They drove down a gravel path, going slightly back toward the house, to where the horses were grazing. There were five beautiful animals. A palomino that seemed nervous with new people around; two deep red colored ones whose shiny skin and muscular outlines glistened in the afternoon sun. A black one with white boots and a grey and white dappled one that came immediately over to the fence to greet them.
“This is Big Boy,” Aaron said proudly. He’s gentle as a lamb and rides real well. He’s one of the first ones I bought. He sires good, strong offspring also.
“Good boy, good boy,” Aaron said as he stroked the horse’s long nose and kissed him like someone would kiss a child. “The Palomino is still a bit skittish. We took him in from some people who didn’t take very good care of him. Fed him well, got the vet out to check on him. He’s gonna be fine. He just needs more time to relax. I’ve got Maurice working with him a couple times a week. He’s a natural with horses,” Aaron finished.
“Who’s Maurice?” Clare asked.
“We’ve got two other hands that work for us full-time. They stay over at the bunk house. If either of us has to be away from the ranch, they know just what to do, and they look after all the animals. That’s why they live out here and not nearer to the main house. There’s always someone on the property at all times. We never leave the animals completely alone,” Aaron added. “We’ve got underground wiring out here, so even though cell phone reception can be a problem, they can always use the land line to contact whomever they need to. There’s a satellite dish on the back side of the bunk house so they get lots of channels, especially the sports links, and I understand that Hawk also has a CB radio,” Aaron said.
“They like it out here pretty well,” Blaze added, “and trust me, the town ladies don’t mind the ride out here either,” he quipped, winking at Aaron.
“We’ve tried to make their accommodations as comfortable as possible. They’ve got electricity, as long as we do,” Blaze laughed. “It’s fairly common to have power outages up here, especially during a bad storm. If that happens, there’s a gas generator out back. They can heat with electric, or use firewood and electric; whatever works best for them. They have a refrigerator and microwave, electric stove; really all the comforts of home. There’s a deep well out here and the only thing we couldn’t put in there was a washer and dryer because of the septic system, and the bad percolation down here,” Blaze continued. Aaron added that, “they come up to the big house a couple times a week to wash their clothes and do their laundry. You probably didn’t notice but there are two washers and two dryers in the laundry room. That’s so everybody can get their things washed with a minimum wait.”
“We all sit out on the deck, have a couple of beers, shoot the bull while their things wash, so it’s kind of an ol’ boys atmosphere around here,” Blaze added. “They’re good men.”
“Hawk, is he Native-American?” Lynette asked.
“Yeah. I grew up with his daddy. Good family,” Blaze said.
“Maurice is a gangly ol’ cowhand. White boy from up around Colorado. Got tired of the deep snow, and I think some girl’s family ran him out of there,” Aaron laughed, “so he feels safe here. Good worker. We’ve been lucky with those fellas. Been with us for years. I even bought them a new pick up truck to share, ‘cuz neither one of theirs had much life left in ‘em. Their trucks are good enough to knock around the place, but when they need to go to town or go out on the highway, I like them to have good, dependable transportation. Got ‘em a Chevy. Maybe for Christmas we’ll take them down to Albuquerque and let them each pick out a nice, used pick-up for their own. What da’ you think Blaze?” Aaron asked.
“I think that’s a fine idea. They deserve it. Look at that ol’ blue thing of Maurice’s. It’s not worth shooting,” Blaze said, pointing toward a decrepit old pickup that once was probably a navy blue color. It was more rust now than color, but it still ran.
“I bet we can work a deal and get two trucks for around twenty-five thousand, What da’ ya think?” Aaron again asked Blaze.
“Works for me,” he nodded.
“Would you all like to see inside the bunk house?” Aaron asked.
“No, not really,” Clare said. “That’s their home. We don’t want to intrude. It wouldn’t be fair, especially with them not knowing we were coming.”
“That’s fair,” Aaron agreed.
“Let’s go drag out some feed since we’re here,” Blaze said to Aaron.
“Ok. Ladies, we’ll be right back,” Aaron said as the guys hopped into the big silver truck. Lynette and Clare watched the back of the vehicle bounce up and down as it maneuvered over some bumps and drove about two hundred yards away to the stable. The guys loaded four bales of fresh hay and a bag of feed and drove back to the fence.
