by Wood, Lauren
It was a strange way to come about it and I didn’t like that Cliff was involved. “So how did Cliff get involved?”
Cece was just looking at the road and didn’t let on her emotions. “I don’t know, this was happening before we had the falling out. He called me the next morning to see if I was still going to go and I decided I was. It is a great opportunity for the ranch. It will get our name out there and the extra revenue will go a long way to a remodel. There are many things that need to be replaced. Not to mention I will be able to pay you all a better wage. You will be getting a raise this next week, since you will have new duties. But no more mending fences for you. I think this is going to keep you busy.”
“I think it is a great idea, but what about the horses? I don’t know if I am comfortable leaving them with some stranger. They have to be taken care of. It’s our duty to make sure of it.”
She pondered it for a moment and agreed that it was dangerous to just let it go. “You are right Dante. We will have to find someone else that can go with first timers that lease one. I know that you are particular about who works with the horses, so you are more than welcome to pick a couple of handlers. I would rather you pick out from who we got. We can trust most of them and hands are easier to find. This is going to be a good raise for whoever you choose.”
I was a little flabbergasted that she was giving me so much more responsibility. It meant that she believed in me and I was glad for it because I knew that I would never do anything to ruin that trust that she had for me. I really did respect her and want nothing but to help her. We were feeling more and more like a couple. Was this because of what happened the last couple of nights or was this the plan all along?
“How long have you been planning this?”
“Not too long. A couple of weeks. I didn’t even know if it was going to go through. That is why I am just telling you now. That meeting was the last of them and I knew that it would be better with you there. You are going to have a major role here with the ranch. Are you sure you are up for it?”
I nodded my head and told her that I was. “I am not going anywhere Cece.”
“Good, because I need you.”
“In more ways than one I hope.”
She smiled at me and there was a faint look of lust in her eyes, most likely something that she was trying to hide because just as quickly it was gone. But the look had done its damage and when we stopped for something to eat at a small diner by the interstate, I was sick of waiting around. I pulled her into a bathroom and took her against the wall.
When we walked out, her hair was messed up and her clothes were crooked, but she had never been so beautiful to me before. I absolutely loved the way she looked after she had found pleasure. The fact that I was the one that was giving her that look made it all the better. I didn’t know how else to describe it but it was pure perfect. It seemed that everything about Cece I found perfect.
Back in the truck, I drove and she leaned against my shoulder. Even before all of this, I had enjoyed the way she felt leaned up against me, but now I got to rub her while she laid there and it made it a hundred times better.
When she fell asleep, it felt like all of the stars had finally aligned in my life. It wasn’t a feeling I was used to having, this grip like feel over my heart, but lord help me I did. The woman curled up against me was perfect and I loved her.
It was one realization of many for the day. I had likely always felt this way, but now it was impossible to ignore. Cece was what I had been looking for this whole time. Now that I knew it, I was never going to do anything to mess it up.
At the ranch I shook her awake and she smiled at me. It was better than the old reaction of embarrassment.
“Sorry I went to sleep. I swear you are like a sleeping pill Dante. I always sleep better after we are together.”
It was one of the best compliments that I had heard in a long time and it really made me smile. There was just something about the way she looked at me and the way that my heart melted when she did.
“Are you coming over or am I going to you?” I just wanted to make it clear I wasn’t done with her yet.
“Um, I think you should come to me. The walls aren’t very thick over at the hand house and I am already getting looks.”
I waved her off and kissed her before we went our separate ways. It was hard to say goodbye to her, even though I was going to see her rather quickly. I just couldn’t get enough of her. This had to be the love that I always heard about. I had never felt it before, but I knew that with Cece this was what it was.
Chapter 51
Cecelia
Life was going good, but it was also going really fast. I don’t know what I had gotten myself into with the leasing thing, but it was blowing up quickly. Now I was running around all of the time and it was because of the new deal I had struck with Cliff’s people. I still had to see him on occasion, but Dante met with him more than I did. I let him take care of Cliff for many reasons. It made him feel better about it I supposed, though he did show his anger from time to time.
Dante and I were still together and though nothing was official, everyone knew that we were an item in Conroe. It was big news in a little town and though there was also gossip about Cliff when I was dating him, I was glad that that part of my life was over. I didn’t miss anything with Cliff. I was falling for Dante, even though it was becoming less and less free time that we had to see each other.
Picking him up after not seeing him for two days, the first thing I wanted to do was give him a kiss. But he wasn’t worried about romance right now. That in and of itself was enough for me to question everything and wonder what was going on. He was always ready to do a quickie wherever we could find a place. It was always exciting and that was what I was looking for. I wanted him, badly and I started to pout when he pulled away from the kiss. It had been two days and I was going to lose myself if he didn’t give me what I wanted. Didn’t he know how badly I was missing him?
