The Ranger's Daughter

In His Arms

A/N I apologize for all the spelling errors that are sure to have been in this chapter and my last. I really do know how to spell but I have been typing the chapters out on my phone while I'm at lunch. Auto correct has engaged me in a very instance battle over what word I want and what word it thinks I want. I do intend to edit the story but right now I just want to focus on finishing it so please bear with me.

Vance moaned as he tried to remove ache in his neck. He must've slept wrong, he thought. He could feel the sun shining on himself. He took a deep breathe and paused. Something didn't feel quite right.. his chest felt heavy. Vance opened his eyes and then quickly shut them against the bright morning sun. He was outside! He was still under the tree he had been thinking at since yesterday. and that meant.. vance shaded his eyes as he lifted his head and glanced down on his chest and stomach. And there she slept. Her dark hair lay in a silky tangle. Her mouth was slightly open as she breathed. She looked so comfortable there, sleeping under the tree safe in his arms. A small smile spread across Vance's face. She was beautiful and he was free.

Last night had been a very difficult  night, he was glad that he finally decided to share the truth with this wild angel. He felt so much better, the weight he had been carrying for oh so long had suddenly lifted. He could hear the birds sing, he could see the sunshine, he could smell the glorious brown hair that was tangled on his chest. It had been a long while since Vance had felt so carefree and happy and he didn't want to let the feeling go.

His ma was probably crazy with worry. First he didn't show up for supper and then both he and Grace will be missing from breakfast. He hoped his ma wouldn't be too upset with them.
Grace shifted then, snuggling further into him. Vance smiled. He liked the feel of her slight weight, liked the way she fit against him perfectly. Vance sighed and pressed a satisfied kiss to the top of her head. She was wonderful and he had never felt better.

"Grace?" He murmured. "We probably should get moving."

Grace moved slightly before blinking up at him. "Vance?" She mumbled . "Where are we?" Suddenly she seemed to sense the oddity of their positions. "Vance" she gasped in a whisper. "Did we... Have we been here all night?"

A laugh rumbled in Vance's chest. "It appears that way, baby. My ma's gonna take a switch to me."

A small smile lit Grace's face and it slowly spread until she was giggling along with Vance's laughter. "We better get back." She said wiping a mirthful tear from her cheek.

"Yeah." Vance agreed with a smile. "But first.." Vance pulled Grace back onto his lap and held her snugly against his chest. "I like you better like this." He mumbled as his eyes searched hers.

"Do you?" Grace asked, as his eyes intently searched hers for something. She didn't know what he was searching for but she did know that there was no place in the world she would rather be than in his lap. Daddy, her mind whispered, think of your daddy. But Grace found that she couldn't think of her daddy and in that moment she didn't want to. The only thing she wanted to think about was Vance and how his lips were slowly moving closer to hers. Very slowly. "You're takin too long." She mumbled before covering the distance between their lips with a kiss that rivaled every kiss that has ever been given or received.

---
"Where have you two been?" Mary Anne snapped. An Aron was tied around her waist and she was stirring  a pot when Vance and Grace wandered into the kitchen.

"Umm.." Grace looked to Vance. She just couldn't tell his mother that she and Vance has been kissing all night at the creek. Mary Anne would take a switch to both their bottoms.

"We wanted to get a head start on the wheat this morning." Vance smoothly answered as he snatched a warm biscuit from the plate on the table.

"Oh is that so?" Mary Anne asks putting her hands on her hips and attempting to hide her grin.

"Yup," Vance mumbled around a mouth full of biscuit. "Had to make up for quitting early yesterday. "
Mary Anne toward Grace and with a raised eyebrow she asked, "Grace, you should go put on a dress. It hardly seems appropriate to be working the fields on a nightgown and a shawl."

Vance's eyes widened as he studied Grace's lack of clothing. Grace gasped and pulled her shawl tighter. "Yes, ma'am." She muttered. She all but ran from the kitchen while Mary Anne laughed.

"Wheat, my foot Vance. What were you two doing?"

"At the creek."

"Fishing?"

"Not exactly."

"Swimming?"

"Not really."

"Well, Vance, what else is there to do at a creek with a girl?" Mary Anne teased her son. He seemed more like his old self and she loved it!

"We slept."

"What!" Mary Anne cried it surprise. She expected that they'd done some sparking but she didn't expect sleeping to be the answer.

"That's all you need to know mama." Vance said with a grin.

"Vance, you better be marrying that girl." Mary Anne warned.

Vance gazed at the stairs where Grace had disappeared to dress. "I intend to mama. Oh, I intend too."