Maybe, With Conditions

by Mariella Starr

  "You should've told me," Dalton repeated. He slid his hands under her dress skirt to pull it up and gripped her buttocks.

  "Yes, I should've told you," Nicole agreed as she winced slightly.

  "Do not do anything remotely dangerous, ever again," he warned with another squeeze. However, he did not intend to spank her as he drew her closer so she could feel his erection. He pulled away those tiny strings she insisted were underwear, first one, and then the other. "Are you too sore?"

  "No." She wriggled closer to him and whispered, "Everyone's gone to bed. Lock the door."

  Dalton lifted her and she wound her legs around his waist as he walked to the door to secure it. Then he carried her to the couch, first setting her on her feet, and tugging her sundress over her head until she stood naked before him.

  It occurred to Nicole she had been naked and having sex a good portion of the day. Then, she never gave it another thought as he laid her on the couch and took her in his mouth. Later, she was to think of the night as her second orgy of the day, as they surrendered to the needs of the other for hours. They lay spent in the arms of each other napping only to arise again for more.

  In the early hours of the morning, Nicole and Dalton awoke at almost the same time. He stretched and then groaned. She slowly and gingerly gathered her clothing.

  "Sore?" Dalton asked.

  "I'm so far beyond sore, I'm not sure I can move," Nicole moaned.

  "Me, too," he admitted.

  "We OD'd on sex," Nicole giggled.

  "What a way to go…" Dalton agreed as they began to laugh at each other. "At least, it's Sunday, so we can relax."

  Nicole gave him a doubtful look. "Remember your son? We haven't found his off switch, yet."

  As it happened, it was a rare day at the ranch. A weather front moving eastward brought high winds and flash flood warnings. The area could have used the rain, but the precipitation did not reach them. Instead, they got gale force winds. Kay and Melanie canceled their horseback riding plans. Instead, they stuffed the Jeep with Kay's things and headed back to Carson City for school.

  Matty slipped out to the backyard despite their warnings against it. He was nearly blown away before Dalton hauled him inside and stood him in the corner for not minding them. After his tears and whining, Nicole settled the boy in front of the TV with a stack of DVDs to occupy him.

  Nicole had fought the wind to go to the studio and move her paintings out of the glassed areas of the old greenhouse and into the office space protected with solid walls and a tin roof. If the winds slammed anything against the greenhouse glass, the glass would shatter and ruin her ongoing work. When Nicole returned to the house, she traded places with Dalton so he could go outside to check on his animals.

  The three of them huddled together as a family. Dalton took the blue diamond ring off the chain Nicole wore around her neck and put it on her left hand. With his son occupied, he took Nicole into his office where he unlocked the safe to show her several other pieces of women's jewelry along with watches, which hadn't been on display because of their intrinsic value to the family. These were old pieces trekked across the country with the Calloways' pioneer ancestors.

  They were interrupted by a persistent buzzing sound in the living room. Dalton hurried out to uncover a C.B. radio and answer the call. When he disconnected, Dalton explained how ranchers seldom used C.B. radios for communication, anymore, but still kept the radios in working order as emergency backups. Today was one of those days when they were needed since the landlines were down, which was not an unusual occurrence in high-wind conditions. Cell phones were a vast improvement, but even cell reception became iffy during gale-force winds.

  The call was for Dalton's veterinarian services. A gust of wind had sheered off part of a metal barn roof, injuring two horses

  "Go!" Nicole exclaimed when she saw Dalton was reluctant to leave her and Matty behind.

  "Lock the house behind me. Be careful," Dalton advised. "Better yet, lock yourself in the bedroom with Matty and wait for me to come home. I'll be back as soon as possible. If something does happen, switch the C.B. dial to frequency 116 and start screaming. The cowmen in the bunkhouse keep the C.B. on that frequency. They'll come running."

  Nicole saw Dalton off, locked the back door, and then she checked the other entrances as a precaution. She didn't ignore his warnings. She decided it wasn't worth tangling with Dalton, again. Rubbing her still tender bottom, she went to check on Matty.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Nicole kept Matty out of school for a week. Every day, the news from the sheriff's office was the same. They had not located or arrested Barbara Ruiz.

