Abigail groaned as the alarm went off. Her body was sore in places that she did not know existed. She dragged herself out of bed and into a hot bath. As she stepped out of the bath there was a soft knock on her door. She wrapped herself in a bathrobe and opened the door. Betty was standing there with a tray.
“I did not mean to wake you Miss Abigail, but I thought you might enjoy some tea. Simon and I’ll be leaving soon to go to the hospital and I never got a change to thank you for everything you did yesterday.”
Abigail took the tray and placed it on a side table. She saw two cups and invited Betty in.
Abigail saw a plate with fresh scones and a bowl with whipped cream. “Scones!” she exclaimed. Betty smiled at her, “I had to look up a recipe for those… Please don’t judge me too harshly.”
Betty was pouring tea while Abigail filled two plates with the still-warm scones. They ate in silence but Abigail felt no tension between them. Betty finished her tea and got up, “Thank you very much Betty. I really appreciate the effort. Please give Eli a big hug from me and Clayton.”
“I’ll Miss Abigail. Thank you.”
The door closed softly and Abigail dressed in a hurry. She took the stairs two at a time and was greeted by an empty and silent house. She checked the kitchen, dining room, patio and deck; and at the same time explored a couple of rooms she has not seen yet. It was after six when she found her way to the pool for a second time. Clayton was sitting at the small table still in a gown squeezing oranges.
“My-oh-my,” said Abigail, “did you over sleep?”
“No,” he replied “it is Sunday and there is no work on the ranch except in an emergency.” Abigail realised that she lost track of the days. He offered her a glass of orange juice and poured one for himself. He gulped it down, got up and threw off his robe. He dove into the pool and swam two lengths before resting on the steps in the shallow end, “Jump in Abigail! The water is nice.”
Abigail removed her shoes and rolled up her jeans. She sat on the edge of the pool with just her feet in the water. To her surprise the water was warm. “I did not pack a bikini, Clayton, I really did not know you had a pool.”
He took her hand and pulled her into the water. She gave a small yelp, but giggled as he dragged her to deeper water. They both laughed as she struggled to swim in jeans. She made it back to the shallow end and asked, “Are you sure we are alone?” Her wet blouse clung to her body and Clayton stared in wonder at her curves. “Um, yes, we are alone.”
Abigail wiggled out of her jeans and threw them onto the paving. “That is much better,” she said as she returned to the deep end. She reached him and he brushed a tray hair from her cheek, “Please don’t be offended for me saying this, but you’re truly beautiful Abigail.”
She looked at him blushing, “Thank you Clayton, I have not heard those words in many years.”
She pushed away from the side leaving him stranded. She got out of the pool and said “You’re not bad either. Come get out so that I can make you something to eat.”
Clayton fired up the grill and in short order they had breakfast ready. Both of them were dry by the time they finished eating. “So what do you do on the ranch on a Sunday?”
Clayton shrugged, “Not much really. I normally have breakfast, a swim and then I just relax around the pool all day. Betty comes in early just to check that everything is OK then she spends the day with her family.”
“I need a day of rest after that horse ride yesterday. My whole body is sore. I’m just going to run upstairs to get a pair of shorts. I’ll be back in a moment.”
He watched her walk away and admired her lithe body. She returned armed with sunscreen. She opened her blouse and tied the front ends into a knot. He stared at her applying the sunscreen to her legs and feet. She removed the blouse and asked him to get her back. He stood behind her and with a trembling hand started rubbing sunscreen over her back. Her flesh was both warm and soft. She leaned into his hands, enjoying the impromptu massage. “I have a better idea”, she said. She removed her bra settled on a towel on the lawn. He moved closer and started massaging the sunscreen into her back and neck. She moaned softly as his big hands worked her aching muscles. After a few minutes Abigail felt sleepy, so she got up quickly and grabbed the bottle from him. “Your turn” she said and squirted a blob in sunscreen into her hand. He lay down onto the towel she just vacated. She started with his back and neck. She took her time as she worked down his torso to his legs. Just as she started working on his thighs, he jumped up turned his back on her and jumped into the pool.
“What now?” she asked.
“Please don’t laugh at me Abigale.” He blushed. “No one has touched me in years, and I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of you.”
Abigail has never been self-conscious. She got into the water without her bra and swam up to him. “Are you still a virgin?”
“No!” he laughed, “but I may as well be. It has been six years since I’ve been with a girl.”
“So you’re gay?”
“Hell no! Not at all...” he awkwardly reached for her hand. “Look at where I live Abigail. I cannot just go out and party and meet women. I have been born on this farm and I worked here since I was four. I was home schooled until I was ready for college. I went to college in Dallas. There I met Jason, our mutual acquaintance, and Lisa.”
“Lisa?”
“Lisa was my first and last girlfriend. She was from Amsterdam and we shared a few classes. She was very sexual and very patient with me. We were together for almost two years. We graduated at the same time, but she left to go back to Europe. I came back to the farm. That was six years ago.”
Abigale touched his hand. “It has been years for me too, Clayton. I just could not get back into the whole dating thing after the accident…”
They both fell silent for a while. It was Abigail that broke the silence. “We are to be married, Clayton. I know it is just a business transaction, but are we not going to make the best of the next two years?”
