by Zoe Adams
A throttle and ignition switch later, the tractor rumbled to life, and she put the machine in gear. The tires lurched and then rolled forward. The tractor started mowing wide strips of long grass.
Susanna loosened her shady hat and tried to sit back. After a few minutes she looked over her shoulder to see that the freshly chopped hay lay down nicely.
Two hours later, she parked the tractor and left it to sit in the middle of the field. Tomorrow she would drive her truck through the field, park at the tractor, and mow some more.
Susanna walked slowly through the cut grass. She had designed her own baling system for the hay. A heavy tarp was laid out in the back of her truck with the sides left to flap over the tires.
She used another field machine with a wide pitch fork shaped bucket to scoop up the hay and put it in her truck. Once the truck was full she turned off the tractor.
Susanna climbed onto her truck and started to tighten the tarp. She had it down to a science. She knew just how much hay the tarp could hold. She pulled a small rope through the metal rings and closed the bale tightly.
The hay was ready to be fed to the bison. It would be done first thing in the morning, just like every other morning.
This was one of the jobs that continued with no end in sight. Other ranch hands took care of other things, but Susanna still fed the buffalo first thing every morning. If she couldn’t tend them, then there must be hell or high water in the way.
Two tan cars appeared as dust on the gravel road. They had just topped a low hill and were starting down the other side. The road still had to bring them down to a little gulley, and then out the other side again. Most cars that drove down her road went faster. These cars drove the slightly rugged road with great care.
Susanna parked her truck on a nice wide side of road. She had a moment to compose herself before addressing the trespassers.
She pulled down the sun visor and flipped open the mirror. Little pieces of grass and dirt had stuck to her cheeks and chin. She wiped them off impatiently and cleaned herself up.
The rest of her complexion was the best she could do under the circumstances. She pulled out a dusty rose colored lipstick and passed it over her lips. Susanna checked her lips, then her teeth. She smiled resignedly into the mirror and snapped it shut.
There was only one thing she hadn’t checked yet, and that was her gun. She always carried her gun with her and eyed the resting holster. It was nothing personal regarding visitors; it was just a way of life for her. She figured it was safer with her than left lying around. She didn’t consider any other option as she picked it up carefully and strapped the holster around her waist.
A helicopter came upon them from another direction. Susanna looked up at the mechanical bird. Its shadow fell over the prairie, and it was going to travel directly over her.
The cockpit of the helicopter glinted sunlight wildly in Susanna’s eyes. The blinding bird remained tilted forward with its nose toward the ground. Susanna felt it pass by, then turned her attention back to herself.
She stepped from her truck and stood with the door open. She reached for the jug of water she knew was on the tractor. She unscrewed the lid and carefully leaned away from her body. She poured water on her arm and let it run down to her hand. She twisted her arm back and forth twice and then gracefully switched to the other arm.
The arm bath only lasted a minute, but Susanna felt much better afterward. She dried her arms and hands with a paper towel, before looking up expectantly.
The two cars were almost beside the truck. The helicopter had continued its flight toward another objective.
People started to get out of the cars. Susanna recognized Royce immediately. He was taller than the rest of the three, and he filled out every inch of his black three piece suit.
Susanna felt a nervousness that needed soothing. She had felt their itchy eyes upon her for the last ten minutes. It was a lot for her to bear and entertain people in the middle of a long work day. She smiled at them and carefully shut the door of her truck.
Royce had stepped around the car and was walking toward her. They met in the middle of the road and faced each other. Once they were together, they both stood very straight and almost leaned into each other, in a full posture and full attention sort of way.
“I wanted to thank you properly.” Royce’s voice was smooth on the wind.
Susanna smiled politely and said, “You’re welcome, but there is no need to thank me. It happened days ago, and I’m pretty busy.”
“’Pretty’ would be damn correct.” Royce smoothed his lapel like he wanted to touch something and had just remembered his jacket at the last minute. “If you are always this pretty when you’re busy, then you might be heading into pretty big trouble with me.”
Susanna’s breath hitched with his bluntness. Here it was already, his expectations and complete comfort in being a lady’s man. Susanna readjusted herself to a more stand-off pose.
“I wouldn’t think that.” Susanna kept her face calm and honest. “You don’t look like the farming or ranching type.”
Royce looked at her for a serious moment, before releasing a short laugh. “Neither do you. Even right now, after working in a field, you look like you should be out shopping, or enjoying the good life.”
He looked down at her dress in apparent appreciation. She knew he was right to tell her she was overdressed for yard work. Her dress was a Sunday dress. It was worn because of comfort, even if it was over-stylish. Susanna had gotten used to being different, but it was a new experience to share her work clothes with a man.
The eyes that met Susanna’s were full of questions. Royce looked full of information and testosterone. Susanna thwarted him with her brain.
“Well,” she said and looked over his shoulder toward his friends in the road, “it looks like you’re an expert on the good life.”
