Thunder Mountain Ranch

by McCarthy, G. L.

  Chapter 19

  Riding back, neither spoke but held hands. Alex was thinking about school and the contract she had signed. She would have to finish out the year and hope that Mrs. Greenway wouldn’t pick up her option, although she did have good reason to back out of it all together considering all that she had been through. But wait a minute. What was she doing? Did she have the number for U-Haul memorized? This was just the first time after a week of pent up sexual frustration, coming on the heals of a very long sex drought. Alex needed to slow down and talk this out with someone who wasn’t in lust. She really needed to talk to Jessie.

  Sam was wondering what kind of job she could get back east. They had to have stables and she could always get a job in accounting. It wasn’t her first choice, but she would move anywhere to be near Alex. She just hoped Alex felt the same way and wanted to be with her too. Could Alex be the one she would spend the rest of her life with? She needed to talk to Jessie.

  As the ranch came into view, Alex stopped and looked at Sam. She had tears in her eyes as she leaned towards her, and Sam mirrored the motion. Kissing for several minutes, neither wanted to stop.

  “After we put the horses away, do you have time to come to my casita?” Alex needed some sexual relief as she was about to jump out of her skin. Then she hoped to be able to think with a clear head.

  “Of course, we can just pull saddles, check their feet and put them away. I’ll curry them later.” Sam wasn’t ready to have these feelings end just yet either.

  If there had been an Olympic event for the fastest unsaddle, unbridle, check feet and put horse away race, these two would have tied for the gold. The sun was still sleeping and a look at the clock, as Alex closed the door, told her they had ninety minutes give or take.

  As Sam reached for the light switch, Alex reached her and prevented her from turning it on. The only light in the room was coming in from their moon which had washed over them a few hours ago. Alex wanted to feel those warm lips again. Just as she had so wanted to do in the buffet line, she put her hands deep inside Sam’s back pockets and pulled her close. Sam took Alex’s face in her left hand as she kissed her deeply then slid her right hand up the back of her sweater and very skillfully undid her bra. Alex loved the coolness of her hand on her back. Opening one eye she looked to see where the bed was in proximity to their current position and calculated how much dead air would pass between them before they could quickly make it onto the bed and back to kissing. Total elapsed time was approximately three seconds.

  This time Sam was on the high ground and made good use of the advantage as she slid her hand up under Alex’s sweater. It was too soon and too cold to get naked, but not having her clothes off didn’t stop her from getting just as aroused. Sam was either a quick study or liked to kiss just the way Alex liked it, and it only seem like minutes instead of an hour when she realized that the moonlight had disappeared. Alex was on fire and hadn’t felt passion like this in a very long time, if ever. Not wanting to come too soon and end this glorious feeling was becoming more and more difficult, as Sam kissed her more passionately with every minute that passed. Alex undid her belt buckle and unzipped her jeans at which point Sam knew it was time to repay her for the explosion she had experienced earlier. When it hit, Alex’s back arched uplifting Sam too as she was partially laying on her. Not remembering the last time she had sex like that wasn’t helping with how she felt. Catching her breath and having Sam lying on top of her made her wish this moment would never end. But it would have to and this was a situation that Jessie couldn’t fix for her. Hugging Sam, she fell asleep and didn’t wake until she felt her get up to take a shower so she could head out to do her chores.

  “Good morning, Darlin’.” Sam gave Alex a kiss, as she was ready to leave and go feed the livestock. She was sure Smokey and Bruce would be thrilled to see her.

  “Good morning.” Alex pulled Sam down for a few more minutes of those lips.

  “Aren’t you sick of kissing me by now?” She knew she wasn’t, but she needed to get going.

  “Not in the least, but I know you have to go to work. So take those lips and be gone. I shall wait with baited breath until your return.” Alex hoped that sounded upbeat and not how sad she was to be left alone to her thoughts.

