by Jet MacLeod
“I am sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Here you go,” I told him handing him back the book.
“Thank you,” he said, “Don’t worry. It’s okay.”
“It is getting late. I think that we should go now. Don’t you?” I asked him.
“Yes, ma’am, if I am going to get you back home and then ride back to make it to Mrs. Dell’s for dinner,” he stated, walking towards the door.
We had shared a moment. It was beautiful and then it was gone. I made him smile and then caused him sadness in less than a minute. I would have to work on that.
“You don’t remember, do you?” I asked him.
“Remember what?” he questioned.
“That I am going to have you over for dinner tonight. It was arranged at the mercantile, earlier with Mrs. Dell,” I explained.
“Rayne, I don’t think it would be a good idea,” he told me.
“Why?” I asked.
He looked tired. He made no response. He opened the door and we left his room. He didn’t talk the entire way to the wagon. He was gone again. He had gone inside himself, again.
I didn’t know what I had said or done to cause him so much pain. I felt bad. I didn’t know what to say to him to make him understand that I didn’t mean anything by it. I just wanted to get to know him and the best way that I could do that was to see what his room was like. I never meant to hurt him. I wasn’t trying to invade his personal space. I was just trying to figure out what made him, him.
Chapter Six
Reece, The Double Bar Ranch
I was beginning to think that she liked the sound of her own voice. She hadn’t stopped talking since we were out of town. It was starting to get annoying, but I knew that I wasn’t going to say anything to her about it. I didn’t know that someone could babble that much about horses. Suddenly, I felt stupid. I did that, too. I used to babble on and on about horses.
“Don’t you think so?” she asked me.
“Huh?” I replied.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” she questioned me.
“No,” I stated, “I haven’t.”
“What were you thinking about?” she asked.
“Home,” I said simply.
“Home? Oh,” she said.
She sounding defeated, like I had wounded her. I could guess at what she wanted me to have been thinking about. She was transparent as the day is long. She wore her pain on her sleeve with her heart and God forbid someone ever hurt her.
“So, where is home?” she inquired.
“Well, it ain’t in Mississippi anymore,” I answered.
“You’re from Mississippi?” she questioned.
It was as if the answer answered more than the question of from where I hailed. She seemed to be interested. She smiled, urging me on. She wanted to know more about me. I didn’t know if it was a good idea to tell her, but when she smiled at me like that, I couldn’t help myself. I doubt that anyone could. She was magnetic. I wanted to tell her, for some reason, as well, I guess I hoped that she would understand it all.
“Originally, then I moved around a bit, before I settled here. Nothing really interesting to tell about that, though. Now, I work for Loren and Nancy,” I said.
She grinned like the Cheshire Cat, again, when I said that. It was like she knew something that I didn’t. I hated that. She was toying with me and I knew it, but there was nothing that I could do about it.
“You aren’t planning on staying, are you?” she asked me, her eyes were full of questions.
It was like she was asking me more. She wanted details, information. I could tell that she would dig. I had to lie. I had to try to make and her stop. I couldn’t tell her everything. She wouldn’t understand. It was too painful. I didn’t want to rehash it, right now, especially with her. I cared for her and she seemed to care for me.
“Nope, not really, I have some friends in Amarillo that I am trying to get to, but circumstances have put me here for a while,” I stated.
“Maybe it was fate,” she offered.
“Then Fate should die,” I replied.
She looked at me strangely because of my comment. I knew it was odd, but it was how I about felt my situation. I would have done anything to have changed it, if I could but I knew now that there was nothing for me to do. I couldn’t bring any of them back.
“Sorry, ma’am,” I stated, “Long past.”
“Sounds like you need to talk about it, then,” she told me, starting to smile, again.
“Too depressing, wouldn’t want to upset some one, especially you, Miss Rayne,” I replied.
“I don’t think that you know me very well, then, boy. It would take a lot more than some story to upset me like that,” she said.
“You haven’t heard mine. Trust me, it would upset you. I don’t want to think about it, anymore. So, I’ve tried to forget it,” I explained.
“To forget is to doom yourself to repeat it,” she told me, “I have heard stories from my hands that will make your skin shiver and your heart quake with emotion. One more cowboy tale won’t hurt me. I have grown up with them. I am sure that I could even tell you a few that would upset your little cowboy heart, Reece.”
“That may be true, Miss Rayne, but there are some things that a gentleman doesn’t tell a lady. It just isn’t proper and I wouldn’t want to do anything that wasn’t proper. I wouldn’t want to offend a lady such as yourself,” I stated.
“A lady?” she quipped, “You are a gentleman, Reece. Don’t ever forget that for me, okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I replied.
I had to admit that she wasn’t someone that I would like to upset. She seemed more than capable of taking care of herself. I didn’t want to test her.
“Well, here we are. I’ll just go park the buckboard and unload it near the barn,” I told her.
“Just go park it, the boys will unload it,” she told me, “And, bring your horse with you. I’ve got something to show you.”
