With her whisper of agreement, he scooped her up and carried her out of the cool night and into his bunkhouse. An old lantern-style lamp stood on a table by his bed. He set her down on a pile of warm, flannel sheets to close the door and pull off his boots. As he turned back to her and shrugged out of his coat she saw his erection already fully formed and confined by his snug jeans. Her heart kicked up the pace and her palms felt damp. This was a man indeed! Then he was upon her; hands roaming her body, lips kissing her ears, legs, mouth. She could barely breathe, let alone think. He was ferocious and hungry, pulling her clothes off and tasting her skin.
“You smell so good.” He whispered, against her neck.
She could not reply, as he had pulled off his shirt and her shorts, and she was luxuriating in the all-encompassing feel of their skin touching. Then his pants were coming off, and she giggled to realize that he was brief-less. She held his hot and pure man-ness in her hands and gasped with the way she wanted nothing more than to straddle him and ride the wild ride.
He read her mind and rolled under her, while simultaneously lifting her up to settled her on his erect point. She really gasped this time and closed her eyes as he entered her, she was all his. As her body expanded and welcomed him in, his thumb brushed against her clit which was stretched around his hard cock. Her whole body reacted to his gentle brush of fingers; she shuddered and clutched him even harder. He moaned, and she felt his desire for her to move, and so she did, riding him deeply and letting him feel her own mounting craving. He stopped her several times, his hands firm and pleading on her waist. He played with her soft skin while he brought his own fever-pitch of need back to a controllable level.
She laughed, rollicking in her power over him as he needed her and yet stopped her movement. But it was only so long that they could hold off the inevitable, and soon her need to come and his need to release were all they could feel. She pushed faster and faster over him, until she came with the intensity of a lightning rod grounding ten thousand bolts of electricity into her warm and wet body. He was eager and thrust his pelvis up as she rode downwards. He came with a loud cry, and then they were damp with sweat and lying quietly in each other’s arms.
“It felt like lightning,” Lenora whispered.
He laughed and pulled her so that she was nestled under his chin.
“Yeah, it kind of did,” he said.
They were silent for a few minutes, and she felt herself dozing off.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever felt so good,” Clay said. He laughed again. And her heart beat with hope.
The stars were backlit by eastern pink when she moved sleepily from the warmth of Clay’s flannel sheets to her cold and rumpled bed for another hour of sleep.
After breakfast, Lenora checked her email over her second cup of chai. Suddenly, she found a building block for her new life; wellness tourism. She set down her mug and reread the email from Liz who was a head chef at a big resort. Liz served the yoga-and-tai-chi-going patrons nothing but organic fruits and vegetables and a sparse array of meats all healthfully raised and cooked.
Lenora began to ponder how a cattle ranch could transform into place where travelers from the city could find relaxation, health and peace. There were several key ingredients she knew the ranch could supply; adventure, locally raised and grown food and a beautiful destination. Yes, the ranch needed work, she could see this, but the place had good bones— no, great bones. Plus, with the mountains in the background and the river as well, all they really needed to do was make the ranch blend with the natural surroundings. They could use the rugged beauty of nature to highlight the weathered-chic of the buildings. Perhaps they could get rid of the old tractor skeletons in the fields, or move them so that they looked more intentional at least. All of the cows on the ranch were already grass-fed and sustainably raised. Because it was the right way to do things and so her uncle continued in that fashion and not from the new buzz around “green” and “eco-friendly.” But who cares why they did it, she thought, so long as they could cash in on the craze and keep the ranch afloat.
Annie came over to the desk and touched Lenora’s shoulder.
“Are you okay?” Annie said. “Your face looks odd.”
“Yes. Yes, of course,” Lenora replied. “Did you mean it when you and Uncle Byron said you really wanted me to stay?”
“Yes. Why what’s going on? You’re not ready to leave already? Oh, no did you and Clay have an argument?”
“No.” Lenora blushed despite herself. “We’re fine, I think.”
She imagined him last night and felt her face redden further. “Aunt Annie, I’m just trying to figure out how I fit into this place.”
She lifted her arms to take in the sturdy, old ranch house, but she meant the whole west and also her life, her new life.
“So, you want to open a restaurant?” Annie said.
“Not exactly. More like a very exclusive resort,” Lenora said. “I love to cook. I really do. I love to make people feel like family through food. I want it to be good food. Food that makes people happy and healthy. And, really, right now what I want to do is… you know… in.”
