Authors: Claire Adams
“What
do you have up your sleeve?” she asked.
Her
hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she had a beautiful grin across her face.
What Sarah had said was her resting bitch face had all but disappeared in
recent weeks and I took full credit for it. She was happy and it radiated from
the inside out. Sarah’s happiness was certainly one of the clues to Sid and
Meredith that something was going on between us.
“How
do you know something’s up?”
“Because
you wouldn’t be coming near these pigs unless it was important,” she laughed.
“They are dangerous.”
Sarah
held up one of the tiniest piglets and pressed it toward me jokingly. It was
adorable, I had to admit it. But the pig that had bitten me wasn’t nearly as
adorable and the rest of them seemed to mock me every time I came near them. I
had settled on the fact that I just wasn’t a pig guy and luckily I had enough
other farm hands around that I didn’t have to worry about being in charge of
the pigs.
“I
know, they are dangerous,” I joked. “Your mother invited me to come to your
house for dinner tonight.”
“Really?”
Sarah asked, not looking excited at all.
“Well
that look was sort of depressing. Isn’t it a good thing? We can sit together at
dinner and have a nice meal.”
“They
are up to something,” Sarah said as she put the piglet back in the pen. “My
mother is a sneaky one. You’ve got to keep your eye on her at all times.”
I
had to laugh. Sarah’s mother was by far one of the sweetest women I had ever
met in my life. If my own mother had still been alive she couldn’t have
compared to how sweet Meredith was. I found it hard to believe she had any
other ulterior motive than to just enjoy a nice meal.
“Didn’t
your parents ever invite Forest to sit down for a meal?”
“I’m
not sure; I was only here a few weeks while he was here. But I doubt it. I
think my father just likes you.”
When
I had first met Sid, I thought he hated me. The firm look at was across his
face at all times had me constantly worrying that I had done something to piss
him off. But the more I worked with him, the more I got to know him, and I
realized he was just a serious guy. Sid didn’t have any time for worrying about
if people liked him or not, he was trying to run his ranch. But everyone liked
him. It was a relief to deal with someone who was always upfront and clearly a
really good man.
Although
Sarah had no idea, I knew that Sid had taken in others like me before. I knew
his heart was big and he had opened his home to people who couldn’t be safe
anywhere else. I appreciated that and would always care for Sid because of his
willingness to help me. In my life, before coming to the ranch, I thought I was
a generous person, but I really had only been selfishly generous. I threw
fundraisers and parties, but only when they suited me. I gave away money to
charity, but mostly because it was a good tax write off. I certainly didn’t
think I was a bad guy, but my charity had been given selfishly.
Now,
after seeing the work that Sid was doing on the ranch, I felt like I would
someday be able to return to my life with a new sense of purpose. That was, if
I was ever able to return to my life. It had been a year since arriving at the
ranch and my life was now the life I knew there. I had no news of my company.
No idea if the man I had left running it was doing a good job or not, I really
wouldn’t even know where to start when I returned to work again.
“I
like your father too,” I added. “He’s a good man and your mother is a good
woman. You’re really lucky to have them in your life.”
Sarah
looked like she was about to ask me something but then decided not to. I knew
she wanted to know more about me and she had always seemed so unsatisfied by
the answers I gave her. My vague, non-answer responses just weren’t what she
hoped for. But I couldn’t flat out lie to her; I didn’t want to and I tried to
avoid it as much as possible. So when Sarah stopped asking me questions about
my past I was beyond relieved.
“Well,
we better get our work done so we can enjoy dinner then,” she said and snuck a
quick kiss to my lips in before she went back to dealing with the pigs. “I bet
they want to know why I’ve been so damn happy lately.”
Over
the last several weeks, Sarah had become bolder and bolder in showing her
affection toward me. I didn’t mind; I loved it. I still tried to sneak in a
quick feel or a kiss when I could as well, but I was much more careful than she
was. It was funny how things had turned around for us.
Life
was good for us there on the ranch; I was happier than I had ever been in my
life before. The simplicity of working all day and making love all night was
perfection. If I didn’t have a company to run, I could have seen myself moving
back to the area and keeping Sarah by my side.
Although
I wasn’t really sure of the protocol when it came to a relationship that formed
while you were in the protection program. I made a mental note to ask my agent
the next time I talked to him.
“See
you at dinner, dear,” I said with a wink as I walked away.