I cocked my head in question. She just smiled. I knew I was in over my head, but I was starting to like it. I was starting to like her more that I should. I knew it, but I didn’t care.
“We’re going riding,” she offered.
“Oh,” I replied.
She waited for me to saddle up Scout and get on top of him before she was off. She quickly had her mount at a gallop. I didn’t have trouble keeping up; I was just wondering where she was taking me. I knew that this woman liked to play games but I wasn’t sure that I was up to it, but then again, she was in the one in charge. I didn’t have much choice in the matter. We were on her land and she knew it. She had the advantage over me, now, and Rayne knew it.
She stopped on a small cliff overlooking a gulch. The landscape was beautiful. It was an overlook into one of her pastures. I could see horses, aplenty, snorting and neighing in the small valley below us.
“This is where I come to think,” she told me, “You look down the tracks. I look at my livestock.”
She turned and looked at me. She was trying to share with me. She was bearing something to me because I had shown her my book of Shakespeare. She was still trying to make amends. I didn’t know what to say. I missed sights like this, like I had on my own ranch.
I couldn’t tell what she wanted anymore. She dismounted and began to walk the line of the gulch with the reins of her mount in her hands. I followed suit. I wasn’t sure what she was up to, but it didn’t seem as forward as it was before.
“Reece, do you hate me?” she asked.
“No, ma’am,” I replied.
“Have I done something?” she questioned.
“No, ma’am,” I said.
“Then, why do you keep pushing me away?”
“I am not someone that you want to get involved with, Miss Rayne. I am not who you think I am,” I stated.
“I doubt that I am that bad of a judge of character. I’ve seen the way you are. I know you like horses. I just want you to come and help me with the
horses, Reece. I am not asking you to marry me,” she told me.
“I didn’t say that you were. I just don’t want to upset Loren by leaving him,” I explained.
“You won’t have to worry about that. If you come and work for me, I am going to send Juan’s two younger brothers to work for him. He will have two stocking boys and they can drive for him, too. He would be doing me a favor,” she stated.
“You aren’t going to give up two hands for me?” I asked her.
“They aren’t hands. They are just stable boys. I don’t really need them. They want to learn to ranch like their brother, but they are too young to ride for me, yet. So, if Loren takes them for a few years, then they will be ready to come and really work for me,” she explained.
“I don’t know what to say,” I stated.
“Come and work for me,” she demanded, softly.
She turned and looked at me. Her eyes looked sad. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I knew that I would, eventually. I would hurt myself, but staring into those wounded-looking emerald eyes, my heart broke. I knew that I would tell her that I would work for her.
“Rayne,” it was a whisper.
“Come work for me,” she begged.
She closed the gap between us. I didn’t have the aptitude to back away from her. I let her get close to me.
“What do you want from me?” I asked her.
“Work for me,” she answered.
“What else do you want from me?” I questioned.
“Your heart,” she simply replied.
“And, what of it?” I inquired.
“I want it to be mine,” she said.
“What if it belongs to another?” I asked.
“Then, she is going to miss you,” she answered.
“Why is that?” I questioned.
“Because, I am going to have you,” she replied.
“Sure of yourself, aren’t you?” I inquired.
“No, I just get what I want. I want you, so I mean to have you. Plus, I can see the look in your eye,” she answered, tugging on my shirt.
I had nothing to say. I did want her. I knew it was wrong, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I wanted to make her smile continue.
I didn’t have time to respond. She was on me before I could do anything. She nearly tackled me when she kissed me. It was a soft kiss, but she was unyielding. She wanted me to know what she wanted. I got the message, loud and clear, burning and searing, upon my lips.
She moaned softly and deepened the kiss. Her lips were soft and demanding. My mind was swimming. I didn’t want her to stop.
She pulled away. She studied my face. I don’t know what she saw there, but I know what I saw in her eyes. Her passion was clear and burning.
I grabbed her by the arm, trying not to hurt her, as she turned away from me. I spun her back around and into my arms. Damn me if you will God, but I want this, I thought to myself. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking. I descended upon her mouth like vulture. I was hungry and I wanted my kiss.
I didn’t know how badly she made me burn for her. I could feel the warmth growing between my legs. It urged me on. I parted her lips with my tongue and I waged war with hers. We fought for dominance of that kiss. No one won. And, just as quickly as it started, it stopped.
We both stepped back from each other. I was out of breath. She looked like she was trying to catch her breath as well. She was grinning from ear to ear. She cocked her eyebrow at me in mock defiance.
We both knew that she had won this round. The battle was far from over and we both knew that it was going to be a long hard summer. I knew then that I was going to work for her. I told myself I was stupid to put myself in that position, but the thought of her lips on mine every day for the rest of the summer was too much to bear.
“I need to speak with Loren,” I told her.
“You do that,” she said, “And, be back before Monday, so I can get you squared away out here. You’d better hurry, if you are going to make dinner with the Dells. I wouldn’t want to keep you any longer.”
“I thought I was having dinner here,” I stated.
