Love in Romance Arkansas (6 page)

“I love what we have and have been satisfied. It’s just that he stirs feelings that I didn’t know I had, feelings you have not fulfilled and I don’t think you can. He makes me feel like a total woman, and I want to love him as much as I can.”

“Well if that is your choice, when he gets rough and hurts you, remember how gentle I was. When he starts beating you, think about us. When he gets tired of screwing you and leaves you, don’t come crying to me. Run to him and be his whore. I’m sure he will appreciate the use of your body for his pleasure. I’m out of here, stupid bitch.”

The vicious reply stunned John and it wasn’t even directed to him. He couldn’t even imagine how it hit Jenny.

Jenny slumped down on the steps of the deck. Minutes later Susan’s car ripped out of the drive.

John watched her.
I think it might be best if I let her sort this out in her mind before I approach her. She has a lot of things to come to grips with. Her world was shredded in those few minutes.

Jenny sat for hours into the night. A thunderstorm built in the distance and rumbled across the ranch with lashing rain and a brilliant lightning display. In flashes of lightning, she seemed so small and alone as she huddled on the steps.

Enough of this, I’m going to bring her in if I have to carry her.
He ran to her and scooped her up in his arms and fled back inside just as a blinding lightening flash and a tremendous clap of thunder shook the house. He threw a blanket on a chair, sat her down and wrapped her in the blanket. She only said one word, a pitiful “No.”

* * * *

Jenny sat with her head down for a long time.
I guess it is time to come clean with him, spill the whole sordid mess and see what he says.
She defiantly lifted her face to him. “I was engaged to what I thought was a wonderful man. He had everything a woman could want. Good job, nice home, plenty of money and he was a very polite, respectful guy. I thought I had the best of the best.” She ended with a wretched sob.

He gently replied, “I sense a big
but
coming here. If you don’t want to talk about it, I understand completely. When you are ready, a sympathetic ear can help. Missy listened to me many times. She was one of the most understanding, concerned, helpful people I’ve ever known. Without her counsel, there is no telling where I’d be.”

She looked at him for a moment, then lurched into his arms and hugged him tightly. She sobbed a few times and then broke totally. She wailed her agony and cried until the tears soaked through his shirt. Though she was crying her heart out, a thought ran through her mind.
This guy is interested in me as a person. He is concerned about my problem. I’m so lucky to have someone I can trust.

“I found he already had two wives and wanted me to be number three because I was pretty and he wanted some Asian blood in some of his children. Basically, his only interest was in breeding for a particular factor, and he chose me to supply it. He fooled me completely. He never slipped and mentioned the other women. He was good at hiding his intentions. It still makes me sick to think I had made love with him without a hint of anything being wrong. Susan was very supportive through the entire mess. We developed a different relationship that fitted my needs at the time.”

As he held her he spoke softly in her ear, “You got a raw deal, for sure. I can see why you might have been attracted to another woman. Some men can do a number on a woman and think nothing of it. It’s a shame the way some insensitive, arrogant men treat women. Can work the other way as well.”

“It is amazing how harshly some people treat others. I was an outcast growing up. The shadow of my father and mother hung heavily over my life. Most people expected me to turn out the same way and some of them made it well known that I should not be allowed to remain in the community when Doug and Missy stepped up for me. The upstanding citizens wanted to send me to a children’s home at best, or reform school at worst. I’ll admit I did a lot to warrant that attitude, but they stood up to the self-righteous pack, and me, until I saw what they were offering me.

“I battled through high school with kids who knew me. College was better because most of my classmates either didn’t go to college or left home to go to school. Some of them joined the military and got a hefty dose of their own medicine. I made a few friends though I was a bit of a loner.

