Real Love

by Jeanne Mccann

  “I’m going to take a nice hot shower and dive into bed.”

  “Goodnight.” Leann had given them rooms for the night in the massive ranch house. She had been nothing but polite since they’d arrived, and even though both Ted and Rhea didn’t think Gus’ injuries warranted an emergency call, they were polite in return.

  Rhea could have cried because she was so tired, and when the hot water of the shower pummeled her body, she felt every ache and pain. She’d been on a horse for almost three straight days, and her body was paying the price. She would have to wear her filthy clothes one more day, but at least she could get four hours or so of sleep. She crawled naked between the sheets and was instantly asleep.

  Rhea’s body responded reflexively as a hand covered her breast and her nipple was sucked into an insistent mouth. Jerking away, she shoved at Leann, siting up and covering her body with the sheet. “Goddamn it, Leann, get the hell out of here!”

  Leann was totally nude lying next to her on the bed. “Lover, you want me here. Your body is just begging to be fucked. Who would know?”

  Rhea was furious. “Get the hell out, now. I don’t want you. I’m ashamed I ever wanted you! That’s the problem with you, Leann. You don’t know the difference between fucking and making love.”

  Leann’s face grew white with rage as Rhea’s words hit home.

  “You’re going to regret pushing me away. You’ll pay for this. Alicia will never know that you didn’t sleep with me, especially when I tell her you did.”

  “Go ahead and tell her. She won’t believe you.”

  Leann grimaced maliciously, “She’ll believe me.”

  Leann stood up slowly and shrugged back into her robe. A self-satisfied smirk remained on her face as she turned and left the room. Rhea stood up and gathered her clothes. She couldn’t sleep anymore and she needed to get out of the room. She started to dress and realized that her panties were gone. She looked in the bathroom and the bedroom and still couldn’t find them. She rummaged through her pack for another pair and finished dressing, and then she headed downstairs to find some coffee. She was disgusted with herself that she had responded at all to Leann. She could blame it on being startled from a sound sleep, but it still didn’t make her feel anything but horrible.

  At five o’clock, she and Ted were on their way to the barn and met their four other ranch hands already there. They saddled their horses. They planned to circle around to the washed-out road and see what the damages were before they made the long ride back to the ranch. Rhea’s body was totally numb. She’d been in the saddle for so many days that they all ran together.

  CHAPTER 18

  Ted and Rhea didn’t return to the ranch house until well after midnight the following night and, as they rode into the yard, Alicia and Sophia met them at the barn. Without a word they helped unsaddle and settle the horses. Sheri met Ted outside and bundled him into the jeep for the quick trip to their home. Rhea walked with Sophia and Alicia back to the house.

  “Honey, peel your clothes off down here. I’ll go get a robe for you.” Rhea looked down at Alicia’s face and couldn’t speak she was so exhausted. She just stared at her face, too tired to react.

  “Sit, let me take your boots off.”

  “I’ll go get a robe,” Sophia suggested, leaving the two women in the kitchen.

  Alicia looked up and her heart almost stopped as she recognized the look of pure love on Rhea’s face. She didn’t have to be told Rhea loved her, she could see it in her eyes. “I love you, too, Rhea.”

  “God, Alicia, I love you so much. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

  “Honey, you aren’t going to lose me. Come on, sweetie. You’re exhausted.”

  “I need to take a shower.”

  “Rhea, here’s your robe.” Sophia handed it to Rhea, and she slipped into it. “Alicia, I’ll take care of the dirty clothes and her boots.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Honey, you don’t have to thank me. I’m so very proud of you.”

  Rhea’s eyes overflowed with tears as she bent to hug her mother. “I love you.

  “I love you, too. Now go take a shower—you smell like a horse!”

  Alicia laughed as Rhea grinned at her mother. “That’s because I’ve been on one for almost fourteen hours.”

  “I’m going to monitor the radio and, unless there’s an emergency, no one is getting up before noon.”

  “When’s Dad getting back?”

  “He said he’d be back tomorrow. He’s making one more run with emergency supplies.”

  “Goodnight, Sophia. Come on, cowgirl. You’re going to bed.”

