For the Love of His Life (6 page)

Raul nodded. “I think I may need a nap. I had soup and pie, then a long walk out in the fresh air with your daughter. Then that delicious fish. That sound I hear is probably my pillow calling to my head…”

Raul was rewarded by a chuckle from the other man who turned and sped off toward the parking lot where he’d left his truck.

Raul walked slowly, savoring the sounds of the birds and the bugs, as he headed to the cabin he’d been in such a hurry to get out of earlier. He opened the door and made his way over to the bed. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Chapter Five

Raul woke up
under
the covers this time, and nude. That actually was an improvement over the previous few nights when he had collapsed fully-clothed on top of the bedspread because he had been too drunk to do anything else. Last night he’d surprised the bartender and himself by leaving before the last call for alcohol. He even remembered the long, dark drive back to the resort, during which he’d been unnerved when Jake told him tales about bears or moose who ambled across the road sometimes, causing accidents with their sudden appearances.

He’d never been so happy to see the main building of the resort before and had enjoyed his last cigarette of the day as he strolled along the lakeshore back to his cabin. Then he’d looked up at the moon through the window as he fell asleep.

Now he lazily stretched his muscles into wakefulness. He focused on remembering his last dream. A tall, voluptuous blonde woman had used a fishing line to hook him on it. Once she’d pulled him onto the shore, she’d used the line to tie him to a tree and take advantage of his excitement at being helpless and on display for her. His hands slipped under the covers as he enjoyed the memories of her tasting him, her light blonde hair and skin a contrast with her pale pink lips so enticing as she swallowed his dark shaft, before she climbed on for a ride…a truly inspired ride…that satisfied them both all too soon!

He groaned as he came and reached for the tissues on the small table next to the bed. He grinned as he wiped himself off.

Wow! I haven’t touched myself for a long time, but then I never seem to run out of women who are willing to take care of Big Rod for me. I don’t think I’ve gone this long without getting laid for years. I’d remember if I had gotten any in the local bar…but I don’t think I have.

He thought about what an interesting day he’d had yesterday. He still wasn’t sure he liked the old woman who owned the place, but her son was at least polite to him, which was more than he could say for Erik’s daughter. Veronica had initially seemed rude and indifferent, then cool and distant. She had insulted him, but still allowed him to share in feasting on the fish she caught. She had laughed at his clumsy attempt to seduce her, then accused him of being an out-of-shape drunk, a drug-addict and a man-whore. Was he?

Since a part of him agreed with her, that part argued with the part of him defending himself. When the two voices reached an impasse, Raul decided it was time to take a shower then head up to the main building to get something to eat. Once he was clean, he spent a few minutes straightening up the piles of clothing strewn about, using the sniff-test to separate them into
clean
and
dirty
, for dealing with at a later date. He grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a polo out of the clean pile and pulled them on. He grabbed his sandals and sunglasses, then headed out the door. The walk to the main building seemed shorter this morning.

As he entered the dining room with the intention of asking for some soup again, the smell of bacon frying assailed his nostrils. Suddenly he wasn’t just hungry…he was ravenous! He looked around at the few people in the dining room before he walked quickly over to the counter and sat down, picking up a menu to figure out what he wanted to order. The conversation level didn’t increase or diminish upon his arrival, so he figured he was either not recognized, or the people were politely leaving him alone.

A waitress walked over and he asked for coffee. He was just taking a sip when Marie walked out of the back room.

“You’re up early today,” she remarked as she got busy putting another pot of coffee on. “Special occasion? Or was there a fire at the bars last night and you got sent home early?”

“Ha-ha,” he retorted. “I just woke up earlier, that’s all. What kind of soup did you make today?”

“Lentil, but it’s not done yet. It still needs to cook for a couple of hours. There is fresh bread. And pie, of course. Apple and bleach pies today.”

“Bleach?”

She nodded, “Yes. A specialty of Ronnie’s: blueberry-peach pie.”

“Ah, I get it…”

“So, do you want to get it?”

“No, I want bacon. I smelled it on the way in and now it’s all I can think about. Maybe with a coupla eggs?”

“Got it. I’ll have Jim make you a full farmer’s breakfast, how’s that? You think you can eat hash browns along with some toast?” She gave him a critical look. “After all, you need to start bulking up if you expect to be taken seriously as Hank Maynard. If you ask me, you don’t look much like you can walk across miles of wilderness to found a town in the middle of nowhere. “

Raul nodded. “I know. That’s part of what I was planning on starting today. I’ve just been relaxing since Jared told me I had the role, but I need to get going on my work-out program.”

He looked over the top of her head at the door that led into the kitchen. He tried to keep any emotion out of his voice to ask casually, “Is Veronica back there still working on the pies?”

She shot him a sharp look. “Oh heavens no! She’s always done by now. She’s out on her daily run on the trails behind the cabins. She does that every morning after the pies are done baking.”

“Oh,” he responded quickly, attempting to cover up the disappointment he felt on his face. He looked around and saw some people standing on the deck outside the open doors on the lake side of the building.

“Can I go sit out there to wait for my food?” He nodded in that direction.

“Sure. Grab one of the tables and I’ll have Laurie bring you your food when it’s done.”

He leaned forward to ask quietly, “I meant to ask you, how all of this is being paid for?”

She grinned as she poured fresh coffee into his cup. “Jared said to keep an account of everything you eat and drink, and how many times we need to clean your cabin. He said he’d make sure we got paid once he’s in town.”

