Weston Ranch, Fisher's Story

by Stephanie Maddux

  Him and his father drove out to the fenced pastured, where Bree was waiting. They loaded her up and got her home in her stall, covered with a blanket. She probably wouldn’t rest easy tonight. Fisher made a mental note to check up on her later.

  “Can I ask you something son?” His father asked uncertainly. Fisher nodded, and his father waited a few more seconds before asking, “Is there anything we can do to help Claire? Maybe lease her the land for a couple years to see how it goes?”

  “Lease it? It would be hard and frightfully expensive to move a camp off of it when the lease was over, it wouldn’t work, pa. Why are you so worried about it?” Fisher asked, getting tired of everyone blaming him. It wasn’t his fault she decided to come home and try to buy something that wasn’t even for sale.

  “The Hicks have been our neighbors for decades. I made a promise to look after them girls like they are my own. Of course, I am going to worry about them. It is an admirable thing she is doing,” he replied.

  “What am I supposed to do, pa? Sell her my land that I have plans for? I can’t, I already spoken to a developer, construction starts here soon,” Fisher said. His father’s face paled.

  “A developer? This is your brilliant plan? I’d rather have thousands of children running around, making good use, than clog it up with homes,” his father said, outraged.

  “No pa. Not a housing development. One large home, for you and ma, a well-deserved retirement. I’m giving it to you and deeding you that land to go with it. Geesh, who do you think I am?”

  His father remained silent and watchful. Fisher could see that he was mulling it over it his head.

  “Hell son, what you go off and do something like that for. We’re happy where we are. We’re old folks, don’t need much. Your ma would like some grandchildren, not a big house that is gonna sit empty now that you and Ash have grown up,” he finally said.

  “Grandchildren and not a house?” Fisher finally said after thinking about what his father comment. His father graced him with a warm smile and pulled him into a bear hug.

  “We would like that. Please reconsider Claire’s offer. The ranch could use the money, and it would help us get back on track,” his father said.

  Fisher didn’t want to argue. The Ranch was getting back on track now, under his management. Yes, it would take a few years to return it to what it once was, but they wouldn’t lose it. He watched his father walk up to the home he grew up in. He wondered if his father was right about them not needing a new house. It actually wasn’t a bother for his parents to live with him. Technically, it was their house. He just bought it to keep it from going to the bank. Why couldn’t he just deed this house and surrounding land to them? He could keep this lot and new home for himself. Was it really that simple? It was something he would seriously need to consider. In the meantime, he needed to finish today’s chores for the ranch as well as his daily conference call with his team in New York.

  Claire hung up the phone with the realtor. There was forty five acres of land available at the sheriff’s auction in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The sale was the following Monday morning. This means that she would drive over and stay for the weekend. Check out the land and the area. Talk to the community. Get a feel for it. This time, she was going alone. She didn’t think she could stand the up-tight realtor for a whole weekend.

  She just finished throwing the last of her clothing in her overnight bag when Asher strolled through her bed room door.

  “Where are you going,” he asked, leaning up against the door frame.

  “Arkansas for the weekend,” she answered.

  “Is Lexie going with you?”

  “No, it’s just me.” Claire glanced at Asher as she zipped up her case, hauling it off the bed. Asher straightened up and grabbed it from her hands.

  “Where is Lexie going this weekend, do you know? She told me that she was busy, and I was hoping she was busy with you,” he said as he followed her downstairs.

  “I thought she had to work this weekend. She usually does. I haven’t seen her around. I’ll call her and tell you what I find out,” she was interrupted when Fisher opened the main door to the house. He stopped mid-step as he saw them.

  “Do you ever knock?” Claire demanded, making Asher chuckled. Fisher ignored her comment and frowned at both of them, looking to them and her bag between them, that Asher still held.

  “What the hell is going on?” Fisher asked. Asher dropped her case by Fisher’s feet, leaned down and kissed her cheek. He nodded to his brother and left her alone. Alone, with an angry man glaring down at her.

  “I am spending a weekend in Arkansas, looking over some land and going over figures. I tried calling you earlier, but no luck,” she pushed past him with case in hand and loaded everything she needed into her truck. She was aware of Fisher stalking her outside.

  “Are you going alone or is Ash going with you?” He asked, she was sure she detected a hint of jealously.

  “I called you earlier to see if you would go,” she said, cheerfully.

  “I was busy. Bree hurt her ankle. This trip, you want me to go?”

  “Bree?”

  “My horse, now answer my question,” he gritted out.

  “Yes. I wanted to see if you could spare the time, but you are a busy man. I understand,” she said.

  “Let me see if I can get Ash to pick up some of my work load and see if pa would handle the office stuff. That will make the old man’s day. Can you wait a few hours?”

  “Sure,” she replied, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and got into his truck, she watched as he drove to his house. She now had a few hours to spare. What to do? She grabbed her phone and dialed her sister’s number. Maddie would know where Lexie was going this weekend. It wasn’t like Lexie to leave and not tell anyone, although she could be wrong. She’d been gone six years and here she was, maybe leaving again. If only she could come up with something else.