  “How about you go back to sleep and I’ll come get you for breakfast.” Sam was wanting a few more minutes of lip lock before they ate.

  “Great, see you then.” Giving her one last little kiss, Alex gave her a gentle push towards the door and watched her walk out. Rolling over, she hugged her pillow and replayed the whole morning’s events over in her head before she fell back asleep.

  Awakening to the smell of coffee, Alex hadn’t heard Sam come in. She was sitting at the little table sipping her coffee and watching Alex sleep. As she slowly opened her eyes she gave out a big yawn and stretched like one of her cats. Lying there, she looked at Sam with one eye as the other was covered by the pillow. She raised her hand and with her index finger motioned that she needed to join her. Sam put her coffee down and obeyed like a good little girl. As she lay down Alex moved in for the top spot and looked into her dark brown eyes and was lost in their beauty. Was the attraction because of Sam’s strong resemblance to Jessie or was it Sam herself that she was falling for? She couldn’t live a lie and pretend to love Sam when she was just a replacement for Jessie. She had been thinking about it and now she was panicked it could be the real reason. She was over Jessie or at least she thought so. Had she fallen for Dez so quickly to fill the void left when Jessie married Dawson? Was she trying to sabotage this relationship before it even got started? Could she possibly think of anymore excuses to keep herself from being happy with Sam? Give her a minute she could probably come up with a few more lame excuses.

  “What’s going on behind those beautiful big brown eyes of yours?” Sam could see her mind working and it was beginning to worry her.

  “The usual over analyzing I’m prone to do in every aspect of my life. So kiss me so I can think of something else that’s a lot more enjoyable.” Alex kissed Sam several times and wished they could spend the day right where they were.

  “Not that I’m not enjoying myself, because I would love to do this all day, but we have a nosey friend who wants to know what we’ve been up to.” Sam had been approached by Jessie as to how the ride went and could tell by the look on her face that things went great.

  “Oh my gosh. I forgot we were to report in. Do you think she has any idea how far we’ve gone?” She needed to talk to Jessie.

  “Yeah, I’m sure she has a good idea what we’ve been up to. She’s been wanting it to happen since you arrived. I just hope she doesn’t take my head off for moving too quickly.” Sam knew she had lit the match to this bonfire and was ready to hear about it.

  “You, moving too quickly? Thank you for taking the blame, but you only kissed me. I was the one who stormed the beach like the troops at Normandy. You couldn’t have held me off with a battleship.” Thinking in military terms, Alex needed to plan her strategy on how to break this all to Jessie. “I know she wants us to be together, but your cousin, my best friend, is also extremely practical and she will be lecturing the both of us about being irresponsible with each other’s feelings. Trust me, we need to be nonchalant and not make a big deal about this whole thing like we have the whole thing under control. So if she starts to grill you let me do the talking. I’ve been down this road with her once before. Although with Dez she didn’t care what I did because she didn’t know her, she loves you and may disown me if don’t sound convincing. Oh my gosh, can we run away from home?” Starting to panic, Alex wished she had more time before this meeting so she and Sam could have a plan to tell Jessie.

  “What are you worrying about? What’s she going to do, ground us!” Sam thought Alex’s concern over what her cousin thought was very cute.

  “Yes. Among other things. Oh trust me, we don’t want her disappointed with us. The looks she gives when you’ve done that w
ill eat you up.” The thought almost made Alex cry.

  Sitting up, Alex took Sam’s hand and led her to the table where they could drink their coffee and think. Alex went first and asked Sam if she thought she could get time off at Christmas to come spend two weeks with her during her break. Sam thought that sounded great, but was sad to think that Alex was going to be gone in only five days and then she wouldn’t see her for six weeks. It seemed like a lifetime, but at least they could talk on the phone. The time change would make it a little difficult, but Sam was an early riser. Sam told Alex that she hadn’t taken a day off since she started, so she was sure she could get more than two weeks off. Remembering what Alex had told her about being in the process of moving out when everything happened, she offered to come back before her break to help her set up her new place. Sam would love to follow her home now, but knew it was too soon and Alex needed to go back home and get several things sorted out and settled. Alex loved the idea. It would give her something to look forward to, and having possibly a month together they could actually get something done around the place. Feeling they had the framework of a good plan, they kissed a few minutes longer before they headed over to get some breakfast and answer Jessie’s questions. Not being able to hold hands was difficult for both so they stuck them in their pockets and walked fast. At least they could sit close to each other while they ate.

