by Sable Hunter
This production was nothing like what she had thought it would be.
And she was woefully underdressed.
Her first indication was when they came to the front gate of Whispering Pines. Oh, she knew Zane had money, but she hadn’t realized he had MONEY. This wasn’t a small time ranching operation, this was serious business. The stone pillars that Sherwood drove through and the ornate sign was intimidating, but the guard house they passed by and the welcoming committee of two elegant women passing out drinks shocked her. “What would you like to drink, Presley? We might as well indulge,” Zane urged.
“Uh – a margarita?”
“Good choice and I’ll have a Miller light.”
Thank God, he had ordered a beer. If he had asked for a martini, she might have got out and hitched a ride back to Austin. “Thank you,” she muttered when he handed her the glass – and it was glass, probably crystal. No paper cups for this cattle auction. She settled back for the drive because from where they had entered, she didn’t see a house or a barn or anything. The winding road led by picturesque lakes and a rushing stream. There were large pecan groves and herds of contented looking cows grazing on pastures planted with thick winter grass. Large well-kept barns and corrals were on one side and she saw beautiful horses running through the field with their manes blowing in the breeze. On one hand, she was thrilled that they were able to get out here early enough that she could see all of this splendor before the sun had begun to go down – but on the other – she was struck by one very obvious fact.
Presley Grace Love did not fit into this world – at all.
Sherwood let them out near the pavilion; a couple of men came up to talk to Zane. She presumed they were employees. He ably answered their questions and gave them directions. What he did next surprised her. He put his arm around her. “Frank, Henry – this is Presley Love. Presley, these two keep everything going around here.”
“Ma’am,” they tipped their hats and Presley greeted them.
He put a hand at the small of her back. “Let’s go over to the grandstand. We can play host and hostess.” That comment made a sparkle of hope dance in her heart. He was almost talking like this was a date or they were a couple.
“You have a beautiful ranch,” she had to comment. “This is like nothing I was expecting.” And it wasn’t. People were arriving in everything from King Ranch pickups to limousines. Helicopters were landing and the people milling around looked like they had stepped off the set of the television show Dallas. All of them made their way to speak to Zane and he always introduced her, in fact he rarely took his hand off of her. He caressed her back, her shoulder – he fit his palm to the back of her neck and caressed her. Every so often, he’d kiss the side of her face. Zane had her so turned on that if they weren’t in the middle of a crowd she’d have tackled him to the ground and had her wicked way with him. Well – probably not – but it was a nice thought.
People stared at them; there were some curious glances – lots of smiles, but a few skeptical looks. For the longest, Presley kept a couple of fingers over her lips, but it was hard to talk and respond when your mouth is covered up. Finally she relaxed and just went with it.
*****
Libby surfaced. She couldn’t believe Aron had went off and left her in the water. One minute he had been right behind her, the next – he was gone. Pulling the mask off her face, she looked around. Hmmmm. Odd. He wasn’t on the beach. A splash behind her made her turn with a happy squeal. “Aron! How could you do that?” She laughed with relief, but the laugh died. He wasn’t there. Scanning the beach one more time, she looked from right to left, as far as she could see.
“Dang it! This isn’t funny, Aron.” She pulled her mask down and put her head back in the water, sinking down. He had to still be down here. Was he playing a trick on her? She wouldn’t put it past him; he had been so happy and playful since the wedding. But she wasn’t enjoying herself now, she wanted Aron.
With jerky, frenetic moves, Libby swam around – looking. She couldn’t see him. She couldn’t see anything but fish. Where was he? Frantically, she turned left – right, spun around and looked again. A horrible uneasy feeling washed over her. No, no, no, no. Rising to the surface, Libby began to swim for shore. He had to be here somewhere – somehow they had just got separated in the water. Padding through the surf, she stripped off the gear and adjusted her bathing suit.
