by Reeni Austin
"Okay." She narrowed her eyes at him, confused. "And this also has something to do with those potholes you're getting the ranch hands to fill in before Isaac's birthday party? I heard Victor talking about it the other day…"
"Yes." He nodded. "And the fences. And the landscaping." Grunting, he stared out the window as he said, "Henry put way too much value on that mess. I mean, I realize it's good to keep your house in shape but he went overboard. I keep the important stuff maintained. Enough that I can pass an insurance inspection." He snorted, then his eyes went to Marcy. "None of that stuff matters to me and I never understood why it mattered to Henry. Keep it simple. That's what I say." His eyes rolled. "What's the point of that damn pond anyway? Ducks are stupid. When I feel good and ready I'm gonna have Santos fill it up with dirt instead of water. And instead of mending some of those pretty fences near the house I'm gonna have the boys tear 'em all down. They serve no useful purpose." He shrugged. "No one'll ever miss 'em. Except Henry."
"Okay. So, why the secrecy? Why do you always bring up Victor and act all weird about it?"
Ramon huffed. "He's nosy, that's why. And I hate nosy."
Marcy wasn't sure what to believe. She sensed no dishonesty from him, but something didn't add up. It seemed like he believed what he said, but he was still holding something back.
He shrugged. "So? Is that a good enough answer?"
"Yeah."
"Okay." He picked up the menu again.
She held her menu in front of her face and stole a glance over it every few seconds. He was now reading silently, like his mood had turned sad.
And that sadness tugged at Marcy's heartstrings. Her intuition told her his gruffness was a facade for that unhappiness. It explained why he lived the way he did. Why he got lonely enough to pick up strange women in bars, and harbored so much unexplained anger toward Henry. And toward Victor for trying to meddle in his business. There was definitely an underlying sorrow in all of Ramon's actions, and it resonated with her.
A few minutes earlier, when he touched her leg in the car, she imagined herself naked and in bed with him. But now, all she could imagine was throwing her arms around him and giving him comfort… if he wanted it.
Ramon suddenly lowered his menu, his eyebrows lifted. "You all right? You look like something's wrong."
Marcy grinned. "I'm fine. I think I'm gonna have the pot roast."
He nodded. "Good choice." He sighed and said, "You hate it here, don't you?"
"No. It's not my usual type of place but the people seem nice and the food smells good."
A warm smile spread across his face as he looked in her eyes.
She looked back at him, returning his smile. A few seconds later she felt his shoe gently nudging hers under the table. She slipped one foot out of her sandal and slid it against his bare ankle.
He puckered his lips and kissed at her across the table.
She shuddered, her body tingling in every possible way.
The waitress came back moments later to take their order. They were in the restaurant for another hour and a half. When they weren't talking to each other, Ramon spoke to one of the many people he knew. When asked who Marcy was, he hesitated longer each time before half-heartedly muttering, "She's my live-in maid."
After dinner they were in the car with full stomachs, heading back to the ranch.
Ramon said, "Sorry if you were bored stiff in there."
"No, I wasn't bored."
"Well, I wouldn't blame you if you were. I haven't seen a lot of those guys in a while. Don't usually talk so much."
"So, that's really one of your favorite places to eat?"
"Yeah."
"Do you ever go anywhere with a," she cleared her throat, "less geriatric crowd?"
He laughed. "Yeah, but I felt like going there tonight. Thanks for letting me drag you along."
"I didn't feel dragged. It was nice having dinner with you."
In a soft voice, he kept his eyes fixed on the road and said, "Good. I like having you with me."
She waited for him to glance over, but he didn't. "It's certainly been 'get to know Ramon day' for me. And it's been nice."
Ramon blinked a few times, then gave her a quick look before turning his attention back to the road. A few moments later, he took his hand from the gear shift and cupped the inside of her thigh, right above her knee.
Marcy inhaled sharply at the sudden feel of his rough fingers. Her heart pounded like thunder, her thoughts instantly swirling into a fantasy of him ripping her clothes off and ravishing her naked body in the back seat.
