The Ranch (3 page)

      "Nina,
did you hear me?"

      "Uh, what..I'm
sorry Emma, guess I must have been day dreaming. What did you say?"

     "I said it
really is beautiful out here isn't it?"

     "Oh yes it
is. Well I better get back to working on the deck." Nina said.

     "I guess I
will go get started on the salad" Emma said as she walked towards the
front of the house...Emma went straight the bathroom to wash her hands...as she
walked to the kitchen to make the salad she smiled to herself...the thought of
Nina outside working on the deck, her in the kitchen getting dinner ready, it
felt nice. It felt perfect.

     Just as Emma was
finishing the last of the preparation for dinner Nina walked in saying that she
had run out of material to finish the deck. "I thought I had gotten enough
wood to finish the deck but I guess I will have to get more, It's really warm
out there. Do you mind if I take a shower and get this sweat off of me?"

     " No go
ahead, you know where it is"...and with that Nina headed off to the
bathroom to take her shower.

     Emma put some music
on and poured a glass of wine for herself and made daiquiri for Nina. She just
sat down when she heard Nina yell "I left my bag in the hall Emma, could
you bring it to me please so I can get dressed."

     Emma walked up to
the room with the bag in hand..she knocked and opened the door. Nina was
standing there with a towel wrapped around her waist. As Emma set the bag down
she could not help but notice Nina, her breasts so perfect, her nipples hard
from the breeze coming from the fan. As she turned to leave Nina called her
name. "Emma, wait! Can you look at my thumb and see if you think it's
gonna need a hole drilled in the nail to release the blood?"

     Emma, immediately
concerned, turned and walked to Nina..."let me see it" as she reached
for her hand. Quick as a flash, Nina had turned Emma so that she had her back
to the wall and the distance was quickly closed as Nina moved so they were
touching. She gently brought her hand to Emma's cheek and stroked it and moved
to kiss her softly, tentatively on her sweet warm lips...just a brief kiss and
she stopped to check Emma's reaction as the passion she was feeling smoldered
in her blue eyes. Emma was momentarily surprised by Nina's quick move but the
look Nina was giving her was no surprise as she was feeling those same
feelings...

     Emma closed the
gap between them with a kiss of her own. She could feel the heat radiating from
Nina and she reached out to touch her and pull her even closer searing her lips
with a kiss that definetely drew a response from Nina. As their lips and
tongues gently duelled with each other Nina slid her hands under Emma's
T-shirt, and to her breasts that were just calling for attention, her firm
nipples poking through the sheer material of her bra. Nina quickly pulled
Emma's shirt off and unsnapped her bra all in one slick move...as her hands
cupped Emma's breasts and rubbed her thumb over the taut nipple Emma moaned
into her mouth and arched her back, letting Nina know that she was more than
ready to continue what they had begun. Nina gently pulled, first one, then the
other of Emma's legs up to wrap them around her waist, pinning Emma against the
wall...feeling the heat as their bodies meshed together.

     Nina gently
carried Emma to the bed and placed her in the middle...her towel had long ago
fallen away and Emma ran her hands over her back and ass as Nina lay over her,
pinning her to the bed. Nina ran her palm down Emma's belly, past her shorts,
to her core, which had long since been turned to liquid. The touch of Nina's
hand drew a sharp gasp from Emma as her fingers slipped through to gently run a
finger over her already swelling clit. Nina brought her hand up and licked the
sweet honey that she had just gathered, slowly from her fingers, her eyes
riveted to Emma's. She removed Emma's shorts and underwear in one swift
movement and again moved to lie between Emma's legs, moving up to kiss her
while grinding against her, letting her know she was as wet as Emma was....

     So intent was she
on the feelings she was evoking, that she had not heard her pager beeping for
the last several minutes...even the ringing of her mobile phone did not sink in
to her consciousness. It had rung several times, stopped and started ringing
again before Emma surfaced from where they had been to hear it."Baby, your
phone is ringing, "Emma said sweetly.

     "The hell
with the phone..we are busy "growled Nina.

     Although Emma
wanted to agree and just let it go, the persistence caused her to worry just a
little...."maybe it is something really important...maybe you better
answer it."

     Nina growled low
in her throat and grabbed the phone and said in a threatening
voice...."this better be damn important!"

     Her foreman, Rick,
was quite taken aback as he had never heard the boss sound like
that..".wonder what I interrupted", he thought to himself as he
dreaded even having this conversation with her. Emma, propped up on one elbow,
rubbing Nina's back while she was on the phone, could of course, only hear one
side of the conversation, and it wasn't sounding good! Nina was saying,
"All right, I will be there as soon as I can"...hanging up the phone
and tossing it in disgust.

     "What's
wrong?"Emma asked expectantly.

     "We are doing
a job away from here...a big job...worth almost a half million dollars...it is
the biggest job I have ever negotiated...Rick is my foreman. He is a good guy,
fresh out of engineering school, has great designs, he just hasn't had the
real-life experience and he is running into big problems. If we get this job
done under budget and on time we will get a big bonus and have the opportunity
to do more business with this development company. I need to go out there and
get things straightened out."

     "You mean
right now?"Emma said.

     Nina looked
dejectedly over and said, "they have a plane waiting for me, they have
been trying to get mefor a few hours."

     Tears sprang to
Emma's eyes as she said quietly, "how long will you be gone?"

     Nina tenderly
wiped a tear from Emma's cheek..."it may be a while. Baby, I am so
sorry...sorry to leave right now, like this, believe me when I say it isn't
what I want."

     Emma tried to be
brave, saying, "I will be OK. You better get ready."

     Nina slowly got up
and started throwing her stuff in the bag and getting into her clothes. Emma,
dressed in her robe, walked her to the door....Nina turned to her and hugged
her tightly, as if trying to draw her essence into her own skin."I know I
can't ask you to wait for me...I know you have your own life to live but I
promise I will make it up to you when I get back, if you will let me?"