“Aron!” she called. A few people stopped to look at her, maybe to see if she needed any help. “Aron!” Libby knew she was making a spectacle of herself, but she didn’t care. “Aron!” she screamed louder. Stopping, she looked out over the expanse of blue water dappled by sunlight. Tears began to flow. Libby was scared.
“Aron! Aron! Aron!”
*****
“Presley!” A happy voice drew her attention. It was Jessie! She was trying to hurry across the floor toward her and Jacob was busy trying to make her slow down. They were so cute. “Where are you sitting? I want to stay with you. Jacob is going to go baby-sit the cows.”
“We’ll have to behave,” Zane whispered in her ear – “Till later.”
Shiver. ‘Later’ sounded good to her. He might be grateful, but he was showing his gratitude in a way she couldn’t resist.
“Come on up here, Miss Jessie.” Zane held out his hand. It always amazed Presley that he seemed to have no trouble knowing where people were or even who they were. She was impressed.
Jessie plopped down beside her and threw a kiss to Jacob who stood there as if he was reluctant to leave her. “Go, Darling. I’m in good hands. But if you see Cady or Avery or Skye tell them there is someone here I want them to meet.”
“Or Lilibet,” Zane added for good measure.
“I’ll never remember all of that,” Jacob grumbled as he went off, then stopped in his tracks and came back to get a kiss. “You’re making me forget what’s important giving me all this stuff to do.”
“Oh, poor baby,” she kissed him tenderly.
Presley was just flat-out jealous. She wanted what they had – she wanted it with Zane.
“The sale’s starting,” Zane rubbed his hand up and down her back.
“I’m not going to ask how you can tell. You are aware of everything, aren’t you?”
“I’m sure as hell aware of you,” he chuckled and scratched a line down her spine that made her actually wiggle in his arms. “You like that?”
“You know I do.”
“WELCOME!” the announced shouted. “We are proud to announce the opening of the bidding for some of the best registered beefmasters in the country. The McCoys of Tebow Ranch and Zane Saucier of Whispering Pines want me to tell you how glad they are to have you here and they hope you have a good time. Waitresses will be checking with you often for drink orders, which are on the house by the way, and as soon as we find these babies some new homes, you are all invited down to the pavilion for BBQ and dancing. You won’t believe it – but Willie Nelson is here with us today. The hometown Austin boy is back for a visit, he’s a good friend to Joseph McCoy and Jo talked him into singing us a few songs. So – we’ll dance, drink, gossip and buy some mighty fine cattle.”
“Willie Nelson?” Presley nudged Jessie. “Did you know that?”
“I did, he was over at the house last night for supper.” At Presley’s wide-eyed stare, she grinned. “Joseph knows a lot of celebrities from his extreme sports days. Why, Zane used to compete with him, before . . .” Jessie paused, aware where she had let the conversation go.
“It’s okay, Jess,” Zane assured her. “She knows I’m blind,” he teased his friend. But he went on to explain to Presley. “The accident that took my sight was only five years ago. I was spraying some insecticide and it blew back in my face.”
“I’m so, so sorry,” she hugged his arm. “I didn’t know how it happened, but if it were in my power to trade places with you, I would.”
What she said amazed Zane. “Why would you say that?”
Jessie turned
away, at least pretending not to listen. Presley had spoken without thinking, but she went ahead with her explanation. “It would be better if I were blind; I don’t have as much to offer the world as you do.”
The announcer interrupted their thought process. “FIRST UP is Offer #3706. We call this young man Crimson Warrior. He’s out of Buttercup by Red Warrior. His pedigree is better than Prince William’s. The bidding starts at fifty thousand dollars.”
But Zane was still ‘looking’ at her, he didn’t say anything, but he took her chin in his hand and held her still while he gently kissed her lips. “Are you for real?” he whispered.
She didn’t answer because the bidding started and his attention turned to the action between the buyers and the auctioneer. Truly, Presley had never seen anything like it. The cattle weren’t pushed or panicking. They weren’t prodded or rushed. These registered cows and bulls marched out on a red carpet with no fear that they would be mistreated or end up between two hamburger buns.
