Vonne smiled slowly. “If you have a defect, I sure haven’t found it.”
“You just haven’t been looking close enough.” Their voices had dropped to barely a whisper and their faces were moving closer.
“Oh, I’ve been looking, believe me.” Vonne leaned forward to meet Liza’s lips for a gentle kiss. “I’ve definitely been looking.”
“Something tells me hooking up with Vonne Maglio might be more than I can handle.”
“There’s only one way you’re going to find out.”
yx
Vonne relaxed in the truck’s passenger seat, her elbow resting on the door so it hung out the open window. “You really think you could be satisfied with a life like this?”
“Probably not in the long run,” Liza admitted, jamming the truck into low gear for the climb back up to the mouth of the canyon to collect the lunch containers. “I just needed some time away from life, and Sky Ranch is a pretty good refuge. I’m sure I’ll go back out there eventually and start acting like an adult again.”
“Things must have gotten pretty bad back home.”
Liza nodded. “Yeah, kind of all the way around. I was working at my father’s company and saw some things I didn’t like ... things about the business, and things about him. I didn’t want to be a part of it.”
“The company or your father?”
“Both. You hate to admit that your own father’s a crook, but when you’re the one doing the books, it’s pretty hard to miss. My mom would roll over in her grave if she knew what I knew.” They pulled into the clearing and stopped.
“So your mom’s gone?” This wasn’t Vonne pumping Liza for information anymore. This was genuine interest, a rush of emotion to catch up with all the feelings that had made her want to kiss Liza last night. She felt overwhelming compassion at a loss of faith in family so great that it drove Liza to leave them all behind. Too often, that was how people ended up in places like this.
“Yeah, she died about four years ago. The company still had a conscience back then, before they went public and started doing everything to please the analysts and stockholders.” As they talked, they hopped out of the truck and grabbed the empty containers. “Are you going to put all this in your report?”
Vonne didn’t answer, distracted now by something that lay beneath one of the picnic tables.
“What is it?”
“Where did this come from?” She reached down and picked up a camouflage cap. “I thought all of the hands wore hats like yours.” She indicated the Stetson.
Liza walked over to look at it. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anybody here wear one of those.”
Para-military activity in the canyon was the worst-case scenario, as far as she was concerned. But if these guys were changing into uniforms every morning, that sure explained how they managed to keep their clothes clean. Vonne looked inside the cap. “It says Collins.”
“That’s Billy.”
“Which one is he?”
“He’s the one that got all flustered the other night when Astrid was asking him questions about one of the books she gave him. He didn’t understand it. Remember?”
“Oh, yeah. I know which one he is.” From what Vonne could gather, he wasn’t held in high regard by Astrid.
She looked around for more clues. Besides the hat, there was nothing unusual. The containers had been left in a stack, as always, and the area policed for trash. She set the cap on the table and started to walk back to the truck.
“Wait. Maybe you should put it back where it was under the table.”
“Why? If I leave it out here, he’ll see it and pick it up on the way back to the barn.”
“I know. But they already give Billy a hard time about stuff. If somebody else sees it first, they’ll just tease him even more about losing his hat. This way, maybe he’ll remember it and pick it up before somebody else finds it.”
Vonne nodded and dropped the cap back underneath the table. Liza was probably right—Billy would catch hell if the others realized she had found his cap—but the consequences might be more severe than just teasing.
She climbed into the passenger seat and closed the door, shooting one last look at the cap under the table. What other sorts of paramilitary gear did these ranch hands have? And why? All the more reason to find out what was in that canyon.
yx
“You did all right,” Vonne said, slapping Liza on the back as they walked out of the dining hall. Astrid had grilled her for almost thirty minutes after dinner about Locke’s essays.
“It’s a good thing you helped me practice. I was hoping she had forgotten about it though.”
Vonne looked away sheepishly, knowing it was her mention of the book to Astrid that had triggered the rancher’s memory. “Look at it this way—it’s behind you now, and I think you really impressed her.”
“Hey, Vonne!” Lorna caught up with them just outside the door. “You still want to do some riding?”
“Sure!”
“Great. Come to the barn tomorrow morning at nine-thirty. I’ll have Clint saddle you up a mount.”
“Thanks. I look forward to it.” Vonne turned back to Liza as Lorna walked away. “Sure you don’t want to take a ride? Maybe we can get lost in the woods again or something.” After lunch, they had walked along the creek until they were obscured by the thick summer foliage. There, they had picked up where they left off the night before, with kisses that started slowly at first, but quickly grew deeper and more intense. Things heated up so fast it was all they do to keep themselves under control.
“I don’t think you’ll want me to tag along for this one. If you’re going at nine-thirty, you’re probably going with Astrid.”
yx
Vonne stepped under the spray and soaked her hair, simultaneously rinsing away the soap from her freshly-washed body. With her eyes closed, she jabbed at the shampoo dispenser until the liquid trickled into her hand. In no time, she turned it into a rich lather.