“Harvard was another test. Being from Arkansas made me the butt of many jokes and much scorn from kids from wealthy, elite families. Some of the more “enlightened” professors made it tough also. The snobbery at that place was enough to make a buzzard puke. I had one prof who believed in me and helped me get on track. With her help, I decided to destroy the curve in every class I took. Missy had taught me to study and how to study. That gave me a tremendous advantage over the kids who had been given everything. I ran into resistance at every turn. Some wanted me to slack off and make it easy for them, others thought I was cheating. When graduation rolled around, I was at the top of the class. You should’ve seen the looks on the faces of some of those rich kids. One of them had the audacity to question why I thought I should even attend Harvard, much less graduate at the top of the class. He and three of his buddies received a lesson in the fine art of down and dirty butt kicking.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed Cornell. I was in my element in vet school, and five of my classmates and I engaged in a spirited battle for the top spot. We respected each other and had none of the petty rivalry as at Harvard. I tied for the top spot and I still keep up with those five guys. They are the kind of friends one needs.”

“I met Janice at UCLA. She thought I was going to be a high priced doctor and all that stuff. A couple of months before our planned wedding, she dropped me like a hot rock when this job opened and I took it. She wasn’t going to move to Arkansas.”

“Through it all, Doug and Missy’s lessons stood me well and the anchor of the Lord allowed me to carry on.”

Jenny said, “How do I get part of the religion you have that is not
the
goodie two shoes or holier than thou
stuff that absolutely drives me crazy?”

“It’s actually easy. We can do a bit of study later. Right now we need to get you dry, warm and get some good hot food into you.”

John watched Jenny plunge into running the ranch with her people skills, her new found knowledge, and his support. Anytime something was happening, she was in the middle of it, learning new skills and knowledge. If a cow was having calving troubles, she was there to help pull the calf. Soon she could do, and did, the job by herself. Collecting, testing, preparing and storing bull semen was a routine job accomplished quickly and efficiently. In the rough and tumble melee of working calves, she took her share of the bumps, bruises, kicks, stepped-on toes and manure in stride. Any job was tackled with enthusiasm and grit. She was a tireless worker and soon won the respect of everyone with whom she dealt.

For some reason she preferred to ride her horse over the ranch instead of an ATV or pickup. Some people thought this a bit strange, but she found it relaxing and a way to get closer to the land and cattle. Her little black horse thrived on the attention and served as a faithful companion. He never tried to bite her again. Saddling up was the first order of most days and the last task was rubbing down the horse and feeding him. Seeing her riding nearly every day made John think of the old west and how things had been done in the old days.

Her mental state changed dramatically. She lost the hurry, hurry mind set and adapted to the slower pace of ranch life. It wasn’t that she lost interest, she just meshed her mental speed with the conditions of ranching. The slowdown added much to her charm. Her sharp wit became evident as she now laughed freely and easily. She engaged in spirited verbal exchanges with John, usually besting him in the game of wits.

Another nice change was in her appearance, from slim and slender to a work-hardened woman. She still did her workouts, and the combination of exercise and work resulted in an agile, powerful body. Her arms and legs were now nicely muscled. Her hips had a new swing to match her legs. Hands with closely pared nails were a bit rough, but strong. Her face, dominated by dark, sparkling eyes, had a new luster. Her joy of life added to the overall package. In short, she became a fine looking woman, a woman who turned heads everywhere she went. Not the least of which was John’s.

The wife of one of his friends remarked, “If you don’t try to get to know that girl, you are going to miss something good. There aren’t many girls like that floating around, intelligent, hard working and nice looking. Better not drag your feet.”

“What if we don’t like each other?”

“At least try—if you don’t hit it off, you haven’t lost anything. If you do click, look what you have to gain.”

“But she owns this place, I more or less work for her.”

“Quit giving excuses, go for it. I happen to know she is lonely. She left everything in California to come here knowing no one. Even in California, she was a private person, didn’t have just lots of friends. Her experiences with men left her a bit gun-shy. She would enjoy some decent company. Be nice to her, and your reward might be very pleasant. I know how hurt you were by Janice’s leaving like she did. You need to drop that little episode and get on with your life. You might enjoy some decent company, too.”

