“In the morning then,” he said, and his eyes were deep and shining under the orange neon light of the parking lot.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing the ranch” she replied, trying to sound nonchalant. “I can’t wait to see what you have,” she said, with an innocent smile.
“Bet you can’t,” Clare muttered under her breath from her seat in the vehicle, turning Lynette’s innocent comment into something salacious. On the other hand, for those of Freudian beliefs, this was no slip. Deep down inside, there was truth to the comment.
Blaze heard the quip. They laughed. He shut the door to the sedan and waved as they drove out of the parking lot and down Main Road toward the highway.
The ladies were quiet for a few blocks, then Lynette started that low, throaty, wicked, under-breath chortle that Clare recognized .
“Do you have any idea what just happened tonight?” she asked Clare.
Clare hesitated a bit then offered in a lighthearted way, “You know how you’re always referring to the Universe and how it works?” It was more a statement than a question. “Well girl, I think the Universe was on overdrive tonight,” she exclaimed with a sense of satisfaction and a hint of seriousness in her tone. “That’s a ni-i-i-c-e gentleman-rancher,” she said, referring to Aaron.
And that was a more-than-nice Indian, Lynette thought to herself. She was captivated by him – all of him. It was no one thing – it was everything about him. What she was sure about, if nothing else, was that she wanted to be with him tomorrow, and she wanted to be alone with him. She was painfully aware of the sexual tension between them, but it was more than that. There was a kinship with something deep within him. She liked the way he held her. He took nothing from her; instead he gave her something of himself, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. She wanted him, there was no deceiving herself. But more than that, she wanted to be with him. She already knew a lot about him; she intuited so much from what he said, how he moved, how he touched her. There was so much depth to him; he was clearly comfortable in his own skin and yet he was humble and unpretentious. Could something come of this accidental meeting? No, this was no accident. Lynette didn’t believe in accidents. Everything happens for a reason, she truly believed that.
Then that uneasy feeling returned. A man, this man, could make changes in her comfortable world. As she had said to her students many times, “people are not afraid of change. They are afraid of being changed!” She didn’t want to be changed. She had a good life. She wanted things to stay the way they were – but could they, if she let him into her world?
Why had this lovely man come into her world, she wondered? Maybe tomorrow would bring some answers. Contrary to the logical conversation she was having in her head, morning couldn’t come soon enough, till she could see him, be with him, again.
The two men didn’t talk much as they drove out the two lane highway toward the ranch.
“Nice, aren’t they?” Aaron said, obviously captivated by Clare. “Quite an interesting pair. Classy, pretty, smart and a hell of a lot of fun. So different but still a lot alike. And obviously the best of friends,” Aaron mused.
“Yeah,” Blaze answered.
He didn’t want to talk. He needed to think. Think about what was happening to him – what had happened this evening. He had met a woman who infiltrated his internal world and touched special places there. She was compelling like no woman he’d ever met. He felt close to her; he wanted to get closer to her, to crawl inside of her skin and feel everything she was feeling. He wanted to know everything she knew; experience everything she’d experienced. He wanted her to know him in the same way. He wanted her to stay close, yet she lived far away from Crystal Bend. She was special – a kind of specialness that only comes along a few times in life. Witty, wise, caring, eloquent even about something as simple as snow. What was this? What had she done to evoke this kind of primal response in him? It wasn’t her external looks alone, though she was quite lovely. She possessed a total beauty in the way she walked, talked, moved, touched him, knew him, listened to him, absorbed him. There was a controlled wildness about her that excited him. He was aware of how she inhaled him. He knew she was drawing him into her when she did. Was it that? Did he ingest her into himself also, knowing that her ethereal essence was what he’d longed for, for so long? Did it blend itself with his? Did it somehow make him feel safe, at ease, comfortable? He was conflicted and confused and he didn’t like that feeling. What if she left before he had the answers? She made it clear that there was a mutual longing. But for how long could he have her near him?
