by K. F. Breene
I would hate myself tomorrow.
“But he left us a small ranch with four girl cows,” Lump continued. “We were told we need a boy cow. So, here we are.” She beamed at him, as did I.
The old geezer blinked at us, then looked at my boobs. “Well, that sounds about right. You need a bull for those heifers. Bull I got is, meaner’n spit, he is. Little fellow--he’ll get bigger, he’s just young is all, but a bad temper on him.”
“Will he bite my cows?” I asked in a breath whisper, putting my hand delicately to my chest.
Old Wyatt smiled slowly, showing his yellowed teeth and a glint in his eye I quickly wanted to forget.
I would definitely hate myself tomorrow.
“Nah, he won’t bite yourn cows, none. But it’ll take a coupla years a’fore he’s ready to pluck those heifers. He’ll be as happy as a tick on a hound dog once he gets at’em.”
“Oh, you won’t sell him for a coupla years?” Lump asked dejectedly.
“You got it wrong, Ma’am. I’m ready to sell today.”
We brightened.
“What are you wantin’ for him?” Lump asked.
“Got’n offer fer five grand.”
My face fell. Fuck. Adam had been right. Damn William and his bank roll.
Lump turned to me with a pout. I nodded slowly to her, allowing tears to come to my eyes. I hammed it up like I was on Broadway.
“I’m so sorry Mr. Pickitt,” Lump said, turning to a mildly distraught man—men hated to see women cry, after all. “My sister is emotional. We haven’t had any luck with finding us a boy cow—bull, did you say?—and we don’t know what we’re doin’.”
“If it wasn’t for that David, or Dave, or Davies man, whoever he is, we would have one by now!” I whimpered.
“Davies?” The old man asked.
Lump put a hand on my knee, exposing her stomach as she did so. “Yes. Some man named Mr. Davies seems to buy up all the bulls in the area. We have to get one local and can’t—he has more money than us. Phyllis takes it personally, is all. He wasn’t kind to her.”
“I don’t like that Davies, either!” Wyatt spat. “Him and his big money ranch. Chase’n away all the decent folk with his projects and undercutting. Got no use for him. He’s the one offer’n for this one.”
I let out a squeak of misery. Lump patted my knee and shook her head. “It’s okay, Mr. Pickitt. We understand. You are a businessman, you need to take the higher price. We’ll make do, somehow.”
Lump stood up and turned toward me, leaning down to show off her butt. “C’mon Phyllis, let’s leave kind Mr. Pickitt to his day.”
“Well, now, wait jist a minute.” Wyatt would have gotten up, but was old. Plus, he was distracted with Lump’s butt.
Lump turned back to him with a questioning, yet still dejected, face. I shook my head and blew into my hanky.
“I would rather sell to a coupla God fearing women like yerselves than that Davies devil any day. What can ye offer?”
And the negotiations began. I was an expert negotiator. Expert! You have to get good to get deals in Tijuana, Mexico, after all.
That Wyatt was no fool, either, though. He talked a great game, had me running for my money a couple times. Thank goodness for tits and ass. A straight man’s downfall.
Finally, we nearly agreed on $3500 cash, but Lump was still acting worried that we might go broke. We decided that she should look at the bull to make sure he was as good as the ad said.
I could tell Wyatt knew it was in the bank. We wouldn’t know what we were looking at, and he would talk circles around us until we agreed. What’s more, the transaction would all be under the table, something William wasn’t offering.
Sure enough, we stood in cow poop in a dirty, unorganized, crap shoot of a ranch looking at a little bull. Wyatt pointed out this and that, and we let our confusion show. I genuinely shrugged at Lump, and she agreed on the price.
I told him I had a cousin in town that could drive the trailer so we could pick him up today. Lump would stay here and wait. Once we had the bull he could have the cash.
We had to protect ourselves, after all. We were just women and it was cash. Add a couple dumb-blond blinks and Wyatt was nodding.
