Texas OilMan's Bride (Mail Order Bride Series) (7 page)

“…make love to me, Jonathon.”

She led the way down the hall to her bedroom.  “I would like for you to undress me,” she said, and turned her back to him, then lifted her arms above her head.

With trembling fingers, Jonathon began unhooking the loops on the back of her dress.  He lifted the unbuttoned garment over her head and laid it across the boudoir chair.  He then peeled the next layer and discarded it.  Standing in front of him, clad in her chemise and pantaloons, she unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it on the chair.  She pulled his undershirt over his head and laid it on top of the shirt. 

Standing bare chested, he removed her chemise, then pulled her against his chest.  Her breasts crushed against him, the nipples searing his chest, he kissed her deeply.  A kiss she returned with fervor.  Holding her at arm's length, he said, “I want to look at you.”

She did a slow pirouette, her pert breasts, as fine as the whitest marble.  “You are the most beautiful woman in the world,” he said, his voice ragged with emotion.

“Now you,” she said, and unbuckled his pants, letting them fall to the floor.  She peeled his shorts down and he stepped out of them.  He turned slowly in a full circle.  She pressed against him.  “Make love to me.”

She pulled back the covers on the bed and lay down looking up into his face.  He reached into the pocket of his trousers.  She heard a tearing sound, then another sound as he sheathed himself.

“Jonathon, be gentle.  You’re the first.”

Startled by the revelation, he asked, “Laura, are you sure?  Are you really sure you want to do this?  The first time is a special time.”

“I’m sure.  I love you and I want you to make love to me.  Now.”

Gently, he tenderly made love to her, wincing as she cried out with pain.  Afterward, as they lay in each other’s arms, he said, “Laura, I love you with all my heart.  I’ve been such a fool and you just gave me the greatest gift a woman can give a man.”

Slowly, they made love again.  “It wasn’t as painful as the first time,” she said. “Hold me tight, and tell me again what you said.  I want to hear it again just to be sure I heard you correctly the first time.”

“I love you, Laura Ingram.”  They fell asleep in each other’s arms. 

Before dawn, he got out of the bed and began
dressing.  After he pulled up his pants, he faced the bed.  She was awake and watching him.  “I wish you didn’t have to go.  We’ve wasted so much time,” she said.  “At least, that’s behind us now.”

Fully dressed, he leaned down and kissed her.  “You taste so sweet,” he said.  “I’ll call you later.”

“I do love you,” she said.

“I know,” he said.

* * *

At home, Jonathon looked in the mirror.  He was furious with himself.  He did not like the man looking back at him.  “You are the most despicable person in the world.  What you did is unforgivable.  Your mother would be ashamed of you.” 
No more ashamed than I am of myself,
he thought.

Oh God, the evaluation.  I’ve got to do something about the evaluation I wrote. She would be devastated if she knew about the it.  I have to stop it.  I’ll have to talk to Bill.  Maybe he can help me.

Like Bill, Jonathon always arrived at the office early.  He was even earlier, this Monday.  When he saw Bill, he went to his office and knocked on the door.  “I’ve got to talk to you, Bill.  I’ve done something terrible and I need your help.  I’m desperate.”

“Close the door and sit down.  What is this terrible thing you say you did?”

“The evaluation I wrote for Laura was bad.  Really bad.  And untrue.”

“What do you mean?  Why would you do such a thing?” Bill asked.

“I wanted to work alone and saw this as a chance to get rid of her.”

“I don’t believe this,” Bill said.

“It’s true.  Can you get it stopped?  We’ve got to get it stopped.  We have to.  Bill, I’m in love with her.  You have to help me.”

“Jonathon, I don’t want to help you.  I don’t want anything to do with you.  In fact, I’m probably going to recommend you be separated from the company.  Now get out of here and let me see if I can fix this mess you’ve created.”

A contrite Jonathon walked slowly back to his office, just as Laura walked in.  “Good morning, Jonathon,” she said.  “I slept like the dead, last night.  What about you?”