In that brief time that they were gone, Lynette slipped into one of her introspective modes. She had obviously allowed herself to become infatuated with this beautiful and fun man. But man was the operative word. She wasn’t sure she wanted another man in her life, at least not right now. But she really liked him. He made her feel sexy and wanted. He made her feel a lot of things; foreign things, but all good. And if the truth be told, she wanted to lie beside him and make love to him. For a second she wrestled with the fact that she could have sex with him, without any entanglements. She was grown, free, modern and independent. Yet something told her that there was a power in him that wouldn’t let her be cavalier with her body or her emotions. Her instincts said he deserved better than that, too. Something was pulling her relentlessly to him, into him. It was a power beyond her immediate comprehension. This was an emotional danger zone, but somehow she felt that she wanted to go with it; that the risk was worth the danger. He was worth whatever was to be.
The horses had plenty of water in a huge metal corrugated tub, but Blaze turned the spigot on anyway to areorate the existing troth. The men carried the bales into the fenced area, snipped the baling wire and busted them open. They shook the hay loose, unleashing a rain of dirt and hay particles, which flew right at the ladies, who sputtered from the debris.
“Sorry about that,” Blaze apologized with a smile.
“Wanna feed them?” Aaron asked.
The horses’ lips felt funny on Lynette’s hands, but they were gentle as they ate right out of her flattened palm. Aaron let out a yelp as he tumbled over a bale. It seemed that Big Boy was not only gentle, but a prankster. He waited until Aaron bent over with the baling clippers, and he butted him with his nose, pushing Aaron head first over the bale. Aaron landed in a backward sitting position, looking startled and rather silly with hay covering his face. Clare bent over slapping her knees, laughing to the point of tears, trying not to pee on herself.
Lynette watched Blaze walk. Even the simple act of walking was attractive to her. He walked as if walking was easy, even pleasurable. His slim hips were in perfect alignment with the rest of his muscular body. He walked silently with the pressure on his heels, not his knees. And when he stood, he positioned his long legs slightly apart. It was the casualness of his body that enticed her. Blaze beckoned Lynette to come inside the fence and lifted her hand to pet one of the reds. She wasn’t in anyway afraid of the magnificent stallion. For the most part, she was fearless with animals. She didn’t have much experience with horses though.
“Easy now,” he said, “he won’t bite you, but you need to move your hand slowly so you don’t startle him at first.”
Blaze leaned over Lynette’s body with his chin grazing the top of her head and the front of his entire body pressed against the full back of hers. Both of his arms reached over her shorter shoulders as he placed the coarse brush in her hands. He lowered his voice so only Lynette and the horse could hear.
“Stroke him like you’d stroke something you really liked, something you wanted to really enjoy your touch” he said quietly, as he lifted her hand, covered it with his, and gently guided it down the horse’s withers. The horse enjoyed it; Lynette enjoyed it. Blaze h
ad positioned himself with a wide stance to keep his balance. It made his lower area very accessible to the softness of her behind. She could feel him rubbing against her. Blaze was teaching her how to curry a horse and one of a thousand innocent ways he could make love to her. She was more than aware that whenever he could, he stood close to her, he somehow touched her, or he would begin to speak to her when the others wouldn’t necessarily hear. If it was soft vulgarity, it was meant only for Lynette’s ears.
Clare was in hog heaven. Just last fall when she was at the condo, she walked down behind the stables near a small race track, and fed apples to an old man’s horses, with his permission of course. She loved anything with four legs and hair, and this was a rare treat. She hoped it would be only the beginning of many trips down to the corral with Aaron.
“Clare, I’ve got to be in court over in Grant County – Silver City – tomorrow, for an afternoon docket. What’s say you come along with me and watch a little New Mexico court action. It’s not a bad drive, about 2 ½ or three hours each way. I can pick you up around eight o’clock. We can stop somewhere for a late breakfast before we get to the courthouse and if all goes well, we can be back in Crystal Bend in time for a late supper?” Aaron asked, looking for a promising response on her face.
