picnic. There was a small stream that ran on the south side of the meadow. It wasn't a very well known area even to others that boarded at the stable. Katie had found it one day when she and the kids decided to venture off of the regular path. It was safe to assume they would not be bothered there, considering it seemed everywhere he went, attention was drawn to Jon just by the fact of who he was. Plus, she admitted, she didn't want to share him today.

Looking back Katie asked, "Are you doing ok back there?"

He looked like he was doing just fine. She had to admit there was nothing sexier than Jon in a pair of snug Levis on the back of a horse.

"I'm good." Jon replied. He was enjoying the view from his spot as well. She did look really good sitting in that saddle.

A few minutes later Katie veered off the trail. "Uhh, Katie? Where are we going?" Jon asked asked a bit unsure.

Chuckling Katie says, "Jon, just trust me. I'll take good care of you." She looked over her shoulder at him with a smirk.

After riding a few minutes more they broke through the trees into a bright, warm meadow. It really was breathtaking, Katie thought.

"How did you find this place?" Jon asked, his voice low, "It's beautiful."

She smiled over at him, "The kids and I ride on this trail often and sometimes we go on little adventures to see what we can find. As you can see sometimes we stumble upon a real gem."

They dismounted and Katie took the blanket from the back of her saddle. She handed Spirit's reins over to Jon asking, "Can you tie the horses over by that tree? Just make sure they can reach the grass and the water."

"Sure thing!" He said.

Katie spread the blanket out on the ground while Jon tied the horses up. He watched her out of the corner of his eye, appreciating the view and thinking how graceful she was.

Walking over to the blanket Jon asked, "So babe, what are the plans for this little meadow today?"

She was already laying on the blanket enjoying the sun's warmth. She shaded her eyes with her hand as she looked up at him. "I figure we can have some lunch, relax. Maybe skip some rocks in the stream. Or we could go wading, skinny dipping even." She smiled at him, waiting for his response. She got great joy out of his shocked expression. He recovered in record time, though, and responded, "You better be careful what you ask for, babe."

He sat down next to her on the blanket. "I knew I was right. You really do have a hidden wild side. I like it."

Katie blushed, "Can I plead the fifth on this one?" she asked.

Jon looked at her very seriously, "No. You can't hide that easily."

"But you see, all women are a bit mysterious." Katie pouted. "It is what you men love about us." She challenged with a cheeky grin.

Unable to deny that fact, or resist that sexy smirk, Jon leaned over her, pinning her under him. "I will make it my personal goal to discover all of your hidden secrets...and talents."

He began tickling her as she wiggled and laughed beneath him. "Ok, ok," She begged. "I might let you in on a few of my secrets." She winked at him.

He leaned down and devoured her mouth with his. Katie put her arms around his neck and her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. After the past few days, the heat inside of him was all that much quicker to rise to the surface. Jon, realizing how intense they were getting, backed off from the kiss. This wasn't the time nor the place to take it further. Not that he didn't want to, but he wanted it to be special, right. She deserved that. He ended the kiss, realizing he thought that they actually would be taking this further eventually. He looked into her eyes, heavy with passion. He knew his must look the same.

"Wow!" Katie whispered.

"My thoughts exactly." Jon said, his face clouded with passion. "So did you say something about lunch?" He said as he sat up.

Katie took a deep breath. There was nothing else she could do. She was still sometimes hit by the fact that she was kissing Jon Bon Jovi, and like that, to boot.

"I'll get the food," she said. Jon stood up and reached for her hand, pulling her to her feet. He pulled her close to him for another quick kiss before letting her go. He watched as she walked away, noticing her tousled hair thinking how lovely she was. And how much he wanted her.

Katie walked back to the horses, slowly, to get their lunch. She needed a moment to compose herself. Her thoughts were in a jumble, with no clear focus. But then, he did have a way of doing that to her. She grabbed the bag that contained their lunch and headed back to the blanket. Jon was sitting there watching her return. It was a little unnerving having those blue eyes so intently focused on her.

They sat on the blanket eating their sandwiches talking quietly. After they finished, Katie stood up and went over the edge of the stream picking up a smooth, round stone. She looked over at him and crooked her finger as if to say, "Come here."

