The Rancher's Wife

CHAPTER 1

Two weeks before her husband and her unmarried brother who lived with them and worked on the ranch were to leave for Europe, Carl's young wife hit the roof.

"These women who've replied to your advertisements to be a companion for me while you two go cruising round Europe after buying young pedigree Angus bulls are as useless as tits on a bull," Sarah said, giving a fair impression of ripping her hair out by the roots and she then stamped her foot for good measure.

"Don't get your knickers in a knot, I'll find someone down at the Grady's Bar."

Sarah all but exploded, saying she was not having one of his whores living with her for four weeks and the bitch groaning that she wasn't getting sex being incarcerated away from the bar.

"Well you go and live in town. The men will probably work better without your over-lording them anyway."

"You bastard," Sarah shrieked, throwing one of her best vases at her husband.

Carl only just managed to catch the missile and placed it gently on the table and muttered, "Jesus."

"Look what you almost made me do with my favorite vase," she sobbed.

Carl muttered he could buy a replacement for under a hundred bucks.

"Cut the acting your two," smiled the younger Kevin. "Place an ad in the newspaper for an experienced and versatile person for a month to help manage a big home and ranch. Don't say anything more."

"What if guys apply?" asked his calming sister.

Kevin grinned. "You want guys to apply because you've had no replies from women. If you choose a guy under twenty-five or over fifty-five you'll be safe sexually as at that age they won't be interest in a big-tit thirty-five year old like you."

"Oh thank you very much asshole."

"Very well Sarah darling," her husband said sarcastically, "Let's hear your superior suggestion or even an inferior alternative."

"You know mom and dad won't come here in spring with the cold still around. For them it's midsummer of nothing."

"Come on baby, back down. Let's try Kevin's suggestion. A 60-year old could still have the stomach to pick up a rifle and defend your honor against intruders and to provide the backup to ensure the guys work the cattle as you dictate. Some older guys pack more muscle that some younger men in their so-called prime."

"Oh all right. We are probably wasting out time. If that fails I'll go down to the quarry and ask Harry if he'd loan me a sexy guy aged thirty-five to sleep with me for four weeks. He ought to get some volunteers."

"It would create a riot of competing volunteers," Kevin leered.

"That's inflammatory talk Kevin," said Carl sternly. "Shut your mouth unless you have something more useful to say. Sarah if this last-resort ad doesn't work you may go down to the quarry and hand-pick a guy you know I'd approve of and slip Harry the folding money he'd want and that's bound to be at least five hundred bucks plus coming to an agreement about the guy's pay."

Eight days later Sarah and Carl interviewed the nine guys who'd applied for the job. They quickly eliminated the misfits and the one remaining guy got cold feet and left, saying he was scared of the dogs and didn't like hearing bulls bellowing.

"Jesus," Carl said, slamming a palm hard against his forehead to send his ears ringing.

"Vehicle coming," Kevin said. "It's the McPherson's Chevy pickup."

"I bet he wants to borrow a box of staples," Carl said. "Well the answer's no because Tim has already borrowed two boxes and not replaced them."

"It's his son Yarrow," Kevin called.

"He's finished college and is back home," Carl said, screwing a finger into his left ear. "He'll want to ride a horse. His dad has switched completely to farm bikes. Kevin fix him up with Silver."

"Hi Mrs Medway, Carl, Kevin. Sorry I'm late applying for the job. I had to pick mom up at the hairdresser's and they were late with her. Too much talking I reckon."

"What to help manage the house?" Carl said. "You know fuck-all about ranching."

"Mom said the role is to stand between Mrs Medway and the men to stop them trying to fuck her."

"Oh Jesus," Carl groaned. "No way am I going to the UK."

"How old are you Yarrow?"

"I turn twenty-four in two months Mrs Medway."

"And you have a girlfriend?"

"Well on and off. It's Bess Grant but she caught me humping her sister last week so the Ice Age has come between us at the moment but I'm expecting that to thaw pretty soon."

"Did you hear that Carl? And he's under the age limit for younger guys."

"I heard. Come to the office and sign on Yarrow. Do you know the meaning of castration son?"

"Yeah of course I do Carl."

"Well that's what will happen to you if you touch Mrs Medway while residing here."

They were walking away but Sarah fumed when she heard the reply.

"Christ Carl, don't be so gross. She's old."

Kevin sniggered. "You ought to try to bed him if you can Sis. I know from experience older women like younger guys."