He kept his hand there as he drove, only moving it when he had to shift gears. But he didn't look at her. She hoped it was his silent way of showing how he felt. And she knew her feelings were stronger than they should've been. But tonight, she saw a vulnerability she hadn't seen in him before. An openness, even when he was trying to hide. And he didn't even realize it.
She had never known anyone as real as him. He was honest, intense, unrefined… but at the same time, irresistibly sweet.
Marcy took a deep breath and reveled in the tender way his fingers curled into her flesh.
She wasn't ready to call it "love," but she knew her life would never be the same after Ramon Barboza.
* * *
When they arrived at the ranch, Ramon drove past the house and through a field, then came to a stop and unfastened his seatbelt.
Marcy unfastened hers too, her heart thudding with anticipation. Hopefully he would tell her they could skip the tour of the ranch and go to her room. She was just about to tell him so when he turned to her with an impatient look in his eyes that made her melt.
And suddenly Ramon reached forward and wove his fingers into her hair at the base of her scalp, pulling her close, locking his lips against hers.
Marcy heaved against him with her entire body, feeling like she'd waited a million years for this kiss. She instantly lost herself in the warmth of his breath, his lips. His smooth tongue running measured circles around hers.
She threw her arms around his back and under his shirt, grabbing him with all her might.
He moaned into her mouth when he felt her nails against his skin, and his kiss became more aggressive. But a few moments later he pulled away, panting.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing." Shaking his head, Ramon wiped his mouth with his hand and stared out the windshield. "You distract me too much, baby doll." Then he reached for the door handle.
They hopped out of the car and Ramon opened the trunk to get Marcy's new shoes. When he reached into the bag, she was surprised to see him pluck out a pair of white socks, which he handed to her.
"Did you buy these?" she asked. "I didn't see if it you did."
"Yeah." He shrugged. "You don't wanna wear boots with bare feet, do you?"
Marcy took a breath to push down the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. She'd been too swept up in thoughts of him to remember to bring socks, and the fact that he thought of it on his own touched her in a way she didn't expect. Maybe Ramon wasn't the sort of guy to show his feelings in big, sweeping gestures. Maybe he'd show them in the small, unexpected details, catching her off guard at the strangest moments.
Maybe he'd make a great husband. The thought made Marcy lightheaded for a second.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah… sure…" she answered weakly.
He opened the back door. "Here, sit. Let me help you."
Dazed, Marcy sat as Ramon knelt down to remove her sandals. His hands were gentle, his touch making her breath go shallow and her body tighten with longing. But he flashed her a wry grin and tickled the bottom of her foot when he stretched the sock over her toes, breaking some of her tension.
When he finished, he helped her to her feet and shoved the back door closed. He then stretched an arm around her back and started toward the pasture.
Hesitant, Marcy said, "So, we're really doing this, huh?" She tried to keep her tone casual, not w
anting to insult him. But a smelly ranch on a Saturday night could certainly put a damper on their pleasant date. At least the temperature was comfortable, and not too hot and sticky for walking around.
"Yes. Don't worry, it'll be quick." He squeezed her tight as they walked. "But there's something I gotta tell you. I wanna take you up on your offer of helping with my bookkeeping. That is, if the offer's still there."
"Yes! Absolutely!" Marcy sank against him in a hug. "Anything to keep you from working so much."
Sounding relieved, he said, "Good. Hopefully it won't be too bad. That's one of the reasons I wanna show you around. Get you a little familiar with how we do things. I think it'll help you on Monday." He paused. "Wait. Is Monday okay? Is it too soon?"
"No, Monday's fine, as long as Victor's okay with it."
"I'll talk to him. The house looks pretty damn clean to me. Can't imagine he'd have a problem letting me borrow you."
Marcy groaned. "Does this mean I need to get up at three-thirty on Monday morning?"
With a sad sigh, he pulled away and looked down into her eyes. "I can let you sleep till four if it'll help."