He closed his eyes, trying to feel Lynette’s body against his again. There was a hint of her perfume on the chest pocket of his shirt. He bent his head downward to inhale. There was an urgent need to adjust himself in his jeans. He laid his straw western hat over his lap.
CHAPTER 3
¤
Going to the Ranch
The doorbell at the condo rang just before 10 a.m. Clare ran down the stairs to answer, knowing it would be either Aaron or Blaze. She hoped it would be Aaron. He was punctual and that was a good thing.
“Good mornin’ pretty lady,” Aaron greeted Clare cheerfully.
“Come on up,” she said leading him up the eighteen steps to the first level of the condo.
“Get your exercise around here going up and down the steps, don’t you?” Aaron teased.
“Good for the thighs,” Clare quipped.
Aaron’s eyes immediately took notice of her slim thighs and long lean buttocks as he followed her up the stairs. At 5’6” Clare had remained a size 8 for most of her life. She was long-waisted, small breasted and very shapely. Breasts like hers stayed high and perky till the owner died! By any standard, she was pretty but she always thought of herself as rather plain. She wore her blonde hair fashionably short and her recent cut framed her oval face well. Most of the time she didn’t need make up – hers was a natural beauty. But today, the day to go see the ranch, she applied a bit of eye makeup, a light dusting of corn starch powder, and just the right shade of plum lip gloss. She looked really, really pretty. She’d struggled with wearing blue jeans or Bermuda shorts, but opted for the jeans since they’d most likely be outside the better part of the day. Besides, it was still wonderfully cool with the day’s expected high only about the mid-60’s. With the jeans she wore a lavender pull-over with a slightly low, rounded neckline, and a most beautiful pair of silver and amethyst drop-style earrings. She looked perfect for whatever the day would bring. Aaron was noticeably pleased with the whole package.
“I’ll be right out,” Lynette yelled down the hallway as Clare led Aaron into the living room.
“Coffee,” she offered.
“Don’t mind if I do,” he replied. “Been up since six this morning and I’ve already drunk a pot of coffee. The doctor says I should switch to that damnable decaf, but I just cain’t stomach it yet. I’m tryin’ but I still want the leaded version!” he quipped.
For a few seconds, Aaron stood looking at the surroundings before he spoke.
“Nice place y’all got here. I’m really struck by all the good art work ya’ got on the walls and I love the tiled fireplace,” he said, as Clare sat down next to him with her cup.
The two sat quietly sipping their hot brew as Aaron took in the various wall hangings and Mexican artifacts in the living room.
“So tell me,” Clare spoke up, “how far is it out to the ranch?”
“Oh not far. Takes about 45 minutes to get out there from here. Would probably take two hours in Austin or Albuquerque traffic. That’s part of what I like about living here. There’s no hassle to get anywhere, and sometimes your vehicle is the only one on a long stretch of road. The town’s growing by leaps and bounds. Just hope the growth slows down soon before the beauty and quiet is ruined,” Aaron said.
“I’m ready,” Lynette chirped as she entered the living room. “Where’s Blaze this morning?” she asked, a little hesitantly.
> “Don’t know what you did to him last evening, but the boy didn’t get a lick of sleep last night,” Aaron teased. Lynette was embarrassed and blushed.
“Who me?” she laughed.
“I heard you up last night myself,” Clare said, looking at her friend. “You don’t usually roam around the house at night. When you hit the pillow, you go down like a rock.”
“That was just the wind rattling the window screens,” Lynette lied convincingly. “Come on. I’m anxious to see the ranch.”
Knowing there would be three in the car, Aaron drove his beautiful, and apparently new, white Cadillac. Clare sat in front with him and Lynette was glad to sit in the back so she wouldn’t have to carry the conversation. She wanted to think about Blaze. Had she been too forward in her actions last night? Uncharacteristically slutty? Maybe. But he responded to everything she did, and in fact, he initiated much of what passed between them. He was the one who had her riding high on his leg. He was the one who was clawing at her back, mashing her stomach against that turquoise belt buckle. He was the one who said they should do something together today. Was he now too embarrassed to see her? No, that didn’t make sense. There was mutual heat, mutual passion between them. There was a chemistry from the git go! Oh well, she reasoned, I’ll know shortly.
