Mr. Always & Forever

by Ashlee Price

  Todd spent the night with Amber that night, sleeping in her room for the very first time.

  ~

  A few days later, Todd finally brought amber to his house. He did everything by the book. He cooked dinner; spaghetti and garlic bread, and he even tried to make dessert. He burnt the cake though so he bought one in town. He drove to her house and picked her up, she was wearing a blue summer dress and her hair was down and curly. She was beautiful. He brought her flowers and she loved them. They ate dinner and talked about everything; then he gave her a tour of the entire farm. He told her about his horses and about some of the best rodeo stories he had. They saddled up a couple of his horses and he took her for a ride along his property line. When they got back, he showed her Ash.

  “He’s beautiful.” She breathed when she saw him.

  ‘I love the colours.”

  “Yeah, he’s a pretty boy, but stubborn as a bull.”

  Amber opened the gate and began to walk in to the ring with Ash.

  “That’s probably not a great idea.” Todd warned.

  “He’s kind of a jerk.”

  She smiled at him, “Maybe he just needs a woman’s touch. After all, that’s what you needed.

  Amber walked right up to Ash and he didn’t flinch or move away from her. She reached up his tall neck and began to stroke his head and scratch behind his ears. Ash leaned in closer to her asking for more.

  “This is amazing. He never let me do that.” Todd was impressed.

  Amber started to move down his neck and spread her arms across his back. She moved even more and patted him on his hip, talking to him in a low voice the entire time. Ash continued to stand in the same spot, looking almost like he could take a nap, he was so relaxed.

  Amber noticed the saddle pad hanging on the fence and grabbed it. She spread it out and laid it across Ash’s back. He didn’t move. Then she grabbed the saddle and lifted it on to his back with the pad.

  Todd couldn’t believe his eyes. The horse he had spent weeks and weeks of time on was standing in front of him with a full saddle on his back. Amber was a miracle woman, she really was. She slowly took the saddle and the pad off of Ash and hung them back where they were. She gave him one last pat on the neck and came back out of the ring.

  “See, all he needed was a woman’s touch.” She laughed.

  Todd couldn’t help himself; he scooped her up in to his arms and kissed her hard. He carried her in to the house and made love to her like he had never made love to any other woman. And this time, there was no condom.

  THE END

  The Cowboy’s Seed

  “Ready? Smile!” Shania held her finger down on the trigger of her camera so it would take multiple shots of the smiling mother with her sleeping new born. This was the second baby shoot she had done today, mix that with a pregnancy shoot and she was definitely tired.

  She finished up with the mother and once she was gone with her little bundle of joy, Shania went right to her computer to look at the photos she had captured. She smiled to herself as she scrolled through them; the client was definitely going to love these. When the screen started to get fuzzy from exhaustion she closed down the programs and decided to start the editing process tomorrow. She twisted around in her desk chair so she was facing her studio but she didn’t get up. She sat for a minute and just looked around.

  Shania grew up in a small town on the outskirts of New York City. Her and her parents and her younger sister had a quiet life in a small bungalow, her father was a mechanic at a local shop and her mother was the librarian at the public school. Shania had a picture perfect childhood and when she graduated high school she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She took a photography certificate at the local college and then opened her own studio, working out of her parent’s basement.

  Her life was good, she was doing what she loved and she was damn good at it, but somehow she couldn’t help but feel like her life was boring. Living and working in the same small town her whole life, doing photography shoots of pregnant woman, new mothers, engagements and weddings. Sometimes she had inkling in the back of her mind that she could be doing so much more, using her skills in a different way. She always brushed it off when she was feeling like that. She was happy.

  She finally got out of her chair and walked towards the door. Shutting off all the lights and locking the door, she headed out in to the warm July night. She walked around the building and in to the front of the house where her mother and father were sitting in the living room watching the news.

  “Hi Sweetie, how was your day today?” Her mother glanced at her before focusing on the TV once again.

  “It was good, tiring.” She replied as she plopped herself in to her favourite chair.

  Her mother didn’t reply, just kept watching the news. Shania watched her mother’s face and the little expressions she made when bad news or happy news was reported. Her mother was beautiful, she had long red hair that had just recently begun to show a few grey hairs, and eyes that anyone would get lost in they were so blue. She had a fair amount of freckles scattered across her face and her skin was white and perfect. Shania always wished she would look like her mother but she wasn’t so lucky. It was her little sister Candice who got the red hair and blue eyes.

  Shania got her colouring from her father. She switched her focus to look at him. He had dark brown hair that was still very thick, not a grey hair showing and no sign of balding which she supposed was good. He was a tall man; just over 6 feet and he had a darker complexion than her mother had his skin very olive. His eyes were dark green, the same ones she looked at in the mirror every day. She knew she was beautiful, but not as beautiful as her sister or her mother.

  She stood up and said her good nights to her parents and headed to her room. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.