"No… I'll be okay…"
"You can sleep in my truck on the way there, if you want."
Marcy groaned again, thinking about that gigantic truck. "Three-thirty is fine," she said. "As long as there's coffee."
He nodded. "There'll be plenty. I need you alert for this."
"For what? It's mostly just invoices, right?"
Ramon pulled her close to his side as they walked slowly through the field. "Yeah, but I may need you to go through the ledger and make sure nothing looks weird. Balance sheet accounts, mostly, like the payroll withholdings. Reconcile some bank statements. Stuff like that."
"Okay. Who does all that stuff for you, now?"
"Me."
"Really? Why haven't you hired someone?"
With a casual shrug, he said, "No need. I can do it. I take it to an accountant every quarter and they keep it all straight."
"So, you enter your own invoices? Print your own checks?" She raised an eyebrow. "Put those checks in the mail? You? The guy who owns the company?"
"Doesn't take that long. I'm very organized."
She chuckled, patting his chest. "Okay. Now I understand why you're so busy all the time. You're one of those anal retentive micromanager types."
He took a deep breath. "No, I'm not. I've been doin' this for years. Since high school."
"What?" Marcy looked up at him.
Nodding, he said, "Yeah. See, in high school they made me take a bus to another school for these special classes. I picked accounting and business." He groaned. "Like I was gonna take literature. Bunch offuckin' morons. Anyway—"
"Wait. You mean, they sent you to a vo-tech?"
Ramon huffed. "I wish. Those guys got to take welding." His eyebrows furrowed. "That's what I wanted to take. But no, it was some kinda candy-ass community college bullshit." Producing a long sigh, he looked at her and said, "Anyway, I took accounting in high school around the same time Henry fired the bookkeeper. Been doin' it ever since."
"Okay. But I think it's ridiculous that the owner of a company is doing his own bookkeeping."
"Well, whatever. It was fine till I bought the other ranches. That's when…" His voice trailed off. "Nevermind."
"No, that's when… what? Tell me. What am I getting myself into on Monday?"
Ramon sucked on his bottom lip for a moment, his eyes darting around the field. "It's kind of a mess. Or at least, it was until I bought the company. The accountants had to clean up the books before the bank would give me a loan to buy it. You shoulda seen the bill for that." His eyes widened, then rolled. "It's a lot better now but it's a lot to keep up with. Gotta get it all in better shape before I show it to Victor."
"Victor?"
"Uh-huh. He wants to help me."
"I thought you didn't want his help."
"Guess I changed my mind." He paused. "So, has Cara said anything to you about moving here?"
"Uh… not really."
He sighed, sadly. "Well, that figures."
"Why? Has Victor talked about moving here?"
"I shouldn't say."
"I won't tell her."
He smirked. "Yeah, right."
"No." Marcy shook her head, wishing she could tell him about the pregnancy and the fact that her best friend had been so moody, she wouldn't dare say anything to upset her right now. "Seriously. If you don't want me to say anything, I won't. To her or anyone else."
Ramon hesitated before saying, "All right. I'll put it like this. I think Victor would already be building a house here if he thought Cara would agree to move." His head slowly shook, his expression downcast. He stopped walking. "Do you think she'd wanna move here? Or does she hate me that much?"
Her voice laced with sympathy, she said, "I don't think she hates you. She… uh…" Marcy stammered for moment, thinking of a response, "doesn't know what to think of you." Laying her head against his chest, she said, "I'll put in a good word."
Ramon smiled. "Don't know how much it'll help, but thanks."
He took her hand and guided her past the trailer to a pasture where dozens of cows milled around. The smell didn't seem as overwhelming as it was yesterday, but Marcy tried not to breathe through her nose. She quickly deduced that all of the workers must have left for the day, but she didn't dare bring them up for fear of another argument. Aside from the smells, Marcy enjoyed the tour. And she quickly understood why Ramon was insistent about her boots. The ground was spotted with random patches of mud.
Ramon stopped to point out equipment and machinery as they headed past chutes and calving pens to a fence with a few horses grazing behind it.