“Of course I’ll take care of everything. I mean, I don’t have a checkbook or anything with me…but get me a bill and my accountant will see you get paid.”

Marie’s eyebrows rose. “Your accountant, huh? Sure thing…Rall.” She turned and pushed through the door that led into the kitchen.

Raul inwardly groaned in consternation.

Just when we were actually getting along okay, she had to go and mispronounce my name again. What an irritating old woman.

He got up, walked over to the open doors and out onto the deck. The other people had gone back to their table in the dining room when the waitress brought their food. He chose a table close to the railing and sat at the chair that looked out over the lake.

Gorgeous, just gorgeous
he was thinking when he saw a figure emerge from the woods on the trail. Veronica was wearing green running shorts and a navy exercise bra, with her hair in a pony tail that bounced behind her as she loped along the trail, obviously slowing her pace for the cool-down part of her run.

Now there’s a whole new meaning to gorgeous
.

Raul felt his growing interest in the view run directly from his eyes to his brain, then down to where Big Rod began to pay attention to the sudden increase in blood-flow.

Figuring she couldn’t see him anyway, he watched her intently as she jogged along the path leading closer to where he sat. He stared at her breasts as they bounced up and down, their movements obviously that of real tissue as opposed to the hardened mounds of silicon on the actresses he usually got naked with. Her body moved like a finely-tuned machine, covered with a sheen of perspiration.

I’d love to see her spread out on a bed right now. I’d lick all of that sweat off her breasts before I tasted her juices that would flow just for me. Then I’d fuck her until she screamed my name. And she’d pronounce it right or I’d pound into her until she did!

Raul felt like he was about to levitate the heavy table off the deck. He leaned forward and stared so hard his eyes almost hurt, as Veronica stopped close to his vantage point and began to stretch her muscles. His eyes were glued to the nipples that poked hard into the thin fabric stretched tightly across her breasts. His gaze went lower when she bent over to stretch her hamstrings by touching her toes. He gasped as he got a look right up the tiny shorts, to the hot pink panties he glimpsed and he almost felt like drooling.

Just look at that ass! I’d love to grab onto those globes and push my way into her tight pussy from behind…or maybe into her ass…or both! Yeah, baby, just keep bending over like that, I’ll be right there! And I’ve got a big something here just for you!

Raul almost swallowed his tongue when Veronica straightened up, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her shorts off before she ran towards the lake and dove into the water.

Was that a bathing suit bottom? Or her panties? Fuck me! Who cares?

He looked up in surprise when the waitress bustled over to him to place the plates of food onto his table in front of him. He was glad his back had been facing her, so he had a chance to try to wipe the naked lust off his face before he had to smile up at her as she poured more coffee into his cup.

“Can I get you anything else? She asked in a friendly manner.

Yeah, bring me that hot blonde out there and I’ll do her right here on the table for dessert!

He shook his head and said aloud, “No, everything looks great. Thanks.”

She nodded and went back into the dining room, leaving him alone with an enormous hard-on and an empty stomach that growled to remind him it needed attention before he could take care of any other appetites.

* * * *

A short time later Raul watched as Veronica got out of the water and walked over to a towel on a rock near the shore. She dried her hair then wrapped the towel around her waist and started up towards the building. She looked up then and waved when she saw him sitting on the deck.

“Hey! You’re up early today!”

He nodded, calling out, “Want to join me for some coffee?”

She shook her head. “Not coffee. But I’m on my way up. See you in a minute.”

He pushed the now empty plates into the center of the table and moved over to the chair across the table, so his back was now against the railing and waited for her to come in. A few minutes later he watched through the doors as she walked over to the counter and poured herself a large glass of grape juice. She carried it onto the deck and sat in the chair he’d just vacated.

“So what got you up so early?”

Raul started before he realized she couldn’t possibly know her words were a double entendre…she didn’t know about his voyeurism and his engorged organ safely hidden from her view by the table.

“I figure I need to get started on my exercise program so I’m in good enough shape when Jared gets out here.”

Veronica nodded, “Yeah, he said he’d be out here in about six weeks. So that only gives you about five weeks to whip yourself into mountain-man shape. What’s your plan?”

He stared as she took a long drink from her glass then her tongue shot out delicately to wipe the purple drops off of her upper lip.

“Uh…” he began, then wrestled some blood away from Big Rod with a heroic effort to allow himself to think enough to talk.

“Gram-Marie said you were out running. You look like you were swimming…”

She smiled. “I do both. I don’t really like running when I first get up, but I like to get it over with early in the day. So I get out here early and make all of the pies for the day, while Gram-Marie is chopping up stuff for the soup. Then once the pies are done I head out for my run.”

“How far do you go?”

She shrugged, “Depends on the day. I try to do longer runs on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and shorter ones on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I do between five and ten miles each time.”

“Is there a trail back there that long?””

“The trail goes into the wilds, all the way to Canada if you head the right way. I’ve used a pedometer before to figure out landmarks so I know which way to go depending on how long I’m going to run.”

“Then you end it with a swim?”

“Uh-huh. I stretch then I cool off in the lake. Of course this early in the season, it’s still pretty cold. When it gets warmer I’ll do shorter runs and longer swims.”

“Would it be alright with you if I run with you, since you know the way?” Raul asked casually as if the answer meant nothing to him.

Veronica’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Really? You want to run that far? Do you think you can keep up with me?”

Raul felt his color darken as a blush spread up his face and he bit back the arrogant reply he wanted to make.