by West, Cary
“What’s that?” asked Jack.
“It’s my e-book. I figured I could catch up on some reading while we’re at the lake.”
“You like to read?”
“I love to read. Don’t you?”
“Never been much on reading.” He stated in a Jack McBride kind of way. “Seems like a waste of time when there’s work to be done.”
“I disagree,” she said rummaging through her bag checking to make sure she had everything she needed.
“So what else you got in there?” he asked as he sat on the bed.
“Polarized sunglasses, which make it easier to read… my favorite flip-flops, and suntan lotion.”
Jack reached in the bag and pulled out her suntan lotion. “This isn’t strong enough, baby,” he frowned turning the bottle to the back and reading its content. “You’ll burn using this out here.” He discarded it in the small waste basket by the side of his bed. “We need to stop at the store and get something with a higher UVB protection.”
“The lotion is fine,” she said and walked around the bed and retrieving it from the basket. She went to place it back in her bag but before she had a chance Jack intercepted it.
“The sun is different here,” he said snatching it out of her hand. “We’re higher in elevation and I don’t want your beautiful skin to fry, so we’re stopping at the store and that’s that.” He nodded his decision was final and tossed it for the last time back into the small receptacle.
“Whatever you say, Jack.” She resigned with a hidden grin.
Jack went to the bathroom to shave while Kate changed into her bikini. She threw a pair of shorts and a tee over the top of her suit, then grabbed her hairbrush and several hair ties and threw them in her bag along with a couple of beach towels she found in the hall closet.
Jack dressed in his swimming trunks and tank. He slipped into sandals then headed downstairs and out the front door. He gathered the iced cooler, two lounge chairs, the E-Z Up umbrella, and a blanket, and placed them in the back of his pickup along with Kate’s beach bag and a change of clothing.
Jack went in search of his manager and found Mark in the small outer office.
“I’m heading out for the day.” Jack informed his right-hand man. “You think you can handle everything while I’m gone?”
“Like I said before, I have everything under control,” said Mark not lifting his eyes from his paperwork. “You and Kate go have some fun for a change. Where are you headed if you don’t mind my asking?”
“We’re going to the lake. I’ve got my cell phone if you need me.”
“Wow, to the lake, huh?” Mark glanced up and for the first time noticed that Jack was not wearing his usual attire of work clothes and boots. He leaned over his desk and scanned the man from head to toe. His legs were white as a ghost compared to the rest of him and Mark’s moustache twitched in realization that he’d never seen Jack’s bare toes before and especially not in sandals. “You haven’t been to the lake in a long while.”
“Not a lot of time to play when there’s work to be done. But I have Kate to consider now. She’s going to need my attention just as much as the ranch, so I’ve decided to take Saturdays off for a while to spend them with her.”
Mark tried to hide his grin. It was the oddest conversation he ever had with his employer. Never in a million years would he have thought his illustrious boss, Jack McBride, would settle down and become a family man. But the transformation was happening right before his eyes, and he owed it to the spirited blonde who came to live in the carriage house.
“Have fun, Jack,” said Mark as he watched his beachwear-dressed employer leave the office.
Jack arrived at the truck just as Kate popped through the front door with her sleek little sunglasses abridged her nose and her hair tied back in a high ponytail. Jack grinned thinking she did look like a Barbie doll today.
“You ready?” He held the cab door open for her.
“I think so.” She slid into the seat and he closed the door.
He darted around the truck and climbed into the driver’s seat then turned the ignition. He drove down the dirt road away from the ranch.
“I thought we might take a short detour,” said Jack as he pulled out onto the road. He rounded the ridge as Virginia City came into view. “Want to see the place where I grew up?”
“Sure,” said Kate as her heart raced with excitement and little surprise.
Jack first gave her a complete tour of the town along with all its side streets. He seemed proud to show her the place of his youth and the history that surrounded this secluded community nestled along the hilltop of Nevada’s mountainous terrain.
“See that building over there?” Jack pointed to a two-story stone square. “When Virginia City was a booming town this was the schoolhouse.”
“That’s a big schoolhouse for back then,” said Kate amazed that education was important to the citizens of that time period.
“It even had a swimming pool built under its gymnasium.”
“Quite an expensive undertaking.”
“Back in its day Virginia City was the wealthiest town around,” said Jack. “But when the gold dried up, so did much of the town. But the stories and legends are still what keep this place alive. We got some strange things that happen around here.”
“Like what?” she smiled listening to him speak proudly of his town.
“Do you believe in ghosts?” he asked as he looked over at her.
“Of course I do.”
“I thought you might,” Jack laughed. “The town is brimming with them. Sometime I’ll take you through the cemetery at night and we’ll go exploring. I have sat many a night along Captain Storey’s grave and have had some good long conversations with him.”
“Why at night?” She asked thinking she hated cemeteries in the daylight why would she want to go through them at night.
“Because that’s when the weird stuff happens,” he smiled and squeezed her leg.
“I thought you didn’t believe in ghosts.”
“Who told you that?” He glanced her way.
“You did.”
“Well I may have over-exaggerated that day because you got me all riled up,” he said. “You do that a lot to me.”