The
day seemed to drag on forever, but finally I finished all my jobs and jumped
into the shower to get ready for dinner. I didn’t exactly have any nice dinner
clothes, but at least I had some clean jeans and a t-shirt I could wear. I
wrapped a towel around me as I stepped out of the shower, but to my surprise I
came face to face with a naked Sarah looking right at me as she stood in front
of the bed.
Oh
how I loved to look at her body. She was a womanly woman and it made me hard
every time I saw her naked. Her voluptuous breasts stood perky and teasing me
with her hard nipples as I tried to look her in the eyes and not just stare at
her naked body.
“Here
or in the shower?” she said as she smiled.
“We
need to get to dinner. I don’t want to be late.”
Sarah
looked at me firmly and walked toward me. I could tell she wasn’t going to take
no for an answer. She licked her lips and pulled my towel off of me before
shutting the bathroom door behind us.
“I
guess it’s in the shower then,” she giggled.
Her
skin was warm and soft and the feeling of her pressed up against me had my
whole body on fire. I no longer cared how late we were for dinner with her
parents. My mind couldn’t think about anything else except getting her into
that shower and feeling her wet skin against me as I thrust into her.
“Come
here, you naughty girl,” I said as I slapped her ass and pulled her into the
shower with me.
She
turned around and bent over right under the shower as she pressed her naked ass
up against my throbbing body. I smiled at her aggressive move. We had made love
in many different locations around the cabin, but never in the shower yet. It was
another spot we could check off our list.
My
body slid into hers and I pulled her shoulder’s up so the water dripped down
them as we moved together. It was a hot sex scene like something out of a movie
and I was beyond turned on by her.
Sarah
turned me on with everything she did though. She could simply be bending over
to fix her pants leg and her boots and I couldn’t help but think of her bent
over and me thrusting inside of her. At first I thought I was so fond of her
because she was the only woman around. I had been on the ranch for so long and
away from all women, but soon I realized that wasn’t it. I genuinely enjoyed
being with her and looked forward to seeing her, talking to her, and working
with her every single day.
“Let’s
go, big boy; we have to get to dinner,” she teased me.
“Yes,
ma’am.”
I
grabbed her hip with one hand and reached around and with my other hand I
reached around and played with her clit. She started to moan almost instantly
and that was all I needed to feel myself building to climax. I waited for her,
as her body slowly got more and more excited, and when she finally tensed up
and released; I let myself release as well.
“Good
thing we chose the shower,” she said as she turned around and grabbed the soap
to start washing her body.
“Yeah,
I’m sure your parents won’t think it’s odd that we are both soaking wet when we
show up to dinner.”
“I
did forget to think that one through,” Sarah admitted. “Do you have a hair
dryer?”
One
of the best things about Sarah was how honest she was. We didn’t argue; we
didn’t even have quibbles about things because she could always see my point of
view. She might not agree with me, but she was so kind and respectful that
there was nothing to fight about. Even the fact that she so easily said she hadn’t
thought through our sex in the shower thing, it showed how truly honest she
was.
“Look
at these lovely, golden locks. Do they look like I use heat on them?” I
laughed.
“Oh,
all right. I’ll have to just pull it up in a bun or something and hope they don’t
realize I wasn’t in the house at all to take a shower.”
We
finished our shower and dressed for dinner. I let her leave first and I agreed
to come a few minutes later. Hopefully she would be able to slip up to her
bedroom and turn the shower on before her parents noticed her. But even if they
did see her, I didn’t think they would automatically assume she had been in my
shower. Certainly there could have been some other explanation for her hair
being wet; maybe she had fallen into the damn pigpen water. I couldn’t help but
laugh to myself as I made my way over to the house.
I
was nervous, which was weird. I knew both Sid and Meredith pretty well by that
point and wasn’t nervous around either of them during the day, but there was
something a little different about going to your bosses house and sitting down
to a meal with them. It didn’t matter that Sid wasn’t my real boss and I would
be returning to my real life someday; for the time being he was my boss. He was
also the father to the woman I had been sleeping with.
“It’s
nice to see you,” Meredith said as she opened the front door.
“You
too.”
I
felt awkward, which was strange for me. I had spent most of my adult life
socializing and going to business dinners, yet as I stood there it was
different. Meredith and Sid were keeping me safe, they were also my employers,
and the parents of the woman I was starting to care a great deal about.
“Grab
a beer,” Sid said from his recliner in the living room.
