InHap*pily Ever After (Incidental Happenstance)

by DeSalvo, Kim

  “You know,” he said with a half-smile, “Every single time I tell myself I’m going to take it slow, make it last, tease you until you beg for mercy; but then you’re naked and I lose all control and want to ravage you like a beast. You have me under a spell, love, and I can’t keep my head.”

  “I don’t want you to keep your head, baby,” she said as she tightened her grip on him, “I want to bury it deep inside me.”

  “Bloody hell,” he croaked, sliding his slick finger out of her and rubbing small circles while bringing his lips to hers. He reveled in every gasp that he took into his mouth and the way she swayed her hips as he brought her closer to climax and when her hips shot upward and he felt the shudder through her entire body, he dipped his finger into her again and felt her tighten around him. “You are an incredibly sexy woman, Tia Hastings. I can’t wait to make you my wife.”

  She swung her leg over and straddled him, raising up and then sliding onto him, her back arching and a groan escaping her as she took the full length of him. She began to rock slowly, rising and falling as he ran his hands up her stomach and over her breasts. Finally, he could take no more, and he pushed his hands beneath her, flipping her over and driving deep in one swift motion. Her mouth made an ‘O’ of surprise, and she cried out as he pushed faster, bringing them both to the edge and then tumbling over.

  She pulled him to her, taking his full weight and nuzzling his neck. “I can’t wait to be your wife,” she whispered.

  “This place is amazing, Dyl,” Tia said as they walked through the many rooms of the incredible house. It was a huge space, but the layout made it feel intimate. Several bedrooms were in a separate wing of the house; complete with a second kitchen and its own entrance from the outside, so they could still live in relative privacy when the rest of the guys showed up for rehearsals. Every room was homey and filled with comfortable furnishings, and the kitchen absolutely took Tia’s breath away. She looked forward to cooking for the two of them and for InHap when they came in late July. “I really think I will love it here.”

  “Come on, I want to introduce you to Denny and Alicia,” Dylan said after showing her the gardens and the secluded pool area that would be great for hosting summer parties. “They’re the caretakers of the place, and they run the ranch. Alicia’s an amazing cook, and Denny has the greenest thumb I’ve ever seen, as well as being something of a horse whisperer.”

  Dylan grabbed a backpack and they walked down the winding, wooded driveway, then past a pasture where four majestic horses and two foals, still shaky on their spindly legs, were grazing on the spring grass. “Oh, look at the babies!” Tia exclaimed, running for the fence and jumping onto the bottom rung of wood to get a better look. “They’re beautiful, Dyl; are they yours?”

  “Ours,” he answered, smiling. “I thought you’d like them. The gray one is Murphy; he’s a bit ornery and thinks he owns the place, the brown one with the white markings is Angel; she’s a sweet gentle soul. The brown one with the black patch on his nose is Brutus, and the black one is Shadow. I haven’t met the foals yet…you can name them once you’ve had a chance to get to know them.”

  Dylan dropped the backpack and unzipped the top, pulling out some apples and making a snickering noise in the direction of the majestic creatures. They were already on their way over, but they quickened their steps when they saw the treats Dylan held up for their inspection. He handed two of them to Tia, who happily fed them to Angel and Shadow. “Aren’t you a beauty,” she said as she let them sniff her hands and then rubbed between their eyes. “Are those your babies?” Angel snorted an answer, then nuzzled Dylan’s arm.

  “Hey there!” A man’s voice rang out. Tia looked up to see a man perhaps in his fifties complete with cowboy hat and boots striding out of the barn. “Bout time you showed your face around here again. They’ve missed ya,” he tossed his head toward the horses, “and frankly, so have we.” He turned his head and called out for Alicia over his shoulder.

  “Great to see you, Denny,” Dylan said, pulling the man into an embrace. “It’s always good to be home; especially this trip.” He turned to Tia. “I want to introduce you to my fiancé, Tia. She’ll be moving in here in a couple months; after the honeymoon. Where are the boys?” he asked, looking around.

  “Jake took them in to the vet for their shots. They should be back soon.”

