One Last Sunset
Book One of The Long Ranch Series
By
Michel Prince
“One Last Sunset: Book One of the Long Ranch Series”
Copyright © 2015 Michel Prince
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Cover Art by Dusk til Dawn Designs
Photo Credit Royal Touch Photography
Edited by Kyle Lewis
Book Format & Design by Leanore Elliott
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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Chapter One
The bronco bucked forward, and Sunshine Parker tightened the reigns, but in the same split second, he realized his mistake. It was already too late. Sunshine’s legs glided up the sides of the animal and he couldn’t find purchase as it moved. The world slowed as the mane brushed against his face, then his chest, and he knew there was no way to slow his momentum.
Eye to eye with a bronco was never his problem if he had two feet on the ground. But upside down as if he were in a stupid movie as a superhero…well, nothing good could come from that. His legs tucked as he attempted to land on anything but his head and or back. First the landing, then the roll, so he didn’t get a facial from a horse’s hoof.
Dirt could be hard—hard and jarring when hit going at least forty five miles per hour. A cloud of dust surrounded him when he landed on his side. He was aware of every inch of his body as his brain braced him for the eventual crack…nothing? Maybe those fries and burgers paid off and gave him that little bit of cushion he needed to bubble wrap his ass. He hoped that was the case and not the adrenaline numbing his senses. The snort from the horse reminded him of step two. Roll, jackass, roll.
The crack reverberated through Sunny when the hoof made contact with his rib cage. It wasn’t even on the downward motion. No, the damn bronco basically kicked him like a soccer ball. Although it broke something inside him, at least it helped him get far enough away he wouldn’t be the damn animal’s landing pad.
Arms surrounded him as the bullfighters drug him from the ring and he struggled to catch his breath. Paramedics came to check on him as the next rider took off and the rodeo continued.
“What the hell happened?” Sunny asked. He found his breath again, even though his side was pinching something fierce.
“Leg got caught in the gate,” Terry said as he watched the next rider with more interest than he had for Sunny. “Tripped him up.”
“That explains it.” He winced back the pain, hoping to cover his injury. He knew what happened, but he also knew he needed the prize money he could get for riding Yankee Scum.
The crowd roared again and he looked through the gate, but everything was hazy. A coupled of younger riders were messing with each other and not paying any attention where they were going. Sunny tried to get out of the way, but they were on a collision course right for him.
Before he could move, one of the guys fell straight onto his bruised ribs.
His own gasps of pain jarred him awake as the bus jerked away from its most recent stop. He cracked his eyelid just enough to see the gray carpet along the center of the aisle from under the brim of his hat. Oh how the mediocre had fallen. That would be Sunny’s dad’s comment when he arrived. In less than a week, Sunshine had been sent back to the town he’d been trying to get away from ever since he was able to walk. The smell of stale air made him cough as he turned to see he now had a seatmate on the bus.
He stared passed her to flat land with no landmarks framed by the windowpane as they pulled out from the latest stop. He removed his cowboy hat and ran his fingers through his hair.
The curved leg beside him shifted toward him a little bit. “Well, hello cowboy,” she cooed.
Sunshine took in the leggy blonde that had no business being on a commercial bus. He must still be asleep.
She had tanned smooth legs that flowed from her cutoff jeans like a trickling waterfall down to her flip flops. Neon pink nail polish covered her toes, except the big one that had a daisy.
“Hello ma’am.” He glanced around the back of the bus. There wasn’t a soul in the three rows in front of them, so it was a bit odd to find he had a seatmate. Not that he minded the least bit though.
“Oh, you’re so the reason I’m moving to Texas.” Her hand stroked his chest and Sunny couldn’t believe his luck. “What’s your stop?”
“What’s yours?” He laughed.
“You are nothing but trouble aren’t you?”
“You have no idea.” Sunny ran his hand from her knee up to her mid thigh. “All I know is my stop is at least a half a day away.”
“Aren’t I the lucky one?” The blonde looked down the aisle, then straddled him and claimed his lips.
Sunny bit back the pain of her knees on his ribs as long as he could.
“Sweetheart,” he said as he squeezed her ass and internally cursed his bad luck. “I am a real cowboy, not a fake one, and right now you are killing me.”
Lifting the woman, he placed her back into her seat and breathed out.
“What’s wrong with you?” Her face scrunched like she’d never been moved away.
“I was tossed around at the last rodeo. My ribs are cracked.” Sunshine popped the snaps on his shirt and showed her the wrapping around his torso.
The woman smiled, bit her bottom lip, and ran her hands over his abs to his belt buckle. “Anything else damaged?”
“No ma’am,” Sunny said, making sure to drag out the words with his southern drawl as her hands stroked over his ever rising cock. Her manicured fingers were causing a strain in the front of his jeans. Considering the buckle bunnies he’d been stuck with over the last few stops, this soon to be Southern beauty gave him hope about going home.