Instead of Adam, we got a ranch hand acting lazy, since Adam was sure to be recognized. The bad news was, Lump and I, who legitimately didn’t have a clue as to what we were doing, had to maneuver the mean little sucker into a trailer. In high heels and tight clothes.
It took an hour and a lot of screaming before the ranch hand, doing a terrible of job of hiding the laughter, finally helped out.
After the bull was in, Lump handed over the wad of hundreds. Wyatt counted it, and we all shook hands. Lump pulled out a piece of badly typed paper that said he sold it, explaining that signing it would mean he couldn’t say we stole it. Adam’s advice.
He reluctantly agreed and off we went to Adam’s, where it would be stored until Christmas. Unfortunately, it meant I had to take care of the stupid thing. William was so lucky he was worth it!
As Adam and his ranch hand were unloading the bull, Adam whistled.
“What?” I said, hoping I didn’t just make a huge mistake.
“William’s got an eye for animals, I’ll say that.”
“Why? What’s awesome?”
“Look at this little guy. Good stock. I might have to get a free stud visit for helping secure him.” Adam grinned. Always the business man.
“Um. Okay. I’ll give him food and everything, then I need to get home and wipe the disgusting memories from my mind from that creepy old Wyatt.”
“You are a hell-uv-a negotiator, Jessica.”
“Is that...?” I listened for a minute with my hand at my ear. “Is that respect creeping into your voice?”
Adam laughed. “Maybe. I’ll admit to that, I guess. I might gotta take you along next time I need some cattle.”
“You might gotta?” I shook my head at him.
“You didn’t even see her hard ball, either,” Lump said with a smile. “She was trying to play a weepy role, but when she really wants something, stand back! I have seen her argue for a leather jacket in Mexico for half an hour, walking away with the best price of the day.”
“Of the day? Try century!” I acted like I was cleaning the dirt off my shoulders.
“You sure got a good price,” Adam said with a smile. “What are you going to do with your remaining $500?”
I hadn’t realized he knew how much cash I had. “Put it in the bank until it’s time to hand it over to you...” My voice was matter-of-fact. “Easy come, easy go.”
“Smart. Not like a woman,” Adam said, glancing at Lump for a reaction.
I punched him in the arm and he laughed as he moved away from me.
“Alright, git to work!” Adam said with a whoop. “High-heels ‘n all. You gotta get that bull situated before you leave here.”
“Yes sir,” I saluted.
Lump smiled and followed me, unbuttoning her pants so she had some breathing room.
Chapter Two
It was a week before Christmas and I was trying to get all the presents wrapped and organized. I was expecting William any minute, but not in an excited kind of way. He’d said he wanted to talk to me. Didn’t say what about. He sounded strange, too, but wouldn’t say why when I pressed him.
I was freaking panicking! I had no idea what I’d been doing differently, and he didn’t usually have serious talks that he wouldn’t explain upfront.
As I opened the door, hoping I wouldn’t be dumped out of the blue, since I thought things were going really well, my stomach dropped. The poorly disguised mask of pain on his face twisted my intestines.
“Hi, sweetie,” I said giving him a kiss.
“Hi Jess.”
He came in and sat on the couch, looking at, but not seeing, all the presents.
“Jessica. I would like to have an honest conversation with you.”
Fear was spilling down my spinal col
umn at those words. It meant he had bad news of some sort. I nodded mutely.
“I would like you to be perfectly honest. I can’t stress that enough. Please don’t lie, and I won’t lie to you. I would always like that to be our philosophy. You can tell me anything. Even if you don’t think I will want to hear it, okay?”
What did I do wrong?
“I am going to just come out and ask you. Please answer directly and honestly. No action will be taken until we talk through it, okay?”
Tingles were working up my butt to my back. Fear was clawing at my gut. Still mute, I nodded again.
“Are you having an affair with Adam?”
