Two Step Symphony - Second Movement

Now starving, Brick realized he was going to have to drive into town to get something to eat. He grumbled at the thought of that. He should have stopped at a store on his way here. In the kitchen, he checked the refrigerator to make certain it was on and still working. To his complete surprise, it was fairly well stocked. There was a container of leftover beef stew. It smelled good and not old. He put it in the microwave, pleased that that appliance still worked.

Rachel didn't know he was coming, so she couldn't have stocked it for him. In fact, no one knew he was coming. Was her refrigerator also not working and she was keeping food here?

The stew was fantastic. Good old country cooking. That coupled with his day of travel had him very tired, so he went up to his old bedroom, plopped on the bed and was out in minutes.

* * *

It was so quiet out here that Brick slept like... a brick. In fact, he didn't think he had moved an inch all night. The evidence of that was his stiffness when he attempted to get up, which he did slowly. He headed for the bathroom, and while relieving himself, thought that a hot shower might help. He instantly stripped and turned the shower on.

As he stepped in, Brick noticed the shampoos, conditioners, and body wash containers on the rack, which suggested Rachel had been using the shower for a while. Allowing the hot water to beat down on his back, he used all the products since none seemed to be specifically for women, and since he didn't have any of his own. After several minutes, the water was too hot to remain any longer, so he turned it off.

He hadn't thought to grab a towel before, so he stepped out to get one out of the cabinet.

Old houses like this and Rachel's were well and solidly built, but the way they built the floors, they frequently creaked when walked on. Brick thought he heard such a sound. Nearby. He hadn't closed the bathroom door thinking he was alone, so he stepped into the hallway just in time to see Rachel disappear into his parents' bedroom.

Not considering that he was naked and partially wet, he followed. "What are you doing?"

Rachel turned sharply, in the process of undressing, her mouth hanging open.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you," Brick offered.

"You didn't."

Then he noticed she was actually staring at his crotch.

"Seeing something you like?"

"A country star is not the only thing you've become big at."

He glanced down at his semi-hard cock. With a shrug, he wrapped the towel around his waist.

"You didn't have to cover up on my account."

"Rachel, what's going on here?"

"What do you mean?"

He gave her a look of exasperation. "You're showering here because your water heater is broken, the refrigerator is full of food. Is your refrigerator broken also? And now, you're sneaking into my parents' room and undressing. So, I'll ask you again. What's going on?"

"I just forgot some clothes here--"

Brick stepped over to the dresser draw she had open to find it filled with underwear and clothes. He closed the drawer and pulled open the one below. More clothes. "Looks like you've forgotten a lot of clothes." To her look of defeat, he asked, "Have you been living here?"

Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't cry. "The last year and a half have been rough. I've lost a lot of business boarding horses, and some of the ones I still have, their owners are having difficulty keeping up payments. I couldn't pay my electricity bill, so they cut off my power. I've been surviving on the money you pay me to take care of your place. And since you maintain the utilities here, I--"

"I get it. Why didn't you just tell me this last night?"

She shrugged. "Didn't know how you would react."

"So, you slept in your house last night with no power?"

"Or water."

"Or food, I imagine. So, you had nothing to eat last night?"

"An apple."

"Let me get dressed and we can go downstairs and fix some breakfast, assuming there's breakfast food."

"There is."

Brick returned to his bedroom to dress. She put herself together and he wasn't completely surprised that she came to his room.

"Am I not paying you enough to take care of this place?"

"No. You are."

"Then, let me pay your bills. Get you caught up."

"No. I'm working an arrangement to board the patients of a large animal veterinarian who is moving into town and starting a practice."

Since she followed him to dress, he didn't worry about removing his towel. He glimpsed her watching him.

"I can at least help out until that happens."

Rachel shook her head. "If you want to help, let me stay here until you sell it."

"Of course."

"I'm hungry," she said. "I'll go start breakfast."

A while later, at the breakfast table, Brick had to ask, "So, how long has this been going on?"

"A couple of months," Rachel answered, in between gobbling down her scrambled eggs and bacon.

"Nobody is going to take it away," Brick quipped.

She flashed a curt smile but said nothing.

