Love in Romance Arkansas (4 page)

* * * *

John saw her whisper in the horse’s ear and saw the horse bob his head as if he understood. As they streaked into the arena, she seemed to be part of the horse as she expertly shifted her weight into each turn. There was no bouncy, choppy riding, just a smooth flow from barrel to barrel, then the charge to the finish line. At no time did she pull leather or appear the least out of balance. She whirled and trotted back into the arena to stunned silence. The club had just witnessed a totally unexpected professional performance. John was first to cheer, followed by the other club members.
I guess she proved that city girl doesn’t mean she can’t ride a horse. She looked mighty good in that saddle.

* * * *

After the rodeo crowd left, he began to clear the table and clean the kitchen. She pitched in to help and the job was soon done.
As strange as it may seem, I actually enjoy helping him, it just seems right and natural. This is a different kind of man than I usually attracted in the past. I got so sick of the slick operators who expected me to fall into their beds or the macho types who tried to throw me into theirs. This guy might be worth getting to know. Heavens, I haven’t thought that way about a man in, since, well I don’t want to go there again. Once was more than enough.

“Jenny, I have a surprise for you. The hot tub is up and running. It’ll feel good after the rodeo workout. I didn’t install the cover, but the heater is working fine. May be a little chilly out of the water, but there won’t be any mosquitoes to pester you. Hope you enjoy it.”

“I would love to jump into it, but I don’t have a swim suit.”

“It’ll be dark and no one else is around. You can wear shorts and tee-shirt, or whatever you have. Turn off the deck lights and no one will know the difference. Who cares anyway, it’s your house and hot tub—you should be able to use it as you want.”

“That hot tub would feel wonderful.”
Is this a setup?
“Are you going to join me?”
What does he have in mind?

He looked at her for a moment. “Are you inviting me to join you?”

“Since you’ve been such a thoughtful host, made my stay here so pleasant and helped me learn more about my family, please join me. I’m sure you’re tired from the rodeo also—the tub should feel good to you as well.”

“Okay, see you on the deck in a few minutes.”

In her quarters, doubt assailed her.
What have I gotten myself into? I have nothing to wear and darned if I’m going to miss out on a good hot soak. Not going to get naked with a man I barely know, either. Guess I will wear bra and panties. As he said, it is dark so it shouldn’t matter.
She found a robe, grabbed a towel, and headed for the deck.

* * * *

Dark, or not, when she dropped the robe, he got a good look at her.
Wow, this is one nice looking woman. Fine legs and body to go with her pretty face. Combined with what I’ve learned of her personality, she is the entire package. She could make me forget why I’m single. Hey dude don’t go there, you’ve been burned too many times. I don’t care what she looks like, I’m not going to get dumped on again. Janice was a knockout and look what that got me.

* * * *

The stiffness in her legs and back quickly loosened as Jenny settled into the warm, pulsating jets of water. “Oh, that feels so good. I can see why Grandmother loved this. It is so relaxing and soothing. I may never want to leave right here.”

He filled her in about more of her family and the history of the ranch, and his tie-in. “As I told you before, Doug sent me to school, no strings or pressure to major in any particular field. You saw the diplomas so you know what I am. Right now I’m the Chief Geneticist for the North American Angus Association and on the Board of the International Angus Association. I maintain all the official breeding records, feed conversion test results, carcass grading studies and disease resistance research right here.”

This man is certainly not the typical rancher and I don’t think he is the typical male either. He is polite and respectful to me. At least he hasn’t made any move to hit on me. Might not be a bad thing if he did. Girl, get those thoughts out of your head. Isn’t going to happen. I’m well satisfied with Susan.

He looked up at the night sky. “Do you know anything about the stars and constellations?”

“No, I never had time for anything like that. My life has always been go, go, go. The sky is beautiful out here. I’ve never seen it so clear and crisp. In the city, the sky is usually a kind of murky haze all the time.”

“If you look right up there you can see the Big Dipper. See the stars are arranged to look like a dipper.” Try a she might, she couldn’t see any dipper in the sky.