  Chapter 20

  Walking in, Alex spotted Jessie sitting in her usual spot with Dawson. They were still drinking coffee but were done with breakfast. Both Alex and Sam were starving. They hadn’t eaten anything last night except for one bite of the sandwich Alex had made and then knocked in the dirt when she was making her move on Sam. Alex decided on a big stack of blueberry pancakes and Sam chose steak and eggs. When they arrived at the table, Dawson got up and said his goodbyes as he needed to go into town and pick up a couple of things at the hardware store.

  Digging into her pancakes, Alex wasn’t ready just yet to make eye contact. But Jessie reached over and took her fork away so she would have to stop and answer a few simple questions before she would be allowed to resume eating her breakfast.

  “Mom, I’m starving. Can I please have my fork back?” Smiling sweetly, Alex hoped it would work, but it didn’t. “Okay, what do you want to know?” Crossing her fingers, she hoped they were going to be easy questions like, “How are you?”

  “What’s up with you two? Sam looks like the cat who swallowed the canary and you won’t make eye contact. So which one of you is pregnant?” Jessie only asked that question when she knew something was up and wanted to know the truth.

  Having a best friend who was also very intuitive was really hard sometimes. Up until now Alex had never been asked the “pregnant” question before.

  Not expecting that question, Sam choked on her coffee. Alex took a deep breath and hoped Jessie would be receptive to their idea.

  “Would you believe we have a plan already figured out on how we’re going to handle this long distance dating game.” Thinking of Maxwell Smart, she smiled and hoped Jessie would be impressed by that fact.

  “Let’s hear it. But let me get another cup of coffee. I want to know every detail.” Jessie handed Alex back her fork as she got up

  “Thank you, and could you get me some more too, please?” Getting her a cup of coffee would hopefully give Alex a few more seconds to wolf down her pancakes which she did.

  When Jessie returned Alex laid out the whole plan on how Sam would come for a visit and they would be able to spend some more time getting to know each other. Not to mention, they still had five more days before she went back home. She told Jessie she didn’t need to worry. They were both on the same page as far as emotional ties, and neither was ahead of the other. Or at least Alex hoped so.

  Jessie seemed satisfied for the moment. She knew they would be a good match but wanted them to take it slow and learn as much about each other as possible before they considered themselves a “couple,” and all that it implied. Knowing that Alex had a career and more ties than Sam, she figured she would lose her cousin to the east coast. But hopefully that would change in a few years if all worked out the way Jessie hoped it would.

  “Okay, I want to help you two out in this area. So, Sam, I want you to take the afternoons off until Alex leaves so you two can enjoy yourselves. Does that sound okay?” Not wanting to be pushy, Jessie did want to give them as much time together as she could, without leaving the ranch short handed.

  “Oh, Jess, I don’t know what to say.” Alex was thrilled with her friend’s suggestion.

  “Thank you, Jessie. I’ll make sure I get as much done as I can before lunch. You won’t even miss me in the afternoons.” Sam got up, as she had finished her breakfast and wanted to get to her chores.

  “You’re welcome. But sit down and finish your coffee. I don’t expect you to do eight hours of work in four. You haven’t taken a day off since you started, so you have a lot coming to you.” Jessie reached across the table and patted her hand.

