Two Spirit Ranch

by Jaime Stryker

  Terri couldn't help but giggle. That was one compliment she had never heard before. Montana definitely had its regional charms.

  “If you haven’t figured it out yet, everybody kinda knows everybody around these parts,” Jake said. “Being sheriff, I probably know even more people that most.”

  “It’s a little different in New York,” Terri commented. She thought back on the mass of strangers she passed every day with no one making eye contact as their paths crossed for brief seconds in the thriving metropolis.

  Jake pointed off in the direction of an enormous Ferris wheel in the distance.

  “Feel like a ride?” he asked.

  “I haven't been on a Ferris wheel in ages,” Terri confessed.

  “Well, I think you're overdue then,” Jake said, taking her by the hand and leading her off in the direction of the ride.

  Once on the ride, the wheel stopped when their car was at the top, and they could see the beautiful view of the surrounding area. Terri couldn't remember the last time she saw such large areas of lush green foliage.

  “This is beautiful country, Jake” she mused out loud.

  “Over there are the Bighorn Mountains,” Jake said, pointing in one direction. “ And over there are the Pryor Mountains, the Beartooth Mountains, the Crazy Mountains, the Big Snowy Mountains and the Bull Mountains.”

  “It's incredible. Very peaceful.”

  “Not as beautiful as you,” he said, taking her hand into his once more.

  “The feeling’s mutual,” Terri replied smiling while flicking the hair away from her eyes. She forgot how good the fine art of flirting felt.

  He surprised her by making another move and putting his arm around her thin waist. As their Ferris wheel car began its descent, Jake leaned over and boldly placed a kiss on her lips. Terri found his lips warm and sweet. She cradled his rugged face and kissed him in return, deeply and passionately for what seemed like an eternity.

  “Time to get off you two lovebirds,” the cranky old ride attendant said, interrupting their romantic interlude while a gaggle of pre-teens waiting in line giggled at them.

  As they walked though the rest of the fairgrounds and checked out the competitions in Heritage Arts & Crafts and Culinary, they ran into Sally at a booth wearing a Viking helmet with long light blonde braids coming out of the side.

  “Hi, you two!” she said with a smile. “Viking on stick?” Sally held up a large round fried ball with a stick coming out of it.

  “It smells delicious. Umm, what is it?” Terri mused.

  “Oh, it’s a tradition around here. Just ask Jake. Basically it’s a lightly seasoned baked meatball, dipped in a batter and deep fried to a golden brown. Since you’re a newbie, here’s a free sample! You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted one!”

  “What about me?” Jake joked.

  “Oh, pardon mois, sheriff. Here’s one for you. That’ll be $2.00 for you though,” she winked.

  Jake handed over the money to a smiling Sally.

  “Who's minding the cafe today?” Terri asked.

  “I left Mindy in charge. I always work the fair a few days to help out a local charity. And what do you think so far?” Sally said, cocking an eyebrow.

  Terri wondered if she was referring to the fair, the food or the date with Jake.

  “So far, I'm impressed,” she answered truthfully.

  Sally cut her eyes at Jake and grinned devilishly before saying, “I just bet you are.”

  Terri took a bite of her Viking on a Stick and much to her surprise found herself saying, “Oh my God! This is so good!”

  “Well, howdy there!” a booming voice called behind them.

  Terri saw Sally practically wince at the sound.

  Terri and Jake turned around to find Carl, his wife, Dora, and two boys, Emmet and Dylan.

  “Cousin,” Jake said, tipping his hat. “How you doing, Dora and boys?”

  Terri noticed how haggard and exhausted poor Carl's slightly pudgy wife looked as she tried to wrangle the boys, who looked no older than ten, to stay still for a moment.

  “We're doing just fine!” Dora replied. Although, she looked like she was ready to kill both of her children due to some behavior issue.

  “This is Terri Lawson, Bud's niece, from New York,” Jake said to Dora.