"Why didn't you call me and let me help?"

"I did," she told him. "I called several times to ask if I could stay here. They kept saying you were unavailable, and they would give you the message."

"I never got any message," Brick said. "I'm sorry. I'll definitely look into why. Although, as I gained more notoriety, the studio received more and more calls from reporters, critics and fans, so some messages might have gotten lost." He shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm sorry. I'll give you my personal cell number."

"Thanks." After a few more mouthfuls, "So, how quickly are you going to sell the ranch?"

"Well, I was going to go see a realtor today, but I guess now I'm not in as much of a hurry."

"Because of me?"

Brick nodded.

"Don't worry about me. I'll be okay."

"I wish you'd let me help. I'm making more money from my records than I know what to do with."

"It's not necessary. You don't owe me."

"You were there for me when both my parents passed. You can't put a price on that. It's my turn to be here for you."

"You are helping, by letting me stay here. And also, I bring the horses to some of your pastures. The grass is getting high, so it's a good place to feed them. In fact, I'm going to take them there this morning. You want to ride with me?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Love to."

At that moment, his phone rang. It was Chris. He held it up for Rachel to see.

She nodded, getting up. "Come to my barn when you're done."

"I've been waiting to hear from you," Chris said by way of a greeting.

"Sorry. I was so tired when I got here, I went right to bed," Brick explained, seeing no reason to mention running into his neighbor. "Woke up a little while ago, showered and now I'm eating breakfast. Was going to call you when I was done. You make it home okay?"

"Yes. My parents were thrilled to see me. They still can't understand why I left. Of course, they don't know the entire story."

"Probably just as well."

"Are you going to see a realtor today?"

"Got to find one first. Don't know if there is still one in town."

"Well, don't waste time."

"I won't."

"Stay out of trouble," she said with humor in her voice. "I love you. Talk to you later."

"Love you too." Brick quickly hung up. He picked up the breakfast dishes and piled them in the kitchen sink to deal with later, anxious to go riding with Rachel. He hadn't ridden in a while, but he was guiltily eager to go riding with her.

* * *

Rachel didn't see Brick coming, so he had an opportunity to observe her as she saddled the horses. Her tight jeans emphasized the shapely legs and rear he had already seen. He thought about all the good times they'd had in their younger days, particularly on their horseback riding excursions.

He was so lost in ruminations that he didn't hear her talking to him when he approached.

"What's on your mind?" Rachel asked.

"What?"

"I've been talking to you."

"Just lost in thought about some of our horseback riding trips when we were young."

She offered a smile that touched his heart. "Those were fun times." She handed him the reins. "Remember how to do this?"

"It's been a while, but I think I can manage." Brick mounted his horse. The animal moved around before he got control.

There were a dozen horses in the corral, and once Rachel was in her saddle, she opened the gate and herded the horses out. Apparently, the animals knew where to go. They headed toward the rear of the ranch and Rachel merely followed. Gradually, she moved to head them off and guided them to a gate between the ranches--which had been left open--and they followed her through. Brick brought up the rear. They continued on for a couple of miles to a pasture near a creek that ran through both properties.

It was also near a little pier that Brick's father and Rachel's dad had built together to fish from. They eventually added a roof for shade and benches to sit on. It was also a spot where Rachel and Brick hung out on summer afternoons. It was a quick horse ride and just far enough away from their houses that they could get away.

Rachel left the dozen horses to graze and rode over to the covered pier. They'd even built a hitching post, and she dismounted and loosely tied her horse so he could eat the grass around there.

Brick halted a dozen yards away staring in awe at the pier. He hadn't thought about this place in a long time, and suddenly his mind was flooded with memories of the times they had spent here. He'd forgotten that he and Rachel had also used this place to practice kissing. They'd also learned to remove much of each other's clothes and touch one another here.

Brick's horse continued on to the hitching post on his own, so Brick automatically dismounted and tied the reins. He joined Rachel who was already on the pier sitting on a bench on one side. He took a seat beside her. He'd forgotten how beautiful and peaceful this little piece of land and water was. His heart was actually beating a bit faster.

"Why did you bring me here?" he asked.

