Chapter 3
The pair talked the whole trip, which was several hours long, but it was the quickest flight that Mary had ever had. Henri was not what she had expected to meet on her travels but he was also so different than what she would have expected from a man of his standing. His family was beyond rich, more or less a household name, but Henri didn’t seem to have any of the trappings that came with it.
She couldn’t understand why a man like him would be talking to her, wearing cowboy clothes and sitting in economy. It didn’t make sense, but his way of seeing things had her relaxing in his present. She wasn’t worried about him judging her. She was more worried about coming onto him too strong. He was really cute and when his blue eyes were on her, it was hard to breathe. More than once he had made her blush and just look away, unable to meet his gaze.
It was invigorating and as the announcements went up that they would soon be at their destination, she was sad to hear it. She wanted to spend more time with him and gave him her number before they landed.
“Are you going to answer when I call, or is this a number to some bar somewhere?”
“I definitely will answer.” Again Mary felt like she had said too much. Being too into a guy could make him leery and she really did want him to call her. It was hard to hold any emotions in as a whole, but with Henri it seemed almost impossible. He was the type of man that looked into a woman’s eyes when he talked to her. It was nice and she wanted to see him again.
“Good, though I don’t know when I will be in the city again.”
“Well let’s have a drink before you go back home. Next time, I will come to you if you want. Show me around the ranch.” Mary was forgetting that he would be going back south soon, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to think about leaving all of a sudden.
“I could definitely use a drink.”
Mary flashed him that smile that made him melt a little and he followed her to the small bar out by the gate. She didn’t want to leave, but eventually had to get home. Henri too was finding it harder to make an excuse to stay, but when she finally got up, he hugged her to him and kissed her on her cheek. “Thanks for making the flight so easy, Mary.”
“It was my pleasure. Call me and we will set something up before you go back. That is, if you have time.” She hoped that he would, but Mary had learned that she felt more than most. It wasn’t that she was planning their children or anything like that, but she had thought about being his something new more than once. It was hard not to think about him in that way. He was gorgeous and actually had a personality that wouldn’t be expected from a man in his position.
Mary watched him go and she sighed to herself. He was the type of man she was looking for and she hadn’t even known it. Usually she dated business men and artists, but now she wondered if what she really needed was just a good old-fashioned hard working man. A man like Henri was hard to find though. She had to go all the way to Venezuela to find one that made her forget about her ex. Darryl had been what she had thought about when she was getting ready to go on the plane. She was going to give him a call when she got back and hope that he would want to get together. After Mary got back to her house, the last thing she was thinking about was Darryl. Henri was on her mind and she wondered if he was going to call.
***
About an hour after she made it home, Mary had to go meet with the author that had hired her for the pictures. It was a peculiar man that was kind of hawkish looking in the face, but he turned out to be very nice and very generous. They went through the pictures that she had just had printed off and the last picture of Henri came up. She blushed a little when Trent asked about it.
“Oh sorry, sir. I had a little film left and he was a man I met on my plane ride back.” Mary grabbed the picture and smiled back at him. He seen right through her and the old man smiled at her.
“Of course. It seems like you like this fella.”
Though she didn’t think of men as fellas, she couldn’t disagree with the sentiment. She had liked him, a lot and still wished that she would see him again. All she could do was wait to see if he called though.
“Mary?”
“Yes, sorry. I don’t know where my mind is today. I am going to blame it on jetlag.”
He just nodded again. The man was quiet, but always his eyes were watching and like most writers that she had worked with, he seemed to see more in the way of how people ticked than most people. He was interested in her reactions, but would never be so forthcoming to actually ask.
“Well, the pictures look great, Mary. I am so glad you were able to go down there for me. I used to do my own pictures and illustrations, but I am getting older and do not look forward to the travel much more than I do my chair.”
She smiled back at him. “It was my pleasure. I wouldn’t have been able to visit if not for the job, so it has always been a bonus. I get to do what I love and travel.”
“If everyone was as easy to work with as you, Mary. I have a new project coming up that I thought might be right down your alley and that gentlemen in the photo would be perfect.”
“Perfect for what?”
“I am writing a book about cowboys and that man looks about as cowboyish as I think it gets. I don’t know if that is a word, but you get my point.”
Mary was already shaking her head. “I don’t think he would go for something like that. He is a Callahan, so he won’t do it for the money.”
Ralph shook his head. “If he feels half of what you do, I am sure you can sweet talk him into it. It will give you a reason to go see him.”
She looked at him surprised, though she would never admit that she was thinking almost on the same lines. It was surprising, but it shouldn’t have been. Trent had always been that way. “I will see what I can do, but I think you are starting to get a bit fanciful in your old age.”
“That very well could be, Mary.”
He gave her more details of what kind of shots he was looking for and though it wasn’t really something she had done before, she did like the idea of having a reason to see Henri again. Now all she had to do was wait for him to call.