“Don’t say, ‘dude ranch’ to your uncle just yet.” Annie was smiling, and her eyes were bright. She touched Lenora’s hair, gently drawing the thick braid away from her niece’s face.
“I think it would be good for the ranch,” Annie said. “We need something new. You know we haven’t increased profits in eight years? And with rising costs of feed and fuel that can only work for so long before we have to start selling things off. Like the land.”
“It’s just a rough plan, but I’m going to work on it,” Lenora said. “Bit by bit. But for right now, I better finish up chores in the barn.”
Clouds raced across a deep blue sky. Lenora took a breath of fresh, mountain air and knew that visitors to Bear Dance Ranch would love this place as much as she does. Clay came riding in on a big chestnut gelding.
“Hi,” Clay said. He climbed off his horse and circled her with his arms.
He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she could smell the soap he must have used to wash up. His breath was mint and honey. She sighed and felt herself melting into the shape of his body, as his lips delicately moved from the neckline of her sweater towards her ear. He paused just where her hairline met her smooth skin, planting a trail of butterfly kisses, intense with their individual clarity.
“Want to go for a little ride this afternoon?” He said. “I’d like to take you up to Hochman’s Point.”
She could not help it; she turned in his arms and met his eyes, which seemed as clear and bright as before. The tiny crook of a smile in his left cheek had her heart hammering. She was speaking before she could even control herself.
“Yes, I would. Major is dying to go out for a good gallop. And I need to clear my head.”
“I’ll meet you in the corral after lunch?” He said.
“Yes,” she said.
He bent and swiftly kissed her wind-chapped lips and left her cheeks burning with more than the brisk weather.
***
The day had turned even windier, and the horses were restless as Clay and Lenora saddled them in silence. They were out on the high ridge to the east before he spoke.
“Are you liking it here?” Clay asked.
She watched the path of a red-tailed hawk as it circled overhead, then dropped swiftly to earth somewhere ahead in the tall grasses.
“Yes. I do. I…” She said.
She paused hoping that the right words would be brought to her on the breath of cool air blowing into their faces.
“I wonder where we stand?” She said.
As soon the words left her mouth she felt regret fill her body and scrambled to fix the situation
“I mean, you know, as friends. I don’t want you to feel awkward around me. I’m a big girl. I made my own choices for sure,” she said.
Now she felt inane. She glanced over at him and saw him watching her, but his eyes had become guarded and she could not read them.
“You think this is a game to me?” He sounded angry.
He snatched Major’s reins and tugged the horse to a standstill.
“Look, I know I’m not great at communicating all the time. I just don’t want to screw up again. You’re forgetting I’ve been married once before,” Clay said.
“I’ve been married before, too,” Lenora said. “I’ve picked the wrong person as well.”
The wind caught Lenora’s hair, blowing loose strands across her face and making the horses’ manes stream sideways.
“I just don’t want you to think I’m taking this lightly, is all,” Clay said.
He let go of Major’s reins.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“For what?” Her voice felt a little pinched.
“For not putting this right. What I mean is… are you even staying here?” He said.
“I don’t know. Maybe. Yes,” Lenora said. “I’m trying to build something here, in the west.”
Her heart felt light but her head was full of worries. They both stopped their horses again and looked at each other.
“I want to try and turn the ranch into a tourist retreat,” she said. “We have to do something. At the rate my aunt and uncle are going, they’ll have to sell the big meadow by the river at the end of the year. I think maybe, we could have a place for people to stay. I could cook their meals and then they could hike or bike or maybe even do a few trail rides.”
She met his eyes squarely before she continued. He looked thoughtful.
“I think people would come here to just unwind in all this beauty. It can help people, heal them. It’s been working on me. I think we could advertise that all our food comes from less than one hundred miles away and most from the ranch.”
“I think it could work,” he said. “I love that you want to stay. I’ve been so worried that you were going to go back to Chicago. And I was going to have to drive out there and convince you to come back.”
Clay got off his horse and walked to Major’s side. He reached up and grasped her about the waist and had her in his arms in a whirl. He kissed her hard, and she felt her body form to his. She let Major’s reins slip from her fingers and instead grabbed fistfuls of his shaggy locks. What was she coming to? She wondered briefly as she let him slide his hand inside her jeans and stroke her back and buttocks.
“You’ll come visit me tonight?” He asked.
His voice was in her ear, and his lips moved on her neck and nuzzled through her sweater to her collarbone.
“Yes,” she said.
She was breathless, and the world seemed to be spinning, and she was thrilled and scared at the same time.
