“Don’t forget Paul. He’ll probably take them to watch a teenager give birth and scare the hell out of them.”
“Ah, you’ve got the best family.”
***
Every year in July the Gallatin County Fair is held at the Fairgrounds, a few blocks north of Main. Contests gave blue ribbons in all kinds of categories. Horses, cows, chickens, rabbits, sheep, pigs. Quilts, pies and jams. Displays for each category were spread across various buildings of the Fairgrounds. The buildings reminded me of the old National Guard stations, built decades ago with vintage drab gray sheet metal siding. They were all shaped the same, long and narrow. Some were specifically for animals with pens running the length of the building in four long rows with two aisles to walk. The floors were dirt. The smells were intense and bad. In the chicken and rabbit building, it was also incredibly dusty and hot with feathers, fur and shavings in the air.
Ranch life and town life mingled for the week. It seemed that night we joined everyone in the entire county. And maybe some from the next. Wranglers blended with Carhartts. Baseball hats and Stetsons. I dressed somewhere in the middle with jeans and sneakers with a pink tank top. The dust kicked up with your every step so I learned the hard way years ago to skip flip-flops or sandals. Your feet got filthy dirty and covered in all kinds of animal poop bits. I had a serious thing about animal poop.
The sun tilted over the Tobacco Roots, the evening still warm. I had my hair up in a ponytail to keep my neck cool. I’d joined Goldie, Paul and the boys at seven after the heat of the day had passed and the boys had burned off most of their energy on rides. We had a little time to kill before the derby.
I kissed everyone and we started our meandering, checking out the animals. “I want to see the cows,” Bobby said. “Some kids get to have one as a pet. I want one, too.”
“Those are farm kids with lots of land. Where would you put your cow?” Goldie asked.
“In the back yard.”
“There’d be lots of cow poop. Everywhere!” Zach added.
I didn’t want to share with Bobby what happened to the ‘pets’ once they grew big enough to eat so I decided to distract. “Let’s go check out the horse auction.” I pointed to the building nearest us.
“Yeah!”
The boys ran ahead, Goldie following as best she could in her gold toned pumps. They didn’t go well with the dust and uneven ground, but they definitely matched her black Capri pants and tank top that had been attacked by the Bedazzler.
“I delivered Joann Jastrebski’s baby yesterday. A boy,” Paul said. I’d been friends with Joann in college and kept in touch through Facebook and every once in awhile saw her around town.
“That’s great.” I was excited for other people to have babies, but it had been a hard time for me when I had Bobby. A three year old and a newborn without a dad. By that point Nate lived in Hamburg and a few months away from being dead. But even with the joy of a new baby, I had been heartbroken for what could have been.
Paul touched my shoulder and gave me a smile. A knowing one. What I liked most about him was his ability to understand, to have an entire conversation with just a brief touch or eye contact. He, too, remembered what his son had done to me.
The horse auction was in full swing when we took our seats on the bleachers. The stands circled the room and looked down on a center ring with a packed dirt floor. Plenty of people were there to buy, sell or just watch the action. Obviously, I had no plans to buy a horse so I fell under the ‘watch’ category. After my unusual and graphic lesson the day before I’d seen more horses in two days than I had in my entire life.
Horse sex didn’t appear to be the main attraction, at least. In fact, it all looked fairly boring. Someone rode a horse around the pen, slow and fast, for those interested in buying to see what they’d get while the auctioneer did his fast talking routine. I couldn’t tell what made one horse better than another but they seemed to sell for all kinds of prices. From several hundred dollars on up. Paul took the boys to stand down at the fence for a close-up view. Zach and Bobby stood on the bottom fence rail and Paul stood between them as they talked and pointed at various things.
Goldie and I sat quietly and watched first one horse, then another go up for sale. As the third horse came in, the announcer called, “This quarter horse is from the Rocking Double D ranch.” My stomach lurched when I saw Drake Dexter ride his horse around the ring. He was definitely at home in a saddle, that’s for sure. He wore jeans and boots and the same hat from the other day. Today’s shirt was navy blue and the sleeves were rolled up to show his strong, tan forearms. Out of all the people in the audience he had to hone in on me as if he had some kind of weird ESP-type skill. His eyes met mine and he tipped his hat, old fashioned style.
