How Many Acres?
"GOODNIGHT, JOHN BOY," I called to Janine, who laughed at The Waltons reference. I think she was old enough to have seen that show on TV. I'd never actually seen it. My parents had always said that to me and my siblings before we went to bed. "Goodnight, Ma," I sang to Stephanie, who giggled.
Given the sleepy atmosphere, instead of having a nightcap of the tequila I’d brought with my food stores, I finished unpacking, put on my jammies and crawled into the bottom bed of my bunk. Janine and Stephanie beat me to sleep, Janine sleeping in a long sleep t-shirt and Stephanie sleeping in frumpy granny pajamas.
It was wholesome. Quite. Novel, really, for me to be so wholesome. I normally drank a beer before bed and slept nude if I could pull it off. Not here, though.
As I lay in my bunk bed in the dark, I couldn't help but think of Will and his impressive body. A sexy man? Yes. But not one who respected me or my core beliefs, apparently, given the name-calling. That said, he was serious man candy and thinking of him made me tingle in all the right places on my body. Since there was no privacy, however, I just curled up. I must have been worn out from the day because I fell asleep immediately and did not dream.
The insistent clanging of a triangle—seriously, a fucking metal triangle straight out of the old west—woke us up the next morning, and the wranglers groused and put on jeans and went to take care of the horses. I slipped on shorts and a t-shirt, pulled my hair in a ponytail, splashed water on my face, and headed out. Cookie had set out coffee for us in urns in the chow hall. After eating breakfast and taking a cup of Joe to go, I went to work in the bunkhouse office.
The small, comfortable room featured a large window to look out. I fired up the computer, logged on with the password Janine had given me, and went to work planning sessions for the upcoming weeks. Janine stopped by mid-morning to give me information that I needed to go over with each group, like how to deal with emergencies, such as earthquakes, fires, and animals such as rattlesnakes or mountain lions, in addition to other rules.
The clanging of the triangle, signaling lunchtime, surprised me. I'd spent the entire morning absorbed in planning, and I had no idea how the time had passed. It was the best feeling to be absorbed in your work; I'd just known that I'd love it here.
I stood up to go to the chow hall when I heard footsteps and two male voices passing outside, close by the office window. One was Will's low voice, saying, ". . . Hamilton Development."
"What do those bastards want?" This sounded like Jimmy, the older, wizened wrangler. I peeked out the window. I was right.
"For me to sell so they can develop Headlands into ranchettes. They made me another offer. This one ten percent higher than their last." I heard their feet stop.
"What are you gonna do about it?" asked Jimmy.
"Say no. But with the costs of berries going up and the prices staying where they are, they think they'll get me one of these days. I heard that people have contracts for four grand an acre—without guaranteed water. It's crazy."
"Yeah, it's crazy these days. But they don't have you to run it, Will. This place is in your blood."
"No, they don't," Will agreed. "But with the government taxing the hell out of you and then getting squeezed on labor costs and worker's comp insurance and whatever the fuck else, you never know what's gonna happen."
Listening to them talk, I realized that Will had a lot going on. If a developer was offering him money, maybe he was worried about the future of the ranch. Headlands was such a big operation and had been around for so long, you'd think that it was a self-perpetuating institution, but I could understand why it could be tempting to sell and get out of it. It was a lot of work. That would be a shame though, because the area was so naturally beautiful. I'd hate to see it developed.
And as I heard him talk, I thought that maybe he wasn’t the capitalistic conservative I pegged him to be, out to get money however he could. Maybe he was different.
“What're you gonna do about the new one, Will? She's not yer type, but she's a looker."
Then I heard Will's rumble. "Yeah. She's fucking hot. Too bad she's an elitist left-wing."
A smile spread across my face. I already knew that Will hated my politics. I hated his. All the more reason for me to stick my heels in the ground and dig. He didn't have to like what I believed.
More interesting to me was that Will thought I was hot. He wasn’t boyfriend material, but a summer fling? Maybe. It felt dirty. I mean, how naughty would it be to fuck your political opponent, literally?
I kind of got turned on by that idea, actually. Or maybe it was his junk. Or abs.
Pushing those thoughts to the side, I left for lunch.
At the tables, I made sure to sit next to Will, just to fuck with him. I was acting like I was still in high school but I didn't care. As much as he repelled me with his surliness, he attracted me with his hot body. I made sure to brush up against him as I sat, just to see his reaction, which was to flinch like he did before. His jaw ticked when I reached over him to get the water pitcher and his breath hitched when I leaned down to pick up the napkin I dropped.
As I finished my peanut butter sandwich, which Will looked at in disgust, Janine asked if I wanted to take a tour of the property.
Of course I wanted to. As I nodded and opened my mouth to ask her when, Will interrupted. "I'll show her around."
I looked at him in surprise.
"S'my ranch.”
"True," I said with a smile. "I'd love to see your ranch. How many acres do you have?"
He blinked at me and asked, "How big are your jugs?"
What the fuck?
"What?" I censored, but I was still taken aback.
"S'bout as polite to ask a farmer how many acres he has as it is to ask a woman the size of her tits."
I never knew that.
"Sorry," I said. "I didn't know that."
"Now you do." For the first time, I saw him smile, and it was a glorious, full face smile that hit his eyes, gentle and a bit mischievous. I didn't know that he had it in him. Total about-face.
It dazed me, it was so beautiful, and it felt like forgiveness. I thought that I’d do anything to see him smile like that again.
And like that, things shifted slightly. I realized that I hadn’t sat next to him just to fuck with him. I sat next to him because I was very much attracted to him, drawn to him like a magnet, even though he was my opponent on issues that mattered very much to me. I couldn’t seem to leave him alone in the short period of time I’d known him and whenever he was around he was the only one I paid attention to.
He seemed to be the same way, because I noticed him conscientiously not looking at me, but I could have sworn he’d just been watching. We were two galactic bodies orbiting each other, pulled by gravity, but repelled by an equal force.
Okay, I don’t know if that exists in physics but that was how I felt.
And I wanted more of him.
He continued, quietly, still smiling, "But you can always ask to see and if they wanna show you, then that's okay."
See what? My breasts? Or his ranch?
Guess I'd find out.