  A temporary housekeeper arrived Monday morning. Margaret Jackson was a distant cousin to the Calloways' housekeeper, Doris Jackson. Margaret was friendly and efficient. Within her first two days of work, she had the house back in tip top order. She was an excellent cook, which was appreciated by everyone in the household. She made dinner before she went home each evening. She had three daughters and eight grandchildren living on the Walker River Indian Reservation and wanted to be there for them in the evenings.

  "Clean ironed shirts," Dalton marveled one morning standing at his closet. "Margaret is a miracle worker."

  "You had clean shirts before," Nicole protested.

  "Not ironed."

  "Okay, but you could have ironed them. You're spoiled."

  "Women's lib?" Dalton teased.

  "Anti-housework alliance," she responded as she pulled on jeans. "What are we going to do about kindergarten? If we keep Matty out much longer, the school won't let him return."

  "It's kindergarten. It's not a requirement, is it?" Dalton asked.

  "Actually, it is. Nevada has mandatory full-day kindergarten. I explained to Principal Summers why Matty was missing school. She said we can file a waiver with the school board, but Matty would have to take an assessment test before he could enter first grade next year. I don't like the sound of that. He could be penalized for not going to kindergarten. We have to get him back in school. Besides, he needs the socialization with children his age. I'm not letting him ride the bus while Barbara is still hanging around and dangerous. If she put someone up to running me off the road, she might be crazy enough to go after Matty and a busload of kids. You won't let me drive by myself, so you need to come up with a solution."

  Dalton's solution, this time, was Jimmy Morse's wife, Christina. She agreed to drive Matty to school in the mornings along with her two boys. Christina was pregnant with their third child and was exhausted by most afternoons so Nicole would do the driving then, although Christina would accompany her.

  Nicole readily agreed to the new plan. Mornings provided the best light for painting. If she didn't have to make the morning school run, she could get a lot of work done. There was an added incentive. She genuinely enjoyed Christina's company.

  The Morse family had recently moved to one of the newly built homes on the ranch, so the guesthouse was finally empty. It would remain so until Mrs. O'Cleary arrived. Nicole and Matty were permanently installed in Dalton's wing of the home. They weren't going anywhere.

  The first week of the new schedule went off without a hitch. Unbeknownst to Nicole and even Dalton, the wives of the ranch hands maintained an organized network to keep them involved in each other's lives. During the afternoon pick-ups, Nicole and Christina got into the habit of running some of the errands for the ranch hands and their wives' network. The errands included everything from picking up cattle feed to making grocery store runs. Because she was gaining her morning painting hours back with the new arrangement, Nicole did not mind.

  Even though the afternoon trips took longer, Nicole wasn't having mini panic attacks, anymore about the loss of time. With Margaret in the house and kitchen, frozen pizza was becoming a vague memory. Now, Nicole started painting as soon as Matty left for school. By mid-afternoon, she was ready for a break.

  There had been no further malicious incidents and the first shi
pment of restored artwork arrived at the ranch. Dalton had several of his workmen repaint the walls of the rooms that were damaged. Piece by piece, the furniture, and paintings were being restored. Dalton and Nicole happily rehung the pieces. Even with her fine-tuned sensitivities, Nicole had a hard time finding any evidence of the damage.

  Helen and Roy Mac called to say Vivian was well enough for them to leave Minnesota. They would be returning to the Double C on the following weekend.

  With Mrs. O'Cleary's imminent return to the states and the senior Calloways' homecoming, the Double C was returning to normal. Meanwhile, Helen and Dee Dee called Nicole almost every day with ideas for wedding plans.

  Nicole was postponing any final plans for the wedding until Dee Dee's return. Mrs. O'Cleary had been such an enormous part of Nicole's life since her childhood. She couldn't imagine Dee Dee not being involved in every detail. Nicole and Dalton had agreed to keep it simple, but with two strong women making suggestions every day, Nicole had dim hopes for a simple ceremony.

