Reunited with the Bull Rider

by Christine Wenger

  Reed took Billy’s hand. “Come on with us, Callie.”

  He indicated to the teacher that Billy was going to be with him. They walked to the barn and looked at the horses in the corral.

  “They’re beauties,” Billy said.

  “Yep. They are. But, Billy, do you remember Big Dan telling you how this ranch was nothing? It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears and lots and lots of years to get it the way it is.” He turned to her, “Right, Callie?”

  Callie nodded. “You are absolutely right, but things don’t always go as planned. It’s not your father’s fault, Billy. It’s not anyone’s fault.”

  Reed turned to the little boy. “Billy, I’m going to talk to your father and see if there’s anything I can do to help. How’s that?”

  Butterflies settled in Callie’s stomach. Reed couldn’t be any sweeter if he tried.

  He turned to her and whispered, “Callie, can you help me find out what I can do to assist Billy’s family?”

  She didn’t have to make a note in her notebook; she’d remember what Reed asked, and she’d clear her calendar to help out the Watersons with Reed.

  As they stood in line later for hot dogs, Callie couldn’t stop thinking about Reed. She knew he was one of the good guys, but to watch him with little Billy... Well, Reed melted her heart.

  Then Reed, Callie and little Billy walked over to watch the Cowhand Band. They sat in the front row, and Callie could almost imagine that they were a family. That’s what she’d always wanted; that’s what she’d probably lost in not marrying Reed when he’d asked her all those years ago.

  Reed was about to take Callie’s hand, but changed his mind. “This is nice, isn’t it, Callie? I hope you’re not thinking about work.”

  “I haven’t thought about work in at least five minutes.”

  “Aren’t they great?” He nodded to the quartet.

  Reed’s good foot was tapping and soon everyone was clapping along.

  The quartet started a song about trains and had the kids doing all kinds of train sounds. Reed and Big Dan stood, directing the crowd.

  Reed loved a good time, and when she was with him, she was guaranteed one, too.

  After that, the kids toured the historic house on their way to their buses and their class trip was over. The singing cowboys and the construction crews went back to work, and so did Callie.

  Out the big picture windows, she could see Reed talking to some of the hands. She saw him motion in the direction of the Waterson ranch.

  She knew that Reed was going to follow through on his promise to Billy, and Callie wouldn’t be surprised if it happened soon.

  Callie herself called the county clerk and the tax department. She found that the property was in debt, but not all that much.

  She had a little bit of money put away; she’d be glad to help out the Watersons.

  When Reed came back in, she told him what she’d discovered.

  Reed took his checkbook out of his pocket, wrote out a check for the back taxes and another one to get the mortgage up-to-date. While he was writing, Callie wrote out one for a couple of future mortgage payments.

  “Callie? What are—”

  “If you can help, I can help out, too,” she said.

  He grinned. “I’m going to kiss you, you know. Right here, right now.”

  “Reed... I, um...”

  His lips were soft and yet firm. At first, his touch was playful, then he pulled her close, and Callie found herself grasping his shirt and pulling him closer still. She couldn’t get enough of Reed, in spite of her resolve to keep her distance.

  “Well, what have we here?” Big Dan walked into the room, grinning. Another man was behind him... Her father.

  “I think we have a romance going on here, Dan.”

  “I think you’re right, Melvin. We might be in-laws in the future.”

  Her father looked around the study. “Let’s drink on that. I’m buying.”

  “Father! Don’t be ridiculous!” Callie snapped. It was just like him to be that inconsiderate of Big Dan’s alcohol problem.

  Dan held up his hand. “Callie, I can handle this.” He turned to Melvin. “Melvin, my drinking days are over. I’ve been rediscovering what I’d lost—my boys. Know what I mean? At our age, family is what unites us.”

  “Is that right?” her father said, turning to Callie. “Someone should tell that to my daughter.”

  “Father, what are you doing here?”

  “Just getting reacquainted with my old friend Dan.”

  Callie turned to Reed and raised an eyebrow. “Okay, everyone. I need to get back to work. Do you mind leaving the room?”

  Her father puffed out his chest. “That’s my Callie. She’s always so serious.”

  Callie sat quietly after they left, getting her bearings. Her father’s mere presence always upset her. Being here at the Beaumont Ranch with Reed was like a sanctuary, and her father had intruded on that.

  Or maybe she was just playing house by being here, imagining that she was the grand lady of the historic home.

  No. She was working. And so what if she was? She was just doing her job.

  She checked her notebook. There was a meeting of the reunion/graduation committee this evening. She’d work up until the time the meeting started, and would go right from the ranch to Al’s, where they were going to meet.

  An hour later, as Callie was deep into her work, Reed entered the office.

  “Callie, how about dinner with me tonight before the committee meeting?”

  “As long as it’s not a date.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. Yes. Yes, it’s going to be a date. Now, would you like to join me for dinner tonight? How about five o’clock? We’ll go wherever you’d like.”

  “How about the Beaumont Diner? I haven’t been there in a while.”

  “Perfect. I’ll be back to pick you up, so to speak.”