  Alicia tucked her hand in Rhea’s and walked slowly upstairs with her. They didn’t say a word until they entered the bathroom. Rhea turned to Alicia and spoke, “I need to tell you something, Alicia.”

  “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

  “No, it’s important.”

  “Okay sweetie.” Alicia slid her arms around Rhea’s neck and looked up at her.

  “You know we went to Gus Riley’s ranch to check on him because Leann called about his being badly injured.”

  “Yes, how is he?”

  “He twisted an ankle. Ted and I spent the night at the ranch.” Alicia’s body stiffened. “Honey, nothing happened even though Leann snuck into my bedroom in the middle of the night.”

  Rhea grasped Alicia’s hands in hers as she saw the reaction on Alicia’s face. Alicia’s voice was glacial, “What happened?”

  “She climbed into my bed without any clothes on.”

  “What were you wearing?”

  “Nothing.” Rhea’s voice was full of regret and sorrow.

  “What did she do?”

  Rhea could have cut her heart out when she saw the hurt on Alicia’s face. Tears slid down Rhea’s face. “I woke up when she touched my breast. I pushed her away and told her to leave. She threatened to tell you we slept together. You know I wouldn’t do that.”

  “Honey, I know you wouldn’t sleep with Leann.” Alicia was extremely upset, but now wasn’t the time to talk about it. Rhea was too tired and she was overly emotional. Besides, she trusted Rhea completely. “Come on let’s get you into the shower.”

  Rhea stared at Alicia for a long moment before she turned and dropped her robe, stepping into the shower. Alicia gasped when she saw the scrapes and bruises that marred her lover’s body. Rhea worked so damn hard. She turned away and walked out of the room while Rhea showered. Alicia slumped on to the bed, her mind in a jumble, her chest heavy with emotion. There was no

  question that she believed Rhea, but Leann had touched her intimately, and that bothered her a great deal. She started to cry as she thought of how perfect her lovemaking had been with Rhea. Now she felt that Leann had tainted it. She knew her reaction wasn’t reasonable, but she wasn’t thinking rationally.

  Rhea stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She heard muffled sobbing from the bedroom and rushed in. Alicia was lying on the bed crying quietly. “Honey, don’t, please. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She gathered Alicia into her arms and held her tightly, whispering in her ear, “I love you, honey. Nothing happened. I swear nothing happened. Please don’t cry.”

  “I know nothing happened, it’s just that Leann keeps getting in the middle of us. It hurts that she touched you. I know that’s petty.”

  “It’s not petty, honey. I’m so sorry.” Rhea kissed her tear-streaked cheeks. She didn’t know how to make amends. Alicia looked so devastated and hurt.

  “I’m sorry I’m keeping you up. Please get into bed, and we’ll talk about this tomorrow.”

  Rhea looked at Alicia and spoke softly, her heart in her throat. “Are we okay?”

  Alicia melted when she saw the fear in Rhea’s eyes. “Oh honey, of course we are.”

  Alicia kissed Rhea slowly, her fingers touching her cheek before hugging her closely. “I love you, Alicia.

  “Rhea, I love you more than my life. Now, into bed, pleas
e.”

  Rhea shrugged off her robe and crawled under the covers. Alicia changed into her nightgown and slipped into bed next to Rhea. Rhea waited to see if Alicia would reach for her. When Alicia turned out the light and rolled onto her side, Rhea’s tears welled up and spilled over the corners of her eyes, silent, hot tears that she couldn’t control. She fell asleep crying. Alicia lay wide-awake and miserable as she thought of her reaction to what Leann had done. The more she thought about it the angrier she became. She finally fell into a fitful sleep, visions of Leann and Rhea intruding upon her dreams.

  CHAPTER 19

  For three nights and days Alicia refused to speak about what had happened, no matter how many times Rhea tried to discuss it with her. She was very distant physically, kissing and hugging Rhea, but they had not made love since Rhea returned. Rhea was hurt and frustrated, and Alicia was still very angry. Everyone around them knew something was wrong and was not sure what to do about it. It was August who cornered Alicia in the barn one afternoon and found out what was going on.

