Chapter Twenty-One

James

 

The morning rode in like an untamed mare, hard and unforgiving. I’d tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep without Evelyn by my side. Since Thursday, she seemed much more relaxed and had even spent most of her weekend out on the ranch.

Sunday afternoon she left me alone, and for the first time since Jasper passed, I noticed just how quiet and lonely the ranch could be.

My fingers slid up the side of my face and into my hair as I stretched to wake up. It was a long night, and I knew it would be an even longer day.

The coffee pot blinked red to warn me it would shut down soon. Wow. I slept later than I thought. A hot cup of the black gold in my favorite mug, a couple good stretches, and a peek out at the land that was mine, hopefully for good, and I was awake enough to turn on the computer.

An e-mail from Evelyn took immediate priority over the others. I clicked it open and nearly jumped from my chair. She got a court date, just like she promised. Two days, that wasn’t long to prepare, but most of the hard work was done.

Evelyn ended the e-mail explaining that she was on an urgent case and wouldn’t be able to talk to me on the phone today, but I could e-mail her any questions or concerns.

I had plenty of concerns, but she’d already done everything she could to soothe them. Questions, yeah, I had a few, but none that involved the case.

I couldn’t concentrate to read the other e-mails, so I closed up the laptop and headed into the kitchen. Ripe apples that Evelyn picked from the trees in back of the house were neatly stacked in a bushel basket. I loaded up what I could carry and headed towards the barn.

Queen was holding her head high, regal almost. She snorted as I walked towards her as if to greet me, or to ask if the apples I held were for her.

“You want one of these?” I teased, holding one just out of her reach.

Another snort told me she did indeed want one of the apples.

“Here ya go, girl,” I let her eat from my palm.

“I got one for you too,” I sighed at Gulliver, who was of course, trying to shove his thick head through the small slats of the gate.

Queen ate quickly, ready for another one. I knew she was worried I’d give more to Gulliver than to her. I laughed as I fed her another, and then made her watch while I fed Gulliver his share.

“You miss Evelyn?” I asked him, running the flat of his long snout.

“I do too,” I replied without his answer.

“She’ll be back again. Don’t you worry old buddy, she wouldn’t leave you here all alone. If we’re lucky, maybe she’ll be here to ride you all the time one day,” I sighed.

Queen snorted in disapproval, her gray ears standing at attention as she kicked her front leg in the hay.

“Oh relax, old girl, I told you…you’ll always be my first love, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for another,” I smiled.

Her eyes were fixated on the remaining apple in my hand. Someone was going to get more than their fair share, and she looked determined on making it her.

“It’s still early though, right?” I asked Gulliver, who was clueless about the apple in my hand.

He bit at his backside, his lips curling up around his teeth so high on the gums he looked like Mr. Ed.

I laughed as I bit into the apple, sending Queen into a fit. Her legs kicked into the wood of her stall and a loud neigh echoed through the barn. Gulliver stopped what he was doing to look up at her, his ears floppy and ridiculous for a horse of his breeding.

“Relax,” I sighed, extending the apple to Queen to calm her down.

“So, do you think I should tell her how I feel?” I asked Queen as I fed her the apple.

A snort pushed through her nostrils, one I couldn’t tell if it was from contentment, agreement, or disapproval. She seemed only interested in the apple, spitting the core to the ground once she was done chewing.

Everyone in the barn was fed, watered, and groomed for the day, so I walked to the smaller one to check on Gretta and the baby calf.

I watched the future bull bouncing around the pen, happy, healthy, and filled with life. Gretta looked exhausted as she moved towards the bin of hay I spread out for her. I patted her on the head as she ate, not even trying to admit I knew how she felt. I had no clue what it was like to raise a little one, and probably never would.

Pedro and Kyle pulled up in a beat-up pickup as I left the small barn. I waved to them as I headed to the garage to get the supplies for the day.

The fence repairs were finally complete, and now a new coat of paint would give this ranch some life back. I pulled down two paint sprayers from the loft and then went on a search for paint.

“We paint day?” Pedro asked, his English a bit broken.

I nodded.

Finally, I found the large container of exterior paint under the old tractor trailer. Pedro helped as I gripped the large tub and pulled it out from its hiding place.

“Rojo?” he gasped, his eyes wide and curious.

“Red,” I nodded with a grin.

Jasper had me paint the fence right before I left for the SEALs, and no one had since from the way it looked. I hated spraying the fence white at the time, thinking it would stand out more if it were red. Now, it was mine, and even though Martin Jasper was probably cursing me from the heavens, the fence was gonna finally be red.