  “She’s avoiding Ash. Apparently she caught in him a compromising position with some chick at a bar. He claims nothing happened. She took an assignment at a petting zoo for the weekend,” Maddie informed her.

  “Asher wouldn’t pick up a woman in a bar.” At least she thought he wouldn’t. However, she was wrong about which sister he wanted. She let Maddie go and then she left a voicemail on Lexie’s phone. Having told both sisters that she was spending the weekend with Fisher, she was ready to go. Surprisingly Maddie didn’t say anything about her plans. She seemed too wrapped up in Lexie and Asher’s business. She was going to stay out of this for now, at least until she got her own personal problems dealt with.

  Chapter Eight

  “I think you were supposed to turn left back there,” Claire said quietly, aware of Fisher’s simmering irritation.

  “Jesus, Claire! You are the smartest woman I know. Give you a map and you turn into a lost idiot,” he snapped.

  “Don’t call me names,”

  “I’m sorry sweetheart. It’s just late. We were supposed to be there an hour ago, and now we lost in the middle of nowhere,” Jake sighed, rubbing his eyes.

  Claire looked down at her map again and then at the useless GPS that obviously doesn’t work. They left late in the afternoon, and now it was well after midnight. They were both cranky and extremely tired. All this snapping at each other wasn’t doing any good. She gave up driving and let Fisher drive about two hours ago.

  “We can stop for the night. There has to be a town coming up somewhere soon. In the morning, we can ask for directions,” she tried to boost his dismal mood.

  “I haven’t seen a house, let alone a hotel for the last fifty miles. We are going to need gas too,” he glanced at her before returning his attention to the road.

  They drove for another twenty minutes before they saw signs of life. They pulled into a small truck stop and got gas. Claire went inside and stocked up on drinks and snacks while Fisher asked the clerk for directions.

  “We are an hour in the wrong direction. You made a wrong tur
n,” Fisher accused.

  “Me! You were driving,” she said.

  “Let’s go. I’ll drive for another hour before calling it quits,” he declared. They drove another hour and found the town they were looking for. She made a phone call to the bed and breakfast where she booked a room for the weekend. She apologized for the late arrival, and they would be arriving in twenty minutes.

  An elderly woman greeted them in her pajamas. Claire felt terrible about waking her up this late, but the woman was exceptionally nice.

  “Here is your room. There is a connecting bathroom with a shower. Breakfast is at eight,” she started to leave them, when Claire broke in almost frantically,

  “I changed my booking for two rooms earlier today. One for me and one for him,” she pointed towards Fisher, who was grinning ear to ear beside her.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. We don’t have any other rooms available. I suppose I can sleep on the couch, and he can have my room,” she stated, and Claire felt even worse. She couldn’t allow this poor woman to sleep on a couch.

  “No, it’s fine. I just wasn’t expecting this. We are fine. Go and get some sleep,” Claire said in defeat.

  “Are you sure dear?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. We will be okay. Thank you for your hospitality,” Fisher answered her and bided her a good night.

  Claire watched as the elderly women walked down the hall and entered a room on the left. She entered her own room, leaving Fisher in the hall, grinning like he won the lottery or something. It was his entire fault that she was here in the first place.

  Claire went to the bathroom to change, too tired for a shower. She just wanted to climb into a soft, comfortable bed and pass out. She came to a stop as she exited out of the bathroom. Fisher was flipping back the covers on the bed wearing nothing but red silk boxers. Damn he looked fabulous naked. He was perfection defined. She avoided his gaze and slid under the covers on the other side. She presented his back to him and waited for him to join her. The dip in the bed and the covers being lifted told her, yes, he was going to sleep in the same bed as her.

  Fisher gathered her close. She was dressed in a thread bare tank top and boy cut shorts. She could feel the heat radiating off his chest as he spooned behind her, his arms cocooning her. She felt at peace for the first time today and realized that she was actually drifting off to sleep, but she didn’t fight it. She snuggled back into Fisher and felt his erection pressing against her bottom. She smiled and let sleep claim her.

  Fisher woke up knowing this was what he’d been missing these past six years. This felt right with Claire. No other woman evoked these foreign emotions in him. Tricia Glassman was the most recent of dating disasters he had gotten himself into. She called him four times yesterday just on the trip here. If she didn’t get the hint today after no call backs from him, he would have to do something.

  Fisher pushed thoughts of Tricia aside and focused on the delightful woman snoring softly beside him. She had her leg hitched over his thigh and her head buried in his shoulder and neck. She felt good plastered to him. He glanced at the glowering red numbers of the clock. Six in the morning on his first Saturday off in forever, and it felt good. He was usually up and doing chores around the ranch at this time of day.

  He ran his fingertips over her back. He smiled when he felt goose bumps follow his trail. He shifted her over, so he could lean over and leave a path of gentle kisses to her face, down to her chest. She swatted him away. He chuckled. She still wasn’t a morning person.

  “Wake up sleepy head,” he murmured.

  She burrowed further under the covers. He threw the cover of them and got out of bed.

  “I’ll start the shower for you,” he said.