“What do you mean Abigale?”
“Show me your room, and let me show you.”
He scooped her up and carried her out of the pool. They left a wet trail all the way up the stairs that ended in front of his room. He gently placed her on his bed and she pulled him closer. She kissed him and he returned the kiss. His strong arms enveloped her and she could feel his excitement press against her leg. He was big and heavy and she felt a bit claustrophobic. She gently pushed him away and got out from under him. They both got up and removed that last bits of clothing. He blushed when she looked down at his erection. She pushed him back onto the bed and straddled him. She took his hands and placed them on her breasts. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she felt him pulse against her. She took his wrists into her hands and pushed his arms all the way back onto the bed. As she leaned forward, she brushed herself against the entire length of his erection. She lined up the tip of his cock with her wet entrance and slowly sat back – taking all of him into herself in one long, slow movement. She sighed feeling him fill her up.
He did not move. His face was a study of concentration. “You OK?” she asked. “Yes,” his tight-lipped reply, “but I don’t think I’ll last very long.” He closed his eyes when she leaned forward again to kiss him. He returned the kiss but she could feel his orgasm building. She broke off the kiss and moved down on him again. His whole body shuddered as he his orgasm took control over his body. Abigale felt a bit disappointed, but she did not say anything. She lifted away from him, but he pulled her close “Please don’t stop. Not now, please.”
She kissed him again and felt him move under her. She lifted herself up slightly to make room for him to trust into her. She quickly matched his thrusts and slammed herself against his body every time he moved his hips up. She leaned forward to kiss him again and he slowed down a bit. She broke off the kiss and arched her back so that she could take all of him into her. He placed both hands on her breasts. Her breathing
increased as his one hand moved down her torso and over her abs. He used a bent finger against her clitoris as she rocked against his hardness. Time stood still as her orgasm bloomed. Her whole body was on fire. She lost control over her motions, and they were out of sync. Clayton knew that she was close and knew what she needed. He pulled her onto his chest and started slamming himself hard into her. She screamed her orgasm into his shoulder and she collapsed onto his chest as she felt him shudder again. With a long moan he joined her in ecstasy.
It took them a long time to float back to reality. He stroked her hair and whispered “Want to go again?”
“Hold your horses cowboy! I need to go to the bathroom.”
She got up and let him slowly slide out of her. He was still rock hard.
She went to the bathroom and on her return he was fast asleep. She climbed onto the bed next to him and placed her head on his chest. His soft breathing gently rocked her to sleep.
It was late evening when Simon came to the house. He found them in the kitchen eating a late dinner. “Sorry for the intrusion,” he said “I just came by to tell you that Eli is doing well. They operated on his leg, and he will be out of hospital in time for the wedding!”
Abigail got up and gave him a hug. “That’s great news Simon, thanks for letting us know.”
Simon bid then a good night and left the kitchen.
The next two weeks flew by in a blur. Abigail’s days were filled from dawn to late at night. Their love making brought them close to each other and they indulged at every opportunity. Abigail started falling in love with Clayton. She learned about him in a thousand small ways laying in his arms and listening do his now familiar drawl.
One afternoon she asked him about his parents, and the way he changed the subject made her realize that she might never know. She also realized that the never asked her about her parents or the accident. For the first time in years a whole day would pass without her thinking about it. It made her incredibly happy and sad at the same time.
Her emails to Sally got longer and longer as she shared her life and emotions with her best friend.
The wedding day arrived and Betty was like a field general organizing her troops. A giant marquee dominated the garden and the barbeque fires were lit before the sun came up. Large trays filled with home-made sausage and steaks stood in neat rows on the kitchen table. Betty removed another tray of Kolaches from the oven and set it aside to cool as Abigail finished her tea.
“Get upstairs and into a bath, miss Abigail. I’ll be there shortly to come and help you.”
Abigail got up land left the kitchen. She passed her room and went into Clayton’s room. He was dressed and in the process of putting on his boots. “Good morning Abigail!”
She sat next to him and gave him a big hug. She looked up into his blue eyes and said, “Clayton, I think I have changed my mind.”
He went ice-cold and she felt his body stiffen as he stopped breathing. She sensed his alarm and with a playful shove pushed away from him. “Relax, Clayton. We are still getting married!” she laughed. He started breathing again. Relief washed over his face.
“What I meant to say is that I’m falling in love with this place and I don’t know if I want to go back to London.”
Clayton looked like a dear caught in a car’s headlights, “And me?” he asked “Are you falling in love with me?”
She hugged him again “You are this place Clayton. I feel you in every tree, bush and sand grain on this ranch…”
He reached onto the night stand and pulled the drawer open. He found what he was looking for and knelt before her. He presented her with a beautiful but simple diamond ring. He went down on one knee and said, “In that case Abigail, will you marry me? For real and forever?”
She slipped the ring onto her finger. It was too big, but she did not care, “Mrs. Clayton Wright” she said with a smile, “I like that, because I finally found ‘Mr. Right’.”