“Why you little ghost-believing hypocrite.” She laughed.
“Guilty as charged, baby.” He gave her a wide grin.
Jack veered off the main road and headed down along the side streets. The narrow blocks of community disappeared as it turned into rows of piled dirt, like it had been squared into sections for mining. Intermittent rows of tiny wooden shacks with backs pressed against the tan and orange carved out dirt mounds were scattered in random order on the narrow dirt street. Jack pulled up to one of the shacks and stopped the truck.
“What’s the history here?” She asked. It looked very depressed with scattered trash of old rusted mining relics scattered along the hillside.
“This is where I lived.” Jack pointed to the small wooden shack.
Kate was at a loss for words as she looked at the dilapidated box. It couldn’t have been more than two rooms in the shack judging from its size.
“This is where you lived?” He heard the shock in her tone and she looked at him and saw he was telling her the truth. “I naturally assumed your family had money since you have the ranch and all.” She didn’t mean it the way it came out but Jack understood. He expected her to react just the way she did.
“Nope, we were dirt poor.” He laughed thinking back to when he was young. “My old man didn’t have two nickels to rub together.”
“You’ve done quite well for yourself. You should be proud of your accomplishments Jack.”
“Hard work leads to prosperity, baby.” He squeezed her leg.
“Can we get out and look around?” She went to reach for the door handle.
“No, Kate.” Jack blocked her hand preventing her from leaving the truck. “It’s enough that I showed it to you at all. You don’t ne
ed to see what my life was like inside. Some things are better left unseen.”
Kate didn’t have to be hit over the head to see the memories were still painful for him, but she couldn’t help wondering what his life was like growing up in a place like this.
Jack pulled away from the shack and drove down another road leading them away from Virginia City and into a canyon. The road was narrow with its winding twists and turns surrounded by tall mountain peaks topped with powder blue sky. Kate could almost picture Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid riding out of the hills.
“Where are we?” She asked him.
“This here is Six Mile Canyon Road. We’re heading down in elevation from about sixty-two hundred feet to forty-four and straight into Dayton Valley.”
As they emerged from Six Mile Canyon, Kate stared at the breathtaking view before her. It was a large plush valley with wide-open sky surrounded in the distance by a mountain range peaked with white snow. The panoramic view reminded her of a postcard. Small communities of gathered stick dwellings and mobile homes patched out like a quilt across the desert valley floor.
Jack turned onto what looked like a main road with four lanes in total. He sped up to maintain his speed along with the other traveling cars and trucks. A group of bikers passed their truck and waved. Jack blew his horn and waved back.
“Do you know them?” Asked Kate as she watched six motorcycles speed past them.
“I know everyone around here. The guy leading is Perry. We went to school together. Hell of a nice guy.” They continued along the main road or what looked like a small highway.
“Highway Fifty,” said Kate aloud as she read the marker alongside the road.
“That’s right.” Jack nodded. “Loneliest road in America, according to National Geographic.”
“Why is it the loneliest road?”
“Because it’s a road full of nothing when you head east past Fallon,” he stated as he veered the truck off the main road and into the parking lot of the grocery store. “Actually, you could take the freeway all the way cross country ‘til you hit the Atlantic.”
“Have you ever done it?” she asked as they pulled into a parking space.
“Nope,” he chuckled and turned off the engine. “Got as far as Utah, but that’s it.”
Jack climbed from the truck and scooted around to open the door for Kate. He took her hand and led her into the grocery store. Jack grabbed a cart and pushed it in front of Kate to drive. He went to the beverage section first, placing a case of water and a six pack of beer in the cart.
“Do you want a wine cooler or something?” He asked her.
“No, the water is fine,” she replied politely. Jack put one in the shopping cart anyway in case she changed her mind. They continued on through the aisles as he loaded the cart with an assortment of snacks.
“Let’s head to the deli. They make killer submarine sandwiches.”
As they made their way to the deli several of the locals greeted Jack by name. Each time they said their Nevada hellos they paused to stare at Kate. By the time they reached the deli Kate thought she was in a freak show and she was the main attraction. Jack stepped up to the counter and placed their order.
“Two Italian submarines, Bernie,” he ordered from the deli clerk.
“You want everything on them, Jack?” Bernie asked as his attention went to Kate.
“You want everything on yours, baby?”
“Hold the onions and tomatoes,” she stated.
“One with no onions and the other with no onions or tomatoes,” said Jack. “Oh, and throw in a pound of macaroni salad.”
“You got it,” said the clerk as he gave Kate a quick once over and then went to make the sandwiches.
“You don’t like tomatoes?” asked Jack as he leaned on the counter.
“I don’t like fresh tomatoes on sandwiches,” explained Kate as she saw him give her an odd look. “It’s a texture thing. It makes me gag.”
“Well I’m glad there are some textures that don’t make you gag,” he leaned over and whispered in her ear.
“Did anyone ever tell you that you have a way with words?” She frowned.
“All the time,” he winked at her and she couldn’t help but laugh.
