by Sandy Kelly
“The shoes are fine,” Lily responded quickly, then realizing he wasn’t offended, she added, “Although they wouldn’t have normally been my first choice.”
They laughed together, before Jayce repeated the explanation that he had never purchased women’s shoes before. “I’ve never had a wife or daughter, and my mother looks after her own shopping,” he volunteered, steering the conversation to a more personal level. “You and your mom probably do your shopping together.”
Lily’s immediately veiled her eyes to cover the sadness that spiked inside her whenever anyone mentioned her mother.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Jayce said, quickly beginning to offer personal details about his own life as a sort of peace offering. Lily learned that Jayce came from a long line of ranchers and that his entire heart and soul belonged to the land.
Lily’s own heart began to pound heavily in her chest as she listened to him. She was, this meant, his enemy. She was Big Corporate America coming in to steal the land around him.
Jayce lived in the small farm-hand’s cabin on the same land where he had grown up, and his parents were both alive and healthy and living in the main house on the farm.
“My family doesn’t own the land anymore though,” he said quietly, displaying the first sign of sadness in his otherwise happy life story. His brothers and sisters had all gone on to “easier” lives in the city, but it was obvious when he talked about tending the land and the cattle, that this was a livelihood he adored.
“We lost the farm to the bank over 10 years ago, when I was still a teenager. The profit simply went out of farming. Our land is part of a conglomerate now, you could say. All the farms in our area were bought by a corporate group. The good news, I guess, is that they never really took over the actual operation of any of the land they bought. They left all us farm families in place to do the work, like any proper Lords of the Land would do.” Lily heard the defeat and sarcasm in his voice.
“In many ways, things are the same as when I was a boy – same house, same land, same stock of cattle. It just doesn’t feel the same, you know? When the ground you love isn’t your own.”
Lily was acutely aware of her family’s responsibility in the drama that had unfolded throughout many parts of the States. Her grandparents had begun purchasing the fields out from under landowners back East decades ago. They had bought up land willy-nilly, without any thought about how they were single-handedly breaking a long and proud line of farm families. They were no better than these people Jayce referred to as a “corporation”. The weight of her riches clouded Lily’s thoughts once again, as she sat silently listening to Jayce’s gentle story.
“We have several hundred head now – you met some of them today. That was Patti who was being so rude to you.”
“Patti? You name your cows?” Lily asked with disbelief.
“Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?” Jayce looked down quickly, obviously uncomfortable being the focus of attention. “We started naming them when we were kids and I sort of kept naming the odd one now and then. They’re…important…to me.”
This simple explanation endeared him even more to Lily, as did the shyness in his eyes when he looked into hers.
“Patti. I think I know how you came up with that one!”
“It has to do with…what you stepped in,” Jayce said with a smile.
“It is a perfect name,” Lily laughed comfortably. “Tell me some of the others.”
“Some are just normal names, like Peggy and Daisy and Judy. Others are sort of a description of how the calf looked when we first saw it, like Dusty and Merry and Sassy. If something else significant was happening the day the calf was born it might end up with that name, like Storm and Doc and….Foreclose.”
“Poor Foreclose,” Lily said quietly. A heritage stopped short and families displaced and cows everywhere going unnamed… and all because of money.
Now she really must be careful not to disclose too much of her background. If he had a single clue what her trip west was really for, if he knew she came from a long line of “corporate” land thieves, he would dart out of the cafe in an instant. She wished her background was as proud and she wished she could share some of her stories to help him get to know her. He had confided in her and she wanted to give him something personal back.
Lily tried to think of something to reveal that wouldn’t confuse him too much. She could tell him generally about her father or even about her mother’s death. She could tell him a bit about herself, without revealing that she is rich because her grandparents exploited simple farm families like his. But Lily had thought for too long and the silence must have made Jayce uncomfortable.
“I hope you don’t think I’m complaining,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean to get on this topic. I just wanted to get to know you a bit.”
“Not at all,” Lily said hurriedly, “I’m happy to hear about you… all about you. I’d like to get to know you,” she added.
“Maybe we could have coffee again sometime,” Jayce offered. Before they could discuss this idea further, Lucy returned to refill their cups. Neither accepted more coffee, but Lucy lingered nearby and began making small-talk.
“Been in the fields yet, Jayce?” she asked politely. “Looks like you might get to seeding early this year, if this weather holds.” Jayce answered each question with brief and friendly statements, obviously wanting to speak to Lily without further interruption. She finally left them alone.
“She’s sort of the adopted grandmother of Bandit Creek and she’s always making herself a part of things,” Jayce explained quietly. “Can I drop you off somewhere?” he continued tentatively, obviously being careful not to spook her again.
“Well, seeing that it’s my car why don’t I drop you somewhere?” Lily countered lightly, hoping humor would stall the conversation long enough for her to figure out a strategy for the next step. She, of course, had no idea where she was going from here. But she did know she very much wanted to see Jayce again.