  Fisher joined Claire for a quick shower and threw on some clothes. It was going to be hot, and they would be trekking around outside for the maturity of the day. The drive to the forty five acre lot took ten minutes. Fisher drove while Claire looked over papers and satellite images for the area.

  They pulled in an abandoned dirt drive. Overgrown weeds blanketed the surrounding area. Fisher grimaced, imaging all the work the place would need just getting the construction started. He looked around and found nothing to commend the lot. Surely, Claire could see this wasn’t what she wanted. Claire was already out of the truck, making her way through the weeds. He cursed and jumped out after her.

  “Watch where you are stepping. God knows what is lurking around this dump,” Fisher bit out. Claire just kept on going, jotting things in her notepad here and there. Two hours later, they returned to the truck, and he thought they were done for the day. But no, Claire wanted to drive out further to inspect the areas they haven’t gotten too on foot.

  After five hours of walking, digging and general exploring, Claire was finally ready to leave. Fisher desperately needed a shower and something to eat. They were both covered in sweat and dirt. He cranked up the air as they climbed in the truck.

  “What a waste of time,” he declared, backing out onto the road.

  “No, this is perfect. There is a creek, plenty of trees, open spaces and has access to electricity. Just needs some clearing,” Claire said excitingly.

  “You’re kidding right? This place is a dump,” he said, dampening her spirits.

  “I don’t have a lot of choices. The price is right. It is big enough, and I can easily come home on the weekends. I think this is it,” she said, determination rang in her voice.

  “Do whatever you want then. Let’s get back to the bed and breakfast. We can shower and then go out for a late lunch,” he said, ending the conversation about her camp.

  Much to Fisher’s disgust, they showered separately and ate lunch there in the small dining room with their elderly host, who chatted nonstop about the town and area, effectively answering all Claire’s questions. Fisher remained silent the whole meal, not wanting to encourage Claire on this whole thing. Yes, he was being a selfish bastard. He didn’t want her to leave Bailey, Texas again. Even if it was only five hours away this time.

  Short of allowing her to buy his land, he was out of options. Even his realtor friend agreed that her options were limited. They were heading home tomorrow, and he would speak to her sisters. Maybe they could talk some sense into her. They finished lunch and left their host to finish her chores for the day.

  “You want to go dancing?” Claire asked.

  “Is there dancing in this town?” He asked. He didn’t see much of the town as he drove through it early

  “Yep, there is a little country bar on Main Street.” She looked at him curiously. He wasn’t about to admit that he didn’t pay attention to anything her and the host were talking about.

  “Sure, but we have a few hours yet, so let’s explore the town. You wanted to do that too,” he said and watched her face light up. Yes, that was the right answer.

  Two hours later, Fisher was sorely regretting his indulgence. Claire had to stop and speak to everyone. She entered every shop and store, which wasn’t much. The small town was much like their own, having some small shops along Main Street, a general store, gas station, small video rental shop and a restaurant. Fisher could tell that Claire liked what she saw. He could easily see her fitting in here.

  They finally made it over to the country bar. Buckin’ Brancos was the name. How original, he thought sarcastically. The place was crowded. It seems the whole town was here. They found a small booth in the back of the room. Fisher went to the bar and ordered some drinks, leaned back and watched Claire from across the room. She looked right at him, her gaze simmering with sexual promise. He gripped the drinks the bartender handed him and made his way back to her. Hopefully, they would leave shortly.

  Chapter Nine

  It was a long drive home, Fisher barely talking. It seemed something was bothering him, but she couldn’t figure out what it would be. No amount of asking got her anywhere, so she just gave up. She didn’t know what his problem was. He was fine last night, and the sex was, as always, phenomenal. She drove most
the way home, while he slept. The long drive gave her time to think. Did she really want to move five hours away when she literally just moved home? Was this her only option? Was she rushing into it?

  She logically went through each concern and mentally weighed the pros and cons of the situation. She spent six years in college, all for a common goal, to work with special needs students, to build a place for them to go without fear of prejudice, to have normalcy that everyone else has. This was important to her.

  She had a dear friend all through elementary, middle school and some of high school. Her name was Josie. Josie was different, and everyone else ridiculed her, bullied her and treated her like dirt. She didn’t have any place to go after school or during the summer. Josie’s family took her and fled the small town that denied them acceptance. Claire knew then what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted to help people like Josie. She will too.

  Her camp was about acceptance. Working with special needs children and adults with disabilities, teaching that acceptance doesn’t have to be earned, it just is. She would have liked to keep the camp in her home town, to open her fellow citizen’s eyes to the gifts that these people offer.

  It was to be open from April through October as a camp, but year around, it would be used as a disability clinic. Therapists and doctors could have offices with clients. Maybe even private schooling, if she could get the funding and approval. The clinic and camp areas would be separated. She already had doctors, private therapists and retired teachers interested. Now, she just had to be patient.

  Was she rushing into it? No, not really. She needed a job, needed to do something and what better way to start than opening up her camp. There was still a lot to plan, people to hire, zoning to get approved, and council to get involved. All this would take a long time. Gaining the necessary land was the first hurdle, and then she would present her case to the council for approval. It would take at least a year to break ground with construction.