"You have horses?" Marcy asked, gazing at the beautiful animals who seemed to be gazing back at her.
"Yeah. Just these few. You didn't know that? Isaac talks about 'em all the time."
"Maybe I wasn't paying attention. What do you use them for?"
"Moving the cattle around."
"Oh." She nodded, thinking about movies she'd watched with her grandma when she was a child. "You mean, like, in those John Wayne movies?"
Ramon chuckled. "Yeah, but on a much smaller scale. We just move from pasture to pasture." His eyes narrowed at her. "You like horses?"
She shrugged. "I think they're pretty but I've never been this close to them, except maybe at the circus once. Or a petting zoo."
"So, you've never been horseback riding? Even when you were a kid?"
"No. My grandma raised me and we didn't have much money. That would've required a special trip." She stared at a horse trotting toward them.
He peered at her, eyes wide. "You wanna ride one now?"
"Uh…" Marcy backed away as the horse stopped at the fence, then snorted. "I don't know. They seem so intimidating in person."
"Nah, don't let her scare ya." Ramon reached over the fence, rubbing the horse's forehead. "This is Dusty. She's friendly, but she's probably jealous I got a girl with me." He turned to Marcy, winking. "Seriously, if you wanna ride, let me know."
Nodding shyly, Marcy said, "Okay. Maybe some other time."
"All right." Ramon said goodbye to Dusty, then started toward a wooden shed with Marcy following along.
Inside the shed were three four-wheelers.
Ramon took keys from his pocket. "Do not tell Isaac about this. He's been beggin' to ride one but…" He sighed. "Talk about makin' Cara hate me."
She nodded. "I understand."
Ramon hoisted his leg across the vehicle, settling into driving position. "Get on. There's plenty of room."
"Don't we need helmets?"
He scoffed. "City girl. Don't worry, we're not gonna go that fast."
Marcy eyed the seat and, with Ramon's help, got into place behind him.
He reached back for her hands, then pulled her arms around his waist.
"Mmm." Marcy squeezed him tight, her cheek smashed against his back. So far,
this was her favorite part of the tour.
He started the vehicle, and soon they were riding through the fields, past cows, equipment, beautiful meadows. Occasionally he stopped to explain something, but they stayed on the four-wheeler. Marcy was scared when they came to a pen where a new bull, Otis, snorted and grunted, butting his horns against the metal bars confining him. Ramon told her not to worry, he was probably spooked by the four-wheeler and he wasn't usually that angry. But Marcy's heart pounded fiercely through Ramon's basic explanation of calving season, including why he preferred the "old-fashioned way" of breeding as opposed to artificially inseminating his cattle. She slumped against him in relief when they finally zoomed away.
Their next and final stop was another shed near the trailer, where Ramon parked the four-wheeler.
"I hope that wasn't too boring," he said as he locked the shed.
"No." Marcy shook her head. "It was interesting. A little scary, but it was actually kinda fun."
"Good." His face lit up. Taking her hand, he headed toward the trailer.
"I can see why you enjoy it so much," she said. "There's so much going on. Animals. Cows getting pregnant. And you get to ride horses and four-wheelers all day."
Ramon laughed. "Yeah." Then his face got serious. "Wish I didn't have to spend so much time in the office. That's the only thing I hate about it." His eyes rolled. "I never understood why my brothers wanted outta here."
Marcy grinned. "We gotta figure out a way for you to stay outta that office and spend more time outside. I still don't understand why you haven't already hired someone to help you."
Sighing, he said, "I know. Guess I have a hard time trusting people to do the job right. It really wasn't that bad until I bought those other ranches. It was manageable. But now…"
"I understand." Marcy squeezed his hand, her heart racing. "It means a lot that you'd trust me to help you."
Their eyes locked, their pace slowing. The answer to Ramon's problems was right there, staring them in the face. Marcy could move there permanently and take care of all those administrative tasks that prevented him from enjoying his job. Was he thinking it too?