All the breath went out of me in a whoosh. I couldn’t help but laugh. “What?”
“Please Jess,” he begged like a man wanting the executioner to just end his life quickly. “Just answer the question.”
“God no! William, no! 100% no. I haven’t touched him besides a hug hello. You’ve seen that. Where are you getting that idea?”
William had always fought jealousy with Adam, but he had always realized it was his insecurity. For him to succumb to that fear, and believe it over his trust for me, something had to be acting on his logical side as well as his emotional.
Which was why my no didn’t convince him.
“A couple of my buddies, different one’s mind, have seen you going by yourself to Adam’s ranch. They say you leave a while later.”
He obviously didn’t know about the bull, but this was probably worse.
“William--”
“And Jessica,” he cut me off, “I know you have been hiding something. You haven’t been completely open with me, and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is. Then I heard about your...visits.”
“William... I don’t know what to say.”
“Just tell me the truth.”
“I did. But an explanation is probably more of what you want.” I scratched my head. This was dicey. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise, but I had to say something. I couldn’t even fabricate, because news of two sluts stealing William’s bull out from under him had him grinding his teeth. Especially since he couldn’t find this elusive ranch anywhere. Mentioning Christmas would have him pairing two sluts, Adam and the bull immediately.
I had to warn Adam!
In a stroke of genius, I said, “I am buying Adam’s car off him.”
“I know. He hasn’t given you a price yet.”
“How’d you know that?”
“It came up in conversation. There isn’t much he does with you that I don’t hear about. Except this.”
He had me there. Crap. Trying to fool a smart guy was a challenge.
I was going to have to go for half-truths to get out of this one. I was such a bad liar that if I tried to spin a web he would see right through it.
“Okay, look. I have a week. I am working with him on something. For you. For Christmas. But...it isn’t working out. Yet. But I have a week.”
William’s pained gaze lingered on me, obviously knowing what I was trying to find. The magical mystery candy filled bull, of course. But he was only half buying it. He was too damn smart for his own good. Or...for my sneaky ways, anyway.
“William, you asked for truth. I am giving you truth. I am not cheating on you. I have never cheated in all my life. The last person I would do that on is the only man I’ve ever really loved. Please...please, just trust me.”
He sighed, worry still eating away at his face. “In a week will these visits stop? Or at least be better explained?”
“You still don’t trust me.”
“I’m sorry, Jessica. I want to. I’m trying to. It’s just... I know you’re hiding something, which is not the search for a bull that I believe is in Colorado with one of my competitors.”
Huh?
“Add to that singular evening visits before I am off work, with an attractive man similar to myself, plus the silence from a longtime friend that is also hiding something, which I get the feeling is pretty important--it's just hard to believe.” He hung his head.
“But, William—“
“But I am going to trust you,” he finished quietly, stopping me. “I have given you the opportunity to be honest in answering my question, and you say you have, so I will trust that. Please Jessica, please...” he was pleading now. This was hurting him deeply. “Please don’t break that trust. It is the root of everything.”
He stood up, pain weeping from his heart like an open wound. I stood with him, reaching up for a hug, to be close, but he evaded. “I have to get my head in order, Jess. I’m sorry. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You don’t want to spend the night?”
“Not tonight.”
I started crying. I nearly just came out and told him. But, deep down, it hurt more that he wasn’t trusting me. That he didn’t believe me.
With a stern face he said good-bye and left. Fred the Doberman came and nudged me with his nose. I bent down and hugged him as the sobs came. I then ran to Gladis’s house, my land lady, but Gladis had gone out. Lady, her helper/maid/assistant, tried to console me by getting me a drink. She had a good heart, but she wasn’t the touchy-feely type.
I called Lump, who was also out. She answered on the third ring. “Hey Jess, what’s up?”
“He thinks I’m cheating.” I sobbed.
“What? Whoa. Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“William thinks I’m cheating!”
“Why? Because you have been going to Adam’s? He found out, then.”
