by Ashlee Price
After her meeting with the author, Mary had gotten some mail that was being held for her and just relaxed. It was later in the evening when Henri had called. It made her think about him as she went to sleep that night. There was something about the cowboy that she really liked. When she heard the ringtone for her ex, she didn’t even bother to answer. He had been what she had thought of before she had met Henri, but now there was only Henri to think about. No one else would compare. Mary was starting to think that it was time for her to try something new as well.
The next morning she got up with the sun and took a couple pictures of the sunrise. It was something that she had done most of the days when she was in town. There was an idea in the back of her head to make it a time lapsed video, but she was still working on the prints. After a shower and breakfast, Mary had an appointment down at the Herald. They had a couple of assignments and Mary was always in need of just one more job. She was always waiting for the moment people realized that photographs were easy to do and she would be out of work for good. It hadn’t happened yet, but Mary still found it hard to turn down a job.
When she finally made it to the paper, she was running a little late from traffic and was feeling a little like just turning around and rescheduling. Mary persisted though, knowing she needed the money. She left her name with Belinda’s secretary that was new and waited to be called back to the office of the person she had always coordinated with. “She will see you now Miss.”
Mary thanked her and followed her back down the familiar hallway. It had been a couple of years that she had first started to freelance for the paper when she was fresh out of college. Mary had seen the Herald as a starting to point, but it had instead become her plateau. Mary was sure that she just needed one big break and she would be flooded with orders. The time just hadn’t come yet.
“Good to see you, Mary.”
Mary nodded at the tall Russian woman that nodded her towards a seat. Belinda was intimidating by any stretch of the imagination. She had a no nonsense way about her and as she looked back at Mary, she swallowed hard. She felt like she was in the Principal’s office and she didn’t know what she was there for. Even when the woman was being nice to her, it didn’t feel that warm.
“Good to see you too, Belinda. I was surprised to hear from you guys so soon.”
“Well we have gotten a lot of good reviews on your pictures and we were hoping that you would like to come on for a more permanent position.”
Mary was a bit stunned. She had not seen it coming and though it would solve a lot of her problems with money, she didn’t like the idea of having a boss again. It had been years since she had had to answer to anyone with her time and effort and her head was shaking no before her brain could really process the question.
Her eye brow shot up. “You don’t want a job with us?”
“It’s not that Belinda. I just have freelanced for a while and though I love the assignments, I don’t want to be weighed down with the obligation.”
She rolled her eyes and muttered something about millennials. Mary didn’t comment either way, but she was sure that the rest of the conversation was not going to go well. “I just have other clients that I couldn’t let go of. I always appreciate the work.”
Mary was trying to smooth things over and it seemed like Belinda was taking it for all it was worth. Belinda smiled back at her, the first time she had seen it in person and she wondered if the woman’s face was going to crack. “Well I wasn’t expecting that answer, but I can see your point. What else are you working on right now?”
She was hesitant to tell her more, but she did tell her about her author client and his new job.
“That sounds like fun. Who are you photographing for the cowboy set –up?”
Mary told her and the older woman’s eyes started to widen. “Henri Callahan? Is that so?”
Belinda’s mind was working and it wouldn’t have been the first time she was trying to get the inside scoop on the Callahan family. They were like royalty in Texas and Belinda had been hearing rumors. “How do you feel about doing an assignment on him for me as well? You should go down there and see what is going on at that ranch. A lot of strange things have been happening there, but no one knows the truth. You could get the truth and help one of our reporters write the story.”
She shook her head as if she had gotten a better idea. “Even better, why don’t I send Carl down to you as like an assistant and he can write the article, all you have to do is bring him with you and he will take care of the rest?”
Mary was a bit thrown off with the idea of spying on anyone, especially a nice guy like Henri. She knew that there were a lot of people that were interested because he made a lot of money, but it had been clear to her how much he just wanted to be left alone. Her mind couldn’t wrap itself around the idea. “No I am sorry, but he is a very private person. I couldn’t do that to him.”
Belinda nodded her head like she understood, but she was already making a plan as to how she was going to get what she wanted. Mary would get her the scoop whether she knew it or not, even if she didn’t want to help her. “You’re right. Don’t worry about it Mary. It was just a thought. When are you going down there?”
Mary gave her the dates and the two women talked about another couple of jobs that were less traitorous. Belinda had a look in her eyes when she had found out who Mary was supposed to be photographing that weekend. Mary didn’t know what it was that she wanted from him, but her eyes had widened with glee. It gave her a bad feeling, but Mary still needed the job and the extra money. Her client list was looking bare and the loss of the Herald would be painful.
She left the woman’s office a little perplexed and wondering what it was that Belinda or the paper was so eager to get out of the Callahan family. There was always a need for new information and scoops that would sell papers. The family didn’t like the spotlight and that just made everyone else want to know more. Henri was the most reclusive of them all, being out of the country for so long. Mary walked towards her car with a bad feeling in her stomach. There was no reason for it. It didn’t make sense, but it was there.