  “We’ve got dogs?” Tia asked excitedly.

  “Two,” Dylan answered, “Jasper and Murphy.”

  “Don’t tell them they’re dogs, though,” Denny added. “It’ll hurt their feelings. Well I have to say, it’ll be great to have a lady of the house,” Denny said, wiping his dusty hands on his even dustier jeans before extending his hand to Tia. “Pleased to meet ya, ma’am.”

  “Tia, please, and I’m glad to meet you, too.” She heard another excited greeting, and saw a heavy-set woman jogging toward them. She wrapped Dylan in a warm hug and kissed his cheek.

  “It does my heart good to see you, Dylan,” she said with a huge smile. “I’ve been reading the papers and seeing you on TV...” she turned to Tia, “…and this is the lovely Tia. Best wishes to you both on your engagement; and I’ll tell you, it’ll be so nice to have another woman around this place.”

  “Tia, meet Alicia. She’s my mum away from home, and they’re both part of my family.”

  The woman pulled Tia into a breathtaking squeeze. “I’ve been hoping for a long time that Dylan would find the right woman,” she said warmly, “he’s a great catch, but I’m sure you know that already.”

  “I certainly do.”

  “Now you know I’ve stocked the place,” Alicia said to Dylan, “but I’m cooking up a fabulous supper—homemade fried chicken with all the fixins’, and I’m hoping you’ll join us.”

  Tia hadn’t thought about it, but as soon as food was mentioned, her stomach growled in response. She smiled at Dylan and gave him a slight nod.

  “I’m going to take Tia for a ride to see the rest of the place,” he said, “and then we’d be happy to. We’ve got some catching up to do.” He turned to Denny. “Can you help me saddle up Angel and Murphy?”

  “You bet.” Denny let out a shrill whistle, and the horses headed for the barn.

  The property was incredible, and Tia couldn’t believe that she’d be living in such a magnificent place. They meandered through some forest trails, and galloped across open spaces with the mountains rising up behind them. There was a large pond down a hill from the back of the house, and they scared up two herons as they approached on horseback. They left the horses to graze, and walked across a curved wooden bridge to a gazebo that sat on an island in the middle of the pond. Dylan reached into a cooler that was already sitting there and pulled out a bottle of champagne. “Alicia’s the best,” he said as he popped the cork and poured two glasses. “She knew I’d bring you here.”

  “I’m really blown away by the whole thing,” Tia said. “I can’t even believe that I’m going to be living here. It’s just amazingly beautiful; and so private. I can see why you chose this place.”

  “It’s going to be more amazing once you’re here. I’ll really have something to come home to then.”

  She heard the barking before the dogs came into sight. From the top of the hill, a Golden Retriever and a chocolate Lab mix came bounding down the hill, tails wagging and back ends practically dragging on the ground as they put on the speed to rush over to see Dylan. “There’s my boys!” he said happily, and they skittered across the bridge into the gazebo wriggling uncontrollably and wagging their tails as Dylan scratched them all over. “Jasper,” he said, touching the Golden, “Murphy,” he said, pulling his face from the Lab’s tongue, “this is Tia. Your new momma. Put on your manners and say hello.”

  “Hi, babies,” Tia said, putting out her hand for an introductory sniff. Dylan snapped his fingers and they both sat and offered her a paw. She took one in each hand, and scratched them both behind the ears. “I love dogs,” she said with a smile. “I thi
nk I just might like it here.”

  “Wait until you try Alicia’s homemade fried chicken. You’ll never want to leave.”

  They ate in Alicia’s homey kitchen, Tia smiling as they traded stories and the couple gave her the rundown of the place. After the meal, Denny and Dylan went into an office to discuss ranch business, and Alicia and Tia donned their jackets and sat on the front porch to watch the sunset over the mountains.

  “How long have you been here?” Tia asked.

  “Oh, going on thirty years, I guess,” Alicia answered.

  “Then you were here even before Dylan?”