  Amazingly, Nicole and Dalton had not had any more major arguments. They were settling into a comfortable routine.

  With winter approaching, Nicole was still concerned about Matty's asthma. The cold was not what actually exacerbated his asthmatic symptoms. Rather, it was being cooped up inside with closed windows and doors, which trapped the allergens. He often exhibited asthma shiners during winter months when his congestion caused dark circles under his eyes.

  Nicole talked to the school nurse and left several extra inhalers with her along with detailed instructions. Dalton advised Nicole to stop hovering. She had given him a one-finger salute and then run for her life as he chased her all the way to her studio. His intent to smack her bottom turned into a half hour of delicious kissing.

  * * *

  "Juan, be very careful," Nicole cautioned. One of the ranch workers was helping her lift the huge nude painting into an oversized wooden crate for delivery to her Reno client. She hadn't told Dalton of the impending delivery, yet. She had made an appointment to personally deliver the painting to the Silver Legacy Resort Casino where her client was an executive vice president. After she had completed the delivery, she intended to drop off some finished paintings with her agent.

  Dalton entered her studio as she was completing the wrapping and crating of her work.

  "Going somewhere?"

  Nicole nodded. She was not surprised someone had told him. He kept a tight grip on the goings-on of the ranch. She knew he had been especially diligent since the malicious incidents had started. "Yes. I have to deliver this painting tomorrow. I also have an appointment with Dick Chambers."

  "Can't it wait until the weekend?"

  "I can't work everything around your schedule, Dalton."

  "I know, unfortunately, it has been a particularly busy lately."

  "All of your time is particularly busy. I don't know how you managed to get away for so long this past spring. However, I have to work around the schedules of my clients and agents. I want to get paid for this commission."

  "You don't have to work or worry about money. Why can't this wait until I have the time to go with you to Reno?"

  Nicole sighed. "I realize I don't have to work. This is what I do. I paint. I create. I'm not stopping or setting this aside to comply with your macho need to be the man. I have to go Reno. I am not asking you to drop everything and accompany me. Christina Morse has already agreed to go with me, and we're taking Jimmy's truck because the larger pieces will not fit in my rental. Mrs. Jackson will take the kids to school in the morning so we can get an early start. If we aren't back by two, she will also pick them up from school."

  "You did this deliberately," Dalton growled. "You have known about this appointment for a while and didn't tell me about it."

  "Yes, I did. Before you get mad, think about it. If I had told you earlier, you would have tried to talk me out of going. You would have gotten all dictatorial and we would have ended up yelling at each other. There have been no incidents for three weeks. Ned Orson is in the county jail, the guy Barbara used to fence the stuff is in jail in Reno. Barbara is long gone. She may not be the smartest person in the world, but she knows if she shows her face within a hundred miles of here, she will be arrested. Christina will be with me. You don't have any excuse for forcing me to miss these meetings."

  "I'm not trying to force you to do anything, but I also don't like ultimatums. I might have been able to rearrange some appointments myself if you had told me up front."

  "Yes, you probably could have," conceded Nicole. "Then, an emergency call would have come in and you would have expected me to cancel my plans. I am not questioning your willingness, Dalton. However, it is nearly impossible for you to take off the better part of a day in the middle of the week. You cannot even fly me there. Some of these canvases are too big to fit in your little plane. It's also not necessary. I am not going alone. I've kept my part of the bargain."

  He moved over to her and yanked her into his arms. "If something does happen, I'll make damn sure you don't sit for a week!"

  Nicole laughed. "That makes perfect, logical sense… only to you. Christina will be with me. When I am through with my appointments, I am taking her to a baby boutique as a reward. Relax, what could happen?"

  * * *

  Nothing happened. The trip to Reno was uneventful and enjoyable with Christina's company. Nicole did get a little shaky when she saw a black car closing the distance behind her in the mountains, but when she slowed, the small compact car went around her. Two small children waved as she drew a panicked breath and realized she was being silly.