Having forgotten she had it, Presley picked up the brochure and was impressed – it looked like a glossy magazine. Each animal was photographed in a pose. She smiled; it was like looking at a fashion rag for cows except they weren’t dressed up in clothes. The backgrounds were green pastures and well-kept fences and in the text below their picture, their height and weight and pedigrees were laid out like beauty queen statistics.
“SOLD to Harbison Farms for seventy-two thousand dollars!” And so it went. Presley was amazed at how much money changed hands. And the people that were there to buy these show animals were wealthy and coiffed and fully comfortable in their own skin.
After all the cattle, embryo flushes and straws of semen had been sold, everyone retired to the pavilion for food and music. Presley stayed right with Zane, he made sure of that. But he did introduce her to Joseph’s and Isaac’s fiancés. Presley was surprised, to say the least; they weren’t anything like she had envisioned them to be. Libby she had never met, but if she were anything like the other three, she would be exceptional. Cady, Joseph’s love, came to meet her first. She wondered why they were making such a big deal about her presence. She soon found out. “Excuse us, Zane. Avery and Jessie and I need to borrow Presley for a bit. Lilibet is getting us some hot apple cider. Let’s go sit by the fire place.”
She only hesitated a second, but his, “Go on, I’ll wait for you right here,” made her feel better. He sat down with Jacob and Joseph and Presley let herself be led over to the big outdoor fireplace that stood like a mammoth monument on one end of the pavilion. It was nippy and the fire was welcome. Cady led her by the hand and Presley couldn’t help but notice she was an uncommon beauty. “I’ve known Zane for years. We were friends in New Orleans,” Cady offered. Presley realized then that she was Creole; her skin was the shade of dulce de leche ice cream. And her eyes were the color of amber jewels. “We are so happy you are here.”
“Thank you,” she wasn’t sure why Cady would say that.
The group of women sitting around the fireplace was having a good time. One girl with corkscrew curls was telling an animated story, waving her hands around and laughing.
“Girls, this is Presley Love.”
Immediately all talk stopped and Presley felt awkward until they all got up and came forward. “I’m Avery,” announced the one who had been speaking.
“I’m Lilibet,” said another who didn’t hold back, but stepped right up and hugged her. Presley didn’t know what to think, but she patted the other girl’s back. “I belong to Kane.”
She knew Kane was Zane’s twin brother. “I’m so glad to meet you.” She looked at the rest. “I’m glad to meet all of you.” They invited her to sit and gave her something warm to drink.
“I guess you’re wondering why we’re so ecstatic to meet you.” Avery with the bouncy hair asked.
“Yes, I am.” Presley answered slowly.
Lilibet clapped her hands together. “Kane says you’re the first girl that Zane has brought around any of his friends or family since the accident. Oh, he’s taken dates to public social events – but this is different. And I’m so glad!” She hugged Presley again.
“Don’t scare her,” Jessie warned. “She’ll think we’re already planning the bridal shower.”
“That would definitely be premature,” Presley tried for a voice of reason. “Zane is my employer.” She hesitated to go even one step farther than that. His words of gratitude kept ringing in her ears.
“Perhaps,” Cady smiled mysteriously. “I’d offer to read your palm or look at the tarot cards, but since I got pregnant, my powers seem to be waning. Nana Fontenot told me this would happen. It seems to be a family trait.”
When Presley’s eyes widened, Jessie laughed. “Yes, Presley, our Cady is a tad magical.”
“How wonderful, I’ve always wanted to believe that something more than chance is involved in how our lives unfold.” She didn’t bother to explain that she knew there was no hope for a happily ever after in her life.
“We’re giving Libby a surprise baby shower when she gets back from the honeymoon. We’d like it if you could come.” Jesse’s invitation surprised Presley.
“Thank you,” there was no way Presley couldn’t be gracious, but she also couldn’t prevent the question from slipping out. “May I ask why you all are being so nice to me? I have to remind you that this thing with Zane is not anything for you to get excited about. There’s no way he is actually interested in me.” What made her bare her soul like that, Presley didn’t know. The whole thing was making her a bit nervous.