  “Alicia, can I speak to you for a minute?”

  “Sure, August.” She looked up from currying her foal.

  “What’s going on with you and Rhea?”

  “Nothing, really, we’re just working through something.” Alicia didn’t look at August. She knew she couldn’t without crying.

  “I thought working something out meant you spoke to each other.” August’s voice was slow and patient.

  Alicia grunted irritably, “We are talking to each other.”

  “Are you going to let Leann spoil your relationship, which, by the way, is exactly what she was trying to do?”

  “August, I’m not letting her interfere with my relationship. I just need some time to think things through.” Alicia sighed heavily and finally looked up at him.

  “I can understand that, but meanwhile you are miserable, and Rhea is heartbroken.”

  Alicia’s face fell. “I’m not trying to hurt Rhea. I love her very much.”

  “And she wouldn’t hurt you for the world. But you’re hurting each other by not confronting the problem. Sophia and I love you both, and we hate to see you two hurting.”

  Alicia smiled up at the burly man who was a friend as well as a father figure. “Have I told you I love you, August?”

  “A time or two, and I love you.”

  “Where is Rhea?”

  “She’s over in the big barn seeing to some baby lambs.”

  “I’m going to borrow the jeep.”

  August watched her climb in the jeep and speed down the road toward the large barn. Sophia poked her head out of a horse stall and called to her husband, “Aug, you’re a meddler!”

  “Yes I am, and it worked.”

  “Yes it did, come over here and let me thank you.” August smiled as he approached his wife. The look on her face told him he was going to be a very lucky man.

  Rhea was standing in a big pen where a bunch of young lambs milled around bleating. Their mothers were answering their babies from the outside pen. Rhea and Ted were inoculating the lambs and examining some of them for signs of sickness. Rhea stood in the middle of the unhappy animals and felt as miserable as they did. She was heartsick over her problems with Alicia. She was so lost in her own misery that she didn’t see Alicia enter the barn. But Ted did, and he quietly slipped out after he received a wink from Alicia. She hadn’t smiled at anyone for the last few days, and he was happy to see it.

  “Rhea?”

  Rhea turned at the sound of Alicia’s voice and looked at her, raw emotion in her eyes. “Alicia, is everything okay?”

  Alicia climbed into the pen and approached Rhea. “No, everything isn’t okay. I miss you, sweetie. I’m sorry I’ve been such a pain in the ass. I love you, and I’m sorry.”

  Rhea reached out and picked Alicia up squeezing her tightly. Alicia wrapped her legs around Rhea’s waist and kissed her face over and over, covering every inch of it. She finally covered Rhea’s mouth in a kiss full of desire, and Rhea groaned as she returned the kiss. They were interrupted when a lamb bumped in to Rhea’s leg almost knocking them to the ground.

  “I guess we’ll have to continue this later,” Rhea grinned as Alicia slid down to her feet.

  “You bet we will, cowgirl.” Alicia slid her hand into Rhea’s waistband. “I’m sorry. Do you think we can make it an early night? We need to talk about a few things.”

  Rhea smiled down at her girlfriend and nodded. “I’ll be done in an hour.”

  “Good.” Alicia climbed out of the pen, patting several of the lambs on their heads. Rhea just grinned as she watched her girlfriend. Three months earlier Alicia had been scared to death of the baby lambs. As Alicia strode to the car she called out to Ted, who was in the pen with the mothers, “Thanks, Ted!”

  He waved her off with his hand and shook his head. He was sure that Rhea and Alicia were going to be fine. He couldn’t wait to tell Sheri.

  Rhea was back at the house in exactly an hour and, as she came in the back door, Mommo spoke to her. “Alicia’s waiting in the poolroom.”

  “Okay, I just need to wash up.”

  “Take your damn boots off!” Mommo had recovered completely from her illness!

  Rhea grinned as she sat down and kicked them off. “Sorry.”

  She couldn’t get to the poolroom fast enough. The patio table was set for dinner complete with candles and flowers. Alicia sat looking sexy as hell in a pair of shorts and a tank top, her feet bare.