The day was absolutely perfect as most of the days are in the Central Mountains. For this bright and sunny day, Lynette had chosen freshly starched blue jeans, and a shrimp-colored silk pullover with a deeply cut neckline showing just the tiniest bit of cleavage. The shirt emphasized the beauty and fullness of her breasts and she was careful to wear the bra that showed no seams and lifted her ample breasts just right. Salmon, peach, yellow and pink were exceptionally lovely colors on her and reflected well against her light-olive skin. From her ears dangled real turquoise, coral and silver earrings which complimented the glow of her blouse. Her bright, new white Adidas felt absolutely delightful on her feet.
The ride to the ranch took the trio through the tall pines, up and down long undulating hills and then out near where an enormous valley lay between the various mountain peaks. Lynette’s plumber had once told her that most ranges in New Mexico tended to run in a north/south direction. The Capitans were the only range of mountains that ran east and west in the state. She didn’t know if that was accurate, but they did seem to sit off at an angle in the distance, all to themselves. The gravel road veered sharply off to the right and wound back among smaller pines and acres of twisted juniper trees. Then just ahead, on a rise, stood one of the most magnificent Santa Fe-style stucco homes, she’d ever seen. It sat low on the horizon, all one story, but it stretched out long horizontally. It was that lovely rust-colored tan with huge windows across the front of the house. Vigas – cut logs - protruding from just below the irregular shaped roof line, and a huge, deeply stained, dark wooden front door, flanked by tall, narrow stained glass windows completed the pueblo-styled facade. In the front of the house, on either side of the tiled entrance walkway, were rock gardens with a variety of cacti and colorful, medium size boulders. It was the quintessential New Mexican home.
“It must be enormous inside,” Lynette spoke up, awe sounding in her tone.
“How lovely,” Clare said, with similar awe, as the expensive vehicle turned into the circular drive in front of the house.
Both Lynette and Clare were well-traveled and had spent lots of time in Santa Fe, Taos and other southwestern venues. However, this was the first time they actually knew someone who owned so sumptuous a home with this luxurious a façade. From the rise surrounding the house, they could see all the way across what must have been a hundred miles of valley on two sides, and on the other side, the view was of mountain peaks of varying heights, covered with dense growths of tall pines and Douglas fir trees up to the alpine line.
“This is utterly breathtaking,” Clare exclaimed.
“I’m a bit proud of it myself,” Aaron replied, as he stood gazing out on this familiar scene. “Y’all come on in. I’m sure Blaze is anxious to see you, Lynette,” he said jovially.
They were met at the door by two wonderfully frisky dogs, obviously happy to see Aaron back home, and extremely curious of the visitors.
The larger of the two was a big, mixed-breed, tan dog with a white streak down his chest and white boots on his front feet. He had a slightly square head with short floppy ears and a black muzzle. His big brown eyes said “play with me!”
“This is Rusty,” Aaron said. “He looks ferocious, but he’ll lick you to death,” he laughed. “Hell on varmints though.”
“And who’s this pretty girl?” Clare asked.
“This is Suzie Q,” Aaron replied. We rescued ‘em both down at the Humane Society.
Suzie Q was only a little smaller than Rusty, but leaner. Mostly white, she had a brown face and brown spots all over her body. She looked part hound, similar to English hunting pictures. She came and sat next to Clare, licked her hand, and made an instant friend.
“You said you both loved animals, so if you’re gonna be around here you have to,” Aaron explained. “These dogs let us live here, instead of the other way around,” he laughed.
