Love in Romance Arkansas (8 page)

Once he was casually and gently stroking her back after a hard day when their relationship took a huge step. He paused to watch the moon rise. When he dropped his hand to resume the stroking he felt, not a sleek back, but the most delightfully warm, round, firm female breast he had ever touched. She sucked in a quick breath as he jerked his hand away.

She jumped to her feet like a big, mad cat. Even in the moonlight, he could see her nostrils flair in rage and her eyes glitter in fury.
Boy did I step in it this time! I’ve never seen anyone move so fast and be so ready to go to war.
“Oops, didn’t know you had rolled over. Sorry.” He didn’t know what she was going to do, flee or attack.
When did she remove her top? Mad or not, this is one fine looking woman. Not large breasts, but nicely shaped and carried, very nice indeed.

She regarded him a moment, then much to his surprise, she slid into his lap and grabbed him in a huge bear hug. She laid her head on his shoulder and began to cry, softly at first, then racking heartfelt sobs. “Please hold me as tightly as you can. Let me feel you pressed to me. Just hold me, please.”

Being one to honor a lady’s request, he wrapped her up and held her snugly, not enough to hurt or make breathing difficult, but enough to let her know she was being held. She wiggled and squirmed a bit, then settled down. He couldn’t resist gently stroking her long silky hair.

Several minutes later, she leaned back and looked at him in the pale moonlight for a moment, and said, “Even though it caught me by surprise, that felt good to me, continue if you want.”

“Are you sure? This could lead to something more intense than what we have. Ready to take that step?”

“Please do,” she replied in a husky voice.

“OK, turn around and lean back against me.”

* * * *

Soon she was moaning softly.
He is even gentler than Susan. I didn’t think a man would be so careful and easy. This is the most enjoyable turn-on I’ve ever experienced.
“That feels so good,” she purred. “Please don’t stop.” She moved a bit to allow him to touch her more freely and leaned back to enjoy the experience.
This is wonderful, I’ve never felt this way before. This is real, the way it should be. A lover’s touch, not some rough uncaring sexual advance.
Warm nerves rippled through her as she absorbed his touch and her mind ran wild. She rode those nerves to the most unusual orgasm of her life, not wildly physical, but more of a soft, round climax, extremely fulfilling in a powerful mental sort of way.

She turned back into his arms, “Please just hold me and let me savor this feeling and moment. You’ve opened a door for me and I want to share it with you.”

He pulled her close and held her tightly as he stroked her back and she became aware of just how much of a man he was.
Good night, what a man!
She snuggled deeper into his arms and sighed contently. A feeling of peace and safety she had never known washed over her as she enjoyed the warmth of his body. Little tingles of warm nerves began to sneak through her body, telegraphing her awakening as a woman truly in love for the first time in her life.

“Jenny, I have a long standing problem. Doug had a misunderstanding with a Mr. Kelly Williams of Brooks, Alberta. Mr. Williams has the finest Angus herd in Canada. I don’t know what their problem was, but they wouldn’t speak to, or deal with, each other. For years I’ve thought we need some of his bloodline in our herd, but Doug absolutely refused. Now, Mr. Williams refuses to deal with me for some unknown reason. Whatever happened must have been something.”

I’ve been reading Grandmother’s journals and I know exactly what happened. No need to tell John what caused the problem. When best friends fall for the same girl, deep resentment can develop. Especially in a case like this. It is a testament to Doug and Missy that they stuck together and worked it out. Guess everyone has some skeletons in the closet. My mom and dad supplied me with plenty.

His next words grabbed her attention.

“I was wondering if you could deal with Mr. Williams. You have the people skills to bring it off. I think we could help each other considerably. For years, I’ve had breeders question why we didn’t cooperate, and I’ve had no answer. Maybe you can work out something. It’s a shame the bloodlines can’t be matched—the best with the best to push the breed to a new level.”

The flight to Calgary gave her time to think about the delicate situation facing her. She reread the passages in her grandmother’s journal several times to be sure she knew what it really said.
How am I going to approach this? If I mess up, there is more at stake here than a few cows. Guess I’ll play it by ear and see what happens.