"Don't be so gross."

"Gross, what's this thing about gross that everyone is on about?" Kevin asked.

He wasn't answered because Sarah believed he didn't deserve one.

Sarah took the two guys to the airport and howled. That caused her husband and brother to shuffle their feet awkwardly and they looked pleased to get the boarding call. They looked back to see Sarah waving, apparently happily, and that must have confused them.

On the two-hour drive home Sarah became brave and thought she'd lay that young jerk to teach him what a good woman was like. Yeah that was being neighborly because his mom couldn't be expected to do that. But by the time she arrived home she'd decided he could sleep in the barn. That would offer her little protection but she didn't want him seeing her pad around in her gown with her breasts swinging. God that would have him shut in the toilet half the day masturbating.

Yarrow arrived on a farm bike late afternoon as arranged, in time for tea. As he shut down the noisy motor and removed his helmet Sarah saw the low sunlight highlighting his blonde hair and then she noted broad shoulders for a skinny kid and she felt quite motherly.

"Where will I sleep Mrs Medway?"

"I'll make up the guest room after dinner," Sarah smiled, wondering why she hadn't said he would sleep above the hay in the barn.

As they finished dinner she saw the light was fading and was glad she'd be sleeping with a man in the house, er she would be glad to be sleeping in a house where there was a man. That still sounded awkward, she mused, but then males were awkward to have around.

"Do I continue to call you Mrs Medway?"

"Yes."

"Then Mrs Medway it is Mrs Medway."

Sarah made up the bed and they watched TV and she dozed off and when she awoke found he'd gone. She waited thinking he'd gone to the bathroom but after fifteen minutes though even a person with a partial bowel blockage wouldn't take that long. Jesus, he'd gone to bed without saying good night the oaf. But then she though what was the purpose of him saying goodnight when she'd been asleep?

Knocking on his door, Sarah waited to give Yarrow time to cease masturbating and cover up.

"Come in," he replied instantly. She shot in to catch him at it but he was reading a book.

Gee was he gay?

Sarah went over and kissed him, the kiss landing in an eye.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"To say goodnight like a well-mannered hostess would be expected to do. Do you masturbate?"

"Yes do you?" Yarrow asked calmly and that sent the red-faced Sarah scuttling from the room, quite shocked. She wondered if she ought to pick a 30-30 off the rack and put a bullet through his foot for being so gross.

She turned and went back to his room, entering without knocking, and said, "I'm sorry for being so personal and asking that question Yarrow. It was so gross of me."

"Gross? Not at all. I can understand that as my employer you are entitled to be interested in what I do with my hands outside of work hours."

"I-I am entitled?"

"Yes of course. Come and give me a proper kiss goodnight if you wish Mrs Medway."

"Call me Sarah and no, one kiss per night is all you'll be getting."

"I very much doubt that. Good night."

"Well I suppose a proper good night kiss is in order. Don't grope me."

"Is that a request?"

Sarah jumped back two feet and gasped, "Don't even joke like that... I couldn't bear it if Carl cut out your testicles."

"Sarah unless you shoot off your mouth how is anyone going to know what we do? As I see it, with me staying alone in the house with you, everyone will simply assume we fuck our nights away. Go off to sleep now thinking what I've just said."

"D-don't you want a kiss?"

"No because I will feel compelled to grope you."

Sarah left the room almost in daze. This was a disaster; it was not going to plan. She had wrongly assumed she'd be in control.

Almost asleep, she wondered if Yarrow's voice would go up an octave after he was castrated.

* * *

Sarah awoke to sunlight sneaking into the bedroom through a gap in the drapes, the morning trills of birds and the whistling one of the guys moving the yearling heifers out of the pasture beside the house.

Ah so idyllic.

Then her eyes shot open as she thought of the young guy just along the hallway stroking his dick.

"God why aren't I thinking of my husband," she sighed guilty and rubbed an itchy eye. Well, she thought suspiciously, those two guys in New York would be pushing the sleepy nude waitresses out of their beds to shave, have early breakfast and begin a half day of sight-seeing before they returned to the airport to board their transatlantic flight. She wondered why men when they cut loose in a big city grabbed whores while women chose shopping? Well at least the women she knew did, or so they said.