  Alex looked at Sam and thought of all the fun they could have now the kind of fun she had always wanted to have with Dez, but could never get her to go. But this time it was with someone who wanted to go with her, on as many romantic rides as they could fit in. Poor Bruce and Smokey. They were in for it now.

  “This is great. I can finish painting the tack shed this morning and then I’ll be free to plan the rest of our afternoons.” Alex felt like a school girl. She knew it was Sam she wanted to be with, and not Jessie, as she had feared.

  “You two do as you wish. I just want you to make the most of your time together.” Jessie smiled at her two loves and turned to leave before they could see the tears.

  “She’s the best, and I love her for being such a great and loving friend.” Alex couldn’t have asked for more.

  “I need to get going and help saddle up the stock. I’ll come find you after I finish my chores.” Sam wanted to get as much done as she could and figured it would help make the time go by a lot faster.

  “Perfect. I’ll be done with the painting so I should be cleaned up by the time you’re ready to go play.” Wanting to kiss Sam good-bye, Alex could only give her a wink instead. She hoped Sam understood it to mean, “until then.”

  Alex felt like a kid the night before Christmas, excited at what was to come. As she painted she was planning their afternoon which consisted of two options. Plan A – spend the afternoon in her casita. Plan B – Not spending the afternoon in her casita. Plan B was to take a ride up to a spot she and Jessie had gone to several times. It had a stream, with a nearby meadow, and privacy to have a picnic where they could do what they wanted.

  They still needed to talk about a few things that were more of a personal nature. Alex was worried about the fire going out as it did with Dez. Sex wasn’t everything to her, but intimacy was very important. Sitting together to watch a movie on TV or reading a book was what she longed for. Doing those activities by herself the past four years had been long enough and that was something she didn’t want to compromise on. And she and Sam would certainly be able to go riding a lot together.

  Alex was willing to support Sam while she found the right job. Knowing she had to have as much pride as Jessie, it would be hard to get her to take her time and wait for just the right one. Sam was very good with horses and the stables always needed people who could handle difficult horses. Alex had saved a lot of money the last four years, considering she only paid half the bills living with Dez and they never went anywhere, so no money spent there.

  But she was getting ahead of herself. First get over this first conversation and see if any red flags pop up. Hoping that Sam would be completely honest with her was the only concern Alex had. She hated to go behind her back, but would she be upset if she talked to Jessie about her disposition? Right now they were both in “Date Mode” and everyone is on their best behavior during this time. But was this how Sam was all the time? Did she have a bad temper? Alex knew she could get jea
lous and even though they had the conversation about exes, how would she feel about a cute, blonde, lesbian girl friend who meant the world to her? They definitely needed to talk about Cyn, as Alex wasn’t going to abandon their Wednesday nights together to go do amazing things. As she stood back to see if she had missed any spots, Jessie walked up behind her with a bottle of water.

  “It looks great. The usual perfect job considering the condition the shed was in to begin with.” Knowing how Alex’s mind worked she knew how much thought she was putting into dating Sam.

  “Thanks, you always say the right thing even when it isn’t always true.” Alex hoped she had come to talk and not just deliver water.

  “Talk to me, Darlin’. I figure you’ve been out here doing your usual analyzing every detail. So what are your biggest concerns?”

  “My biggest concern is that I may have too many concerns. For starters, and the one that keeps coming back into my head is, if I’m falling for Sam because I wanted you.” Alex figured to hit her with the biggest one first and then work down the list in descending order.

  “I thought of that, but our resemblance just kept you interested so you could see what Sam was really like. If she was a total bitch do you really think her looks would have kept you around this long?”

  “No. You’re right, it wouldn’t have. Okay, so is she like this all the time? Does she have a temper?”

  “This is pretty much how she is all the time. Except when she gets upset, then she gets very quiet and avoids people all together. As far as a temper, not really. She usually just looks off at something and counts to ten. I can’t remember the last time I saw her lose it.” Jessie was a little jealous of Sam’s ability to let things go and not dwell on them.