  ~

  The next day, Shania spent her time in the studio going over the photos from the three shoots the previous day. She had gotten some really great ones that she knew the clients would love. She went through and edited some, changing the colour to black and white, cropping out the baby to look like it was sleeping on a flower and anything else the mothers had said they wanted to be done. She didn’t book any appointments for that day because she liked to get all of the editing done on her previous projects before taking on new ones.

  By the end of the day she was done with two of the client’s pictures and just had some finishing touches to do on the final one. She would do those before she left the next day and send them off to the client. The next day was Saturday and she had a wedding to shoot.

  Weddings were something she really liked to do because it got her out of the studio and it was real live action during the ceremony. It wasn’t all just posed pictures.

  The wedding was beautiful, the bride was gorgeous and the groom cried as she came down the aisle. Shania captured it all. The colours for the wedding party were black and white and she knew that the pictures were going to turn out perfect.

  She was off on the side lines of the reception, scrolling through the pictures she had taken on her camera. She felt someone come up behind her and look at the pictures over her shoulder. She didn’t usually allow that, because she wanted to be able to see them all and make them perfect before anyone could see, but she didn’t say anything. She figured it was someone related to the couple.

  “You take beautiful pictures.” The deep voice came from behind her and made her jump. She didn’t recognize the voice at all.

  She let her camera hang on her neck and turned around. The man standing behind her was not part of the wedding and she had never seen him before.

  “Thank you.” She said awkwardly as she started to walk away.

  He grabbed her arm before she could leave and said; “Wait, let me introduce myself.” She turned around and let him talk.

  “My name is Andrew Smith; I am the editor of Life Style Magazine.”

  Abruptly Shania was super nervous. Life Style Magazine was
huge magazine made out of New York City. She often bought one and admired the beautiful photographs inside.

  “Wow, it’s so nice to meet you! What are you doing here?” She looked around the room.

  “The groom is my cousin; we were close growing up so I figured I’d better come. Listen, I saw your pictures and they are really great. We have a job opening coming up for a photographer, take my card and call me if you’re interested. You’ve definitely got what it takes.” With that, he walked away and left Shania in a daze for the rest of the night.

  Did that actually just happen? Did the editor of a hugely famous magazine just tell her she has enough talent to take pictures for them? She kept reaching in to her pocket to see if his business card really was there. It was. Maybe this is what she has been waiting for, her big break. Her dream job, just handed to her. It must be too good to be true.

  ~

  For the next couple of days Shania’s mind wasn’t on her work. She would take the pictures and edit the pictures but she wasn’t totally in to it. All she could think of was that business card in her top drawer. She had put it there when she returned home from the wedding, and she had already taken it out several times just to look at it.

  She was having an internal battle. This was all she ever wanted, a chance to make it big and get out in to the world but she was so comfortable in her small town and her home studio and her bedroom in her parent’s house. It would be scary to venture out; she didn’t know if she had enough guts.

  Finally she couldn’t hold it in any longer, she had to tell someone about it. So one evening she called her little sister up at university. As soon as she heard she was ecstatic, telling Shania that she better do it. That gave her a little bit of confidence so she decided to tell her parents. They too were on board and very excited for her.

  The next day, she called the number on the card.

  “Hello, Mr. Smith’s office.” The nasally voice of a woman said on the third ring.

  Shania could barely talk she was so nervous,

  “Hello, I’m looking to speak with Andrew Smith please.”

  “Please hold.”

  A few minutes later that same voice came on the line,

  “Andrew Smith here.”

  She told him who she was and he remembered right away.

  “I thought you were never going to call me. I’d love for you to come in for an interview, meet with some of the owners and a few of our current photographers.”

  “I’d love that!” She said maybe a little too enthusiastically.

  He laughed on the other end of the line and named a date and time. She said she would be there and they hung up.

  ~

  Shania was a wreck for the next two days. She was fidgety and couldn’t sleep well, she was just too nervous. The day finally came and she wasn’t anywhere close to being ready. She had her portfolio and that was it. She got in her car and drove the hour to the city and walked in to a huge fancy building.

  She was seen right away and brought up to the eleventh floor to sit in a meeting room. Shortly after three people walked in. She stood up to shake their hands. One was Andrew Smith, a woman named Monica Blaire who was part owner and a short man named Ralph Connors who was a photographer.

  The meeting went well, they were all very nice and she felt at ease with them all. They told her that the job they had open would require travelling. She would be sent to different states for a certain amount of time to photograph the subject at length. It all sounded so wonderful, she would finally be able to get out of her shell and prove her ability at the same time.

  At the end of the meeting, she shook all of their hands again and they told her that if she was interested in the job to let them know by the end of the week and it was hers. She left the building on cloud nine. The drive home seemed more like she floated, she was so happy.

  For the next couple of days she went on with normal business, booking shoots and editing photos. On Thursday afternoon she called Andrew Smith.

  “Ah Shania, I was starting to think you weren’t going to call.” He sounded pleased on the other end of the phone.