"I brought the horses to this pasture that happened to be here," Rachel corrected.

"Mmmm. Of course."

"Does it upset you to be here?"

"No. It just brings back a lot of... memories."

"Good or bad?"

He considered the question. "Not bad."

Rachel nodded. "Did you ever regret moving away? Leaving me?"

Brick shrugged. "It was... difficult... the few times I came back. Those memories--except for you--were somewhat painful. And then, it appeared as if you had moved on."

"A plan that backfired."

"What do you mean?"

With her head hung shamefully, Rachel admitted, "I was just trying to make you jealous."

Brick smirked. "It sort of worked. But I knew I was only here for a couple of weeks, and it wasn't fair to give you false hope. Plus, life on the road is... different."

"How so?"

He shook his head. "Doesn't matter."

"Different girl every night?"

Now it was Brick's turn to be shameful. "Something like that. You never had a boyfriend or..."

"Yes, I have had a couple, but none I wanted a permanent relationship with." She raised her eyebrows in a gesture of helplessness. "I always hoped you'd come back." Her expression turned to disappointment. "Now you have but engaged to someone else."

"I wasn't looking to become involved with anyone. We met by accident. Was my last night playing in Bull's band. I was taking the train from San Francisco to Colorado. We were accidentally booked in the same cabin."

"Did you fuck her?"

Brick was taken aback by the question. "That's--"

"I'm sorry. One of my biggest disappointments was that you and I never got to do it."

"Don't think I never thought about that. But it just wouldn't have been right." He needed to change the subject. "I'm surprised you stayed here since your parents moved to Florida."

"I like the simple lifestyle," Rachel explained with a smirk over his sudden change in direction. "I love the ranch, the land, and if I could afford to buy your ranch, I would."

Brick raised his eyebrows. He was impressed. "Hmmm. Wish I had a goal like that."

"You want a goal?" Rachel asked, surprised. "You wanted to be a musician. You succeeded at that. You own half of a successful recording studio. You've become a big country music star, and you're about to marry a fancy socialite. What more goals do you have? What more do you need?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I wanted to be a musician, but I didn't have any idea exactly what that was. And I didn't go looking to be in a band, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. And the studio was another opportunity that just came to me. Then I had some ideas for songs, but they were supposed to be for someone else. I didn't want to become a star. And as I already mentioned, I wasn't looking to become involved with someone."

"You're not happy to be getting married?"

"Oh, sure. It just wasn't planned."

"You didn't plan to ask her to marry you?"

"I didn't actually ask." He took on an embarrassed expression. "We kind of just talked about it and agreed we wanted to do it."

Rachel again raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You gave her a ring?"

"We went to a jewelry store together so she could pick it out."

"How romantic. Are you certain you really want to get married?"

"Oh, sure."

But somehow, Rachel was not convinced.

This was almost why he disliked coming back home. Too many old feelings were stirred up. Like sitting here in this serene spot. "How long do we need to stay here?" Brick wanted to know. "I'm getting hungry," he lied. He actually had an idea for another song.

With a chuckle, Rachel said, "You can leave anytime you want. I come and sit all the time for hours. I'm content."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you later."

Brick quickly mounted and rode away. He kept his horse at a walk, but when he was out of her visual range, he stepped up his pace. Back at her barn, he unsaddled the horse, gave him a quick brushing as a melody formed in his head. He led the horse to the corral, then hurried home to his guitar. Once again, he sat on his porch, picking out chords and worked out an intro and instrumental break in the middle. Some of this would work better on a piano. He'd have to go into town to see if he could find a tuning hammer. He learned to tune pianos himself.

The song was nearly finished when he heard Rachel and the horses return a few hours later. He returned to refining the lyrics and didn't hear her approach after a while.

Brick looked up and smiled when he realized she was there. He still couldn't get over how beautiful she had become. Even dusty with her cowboy hat and boots she was a sight to behold. He could only imagine how she would look in a dress and made-up. And there was another idea for a song.

"That's a pretty tune," Rachel complimented.

"Thanks. I thought of it while riding back. Never did eat."

"I'm kind of hungry myself. Let me go shower and I'll fix us an early dinner."