  Nicole delivered her nude portrait, kept her appointment with her agent, and made a sizeable check deposit before eleven in the morning. Dalton called twice to make sure she was okay. Then he called and said he had an emergency. He would not be back until after dark, thus proving her point about his demanding and changeable work schedule.

  After her meetings, she and Christina went to several baby shops and boutiques. They finished their errands and headed home in plenty of time to meet their children after school.

  Nicole drove as Christina held up a tiny sleeper. "Kim will love this, but we have to hold off giving it to her until she's through her first trimester. She told me she lost a baby to miscarriage before and is really scared it will happen, again."

  "Pile on the guilt," Nicole said with a grimace. "I already feel bad because I thought she was lazy. It was a few years ago, but I remember my pregnancy with Matty. I think I slept for the first four months of it. After the first trimester, something changed because then I went into hyper drive."

  "Did you have a lot of morning sickness?" Christina asked.

  "Not even once."

  "I didn't with the boys, but with this one, I've been sick almost every day," Christina smiled. "I hope it means this one is a girl."

  "Ruffles and bows, pink, and more pink," Nicole teased.

  "I know it's silly. I want a healthy baby and the sex shouldn't matter."

  "You want a girl. Nevertheless, if it's a boy, you'll love it every bit as much," Nicole agreed. "Do you want to know beforehand?"

  "Maybe. Jimmy doesn't. He says he likes surprises. He's thrilled we're having another baby."

  "You are too, aren't you? Oh, I'm sorry; that's too personal to ask. Sometimes, I have foot in mouth disease," Nicole quickly apologized.

  Christina only laughed. "We both love kids. Our original plan was to have five, maybe six, but we had to put it on hold a couple of years back. Things got tight and we moved around a lot while Jimmy tried to find a stable job. It got really bad when he left us with my folks and came here looking for work. I'm so glad he came to the Double C. Y'all have been really good to us."

  "According to Dalton, the Double C is lucky to have Jimmy. I'm lucky to have you as a friend. Your husband has many skills. I've heard Dalton and his foreman, Wayne, argue about who needs him the most on any given day. Dalton thinks Jimmy's farrier skills are nothi
ng short of miraculous and is even suggesting he get his certification. Wayne says he is one of his best hires in years."

  "I'm glad because I really like living here," Christina exclaimed. "We've never lived in a new house before." She pointed to a dirt road in the distance. "If you turn onto the road, there's a shortcut. We'll come out at Schurz, and save about twenty minutes driving time."

  "Are we allowed on Army Depot property?" Nicole asked peering at the sign and arrow pointing in the direction of the dirt road.

  "Jimmy said the road runs along the edge of their compound and through the back section of T. S. Ranch. It's private property, but he's taken it several times. No one has stopped us, yet."

  Nicole slowed and turned the wheel to take the dirt road. She still wasn't used to driving on dirt and gravel. In fact, she had never driven on a dirt road before coming west.

  "What's that ahead?" Christina asked pointing up the road.

  "It looks like a truck. It probably has engine trouble or something," Nicole said as they approached.

  "No!" Christina screamed suddenly. "Stop! Turn around! We have to get out of here!"

  Nicole slammed on the brakes as soon as her friend shouted. She threw the truck into reverse, but it was too late. Several ATVs painted in military camouflage raced across the fields skidding to a halt in front of the truck corralling them.

  "What is it?" Nicole demanded as two of the men got off their vehicles and walked toward them.

  "Rustlers," Christina answered in a frightened voice.

  * * *

  On the first call from home, Dalton glanced at the readout on his phone but ignored it. He was up to his armpit in a mare's vagina trying to turn a foal so it could be born. He couldn't manage to turn it by hand. When the second call came, he was inside the mare wrapping a looped rope around the foal's hooves to pull it out and help the mother with the difficult birth.

  Minutes later, with the newborn struggling to its feet, Dalton scrubbed his arms and hands and checked his phone display. Several calls generated from his home phone had gone to message. Dalton immediately hit redial and when Margaret answered on the first ring, he anxiously asked. "What's wrong?