She could hear Liza turn on the shower in the corner. There was a different atmosphere in the bathhouse tonight, at least in her mind, and probably in Liza’s too. Now that they had kissed, they weren’t just friends sharing a communal shower anymore. They were two women attracted to one another and they were naked and alone—an electric combination.
Vonne rinsed her hair and pushed it straight back, finally opening her eyes. She looked to her right, not surprised to find Liza facing away. Finally, she had the chance to gaze without trepidation at Liza’s naked body.
Suddenly, Liza looked over her shoulder, boldly returning Vonne’s gesture with a lust-filled look of her own.
That was all the encouragement Vonne needed. She released a dollop of the liquid soap and rubbed it into her hands. Then she closed the distance between them and pressed both hands against Liza’s shoulder blades. She felt Liza stiffen then relax as she flattened her palms and swirled the soap generously all over her back. She marveled at the strong muscles, hardened by the physical labor of the ranch. Up and down, she gently stroked, finally sliding her hands lower over the round cheeks. She cupped Liza’s bottom and leaned closer.
“If you want me to stop, you’re going to have to tell me,” she whispered from behind.
Liza started to turn, but Vonne brought one arm around her waist to hold her in place. Her other hand continued its gentle massage, dipping lower into the slippery crack. Over and over, she stroked it softly with her fingers, from its Y-shaped top to the tender flesh between Liza’s legs.
Vonne could feel Liza begin to lose her equilibrium. “Put your hands on the wall.”
Liza did, gradually opening her legs to encourage more of Vonne’s touch. The water sprayed unnoticed, a constant lubricant for Vonne’s explorations.
She pushed one, then two fingers inside, moving closer to press her center against Liza’s hip. With her other hand, she found a breast, where her pinch of a nipple elicited a greedy moan.
She thrust harder, spurred on by the rhyt
hm of Liza jerking up and down against the fingers inside her. Vonne squeezed the breast one last time and swept her palm across Liza’s stomach, into the hair at the top of her legs, and finally onto her center. Her fingers found the hard clitoris, prompting a new jolt as Liza gripped the showerhead.
Vonne intensified her touch, hearing her own ragged breaths as she drew closer to climax from the friction of her body grinding against the wet skin. She came just as she felt the velvet walls clench. Liza’s weight fell into her arms and Vonne dropped to one knee, carefully guiding her to the concrete floor.
Liza rolled over and looked into her face. “You should at least kiss me now,” she said breathlessly.
Vonne surged forward and crushed the eager lips, her mouth open as if to devour. Far from sated, her fingers once again found the pulsing clitoris, and she teased it to a second climax and a third.
“I think this is where I’m supposed to tell you to stop,” Liza rasped.
The water had gone tepid and Liza was physically spent. Vonne helped her to her feet and they turned off the spray. Soon, they were dressed and sitting side by side on the bench outside the showers.
It was Liza who spoke first. “That was ...” She waved her hand in the air, finding no words to finish.
“Oh, it was way better than that.” Vonne nodded and rubbed her hand along Liza’s thigh. “I can’t wait to do it again.”
“No, it’s my turn next, so don’t think you’re going to come back from that ride tomorrow and whine about being sore. There will be no mercy.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal.” Vonne leaned over for one last kiss before standing up and holding out her hand. “Let me walk you home, little girl.”
From her upper bunk that night, Vonne listened as Liza’s breathing slowed. Her head was filled with erotic images, her body overflowing with warm sensations. For the first time in over a week, she fell asleep without thinking of Jerry, or of Astrid and the strange goings-on at Sky Ranch.
yx
“Don’t let him get away with that,” Astrid said sharply. “You have to show him who’s boss.”
Vonne jerked the reins to the left and dug her heels into the stubborn horse’s ribs, putting a stop to his grazing spree.
“I think Clint gave you the rowdiest horse in the barn. He’ll test your patience, but he can sure run.”
“You say that like it’s a good thing.”
Astrid laughed. “There’s a flat stretch up here where you can push him a little. You’ve got insurance, right?”
“Just catastrophic.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
Vonne leaned forward in the saddle as they started up a steep hill. She was curious about how far they would ride, fairly certain she would be turned back before they reached the canyon. But she figured that would give her about half an hour to double back and see if she could learn more about what lay beyond the narrow pass. There were all sorts of side trails, and she could always claim she got lost if she were discovered. If she was gone longer than a half hour, though, she might be missed.
“Lorna tells me you spent some time in the navy.”
“I got my six years in.”
“And now I suppose you’re ready for that great career they promised.”
Vonne wasn’t surprised by the sarcasm in the rancher’s voice. She seemed to be skeptical about most things having to do with the U.S. government. “Yeah, but there doesn’t seem to be much demand for someone who knows how to catch a plane on a carrier deck.”
“Typical. Empty promises from Uncle Sam.” They reached a washed-out gulley, where the trail widened in a slight grade for a quarter-mile. “Here we go. Give him a kick and hold on!”
Vonne slapped the stirrups into the horse’s belly and he took off, pulling even with Astrid’s mare when they reached the crest of the next hill. The painful bouncing when the horse trotted now became a comfortable glide.