“Oh darn, Aaron. All I brought with me were jeans, capri’s and some shirts. I don’t have anything decent to wear into a courtroom,” she said with her mind racing to see how she could remedy that situation. She wanted to go. It would mean time spent alone with him. They could get to know each other even better, and it did cross her mind that court may run late and they’d have to stay over in Silver City! Anyway, that was an area of New Mexico she and Lynette had just recently talked about exploring the next time they came out to the village. They’d discussed using the condo as a home base, to do more exploration of southern New Mexico each time they came up.
“I tell you what,” Clare started, thinking and talking all at the same time. “I’ve got a really nice pair of jeans packed. If I can get back to town before the stores close, I can pick up an appropriate type of blouse and a jacket or something. There’s several women’s shops in town. Walmart stays open late. If nothing else, I can find something there. I’m not hard to fit,” she added as she walked over where Lynette and Blaze were playing with the black horse. Clare realized that this change in plans might not sit too well with her friend, but she really wanted to go with Aaron, and hoped that Lynette would understand.
“I’m going to step back so if you swing at me, you’ll miss,” Clare laughed aloud, starting the conversation uneasily. She was already aware of how close Blaze and Lynette were getting. She knew her friend well, and the way Lynette let Blaze get so near to her meant she was falling for this Indian.
“What the heck. Are you sick?” Lynette asked, her voice tinged with concern.
“Ah, no I’m fine, but we need to get back to town. Walmart may be my best bet since its Sunday…”
“What the hell? Excuse me Blaze,” Lynette apologized. “What’s going on?”
“Aaron has to go to court in Grant County tomorrow and I’d like to go with him – see a little New Mexico justice,” she explained hesitantly. “But I don’t have anything appropriate to wear. If I can pick up a nice blouse and sweater or jacket, then I’ll be fine, but we need to get back to town.”
Lynette was thunder-struck. This announcement had blasted her out of the merriment with Blaze. Lynette looked back at him. He’d buried his head in the ribs of the black horse. He was shaking his head from side to side as he hung on to the horse’s mane, but he said nothing. Then he started to laugh. One of those ironic laughs that comes up and out when there is nothing else a person can do, but laugh.
“Blaze,” Lynette said softly.
“I know. I understand,” he said ruefully. “I understand.”
There was an uneasy silence for awhile after that as the men completed their chores. Once back in the truck, with Clare babbling about a jacket and Aaron assuring her that she could find something, Blaze held onto Lynette’s hand tightly, so much so that it was a bit uncomfortable. He squeezed her hand then released it, over and over, but never let it go. He was quiet and pensive.
“I’m sorry,” she said, speaking to the expression on his face. It was sad, almost like a child’s disappointed face when the trip to Disney Land had been cancelled.
“It’s Ok,” he finally said resolutely, patting the back of her hand.
Once back at the ranch house, the ladies insisted on cleaning up the kitchen before they left. After all, the dishes had been sitting since brunch. The men cooked, so the women cleaned up. It only seemed fair. Blaze disappeared down the hall with Lynette before they were ready to leave.
“You’re killing me, you know that don’t you,” he said as a statement not a question. His need for her was so excruciating at this point that desperation had overtaken him. He pressed himself against her and she thought she felt a slight tremble in his arms. He kissed her hard enough to almost bruise her lips and she kissed him back. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and held her, held her as though he couldn’t let her go. Then he released her abruptly.
“This ain’t happenin’! Come on. This can’t happen,” he repeated, as he took her hand and led her down the hallway toward the living room.
Lynette watched him compose himself. She could see him building something in his mind, and the tone and demeanor of a diplomat emerged.
“Aaron, if you get all your stuff together this evening and take it with you, you and Clare can get an early start from their place in the morning. You can take Clare shopping for what she needs tonight and I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you stay at the condo, right Clare?” he said turning toward her, careful to ask her permission.
Clare flushed a bit, thought about it for a split second, then snapped her head and said it would work well for her if it didn’t make any problems for Aaron.
“It doesn’t take both of you ladies to go buy a blouse and a jacket,” Blaze added, and you’d be closer to Grant County from their place anyhow”.