He accepted her challenge. "Ahhh, Katie. I was the rock skipping champion as a kid. Are you sure you want to challenge a professional?" he warned.

"Aren't we just a little sure of our self?" Katie laughed. "When was the last time you took the time to skip rocks?" she asked raising one eyebrow.

"It's like riding a bike. You never forget how to do it." Jon responded while looking for the perfect skipping rock.

Katie laughed to herself. He was in for a big surprise. She had skipped rocks all of her life. The kids were always challenging her...........and losing. Jon found a nice round flat rock, walked over to the edge of the stream and threw it. It skipped twice. He looked over his shoulder, sheepishly. Katie had a smug grin on her face. The competition was on! For the next hour they concentrated on finding the perfect rocks and skipping them into the stream. It became quite obvious that Katie was the winner. "Whoo hoooo" She yelled as she did a victory dance around Jon.

She collapsed on the blanket in a fit of giggles. She was having a wonderful time.

"I bow to the champion rock skipper." He gallantly bowed down on his knees in front of her.

Katie was really enjoying Jon's company. Not even in her wildest dreams did she ever think she would be sitting here with HIM! She knew that soon the day would come to an end. She started to clean up from their lunch and waved Jon back down when he tried to help. When she returned from putting everything back in the saddle bag, Jon was dozing on the blanket. As she watched him she couldn't help but think about the kiss and how intense it had been. They had become increasingly so over the past couple of days. She was glad he had stopped when he did. She's wasn't sure if she would have been able to. She realized that she did indeed think it would eventually go further, but this wasn't the time nor the place. She was shocked by this realization. Without realizing it she slowly ran her fingers through his hair. But he did. He slowly opened his eyes. She was gazing at the stream. He quietly studied her. Her hair was pulled back away from her face, but a few strands had escaped and caressed her cheek in the light breeze. She had a slight smile on her lips. He wondered what she was thinking about.

Katie felt his gaze on her and turned to look at him. She smiled at him realizing where her fingers were. Blushing slightly she pulled her hands out of his hair. "Did you have an nice nap?" she asked.

"I did, thank you." He answered with a slight stretch. "This is a perfect place to get away from everything." he said. "Thanks for thinking of it."

Jon reached for her hand and caressed her palm with his thumb. "Katie, you mentioned you might go to Rockport next week for the week. Would you like some company? We would, of course, get two rooms. I just thought of it because I want to spend more time with you. If not, I understand. I don't want to take over your vacation time." Jon asked her looking into her eyes, waiting. Katie noticed that unsure look sweep across his face. She was very touched by his caution.

"Jon, I would love nothing more, as long as you are sure" she responded holding his gaze searching the depth of his baby blues.

Darlin', I have never been more sure of anything in my life." Jon answered and kissed her deeply for a moment.

"Looks like we should probably start heading back. We may get some rain." Jon made the observation.

Katie had not noticed the storm clouds gathering. "Oh crap!" she muttered. By the look of the sky it might be a bad one. This summer had seen some very powerful storms, more than in the recent past.

"We better hurry or we are going to get soaked." she warned. They folded the blanket and she tied it to her saddle. The mounted the horses and headed back towards the trail at a fast clip. Once they were through the trees, the wind started picking up. Katie yelled back to Jon, "We are going to have to make a run for it." From what she had seen before she was sure he could keep up as she nudged Spirit into a gallop.

They didn't quite make it in time. About half way back to the stable the sky opened up. By the time they reached the stable both of them were soaked. Once inside they slid off the horses.

"Well, I guess the up side is that we made it back in one piece." she joked as a huge clap of thunder boomed overhead.

Jon chuckled. "That is a good thing."

They unsaddled the horses and brushed them down. Before leaving the stable Katie gave each of them a much deserved treat. She rubbed and kissed each furry nose before turning toward Jon.

"Ready?" she asked. Jon put his arm around her pulling her close as they walked out of the stable to her car. He could tell she was getting chilled. Hell, he was getting chilled. Especially now as the exhilaration from the mad dash back had worn off.

Chapter 15