  She checked her watch. Two hours before her “date” with Reed.

  She couldn’t wait.

  * * *

  “I’M HERE TO pick you up, Callie.”

  “Already?” Bleary-eyed, she turned away from her laptop, and turned to Reed. “I’ve forgotten the time. I’m sorry.”

  He was all spiffed up to go out. His plain white shirt had a creases down the arms so perfect that she could cut herself. His black jeans were tight in all the right places, and his boots, made of some kind of reptile, looked ready to dance the night away. His jet-black hair was still partially wet, as if he just stepped out of the shower.

  She needed some time to freshen up, but what she was wearing would have to do. Actually, she was probably overdressed for the diner.

  “If you’d like to freshen up, you can use the bathroom in my room,” Reed said, but she was already making her way down the hall.

  She splashed water on her face in the huge bathroom. It was full of fabulous paintings of the west. Fun paintings. They stopped short of a velvet Elvis or dogs playing poker, but she enjoyed them.

  They reflected the fun side of Reed.

  She dried her face and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were a little bloodshot, and if she didn’t have a meeting tonight, she’d just as soon get some sleep.

  She hadn’t slept last night, not really.

  She put on some makeup and yawned, and yawned until her eyes wouldn’t open. She fumbled her way to Reed’s bed, fell across it and started to snore.

  * * *

  REED WONDERED WHERE Callie had gone. As far as he knew, she was just going to freshen up and then she’d be ready. Actually, Callie was a natural beauty who didn’t need any makeup.

  He waited ten minutes longer and began to worry. He crutched his way to his room and heard a motor running.

  No. It was Callie making all that noise. His first love. She w
as snoring like a racehorse.

  She was flopped sideways on his bed. Balancing himself, he pulled her boots off and tried to straighten her. With a couple of grunts, she straightened herself.

  He took one of the colorful blankets from a rack and covered her. Then he pushed the hair from her face, bent over and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “For my sleeping beauty,” he said. “Judging by your snoring, it seems like we’re not going to have a date, after all.”

  He’d call the head of the committee to tell her that they wouldn’t be able to make it and to send the meeting minutes to them. The event was only a month away, so they had to finalize their part and they needed to arrange it with the principal. They also had to contact some of their former classmates who were out of town. It wouldn’t be hard. Callie had a list that she’d kept current and everyone was on a LISTSERV. The school had a list of graduates, too, and they were on a LISTSERV. It would be easy to notify them of the reunion.

  In fact, Callie was so efficient, she’d probably sent an email already.

  Reed sat in one of his side chairs and watched Callie sleep. There were so many things that crossed his mind when he thought of her. Would they have had kids if they’d run off together?

  Were they even ready for children at age eighteen when they were mere kids themselves?

  Things had changed now—at least she’d agreed to go on a date with him—but it was hard to date Callie, especially when she was in a deep sleep.

  He smiled. What did that say for her being attracted to him?

  He had to do something to improve his game!

  He read a book while watching her sleep. When her hair fell on her cheek, he brushed it away. He was ever so vigilant until he fell asleep in the chair himself.

  “Reed? Reed, are you asleep?”

  He heard Callie’s voice as if she were far away. His eyes slowly opened. His book about animal husbandry slid to the floor.

  “What happened to me?” Callie asked. “Did I fall asleep?”

  “We both did.”

  “I’m sorry, Reed. I’ve never done that before. Shall we go to the...uh...Beaumont Diner now?”

  Reed checked his watch. “I doubt it, Callie. It’s past one in the morning.”

  “And we missed the committee meeting, too?”

  “Lucky us.”

  “I’d better get home,” she said.

  “Why not stay here for the night?”

  Callie sat up. “Because I have two brothers who’d fight you. They can’t seem to remember that I’m twenty-eight.”

  Reed laughed. “I can take them.”

  “I should go.”

  “It’s up to you, Callie. I can sleep on the couch. You’ll just have to turn around and come back here in the morning for work.”

  “No. My mother might be worried, and it’s too late to call her.”

  She stood to get up, tripped over his book and fell into his arms as he tried to catch her.

  They stood together in each other’s arms for several heartbeats. Slowly, Callie turned her head up to Reed, and studied his face, letting her index finger trace the lines of his jaw, his cheekbone.

  He held his breath, waiting, wondering what Callie was going to do next. She was like a little hummingbird that he didn’t want to scare off. He didn’t want to move for fear that she might stop.

  Her hands splayed against his chest, down his stomach then back again.

  “Don’t toy with me, Callie. I’m yours if you want me, but you’d better stop now if you’re teasing me.”

  She looked longingly into his blue eyes, now as turbulent as a storm. “It has been a long time, Reed.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Callie.”

  “I just want you to know,” she said. “But it’s probably like riding a bike, huh? Once you get it, you’ll never forget.”

  He smiled and lowered her to the bed, taking most of his weight off her.

  He grinned. “Anything else you’d like to say?”

  * * *

  “MAKE LOVE TO ME, REED. Just like you did on the riverbank when we were young.”

  “I will.”

  He undressed her button by button, and she shrugged out of her blouse. He undid the button on her jeans and she gasped, feeling his warm knuckles on her bare skin.