“Well, well,” Goldie said, looking the man over.
“That’s Drake Dexter.”
“That’s one handsome cowboy. He melts my butter.”
I had to admit he was handsome, but butter? He more like curdled my milk. But looks were only skin deep. When he opened his mouth, the man gave me the creeps.
I wasn’t paying any attention to the auction. My thoughts drifted to Dex and our first, very weird meeting.
“Sold!” the announcer shouted over the loudspeaker. Dex guided his horse over to the fence and lifted his arm in a casual wave to me.
“He wants to talk to you. Mmm, mmm. Go on down. Talk to the man. Maybe I’ll send him a box of goodies.”
“I have a feeling he already has a goodie drawer,” I told her. Probably an entire goodie room, like say, a dungeon.
I smiled, admittedly weak, as I carefully stepped down from the bleachers and approached Dex.
“Hello,” he said. “You look nice in pink.” He stared at my tank top which meant he was taking in the cleavage. Being large-chested, I tried to buy the most modest tank style I could find with a higher scoop neckline than most, but when a man sat atop a horse he could see right down to your belly button.
“Um, hi.” I crossed my arms over my chest and realized too late that only made things worse. I hadn’t learned from the last time with Ty. Did I look as awkward as I felt?
“I’m surprised to see you here.”
“I’m with my family.”
He handed the reins to a man who’d joined us at the rail. Dex climbed down and the man and horse walked off. Dex put his forearms on the top bar and leaned in. I could smell some kind of spicy aftershave, which I had to admit, smelled nice. He held a short riding crop in his hands. I hadn’t noticed it before.
“I didn’t realize you whip your horses.”
Dex looked at the whip. “Sometimes they need a little gentle prodding.”
“Ah.” I didn’t know what else to say. This was one uncomfortable conversation and it had only just started. I wasn’t a fan of hurting animals…or people.
He leaned in and almost whispered in my ear. “A crop can be used for pleasure, too. If you’re interested.” His aftershave was stronger, almost cloying, once I processed his words.
I turned to Goldie and gave her a look. I darted my eyes from her to Dex and told her via female telepathy that I needed rescuing.
“Interested?” I feigned ignorance once I turned back to face Dex.
He smiled, his teeth super white against his tanned skin.
“If a woman is unsure of what she wants, a little redirection can help.” He slapped the crop gently into his palm.
“You mean what you want.”
He gave a quiet laugh, his breath warm against my face.
“A man knows what’s best and it’s important for a woman to remember that.”
“So you beat her into submission?”
Dex tsked me. “Submission, yes. Beating? No. Punishment for forgetting her place.”
And there you had it.
“Hello,” Goldie said. Finally. She took her sweet ass time to get over here. She held out her hand daintily.
Dex smiled at Goldie and shook hands. “Drake Dexte
r.”
“This is Goldie, my mother-in-law,” I said in way of introduction. We weren’t lingering, so I didn’t think last names were necessary.
“Pleasure,” Dex replied, his voice deep and rich, eyes penetrating on Goldie. It was obvious to me he could suck a woman in with his gazer beam. Hopefully Goldie had her force fields up.
“That’s a lovely horse you rode.”
“Thank you.”
I wanted this conversation over so I moved things along. “Dex was telling me the various uses for a riding crop.”
Goldie lifted an eyebrow. “Oh?” She looked to Dex and the crop in his hand.
“Sometimes a mare needs a little help remembering where I want to go.”
I gave Goldie a pointed look, hoping she’d read between the lines. She was always quick on the pick-up.
“You’re absolutely right. It’s important to keep your horse in line. If they get out of hand, they’ll nip you in the butt.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise. It amazed me both could speak double entendre. Or were they? I couldn’t keep up. I obviously wasn’t as skilled.