“I’ve never felt like this before. Not trying to be cliché, but really. I’m a little frightened,” she said.
“That’s because you hadn’t met me, Baby,” he said.
But he was grinning as he spoke and his eyes danced. Handsome and cocky male, she thought. The tension in the air eased, and she could draw deep breathe again.
She punched him in the ribs, and he squeezed her closer.
“How about a drive into the city Saturday afternoon, once I’m finished with chores? We could go see that new movie everyone is talking about, and you could help me order from a fancy restaurant all in French. Or we could go see something at the theatre?” He said
“Really? Like a date?” She said.
“Yes, like a date. Bring your toothbrush, and we can stay over somewhere,” he said.
“Ok. I guess I better catch my horse.” She said.
But she turned to find Major nibbling on some grass, and acting like he had not been watching the whole kissing episode.
***
There was a tiny women’s boutique in town. Lenora drove in with the pretense of picking up some things for dinner. Really, her plan included lingerie. She had thrown everything even remotely lacy or sheer out after she and Mick were divorced. The only thing Clay had ever seen her in was functional cotton. She wanted something that said: Hello!I’m falling in love with you, mister. Look at me!
A tiny, clear bell range as she pushed open the door, and a willowy woman looked up and smiled from her seat behind the antique cash register. She set down her novel and waved carefully manicured fingers at Lenora. The whole store smelled like rose water and something else, the beach?
“Please tell me you’re looking for something wonderful?” The woman said. “Something exciting and out-of-the-ordinary.”
“Well, I am. I…” Lenora said.
She paused knowing this was a small, small town, and she was new, but something in the other woman’s eyes made her feel like she had found an ally.
“I’m looking for some killer lingerie!” Lenora said before she could back out.
“Yes! Finally. Do you know how hard it is to have something unexpected happen in this town?” The lady with the perfect nails said.
Lenora laughed and felt muscle in her neck relax. It was impossible not feel happy around this woman.
“Come to the back,” the woman said.
She led Lenora through rows of bright shirts, most liberally dotted with rhinestones and glitter, to a slim section with a very nineteen-fifties looking manikin dressed in a lovely silk bustier. The delicate confection was strapless, and made of creamy colored silk with tiny, green rosebuds outlining sheer sections designed to tease the eye in a very interesting way. Lenora’s stomach did a quick backflip. Clay will love this, she thought.
“Would you like to try it on?” The woman asked. And then she said, “Oh, where are my manners? I’m Rosa.”
“Lenora. Yes, I would love to.”
Lenora extended her hand and grasped Rosa’s long, delicate fingers. She was surprised by the strength behind the woman’s grip.
Lenora tried on the lovely silk and could not believe how amazing it looked against her softly glowing skin. She reached up to feel her cheeks, which were turning red just with the thought of spending time alone with Clay while she wore this scrap of clothing. The silk clung to her body, pushing her breasts together and up and wrapped her waistline and clung to her thighs as it stopped just shy of being decent.
“I’ll take it,” Lenora said smiling.
Rosa’s deep brown eyes were huge and sparkling under her carefully applied grape eyeliner.
“Who’s the lucky guy?” Rosa said.
“Clay Darkhorse. He’s a cowboy who works for my aunt and uncle.” Lenora said. She knew her face was still pink.
“Oh, cowboys! They’re such bad news but so easy on the eye,” Rosa said. She held up her left hand and a delicate diamond sparkled in the light. She continued, “Sometimes though, they end up being the best kind of man a girl could want.”
“Really? How long have you two been together?” Lenora asked.
“Six years,” Rosa said. “If you had asked me to leave sunny, California seven years ago, I would have told you to go to hell. But that cowboy of mine manages to move me here and tie me down in twenty-one days! You know he likes to brag about it. Like, you know if people ask how we met? He gets all proud and starts telling them how he moved me to the mountains!”
Lenora felt a little giddy, this woman was awesome. She realized she desperately needed a good girlfriend to hang out with on occasion.
Rosa folded the garment and put it in a beautiful purple bag. “How about lunch one day soon?” She said. “And you can tell me all about how he liked you in silk and roses?”
“Yes, sure. I’d love it really. I don’t know anyone here. Sometimes it gets a little lonely,” Lenora said.
“Great. Here’s my card, and that’s my cell number,” Rosa said. “Or we could do karaoke at the Painted Pony?” She winked.
“That sounds fun! Oh, and thanks.” Lenora lifted up her precious bag and smiled as she left the store.