Chapter 6
Henri took the next day to spend it how he wanted. It wasn’t to talk to family and friends, getting far more than enough of that the day before. All he had really wanted to do was take a nice long ride on a horse that he was familiar with and just go.
He started out early in the morning as the sun was coming up. It was his favorite time of the day. It was still cool enough to be comfortable. Henri was miles away from the ranch before he slowed the horse down enough to take in the streaks of pinks and oranges transforming the sky. There was nowhere else he would rather be than right there where he was, mind wandering to the weekend’s events and his date.
The thought of Mary made him smile and there was more to seeing her than he realized. It had become more in his mind because she was all he could think about the last couple of days. Henri was sure that it would wear off, like many new and good feelings do. She hadn’t even known it was him the night before on the phone and the very fact had shattered his self-esteem a bit. Henri had been out of the game for some time and even though he should have been focused on the beautiful moment he was in, he couldn’t help but think of the what-ifs instead.
Taking the long way home, Henri was happy to see all of his brothers together. It had been a long time since that had happened and though the subject of the conversation was always the same. The women they talked about were different now. Everyone had a wife except for Scott and Henri. There was an unseen and unheard pressure to change their ways and do what the other three had done.
“I still can’t believe you went down to South America and didn’t bring back a woman.”
Henri shrugged and didn’t say much. Marcel was taunting him and there was no use in making a case for trying to find a woman in those circumstances. Most of them couldn’t speak any English and his sheer size scared the rest. Henri had failed, but not
all of it was from lack of trying on his part.
“It’s not as easy as you think.”
“Maybe not for you.” Marcel started laughing. He was one of the first to go down the path of wedding bliss and it looked good on him. Henri had never felt jealous of them for many reasons, but it was hard not to when they looked at him like that.
“We all can’t find our dream girl by accident.” As soon as Henri said it, he wondered if he actually could. Is that how it worked and was he in the midst of it and didn’t even know it?
“You need to spend more time with women and less time with the cows and I am sure it would happen.” Scott laughed a little at his own joke and Henri just looked at him like he was stupid.
Henri stood up and went to rinse the cup out to put it in the dishwasher. Every conversation the brothers had through the years, always turned into what it was now and Henri was not in the mood for the flexing contest. Instead of staying around the kitchen and gabbing, he went out front to get started on what the brothers were all together for in the first place. Gemma was going to be getting married in just a couple of days and they had all decided to make her something for her. While Marcel had wanted to build her a house, everyone else balked at the idea. Their sister did not want to live on the ranch. She had made that clear when she moved out a year before.
Paul and Scott wanted to get the couple a vacation, but in the end, Elna had suggested that they make her a greenhouse at the ranch. “So she can come and go when she wants, but come back more to water the plants.” It was a perfect example of the matriarchs say in the family and way that she tried to change the outcome with a little nudge here and there. So the men were doing as they were told, as they had so many times before.
It was supposed to be a small project but once Marcel got his hands on it, they were now building a greenhouse that she could live in as well. He liked construction far too much, more than the others, but like their mother’s ‘suggestion’ most were all just along for the ride.
“Hey, why isn’t Gemma’s fiancée here?” Scott thought that he should help as well.
“They have wedding stuff to take care of. This is just going to be our thing. Now stop whining Scott. I’ve see how you work and a few hours of honest work isn’t going to hurt you.”
Scott scowled, but several others chuckled. “You know what they say. The one who complains the most, does the least.”
“All I wanted to do was get her a damn ticket to an island somewhere, not this. So yeah, I am bitching.” Scott tried not to sound defensive, but he couldn’t help it. The last thing he wanted to do was work out in the hot sun for the next couple of days. Henri agreed with him, but he never made a fuss like Scott did. Marcel was done hearing the whining and wanted to get started with the project.
***
The project as it was called, no longer able to even call it a greenhouse anymore, was coming along fine and it had done the favor of helping Henri to stop thinking so much about Mary. It helped also that they were behind schedule and Marcel wanted it done before the wedding. Gemma had been up to the ranch a couple of times because Elna had stayed in town for the wedding, but the project was far enough away that she didn’t see it.
As the last day of construction was over, Henri got a call from Gemma to get back to the house. “I will be there in a minute Gemma. What’s up?” It didn’t matter, anything to get a moment of breeze on the back of the horse in the sun, but he did need an excuse when he bowed out of finishing work.
“You have someone here to see you. Henri, she is adorable.”
Henri smiled to himself, not needing to be told what he already knew. There was something about the woman that had drawn him in when she had first bumped into him at the airport. It had felt like destiny and the way his heart was beating harder in his chest told him that it was so. “Yeah she is. Tell Mary I will be there in a little while. Few minutes.”