“A woman after my own heart. You’ve experienced this yourself?”
Goldie patted Dex’s hand with her manicured one. “Honey, I’m old enough to have experienced everything. Oh look, Paul’s ready with the boys to go to the derby. It was nice meeting you.”
“Bye,” I said to Dex, past ready to flee.
I turned to follow Goldie but Dex grabbed my wrist, kept me in place. His hand was warm against my skin and I felt the roughness of calluses. Goose bumps popped out on my arms. I looked up into his dark eyes. Deep and intense. Yup, gazer beams. “You know where to find me when you’re ready.” He let go of my wrist and slapped the crop against his palm again.
Thwack. That broke the stare. I mumbled something unintelligible and scooted off.
Once outside, Goldie stopped me, letting the boys go on ahead. “That is one handsome piece of man. Mmm, mmm.”
“Uh, yeah.” He was handsome, but that was as far as it went.
“And he’s very interested in you. Should I send him a care package, too?”
“Only if it includes whips and chains,” I grumbled.
Goldie nodded. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so glad you’re willing to try new things, but isn’t that a little out of your element?”
“If I threw a fit about anal beads, do you think I’d go for bondage?” I asked.
“Good point. That man screams Dom. But, you might be able to tell him your limits up front. You know, no painful punishment but you’d be interested in being a sub. Following his commands. It can be quite liberating.”
How the hell did she know that? I had split second visions of Paul wielding a riding crop and Goldie submitting and I shuddered, forcing my thoughts elsewhere. Happy place, go to a happy place! I didn’t want to go there. Ever. Besides, I wasn’t going to submit to anyone. As if I hadn’t given enough control of my life over to Nate to have it yanked out from under me when he’d cheated.
“No way.”
Goldie nodded her head. “You’re right. You need sex, honey, badly. But not that bad. I’ll get you the fanciest vibrator out there to use until you find the right man.”
“Great. Thanks.” It was better to go along than to argue. Maybe she’d forget. Doubtful.
She gave me a hard look. “You weren’t seriously considering that man to scratch your itch, were you?”
“Only if I up my insurance premium first.”
Goldie kissed my cheek. “All right then. What about Ty? I thought there was something there.”
I briefly told her about how he’d reacted at the convenience store and whatever spark there’d been was gone now.
“Ty Strickland cares about you. It’s obvious. He wouldn’t have walked away otherwise.”
My thoughts exactly.
“He just needs a little nudge.”
“Not another box,” I groaned.
Engines started to rev. Applause carried out of the arena.
“Competition,” Goldie replied. “His testosterone level’s through the roof. It’s okay for him to walk away from you but I can guarantee he’s not going to be happy about some other guy filling his spot.”
“You mean make him jealous?”
She pointed her finger at me like a gun and fired. “I knew you were the smart one.”
We handed our tickets over for the derby and looked for the boys. “And Little Missy, you need to tell me how you got to calling Drake Dexter by his nickname, Dex, if you aren’t performing sexual services for him.”
Shoot. Nothing got by that woman. “If I was performing sexual services for Dex I’d be calling him Master.”
“Don’t distract me from the original point by making sense.”
Chapter Nine
“Wow! Look at that car upside down!” shouted Zach.
We were all into the crash and burn portion of the derby. Cars were mangled on the mud track, some with steam coming out of their radiators, two cars stuck together in a T-bone gunning their engines, wheels spinning in the mud with the hope of separating. The latest excitement was a car pushed up a berm and flipped onto its top. It slowly came to a standstill after spinning around in circles twice.
“Cool!” Bobby added.
Goldie, Paul and I sat with little yellow foam earplugs sticking out of our ears, the boys with the large earmuff style to muffle the unbelievably loud engine noise.
The arena was an outdoor venue, rectangular shaped and open to the elements. No roof. Similar to a high school football stadium. It was used for anything from rodeos to demolition derbies. No restrooms, no food vendors. That was all outside the arena, part of the fairgrounds. Running down the long sides of the event area were the stands, all concrete steps and wood bench-style seats. Room enough for about three hundred. We sat most of the way up the stands so the boys had a good view. Couldn’t miss any action. I could see the sun setting on the GallatinMountains from our seat.
