by Misty Malone
It’s Just a Ranch
By
Misty Malone
2016© Blushing Books® and Misty Malone
All rights reserved.
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Misty Malone
It’s Just a Ranch
EBook ISBN: 978-1-68259-903-7
Cover Art by ABCD Graphics & Design
This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.
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Table of Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
About the Author
EBook Offer
Blushing Books Newsletter
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Chapter One
May, 2003, rural Wyoming
It had been a long, hard day on The Circle S ranch, but the Stevenson family was finally relaxing a bit as they enjoyed their supper. Helen looked around the table. “You all look totally exhausted,” she said, addressing her husband, Max, their son, Garrett, and their ranch foreman, Wyatt Chilcote. “Did you finish the job in one day?”
“We did,” Max answered with a touch of pride in his voice. “The branding is all done. The men all worked hard, but we worked well together. I’m proud of you, Garrett. You and Wyatt did an excellent job of leading the men today. I couldn’t be any happier with the way you two are working together.”
“Thanks, Dad. Wyatt’s a good foreman, and he’s patient. I think I’m finally catching on.”
“You’re catching on just fine,” Wyatt praised. “There’s no doubt in my mind you’ll be ready to take over as foreman before I’m ready to retire.”
“Yeah, well, don’t be in too big a hurry to retire, Wyatt,” Garrett said. “There are a lot of things I need to learn yet before I’ll feel comfortable in that role.”
“You grew up on this ranch, Garrett. You’re already familiar with and quite capable of doing anything that needs to be done.”
“I’ll agree with you there, and I’ve felt totally comfortable working with the men the last few years, even with teaching some of the greenhorns how to do things that were new to them. But being the foreman’s an altogether different feel. All of a sudden I’m in charge of making sure we have all those things I always took for granted would be there. And I never had to worry about what needs done first. All I had to do was whatever you said I’d be doing.”
“It takes a little planning, a little thinking ahead, but you’re getting there,” Wyatt assured him.
“Wyatt’s right,” Max said. “It’s just like when you get a new saddle. It takes a little bit before you get that saddle molded to fit you good, and the only way to do it is by using it. I’ve been watching, and you’re starting to fit in that new saddle pretty good.”
“If you men are done talking ranch business, I’ve got some news,” Helen offered.
Max nodded. “We’re done. What’s the news?”
“We’re going to have a house guest for a little while. I heard from our friends, Harold and Linda Clayton, today. We haven’t seen them much since they moved away, which is a shame. But Linda called today. They’re worried about their daughter. Do you remember her, Garrett?”
Garrett froze. “Please don’t tell me Windy Mindy’s coming to stay.”
“Now, Garrett, there will be none of that. Mindy’s had a tough time recently, according to her parents, and they’re concerned about her.”
“Why; what’s happened?”
“They didn’t say. All I know is she’s going to make a career change, and they convinced her she needs to go someplace different for a little while first, and sort of regroup. She wants to try writing a book, possibly about a ranch, so they thought of us. They knew we have this huge house, and wondered if we would be willing to rent her a room for a couple months or so while she unwinds.”
Garrett was shaking his head. “And so, of course, you said yes, and now Windy Mindy will be here. For how long?”
Helen frowned at her son. “You need to give Mindy
a chance, Garrett. She’s grown up now.”
“I certainly hope so. And please don’t tell me to take her out and show her the animals again. I had to do that every time they came to visit.”
Helen obviously wasn’t happy with her son at the moment. “Garrett, the poor girl didn’t have anything to do while your father and I visited with her parents. I was just asking you to have some manners and find something she could do. I thought maybe she’d like to see the baby animals we had at the time.”
“So I took her out to see the baby animals.” He shook his head. “Windy Mindy drove me nuts.”
“Why do you call her that, Garrett?” Wyatt asked.
“Because all that girl did was follow me around like a puppy and talk. She talked nonstop.”
