I Should Have Been A Cowboy Pt. 02

She shook her head in denial. "No, I don't accept that. You just need to experience the love making that we all share. You will then understand what I have been trying to get you to experience. The variety of having two women make love to you and the joy of watching us pleasure each other and then the exotic sex with Mark. You will then see."

"No, Megan, I will not. It will not happen. That way of life is not for me. You need to leave and not try to see me again. I will appear at the hearing with the judge. If you try to stop the divorce I will call every news person I can find and tell them the whole story. Your parents and your friends will probably not want to be around you any more as they do not believe in your bull shit way of life. The Brooks will probably be embarrassed and I think they will bail on you when the going gets a little rough. Just sign the papers and you can live your delusion for as long as you wish."

He stood and stepped back from the table. He was done talking even though Megan was still trying to somehow excuse her lifestyle and drag him into her sewer. As she was talking she was trying to stand up but she was struggling. He had not noticed before since he had been only looking at her face but her belly was swollen.

"So, I guess Mark's swimmers were pretty good. When are you due? Do your parents know who the father is or have you been lying to them."

She gestured to her belly. "This is your doing, Kelly. Part of the joy of that day when you came home early was the expectation of the joy when we told you that you were going to be a daddy. I had hoped the news would help get you on board as Mark and Mary had already agreed to be godparents."

He burst out laughing. "Do you really expect me to believe this new pile of horse crap you are shoving down my throat? You really believe that the news of you being pregnant, possibly with my progeny, but more likely Mark's, would drive me so deliriously happy that I would immediately jump into your cesspool of shit? You are more delusional than I had ever dreamed."

Missouri turned at the kitchen door. "When your bastard child is born we will get DNA testing done. If it happens to be mine I will gladly pay the child support but will not ask for any visitation or custody. As far as I am concerned it is not my child and will never know me. It can call Mark, 'Daddy'."

He then walked out the kitchen door. Megan ran to stop him but was only in time to watch this man, her husband, almost a stranger, grab reins and mane and swing up on his horse and ride out of the ranch yard at a good lope. Missouri didn't bother to look back at her tear stained face.

Megan finally understood what she had done. Since she had discovered the pleasures of polyamory her life had gotten worse instead of better. All her plans were for naught. Kelly wouldn't even acknowledge the baby growing in her womb. She had no husband, her job was pretty tenuous since she had taken so much time off to search for him, and the sex with the Brooks was no longer all that satisfying. Both Mary and Mark seemed to be using her for their own pleasure and not really caring to see if she was satisfied.

Megan slowly waddled back into the dining room where Connie was still sitting. She looked at the ranch wife. "He really is my baby's father. Mark had a vasectomy years ago when he and Mary decided against any kids. There has been no one else since we became exclusive."

Connie couldn't resist. "It seems to me that you forgot the meaning of exclusive."

Megan collapsed into the chair. "I know. I really thought it would be good for us. Four people loving each other fully and completely without jealousy and fully in tune with each other. Everything I read on the internet about it made it seem that this was the new way, the best way to go. The statistics say there is less cheating in a poly marriage and that most are very happy in that kind of relationship."

Connie shook her head. "Haven't you ever heard that you can't believe everything you find on the internet? Even us poor backwoods peckerheads know that. Most cultures did away with multiple wives or husbands many years ago as it was not sustainable in the long term. I believe it is a very rare instance where this kind of relationship works and is not the norm. Trying to live with one person is hard enough, trying to please multiple people is almost impossible."

Megan started to cry softly. Finally she achieved some kind of control and looked up at her hostess. "Tell Kelly I am going home but I will fight the divorce. His baby needs a father as well as a mother and that is the only reason I will fight."

She got up and joined her lovers and they soon were out of sight. The dust had hardly settled when Missouri came back to the ranch house. Connie let him know what Megan had said. He just nodded. He really had hoped for her to just accept it but knew down deep that she was not going to go quietly.

Life went on. Kelly went back to his hometown in Missouri for the divorce hearing. Lawrence filed all the right motions. Megan countered just as she promised. She admitted her wrongdoing but told the judge that she had come to her senses and had ended her sexual relationship with the Brooks. They were still friends but no longer lovers. She asked for counseling. The judge took it all under advisement and set another court date in two weeks.

During the wait Kelly stayed with his parents. They were amazed at how much he had changed. They were also pleased at those changes but were very disappointed in Megan's outrageous behavior. They had truly loved her like a daughter but she was persona non grata for what she did to their son.

During the wait Megan went into labor and delivered a beautiful baby girl, whom she immediately named Kellee. DNA testing showed that she was the progeny of Kelly Free. Kelly's parents forgave Megan a little so they could have a relationship with their granddaughter.

Kelly visited the hospital before Kellee was released to go home. He didn't want to admit it but she pulled on his heartstrings. If only Megan hadn't decided to fuck the Brooks they would be so happy to have little Kellee in their lives. Now he would be an absentee father.