Royce nodded with a jerk of his head. In her mind it was not the high compliment that Royce was receiving. For the second time, Susanna got the impression that Royce demanded a lot from the people around him, and extra care and planning for him was part of a package deal.
His friends were setting up chairs and a table in the road where it was flat.
Royce stepped aside and put his arm out for Susanna.
She had no choice but to walk to the table and be entertained by a guest. It was an unusual feeling for her to be surprised by people’s actions, and it made her extra aware.
She stepped lightly on the road and looked at Royce. He was smiling widely and ready to introduce her to his friends.
“This is my driver, George. You may remember him from the other night.” Royce held his hand out to the guy closest.
George wore a fitted jacket over a t-shirt. His pants were loose and un-starched, and he wore expensive loafers with a thin matching belt. That is where his style and accessories ended. He smiled at Susanna when he held out his plain hand.
“It’s nice to meet a woman with lots of diesel and horsepower.” George smiled appreciatively.
That was probably the best compliment he could have given her, and she smiled back widely.
Royce interrupted, “Hey, no stealing my girl.”
Susanna stiffened at the ownership he had already put on her. She looked at Royce quietly, but he didn’t seem to notice. He was already pointing at the other two people who were putting a few things on the table.
“This is Lawrence and Sarai. He is my lawyer, and she is his wife. They come with me just about everywhere.”
Royce turned back to face Susanna and watched her.
“Hi,” Susanna said loudly.
Lawrence looked up and waved distractedly.
Sarai walked forward to greet Susanna. “Please excuse my husband. The voice of the law isn’t always polite.”
She was indifferent to her husband, but smiled in Royce’s direction. “But in Royce’s life, you never know when a matter might need the voice of reason, or a woman’s touch.”
Sarai wore black high
heels that were sinking slightly in the dirt. Even with shoes to add height, she was still a few inches shorter than Susanna. Her body was designer thin, with perfect curves and chest. She was a beautiful woman, and looked expensive. She wore all black. There were no pockets or collars on the sleek, designer suit. Big gold chains hugged her richly.
Susanna smiled and shook hands gently.
Sarai gave her a knowing smile like she already knew her.
Lawrence had walked over and completed the circle.
The introductions had been made, and Susanna knew the ball was in her court. She felt like the outsider, and the reverse of facts was heavy on her mind. She liked to entertain people in her home, not in a field, and she looked around hesitantly.
“There is a lot of land out here,” Lawrence commented and looked around, using his whole body.
His appreciation for the ranch warmed Susanna. He had said it with business-like approval, and she could only agree.
“Yes, this part of the ranch has been in the family for over a hundred and fifty years.” Susanna looked from face to face and finally landed on Royce.
He was staring very smugly at her. Everyone else noticed the look on Royce’s face and excused themselves from his presence.
“I think I’ll walk around a little,” Lawrence said, turning away. “Come on, Sarai, let’s go for a walk.”
The two held hands as they walked toward the part of the road they hadn’t seen yet.
“I’m going to go check out the tractor,” George said.
Royce and Susanna watched George put his patented shoe on straw. He soon accustomed himself to walking through the prairie.
Susanna was left alone with Royce, and she looked at him with what she hoped was a blank expression on her face.
“Come on,” Royce said, holding out his hand to the table. “Let’s sit down and talk.”
Susanna sat down in the nearest chair. Royce walked around to the other side of the table. Instead of sitting across from her, he picked up the chair and moved it right beside her.
He sat down and eyed her heavily. “Do you always pack a gun?” he asked.
“All of the time when I’m at home. The prairie has a lot of snakes, wolves, coyotes, groundhogs.” Susanna shrugged for emphasis. “There are other things.”
“That’s very smart of you,” Royce said, nodding.
“I’m a safety girl,” Susanna said and clamped her jaw.
“That’s a very desirable trait in a woman.”
“You’re not from here, are you?” Susanna questioned.
“No, I was born in France.” Royce’s voice became more distant.
“Where do you live?”
“I have houses all over the place.” Royce grinned and then slipped into a cowboy drawl. “I even have a house in that there yonder city.”
Hearing that voice come from a sophisticated man caught Susanna off-guard, and she giggled.
The sound of Susanna laughing wiped the joke off of his face. He looked at her very seriously, and a little in shock.
She stopped laughing and looked at him. When she sat back, she let her whole body completely relax. She lowered her eyes to his hands and tried to picture what he used them for. Susanna couldn’t imagine him working. She raised her eyes back up to his face.
Royce seemed to be reading her mind, and he blurted out, “I’m a scientist.”
Susanna was in constant shock around him. She wondered if every day with him was a daze.
Royce moved his hand over to her knee and continued, “Actually, I am more like a mineralogist. I study rocks, gems, dirt, and gold.”
He picked up her boot and slipped her foot out of it. “There are a lot of things I like, and once I like them, I study them.”
Royce looked down at her other foot, and lifted that one too. Susanna had no choice but to let Royce have his way with her feet.