She started undressing right there on the porch.

"What are you doing?" Brick asked, though he was enjoying watching.

"Don't want to track all this dust in the house." With a grin, she added, "Don't tell me you don't like looking."

"Okay. I won't tell you."

They both laughed. Rachel sauntered on inside. Brick decided he'd done enough. It was usually better to get to a stopping point, let it sit for a while, and then take a second look. He went into the kitchen; recalling having seen a few beers in the refrigerator. He also found a whole chicken. He took it out, seasoned it, turned the oven on, and when it got up to temperature, slid it in.

Carefully trying to avoid the squeaking floorboards, Brick quietly went upstairs. Rachel had again left the bathroom door open. He was able to peek in without her noticing. Instead of showering, she was laying in the tub with her legs up in the air and the water beating down in her pussy. He was less surprised that she was in there masturbating--particularly if she hadn't been with a man in a while--than that she was doing it so openly. Was she hoping he would come and watch?

He felt bad about spying on her, but he couldn't get enough of her beautiful body. Seeing her getting herself off was an even bigger treat. His erection wanted to be taken out and dealt with, but he feared being caught. As soon as she came, biting in a washcloth apparently to stifle screaming, he hurriedly and quietly returned downstairs, his heart pounding.

"And he cooks, too," Rachel noted, suddenly appearing in the doorway to the kitchen nearly startling him as he recalled what he had just seen. She was wearing short shorts--actually cut-off jeans cut-off very short; something he would not have expected her to wear--showing off her shapely legs. Up top was a plain, white T-shirt that was sheer enough to reveal nothing else on underneath, her rounded breasts and pointed nipples making an impressive impression.

"Not much to baking a chicken." Brick debated with himself whether to call attention to her attire and her casualness in showing herself off. On the one hand, it was curious, but then, in their earlier years, they'd never been prudish about letting each other see themselves in various states of exposure.

Rachel helped herself to a beer.

"We'll have to go into town tomorrow so I can re-stock the refrigerator," he said. "Is Bradford's Diner still there? They used to have the best burgers. We can do lunch."

Rachel started laughing. "Yeah, it's still there. And I'd really like to do lunch because around here all we do is eat lunch."

Brick shrugged. "In my world, we do--have--a lot of lunch meetings. Kinda kills two birds with one stone."

"Uh-huh."

His phone rang. Chris again. Rachel got up to leave the kitchen.

"You don't have to go," Brick said as he answered. "Hello?"

Rachel got up to cook some carrots and potatoes.

"Hey," a cheerful Chris said. "How was your day?"

"Good. Yours?"

"My parents want to have the wedding in their home, which will make you happy because it will keep it small."

"Okay. Sounds good."

"You find a realtor?"

"Not yet."

"Then what did you do?"

"I actually wrote a couple of new songs. Lot of inspiration here."

"Oh." But he could tell her tone was not one of joy for him.

"Don't worry. I'm going into town tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Anything else new?"

"No. Going to see a caterer and baker tomorrow."

"Moving along."

"Yes."

"Mind if I call you back later? Got a chicken in the oven that's ready to come out."

"Sure. I love you."

Brick glanced at Rachel who was doing her best to pretend she wasn't listening. "Me, too."

Of course, it was hard not to listen, particularly since it didn't sound like a very personable conversation. More like the kind of call you had to take but didn't really want to. "Was she annoyed that you didn't find a realtor?" Rachel asked, though she had no right to.

"Hard to tell sometimes." Brick removed the chicken from the oven and let it cool a little. "We just do things at a different pace. And selling this place is becoming not as easy as I thought it would be."

"Having second thoughts?"

He cut the chicken into parts. "I don't know. As I've said, a lot of memories are rushing back. And I've barely been here 24 hours and I've already written two songs."

"Wow," Rachel commented, not knowing if that was good, but the way he said it sounded like it was.

They sat down to eat.

"Of course, Billy Roy and the record label want me to do an album, but I don't have enough songs."

"How many do you need?"

"At least ten."

"And how many do you have?"

"This will make five."

"Well, maybe you'll get lucky while you're here."

Somehow, Brick heard more than one meaning to that statement.