Megan made sure to take little Kellee over to the Free's to see her grandparents on almost a daily basis. Kelly made sure to avoid those visits. He would always leave right after Megan arrived.

At the next hearing the judge made his decision known. "After contemplating all the evidence as well as the briefs I have decided that marital counseling will not do any good. Mr. Free, whom I hear is also known as Missouri, it looks like you have made a new life for yourself in Nebraska. I have read your official account and also have looked into the claims made by others about you. If any of this is true then you have abandoned Mrs. Free."

He went on to set the judgment of fifty percent of assets to be provided to Megan by end of business the next week. He also set child support for Kellee. There would be no maintenance (more commonly known as alimony) as officially Kelly made less money than Megan. He also set visitation of the usual every Wednesday, every other weekend, and six weeks in the summer even though Kelly had not requested any visitation. He admonished Megan to make sure that Kelly also had access to his daughter on at least half of the normal holidays each year. "If Mr. Free comes back to this court with the complaint that you have not obeyed my directive and have made it difficult for him to see his daughter I will not be pleased and will revisit custody. I am tired of bickering so-called adults who use children as weapons. Do you understand me?"

Megan stood and acknowledged the directive. "Your Honor, I would prefer that this divorce not be granted and that my husband would come home to me and my daughter. Since he is the one who is demanding that our marriage be terminated I will not deny him visitation in any way just in case he should forgive me and want to become a family again."

Kelly made no comment to the judge. With a smack of the gavel it was done. Kelly and Megan were no longer married. He made sure that all his assets, including the assets that his lawyer had hidden for him, were split evenly so that little Kellee would not have any wants as long as her mother took care financially. Kelly left the next day for Nebraska.

There was a difference though in his return. While at his parents he had contacted some of his old clients. Most of them were very pleased to hear from him and were quite ready to use his new one-man consulting service to find new properties.

Missouri was now in business for himself but added a twist. He would take his horse, that he finally named Leroy, a gelding named after the horse in the Big and Rich song Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy, to the likely spots that companies needed. He would spend a couple of weeks just riding the area to explore even if it was in a populated area. He found he not only drew a lot of attention but residents loved to talk to a man on horseback.

In between trips he was a ranch hand again. He reveled in the manual labor. It gave him time to think and plan as it kept his hands busy. Over the winter, when the daily chores became less pressing, other than feeding the livestock, he could visit with his family via the internet. He had helped Bill put in a cell phone booster also so video visits were easier. He was getting to know his daughter as she was at his parent's almost every time he called.

There was also a local buzz about strangers coming to Hyannis looking for the legend called Missouri. It didn't take long for an out of state SUV to show up at the Circle Bar X. At least the occupants didn't alight from the vehicle with their noses in the air and try to talk condescendingly to the Blazes as they introduced themselves. The man and woman were agents for a cable network that specialized in cheating spouse movies and the internet buzz about Missouri had piqued their interest.

By the time they left that afternoon promises had been made to preserve Missouri's anonymity by changing names, dates, and locations enough that only those truly in the know would recognize who the story was about. The working title was The Man From Missouri but Missouri's home town would be changed. Missouri also had the agents contact Megan for her input and consent even though it wasn't really needed as the story would be fictionalized.

Butch was promoted to be the Tinseltown liaison. Missouri had come to find out that the quiet man had a degree in Communications and had friends who were lawyers. Between Butch and Lawrence Roberts, Missouri soon had a public relations person and an entertainment lawyer on board. Very quickly a corporation was formed and Missouri was now a CEO with Bill and Connie on his board of directors and all of the staff on the Circle Bar X were shareholders.

The next change came when Megan contacted Missouri about a job. "Kelly, I need you to be more than a face on a screen for your daughter. After the movie people contacted me I realized that I don't necessarily want to live here in Missouri any longer. Your parents and I have talked. We would all like to relocate. Is there somewhere close to the ranch that we can move to so we can all see more of you? I do need to have something to do. Is there any employment opportunities close, also?"

Kelly was almost flabbergasted. A new wrinkle in his life he had not anticipated and it wasn't such a bad one. "As a matter of fact, Megan, I need someone to help Butch with this movie deal. I think you might just be the one to help. Let me get back to you."

He got off the phone with Megan and called his parents to confirm the news. Ideas were kicked around, some discarded, but others were thoughtfully expanded until a working plan was in place.

Kelly then went to the village board in Hyannis and presented his idea to build a couple of very nice houses there on the edge of town. Now, someone from a larger community might wonder why the village would need to contemplate a few extra houses since the infrastructure can usually handle that increase but, in a village, new houses were a stress on a small system and had to be carefully considered. Luckily the village could handle the increase and the new construction was approved.

Megan started her move immediately. Kelly found a small but livable mobile home for her. She and Kellee were soon ensconced in their new digs. Baby Kellee was soon called Miss Missouri in honor of her father. One of the writers for the movie also showed up in an RV and parked at the campground and the movie immediately was expanded to include these new developments.