Sid
looked like a whole different man with his cowboy hat and boots off. He seemed
much more exposed and more like a normal man than he had seemed to be before.
When Sid was wearing his hat and boots, he appeared to be like an old west
hero; someone that could do anything he wanted.
“Thank
you, sir,” I said as I went to the kitchen behind Meredith and she handed me a
beer.
Sarah
was also in the kitchen and I nodded to acknowledge she was there. I didn’t go
out of my way to say hello to her, but we shared a knowing smile about how our
day had been spent just a few moments before.
“Come
in here and watch the race with me while the ladies finish up with dinner.”
Sid
was a man’s man, there was no denying it. I assumed that he had probably never,
or very rarely, cooked a meal for himself. On the other hand, Meredith seemed
to be able to do it all. I had seen her cook for a dozen men, clean up after
the horses and easily grab a pig out of the pig pen. Meredith made everything
look easy and she did it with a smile on her face and a gentle nature about her
character.
I
looked toward Meredith and Sarah for approval to join Sid in the living room. I
didn’t like leaving them to do all the cooking, but I suspected they were just
fine with me being out of the way and keeping Sid company while he watched his
NASCAR race.
“On
my way,” I said as I left the ladies.
“So
are you a fan?” Sid asked as he pointed his beer toward the screen.
I
tried to think of my fake profile and what I was supposed to say, but I just
couldn’t remember if I liked NASCAR or not. Instead, I decided to go with the
truth.
“I
don’t really know very much about it, but it seems like a fun event to go to.”
“Oh,
yeah man. I went a few years ago and it was insane. Now it would be really nice
to go in one of those RV’s and stay nice and close. I’d love to climb up on the
top and watch the race from there.”
“Now
that sounds like a good time.”
“Sarah
never got into racing. If she had been a boy, I would have forced her to love
it like I do. But I suppose it’s not really a woman’s thing.”
I
had to laugh as Sid went on and on about his NASCAR while we waited for dinner.
It was obviously something he was passionate about and I liked seeing that side
of him.
Chapter 12
Sarah
“Dinner
wasn’t so bad, was it?” I asked Garrett as he stood next to me and helped me
clean up the kitchen.
“It
was nice.”
“I
thought my father was going to totally convert you into a NASCAR fan.”
It
had been wonderful to watch how excited my father got while talking to Garrett.
I knew he had wanted a son and over the years I had tried to make him proud. He
certainly didn’t make me feel like he didn’t want me, I just knew he always
longed to have another man around the house that he could bond with.
As
Garrett and I had gotten closer, Garrett was afraid my father would find out,
but I actually thought my father wouldn’t mind at all. Garrett was a good man,
he was one of the nicest men I had known. My father and he got along great and
I saw how my father looked at him; he respected Garrett.
Sure,
my father teased Garrett about staying away from me, but that was just what he
did. If I told him I was head over heels falling for Garrett; he would be happy
for me. I just didn’t fall head over heels for anyone so it would shock my parents
if I actually admitted to them the feelings I was having.
When
Garrett told me my parents had invited him to dinner, I couldn’t help but think
it would be the perfect moment to tell them about the two of us. Just get it
all out there on the table and not worry about it. They were my parents, they
loved me and trusted me, and I just didn’t think they would have a problem with
the two of us being together.
But
I wasn’t going to force the announcement and it made Garrett very anxious to
think about my father knowing what we were doing, so I didn’t tell them. I did
enjoy our evening together though. It was so much fun to watch my father and
Garrett talked about NASCAR and to hang out with my mother in the kitchen and
make dinner. It felt like how I had always wished my significant other would
get along with my parents.
Garrett
wasn’t exactly my boyfriend; I wasn’t sure what label we should attach to our
relationship. We worked together and hung out together during the day and in
the nighttime we made love and slept together. Outside of the ranch I would
have considered him my boyfriend, but on the ranch it seemed like something
less than that. There was no future-planning going on between the two of us. We
never mentioned living together or traveling the world; we just enjoyed the
time we had with each other. No expectations and no plans.
“It
was pretty exciting there in the end. I can see why he likes it so much. I hope
your mom is all right with me kicking her out of the kitchen so I could help
you with the dishes. I just wanted to talk to you. It was so weird sitting in
there and not talking to you.”
“Yeah,
I think she will survive.”
“You
have a pretty cool family here.”