“Good job, Vonne,” Astrid said, obviously pleased that a beginning rider would show such poise in the saddle. They brought the horses to stop.
“That was easier than I thought it would be.” Vonne smiled with satisfaction and patted the horse’s neck. Looking around, she tried to get her bearings. This was the same view they got on the last turn toward the lunch site, so that meant they would cross the road soon.
“So you aren’t working right now?”
“That’s right. I’ll need to get off my ass and get a job when I get back, though.”
“Any idea what you’ll do?”
“Not really. I have a friend at one of those overnight shipping places. He said he might be able to get me on there.” Vonne had expected questions like these, sure this ride had been orchestrated to give Astrid an opportunity to find out where she stood. She hoped her answers would set up an invitation to stay on at Sky Ranch.
“You strike me as somebody who likes that sort of thing ... the physical work.”
“Yeah, I can’t imagine sitting behind a desk all day. I like to be outside. That’s what’s so nice about being here at Sky Ranch.”
Astrid looked straight ahead as they started up what Vonne thought would be the last hill before they reached the lunch site. “A lot of people come here and fall in love with this place.”
“Easy to see why. It’s beautiful.”
“It is that.” Astrid pulled ahead to lead her horse through a narrow part of the trail. “What about the rest of it? Do you enjoy the other hands? Do you like working with Liza?”
“Liza’s great. I don’t really see much of the others except at dinner.” That was the segue Vonne had been hoping for. “But I like the dinner discussions a lot. You really know a lot about that kind of stuff. And you always make it so interesting.” Stroke that ego.
Astrid turned in the saddle to face her, their horses still plodding up the hill. “What do you find interesting about it?”
“Practically everything. I was sitting there the other night trying to imagine talking about that kind of stuff with my shipmates and I almost laughed out loud.”
Astrid snorted. “You probably wouldn’t have gotten much debate in a place like that anyway. Everyone in the military is told what to think. Nobody learns how to think.”
That’s what Liza had said was different about Astrid and Sky Ranch, almost verbatim. But Astrid’s trick was even better—she knew how to get people to think what she wanted them to think.
“I can’t argue with that,” Vonne said. “I think I was different because I went to college for a couple of years first. And I’ve always liked to read.”
“How are you coming on that book?”
“I’m about halfway through it. I’m starting to think the Levelers got a bum rap.”
“How so?”
“Well, a lot of people just considered them troublemakers. But if you look at what they stood for—things like natural rights that we’re all born with—those are some of the principles our government is founded on.”
“Pffft! Hardly.” Astrid shook her head in disgust.
“What? Am I reading it wrong?”
“No, you’re not reading the Levelers wrong at all. But you’re mistaken if you think our government here respects principles of natural law. We’re worse than any monarchy could ever be. At least you can kill the king and be done with the line.”
They finally crested the last hill, emerging into the clearing that served as the lunch site. Vonne was frustrated to see a hand sitting at one of the tables on the porch, his horse tied nearby. Obviously, he was here to escort her back to the barn.
yx
“You’re very good at that,” Vonne said, pulling Liza up from the floor to straddle her lap on the bench in the dressing room.
“I skipped dessert tonight”—Liza kissed her, her lips soft and moist from what she had been doing—“because you told me you were sweet.”
“Was I right?”
“I’ll say.”
Vonne hugged her tightly around the wais
t. “I’ve been thinking about you all day. How about coming back with me to Sausalito?” Astrid’s persistent secrecy this morning about the canyon underscored the likelihood that Sky Ranch was not only a cult, but a volatile one at that. Vonne wanted Liza out of here, along with all of the innocents. Make this easy, please.
“I have a better idea. How about you staying here?”
Vonne sighed. If she appeared too desperate, Liza might get spooked enough to pull away. “I can’t just stay. I’m only here on vacation.”
“So was I when I first got here. But I liked it, and I asked Astrid if I could stay and work and she let me. I bet she’d let you too. There’s plenty to do, and I know she likes you.”
“I don’t know, Liza. I like it here, but I don’t think ranching is what I want to do with my life.”
“Nobody says you have to do it your whole life. But we could do it for a couple of years. I’m just not ready to leave yet.”
Vonne sighed and put her head on Liza’s shoulder. “I know. But I don’t want to leave you.”
“Then stay for a while longer.”
“For what? Sex in the bathhouse? We deserve better than that.”
“You weren’t complaining a few minutes ago,” Liza said, her feelings obviously hurt.
“Liza—” Vonne squeezed her shoulders and groaned in frustration.
“I know what you’re saying, and you’re right. We do deserve better.” Liza kissed the tip of Vonne’s nose. “I just ... I can’t leave right now. Astrid took me in when I had no place else to go, and it wouldn’t be right just to walk out on her. Nobody else here knows how to do my job.”
Vonne sighed. “I guess I could talk to her about staying a while longer.”
“Now that’s what I wanted to hear!”
“But we’re going to have to find a place a little more romantic than this.”
“How about near the creek where we eat lunch?”
“A nooner?”
“Yeah.”
“Then we better get to bed. I think I have a very important luncheon engagement tomorrow.”
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