Her pickup was waiting at the car rental service and her room was ready so she settled in for the night.
I need to set my watch for the time change. The meeting is set for ten AM. No sense in getting off to a bad start by being late.
She chose to wear her normal work attire, western shirt, jeans, riding boots and her cowboy hat plus a heavy coat, to the meeting.

The ranch house and barn were at the head of a beautiful little valley surrounded by rolling, grass-covered hills. The setting was perfect though this ranch had a different look from hers back in Arkansas. Age was apparent. Fences weren’t tight and buildings had the look of beginning decline. However, the cattle were magnificent even to her relatively untrained eye.

This is a wonderful setting. We could make this into a beautiful ranch. Something to keep in the back of my mind.
A strange thought occurred to her—
why did I say we instead of me? But you know, that isn’t a bad thought at all.

The meeting was cordial enough until she brought up the reason for her journey. Mr. Williams launched into a long rant about the superiority of his cattle vs. hers and more than a little badmouthing of her grandfather.
Wow, the old chap gets steamed up pretty quickly, but I can see some of his point. Best just let him express himself and then try to get back to business.
Her lawyer training and experience allowed her to sit quietly until the old fellow ran out of things to say.

“Mr. Williams, I’ve read my grandmother’s journals, so I know the reason for the feud between you and my grandfather. That happened many years ago. Sir, all the parties except you have died. Can’t we put all this behind us and move ahead? This is a chance for the best of the best Angus bloodlines to merge, to the betterment of the breed.”

Another long tirade directed solely at her grandfather erupted from the old man.
Boy, this all happened over fifty years ago and he is talking about it as if it was yesterday or maybe this morning. Sit tight and let him ramble on. No telling what will happen when I tell him my next bit of news!
Finally the old man finished with a blistering denunciation and a flat statement, “I don’t want to hear that name mentioned in this house again. If you do, you better have a head start toward the door, because I’m going to throw you out on your butt.”

OK, here goes
. “Sir, I’ve been reluctant to tell you this. My mother was your daughter, and I’m your granddaughter. I knew none of this until I began to read my grandmother’s journals. My grandmother and grandfather raised her as their daughter. Did you know this? I can understand your sense of loss and anger toward them. I didn’t even know anything about my family until I got a letter saying I was the sole heir to a ranch in Arkansas. Since then, I’ve pieced together some of the family history. Your daughter gave birth to me in California, and she was the only family I knew. As far as I can tell, my grandparents never knew I existed. My mother died about three years ago. I don’t know my father.”

“I told you not to mention that SOB again in this house. Who do you think you are to come in here and try to sell yourself as my granddaughter? Do you city slickers think I’m so dumb as to accept this ration of BS you are peddling? Who put you up this, some slick lawyer trying to get his hands on my ranch because I have no one to which I can to leave it? Damn! You people make me sick. Get out of my house!”

“Sir, I think if you will take just a few minutes to read a bit of my grandmother’s journal, you will better understand my position. This is only one volume of many. I think you will also see this situation wasn’t exactly a picnic in the park for them, either. The pertinent section is marked. I’m going to sit on your front porch and take in the wonderful view.”

After about thirty minutes, she went back inside. The old man was sitting in his easy chair crying, the journal carefully placed on an end table. “Mr. Williams are you okay? I know this is a big shock to you. I’m sorry for your pain and sorry that I was the one to bring it to you, but at least you can have some closure. Anything I can do to help?”

The old man looked at her with reddened eyes and whispered, “She did love me, and loved me all those years. I left the only woman I ever loved, unknowingly left her pregnant with my child, left her to fend for herself. Thank God Doug stepped up to the plate and had the nerve to do what I didn’t. I’ve held a grudge against him all these years when I’m the one at fault. This bitterness inside me is my own doing and it hurt no one but me. Now it is too late to make amends to Doug and Missy, but maybe I can do something for you that in some small way will compensate for what I’ve done.”