The interior of the house was almost as breathtaking as the exterior with red saltillo tile floors, stained stucco walls, a huge white Kiva fireplace in the living room, and massive Spanish-influenced furnishings. Huge rounded beams, the vigas, crossed the high ceiling of the great room and terminated outside of the building. It was straight out of Architectural Digest. They walked through the living room into the family room and to the right into the kitchen. But where was Blaze?
“Where are you?” Aaron hollered for Blaze.
“Out here trying not to burn up the meat,” he replied with a bit of frustration in his voice.
Lynette followed Aaron out the heavy wooden Spanish doors to an enormous deck overlooking the valley, and there stood Blaze, with top n’ bottom apron on holding a set of tongs in his hand. Smoke billowed out of the huge black, cast iron grill as he moved the chickens away from the flames and over to one side of the grill. He closed the heavy lid and walked over to the three, looking only at Lynette.
“Good mornin’,” Lynette said sweetly to him.
“Clare, good mornin’,” he said as he acknowledged her, nodded, and moved toward Lynette. He bent forward and kissed Lynette softly, ever so softly, on the cheek.
“Good morning,” he said, watching the blush rise on her cheeks. “Thought we’d have some chicken and fixins before we head out. I knew we couldn’t do it all in time, so that’s why I stayed here to get the meat started. Hope you don’t mind?” he asked Lynette.
“Not at all. I wish you hadn’t gone to so much trouble for us,” she replied. “Sandwiches, anything, would have been fine. We’re just delighted to be out here and what a wonderful place this is,” she added.
“Clare, how about helpin’ with the stuff in the kitchen if you don’t mind,” Aaron asked, and she immediately agreed, following him back through the doorway.
“I think he doesn’t want to share Clare too much if he can help it. Besides, just you and me out here – this is nice,” Blaze added with a twinkle in his eye.
Lynette watched him maneuver the meat around on the scorching grill, splash some thin, unknown sauce on the chickens, then close the cover again. The smoke swirled and blew away in the light breeze. He walked over to her and stood in front of her as if to kiss her. Do it! Show him you want to kiss him, she was saying to herself. Let him kiss you, her body said. Instead, she reached up and with the tips of her fingers, softly touched his lips. She held her fingers there for a second as his eyes bored into hers. His eyes were lighter than she had remembered. Not quite hazel and not quite as dark brown as hers. He opened his mouth ever so slightly so that her finger tips curled just lightly on his bottom lip. He moved the tip of his tongue across the very tips of her fingers. How perfect his mouth was, she thought. How good it would feel on her mouth. How wonderful they would feel anywhere on her bod
y. But they did not kiss. He was reading her, knowing her thoughts, letting her explore this entrance to his body; offering her inexplicable intimacy. Again, just touching him, she was embarrassingly aroused. If this was not someone else’s house; if there were no other people here to invade their privacy, the chicken would have to burn.
“How much longer till the meat’s ready?’ Aaron hollered from the kitchen.
“It’s really ready now,” he replied, and he looked at Lynette knowing that he was telling her what he needed to say, in a way he hoped was not offensive – but honest. She thrilled at the double entendre, lifted her chin and drew in a deep breath without ever loosing contact with his eyes. He knew that she knew what he meant. He rubbed both hands down the sides of his apron removing any grease. That action pulled the apron tight across the front of his body. She could not ignore the distorted shape under the cloth.
Brunch was fabulous. Barbecued chicken, pinto beans, fresh green tossed salad, corn tortilla chips with salsa, and unsweetened tea. It was interesting that there was not a lot of starch but before either of the women could ask, Aaron answered their question.
“We eat a little differently here at home; a little lighter. I have to watch the carbohydrates and sugars with my diabetes,” he admitted. “I heard you say, Lynette, that you used to have some minor health issues with your knee. You know as we get older, things start acting up.”
“You can say that again,” Lynette responded. “My knee problem was caused by an old football injury,” she added, and waited for the usual response.
Thunder In Her Body Page 5