  “Oh, yes.” She cocked her head at Tia. “He didn’t tell you, did he?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “I figured as much. That’s the kind of guy he is. You’re one lucky lady, Tia, I’ll tell you that; although I think you already know.”

  “I definitely do.”

  “This place was Denny’s dream. We’d just been married a couple years when the property went up for sale. His whole family went in on it—his parents and two brothers—and started the ranch. They each built here, and ran the ranch together. For a long time it was a huge success; we’d have folks paying to have a real dude ranch experience, we bred horses, farmed a bit…it was a great life. You probably saw the cabins on your ride.” Tia nodded. “One after the other, his brothers moved on and Denny bought them out, and then his parents passed on and it was the two of us; until Denny had his accident.”

  “What happened?”

  “He was working on a tractor, and it fell on his leg, shattering his femur. Long story short, he had to have a number of extensive surgeries; he has a metal rod in his leg now.”

  “Oh, wow.”

  “He was out of commission for almost a year. The medical bills were astronomical, and there was physical therapy…he couldn’t ride or work the land. We hired people to come in, but that just about eliminated our profits, and we were in a hole that we couldn’t get out of. We sold off the horses and the farm equipment, but it wasn’t nearly enough with all the bills coming in. It was the hardest thing in the world for him to do; we held on as long as we could; but we had to put the ranch up for sale. The real estate market wasn’t so good at the time, so we were forced into a really low asking price; much less than we thought the place was worth. We were an eyelash away from bankruptcy, and Denny was falling into a depression. Then, lucky for us, Dylan came along. He’d apparently been looking for some acreage in the general area; it was his assistant who came to see us first; a lovely little spit of a woman.”

  “Jessa,” Tia smiled.

  “That’s her. Is she still around? She was such a nice girl.”

  “Oh yeah, she’s the best.”

  “She said she was sure that her ‘client’ would love the place, and she gave us some earnest money right away and set up a meeting. We had no idea who he was at the time; we didn’t follow music or movies too much, and I don’t go in for those tattler magazines. We just thought he was a nice young man. Our hearts were breaking at the thought of giving up our dream, but we didn’t have much of a choice at the time. He came by twice to check the place out; once with Jessa, and once with a team of folks; architects, builders, and the like. Then he asked to speak with us. We sat down right here with some lemonade, and he asked us point blank why we were selling for such a low price. I kind of broke down and told him the whole story; told him it broke our hearts to leave the place; told him about the dude ranch business…he absorbed it all, and told us he’d stop back in a couple days. When he came back, he made us an offer we couldn’t refuse.

  “He told us that the land was worth much more than we were asking, and insisted on paying a fair price. That in itself was a blessing; at least we’d be able to get another place and pay the hospital bills. But then, he told us who he was. He said that he’d like to build a house further back on the property, but that he wouldn’t be living there full time because of his job. He needed caretakers, he told us, and offered to let us stay in our home in exchange for looking after the place when he was away, and for some light cleaning and cooking duties. Dylan said he wanted to keep the ranch operational, and planned to not only rebuy the horses we were forced to sell, but to get a couple more. Then he told us about his charity, and said he had some ideas for developing camps for sick and underprivileged kids in addition to the dude ranch experiences we were already offering.” Her eyes teared up as she recalled the memory.

  “So Denny’s actually ‘Big D.’”

  “Depends on the day, I reckon. They rib each other about that a lot, arguing about whether it should represent ‘big’ in size or reputation. Guess I don’t have to tell you which one’s which,” she giggled. “In the beginning, though, Denny was thrilled that the ranch would keep its name, even if a new ‘D’ was the real namesake. Denny’s a tough guy; a cowboy in the real sense of the word; but I tell you when Dylan made that offer, he completely broke down in tears. He’d kind of given up on his therapy at the time, and was still walking with a cane. He believed that he’d never ride again; never work with the horses he’d come to love like his own children. We didn’t even need a minute to think about it—there was something about Dylan that made us feel completely comfortable with him right away, you know? We agreed on the spot. Denny’s depression was lifted, and he worked on getting back into shape, ditching his cane within a month.

