Rodeo (BBW Cowboy Romance) (BBW Western Romance) (10 page)

The call connected and I listened with trepidation as the line continued to ring out, just when I thought it was going to disconnect, John answered.  It took a couple of seconds for the connection to settle down but there he was.

“Eva, you got there safely then?” He was in his study, I could see the familiar backdrop to his desk in the background.  Surrounded by glass cabinets displaying all of John's football trophies and sports medals; he always insisted that having these inadvertently on show whilst Skypeing his colleagues were an intimidator tactic on his behalf, I personally don't think anyone really took any notice but I humored him all the same.

“I know I came away to give us some space John but I just had to speak to you … “

I noticed John shift uncomfortably in his chair, I then noticed something else, something that jolted me slightly … in one of the display cabinet reflections I saw a figure; John wasn't alone.  I decided against asking him straight away.

“Are you working from home … did I disturb you?”  I enquired as casually as possible.

“No, I've done all I need to do today, you caught me just before I was going up to bed, I'm at the Mercer Conference all day tomorrow so it's going to be a full on day, so … if there's nothing important Eva, I should go and get some sleep.”

As he finished his sentence I watched as the figure moved, I couldn't get a good look but I saw that whoever it was, she was wearing a white bra and panties.  I was lost for words, but John was quick to speak,

“Maybe we can catch up tomorrow Eva … but now, I have to go.  Night,” and before I was even able to reply, the line was disconnected.  I sat in silence, fighting back tears.  Was this the reason for John's sudden change in attitude to our marriage? Was he having an affair or was he just having sex with random women, in our bed?  I really didn't know whether I was angry, sad or disgusted, I needed to know but how could I do that with hundreds of miles between us?

I felt anger needling at me, what exactly was John up to? How dare he have another woman in our house, never mind our bed!  If I had been closer in distance I would have got in my car right there and then and returned home to confront it all but of course John knew how far away I was and that whatever the conniving bastard was getting up to he would, or thought he would get away with it!

I'd never been in this kind of situation before and I really didn't know what to do for the best or for the worst … I supposed some people would head straight for a drink, smash something up or, scream and shout.  Drink was the last thing I wanted, I wasn't a violent person and if was a screamer or a shouter then I wasn't sure that any sound would come out at that moment.  Speaking with my grandparents wasn't an option and the only other person I would've considered talking to about it was Tommy, that wasn't an option right now.  So, I called Miguel.

After
apologizing for the late call, Miguel told me kindly not to be silly and totally understood my call.  Like me, he was surprised but he had a plan which was something that had certainly escaped me.  Miguel offered to drive over to the house, see if he could find anything out, I agreed and he told me to wait by the phone for his report.  I couldn't help, despite the seriousness, find some slight humor in Miguel's approach to the situation.  He was very clinical about the whole thing and I now imagined him to be adorning a balaclava and black attire to assist him in his covert operation.  He was driving off into the night to spy, like a private eye with attitude, God help John if he found out anything … not only would Miguel's eyes pop out of their dramatic little sockets but he would annihilate John's reputation with flair and extravagance.  There was never a time or a place for decorum and tact with Miguel, however, whatever he discovered, I trusted I would be the first to know; Miguel would at least wait for my instructions before he sent John out into the lions. 

It seemed to drag on for hours and hours waiting for Miguel to call me back, I did have a drink but I was careful not to have too much, I didn't want my judgment to be clouded once I was told the truth and I didn't want to fall asleep.  Round and round in my head I visualized John with that woman, whoever she was, I tried several times to put it out of my head, I knew I shouldn't.  I had seen someone after all but could it have been an assistant from the office … I pulled myself up instantly, why was I making excuses for what I'd seen, assistant or not … whoever she was, she was dressed only in underwear … it had better have been hers!

It was two twenty eight in the morning when the phone rang.  My stomach lurched as I listened to what Miguel had to say.

He was unusually inanimate in his delivery.  “There was another car on the driveway, a silvery blue Mercedes and when I got there none of the upstairs lights were on, the front reception room on the left however was giving out a small glow, heading for that window, I saw that John was in there, sitting with his back to the window, he was sat on the sofa so all I could see was the back of his head, I couldn't see anyone else in the room and because his car wasn't actually on the driveway I was sure that he had borrowed the Mercedes and that he was alone, however, another head appeared and I'm sorry to say that it appeared to rise from his lap … I'm sorry Eva but the other woman was someone we both know … it was Helena Grainger.”

The words hit me like a sledgehammer.  Helena Grainger, a fellow Chief Executive at John's firm, a skeletal, hard faced woman whom I'd always harbored suspicions towards, as far back as our wedding I had felt was too familiar with my husband and now my suspicions were confirmed.  John had always allayed my opinions about Helena, laughing them off, telling me that he would never be interested in a woman with whom he'd always found brash, classless and as cold as ice, well it seemed that he was attempting to thaw her out in our marital home and he wasn't going to get away with it.  Miguel asked what my plan of action would be next but I didn't have a clue, it was far too early to be that organized.  I had to digest the initial information and its connotations before I surrendered to any kind of confrontation, revenge or solution to John's infidelity.  However, I wasn't ignorant of the fact that having just learnt that my husband was being unfaithful, I didn't feel the need to cry, in fact I wasn't bearing any kind of emotion … I felt numb.