“Right, I forgot,” Jayce laughed. “Well, that’s alright. I don’t need a ride,” he said politely. “My dad drove into town this morning, so I’ll catch up with him at the hardware store.
“What about you? Will you be alright?” he asked softly.
“I’ll be fine. I’m going to drive to a hotel here in town and get a room,” she explained, wanting him to know that she was planning to stick around. If there weren’t too many hotels, perhaps he would be able to find her again… if he wanted to.
But it crossed her mind that maybe he wouldn’t want to see her again, after all. She was acting strange and she couldn’t seem to stop.
“I want to thank you for all you’ve done for me,” she said, spontaneously reaching out and lightly touching the back of his hand with her fingertips in a gesture of appreciation and friendship.
Jayce quickly upturned his hand and held her fingers gently within his large grasp, charging both with the rich sensation of flesh on flesh.
“You take good care of yourself,” he said, as they walked slowly from Ma’s Kitchen. They gazed at each other for a moment and Jayce’s eyes were tender as he said goodbye, the polite stranger once again. He turned away and began walking down the street.
Lily kicked herself for letting the moment pass. What was she thinking? She had just spent time with the most attractive, interesting and generous man she had ever met and she was watching him walk away. What if she never saw him again? She should call out to stop him and make arrangements, but he was now at too great a distance to call to without making the situation even more awkward.
Lily allowed her eyes to linger on Jayce a moment longer. Although the growing distance between them saddened her, she couldn’t deny her pleasure in watching his beautiful body in motion. His strong legs carried his husky frame with ease along the small town sidewalk. Within a very short amount of time, Jayce had waved or smiled in response to the honks and greetings of many of his neighbors as they passed. He’s ve
ry popular, Lily thought distractedly.
To her embarrassment, Jayce turned back toward her for one last wave before he turned a corner, and she knew she’d been caught staring. She managed a small wave back, and then made herself turn away to begin walking as if she, too, had a purpose and place to go.
“I’ll go to my car, of course,” she reassured herself out loud, relieved to have confirmed a destination to help break the spell. “Wherever it is.”
By the time she returned to her dusty, run-down car in front of the Helping Hands shop, Lily was feeling downright happy. She had, after all, not only arrived to her destination and survived her first encounter with cows, she had met someone she really liked. It was a small town, she reminded herself, and it would be possible for her and Jayce to find one another again.
Her confidence now fully restored, Lily steered her car down the quiet street and easily found the Super 8 Motel. It appeared to be the only motel in town, and she figured if Jayce did try to find her he wouldn’t have much trouble locating her.
Lily felt good – almost elated. She was even unconcerned about the desk clerk’s curiosity and arrived to her cozy room without feeling self-conscious in the least.
Chapter 3
The sun was casting long, lazy shadows across the cheap wallpaper in the hotel room when Lily finally stirred from the nap she had indulged herself with. She had taken a hot shower the minute she arrived and then fallen into the bed with a sudden exhaustion from the days of driving and the heady encounter with Jayce, which she played over and over in her mind as she fell asleep.
It must be evening. Part of her lazing around this afternoon was because she didn’t want to stray too far from her hotel room in case Jayce tried to call. But it was a tiny room with just a small television set to distract her and she was getting tired of acting like a teenager. She was restless and giddy with the thought of a boy, willing to plant herself next to the phone and wait all day long. Ready to pounce on its ring – and the ring might not ever come.
“Why would he even bother?” she asked herself. “He probably thinks I’m after his money.”
Lily giggled at how ironic this was. She let her thoughts drift for a while longer. She needed a plan. She was a business woman with full agendas and days stuffed with obligations, and now she needed to plot a course of action to help launch her out of this lumpy bed.
She wasn’t used to waking up alone. Of course, she also wasn’t used to waking up WITH someone, but at home if her dad wasn’t around, the morning cook was, or the gardener, or the pool staff, or her dad’s personal assistant. All she had to do was get out of bed and there would be someone present. A companion.
Lily reluctantly swung her feet over the edge of the bed and stole a glance at the clock: 5:30 p.m. Great… it was too late for an afternoon outing and too early for dinner. But she had to do something, so she headed back to the shower.
She stood for a long time under the water’s stream, letting the heat work its magic on her weary body and beginning to gather her thoughts. She was here for only one purpose: to get to the western sub-office in Missoula and arrange for the takeover of some farm and ranchland. Greedy as her purpose might be, that was her reason for being here. Jayce was a distraction, a pleasant one to be sure, but she was determined to carry on with the business she came to do. By the time she stepped out of the bathroom, Lily was ready to do just that.
She took a bit longer to comb her hair and arrange her clothes, just in case the red light on the bedside phone began blinking. It never did, so she finally turned her back on it and left the room.
Strolling down the dim hallway to the front desk, Lily was glad she hadn’t inquired about room service. It was better for her to leave that room and that telephone, and she was beginning to gather strength with each step. She would walk through the small downtown neighborhood and find a place to eat dinner.