Zach and Bobby held red and white striped bags of popcorn. I had the super sized soda to wash it all down, which was now only half full. The smells of animal, mud and buttered popcorn mingled in the evening air.
I was mentally betting how long it would take for the boys to need the bathroom. I swear they had bladders the size of walnuts. It was a haul to get there. You had to leave the stands, go outside the arena and over to the small, squat buildings that served as restrooms. They’d miss all the demolishing. So would I.
Goldie caught my attention by giving me a little finger wave, and then tilted her head to the right and down a few rows. I followed her gaze and saw Ty and the Colonel. Both wore white shirts—the Colonel’s had a collar—and the similar close cut hair. Based on the smiles on their faces they, too, were enjoying the smash-up. Even from my side view of Ty, I felt that excitement, that zing course through my blood and travel to all the important sexual places on my body.
Damn small town life. If the man wanted to avoid me, why would he show up exactly where I was? The state was six hundred miles wide. Couldn’t he be somewhere, anywhere else? It wasn’t fair for me to have the zing if he didn’t have it, too. Equal opportunity zing.
Goldie did a couple weird gestures with her head and eyes which I translated to be: Here’s your opportunity. Make the man jealous!
But how? Where I sat—high up in the stands—no man was going to turn around and look my way, let alone flirt with me while cars rammed each other in the mud. It was a demolition derby! Hell, I could walk around stark naked and all a guy would see is big tires flinging mud. There was no separating men from their machines.
Fine, I’d trek to the ladies room while I contemplated my first move in Operation Make-Him-Jealous. Goldie would think I had a plan. It would give me at least ten minutes to come up with one. If there was no line, otherwise it might be longer.
The boys were mesmerized by the carnage before them. Zach had forgotten the popcorn that was halfway to his mouth. After I
gestured to the ladies room and Goldie nodded in understanding, I handed her the soda and maneuvered down the stands and out of the arena.
I took the east exit, away from the fair. The ground was packed dirt, the air cool as the stands blocked the sun. Not many people milled around. All were either at the fair or at the derby.
“Jane!”
I turned.
Ty.
“Hi,” I said, nervous. He looked really good up close. I could see some dark blond stubble on his chin and I wondered what it would feel like against my skin. The underside of my breasts, my stomach, the inside of my…stop! I felt my face flush.
“Yeah, hi.” Ty stared at me. Looked at my mouth. Looked at the ground. Looked at me. He leaned in.
He was going to kiss me!
He lifted his hands to hold my head. To pull it from the ponytail and run his fingers through the silky tresses. Yes!
Or, he lifted his hands to pull the little ear plugs from my ears. Crap. I held out my hand and stuffed them embarrassingly in my jeans pockets. “Thanks,” I grumbled.
“So, that guy from the auction.”
Holy crap. Goldie was right. Replace First Guy with Second Guy and First Guy would be jealous. Regardless of the fact that Second Guy was way too kinky to be cool. That didn’t matter. The fact that he had a penis was enough to make Ty strut around like a rooster.
“What about him?” I tried to sound nonchalant. I wasn’t very good at it, so hopefully I seemed way more confident in my feminine wiles than I felt.
“He looked at you like you were a piece of meat.” Ty didn’t need glasses, that’s for sure. To Dex, I was nothing more than an object. “I swear I saw him wipe drool.”
“And?”
Ty ran a hand through his hair. “And! Jesus, Jane.”
I wouldn’t put the man out of his misery. He had to come to me. “What are you doing here?” I lifted my hand in an all-encompassing gesture. “You walked away from me the other day at the convenience store. Said I’m a…what was it? Oh, right, a ‘magnet for disaster’. You have no say in who I see or what I do.”
Ty didn’t like being told off. His jaw clenched tight and his face reddened. Clearly, he was angry, although I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or himself for being such a dumbass.
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