For some unknown reason, a statement from the journal popped out of her mouth. “Only the Lord can bring you inner peace. Get things right with Him, let Him handle it, and only then will you have peace.”

“You are correct in that. I’ve let my bitterness affect that area of my life also. I need to get lots of things right with Him. Over the years, I’ve strayed from the path many times without even trying to get back right. Your visit will be a blessing after all.”

Upon her return to Romance, she mentioned nothing about the family business to John. When he asked how the negotiations went, she replied, “We should have no more problems with getting breeding stock as needed. We now own two of the finest Angus herds in North America.”
Why did I automatically say we? Wonder if John caught that?

“How did that happen? Mr. Williams like you, or something? Always struck me as a cantankerous old man, mad at the world in general and Doug in particular.”

“Mr. Williams is actually my grandfather. It’s all here in Grandmother’s journal. When best friends fall for the same girl, some bitter feelings can result. Mr. Williams didn’t know the entire story, now he does, and he understands much of the ill will was his doing. He has dealt with his issues, since he is the only one left. He and I reached an agreement to the effect that he has signed his ranch over to me lock, stock and barrel. I had a title search conducted, no problems at all. No strings attached, free and clear.”

“We are going to have to do lots of repair work up there. Mr. Williams is alone and now is too old to do much in the way of maintenance. The barn is right on the bank of a small stream, so every time it rains, the corrals flood and the stream picks up a heavy load of pollutants. The pasture to barn arrangement is not what I would like, so now might be a good time to relocate the barn and corrals. There are other environmental issues that must be addressed as well. Fences need to be tightened and or replaced. It has the potential to be a beautiful ranch. I would like to make another showplace of it, as you have done here.”

“Jenny, the state trap shoot is coming up in about a month. Want to have a go at it?”

“Sure, I think it’ll be fun, and I’ll get to see other shooters and their equipment.”

“I suspect you will surprise a few shooters with that little twenty gauge of yours. Trap is almost exclusively a twelve gauge event. However, modern ammunition allows the twenty to hold its own at the sixteen yard line. Many twelve gauge shooters use light loads at sixteen yards to avoid heavy recoil. The twenty still loses out at longer range, but for now sixteen yard singles are all you will be shooting. I suggest we buy premium target ammo for the match, don’t want to have anything but breaking birds on your mind. I can’t coach you during individual rounds, so you will be on your own. You know how to grind ‘em up, so all you will have to do is get your nerves under control. You know exactly what every target looks like and you’ve broken them all—this is no different.”

“We need to get your ATA card so you can shoot registered targets and start to establish your average for any other shoots you may want to enter.”

“What is an ATA card and what do you mean
my average
?”

“ATA is short for Amateur Trap Association, the national governing body for organized trap shooting in the United States. Your average is the number of targets you break out of one hundred fired. Since you don’t have an average, you will shoot with the big dogs until you establish an average.”

“Why is that? It doesn’t seem fair to have to shoot against the best shooters right out of the box. Isn’t there a system so I can shoot against shooters like myself? It might get discouraging to have to compete with the top shooters so quickly.”

“The system is designed to weed out sandbaggers who deliberately shoot below their averages, then pop up and win a higher class in big tournaments. Don’t worry about the system, and remember you are shooting to break as many targets as you can. You aren’t shooting against anyone but yourself. If you are squaded with four AA shooters, you aren’t trying to beat them, just break as many targets as you can.”

“What are AA shooters?” she asked.

“AA shooters run averages like .9995 or even higher. In other words, they don’t miss very often. As I said, you are not trying to beat anyone, just break as many targets as you can, and the score will take care of itself.”

“You’ll meet some really nice people who knew and probably shot with Doug. As soon as they see your shotgun, they will want to know how you got it and who you are. Most good shooters will be more than willing to help a newcomer. Keep safety in mind at all times and you will be welcomed. There will be one or two blowhards around and they will probably give you a hard time if you let them. Be polite and just ignore their wild boasting.”