“Not about the bull—he thinks one of his competitors in Colorado has that. Don’t know how he came up with that idea, but he knows I’ve been going over there. To Adam's.”
I could hear Lump exhale. “Okay. Did you already feed and water it for the night?”
“Yeah.”
“When do you go next?”
“Day after tomorrow.”
“No problem. Go as normal. I’ll get off work early and go with. I’ll head to Adam’s now and talk to him. Do you think William is going to go over there?”
“I don’t think so. I think he wanted to sort this out with me first.” I told her what happened and what was said.
“Harsh. This might be a bad week for you. Payoff will hopefully be good, though, if he doesn’t kill Adam before then. Okay, I’ll take care of this. We have a week. Easy. Talk to you later.”
She hung up. It was a testimony to how far she'd come with Adam that she was willing to go to his house alone. It had happened one night when each showed up to happy hour, not realizing the other would be there. Halfway through the night a song had come on that Lump absolutely loved. Adam politely asked if she would like to learn the two-step.
Two songs and a lot of laughing later, the two were talking like old friends, playful and merry. At the end of the song, for a brief moment, they held eye contact. Something unspoken was exchanged, a truce reached, before Lump dropped her eyes and quietly made her way back to her seat. Adam had watched her the whole way back, expression one of contemplation.
Since then we had the old Adam back, around all the time, laughing and carrying on. Lump was the new side kick as well, finding herself a little happier and a little more settled in with each passing day. So now, when I needed my best friend, and William’s, they would easily put their differences aside and help. Thank God!
It didn't help me currently, however. I just sat there, waiting for Gladis to get home, drinking a drink that was supposed to have vodka and orange juice.
William came over the next night, but held me like he was losing me. We made love like it might be the last time, his heart raw and bleeding. I very nearly told him the surprise a million times, each time opening my mouth to say it, but then closing it again. He should trust me. He should believe me. It killed me that he didn’t.
I went to Adam’s, as planned, Lump in tow, to feed the bull and look at it. I even told it how much hassle it was causing me. I ended the sermon by shaking my fist at it. It resp
onded with a mean grunt, an evil gaze, and a trot forward. I walked away quickly. Mean little bugger.
With Lump standing guard, Adam hugged me fiercely and said, “Stay the course, Jess. You are doing the right thing. He’ll see it a’fore the end. Just stay the course.”
Each day was excruciating. William heard about each visit, causing his eyes to be mournful and his nightmares vivid. He didn’t say a word, however. Not to me, and not to Adam. He waited patiently for the end.
It broke my heart each time I set eyes on him.
Christmas day. Finally. I couldn’t take any more!
Per Adam’s request, William, Lump and I met at Adam’s ranch early to help with some horse situation or other. It was all made-up, of course, just needing to get William there.
We arrived a quiet bunch. Tension was running so high that not even Lump would try and ease it. I had gifts for everyone in the back except for the punching bag. I wrapped a picture of that, leaving the real one in Gladis’s gigantic garage.
Adam came out of the house and pointedly looked at me. He then looked at William, not bothering to hide his anger. Adam was a victim in this, also. He was the other guilty party, in William’s eyes. Except, Adam hadn’t even gotten a chance to defend himself.
William took a deep breath, pulled his chin up, and walked to meet his friend. They shook hands like strangers, Adam’s eyes on fire, William looking at the ground.
“This way,” Adam barked, shaking his head and leading the way.
We set out for the horse barn, which obscured the view to that nasty little bull. That thing looked at me with evil intent every time I went to feed it. I was keeping the blasted thing alive and it was still a big ol’ bull jerk! I was happy to give it up! More than happy.
It was a long, quiet, tense walk. Adam’s shoulders were tight and his fists clenched. William was despondent. Lump was staying the hell out of it, and my heart was thumping in my chest. I could hear each crunch of foot fall on the dirt as we made our way through farm equipment, animals and fenced in areas.