“Why would you say that?” Avery asked with an innocent expression on her face.
For an answer, Presley didn’t use words, she just passed her hand over her mouth.
“Balderdash!” Jessie said. “There’s nothing wrong with the way you look. I told you that the other day.”
“None of us are perfect,” Avery offered.
“You’re close,” Cady patted Avery on her knee. “My mirror tells me I’m plain, but Joseph sees me through the eyes of love – so to him, I’m beautiful.”
“And we’ve already talked about my body image issues,” Jessie offered.
“Look,” Lilibet lifted her skirt and showed Presley that one of her shoes was built up. “I’m a gimp.” At her self-deprecating comment, the other girls just lost it. Presley tried not to laugh, but she finally gave in.
“Does Kane treat you like a cripple?” Cady raised her majestic head and looked Lilibet directly in the eye, like she was daring her to answer the question incorrectly.
“No,” Lilibet confessed. “He treats me like I’m his most precious possession.”
“We saw Zane, Presley,” Jessie propped her hands on her protruding little tummy. “He couldn’t keep his hands off you.”
“Well – well,” she had no come back. He had been very attentive. “But why would you want me to be friends with me? Zane and I may see one another again and we may not. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I may not even be his employer much longer – I’m just a temp.”
“There are other reasons – like you being a wonderful person that we’d love to get to know. Zane has been talking about you to the boys. We know about helpful you are, we know about the volunteer work you do at the hospital. We even know you cook like an angel. But the clincher for me was how you stood up for me when that idiot in the coffee shop was giving me a hard time.”
Presley sipped her drink, needing the warmth and needing the time to process what the women were trying to tell her. Jessie was sincere, and so were the others. “Okay. I would love to be your friend,” she looked at them one by one. “I’d be honored to come to Libby’s party.”
“Can I have my secretary back now?”
Zane slipped up on them and Presley jumped a little when he touched her. His secretary - as a temporary employee that should have been music to her ears, but somehow the words made her sad. She wanted to be more. The girls didn’t react to his words other than to smile
, but she knew they knew what was going through her mind and it embarrassed her. “Sure, is there something I can do for you?” She stood up and as she did, Willie Nelson broke into song and sporadic applause sounded around the pavilion.
“Yea, you can dance with me.” Zane took her by the hand and pulled her body up close to his.
Dance? “I don’t know how,” she whispered.
“We’re in trouble, then,” he chuckled. “Because I’m counting on you to lead.”
“Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” was one of her favorite songs, but Presley paid little attention to it or to the singer. She was being held close to a man on the dance floor for the very first time. It was hard to breathe.
“See, we are doing just fine,” Zane bent his head and spoke only for her. They weren’t really dancing, but rather swaying to the music. “I just wanted an excuse to get my hands on you.”
Presley chewed on her bottom lip. She wanted nothing more than to stay right where she was, because being cradled in Zane’s arms was heaven. He held her right hand, but his left was resting right at the base of her spine, and he was drawing the most incredible circles on that sensitive spot. But she had to ask – she needed to know. “Are you being nice to me because you feel sorry for me? Or because you’re grateful that I helped Jessie?”
The music hadn’t stopped, but Zane went still. “What the hell?” He let go of her hand and surprised her by cupping her bottom and picking her up, sliding her up his body far enough till she was pressed right against him, her mound nestled in the cradle of his pelvis and what she felt there was hard and long and thick. “Does that feel like I’m sorry for you or that I’m just grateful? Don’t you remember what shape your kiss had me in right before Jacob came for his meeting?”
Presley’s feet weren’t touching the ground. She knew she ought to be feeling self-conscious, but a glance around showed that no one was watching them. They were on the far side in a pool of shadows. “I remember,” she whispered. “I can’t believe it, but I remember. You did hear me tell you that my mouth is messed up?”