“Yeah,
I love em’; I think I’ll keep them,” I laughed.
I
didn’t know much about Garrett’s family except that his parents had died. He
also mentions one time that his sister lived in Florida, but he didn’t really
talk to her much. It was sad that his family was so small and he didn’t have
the support I did. I could tell he longed for more close connections in his
life and I hoped he would find it someday.
We
continued to do the dishes and watched a storm off in the distance. It looked
like it was building up some power and the closer it got to the ranch, I could
see the trees blowing harder and harder in the wind. We didn’t get many storms
in Montana, but when they did blow through, it was normally just some thunder
and lightning. Luckily we were far enough north that we didn’t get tornados or
anything like that.
The
animals always had a bit of a rough time when a thunderstorm rolled through.
The lightning and noise from the thunder scared them and often had them so
worked up they wouldn’t eat or drink for a day after the storm had passed.
“Hey,
when you two are finished up in here will you go check on the horses. They
might need some loving care to get through the storm,” my father said as he
grabbed another beer from the fridge.
“Sure,
Dad.”
I
hated to watch how the scared the animals got in the storms. It was difficult
to know they were afraid and not be able to calm them down in anyway. When I
was away from the ranch I didn’t think anyone took as good of care of the
horses as I did when I was home. Sure, my father and mother probably went out
to the barn and checked on them; but there was so much more that went into
making sure they felt safe. I didn’t mind even sleeping in the barn if I had
to, just to make sure they all made it through the night all right and weren’t
too scared.
“Of
course, Mr. Miller,” Garrett said. “I bet Buckjoy will appreciate a little
company once the thunder comes rolling through.”
I
loved that Garrett got it. Right away, without hesitation, he knew that he
horses would be scared. Garrett didn’t have a lot of experience, but he loved
that horse and knew him well. Garrett had a big heart and that was just one of
the things that I cherished about him.
“For
God sake, kid, call me Sid,” my father grumbled under his breath as he went
back into the living room.
“Sorry,”
Garrett said with a strained face.
“He’s
a bit of a drinker at night. I know you wouldn’t be able to tell it from how he
acts during the day.”
“Oh,
he’s fine. I hope that I have a wife and daughter that I can annoy with my
drinking someday.”
We
finished up in the kitchen and found some raincoats and boots in the hall
closet before we headed out to the barn. I couldn’t imagine Garrett ever
getting drunk. The few times that we had drank while at his cabin, Garrett
always maintained total control and didn’t even seem tipsy.
One
time we shared an entire bottle of red wine and I felt like I could hardly walk
afterward, yet he was straight sober. It made me think that he had probably
drank quite a bit in his history and a high tolerance for alcohol.
“We
will be back in when the storm passes,” I told my parents.
“I’ll
be sleeping,” my father said grumpily.
“We
are both heading to bed shortly. Don’t stay out there too long, you too,” my
mother said as she hugged us both and sent us on our way. “Stay safe. That wind
looks pretty exciting.”
The
wind was blowing hard as we pressed our way through it and out to the barn. All
ten of the horses were anxious and making a lot of noise in their stalls. It
was normal for them to be afraid when a big storm hit and whenever I was able
to, I liked to come sit with them and try and calm them down. I was glad we had
gotten out there early enough to try and keep them calm; it was much better
than trying to get them calmed down when all heck had broken lose in the barn.
Garrett
went straight over to Buckjoy and started petting his mane and talking to him
and I took the time to turn on more lights and flipped the radio on. It was
soothing to have the normal noises around them like we had going on during the
day. Plus, I knew the radio station would give out warnings if there were need
to take shelter. Not that it happened often, but you just never knew.
“Wow,
they sure are worked up,” Garrett said as he took his raincoat off and started
to go into the stall with Buckjoy.
“Don’t
go in there,” I stopped him. “If a big thunder strike happens, you’re likely to
get a pair of hooves to your chest. It’s better to stay outside the stall.”
I
admired Garrett for wanting to calm his horse down, but he didn’t understand
the dangers that a horse like that posed. Buckjoy wouldn’t purposely hurt
Garrett, I knew this. But the horse could easily get so scared that he reacted
in a way that put Garrett in danger.
“Can
I give him some apples?”
“Sure,
that would be good. I’m sure they will all enjoy a little snack. I know I love
to eat when I’m scared.”
“I’ll
remember that when I take you to a scary movie some time.”