Epilogue
At ten o’clock there was a knock on Abigail’s door. She was dressed and almost ready to go. Betty was fixing a last stray lock of hair with a pin.
“Come in,” Abigail said. Simon was standing there with the same faded suit he wore on the day they met.
“Simon! Come in what are you doing here?”
“Sorry for the intrusion Miss Abigail, but I was just thinking that you don’t have to walk down the aisle alone. If you will have me, I would be honored to walk you to Clayton’s side.”
Abigail hugged him tightly, “No, Simon. It is I that would be honored. I cannot think of anyone I would rather have but you!”
Betty beamed at Simon with tears rolling down her cheek.
Abigail took Betty’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “Ma-Betty, you better get downstairs before the bride runs you over!”
The name did not escape Betty’s attention and she burst out in tears as she hugged Abigail tightly, “Welcome home my child, welcome home!”
Simon presented his arm to her after Betty left. She took it and as they wended their way downstairs, Abigail felt how she was literally walking into a new life. She felt so happy and a little scared at the same time.
THE END
Pregnant and Rescued by the Cowboy
Chapter 1
Penelope Cruz knew she was in trouble the minute she realized she was pregnant. She worked for a rich white family and the Mistress would throw her out when it became more obvious what had happened. She was worried. Marvin and Lucille had been good to her for the most part while she'd worked there. She felt like she'd failed in her duty.
As a servant, you don't say no when the Master wants attention from you, especially if you want to keep your job. The pay had been okay, and they'd provided her room and board. Knowing that a baby would change all that, she didn't know quite what to do. No other family would take her if they knew about her pregnancy, they'd be afraid she was tainted and it would rub off on their family. Especially if they had daughters. It would also give the wrong impression about what type of woman she was.
Hoping that maybe the Master would be willing to at least give her enough money to leave and go back east to her family so she could have the baby in privacy, she went to find him. She could always claim to be a widow and try to find employment somewhere else. She didn't love Marvin. She knew the first time he'd come into her room that it was a real possibility that it would blow up in her face, yet she hadn't been able to stop it.
She'd been like clockwork since she was young, and now she'd missed two cycles. There was no way she could continue to deny it. Afraid for her future, she went to talk him and hope that he was reasonable and would help her.
They lived in a rural town in Montana. The family had hired her from back East using the paper. She could read, and she'd been educated. Despite being dark skinned, her mother had raised her with a family who'd been open to her learning with their children. She'd gotten the same education they had until she was a teenager, when they went off to finishing school.
Penelope knew the family she'd grown up with wouldn't take her in, but she knew her mother was still alive and might be able to help somehow. Maybe she'd be able to at least help her get a job if she went back home. With the civil wars breaking out though, staying in small towns in the pockets of safety had been ideal for her. But now she felt that traveling back home might be her only choice.
Finding the Master in the study, she went in to talk to him. Praying for the best she took a deep breath and approached him.
"Sir?" Penelope asked from the door way, her head bowed as she waited for him to let her come in.
"What is it Penny?" Marvin asked in a gruff tone as he looked at some papers on his desk. He was a big bear of a man, with a full salt and pepper beard. His suspenders held his pants up and his riding boots were stained with mud. He must have gone riding this morning. Hunting was his favorite past time besides women. His wife had never given him children, they always assumed he'd been the problem due to getting the measles as a
child, but Penelope knew it wasn't true now.
"Sir, I have something I need to tell you," Penelope said as she came in and shut the door. "I think I'm pregnant. I wasn't sure at first, but now I am pretty positive. I think the best course of action is to go back home to my mother and try to find a different job. I am sorry for any inconvenience this causes you and the Mistress."
"Penelope, you realize that I can't do that, right?" He put the papers down and looked at her. "Do you know why I was visiting you?"
Blushing, Penelope at least understood the sex part of it, but she didn't understand he had other reasons for it. She shook her head no, feeling confused.
"My wife wants a baby. It was her idea; she wasn't sure that I was the problem. Now we know I'm not and it's her. You can stay here until you have the baby, then you'll give it to my wife. We will pay you well for the pregnancy, and for you to be discrete about the situation." He went back to working on his desk sorting through papers.
"I'm sorry sir, but I'm not just going to hand my baby over to your wife. I've already decided I was keeping it. I just came in here to ask if you'd be willing to give me some extra funds so I could get home so I wouldn't bring shame to your household." Penelope was shocked, and couldn't believe that the two of them would assume they could just take her baby from her. Or that she'd just willingly trade her baby for a few gold coins. She was offended, and it lowered her opinion of them. She was shocked.
"You cannot afford to care for a baby. We can give the baby a good life, and my wife wants a child. I love my wife and would do anything to make her happy, even if it means breeding with a servant. You will give her the baby, or we will throw you out on the streets and I won't even give you the last paycheck. You'll starve to death." He told her, speaking so coldly to her she couldn't even understand it. This was not the man she'd worked with for the last two years. This man didn't see her as a human, just an incubator for the child he expected her to hand over to his wife. They hadn't even asked her if she wanted to be involved in any of this.
Kidnapped By The Highlander Lord (Scottish Highlander Romance) Page 30