A slight feeling of nausea crept over me the next morning as I remembered what I'd been told the previous night and today was the day I would possibly find out more, good or bad.  I headed down into the kitchen and tried to paint on a brave face in front of my grandparents.  Grandma had made a huge breakfast but I didn't have the heart to turn her down, I decided to encourage the family waste disposal unit, Dollie to sit by my feet at the table, as soon as no-one was looking, Dollie guzzled up the scraps I gratuitously passed to her between my legs, she didn't care about my hidden agenda.

Grandpa finished his breakfast and attempted to make a discreet exit, kissed my grandmother on the head as he always did and disappeared into the yard, Grandma seemed to be waiting for the right moment, I decided to make it easy for her.

“I don't know right now what the future holds Grandma, I came here for some time to think but last night I discovered that John is having an affair.” 

There, I had said it out loud.  Grandma didn't look shocked, in fact she didn't belie any reaction, she just poured out another cup of tea. (Grandma was a firm believer that a good, strong cup of tea would make the worst of all problems better).

“Do you still love John?”

I held onto the mug of steaming tea and blew into the vapors, “Yes but I don't know whether he still loves me or not, I suppose not if he can sleep with another woman.”

Grandma gave a sigh, “Not necessarily Eva, men are strange creatures and sometimes feel the need to sleep with many women as well as their wives, they like to think they are varying their options, plus they can treat sex as it is, just sex, with no emotional involvement.”

I knew this, I'd had so many conversations with different women whose husbands were having affairs behind their backs, I never understood how these women stood by their men but they did and now it was happening to me, could I stand by my man?  I suppose in my heart of hearts I always knew that John may stray; he was a powerful business man who was attractive enough on its own but then with his dashing good looks and charming personality, he was bound to attract other women's attentions but to now have to be actually dealing with it was a different matter.

“Could you find it in your heart to forgive him Eva?” my grandmother questioned.

It was with very little hesitation as I replied, “It totally depends on the circumstances, I know who it was with but I don't know for how long … once I know that I can answer that.”

Grandma reached out and patted my hand, “Whatever you decide my love, we're here for you.”

She stood from the table and I watched as she walked across the kitchen and washed the kitchen dishes, she looked out of the window where I guess she could see my grandfather working.  Why couldn't I have found everlasting love like they had, together forever, best of friends, a team?

I hadn't come to any decisions as such, or made any plans but there was one thing that I needed confirming.  I went back up to my room and made a call to John's office. 

“Cain Enterprises, how may I help you?” the receptionist politely sang down the phone.

I disguised my voice and requested to be connected to John. 

“I do
apologize but Mr. Cain is out of office today and tomorrow, who can I say has called?”

This was exactly what I hadn't wanted to hear, “Oh, I was under the impression that Mr. Cain was holding the Mercer Conference today?”

The receptionist was being extremely helpful, “Mr. Cain postponed the conference until next month, he has actually gone away on a break for the next two days.”  My stomach dropped and quite rudely I replaced the receiver without another word.

This was totally out of character for John, he was a workaholic, he never took time off work, he was clearly with Helena and they were cavorting around the country having sex everywhere! I didn't know whether I wanted to cry or be sick, my breath was sticking in my throat, I needed air.  Rushing past Grandma I flew into the yard and didn't slow down until I reached the lakeside.  Once I reached the water's edge I sat and calmed down, then the tears emerged, I sobbed and sobbed convulsively, my whole body shook with shock and despair.  This was clearly not some fly by night fling, if John was taking time away from his priorities then it was something that was important to him.  What to do next was something I needed to now work out.

As I strolled home I realized how much I missed being here, at the end of the day and whatever was in my future, I still considered this to be my home.  I loved the city but I missed the noises and smells; there were no birds to be heard singing in the city and the air was so polluted you weren't able to smell anything else, here the flowers and grass and even the air smelt pretty.  I walked along the path leading to Tommy's ranch which I had to pass to get home, all across the fields lining the ranch I could see the horses grazing on the fresh, deep green grass, tails whisking away flies and the odd rumble of whinnying as they ate.  Horses were such powerful creatures but had always had such a calming effect on me. I climbed onto the wall to watch them.  Having been sat there for about ten minutes I saw a young boy making his way across the field towards me.

“I'm afraid you can't do that Miss, this is private property and although it's not fenced off, the owner wouldn't appreciate you trespassing.”

I smiled and climbed off the wall into the ranch, this seemed to perplex the boy, he stood stock still, I think he thought that I was going to start a fight with him.

“It's ok, I know Mr. Silver personally, my family live next door, I'm Eva.”  I extended my arm out to shake hands which the boy reservedly shook back. Just as the boy seemed to be trusting of me, we both heard galloping hooves. I looked over and saw Tommy coming towards us, he was riding the biggest black stallion I had ever seen, so sleek and glamorous, powerful and very, very dynamic.  Pulling him over to the side of us, he began to froth at the bit, tossing his head and exerting his strength, it took most of John's own strength to contain his dominance.

“It's fine Jess, Eva is a friend of mine.  Good job on the vigilance front though, she could indeed have been someone dangerous … you know what these young women are like.”

Jess blushed and made his excuses to leave, “Thanks Jess, nice to meet you.”  I offered, it was unkind of Tommy to make fun of him but I knew he was only playing with him.