“Come over here so I can point them out to you.” She moved to his side of the tub.
What is he trying to do? Get me over here so he can grab me?
He pointed over her shoulder, “See these stars right here? Just follow my finger as I trace them out.” After several attempts, she saw the line of stars he pointed out. “Those stars make the handle of the dipper. Follow the handle from the outer end to this star right here. Drop down this way to this one. Okay? Now look along this line to this one. Turn up until you reach this point. There, you have the Big Dipper.”

“Oh, I see it now. That is neat. I wonder who figured that out.” She wondered what was happening to her as his warm breath brushed her neck and shoulder. Their closeness added to the moment.
He is a great looking man and doesn’t seem to want to grab me as most men would. Wonder if he is gay or something.

“Now let me show you something else. Let’s start back at the end of the handle and trace the entire dipper again. Here we go, handle to cup, down to the bottom of the cup, across the bottom and up the outside of the cup. Continue to follow the line established by the two “point” stars until you see that star which seems to be alone in the sky. See it?”

“Yes.”

“That is the North Star. The so called “point stars” always point to it. Anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere on a clear night, you can find true north by finding the North Star using the Big Dipper.”

“How do you know so much about the stars?”

“I’ve always enjoyed the night sky, so I took a couple of astronomy courses as electives. Certainly didn’t help in my chosen field, but they were interesting classes. I’ve thought about getting a good telescope just for fun. With the lights off, there isn’t much stray light to hinder the viewing.

“Another interesting occurrence tonight is the Quadrantid meteor shower. Let’s move around so we can face north northeast. This meteor shower is not as well-known as the Perseid shower and doesn’t last as long, but can be a real treat when conditions are right. It’s clear and dark tonight so we may see two or three per minute. Earth grazers leave really long streaks as they sort of skip across the upper atmosphere.” They counted the streaks of light for nearly an hour. As she sat shoulder to shoulder with him, her mind was busy.
This man turns me on as never before. Just by touching me a little, he makes me want to be with him. Get a grip girl. You don’t need this. Last time that happened you got burned big time and you looked like a fool when it was over. Not going to happen again. But he does seem to care about me. At least he isn’t trying to grab my boobs or crotch like so many men did.

Finally he said, “About time to turn in. You have a long trip ahead. Here, let me dry you so you don’t get chilled. He took her towel and briskly dried her arms, back, legs and belly. He gently patted her breasts dry and held her robe for her. The brisk rubdown had her skin tingling and his presence had some internal tingles pulsing as well.
Good grief, those meteors streaking across the sky don’t have anything on the nerves streaking through me right now. This is unbelievable. I didn’t know I could feel this way about a man in such a short time.
It was obvious he had similar feelings, but he made no move to exploit the situation.
Thank goodness he isn’t trying to seduce me ‘cause he wouldn’t have much trouble!

That night, her dreams were hot and steamy.

* * * *

A boom on the deck awakened Jenny. She bolted upright as another boom rattled the windows.
What the heck is going on, a drive by shooting out here?
Just as she opened her door another rifle shot shattered the stillness. John was sitting at a bench peering through a rifle scope at something far across the field. “What on earth are you doing?”

* * * *

Without even lifting his head, he replied, “I’m sending my regards to those coyotes down by the creek. Cover your ears,” and another shot rang out.

“Why are you shooting at them?

“Ever seen a little calf with his nose bitten off as he was born? Some of those little calves might have grown up to be prize winning bulls instead of coyote bait. Been watching this pack a while and have seen some dangerous signals. So, I’m taking a preemptive strike.”

“What kind of signals are you talking about?”

“For starters, they’re in poor condition, so they’re hungry. They’ve been hanging around the calving field too much and getting a little bolder every day. It’s just a matter of time until they happen onto a little calf and have an easy meal. Also, their population seems to be increasing too fast.”

“I didn’t think coyotes did much damage. We have some in the foothills back home and they don’t bother anything.”