“Oh, so now, you want to eat with me?” she asked.
“Well, if the invitation is still good,” I said.
“It is always good,” she stated, coyly.
“I’ll remember that,” I told her.
“You do that, Big Boy,” she stated.
She mounted up.
“Where are you going?” I questioned.
“First one back, doesn’t have to do dishes,” she stated and then galloped away.
“Wait,” I called, but it was too late, she was gone. I mounted and was off, right behind her.
Chapter Seven
Reece, Junction City, the next day
I rode into town that morning. I knew I had stayed too late, but I didn’t realize how late it really had been. I had woken up lying across a couch of sorts with a blanket strewn across me. I couldn’t imagine that it would look too good in the early morning light for me to be leaving her house. So, I left when it was still pre-dawn gray out.
Sam and the girls were ushering guys out of the saloon when I was walking in. He had that look on his face, the one that said he knew what I had been up to the night before. Too bad, he was totally wrong about the whole thing. I had never touched her beyond that kiss by the gulch.
“Hey, man, why does he get to come in?” a drunken patron asked the smiling barkeep.
“Because he lives here,” Sam answered.
“Must be nice,” he replied.
I glared at him as he stumbled in his drunken stupor. I suddenly had the urge to say something in response to his comment. Sam was still smiling at me. I guess he was waiting for all the details.
“You want to know what, bud? It is great living here in the saloon with all the beautiful women. And, having Sam downstairs with a bottle whenever I need it is just heaven,” I told him, before I spotted the ring on his finger, then I changed my tune, “But, I would rather have a wonderful wife to come home to and snuggle with every night, knowing that I didn’t have to share her with anyone.”
Sam started laughing. He knew I meant it, or at least he thought I did. I couldn’t tell you if I meant it, but then I might have had the woman been Rayne. I shook my head and proceeded into the saloon.
The guy got away from Sam and came at me swinging. He said something that sounded like “Sonuvabitch,” before Sam grabbed him by his collar and physically threw him out the doors. I could hear Sam scolding him and telling him to go home and sober up.
I went upstairs to find that one of the girls had a bath ready for me. In fact, she was waiting on me. I quietly showed her out and then locked the door behind her. I didn’t want anyone coming in and getting more than an eyeful. After I was done, I ran to my room to change clothes.
After I was changed and ready to go, I went to work. I could see it in Loren’s eyes before I had even said anything. He knew I was going to be leaving for work for Rayne. He knew that she had gotten to me and I couldn’t help myself.
“When are you leaving?” he asked me.
“She wants me to start on Monday,” I told him.
“So, I am going to get Juan’s little brothers, then,” he said it like he wasn’t sure.
“Yup, both Stefan and Carlos. They are young, but they are strong. Now, you can add another delivery rider. Plus, they can both do more than I can do by myself,” I explained, “This will be better for you.”
“I am not sure, but maybe I can take some time off with the both of them around,” he mused.
“Well, I am going to start packing up the loads that are going out,’ I told him.
He just watched me go. He didn’t really say much. He kind of moped around the store waiting for me to leave. He acted like I was one of his kids leaving to go back East to school, only to never come back. Later, I saw him watching me load the wagon.
“No one’s going to be able to keep up with you out there, you know,”
he said.
“Not worried about that,” I told him, “She just wants me to tend to the horses while Juan and Jed take the cattle to the rodeo.”
He nodded. I knew it was hurting him to lose me. I knew he understood that I was really doing it for the money and, maybe, her. I just wished that there was something that I could have done for him. He always knew that when he hired me that I wouldn’t be staying. I guessed that he and Nancy just assumed when I fell into the life that I was leading there that I would just stay. Now, he had to face a reality that he didn’t want.
“When I get back from the deliveries, today, I am going to go talk to Mr. Brown about Scout,” I told him.
“When you get done, you’re done for the day. Don’t worry, I won’t find anything else for you to do,” he stated.
“I didn’t think that you would. I just wanted you to know where I would be going, in case you needed me for something,” I explained.
I finished loading up the deliveries for the day. I went in with the lists and checked off those I had with me on the ledger. I mounted up the wagon and began my day’s work. I felt bad the entire time.
I was done a little after lunch. I checked to be sure that there weren’t any more deliveries that needed to go out or any freight that had come in, needing to be stocked immediately. There weren’t, so I made me way to the livery.
I saw Matthew coming out of the stables. He was cursing something fierce about one of the stable boys. I wasn’t sure now was a good time to talk to him, but if I didn’t do it now, I am not sure I would have.
“Where you going?” Matthew bellowed.
“Nowhere,” I stammered.
“Coming to git yer hoss are ya?” he asked me.
“Not really, I wanted to talk to you, first, you know, before I went on my ride,” I told him.
“Talk to me, ‘bout what boy?” he asked.
“I have been offered a job on a ranch,” I said.
“I see,” he answered.
“So, I won’t be needing to board him too much longer,” I stated.
“So, you needed to tell me, this because?” he questioned.