  “Then Dylan surprised us yet again. About a month later there was all kinds of heavy equipment rolling in to start construction on his house. He said he felt bad about all the noise and disruption, and sent us away on a two-week cruise. Denny and I didn’t want to accept, but he insisted—we hadn’t been on a vacation in years, and it was the most amazing time. When we got home, Dylan had taken the liberty of having this amazing porch added on to the house, and had added on to the barn, as well. Denny’s horses were back, and it was like a dream, you know? That man saved us, he did, and we’re forever indebted to him. Over the years, he’s become like one of our own; we love him like a son. We’re so glad that he found someone to share his life with, and I want you to know that we’ll consider you family, too.”

  Tia wasn’t at all surprised by Dylan’s generosity; but it always touched her heart when she was reminded of how humble he was. “I appreciate that so much, Alicia; it’ll be so nice to have a friend when Dylan’s away. I was a teacher up until a few months ago, and I’d love to get involved in the programs that bring kids to the ranch. I don’t know a whole lot about horses, but I’m definitely anxious to learn.”

  “Oh, Denny would love to teach you!”

  “You know, I was actually a bit worried about moving here to a new place, out in the country, where I didn’t know anyone; especially knowing that the place was secluded and that Dylan would be gone a lot of the time. I just feel so much better about that part of it, knowing that you guys are here.”

  Alicia took her hand and smiled. “I’m so glad,” she said.

  The boys came out onto the porch with beers in their hands, and each went to kiss their ladies on the cheek before sitting in one of the rockers. The sun was just dipping below the mountains, turning them incredible shades of purple and orange. They rocked for a while in comfortable silence, and just as the last crescent of the sun disappeared behind the Rockies, Dylan took Tia’s hand. “Welcome to your new life,” he whispered.

  “I’m going to love it here,” she answered.

  *****

  By Wednesday Tia started to worry. She wasn’t totally freaked out that she hadn’t heard back from Lexi over the weekend; and frankly, she was so busy getting acclimated to the house and the land, getting to know Denny, Alicia, the horses, and the dogs, that she didn’t have a whole lot of time to think about it. She was constantly snapping pictures and taking video; sending them in texts and emails to a long string of people, and hadn’t particularly noticed that Lexi was the only one who never responded. When she figured it out and called Lexi’s office only to be told she no longer
worked there, she got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach and called her mother to ask her to check in on Lexi. When her mom reported that Lexi’s car was in the parking lot but no one answered the door, Tia felt like she had no choice. She asked her mother to call the police to do a wellness check on her.

  She knew Lexi was still depressed when she left, and she felt a pang of guilt for leaving her alone. Lex was always the strong one; the one who couldn’t be tamed; the one Tia looked to for support time and time again over the years. Normally, she didn’t let anything get her down—she laughed at adversity and faced life head-on. Tia knew all too well how it felt to sink into that dark pit of self-pity, that place where no one and nothing could touch you, but she never would have imagined that Lexi had a hole that deep. The Lexi she knew was the one who took her keys to Ryan’s Mustang and hung her engagement ring on the carabineer while he was working out with his mistress; the one who insisted they go on with their celebration plans after she’d discovered his infidelity.

  All Lexi had to do was return a phone call and say she was OK. Instead, Tia was a thousand miles away and suddenly conjuring up images of a lifeless body lying on the floor of her apartment.

  “OK, the police are here now,” her mom said, and Tia hung on the line listening to her give the story to the officers. Why hadn’t she thought to leave Lexi’s key with her mom? The flutter of a second thought roiled in her stomach but at least this way, if Lexi was sick, they’d be able to help her right away. She heard the sharp knock and the bellow of the cop’s voice as he pounded on Lexi’s door. “Police, ma’am, open the door, please.” He pounded twice more, and Tia heard the jingle of something metallic. “Are you sure she’s in there? We may have to break the lock if she…” then Tia heard the familiar squeak of Lexi’s door as it swung open.

  “What the hell is going on?” she heard Lexi’s shocked and groggy voice, and her shoulders slumped in relief. “Mrs. Hastings?”