“Mommy,” a little girl said as she stumbled up the aisle.
Sunshine dropped his hat over the woman’s hand.
Probably five years old, the girl had her mother’s matching blonde locks, along with what looked like a one year old latched to her hip. Both children had matching ketchup stains on their shirts.
“Kara, mommy’s talking to her friend right now.”
“Joey’s stinky.”
“I’m going back to sleep anyway,” Sunny said as he removed her hand and placed his hat over his eyes.
“I have kids, is that a crime?” the woman snapped.
“No ma’am,” he mumbled from under his hat.
“Then let me take care of little Joey,” she said as her hand slid up his inner thigh. “Then I’ll check on your little cowboy.”
Sunny put his right hand over hers to stop it before touchdown. He tipped his hat up just enough she could see his eyes and know he was serious. “My big c
owboy will survive all by itself.” Tipping his hat back down, he bid her good day.
“How many times have I told you to leave me alone when I’m with my friends?” she scolded her daughter.
Sunny snatched her wrist and pulled her back to him. “You’re sexy as hell, but if you snap on that child once more, I’ll take you over my knee and show you real punishment.”
“Maybe that’s something I like.”
“Take care of your kids. That’s sexier than any pair of Daisy Dukes.”
* * * *
“Mel, I need you to do inventory on our meds when we get back,” Doc Carlisle ordered as they packed up after the second day of vaccinating on the McCarter ranch.
Melody Long used her bandana to wipe away the sweat on her forehead before putting on her hat. The unusually humid day had her clothes sticking to her and worse yet, it had zapped her energy. A day of vaccinating a herd of cattle left her a bit sore, but not tired. If she wasn’t at the tail end of her internship she’d ask Doc for an extension. At least the central air at the clinic would keep her cool. “Okay, you want me to fill out an order sheet?”
“No, I just need the numbers. We have a dozen other ranches to hit over the next few weeks.”
With the pickup reloaded Doc drove them back to the village of Tender Root. On the southern border of New Mexico and less than a ten minute drive from Texas, the farm town had been her whole life. Her family’s ranch, the Long Ranch, remained the only place she wanted to be. Hopefully, she could spend the rest of her life caring for the animals and eventually, a family.
The shock between the outside fresh air and inside sterility helped keep her awake. If nothing else, the citrus cleaning solution kept her attentive to everything. It was a great motivator, even it was just to keep her from gagging. She swore Verna, Doc’s wife slash secretary slash cleaning lady, bathed in lemon Clorox.
“Hey ya’ll, “Verna said with spray bottle in hand as they arrived. “Tracy said you should go and check on Mae the moment you got in, Myron.”
“Something happen?” Doc asked while giving his wife a kiss on the corner of her cheek.
“She was running tests all day for you. I know the heifer didn’t eat much.”
Melody assumed Verna was referring to the cow, although knowing Verna either were a possibility. Winston’s cattle hadn’t been getting pregnant over the last few years, so Doc had brought one in to be a test subject. Nothing was making sense with the cows. It should have been a simple insemination, but cows that seemed young and healthy weren’t birthing and now they were getting sick.
“How was your day, Mellie?” Verna asked while giving her patented arched eyebrow of judgment. Mel’s mom had the same one.
“Just fine. We got all done. I have the billing information for you.”
Mel knew that in Verna’s mind, Mel was supposed to be taking care of cats and dogs—most of which were feral in the area anyway—and not thousand pound cows. Mel sighed. Maybe she would earn Verna’s approval, someday.
After the long unpaid hours she needed for class, plus the accounting of medication, Melody finally left Tender Root Animal Care and Hospital and headed the fifteen miles home to the Long Ranch.
Turning up the driveway, she drove under the metalwork archway proclaiming the land as her family’s. For over a hundred and fifty years, her family had worked this land, or the animals on it. Taking a left, she drove to the house her family lived in. With over three thousand grazing acres, the Long descendants had split the living spaces into four houses. The main house had her Uncle Clevon, Walter and Clayton Long, her cousins, and Walter’s wife, Tina, and their kids. With her middle cousin JT buying a farm in Minnesota, she was sure Clay would move into the cabin at the backside of the property at some point in time.
Her house, sadly, was still very full. The adobe style home was the oldest on the property. Josephus Long had built the home when he first moved to New Mexico after earning his freedom through the Civil War. It had been added on to, and Melody never felt crowded until she came home from college.
The red clay kicked up from underneath the car caused a dust storm behind her. When the back tires of her two thousand and four Acura fishtailed, she slowed and went back to her mama’s pace. Clay had warned her he was grading the gravel this week. Luckily, the front of her home had a high wall that extended to protect against the winds in the open area. It also, fortunately, hid her crazy driving.
