City Slicker Ch. 04

It was almost 2am when I woke up. My headache had dissipated. I decided to take a quick shower. Revived by the warm water, I felt a little better. After putting on a pot of coffee, I lit up a cigarette and journeyed into the office. I shut the door to avoid disturbing my grandfather’s sleep.

I sat in the dark, sipping the coffee and smoking one cigarette after another. It was time to make some decisions about staying on at the ranch. Things between me and my grandfather weren’t working out as I’d hoped. There were too many things to take into consideration. One of them being, my grandfather’s health, the other my future relationship with Wade.

I skipped breakfast in the morning, remaining in the office to work. Stepping out onto the patio to get some fresh air, I saw J.D. approaching me.

“Let’s go get you and Wade a travel trailer.” He suggested, smiling. “Time’s a wastin’!”

“No! I’m not going to buy a trailer!” I retorted, turning my back to him. “Right now, I’m not buying a damn thing!”

“Well, you and Wade are more than welcome to live in the house till you get yours built.” J.D. asserted.

“That’s another thing I’m not doing.” I snapped back. “There won’t be any house built.”

“What are you going to do?” My grandfather asked, sitting down in one of the patio chairs. “You going to leave the Lazy K?”

“No. I won’t leave unless you want me to.” I replied.

“I’m gonna call Wade later this morning.” I added. “I’m changing our plans.”

“Whatta ya mean by that?” He asked. “You’re not breaking off the engagement again, are you?”

“No. I’m not going to do that.” I answered. “I’m going to suggest he stay in Fort Worth and continue working for his father. There’s no reason for him being here.”

“What about the boarding stable and campground idea?” J.D. inquired, raising his voice.

“The hell with it! I exclaimed. “The hell with the whole goddamn idea!”

For my grandfather and I, that moment was the turning point of our relationship. We were no longer grandfather and granddaughter. We were just two people working together to keep the Lazy K on a profitable course.

I waited till evening to call Wade. His cheerful demeanor changed immediately when I told him not to join me in Colorado. A heated argument ensued, which I expected. I wasn’t about to concede to his insistence on following through with our original plans. I eventually slammed the phone down on him to stop the bickering.

Two days passed, then three without hearing a word from Wade. I wasn’t sure if he and I were still engaged or not. I was still wearing his ring until I knew for sure. J.D. was steering as clear of me as possible, knowing I was still angry with him. I worked on ranch business during the day and my book of an evening. Surprisingly, the solitude seemed to help me write.

“Ok to come in?” Cody inquired, standing in the french doors leading in from the patio.

“Yeah. Sure.” I replied, looking up from my computer. “J.D.’s out in the livingroom watching tv.”

“It’s you I came to see, not your grandfather.” He remarked.

“Oh. Is there something the matter?” I asked.

“Yeah. You.” He answered. “Haven’t seen you around much, especially at breakfast.”

“I quit eating breakfast.” I retorted. “I’m watching my figure.”

“Thought that was my job.” Cody smarted off, grinning. “As I recall, it was fantastic the last time we were together.”

“What’s the matter, Cowboy?” I countered. “Your current girlfriend busy tonight?”

“Margaret’s off visiting her son in college.” He replied. “He’s a freshman at the University of Colorado.”

“Good lord!” I exclaimed. “How old is she anyway?”

“Forty-five.” He mumbled.

“How old’s your mother?” I jested. “Not much older than that I’ll bet.”

“Let’s not bring my mother into the conversation.” Cody responded, putting his feet up on the desk.

“You wanna take your feet off my desk before I kick them off.” I threatened, glaring at him.

“Why don’t you come down and spend the night with me.” Cody quipped, complying with my request. “I hate to sleep alone.”

“Go to bed, Cody.” I suggested. “Switch hands when you jack off so you can pretend you’ve got a new girlfriend.”

Cody rose from his chair and came around to my side of the desk. Turning my chair in his direction, he leaned down and kissed me hard on the lips. I didn’t make any gesture to protest his actions. Cody’s hot tongue snaked between my lips, swirling wildly in my mouth. I felt myself willingly succumbing to his advances. His hand cupped my left breast through the material of my blouse and bra.

My passions were getting the best of me, taking control of my mind. Cody’s hand continued squeezing and massaging my breasts. Regaining control of myself, I pushed his hand away.

“I’ve still got it.” Cody murmured. “Anytime you want it, you know where to find me.”

I sat there, breathless, as Cody stepped out of the office and made his way down to his trailer. I came close to following after him but I resisted the temptation.

A week passed, then a month without a phone call from Wade. I assumed our engagement was off, but this time at his discretion. I couldn’t bring myself to take the engagement ring off though.

I finally finished the first book in the new series I was creating. It was a big load off my shoulders, getting it sent out to the publishers in L.A. I had time to relax before starting the second book in the series. It felt more like a reprieve than a respite.

The free time of an evening allowed me to concentrate solely on ranching matters. I fervently increased out cattle inventory to over sixteen-hundred head of beef. The Lazy K’s horse sales were strong and consistent. For every horse we sold, I bought two! We hired temporary help to handle the additional livestock and chores.

My grandfather and I were back on speaking terms although we pretty much kept our conversations to matters relating to the ranch. He was playing golf two to three days a week with his friends even though his game wasn’t improving.

Over the summer months, Cody got engaged, then married a young woman from Canon City. He’d grown tired of running the numbers, as he called it and finally settled down with girl number ten. He moved out of the trailer and into a rented house in Canon City with his bride. We didn’t have any problem liquidating the travel trailer even though it was nearing the end of camping season.

My book, Force Ten, took off like a shot, making the top one-hundred best seller list two weeks after it hit the bookstores. It continued climbing the charts, settling in at number forty-nine. At least it made it into the top fifty, better than I expected it would! The glitzy, embossed cover probably had a lot to do with its high sales figures.

As for Wade and I, nothing had changed. I hadn’t heard from him in months. He was always somewhere on my mind. The engagement ring was a constant reminder to something we once had. I was still wearing it, although I was feeling guilty about not returning it. I thought about sending him a personal check to reimburse him since I didn’t want to take it off. I felt that would be callous so I did nothing.

The cool fall months were quickly approaching. Labor Day had passed and we were preparing for the impending winter. The hay barns were filled to capacity as were the grain storage bins. I was settling in to a daily routine, working on ranch business during the day and writing of an evening. My grandfather joined me each night, watching a western movie from his favorite recliner. My life had seemingly returned to normal.....whatever normal was!