It
was the first time Garrett had mentioned taking me anywhere. Usually we just
talked about our day and a little about our dreams for the future, but he never
talked about wanting to have me with him in those dreams. I had decided not to
push things though. I was happy having him with me at the ranch and I felt
prepared for the day that he told me he was ready to move on. Certainly I would
have a few weeks to prepare myself and maybe we would even try to keep in
touch. I really didn’t know what it would look like, but I liked the idea of
going to a movie with him someday.
“I
look forward to going to a movie with you.”
We
were both about to hand one of the horses an apple when a loud crack of
lightning struck near the barn. I looked up as I heard a nearby tree branch
snap and expected to see it falling through the roof of the building since it
sounded like it was so close.
“Shit!”
Garrett screamed as he dropped his apple and grabbed me.
He
pulled me into the corner of the building and we both stayed there as we waited
to see if anything was going to happen. It was a scary moment and I was happy I
had Garrett there with his arms around me. His quick action would have certain
of saved me if that branch had come flying through the roof of the barn, but
luckily it didn’t break through.
“I
bet that did some damage to the roof,” I laughed nervously.
“Yep.
Hopefully not too bad.”
The
horses were even more worked up than before and the storm seemed to be revving
up to deliver quit a punch that night. It was going to be a long night of
trying to calm them down. As much as I wanted to stay in that corner and play
with Garrett a little bit, I knew the horses needed our attention more than we
needed to be making out.
If
the horses got too worked up they were liable to start kicking and causing
damage to the barn. But more importantly, they could cause injury to
themselves. I had seen a horse kick right through the side of a building when
he was afraid. The wood cut a major artery in his leg and he ended up bleeding
out before my father or I were able to stop the bleeding. Ever since then I
always made a habit of staying with them until they calmed down and made it
through the storm all right; well, at least I did when I was home. When I
wasn’t home, my father and mother did their best to calm the animals but I knew
they didn’t stay out in the barn with them through the storm.
A
good hour passed before the storm started to settle down and so did the horses.
It was still raining pretty hard outside, but at least the worst of the
lightning and thunder seemed to have passed. I looked over at Garrett and we
both breathed a sigh of relief. The horses were still alert and moving around
more than normal for that hour of the night, but I figured we were probably
safe to make a run for our beds. Morning would be there before we knew it.
“I
think I’ll stay out here and just make sure everything is all right until the
storm totally passes,” Garrett said as he stood near Buckjoy.
“We
could probably head in; I think the worst is over.”
As
much as I worried about the horses, I was tired and desperate to get some
sleep. Our night with my parents had left me totally exhausted.
“I
know, but I just have a bad feeling. Why don’t we make ourselves a bed in the
corner and campout?” Garrett suggested.
I
wanted to say no to him. I was sleepy and just wanted to climb into bed and
close my eyes, but the smile on his face was convincing me to stay with him.
Plus he was so enthusiastic and he thought it was a brilliant idea to campout
in the horse barn. He obviously didn’t understand that field mice also loved to
campout in the barn when it rained.
“I’m
not sure I want little critters crawling all over me all night long,” I
laughed.
“Hey,
hey now. You said I was bigger than the average guy,” Garrett said as he thrust
his hips playfully toward me.
“Oh,
my God. Fine, I’ll stay out here with you, but I’m making us a better bed than
a straw one.”
“Deal,”
Garrett said as he turned back to petting Buckjoy and calming him. “I think I
saw some blankets up the ladder in that loft area.”
“Blankets?
Really? Why were you up in the loft? Hmmm …” I laughed.
The
loft was old and rickety; I wouldn’t have considered going up there on any
normal day. And I couldn’t imagine why Garrett would have gone up there.
Perhaps he had been trying to find a spot to hide all his secrets.
“Yeah,
why? Is it weird that there are blankets up there?”
“Sort
of. I wonder who would have put them up there. I’ll go get them,” I said as I
prepared myself to climb the old ladder.
I
climbed up the rickety old ladder and found what looked like a makeshift bed.
There were four, square bales of hay up there and a thick blanket over them.
There was some hay filled in a sack as a pillow and a couple other blankets
over the top. It was actually a pretty ingenious bed and for a moment I thought
Garrett had been the one behind it. I had to laugh, but then I couldn’t help
but wonder how the hell all the hay got up there. That ladder certainly wasn’t
sturdy enough to hold a man carrying hay up it.