The sun was finally setting even though it was almost nine. She entered quietly, toeing off her boots and dropping her book bag on the bench by the front door. Walking through the living room, she turned off the table lamp to indicate she was home in case her parents woke in the night. In the back was the kitchen and her mother’s only demand for moving into the older home—a complete remodel two decades ago that she kept modern somehow. High cedar beams cut across the ceiling and matching cabinets were filled with all manner of food and gadgets. Although her mother was willing to live in the wilderness she wasn’t about to let it into her house.
Melody went to the subzero fridge that mirrored the cabinets so as to not distract with an eyesore of black, silver, or, God forbid, white. Digging in the back, she found the sodas she hid from her mother.
“I assume that snap fizz sound I just heard was not a mineral water,” her mother snapped, almost making her spill all over the floor. “There’s dinner in the oven. We ate late, not as late as you’re getting home, but late, so I left it on warm.”
“Thanks mama,” Mel said as she gave her a kiss on her cheek.
Even in a robe and house shoes her mother was stunning. Flawless caramel skin gleamed on her cheekbones despite the lamp from the living room creating a dull glow in the room. With a flick, her mother bathed the room in light, then scowled at Melody. “Melody Renee, you look like you’ve been rolling in the dirt.”
“They say a mud facial is good for exfoliation.”
“And a smart mouth obviously,” her mother shook her head, then smoothed back her hair. The former Miss Arkansas wasn’t a woman to be toyed with. “I know I didn’t raise my children to be disrespectful when it comes to head wear, Mellie.” Her mother snatched off her hat, gasped, and clutched her chest. “Dear lord, she’s decided to be a lesbian. I knew I shouldn’t of let you go to Texas Tech.”
“I didn’t know Texas Tech made lesbians, thanks for telling me.”
“What did you do to your hair young lady?” she sighed in full resignation. Sure Melody was the first female Long, since the name came about, but it’s not like she wasn’t all girl, most of the time. “Why not just get a bald fade next time?”
“I’m not sure my head is shaped right for that,” Mel said as she ran her fingers through the close crop she’d had done when she’d gone into El Paso the weekend before.
“Full of jokes, aren’t you? It’s bad enough you didn’t go to a HBCU, but you went to a school where the only eligible black men were idiots on the football team.”
“But the black women,” Mel moaned and swooned before taking out the dinner plate her mother had left in the oven.
“I swear you will put me in an early grave.”
“That’s okay, daddy said there’s still room.”
“Why did you chop off all your hair? Are you trying to be a cowboy?”
“I distinctly remember you swooning over how elegant Halle Berry was at the Oscars with the same hair cut.”
“You are not wearing Ellen Saab, you’re wearing Wrangler.” Her mother held Melody’s chin between her fingers and turned her head from side to side. “I suppose it’s not that bad. Your face is angular enough to pull it off.”
“What about the bald fade?” Mel teased and her mother fussed, but eventually released her chin.
“Do I even want to know what you did today?”
“Vaccinations, mama, nothing vulgar or disgusting. Just stick and go.”
“Well, that’s good. How much longer do you have in your internship?”
“
A few weeks, but Doc Carlisle said he’s scaling back his hours in the next few years. Until then he can hire me part time. Walt said they’d take me on part time too, so I should be able to get my own place.”
“Long’s don’t do that,” her mother scolded with her eyebrows bunched. If nothing else, MeMaw Long had laid down the rules when Loretta married her father Henry. “We may send you to college, but you’ll live on the ranch.”
“You’ve got to make a decision.” She looked her mother straight in the eye. “Can I be a cowgirl or not?”
“How about being a Southern lady?”
“Now, what fun would that be?” she asked as she stuffed a big bite of steak in her mouth.
Her mother didn’t say anything.
After a little bit of awkward silence, Mel asked, “Where are the boys?” She knew her father went to sleep by eight, but her brothers Miles and Montgomery were usually around doing something.
“They were going somewhere with your cousins.”
The Hard Root, Melody thought with a smirk. The local bar tended to be the Long family’s favorite hangout. Three generations had made it their home away from wives and children. Since Melody turned twenty-one she’d pissed off the boys more than once by showing up there. Thankfully, the owner loved her. When she saw her mother yawn that was her clue to copy the motion and pretend to crash.
* * * *
With a jerk, the bus came to a stop outside of the Frosty D ice cream shop. At the edge of downtown there was a small window on the side that tickets could be bought. It wasn’t a long stop for the bus unless someone was getting on or off because they’d had an hour break in El Paso. After heading back to the front of the bus to take care of her kids, Sunny didn’t see the mother again before she got off there during the break. JT, his childhood friend, would have been proud of him for doing the respectable thing.
Hoisting his duffle up on his shoulder, Sunshine made his way to the trailer park a mile away. Tender Root wasn’t a bad little town so walking at midnight was far from dangerous. Few people were out and about in the summer time heat anyway. High schoolers enjoying the freedom afforded to them for two months out of the year buzzed past him on dirt bikes, but were smart enough not to start trouble.
One Last Sunset (The Long Ranch Series Book 1) Page 1