He mumbled an unintelligible response, and walked on into his office, followed by Laura.  “What’s wrong, Jonathon?  You look terrible.  Are you upset with me?” she asked, her voice betraying her concern.

He sat there, his head in his hands.

“Jonathon, you’re scaring me.  What’s wrong?  Talk to me, please, talk to me.”

He raised his head, his eyes brimming with tears.  “Laura, three weeks ago, I wrote your probationary evaluation.  I said several things, none of them good.”

“What kind of things,” she asked.

“I said, you weren’t a good fit, and were not a team player.  I said you didn’t have the skills to work in this part of the business.  I recommended that you be reassigned to an administrative position in the home office.

“At the time, I just wanted to work alone.  It was before I fell in love with you.  I just told Bill.  I pleaded with him to see if he can get it blocked.  He’s calling the home office now.

“I know you must hate me, but no more than  I hate myself.  I hate what I have become, and then I took advantage of you last night.  I am a horrible person, Laura.  It would be best for me to go back to our farm.”

“First of all, you didn’t take advantage of me last night.  I loved you and wanted to share my love with you. I had the idea you felt the same way about me. 

“Now, you’re having a big pity party?  Feeling sorry for yourself after  stabbing me in the back.  Don’t you dare feel sorry for me,” she said.   “You have ruined something for me that was very special.  You have ruined our love for each other and our chance at a wonderful life.  I feel sorry for you, Jonathon.  You do whatever you have to do, but leave me out of it.  You have killed any respect I had for you.”  The tears streamed down her cheeks, as she left his office.

Bill came to the door, opened it and walked in.  “My office.  Now,” he said, turned and returned to his office.

“Close the door, sit down and keep your mouth shut.  Understand?”

“Yes.  Bill, I… “

“I said, keep your mouth shut,” Bill roared.  Heads in the outer office turned in their direction, unsure about what was going on.  “I just got off the phone with the corporate office.  They received the evaluation and have transferred Laura back there.”

Jonathon interrupted, “Bill, that’s not
… “

“I said shut up,” Bill yelled.

“Corporate feels you are too valuable to fire, despite my recommending it.  I doubt anyone here will work with you, when they hear what you did.  I’m under orders not to tell them.  I don’t think Laura will tell them.  Wait a minute, you did tell her didn’t you?  Were you at least that much of a man?”

“I told her all of it.  She’s devastated.  I think she has gone home.  Last night, She told me she loved me.  We were going to have a future together.  That’s all gone now.

“I think it would be best for me to resign, I don’t want to cause any more problems than I have.”

“I might have known, you’re a quitter too.  I can’t believe you and Rebecca are from the same family.  She’s not going to believe this.”

“Does she have to know?” Jonathon asked.

“I submitted a request to be transferred to a project in Katy.  She will wonder why I’m leaving here, and I refuse to lie to her.  So, I’m going to tell her.  I’ve come to care for he a great deal.  I just hope this doesn’t ruin our relationship too.”

After
the second day Laura was absent from work, Jonathon began worrying.  He knew she wouldn’t want to talk to him, so he didn’t attempt to call.  He didn’t even know whether she had a phone.  He decided to take a day off from work, knowing he wouldn’t be missed.

He knocked on her door, standing to the side, so she couldn’t see him through the peephole.  She didn’t open the door, instead, asking the identity.  After hesitating, he said, “Laura, it’s Jonathon.  I have to talk to you.  Please open the door.”

“No! Please leave.  I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Laura, please open the door.  I promise not to come close.  Please?”

He heard the safety chain being removed and the door opened.  She stood there, eyes bloodshot, and hair unruly.  “What do you want?” she asked in a voice as cold as ice.

“I was… am worried about you.  No one has heard from you or anything, Bill wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“There’s nothing to tell.  You’re getting what you wanted.  I’m not assigned here any more.  I hope you’re satisfied,” she said.

“I called the corporate office and talked to personnel.  I told them I had made a stupid, spiteful mistake and needed to correct it.  I offered to resign if they allowed you to stay here.  Since the transfer has already been effected, they wouldn’t do anything about it. 