     This caused a
fresh crop of tears to begin and Emma said, "I'll be here...come back to
me,eh?"

     "You can
count on it baby" Nina said, trying to swallow the lump that was
threatening to cut her breathe off. With one last longing kiss, Nina bounded
off of the porch and into her truck and was gone....

     Emma felt such a
feeling of emptiness...like she had happiness in her grasp and it was again
taken from her. She watched TV and drank too much wine and managed to drift
into a restless sleep. The next day she just meandered around the house, her
thoughts returning again and again to Nina....

     Monday dawned
sunny and bright. She had just had her first cup of coffee when she heard the
sound of vehicles coming down the drive. Wondering who in the world it could
be, she looked out the window to see a few of Nina's company trucks pull to a
stop and a young guy come to the door.

     She opened the
door and he introduced himself as Greg, Nina's crew boss. He said he got orders
to be here first thing Monday morning and to make all the repairs that she had
discussed with Nina. Emma replied, "I'm not sure I have the money to do
all I wanted to do at one time."

     Greg replied,
"the boss says she will discuss the fee when she gets back." This
caused Emma to chuckle and kind of turn a slight pink, thinking of what kind of
fee Nina might charge....Greg wondered at the way this woman seemed a bit
flustered with that bit of information but he wasn't asking questions...Nina
was a great boss and worked side by side as hard as any of her employees and he
was loyal to her. Emma brought the notebook with Nina's figures, sketches and
the suggestions and gave it to Greg. Soon the place was filled with the sound
of repairs.

      Another
knock at the door revealed a delivery man with a dozen red roses...not that she
had to read the card to know who they were from. And so began a pattern that
continued throughout the weeks that Nina was gone...Amber and Amy were called
and they made it a habit to come out and see Emma a few times a week or they
would do dinner...of course not just because Nina asked them to look in on her
but because they had become good friends. Nina called Emma daily and they both
looked forward to those times, although Emma could tell Nina was getting weary,
she could hear it in her voice. She continued to get flowers every week and one
day another bigger box arrived and it was moving! She pulled the top off to find
a chocolate lab puppy with a big red bow and a note from Nina... "thought
he could keep you company..his name is Brady...take good care of him...I love
you baby"...such simple words but they filled her heart.

     Work on the house
was almost complete and it was just as Emma had imagined it...it was beautiful.
It had been a long few months..summer was on its way out and fall was beginning
with just a bit of chill in the air. She was missing Nina so much more these
days. She wondered if that damn job would ever get completed. Amber had called
earlier and wanted her to have dinner and a movie with them and she had agreed.
They really had been wonderful friends and she was glad that they had been here
to keep her company. They even offered to come and pick her up. They had a
great time just as always...as they headed back to Emma's house Amy asked if
she had heard from Nina. Emma sighed and said, "a, she thinks it will be
another couple of weeks and then the job will be done" She was so much in
her own thoughts that she completely missed the conspiratorial wink shared
between Amber and Amy...

      Meanwhile,
back at the ranch, Nina had arrived shortly after Amber and Amy had picked Emma
up...giving her plenty of time to prepare. She looked at the house and the
repairs with a typical builders eye and was pleased to see her guys did their
usual excellent job. The bedroom with the skylight especially looked terrific,
allowing the moonlight to stream into the room with a romantic glow, just as
she had hoped. She got the wine and glasses, the cheese and fruit arranged on a
small table in the bedroom. she lit what seemed like a hundred candles...all
the way from the foyer into the bedroom and the bathroom and surrounded the
garden tub. Next she got all the rose petals that she had ordered..the florist
probably thought she was nuts but that was just too bad...she wanted this night
to be perfect. She scattered them from the front door, up the stairs, to the
bedroom, and covered the white comforter with them...all red, white and
yellow....she got a fire started and looked at her watch...perfect...Amber
should be on her way back.

     Amber, Amy and
Emma had turned back the drive. Emma was thinking it was cool enough to have a
fire tonight. As they approached the house Emma thought she smelled wood smoke
and it looked like there were lights or something on...had she forgotten to
turn something off? Amber and Amy usually came in for a drink but they seemed
in an awful hurry to get home tonight for some reason. They left, giving her a
hug and saying they would call tomorrow.

      She walked
up the front steps and when she opened the door, she saw several things all at
once.Brady was sitting at the bottom of the stairs with a new red handkerchief
tied around his neck and what looked like a piece of paper attached. She took
it from his handkerchief and at the same time realized all the candles and the
rose petals at her feet....she smiled and opened the paper...."I have
dreamed of this night forever...tonite there is no phone, no pager, nothing but
you and I and I will be making up for the time we have been apart. Come to me
baby"

      As Emma
finished reading the note she looked around in awe..all the candles and rose
petals leading up the stairs, the music playing, she walked up the stairs to
the bedroom..her heart was racing, the feeling of excitement building inside
her at the thought of seeing Nina when she would walk through the door. As she
got to the top of the stairs the bedroom door was open just enough for Emma to
see the glow from the candles that surrounded the room. As she approached the
door she saw the other note..she removed it and read..please enter the room and
remove all your clothes and meet me in the bathroom and just bring one rose.
Emma looked around her and saw one red rose lying on the bed amongst all the
petals. She looked to bathroom and again there were more candles..this was all
just such a dream. She had to keep pinching herself to be sure it was real. As
she got undressed, Emma kept going back in time remembering how she longed for
this night. Longed to feel Nina inside her, longed for the feeling that was so
beyond any words...she was completly naked, she pinned her hair up grabbed the
rose off of the bed and stood in front of the mirror hoping that she would not
be disappointing Nina.