“Sounds like she had a crush on you,” Wyatt said with a grin.
“I think she did,” Max confirmed.
“No, she didn’t,” Garrett insisted. “She was too young to have a crush on anyone. The last time I saw her she was about twelve or thirteen, and acted like she was about two.”
Wyatt looked at Max. “Yep, sounds like a crush to me.” He turned to Garrett next. “Two year olds don’t talk much,” Wyatt pointed out, teasing Garrett.
“Then she acted about five. All I know is she followed me around everywhere and wouldn’t shut up for two minutes. She drove me crazy.”
“How much younger was she than you?” Wyatt asked.
“A lot younger. I don’t know; six or seven years.”
“That may have been a big difference then, but it’s not that big a difference now,” Wyatt said. “But it does sound like she had a crush on you.”
“Actually, she wasn’t as much younger than you as you always thought,” Helen said. “She was always on the small side, but only a couple years younger than you.”
“Oh, then I’d say it was definitely a crush,” Wyatt said with a chuckle. “And trust me, she would have been old enough then to have a crush, even at twelve or thirteen.”
Garrett moaned. “She was so little I assumed she was a lot younger than that. She acted younger than that.” He turned to look at his mom. “Is she seriously coming to stay here? For how long?”
“I told Linda she was welcome for as long as she wanted to stay. Linda didn’t say what she had been doing, or what kind of job she had, but said she was burned out and ready for a career change. I asked her a little bit about it, but she said she didn’t feel it was her place to say much. She said if Mindy wanted to tell us what happened, she could, but that would have to be her choice, and only when she felt ready to talk about it.”
“That sounds mysterious,” Max said. “I wonder what she could have been doing.”
“Or if we really want to know,” Garrett said.
“That’s a good point, too,” Max agreed. “Whatever it is that she used to do for a living, though, must have been pretty rough on her, so I think we should try to make her feel welcome and safe here. Do you understand what I’m saying, son?”
Hearing and understanding a reprimand when he heard it, Garrett agreed. “Yes, sir.”
“Good. If your mother’s right and she’s only a couple years younger than you, that would put her about twenty-four or twenty-five, so I’m sure she’s matured a lot since you saw her last. I expect you to mind your manners and be polite, especially if she’s had a rough time.” Knowing his son had received his message clearly, he changed the subject back to the ranch, and what they needed to do in the next few days.
Nothing more was said about their house guest until about ten days later when Helen informed them that Mindy had booked a flight, and she would be arriving in two days. Max felt it was important that all three of them meet her at the airport to show their support and make her feel welcome. Garrett suggested he stay at the ranch, since he was learning to take over as foreman, but Max was having none of it, and when Garrett caught the look his father was giving him, he quickly agreed.
So it was that two days later, on a Tuesday, the entire three member Stevenson family was at Jackson Hole International Airport, waiting for Mindy Clayton. All three watched as the passengers came through the tunnel and into the airport, but no one looked familiar to any of them. When the parade of people coming through the tunnel ended, they all started looking around again, assuming they’d missed her.
Garrett, being six feet, two inches tall, was looking over most people, when he heard a rather quiet voice behind him. “Garrett?”
He whirled around and looked down at a beautiful little lady who was smiling up at him. “Mindy?”
“I thought that was you, but I wasn’t sure.”
His eyes were wide as he looked her over top to bottom. She was still short, at just a few inches over five feet tall, but that was the only thing that looked like the Mindy he remembered. Her dirty blonde hair was now a beautiful auburn, much like he remembered her mother having. It had a few streaks of the lighter color through it, but it all looked natural to him, and was stunning. It was long, hanging halfway down her back, and the tight curls he remembered her having had relaxed into gorgeous waves. She had always been a little on the plump side, but that had changed, as well. Luckily, she wasn’t overly thin and sickly looking, like so many women today seemed to strive for. She now had what he considered to be the ideal curves for a woman. What got his attention the most, though, was the beautiful, expressive brown eyes that were sparkling up at him.