“Okay, I will. So is she the one that you were going to call?” Gemma knew somehow that she was, but she wanted to hear Henri admit it.
“Yeah.”
“I knew it. Well I will get off of here so you can stop doing whatever it is you guys have been doing out there with all of your secrets. It’s not nice to leave me out of it.”
“Don’t act like you haven’t made someone tell you what we are doing. I know you better than that Gemma.”
She tried to sound innocent, but it was hard to do. Gemma had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but she didn’t admit to it. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
He just gave her a sound and then moved back to his horse. Hanging up with Gemma, he made his way back to the ranch after telling the guys his excuse. Everyone was hot and him leaving didn’t go over too well. Henri rode hard, loving the wind and he was there before he knew it. The ranch came in view and then the porch. Mary was sitting on the porch waiting for him and Henri could feel the excitement back inside of him. As he got off his horse and slid down to the ground, he saw the change in her eyes.
Chapter 7
Mary took in the hard lines of his body and felt her own heart beating a little harder in her chest, the breath coming out in short spurts as she looked at him. His shirt was off and he was glistening with sweat. He was more than enough to keep her eyes bugging out and Mary felt her face get red as he walked towards her.
His strides were long and it was no time before he was there in front of her. Pulling her in for a hug and a kiss on her cheek, Mary had so many mixed feelings running through her. It was hard to not feel something as he pressed her against him.
The touch surprised her and it looked like it surprised him for a minute, but Mary wasn’t complaining. “Sorry, I forgot I was all sweaty.”
“No, it’s fine. Really.” Mary’s voice quavered as she talked, but she couldn’t help it. There was something about him and feeling him up against her was one of the hardest moments in a long time. There was a need there and if how he felt to her was a clue, Henri was feeling the same way.
“So what do you think of my side of the world?”
Gemma just smiled at her brother, hoping he wouldn’t put his foot into his mouth. His grin was large and it was nice to see him looking so happy. She went in the house to give them some privacy, but she did update Elna on the couple on the porch.
“I think it is great.” Mary couldn’t keep her eyes off of his chest and when she saw him looking at her, she looked away. “I can’t believe you would ever want to leave. It is so beautiful and peaceful here, Henri.”
He just nodded at her, not really listening except to hear the sound of his name on her lips. She was looking at him strangely, he was staring again. Smiling back at her, he asked if she had any bags to take in.
“No, I will get a hotel in town or something. I don’t want to be an imposition.”
“I insist. There is plenty of room here, there always is. You will get your own room and everything. I haven’t heard too many good things about the place in town.”
Mary was torn, but he was already walking into the house and she didn’t seem to have any real choice. She didn’t want to offend him, but at the same time, Mary was far more worried about trying to breathe around him. Did he know what he was doing to her with no shirt on? It was hard to concentrate, but Mary was given relief by there being more people in the main living room that she walked into. She was introduced to Elna and Gemma.
They were both sizing her up, she could tell and it made her feel a bit more nervous, but it also took her mind away from Henri.
“Son, why don’t you go put a shirt on. It’s not that hot in here.”
Henri shook his head and walked off dutifully. Mary would have thanked his mother, but that didn’t seem the right thing to do. She could breathe again, but the pressure was back on for the rest of them looking at her.
“Well come sit down honey. We don’t bite. It’s nice to see Henri bring someone back home.”
Mary sat down, as dutifully as Henri had gone to do
as he was told as well. Elna was a woman that she didn’t want to cross. While she was smiling in front of her and she was as nice as can be, in the city she was known for being pretty cut throat. It was said that she had to be that way, a woman running the company alone, but Mary wondered then if she was not pulling the strings all along.
There was nothing to say to her comment though and Mary liked to hear that she wasn’t one in a long line of women, but Henri didn’t seem the type. He didn’t seem to be the sort of man that would have enough time to be bothered with more than one woman. He was so straight forward and that was one of the things that Mary liked best about him.
“So where are you from dear?”
“Houston.”
“Oh, I live there too on the weekdays. This week I have been off though, getting ready for my daughter to get married.” The older woman looked at her daughter with such love and Mary’s heart constricted a little. It was clear that they were both looking forward to it. Mary had done her research, found out that she only had the one daughter, so it would seem that there was even more anticipation because of that. Belinda had asked her again to find out a few things, ask a few questions about the wedding, but she had declined, not wanting to be involved. She was only a photographer after all.
“Congratulations Gemma. Your brother didn’t even tell me about it. He had said there was something going on, but not a wedding.” Her mind went to what she had packed. There was nothing in there for a wedding!
“That is like Henri. Guys hear the very word and start heading for the door.”
Mary smiled back at Elna, seeing the glint in her eyes. She would marry her off right then and there to Henri if she was able. It was clear from the look in her face. “Yeah, I can see that happening. I have never even talked about it with a guy. I think I was afraid that would head for the hills.”