He replied, “As long as their numbers are reasonable, they don’t hurt anything. In fact, they’re beneficial—they help keep rat, mouse and vole populations in check. However, when populations go up, competition for food becomes keener and some enterprising individuals and packs turn to other food sources—like our calves.”

“Did you get the one you shot at?”

“Yeah, all four of them.”

He turned to see her standing on the deck in a skimpy night shirt, bare legged and no shoes. Her hair was tousled and tangled. No makeup marked her beautiful face.
What a woman, even like this she is gorgeous, just a pretty as when she is all dressed up. Not many women can pull that off.
“As much as I would like to continue to look at you, you might consider getting dressed.” With a start she looked down at herself and beat a hasty retreat.

As she prepared to leave, they shared a cup of coffee. “John, I’m willing to let you make the changes you want to keep this operation going. I’m not in a hurry to do anything. This is a unique area and I think it should be kept as is, but moved carefully into the future.”

“Good deal, I’ll send you a prioritized list of changes I think will give the ranch a boost up the ladder. Some will be easy, some more difficult, and some will require the investment of considerable capital. None are really pressing right now, but we need to have them on the radar and not get caught short down the road.”

“Okay, that sounds like a good plan to me.”
He said that we as if we are a team already! Not an altogether unpleasant thought.

He handed her a website address. “This site has some books I’ve written. You might enjoy them.”

“What kind of books do you write?”

“Believe it or not, I write romance novels with a bit of inspirational twist. I try to portray the power, pain and passion of my characters without being offensive about it. I write about adults who have seen tragedy in their lives and who have overcome their pain with the help of an understanding partner.”

With a hearty chuckle she said, “I would never have guessed you to be a romance writer. I enjoy the genre, even attempted to write myself, but didn’t have time. Sure, I will look up your books.”
This is a complex man. Rugged as they come, strong as a bull, yet he has a tender side. He makes most of the men who chase me look like the little boys they act like. Careful here, girl, or you’ll get sucked into a mess and I don’t plan to go there ever again.

“Ah, we’re all a bit of a romantic at heart. Just have to let it come out. I bet I could write a book about you,” was his reply.

“Oh, and who would be my knight in shining armor?”

“I’ll have to think about it a while. It’ll come to me at the most unexpected moment,” he replied while looking at her in an amused way.

As a gag, she decided to wear jeans, a western shirt and riding boots with the jeans outside on the return flight to LA. She even topped it off with a beautiful silver belly cowboy hat.
I bet my friends meeting me won’t even recognize me.
The
long flight
gave her time to think about the previous week and how much fun it had been. Her mind settled on John and how different he was from the pushy jerk now sitting by her, bumping his knee to hers and trying to hit on her. He wouldn’t shut up about how important he was—in his own mind.
John wouldn’t do anything like that
—
he’s too much of a gentleman.
That she would think that way and defend him was new to her.
Why did I think that? I’ve never felt that way before. Men have always been a pain, but he wasn’t. In fact, he was pleasant and treated me as an equal, not as a silly woman or a sex object
.
He knew I didn’t know the first thing about ranching and cows, but he was patient and understanding. He was certainly different from any man I’ve ever known. I want to get back to Susan and get my mind off him before I make something that’s not there and is never going to be there.
She leaned her head back, tilted the hat over her face and closed her eyes, hoping her seatmate would take the hint and shut up.

Her mind drifted to John and the tender care he exhibited as he dressed the horse bite. Her body began to respond to the pleasant memory. Without thinking, she rubbed the still sore area. The memory of their time in the hot tub kicked her response up even more. At the same time she became aware of her seatmate’s hand on her knee. With a wink he said, “Gets exciting doesn’t it?”

She leaned close to him as he leered at her. “Listen carefully, sir. Over the weekend, I was bitten on the boob by a horse, had the bite treated by a vet, won a barrel racing competition and was jolted out of bed this morning by the blast of a high-power rifle. Now what is, and is not, exciting?”