Making a fool of himself, and not even caring, he pulled her in against him for a hug. “Mindy, you’ve grown up, and into a beautiful young woman, I might add. It’s good to see you again.”
Max and Helen stood back watching, eyes wide. She had changed immensely, but not quite as much as his attitude had changed. They looked at each other and had a hard time hiding their smiles. Helen was the first to find her voice and step forward. “Mindy, I didn’t even recognize you. I’m glad you found us.”
“Welcome, Mindy. I’m also glad you found us, because we didn’t recognize you.”
“Garrett’s taller than most people, and when I saw him I thought I recognized him. I wasn’t sure, though.” She turned to face him again. “You’ve changed, too, but age agrees with you, as well.” She immediately felt her face flush, and looked down.
Garrett thought the blush was the cutest thing he’d seen in a long time, but didn’t want her feeling embarrassed. “Let’s go get your luggage and head for home. We have some catching up to do.”
“I only have one suitcase. I sent a couple boxes through the mail. You didn’t get them?”
He could see the panic setting in, and tried to calm her. “We’ll probably get them today. If not, we’ll go to town and get what you need. Don’t worry about it.” He’d been leading her with a gentle hand on her back toward the luggage area. Max and Helen were following them, noting his hand on her back and the way she was stealing sideways glances at him. They exchanged knowing looks. This could be an interesting summer.
An hour later the four of them were catching up, on their way back to the ranch. She readily talked about Harold and Linda and things they’ve been doing. She told them she’d gone to college in Pennsylvania and got a job right after graduating, but that’s all she would say about her job. It was clear she didn’t want to talk about it, so Garrett steered the conversation in a different direction. “Mindy, you said you sent a couple boxes of clothes to the ranch, rather than check several suitcases on the plane. That was a good idea.”
“It was a whole lot cheaper to mail them instead of checking them. It’s kind of ironic, though, because I thought it would be safer, too. You’re always hearing of the airlines losing luggage, but maybe I should have been more worried about them getting lost in the mail.”
“They’ve probably been delivered this morning while we were gone,” Garrett suggested, “but if not, did you put a change of clothes in your one suitcase you did bring?”
“I have enough for a couple days in it, yes.”
“Good. If your
things don’t come in the mail today or tomorrow I’ll take you into town,” Helen said. “We have some good stores, and we’ll have a ladies’ day out and spend the day shopping.”
Max groaned. “That would be nice, Helen, but you’ll remember you’ll be shopping mainly for Mindy, won’t you?”
Garrett tried to hide a smile while his mother answered. “Of course I will, honey,” she answered sweetly, “but if something jumps out at me that I know you would think looks nice on me, you wouldn’t want me to pass it up, would you?”
All three of them laughed at her strategy. After a moment she stopped trying to fight it and chuckled along with them.
Maria, the lady who helps Helen with the housekeeping and cooking, had supper on when they got back to the ranch. Garrett carried Mindy’s suitcase upstairs to what would be her room. “Mom thought you might like this room because it overlooks the pool. My room is down the hall, the first one at the top of the stairs, on the opposite side of the hall. We’re the only ones up here in this whole wing, so privacy shouldn’t be a problem. If you need anything, just knock on my door.”
“Thank you, Garrett. Do I have time for a quick shower before dinner?”
“Yes, you do, and we call it supper, just so you know.”
“Supper?”
“We have breakfast, dinner and supper. I just thought I’d mention it so you’re not confused. When you hear someone mention dinner, they’re talking about the noon meal.”
“That might take some getting used to, but thanks for the heads up. Are there other things like that I should know about; things that you do different here?”
“I don’t know about different, but there are rules, if you will, for living on a ranch; specifically, living on this ranch. I’m sure Dad will go over them with you at supper tonight.”
“Rules for living on this ranch?”