Sarah had been born and raised in this house and one day just after her 20th birthday her friend since childhood from the neighboring ranch on their northern boundary, Carl Medway, had called to invite her to join him for a ride to the river. Her mom said no but Sarah said yes. God it had been almost two years since Carl had last fucked her and she wasn't of a mind to miss out. He'd plowed through most of her girlfriends and they all told Sarah he was very good.

Carl had asked on the riverbank was she on the pill and Sarah said no and he'd best put on a condom because she didn't have any trust in guys who promised to pull out early.

"No condom, no pulling out. If you get pregnant I'll marry you."

"Why would you marry me... you have all those other girls?"

"Because I love you Sarah darling."

God, she'd fallen for it headfirst. She thought he really did love her; she hadn't thought that Carl's motive was marriage to ultimately merge the two ranches.

Well pregnancy happened and Pat (Patrick) and Lucy were now at boarding school. It had worked out well really. They were a happy couple and she knew Carl occasionally jumped the fence to be with one of her girlfriends. She knew about such adultery because women talk. Apart from her brother the only other guy she'd ever had sex with was Carl and he would mount her at every opportunity.

Sarah pulled up her nightdress and stroked her pussy lightly and then Yarrow came straight into her room without knocking, looked at her and grinned. "Are you masturbating?"

God he was outrageous. Sarah felt as if she'd been caught with her panties down. She thought to leave her hand where it was and not to go red-faced in guilt and believed she was successful. She'd probably turned white in horror but actually she had only been stroking the light covering of hair.

"What the hell do you want disturbing my peace?"

"Use of your shower. The one in the guestroom has practically no pressure."

"Christ Carl had promised me he'd fix that."

"Perhaps you'll trust me to take a look at it later?"

"Yes take a look and yes use my shower."

"Will you join me?"

"What?"

He turned and dropped his robe and went into the bathroom whistling.

Sarah took in his skinny white bum and smiled. What a cheeky little asshole he was.

She went out to make coffee and Doug the acting foreman in her brother's absence knocked and came in, smiling and saying good morning courteously.

"Coffee?"

"Yes please Sarah. Is that young Yarrow sleeping in the house with you?"

"You mean is he a house guest? Yes."

"I thought he'd be sleeping in the barn."

"That would be inhuman. There are rats nesting in the hay."

"He'd be okay if I gave him Dell to sleep in the loft with him. She is dynamite on rats and will kill and play with them for hours."

Sarah felt sick.

Yarrow came out and said hi Doug to the much older man who looked at him closely as if searching for finger rakes and love bites.

"I thought you'd be sleeping in the barn. There's a bed in the loft."

"Nah it's more comfortable here."

"You don't say."

Yarrow stepped closer to Doug, bristling.

"Exactly what are you insinuating?"

Doug scratched his head and, intrigued, Sarah called to him it meant implying.

"I don't know how to imply," Doug said, although not backing down.

"Well if you are to make up foul rumors about me Doug..."

"Whatcha on about? Mrs Medway would only touch you with an electric cattle prod."

"Jesus Doug, that's in. Now you are insulting both Mrs Medway and me. Come on, outside and we'll..."

"Doug, coffee is ready," Sarah said like a mother used to sorting out kids. "You sit where Carl sits, I'll sit in the middle and Yarrow you sit facing Doug and I want to see nothing but smiles passing between you two. Doug will you kindly take Yarrow when you check on the bulls."

"One of the boys is welding the hole in Carl's pickup and Jake has the other pickup in town getting cattle drench so I'll be riding up to the bulls. The McPherson's only know how to ride motorcycles."

"I'll ride the ass of you on any horse."

"Oh yeah," Doug sneered.

"Yeah."

"Anyone for an oat cookie? And Doug if you try anything foolish to try to unseat young Mr McPherson or try giving him a half-wild horse I'll kick your butt so hard you'll land halfway into town."

"Sarah we are just sorting pecking order. There's nothing to it. Anyway I've seen the kid ride several times and no way could I out-ride him."

"Then I can trust you with him and to respect him?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm in no mood to have my butt kicked today. You know Sarah, something's in the air. I've not seen you this fiery since the days of your head-to-heads with your late father."

"Well you don't see me all the time. Shouldn't you be checking on the bulls?"

"Another pour of coffee please Sarah while this young guy goes off and puts on ranch work gear. The bulls will charge a guy wearing a pink polo and white shorts even if he's on a horse."