Before long The Man From Missouri was expanded into parts. The first movie would be the original story of betrayal and healing. The second part would be the divorce and the redemption. The writer was going to take creative license to get the couple back together. That part might end up on another cable network that specialized in love stories. The writer was also exploring how to incorporate some of the legendary events that were attributed to Missouri in between the first and second parts just to keep the interest going. Hell, some were advocating an episodic series instead of just a couple of movies.

But, what about Missouri's love life you might ask. No, he and Megan were done. They became friends as well as parents to Miss Missouri but that was all.

But Missouri was not destined to be alone. While high end modular homes were being planned, built and then brought to the Sandhills for Megan and Missouri's parents, someone new showed up in the ranch yard. A van drove in one day. Missouri just happened to be in the bunkhouse when the passenger alighted.

The pretty woman, using crutches to get around, introduced herself as Jane Gantry and she was there to thank her lifesaver. Her driver was pretty Casey, the paramedic from the helicopter.

Missouri usually tried to avoid his fans but this time he decided to sit and talk with the two women. Jane gushed to Bill and Connie about what a man Missouri was. Casey chimed in constantly stating the same thing. Bill and Connie agreed with the women and grinned at Missouri's discomfort.

Finally Connie asked about Jane's injuries. "Well, the impact broke multiple vertebrae in my spine so it has been a long haul getting back on my feet. I was in a wheelchair for months while undergoing physical therapy. I am slowly healing and hope to be free of these crutches soon. At the same time I finished my Advanced Practice Nursing license. I cannot fly anymore and so I am looking for a place to start a clinic. Do you think Hyannis could use some health care?"

Casey then chimed in. "I am working on my RN and want to help Jane. I have PTSD now from the crash and have been working on a ground transfer ambulance while getting my license."

This initial meeting set up additional meetings to flesh out plans. Surveys needed to be completed about any need of additional medical care in the small community. A building had to be either located or built that would house a clinic. Over the next few months Missouri was so busy with helping at the ranch, moving his parents, getting to know his daughter, try to rein in the outrageous stories being proposed for the movie, plan a clinic and then even make a few site visits for clients that he was running himself into the ground.

Jane stepped in and made Missouri take a break. She had improved to where she didn't need the crutches any longer but still couldn't stand for extended periods. As she had improved their meetings had changed from just business to a more personal status. She was a good looking thirty-five year old who had been burned by a bad lover in college and had stayed away from men since then. Yes, she and Casey had been in a close physical relationship but that had ended some time ago and now were best of friends, almost sisters.

Casey had also had her troubles with men and that was why she had turned away from the male species until the crash. Missouri, with his sudden appearance at the crash site, take command attitude, quick assessment and then implementation of their rescue, had become her hero and she worshipped him.

The two had semi-seriously set their caps for him. They had long conversations about him. Jane was the first to change from a hero worship to an appreciation of him as a man, a friend, confidant, and maybe as a lover. Casey was wise enough to just warn her friend that she had better never hurt the man or hell would be unleashed on Jane, not unlike the notoriety heaped on Megan's head.

Jane convinced Missouri that it was time to get away for a short while. It was now early summer again. The frost was out of the ground, the hills were green and lush. Branding was over and it would be a few weeks before haying got started. This time she invited herself along ostensibly as his caregiver. She had not ridden very much in her life so she got a quick lesson in horseback riding.

Missouri was reluctant to take her but after everyone, including Megan and his parents, told him that his days of traveling alone were over, allowed that having a companion would not be a bad idea. During that week of just riding and camping without leaving the Circle Bar X they had their phones turned off and became more than friends or caregiver and care receiver. They became intimate and were engaged when they returned.

Megan knew when the couple left for the week that she was now completely out of Missouri's life except as coworker and co-parent. She then gave in and started to see Butch as her next and, hopefully, last love.

Over time Miss Missouri was joined by two half brothers by way of her dad, the legendary Man from Missouri and Jane, and two half sisters by her mother and Butch. She was a great and precocious big sister and friend to all. Bill and Connie were treated as grandparents to the clan.

The movie was a success and the only credit to the original story was a small blurb on the screen stating it was based on the life of Kelly Free that came and went so fast in the credits that few even noticed it. It spawned a couple more movies including one about how redemption and renewal occurred. That last one was a tear jerker.

Kelly Free invested in the Circle Bar X and the relationship he had with Bill and Connie remained strong until they passed away on their home range at very advanced ages. Arrangements made with the APRN Jane Free assured that a medical helicopter was available anytime they needed a quick ride to the hospital so they never felt the need to move.

I couldn't see how else to end this tale. It started out so simple, a man comes home and finds his wife having sex with another couple and expects him to just grin and jump in. He is a lost soul trying to find his way back to health. Then it expanded itself and kept going and going but needed its own closure. I hope it didn't bore you.

By the way, I will repeat myself, the towns are real as is the area but all the people and events are fictitious.