Lily stepped onto the sidewalk and felt the warmth of the late afternoon sun. The street was lined with beautifully lush flower pots that spread their sweet perfume and she smiled as the promise of early spring surrounded her. She strolled the few blocks to the Grey Rose restaurant and stepped inside.
Quickly taking a table beside the window so she could continue gazing at the peaceful scene outside, she ordered coffee and a dinner salad and then leaned back in her chair to relax into the pace of this new town. Having slept for most of the afternoon, she felt full of energy and by the time she was finished eating she was more than ready to do something. Anything that would keep her out of the little hotel room for a while longer.
As she was paying, she noticed a small tourist brochure of Bandit Creek beside the cash register. It mentioned a few things to do… a company that offered guided dives to nearby Lost Lake, a couple of different trail ride outfitters, a large listing for the Powder Horn Saloon. She was pleased with the mention of a small museum just down the road from her hotel, and quickly began heading straight back down Main Street to see if they would still be open this late on a Friday.
She turned onto Birch Street and, just a few blocks beyond the Super 8, she found the small antique cabin which constituted the ‘museum.’. Hmmm, Lily thought, this isn’t going to fill much of my evening.
She was happy to discover, though, that the little door was still open. A small bowl at the entryway invited guests to make a contribution to help with the cabin’s upkeep, so she quickly pulled a few dollars from her purse for the admission and then proceeded into the small room.
It was a simple display of everyday life in the old days of Bandit Creek, or of any pioneer home for that matter. There was a tiny gathering place in the corner, with two wooden chairs and a small stuffed sofa arranged around a large rocking chair, where Lily was certain the man of the house would typically sit. A cloth divider separated the small sleeping quarters from the rest of the cabin, but a much larger area was saved for the kitchen area.
Near a creaky-looking wooden kitchen table stood a mannequin of a slight woman wearing a worn pinafore. Her hair looked like it had been hurriedly pulled back and pinned in place, so it wouldn’t cause her any fuss as she ran her errands and looked after her home and family. Some strands of the wig had strayed from the pins, as they would have done in real life. The woman looked so real to Lily, it was as if she had once breathed in this room and had somehow been frozen there waiting for her household to arrive home.
Maybe after her children left for school and her husband went to the field, the plastic woman had once shaken the pins from her hair and thrown her apron to the ground and danced. Maybe she had a secret lover. Maybe she sold off a few eggs from the chicken coop to save for something special. Maybe she had a private stash in a coffee can with a makeshift slit in its plastic lid, which she plunked a few cents into whenever she could.
Did she wonder what was going on out there in the big world without her, as she toiled alone inside this simple kitchen? Did she yearn for her husband to come home to shake the pins free for her and release her passions?
Lily left the little cabin thinking about all the pioneer women who looked through similar windows as they wondered what trial that particular day would bring. Would her husband get the price he hoped for the cow he had walked into town? Would the angry banker come back to badger them for money that they just didn’t have?
It made her think of Jayce and his family again. She had been distracted by thoughts of him throughout the day… distracted by thoughts that maybe he was distracted by thoughts of her. But now she thought sadly of his parents when the bank took their land away. How sad and scared his mom must have been, wondering how on earth she would be able to continue nourishing her family.
Lily couldn’t recall a single memory of her mother pouring tea from a large kettle for her family, as they sat around her small kitchen looking to her for nourishment. There had never been anything small in her world, for one thing, and there were servants for every purpose and every one of her family’s needs. Their disciplined and formal e
xistence had not nourished Lily’s soul, loved as she had been, and then she struggled with the brutal finality of losing her mother so very young. Suddenly Lily realized how much she craved that nourishment from a mother. Now what was she supposed to do? That wasn’t something you could easily find.
She felt lonely as she walked back to the hotel, wishing instead she was heading toward a house full of people. A home like the lady at the museum had created. Instead she was returning to a tiny, boring room and the only thing that kept her moving in that direction was the irritating impulse to check that blasted red light on her hotel telephone. She hoped it would be blinking, beckoning her over to receive a message from the man she had thought about all day long.
But she unlocked the hotel room to nothing but darkness from the bedside table. He could so easily have looked her up if he had the slightest inclination. He mustn’t be interested, she concluded.
Lily slowly prepared for bed, determined to stick to her original plan even though her spirit was crushed.
“Yesterday at this time I didn’t even know him,” she reminded herself. “And tomorrow at this time I will have forgotten him.”
But try as she might, she couldn’t accomplish the forgetting him part. All she felt was disappointment as she fell into bed, completely absorbed by thoughts of Jayce.
Chapter 4
“We won the toaster,” said the voice at the other end of the phone.
Lily raised herself to one elbow and blinked away the remaining sleep from her eyes. She had heard the ring, picked up the phone and said hello before coming fully awake.
“What?” she asked politely, sleepily.
“We won the toaster.” That voice. Lily was awake now!
“Jayce?” she asked.
“Have you entered a toaster contest with anyone else?” he asked playfully.
“Not recently,” Lily laughed, trying to keep too much joy from sounding in her voice.