  He pushed up her bra and ran his fingertips over her breasts, teasing her nipples.

  “Let me get rid of it, Reed.” She shrugged out of the pink lace bra and let it drop to the floor.

  She liked the feel of her nipples against his shirt, but she wanted more. Tugging at his buttons, she quickly undid them, along with those on his cuffs, and pushed the shirt off him.

  In doing so, she uncovered a masterpiece. Running her fingertips down his hard body, she realized that the eighteen-year-old boy had turned into a man with hard muscle and sinew, a man with needs.

  She had needs, too.

  They quickly dispensed with the rest of their clothes, and Callie liked the feel of his weight on her.

  Their tongues danced; their bodies swayed.

  “Callie, wait. I’m sorry. I almost forgot.” He pulled open his nightstand.

  Watching Reed walk around nude was a treat. He really was quite a hunk, and she felt her blood boiling by just looking at his already thick erection.

  He opened a foil condom package with his teeth and rolled it down his hard length. When he was done, he returned to Callie’s open arms.

  They moved together, kissing, laughing, nibbling, until they were both ready.

  “Callie?”

  “I want you, Reed.”

  He entered her slowly, then waited. Moving her hips, she took him deep. Then he started to move. Slowly at first, then fast, faster. She met him thrust for thrust until he abruptly stopped and gritted his teeth.

  She realized that he was waiting for her to catch up. She moved her hips faster, and then he joined her, picking up the pace.

  And after that, they touched the stars, then fell back to earth together in each other’s arms and wondering if they’d ever have a future together.

  Chapter Twelve

  The sun shone on Callie’s face as she slowly awoke, but she couldn’t move.

  Looking down, she saw an arm across her waist. Looking up, she noticed that the arm was attached to Reed Beaumont.

  She moved it away, and Reed awoke. “What—”

  The clock on the wall said nine o’clock. “Oh, no! Your father and Matty Matthews are going to be here anytime now for the third graders. I don’t want them to see us in here together.”

  She elbowed Reed. “Get up, for heaven’s sake.”

  He mumbled. She got up, gathered her clothes from the floor and jumped into the shower. She turned it up as hot as she could stand it, then as cold.

  Reed and she made love three times last night. Three condoms, three times. She grinned as she remembered their night together. No one fit her better than Reed, not that she had much to compare him to. One of her exes had been saving himself for marriage, one had treated her like a breakable figurine and one had grunted like a mule.

  All three beat her to the breakup, even though she’d been going to part ways with them first. Still, it did nothing for her ego, the way they’d dumped her.

  She had to wear the same clothes this morning, wrinkled now, from her night of passion with Reed.

  Wrapping the towel around her wet hair, she went back into Reed’s room. He hadn’t moved. With boots in hand, she hurried out into the kitchen, where she quickly made coffee.

  She should have put her boots on first and brushed her hair because in walked Big Dan and Officer Matty Matthews.

  They took in her appearance.

  Big Dan raised a bushy white eyebrow. “Hello, Callie. Is my son up yet?”

  “Uh...
um, I don’t think so because he’s usually up making coffee before I get here.”

  Okay, that wasn’t a lie, just a simple statement of fact.

  “So you haven’t seen him this morning?” Big Dan asked, amusement teasing his lips.

  “Uh...well...”

  Reed padded into the room wearing a striped terry-cloth bathrobe and a smile that would light up New York City. “Good morning, Dad. Good morning, Matty. Isn’t it a glorious day?”

  Why didn’t he just wear a sign that said I Got Laid Last Night by Callie?

  The red heat of embarrassment climbed her neck and landed on her cheeks. How could he be so obnoxious?

  He leaned against the kitchen counter and actually whistled some frenzied tune as he made the coffee.

  Callie couldn’t take any more. She hurried into Reed’s bathroom, stuffed her feet into her boots and brushed her hair. She dreaded walking back out to the scrutiny of the three men, so she went into the den, turned the light on and sat at the desk.

  Later, Reed appeared with a cup of coffee and handed it to her. She would have kissed him for the coffee, if she wasn’t so mad at him.

  “Great night, Callie.”

  “Um, yes.” She fussed with papers on her desk so she wouldn’t have to look at him.

  “Something wrong?” He moved to try to get her to look at him.

  How could he be so inconsiderate of her feelings? How could he embarrass her so?

  “Do you think that your father and Matty know that we slept together?” she asked.

  He shrugged. “Maybe. Why?”

  “Because you embarrassed me, Reed.”

  He seemed genuinely puzzled. “How did I embarrass you?”

  “Acting so happy and chirpy.”

  “But you made me happy and chirpy.”

  He didn’t get it.

  “You are incorrigible!” she whispered between gritted teeth. “Now remove yourself and let me get to work.”

  “Callie, can we talk?”

  “Not the right time.”

  “When then?” He whistled again. That stupid, tuneless song. “I’ll leave, and come back when you’re in a better mood.”

  “Please do.”

  He finally left the room and she heard him talking with Big Dan and Matty—probably talking about how you just can’t please women, no how, no way.