  “Hello, cowgirl, I thought we could have a romantic dinner out here by ourselves.”

  “I’d like that very much.”

  “Good, have a seat.”

  Rhea took the chair across from Alicia still smiling into her eyes. Alicia stood up, came around and sat on Rhea’s lap, twining her arms around her neck. “I’m really sorry about being so weird about this whole thing with Leann. I know you didn’t encourage her.”

  “Honey, if I could do something more about it I would.”

  “I know, sweetie. Do you think we can put it behind us after today?”

  “Definitely. I love you, Alicia. I would never cheat on you. You are my life.”

  “I love you, cowgirl. And after dinner I’m going to show you just how much.” Her kiss had so much promise in it Rhea was ready to skip dinner altogether. “I’ll be right back, don’t go away.”

  Within minutes Alicia was back with two plates of food. She set one in front of Rhea and one at her place. It was Rhea’s favorite meal, pasta primavera, made by Alicia just for her. They ate their dinner while having easy, friendly conversation about the past week. They were getting back to normal and putting the Leann issue behind them. An hour and a half later, Alicia and Rhea

  carried empty plates into the kitchen before going upstairs together. Rhea took Alicia’s hand as they walked into the bedroom, and she felt so lucky she picked Alicia up and twirled with her.

  “Honey, what are you doing?” Alicia laughed as she held on.

  “I love you so damn much. I just feel so blessed.” She stopped and lowered Alicia to her feet.

  “I feel the same way.” Alicia tugged her face down for a kiss. “What do you say to sharing a shower with me and then getting into bed?”

  “I like that idea.”

  The shower proved to be a pleasant experience for both women. Rhea made love to Alicia until she could barely stand, her mouth teasing her from one orgasm to another as her fingers filled Alicia fully. Alicia kissed every trace of Leann’s touch from Rhea’s breasts before overwhelming her with fingers deeply inside her. Neither woman was sated. They fell onto the bed still wet from the shower, and what had been fast and furious in the shower was now slow and gentle, building layer upon layer of passion, until both women succumbed to emotion and pleasure. Still clinging together, they eased softly into sleep, all troubles settled, their love for each other palpable in the room.

  CHAPTER 20

  Over the next six weeks, life became routine as the
weather settled down and ranching became less hectic. Ted and Rhea were gone most days and a few nights, but most days they were back at home by six-thirty or seven. Alicia’s days were very full, with three hours in the morning spent training her foal and then a couple more hours helping Sophia. Two days a week she spent an hour and half teaching the ranch children how to read. Usually, she worked a good three to four hours in her studio, and on the nights that Rhea was gone, she’d stay in her studio until late. Saturday, she and Rhea would do minor chores, ride horses around the ranch, and help Mommo with the house, much to Mommo’s irritation. Sundays were for lounging at the pool, reading books, and generally relaxing. Last Sunday, Rhea had taken Alicia up in the plane, where they flew over the ranch and surrounding areas for over three hours. They were feeling very secure with each other and their relationship. Leann ceased to exist as they slipped back into their affectionate and passionate partnership. Life was very, very good.

  Monday morning started out much like any other day as Alicia and Sophia began work in the corral with her colt. He was very unruly because he was no longer a baby, but a very young stallion that was feeling frisky. He was also reacting to a mare that was in heat. Because stallions can get quite temperamental around a mare, they were kept in separate areas. Alicia worked with Gentle Walker on carrying a weighted saddle and bridle. He was just about ready to carry a rider. Contrary to what she perceived, Alicia was becoming an excellent rider, and was the only other person that could ride Sophia’s mare, Dream Walker. She had been trained for the saddle and to be ridden bareback. Alicia intended to train her stallion the same way. She had learned a lot from

  Sophia about training horses and even more about herself. She could do just about anything she put her mind to. She was contributing to the operation of the ranch as well, and she felt very good about that. She belonged. She was part of a very large and affectionate family.

  “Well if it isn’t the city girl.”

  Alicia froze as she heard the languid voice. She couldn’t believe Leann was showing her face at Cameron Ranch. “Hello, Leann. Can I help you?”