“What’s up?”
“I had to go out and get Thunder.”
Thunder was my favorite horse and I wanted to know why. He had a concern on his face that I didn’t like to see. He was never the nervous type and that meant that it was something serious, because Dante was looking rather serious at the moment.
“Because Laura wasn’t there like she was supposed to be and the renter hit him several times from what I hear. I got a call from someone working in the stables that I know. He actually has a couple of marks. I don’t know what to do right now. It is one of your old boyfriend’s rodeo buddies. If he would have been there, I would most likely be telling you this from a jail cell. I was worried about this happening and I want to know what you think we should do about it.”
That was where it all fell apart and I didn’t know what to say. It was something he had brought up multiple times, but after hiring two people to go out with the horses on the first couple of visits, I thought that it wouldn’t be a problem. Laura was a bright young girl that I thought had a future with us. This seemed to be something else that I was apparently wrong about.
“Fire Laura.”
He smiled at me and finally kissed me. “Good, I was hoping you would say that because I already did. I can’t have people like her working for me, well for you.”
“No, that is your deal. I will back up whatever decision that you make.”
“About what?”
“Staff. Why?”
“I think you need to drop the rodeo clowns and go with the other clients. They are more trouble than they are worth.”
“And you hate working with Cliff.” I thought I would mention that, even though as soon as I said it, I knew I was going to grow to regret saying it.
“I am not going to deny it.”
“So you want to get rid of that whole area of business? That is a lot of it right now.” I was worried about Thunder and I was already ready to go see him, but I was still stuck on why he was trying to get rid of all of that business.
It was a lot and with everything going on, it would be helpful to have.
“Yes, I do. They are nothing but trouble and I know that it was a mistake to work with him. Men like Cliff are bad news.”
I sighed and leaned back a little in the seat. I didn’t want to argue with him. In my fantasies, we were already making love in the airport parking lot, but that wasn’t meant to be. How did I tell him that I appreciated his input, but that this was still my ranch and my decision? I didn’t want him to take it the wrong way, but I don’t think that there is really a right way to say something like that.
“Why don’t we get you home and then we can see what is what?”
“So that means you are just going to blow me off?”
“No, it’s not like that at all.”
It was exactly like that until I could figure out how I was going to feel about all of it. I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do and the last thing that I needed was to have this conversation right now. I wanted to get home, check on Thunder and make sure that everything is okay. Dante had been gone for a time, trying to open another avenue of business, meeting with some people for me and I knew that I was going to have to settle him down first. If he would just drop it and let me think…
“It is like that Cece. I know it from the way you said it. I won’t argue with you because I am tired, but I will tell you now that I am not going to be able to hold my temper with that idiot any longer.”
“I will handle Cliff, Dante. It doesn’t have to be a problem.”
“You are most certainly not going to do anything of the sort. Have you lost your mind? Do you really think that I am going to let you meet with him, with your past together?”
Now he was just being rude and I didn’t appreciate the tone he had with me. I was his boss after all. Sure I had promoted him and he ran part of it now, but at the end of the day it was my last name on the sign. I didn’t like the stance he was taking. Everything was getting out of control all of a sudden and I wasn’t sure how to reel it back into reality.
“I really don’t want to talk about this right now Dante. Let’s get you home and then we can talk about this. I know you are tired.”
“I am tired, but I am not going to let this stand. This isn’t my ranch, or my business, but you are mine Cece and I don’t want you anywhere around him anymore. You are not just going to handle Cliff.”
He was not helping anything and the more he said, the more chauvinistic he sounded. While I wasn’t happy that Thunder had been hit or had marks, it wasn’t enough to ruin it all. Then I found out that it was deep down just jealousy and I don’t like the idea of that either. I didn’t like any of it and I wasn’t going to change everything to assuage his battered ego.
“I don’t want to talk about this Dante. I am tired too. So let’s get back to the ranch and then we can have it out if that is what you want to do.”
“I don’t want to fight. I don’t see why you still work with him. It was bad enough that you gave him a piece of the action and an opinion. You must feel something for him or why would you?”
My head was starting to hurt and I was quickly losing hope for the meet and greet that I had fantasized about in my head while I was waiting for him. All I wanted was for him to kiss me, say he missed me and then make me his. That was it. I didn’t think that it was too much for me to ask for, but I was starting to see that maybe it was.
“I am really not getting into this. What I do is still none of your business. We are sleeping with each other and even if we were married or something like that, I would still make my own decisions.”
“Married?”