  “So, nice to meet you. We were so sorry to hear about Bud.”

  “Thank you,” Terri replied. “That means a lot. Everyone’s been so nice and understanding.”

  “Heard about your little storm the other day. Sounds like you have quite a mess to clean up. Might be the perfect time to sell so you don't have to deal with it,” Carl said.

  An exasperated Doris elbowed her husband and said, “Carl, can we have one day without business, please? This is supposed to be your day off.”

  “Just saying. You’ve got to be ready when opportunity comes along,” Carl said, trying to sound all innocent.

  “I'm sure I'll figure out how to clean things up,” Terri responded. The more this guy pushed her to sell her uncle's ranch, the less she even wanted to entertain the thought. She didn't know for sure what she would do with it, but she didn't want her uncle's legacy in this saleman’s hands.

  “We best be going,” Jake said. He placed a protective hand on Terri's lower back, and she felt her face become flush just from his touch.

  The two young boys ran up to Jake and gave him a hug.

  “Can we go riding in the patrol car with you again one day, Cousin Jake?” Emmet asked.

  “Sure thing,” Jake said, patting their heads.

  Dylan looked up at Terri and said, “Cousin Jake is the sheriff, you know? He's a hero!”

  “That's what I hear,” Terri said.

  Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of anger sweep across Carl's face.

  Carl watched as his cousin and that damn Lawson woman walked off. He got sick of everyone always talking about how much the hero Jake was. Even his own kids were fixated on him. But they would see. Everyone would see. Carl’s development projects would be his legacy to Clearview. They would put the town on the map and do more good than anything Jake Collins could ever drum up as sheriff.

  “She seems real sweet. Pretty, too,” Dora said to her preoccupied husband.

  “Hmmm,” Carl just grunted.

  He felt his cellphone vibrate in his pocket and quickly pulled it out while Dora let out an audible groan.

  “I'll be just a few minutes,” he said, walking off a few yards when he saw who the caller was.

  “Don't be too long, Carl. The boys are ready for lunch and you promised we could go shopping later,” Dora called after him.

  Carl nodded to his wife as he walked away from the main path to a quiet area behind some booths.

  “Talk to me,” he said, answering the phone, sure that no one would hear. After listening intently for a couple of minutes, Carl said softly to himself, “You've got to be kidding me! That’s good work. Really good. We’ll talk later.”

  After a few minutes Carl ended the call and stuffed his phone into his pocket. He smiled a devilish grin as he walked back to his family.

  “Don’t look now, but you’ve got canary feathers all over your face,” his wife remarked.

  “Who me? No, I’m just so glad to see Cousin Jake so happy with his lady friend, Miss Terri. I just hope it all works out for them. Would be a shame if something suddenly came up…,” said Carl while his wife looked at him puzzlingly.

  Chapter 9

  After a full day of enjoying the fair, Jake drove Terri back to the ranch. They kept silent throughout the drive, basking in the dramatic sunset over the dusty road framed by the windshield of the Jeep. The sexual tension between the two was palpable. As the car stopped in the ranch’s driveway, the two looked at each other while Jake’s motor idled for what seemed like an eternity.

  Terri took a deep breath before saying, “I had a really good time today, Jake. It would be a shame to have this perfect day end so soon. Would you l
ike to come in for a drink? I bought a nice bottle of merlot the other day.”

  She knew what coming in for a glass of wine could mean…second base or more. But she was telling him the honest truth. She’d been having the best day she’d had in such a long time. She didn’t want it to end.

  “I’d like that. A lot,” Jake answered.

  Jake worked on building a small fire in the living room while Terri nervously uncorked the wine. She poured two glasses, and walked out to the living room to find Jake sitting on the sofa after starting a fire…in more ways than one, she thought!

  She sat next to him on the sofa and handed him a glass of wine.

  “Cheers,” Terri said holding up her glass up to Jake. The glasses tinkled, and she took a little taste of the wine.