“I told them I would quit unless they brought you back into the Beaumont office.  They reminded me I had a non-compete clause in my contract and couldn’t work, but I let them know I didn’t care, that my father wanted me to manage the farm anyway.

“They relented because this project cannot go forward without us working on it.”  He looked into her puffy eyes, and said, “It was not an idle threat.  If you are not back in the Beaumont office, then neither am I.  It’s all I can do.  I’m trying to make it right, but I know I can’t wipe away the hurt I’ve caused you.  Please?”

“You really did all of that?” she asked, her lips quivering.

“I did.  And I meant every word.  You have a bright future ahead.  Don’t throw it away, because of a stupid thing I did.  I’m going,  I won’t bother you again.”

“Wait.  What are you going to do?” she asked. 

“I’m going back to the farm.  After that, I don’t know.  I will probably run the farm.  Maybe do some exploration.  It doesn’t matter.”

“You’ll be miserable as a farmer,” she said.

“No more miserable than I am now.”  He left, leaving an equally miserable Laura.

The next morning, Laura went into the office.  His office was empty.  He had never had personal things in there, but there was no sign he had even been there.  She went to Bill’s office.  “Where’s Jonathon?” she asked.

“He’s gone.  He came in this morning, and emptied his desk and left.  I don’t know where he was going or what he’s planning. 

“I spoke with personnel this morning.  They have rescinded your transfer.  You are again part of this office.”

“I don’t want to be a part of this office if he’s not here.  He’s the only reason I'm here.  I wanted to work with him,” she said.

“Well, I don’t know where he was going, so there’s nothing I can do,” Bill said.

“If I can get him back, could you work with him?” she asked.

“I have a request to transfer out,” he said, “but I don’t think they will let me, if Johnny is gone too.”

“But could you work with him?” she asked.

“I guess I could, he was genuinely sorry for what he did.  He was in tears, pleading with me to stop the evaluation from being acted upon, but it was too late.”

“I think I know where to find him, but I just don’t know how to get there.  Rebecca does, though.  Tell me how I can contact her.  After she kills him, she’ll tell me where he is.”

Bill laughed, and gave her Rebecca’s phone number in Houston.

* * *

“Becky, this is Laura.  No, I’m fine.  He’s why I’m calling though.  I need your help.  He’s disappeared, but I think he went to your parent’s place.  I love him, Becky, I’ve forgiven him for what he did, but he doesn’t know that.  They rescinded my transfer, so I’m still in Beaumont.  I talked with Bill, and he can work with him, but he doesn’t know how to contact him either.”

“I can give you the telephone number for the farm, but he’ll be so filled with false pride, and self pity, he wouldn’t talk to you.  Tell you what.  I’ll come up there tomorrow, and we’ll go to the farm together.  After I beat him half to death, then you can talk to him, though why you want him back, I don’t understand.”

“You don’t know how much I appreciate this.  I’ll see you tomorrow.  Do you want me to tell Bill you’re coming?”

“No, don’t do that.  He might try to stop us, and I like him too much to fight with him.  I’ll let Mama know we’re coming, but ask her to keep our secret.  It’s about a four hour train ride.  .

Rebecca made the introductions, adding, “Mama was a mail order bride.”

“Was she really?” 

“We lived in Yorkville, where many men were lost, my father among them.  She found someone in another state she liked so she went for him.  You’ll get to see how well that all worked out. 

When they arrived at the farm, they were greeted by a barking dog.  Her mother stood on the porch, drying her hands.

“Where is he, Mama?”

“I think he and his Pa went to the general store to get some fencing material to replace some that had been damaged.  We’re trying to keep livestock from ruining what’s left of the cotton. 

“Do you want to tell me what is going on?” Rebecca’s mother, Sarah, asked.

Your son made a big mess of things in Beaumont and Laura asked me  to help, so I’m going to try.  Then I’m going to kill him, plain out.

“Just do it outside,” Sarah said.  “It’s hard to get blood stains out.” 

“I should have called Cass.  It would have been nice to have her around in case the maiming goes too far.” 

“You’re terrible, Laura will think we have a bunch of miscreants, when actually, there’s only your brother.”