I stopped, not even sure why I said it. I knew that I was thinking about it. For me it was a natural progression to what I wanted, but for him it looked like it was something that he had never thought about before. I don’t know why I had said it. Now I just wanted to kind of hide, but there was nowhere to go but back to the ranch. This was a ride that I was dreading even more than before. There was no way that I wanted to sit there and argue with him, especially about something that didn’t really matter to me. What mattered was the fact that I was able to still look at him after all of that. I was angry with him and the more I thought about it and how he was acting, the angrier I became.
“You’re right. I know that it is not an option with us Dante, but I wanted you to know that under no circumstances was I going to let you tell me what to do. Cliff is getting a very small fee that is none of your business. Everyone is benefitting from it. Everyone is making a better check at the end of the week, so I don’t get the problem.”
“Yeah, but what is the cost?”
I stopped myself from asking him when he had gotten so emotional and dramatic, but I had a feeling that it wasn’t going to do me any good to say anything else. It was better for me to just look ahead and ignore Dante. I wasn’t used to someone talking to me like this. I had been the boss for a very long time and it was strange to have anyone question me. I can’t say that I liked it too much.
“So you really aren’t going to talk to me?”
The anger had dissipated from his voice, but I felt like I was only getting started. Didn’t he see how upset I was or did he just not care? I didn’t know how to feel about all of it, but I knew that I wasn’t really all that ready to have this kind of discussion.
“I don’t think there is anything to say Dante. You have your own opinions and I have mine.”
“So you want to just let it all go?”
I didn’t know what that meant, but I let it fill the air for a while before I said anything else.
“Dante, you are taking this too personally. I just meant that as far as the business is concerned, I have the final say. If you want to get rid of Laura or anyone else that works for you, that is on you, but the business is on me. I will make the best decisions that I can and not let my emotions get in the middle of it. I just can’t.”
“So where does that leave us?”
I had a sinking feeling in my stomach because for the first time since we got together, I really wasn’t sure. I knew that I wanted there to be an ‘us’ but he was acting like this was a make or break situation and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
When I was younger, my parents would give me ultimatums and I almost never took the right route. I was a ‘cut my nose off to spite my face’ kind of person sometimes and I could feel the rebellion welling up inside of me. If he didn’t change his direction and I didn’t change my stance, this was quickly going to get out of hand. Like a train wreck I could only watch the collision, unable to hold my tongue or my pride long enough to help anything.
Chapter 52
Dante
A horse being struck had changed everything and I wasn’t sure how the hell we got to this. When we got back to the ranch, Cece wasn’t even talking to me. She got out of the truck quickly and went into the ranch and up to her room. I should have followed her, but she had made it clear the agonizing ride back that she needed some space. It had all tail-spun out of control and the more I thought about it, the more confused I was.
In the end, it wasn’t really the horse that had ruined it all. Working with Cliff had been eating at me for some time, but I felt like I couldn’t say anything about it because I had to work with Barb many days. We had the same past that I was worried about with Cece and Cliff, but it was different because I knew that no matter how much Barb tried, I was never going to go back to her. I was worried that maybe under the right scenario Cece would go back to Cliff. I think it all came down to me being worried about her straying. It wasn’t something that I really thought about, until I had to be around Cliff. I wanted Cece to tell me that I had nothing to worry about, not to volunteer to deal with him herself.
I went back to my room and realized that I hadn’t stayed here for almost a month and the few times that I had, Cece was with me. Now it was smaller, colder and just a bit dreary.
I tried to shake it off. Why the hell was I worried about any of this?
Here I was all worried about everything and she didn’t even care. It aggravated to me to no end and pushed me to make the decision that I was most likely going to regret later. I felt like the old me was sadly not being represented enough. The old me wouldn’t have dealt with this kind of drama. I should just go to the bar and have a few drinks, think this all through. I had a feeling that it would make me feel better or at least give me a good enough buzz that I didn’t have to care anymore.
Getting a shower and then getting dressed, I went back outside and got in my truck. It was still a little early to start bar hopping, but I was in need of a drink, more than I was anything else. I looked up at the lit up window on the second floor of the ranch house and saw that her shades were drawn. She didn’t even care and apparently, I cared way too damn much.
I got in the truck and tried my best not to let my anger affect my speed. I didn’t want to race out of there and let her know I was mad. She knew and all it was going to do was make me regret showing that kind of emotion. If she didn’t care, neither was I.
I sat outside the bar for several minutes, trying to decide what the hell I was doing there. I knew it was a mistake, how could it not be? But the idea of Cece refusing to drop Cliff out of her life spurred me forward. I got out and moved towards the loud music that was blaring out of the building. It felt strange to be here after so long. Usually when I came, I would have one main thing on my mind, but not tonight. I certainly didn’t want to mess up what I had with Cece because I was convinced that she would come around. I was also convinced that she was the one for me, no matter how mad I was at the moment.