  After a moment of awkward silence in which they both appeared to be waiting for the other to make the next move, Jake finally said, “I had a really great time today.”

  “Me, too,” Terri replied. “I haven’t just enjoyed myself and felt that…relaxed in a long time.”

  “Sounds like you were due for some time out of the city,” Jake said, sipping the wine. He didn’t drink much, and when he did, it tended to hit him pretty fast. He could already sense a warm feeling making its way through his body. Terri’s closeness stirred deep emotions within him yearning to be expressed. She was so beautiful and smelled so nice. It made him want to pull her close, taste her mouth, and hold her to him until the sun came up in the morning.

  “I think you’re right. I needed some time away for a few reasons,” she paused and took another sip before getting more personal. “I have to admit something.”

  “What is that?”

  “How has a great guy like you managed to be single all these years? I can’t believe some nice girl around here hasn’t snapped you up yet.”

  She noticed that he shifted uncomfortably for a moment, and his eyes drifted down to the floor.

  “I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong?” she asked anxiously, sitting her wine glass on the coffee table. He suddenly seemed distant and lost in thought.

  He took a long deep breath and his eyes met hers.

  “Not at all,” he said. “I appreciate the compliment. The truth is…I did have a fiancée at one time.”

  “Oh,” she muttered. Her thoughts flooded back to her Tom and the hurt he caused her before she admitted, “I did, too, once.”

  “Really?” he replied, his curiosity piqued. “What happened? If you don’t mind my asking.”

  “He called it off. A few weeks before I came here,” she confessed. “It was one of the other reasons I wanted to come to Montana. To just get away to think things through.”

  Jake reached over and his strong hand covered hers on the couch.

  “Well, it’s his loss. You’re a great woman.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it,” she said slightly blushing from the wine and the compliment. “And you? What about your fiancée?”

  Jake swallowed hard. It was always so difficult for him to talk about Sherilynn, but he had finally begun to realize that maybe he needed to do so to move on. He felt very comfortable around Terri for some reason. He wanted to open up to her.

  “Her name was Sherilynn. We met in high school, and she was my sweetheart. I asked her to marry me, but…it wasn’t meant to be. She died in a car accident a few years back.”

  “Oh, Jake, I’m so sorry!” Terri said, interlacing her fingers around his and squeezing his hand tight.

  “I guess...” he started to say.

  She could tell he was struggling, and she so badly wanted to crawl into his arms, kiss him, and tell him everything would be okay.

  “I guess….I blame myself a lot,” he admitted.

  “But why? What do you mean,” Terri asked confused.

  “The weather was very bad the night she died. I tried to talk her out of driving, but when Sherilynn had her mind made up about something there was no changing it. It was something about her that I loved and drove me crazy, but I wonder if I had just tried harder to convince her just maybe...”

  “You can't blame yourself, Jake. Accidents happen.”

  “I know that in my mind, but...”

  “In you heart you still wonder,” Terri said, finished his thought.

  He looked at her with amazement. How did she understand him so well? So quickly?

  “You're right. I do,” he said quietly.

  “You're a wonderful man, Jake, and I'm sure your fiancée was an exceptional woman. She'd want you to go on with your life. I know it's easier said than done, though.”

  “From your own situation?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said, nodding.

  She took another sip of the merlot and leaned back on the couch.

  The whole time they held hands and gazed at each other in a way only two people who feel connected beyond words can.

  Until, finally, Jake said, “Come here. I think we both need a hug.” He held out his arms for her to cuddle next to him.

  Terri couldn't help but beam at the gesture, and she scooted closer next to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him while she buried her face in his hard muscular chest. His masculine scent was so intoxicating she wished she could just melt into him.

  With his hand, he lifted her chin and her gaze.

  “All day I've been wanting to kiss you again,” he confessed. “Ever since the Ferris wheel.”

  “Really?” she asked, feeling a tingling sensation in the core of her essence she hadn't felt in a very long time.

  “May I, Terri?”