Her laughter was short lived though, when two elderly gents walked past, nodding their Nevada greeting to Jack then took one look at Kate and did a double take as if they’d never seen a woman before. If she hadn’t seen them scratch their heads and prod each other like they were fascinated by her species, she would have never believed it. She watched the old geezers disappear round an aisle and it was her turn to scratch her head.
“Do I have something stuck in my teeth or is there something sticking on my face that I should know about?” She asked as she searched her reflection in the glass deli encasement.
“Not that I can see,” said Jack taking a step closer. “Let me have a look.” Kate tilted her head upward and bared her teeth in order for Jack to inspect. “Nope, nothing,” he smiled as he closed her mouth. “Except for maybe all those damn freckles.” He tapped each brown spot with the end of his fingertip as if he were trying to connect the dots then he planted a kiss on the bridge of her nose.
“Oh good,” she said relieved. “For a minute there I thought it was me.” She went to laugh then stopped. “Do you know why everyone keeps staring at me?
“Maybe it’s because most folk aren’t used to seeing me with a beautiful woman by my side baby,” answered Jack.
“They should be- if what they say about you is true.” The words just spilled from her mouth before she could stop them and she saw his green eyes narrow just a hair. “I mean-“she backpedaled.
“I know what you meant.” He interrupted her. “And no they’re not.” His eyes softened. “I had only one use for a woman before I met you Kate and it wasn’t going grocery shopping if you catch my meaning.”
“Oh-” she stated not sure if she should be flattered or mortified.
“Here you go,” said Bernie the deli clerk interrupting their awkward moment. “Can I get you anything else?” He looked at Jack then at Kate and back to Jack again.
“No, we’re good,” said Jack placing the items in the cart.
Jack took control of the cart again and their mood as he proceeded to another aisle. Kate frowned when he stopped at the suntan lotion. Jack scanned the lotions with his overbearing radar and found the one he was looking for. Without consulting her, he tossed it into the cart.
“We’re done, baby,” he stated moving the cart through the aisle and toward the check- out lanes.
“I’m not using that lotion, Jack,” said Kate walking alongside of him. “I don’t need sixty protection. I’ll never keep my tan using that.”
“You think?” he grinned and kept walking.
Kate gave up. What’s the use, she told herself. There was no arguing with Jack McBride when he got something in his head. She followed him to the check-out. Jack began to place their items on the counter. Kate picked up the wine cooler and set it on the rubber top.
“No baby, let me do that,” he stated. She stepped back and watched as he unloaded the cart. It was kind of sweet for him to not want her to help.
The cashier looked up and saw Jack. She smiled with familiar recognition. “Hey stranger, haven’t seen much of you lately,” said the dark-haired woman as she batted her lashes and flashed her baby blues at him.
Kate couldn’t help but notice the open flirtation. It made her nervous and she felt like shriveling up in a corner somewhere never to be seen again. Why did she always feel like disappearing when women came on to her men? Maybe it was because her ex always flirted back and made her feel inferior, or perhaps it was because he treated her like she was invisible and not worth the attention.
Kate could only see this woman, this cashier, stealing the attention of Jack though she had no clue if he was returning the flirtation since she took several steps back into the front aisle of the store.
; “I need two bags of ice, Michelle,” said Jack dryly.
Michelle rang up his order and gave him a warm saucy smile. “You going to the Wild Horse tonight?” she asked him. “There’s going to be a band and some of the boys from the rodeo are in town. I know they would love to see you there.” She leaned over the counter and ran her finger over his hand. “I get off at seven.”
Jack frowned and pulled his hand back. “What do you think, baby?” said Jack to Kate. “You want to head over to the saloon after we’re done at the lake?” He looked up when he heard no response. He saw Kate melding in with the magazines. “Kate,” Jack called to her as he pushed the cart through to clear the aisle. He walked over to her and took her hand then proceeded to make her follow him up to the counter.
“Michelle, this is Kate,” said Jack as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Kate’s agreed to move in with me, haven’t you, baby?” Jack leaned over and kissed Kate on the lips. He lingered a little then withdrew.
“That’ll be seventy dollars.” Michelle stated matter-of-factly as she looked at Jack then at Kate. Kate fumbled in her purse and pulled out her credit card.
“Put your money away,” said Jack firmly as he removed his wallet from his pocket. “You don’t ever pay. It’s my job to take care of you.” She nodded and put her card back in her purse. Jack handed Michelle the cash then loaded the packages back in the cart.
“See yah round, Michelle,” Jack called over his shoulder as he shuffled Kate and the cart out the door.
Once they were to the truck, Jack placed the items in the cooler.
“Here,” he said gruffly handing her the suntan lotion. “Put this in your bag.”
Kate blinked and wondered why he suddenly seemed in a foul mood. If anyone should be annoyed it should be her. Why that woman was practically salivating all over him and in front of her to boot. Jack opened the cab door for her.
“Get in,” he barked.
“Are you mad at me?” She asked as she slid into her seat.
He ignored her and slammed the door closed. He walked around the truck and entered on the driver’s side. He started the engine and pulled out of the parking space. She glanced over at him and saw cold steel eyes focused on the road.