It was clear that Blaze didn’t want Lynette to leave. It was glaringly clear to everyone.
“Clare, are you gonna be all right with this?” Lynette asked with genuine concern.
“I’m fine with it, as long as I can get out of here and get to the store,” she replied, urgency tingeing her voice.
“Aaron, what about you?” Clare said, trying to read his face.
“Give me about ten minutes – in fact, come on back here with me Clare and help me pick out a shirt and tie. My brief case is in my office and I have everything I need in it. Just need to gather up my workin’ clothes and we can be off,” he said jovially. “Haven’t shopped with a woman in years. Pretty scary when you think about it. Can I just sit in the car while you get what you need?,” the spooked attorney asked playfully.
Lynette watched them move quickly down the hallway to Aaron’s wing, then she turned to Blaze, who she realized, had never let go of her hand.
“What do I say, Blaze, except you handled that well. Your intentions are very transparent though,” she said, smiling, but a little tense.
“I have no need to pretend, Lynette,” he said. “You’re all over me already. Somehow, you’ve climbed inside of me. I want you. I want you so bad right now I could burst into flames. I know we’ve only known each other for a few hours but I can’t pretend we’re just trying to be friends,” he said huskily. “I know that, and I think you know that, too.” He paused, and looked down at her.
“You can change this, you know. You can go back with them if you want to,” he offered. “I’ll be disappointed, but I’ll understand.”
It had occurred to her that she could choose to stay anyway when Clare hit her with the court announcement, and Blaze could take her back home in the morning. She knew what she wanted to do. But she didn’t want to be presumptuous. She was where she wanted to be. As an after-thought, she said it aloud. “I’m
where I want to be Blaze. I never expected to stay over though, so I didn’t bring any…,” and he interrupted her sentence.
“You don’t need anything,” he said in almost a whisper. “I can provide you with every comfort. Anything you want, I’ll see that you have it.” He paused, looking deep into her glowing face. “I believe I can give you everything you need,” he said, as he bent forward and kissed her gently on the lips.
CHAPTER 5
¤
The First Bedroom
Clare and Aaron were probably less than a mile away from the ranch when Lynette walked hurriedly toward Blaze’s bedroom and entered his glistening marble bathroom. Knowing what was to come, she wanted to take a shower first. No one gets a second chance to make a good first impression she knew. She’d spoken those words hundreds of times in her Work Readiness seminars. It was, to her, necessary to be fresh, and smell good when she first eased into Blaze’s waiting arms. She’d bathed well earlier in the morning before Aaron came to pick them up, but, she thought the dust and hay, and the evidence of sexual arousal being around Blaze all day, deserved to be lathered off.
He was somewhere in the house locking doors, closing down the garage and she felt it gave her time to freshen up. Quickly, she pulled off her clothes and laid them carefully on a small wicker stool next to the large, black marble counter. This verified her suspicion that a woman designer had decorated this house. Probably a man would not have thought of such an interesting piece. Then on the other hand, she’d spent hundreds of hours watching HGTV and the variety of female and male decorators demonstrating how to make your home look like a million with simple, creative pieces.
Reaching into the linen closet, she retrieved a cream-colored wash cloth and what she thought was a large, sand colored towel. Instead, it was a bath-sheet large enough to wrap twice around her. She carried it over to the counter and stood there, looking in the oval mirror at her naked torso. The bright vanity light exposed her every curve. Her skin was smooth and the color of that pale palomino horse, but the years had, in fact, taken their toll on her body. Her ample breasts no longer stood at full attention with nipples pointing straight into the air. They didn’t sag per se, but full breasts were heavy and the nipples found themselves looking more downward, maybe pointing at the door knob. Before she lost the weight, her breasts rested up on her enlarged upper stomach, but not anymore. They were on their own and gravity is no one’s friend. She rubbed her hand down and over her navel and onto her stomach which was flatter than before. The rise that began at her navel was soft because there was no mass of fat to support it. The softness felt good even to her, but she was not sure what it would feel like to Blaze. She turned sideways and observed her hip and butt, which had slopped back to its original pear-shape. She liked her butt. It wasn’t big and high and round. It wasn’t exactly a
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