  “Please,” she replied, closing her eyes and puckering her soft, wet lips for this sexy man next to her.

  His kiss was at first gentle and sweet, but as he brought her body in closer to his even tighter, he became more passionate, more determined in his expression of physical affection for her.

  A voice in Terri's head told her that she should stop him. It was too soon. There was much she needed to tell him first about her and her past. When he leaned her down on the couch though and the weight of his body mixed with the growing hardness of his manhood, she felt herself give in to her desires. She lay there, vulnerable and open, for Jake.

  He kissed the delicate skin on her neck, down lower to the top of her bosom, and before going any further he said to her in a husky voice, “I want you so bad. I've wanted you from the moment I saw you.” He paused momentarily and said, “But I don’t want to rush things if you aren’t ready, Terri.”

  “Oh, Jake, I need you so badly,” she managed to half-whisper.

  Her heart felt like it would beat straight through her chest as she allowed the weight of him to press her further down into the cushion. She so desperately wanted to take him inside her, to have him complete her in the way only a man like Jake could. It had been so long...

  Jake nuzzled his stubble against her neck which almost drove her to the brink of her yearning but conflicted passion. Terri let out a slight cry of pleasure. Before she could say a word, he lifted her off her feet and up the stairs to the bedroom and placed her gently but purposefully on the soft bed.

  He began to unbutton his shirt, and when Terri caught a flash of the sight of his hard abs, she couldn’t help but quietly, but audibly gasp. The bright Montana moon shone over the ranch, its light streaming through the bedroom window and illuminating Jake’s beautiful body as he began to unbuckle his pants.

  Chapter 10

  The bright sunlight shone through the bedroom indicating a new day, and Jake noticed how the soft light accented the red highlights in her hair. For the past thirty minutes or so, he had been content with just watching her sleep next to him. She was so beautiful. Being from the city, she seemed so exotic, so different from the other women in town, but they connected so naturally. Jake could picture her as a woman that could challenge him, make him think about things in this world in a different light. His only worry was that he knew she came from this different world and soon it wou
ld beckon her to return. And where would that leave him?

  He suddenly got the idea of cooking her breakfast so it would be ready when she first got up. It had been so long since he'd been able to do that for anybody. So, he carefully scooted out of the bed so as not to wake her and tiptoed downstairs to see if there were any breakfast items were in the kitchen.

  He checked in the fridge and found half a dozen eggs, some link sausage, and coffee. Good enough, he thought. He searched through the cupboards to find where Bud kept his pans being mindful not to make too much noise and wake up his sleeping beauty. He hoped they could spend more time together today, and he could show her more of what Montana had to offer.

  As he started to fry up the sausage, he heard a light tapping on the front door. Curious as to who would be stopping by at this hour in the morning, he went towards the front door and was stunned to see Carl peeking though the window.

  “What the hell?” Jake muttered. The guy just wouldn't give up. He was like a starving dog with a meaty bone. He decided he would make it clear to his stubborn cousin that under no uncertain terms he better back off.

  Jake opened the door and shook his head when he saw Carl, already wearing a suit, standing there with an extra large coffee in his hand.

  “Well, somebody must have had a good night, cuz!” Carl bellowed with smile.

  “That’s not really any of your business, is it? Please keep it down. Terri's still asleep,” Jake admonished.

  Carl raised an eyebrow and replied, “Well, we wouldn't want to wake the little lady.”

  Jake picked up on more than a hint of sarcasm in his cousin's voice.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Carl? Why can't you take a hint? Bud wouldn't sell to you, and obviously Terri is in no rush to make decisions, either.”

  Carl leaned against the doorway waiting to be invited in, but when he wasn’t, he stood back up and said, “I'm worried about you, Jake. I know we’ve had our differences, but you're still my family. There are things you don't know that you should. When I saw your car wasn’t parked outside your place I came rushing over her. I knew I couldn't wait to tell you the truth. You deserve to know the truth.”