Storms Never Last Ch. 03

I introduced myself—her mom gave me a hug and her dad gifted me with a dirty look. Oh, well, can't win them all. They started walking towards the house, and I told them, "Acey fell asleep on the sofa. She looked pretty tired."

Her mom gave me an appraising glance, "Okay, thanks." They walked into the house, taking care not to let the door slam.

At loose ends, I walked around the place. In the tack room, everything was in good repair and neatly hung on pegs. The stalls were clean as was the floor. The building had all been painted fairly recently. The house was white and all the other buildings were in a color I could only describe as "barn red." The horses in the corral were top horses. I recognized several of Acey's from pictures she had shown me. All in all, it was an impressive operation.

Later, I saw Acey and her mom on the porch, so I wandered over and took a seat near them. Acey looked a bit better, and gave me a wan smile. "Thanks for the back rub. That reduced the pressure enough I could go to sleep. That's something I haven't been getting enough of lately. As a reward, you can take me to dinner tonight. Don't worry, I can't eat very much, so I will be a cheap date."

So I did. I took her to a family style place, and based on her recommendation, I had the Bison pot roast. It came with garlic mashed potatoes and gobs of gravy—everything I didn't need. Acey settled for a chicken salad and some ice tea. She was right, a very cheap date.

We talked, and maybe healed some of the hurt feelings. I hadn't really spent enough time with her to realize how funny she was. She had a sharp, intelligent wit and was well read on current events. After a couple of good one-liners, she asked, "Do you want to know the sex?"

"Uh, the sex?"

Smirking a bit, she said, "You know, boy or girl?"

"Oh, I guess I rather be surprised. Don't tell me.

With a sly smile, she said, "Sure, I won't. I talked to mom and we decided to name the baby the name what I was supposed to be, Millie Rose."

"But that means ..."

"Oh, sorry. You didn't want to know the sex. Sorry again, I just forgot."

I glared at her, but all she did was laugh.

"Look, Acey, we need to get to know each other better. I don't know for sure where we are going, but it's clear that I need to explain my views on corporal punishment. I'm a firm believer in spanking!"

"Oh, my. I'm scared."

She sure didn't look scared. Maybe we already knew each other enough!

Well, I took her out to dinner and she seemed fairly happy. I wanted to go to a local motel but they insisted I stay in one of their guest bedrooms. In the middle of the night, Acey came in and climbed in bed with me. It took her a few minutes to get settled, and then she went right to sleep and was snoring almost immediately. I woke up early and slipped out. Her dad was doing chores, so I took him out a mug of coffee and we chatted for a few minutes. Surprisingly, he didn't ask any questions about where my relationship with Acey was going, but he didn't look like he was going to grab the shotgun either. He did let me know that he and his wife knew that Acey had spent the night with me.

I wound up staying for a week, and then had to get back home to put my final manuscript for "Death Rides the Range" together and ship it off. It would be nice to get it wrapped up and get a progress check. With all I'd been spending on the ranch it would come in handy. I spent some time on horseback checking out the nooks and crannies of my new home, trying to get a better feel for what I wanted to do with it.

I thought a lot about Annie and Acey. They were so different—night and day. I realized I enjoyed being with Annie a lot; she was fun and generally easy-going. We'd done some cuddling while I was in Texas, but nothing really passionate. I knew I was ready to ask her to marry me. I just had to pick the right time to ask. I took Ann and May with me to pick out an engagement ring; we were happy with the result.

By the time I had left Amarillo, Acey's folks and I were getting along fairly well. Along about the third week in August, Acey's mom called me. Her water broke and she was in labor at the local hospital. I jumped in my truck again, this time driving straight through. It took just over nine hours. I drove straight to the hospital, and when I found the room, Acey was laying there with a pink faced, pink swathed bundle of noise. I hoped it wasn't me she was unhappy with.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, and in return for a kiss, Acey handed me my daughter. The feeling I was having were like nothing I'd ever felt before. There were no words for it. I was immediately lost in love with this tiny bundle.

I was admiring her lusty lungs when Acey told me over the din,

"I put your name on the birth certificate. Looking at your face, I guess you have no objections to that."

"No, I don't. As a matter of fact, I want her forever. As soon as you and the baby can travel I want to take you home."

"What, we going to live in sin?" She gave me a dirty look with that.

I just looked at her for a moment while I considered how to respond to her comment and look.

"No, you don't give me enough credit." I leaned down to kiss her while digging the ring out of my pocket. I took her hand and slipped the ring on her finger. Acey, I've fallen in love with you—maybe not in the conventional way, whatever that is, but nevertheless it's real. I want to make my life with you and Millie ... and any others that might come along."

We talked for a while, and she convinced me that it would be better if after she and Millie went to her folk's house, I should drive back, and she would fly up with her mom a couple of weeks later.

"I'll make a list, crib and other stuff, and when you get back go shopping with my Aunt and the girls and get everything on a list I'll make. When you have everything ready, we will fly on up."

(To be continued with the final chapter -- please read the first three parts before going on to the final chapter.)