Before he could act, she started to casually date one of the neighboring ranchers. Every time he saw them together, it gnawed at him.
Idiot
, y
ou messed up. She seems to be happier than any time since she moved here. That could be me enjoying her company. Not to wish him any bad luck, but I hope this doesn’t work out. Becky was right, not many like her, and I missed a chance to get to know her better.

That friendship ended on a bad note and he didn’t waste any time in following his friend’s advice. Where the neighbor tried to impress her with money, of which he had plenty, John was just himself. They went for long rides over the ranch, often at night when the moon was full. She depended on him for companionship and guidance in ranch matters, though she was quickly catching on to the business. By mutual consent, they drifted into a trusting professional relationship and a warm, easy friendship.

He often took her to dinner in Searcy or Conway and occasionally to Little Rock. Dinners at home were their most relaxing, enjoyable times together. She thoroughly enjoyed her renovated kitchen and proved to be an excellent cook. He grilled steaks, chicken and fish as his contribution. Once he prepared an entire Cajun meal. The spicy hot gumbo, red beans and rice, and boiled crayfish were new to her palate, however she managed to go back for seconds and thirds.

She returned from one of her trips to California to be greeted by a meal of quail, creamed potatoes & gravy, hot biscuits and green beans. A steaming apple pie fresh from the oven completed the meal in grand fashion.

“John, why don’t we dig out the spring and create a stone pool with stone benches on either side? It is such a pretty little area anyway, so shady and cool. I think it would make a nice picnic spot. We would use native stone to blend with the bluff and be as unobtrusive as possible. I have an idea of what I want it to look like. I’ll let you look at the plans to see what you think.”

Pleased with her line of thought, John replied, “Believe it or not, I’ve often thought of that myself. That would be a great idea. Get your plans and let’s decide what and how to do it. It is a pretty spot. With the right stone work it can really nice.”

They looked at her sketches and some pictures in magazines to determine the best approach. Some of his ideas were incorporated as well to come up with a plan for a pool about three feet deep, eight feet wide and twelve feet long with a “U” shaped stone patio about ten feet wide tied into the bluff.

They rented a small backhoe and dug into the job. All went well until they were about two feet down. Suddenly the machine stopped as if it had hit solid rock. They wrestled with the problem for several minutes with no results. John got a piece of rebar out of the truck and probed into the mud in a back and forth pattern.

“There seems to be a line of rock right about here. Dig along this line and let’s see just what is down there. Just dig down to the rock, don’t try to move any of it. I have an idea, but I want to see first.”

Jenny skillfully dug along the line he indicated. Soon she had a line of rock exposed. John probed along the inside to a depth of almost six feet without hitting any solid bottom. Outside the rock, a solid stop was hit at about three feet. More probing outlined an oblong about ten feet by six feet tied into the bluff.

“Want to guess what we have here?” he asked. “I’ve heard of these things, but I’ve never seen one. There are supposedly quite a few of them scattered about if one knows where to look.”

“I have no idea, unless it is some type of building.” She paused a minute, and then exclaimed, “This is an old spring someone fixed up years ago! They did what we are trying to do now. Can we clean it out and use it again?”

“It depends on how sound the rock work is. Drainage will be a problem until we can open a channel downstream a ways. Tell you what, let’s do that first so we don’t have to work in standing water. We are going to have to rent a dump truck to move this mud to a safe place so it doesn’t wash down the creek any more than necessary.”

She asked, “How did this get buried this way? Surely someone didn’t fill it in, did they?”

“In the early 1900s, and up until about WWII, many people grew cotton on these hills. That was the time before soil conservation was an issue. There was no contour plowing—rows might run up and down hill as much as around. As you can imagine, erosion was horrific. Any heavy rain moved thousands and thousands of tons of soil from hillsides into streams. Clear, clean, fast flowing streams became choked with silt. Mud replaced rock and gravel bottoms and fish species shifted. This stream had a rock and gravel bottom at one time, now it is under five or six feet of silt.”