As the two men went off Sarah thought about Doug noticing the difference in her. Yes she felt aroused, um sexually aroused. A jump into a drinking trough was what she needed. She sighed and knew where she'd gotten that saying from: her father. Doug had know her father longer than she had as her father had employed Doug as a 15-year old who had been banned from further attendance at two high schools because of his wild ways. But her father had tamed him and her mother had given Doug further formal education, or at least had endeavored to do so.

Finishing her allotted housework Sarah lay back on her comfortable chair under the deck sunshade and thought that was such a welcome alternative to pushing snow off the terrace, not that she was adverse to winter and its storms providing they didn't inflict too much hardship and outstay their season. She then began thinking of Yarrow stroking her vulva and fell asleep.

When Yarrow returned exhilarated and chatted on about the four hours he'd been away and how Doug was a really good guy and was full of sound philosophy and wisdom. Sarah didn't say Doug had picked that up from her father.

"Doug said I had to be careful when we checked out the two-year old bulls and I said I wasn't afraid of bulls and he said funny I should say that but did I accept frisky two-year old bulls weren't afraid of me. Well that made me think."

Sarah laughed and said she better make late lunch. She tossed her phone to Yarrow and said punch in 666 and Doug would answer. "Tell him I'm inviting him over for lunch. He doesn't have to change clothes."

As she was preparing lunch Yarrow came up behind Sarah and placed his arm around her. She was about to berate him but thought better of that and anyway he was still yapping on.

"I said to Doug why doesn't he get a motorcycle from a dealer in town on trial and God he was so funny. He looks at me and says, 'Son this old ass has been shaped by horse saddles. How the fuck will it fit a skinny motorcycle seat?' I almost fell off my horse I was laughing so much."

Sarah laughed easily and turned to ask Yarrow to fetch the Marinara sauce when he kissed her, full on the mouth. Sarah didn't open her mouth and kept her eyes open and saw his eyes were closed.

She pulled away and simply said, "Don't you dare let Doug see you touching me."

"There's no need for that. Doug warned me this morning if I touch you he'd kill me."

"Oh god," Sarah wailed.

"Easy Sarah. I'm not going to let him catch me, am I?"

"Y-you be careful, real careful. Do you hear?"

He just grinned and Sarah was disgusted with herself. Christ she'd just given him permission to touch her out of Doug's sight!

"What else happened out there?"

"Oh nothing, the air was great, it was sunny and all signs of winter were gone."

"What horse did Doug saddle for you?"

"Smokey, a gray filly."

"Doug gave you her?" Sarah said in surprise. "She's the best horse we have."

"I noted her lines and asked Doug why was he treating me so and he went all shy and mumbled he'd never had a son."

"Well that's true, not one that he is aware of," Sarah smiled and then she realized the significance of poor lonely Doug's comment. Oh how cruel live can be, she thought.

Doug knocked and came in and placed his battered Stetson over the doorknob.

"Thanks for inviting me for lunch Sarah."

"You're welcome; I knew the boys would have had theirs an hour ago."

Doug walked behind Yarrow and tousled his hair and Yarrow said calmly, "Touch me again and you're dead."

Doug didn't react and walked to the fridge and said, "A white wine and two beers?"

"Yes please," Sarah said, unable to really believe what she'd just witnessed. Those two were now acting like pals whereas five hours ago they were almost at each other's throats. What a difference half a day can make.

She sat down for a drink before serving the sausage pie and fries.

"Well here's to the hero," Doug said, raising his glass. "We must be very proud of your house guest."

"Proud?" Sarah asked, looking for an answer.

"Didn't he tell you?"

"Tell me what?" she asked, looking a little exasperated.

Doug looked with new respect at Yarrow who was looking out of the window.

"Your house guest performed rather well up on the upper flat pasture and thank God I'd given him Smokey otherwise you'd about now been visiting me in hospital if I was that lucky. A stupid 1500-pound bull caught me between my horse and the water-trough I'd just fixed and charged. Yarrow seemed to turn Smokey is half her length and they charged the bull that veered off and away, probably in fright. It was pretty to watch, I'm telling you."

"Oh well done," Sarah cooed.

"Go on, let her kiss you," Doug said. "Forget what I told you earlier this morning."

Sarah, closing her eyes, kissed Yarrow on the mouth and Yarrow stood almost bug-eyed holding his arms out helplessly and that made Doug cackle in laughter.

"You'll have to teach Yarrow how to kiss," Doug said. "He looked like a fish out of water. At college he probably only had guys to kiss. You know what students are like."