  “I’d like the job;” was all she said.

  “It’s yours. We already have your first assignment.”

  “You do?! That’s great! What is it?” She was so excited to be receiving her first assignment at her new job.

  “For the winter issue we are doing a twelve page expo on the life of the modern cowboy. We are going to send you to a ranch in Texas for sixty days, you are to get as many pictures of these men and women in action as you can. This is going to be a huge piece and the pictures are of the utmost importance and I know you will not disappoint us.”

  All at once Shania was scared and excited and nervous and happier than ever. “I’ll pack my bags.” She said in a squeaky voice.

  “Perfect. We’ll have your plane ticket ready for you on Monday.

  Come to the office for ten.” And he hung up.

  Shania hung up her phone with a shaking hand.

  ~

  Monday morning, Shania was all packed and ready to go. She kissed her mother and her father and got in her car. The drive to the city seemed to take forever, her stomach flipping and flopping the whole way there. Finally she was there, and Andrew Smith was waiting for her in the lobby.

  “Good morning and welcome to the team!” He said when he saw her approaching. “How are you doing?”

  “Well, I feel like I might throw up because I’m so nervous but other than that, I’m good.” She said, and they both laughed.

  “The car is waiting for you, it will take you to the airport and you can leave your vehicle here for the time that you are away or someone can come and get it if they chose to. Let’s not waste any more time and get this started. Where are your bags?”

  Shania and Andrew headed back outside and to her car. He grabbed her bags and moved them in to a huge black car with dark tinted windows.

  “Whoa, this is what I’m riding in?”

  “Yes, is there something wrong with it?” Andrew looked upset.

  “No no! It’s awesome, I feel like a celebrity.”

  Andrew laughed, and he was still giggling when he opened the door for her. “Better get in, don’t want to be late for the plane.”

  She didn’t respond, she just climbed slowly in to the back seat of the car and watched as Andrew closed the door. The driver put the car in gear and pulled out in to traffic.

  The airport was on the opposite side of the city, but there wasn’t too much traffic so the ride was pretty quick. The car pulled up to the entrance and she got out of the car. The driver came around to her and handed her a ticket. He then grabbed her luggage and they went to check in.

  Check in and getting her luggage checked was a breeze, she was sitting in the terminal waiting to board before she even knew it was happening. She realized too that her ticket was for first class. She had never flown before, let alone flying first class.

  Seat numbers began to be called and she was up again and boarding the flight. She found her seat easily, it was wide and comfortable and there was a little pillow and blanket on it. The flight was just the perfect length to be able to take a little cat nap.

  Once she was comfortable, she sat back and watched the other passengers aboard the flight. There was a sweet elderly couple, a few business men and one young woman with a small baby. The woman had her daughter all wrapped up in a bundle of pink fabric and she was humming quietly as she stepped carefully down the aisle. The little girl was sleeping soundly and she had the chubbiest cheeks Shania had ever seen. She would have been perfect to photograph.

  The flight finished boarding, and they took off. It wasn’t as scary as Shania was expecting, and once they were in the air it was very smooth. Before she knew it she was fast asleep in her seat.

  When she woke up, the captain was announcing that they were almost at their destination. Shania sat up a little straighter and peered out the window. She saw a lot of empty land
, farm land she assumed.

  Andrew had told her that someone would be waiting for her to take her to the ranch she was to live on. Once the flight had landed and she found her luggage, she started to look around for a sign with her name on it. That’s not exactly what she found. Instead, she spotted a cowboy hat, and when she read the sign he held, it was not her name but instead it just said ‘photographer’.

  She began to laugh and walked up to the man in the hat. “I think that’s Me.” she said still giggling.

  The man holding the sign started to laugh too, “Sorry,” he said, “Boss didn’t tell me what your name was.”

  “That’s okay,” she stuck out her hand, “I’m Shania Matthews.”

  He grabbed her hand and shook, “Liam Turner.”

  “It’s a pleasure.” She smiled up at him.

  Liam was very tall, taller than her father for sure and if she had to guess she would say he was close to thirty. His skin was dark from working outside in the Texas heat, and he had great muscle tone. His teeth were very white against his tan skin, and his eyes were a pale brown. There were small wrinkles around them which made her think that he must smile a lot. She like Liam right away and was surprisingly relieved.

  He took her bags from her and started to walk towards the exit. They got outside and he led her to a giant brown truck. So typical of a rancher, she thought to herself and giggled again. Liam helped her in to the passenger side, it was very high off the ground, and he left the airport.

  The drive to the ranch was about an hour, and she stared out the window the whole way. She had never been out of New York before so this was all new. She saw a lot of fields, some with cows, and some with horses. They went past entrances to other ranches, and when the road turned from pavement to gravel, she saw some men riding along the road.

  Liam chatted with her the whole way home, telling her facts about the ranch. The name was Sunset Ranch. He told her the story of how it was started; it was named after a horse. The ranch is run by the son of the founder, his father retired a few years ago.