“Okay,” Pedro smiled, making a face as motioned for Kyle to back up the trailer to where we stood.

Pedro was a lot like old man Jasper, stubborn and set in his ways, a hard worker, a big heart, and hated change.

I loaded some red paint from the large container to a smaller one I could handle, and then I helped them load up the trailer, and sent them on their way. The fence would take about a week to complete both sides, even with two of them and industrial sprayers, but I couldn’t wait to see the change.

 After backing my truck up to the garage and loading in the paint I needed and supplied, I drove to the end of the lane.

A tall ladder stood in the bed of my truck, and I climbed to the top to reach the sign that welcomed visitors to the ranch. I smiled as I looked at the JJ Ranch sign, the second J obviously added in a different hand. It was added when Jasper decided he was leaving the place to me, and he said he liked the sound of JJ better than JL. I agreed.

I coated the large piece of wood with white paint on both sides and then sat down in my truck to drink some water while it dried. I finished it up with the stencils for the JJ Ranch logo, painted in red, and then the cattle images in black. A black outline around the oval sign, and it was complete. A smile smeared across my face as I took it in.

I had to believe Evelyn could make this work and that she would make sure I kept the place. Losing it now would be a kick in the sac that I couldn’t handle.

Back inside the house, I shot an e-mail to Evelyn, thanking her for all her hard work.

Evelyn,

I won’t lie and say I’m not a nervous wreck about this court date, but having you by my side is keeping me sane. You’re the smartest, most resourceful (not to mention, prettiest) woman I know, and I can’t thank you enough for all the hard work you’ve put into helping me keep this ranch.

I know you said you didn’t want payment for your work, but you can’t let me just pay you in sex, as an attorney of the law; I expect you already know that! So, please don’t send me to prison for prostitution, and send me a bill for what I owe.



James

I hit send and stretched in my chair before reading the other e-mails in my inbox. The first one, from the new buyer I scouted out in Amarillo, stated he would love to take a tour of the ranch, and if it was everything I claimed, he’d place his first order then and there. A loud hoot rolled from deep in my diaphragm as I replied with a quick thank you and to ask him when he would like to tour the place.

A few more e-mails, mainly on pricing, sales, and recalls on feed were opened and scanned quickly as I waited for Evelyn’s response.

Finally, she replied. I opened the e-mail and quickly starting reading, hoping to see an estimated number for my bill.

James,

While I understand that prostitution is illegal, I can hardly see you serving time in prison. You haven’t been paying me in sex, even though if you had been using it as a currency, the orgasms I’ve received would cover your legal costs until the end of time.

I said, I was doing this pro-bono, and that has not changed…but, nice try!

I’m extremely busy, so I can’t talk further about this. Give Gulliver an apple please, and I’ll call you when I can.

Evelyn

 

I was laughing as I read her reply but still frustrated that she wouldn’t accept payment. I had retirement money in the bank, although meager. It was enough, and once the rumors of me leaving, of a new buyer coming on and wiping out the ranch, the sales from the cattle would go back up again.

Even though I tried to let it go, I couldn’t. I called Axel, bitching about Evelyn’s stubbornness as soon as he answered.

“Whoa,” he scoffed.

“It’s just, well, it’s just not right, her working for free. I have money. I can pay her,” I growled.

Axel started laughing at my pleas, his behavior at the topic striking me odd.

“Okay, listen. She’d kill me if I told you this, but I think it’s the only thing that will calm you down,” Axel straightened his tone.

“What,” I asked.

“Evelyn doesn’t need the money,” he breathed.

“That’s not the point. She’s doing the work, she should get paid,” I argued.

“She will just write it off. She does pro-bono cases all the time; it’s not just for you,” he explained.

“There are people who need her help, and it’s amazing she does that, but I’m not one of the poor saps that can’t pay his way,” I protested.

“Look, she inherited her grandmother’s estate when she passed, and it’s worth millions,” Axel stated.

I stopped myself from interrupting, taking the time to catch my breath from the news I’d just been given. Millions?

“Promise me you won’t let on that I told you. She would be furious if she knew. She doesn’t care about the money, so she works really hard to hide it so others don’t treat her differently,” Axel explained.

“I promise,” I responded.

After hanging up with Axel, I leaned back in my chair and thought about Evelyn with all that money. No one would know she was a millionaire. She was quiet, most times underdressed, and she drove around that little car that was so basic it didn’t even have powered windows.

The last thing I wanted was for Evelyn to think I wanted her for her money, so there was no way I’d ever tell her what Axel told me. I was already struggling with the fear she thought I just wanted her for sex. I wanted her for so much more than sex. I wanted her for life.