He looked down at the socks that covered her ankles. He pushed her skirt up slowly. Her socks covered the curve of her shin. The mystery of the socks ending was above her knees.
He looked up from her legs, as if asking for permission. Susanna looked at him expectantly.
He rolled down her socks and took them off, one at a time. He settled back with her feet in his lap and massaged them softly.
Susanna hadn’t said a word, and didn’t know what to say. Royce was touching her just right. She had only been self-conscious for a minute, before he started stroking all the right nerve endings in her foot. He was definitely a professional, and she smiled absently. “That feels nice.” Susanna’s voice came out husky.
He looked up mid-stroke and smiled. His face blushed and took on a deeper color of tan. He looked away and expelled mountains of air from his chest in a manly growl. He shook his shoulders before looking back at Susanna.
He was commanding all of her attention, while his touch numbed her body. Susanna struggled in the weird predicament of relaxation and excitement.
“So why aren’t you working today?” Susanna asked.
“Oh,” he said excitedly, “I am working.”
He finished rubbing one foot and looked up. “I have decided to seduce you.”
Susanna looked at him seriously and then laughed. It was more like a short, quick exhale of air, covered up by a grin.
“Thank you.” Susanna kept her mind to the truth. At least he was honest. He acted like he was bestowing a great mercy on her, and it flared her independent streak. “You don’t need to do me any favors.”
She wanted her feet out of his grasp. “You don’t need to do that anymore, either. My feet are getting sweaty.”
Susanna didn’t like the feeling of being barefoot in the middle of the road. She didn’t think she had ever taken her shoes off before in the prairie. She didn’t like the idea of not being mobile, just in case there was a snake in the field or some reason to run.
She leaned forward to put her shoes back on. She wiped off her foot and toes before replacing the sock, then rolled it carefully up her calf.
Susanna picked up her boot and shook it out before sliding her foot into it. She repeated the process before looking up at Royce.
He was looking at her in a bemused state. His eyes were dark on dark, and enlightenment would be hard to see. He had a knowing smile on his lips, and his teeth flashed.
Once Susanna was put back together, her confidence rose back up, and she smirked at Royce. “I’ve never taken my shoes off before in the middle of the field. It’s different.”
“Running into you the other night made me reconsider doing some business around here. I bought the goldmine in Deadwood,” Royce said, watching her reaction carefully.
“You bought Homestake Mine?” Royce had all of Susanna’s attention.
He nodded, and she checked to make sure. “You mean the Homestake mine, the largest goldmine in North America?”
“Yes.” Royce nodded. “I signed paperwork on it this morning.”
Susanna gulped as the information floated from her head down her throat. “What are you going to do with it?”
She knew the mine had been closed for three years. Gold prices kept dropping. Different corporations, universities, and research groups had been interested in the property, but it had remained boarded up and filling with water for years.
“I’m going to mine gold.” Royce smiled ruefully. “I don’t mind having stockpiles of gold. Do you?”
Susanna looked at him seriously. “The only thing I stockpile is land and livestock. It’s hard enough finding their balance, and making sure they survive in harmony. That is only a natural part of life. But you want to stockpile gold. Aren’t you scared it will get stolen? It sounds hard to protect.”
Susanna regarded him carefully. She was already aware of his wealth, but where was the scientist? He didn’t fit the stereotype of either landscape, or any landscape. He looked completely comfortable wearing a dark suit and holding a glass bottle of water in the middle of a dirt road.
The tractor starte
d up, and their attention was redirected to the field. George waved from the window before he rolled smoothly forward. He looked like he was enjoying himself, and waved again.
Susanna watched the tractor and thought to herself silently. She wasn’t used to people just showing up out of the blue and having plans for her. She wasn’t used to strangers at her house at all.
She looked back at Royce. He was asking her with his eyes to relax.
She smiled. “That’s nice of George to do the cutting for me.”
Royce’s eyes flashed. “Yes. This way, I can have you all to myself.”
Susanna took a tiny sip of water while he was talking. She sat back in her chair and calculated the proposition before her.
“So are you going to live by the goldmine?” Susanna was hoping for an easy cruise control in the conversation.
He shook his hand like it wasn’t important. “Yes, I will have a house somewhere. I’ll probably just have one built. ”
Royce started talking about himself.
“The mine will take up some time for about the next month. The set-up and planning always take a while, but once we enter the construction phase, I’ll be able to do other things.” He stopped and looked at Susanna.
She nodded slowly. “I am glad someone like you bought the mine. I’m nostalgic, and wanted it to remain a goldmine. I just couldn’t imagine it as anything else. Are you a scientist or an executive?”
Susanna smiled at him and felt the heat of his gaze burning her cheeks.
“Both. I study everything. Everything has a certain order it has to follow. I study it in every way I can. I see it in science, nature, corporations,” he shrugged for emphasis, “I even see it in sex. I can’t help it. I follow a certain order to make sure everything is as good as possible. But in answer to your question, yes, I am a scientist, and I love my microscope. I am also an executive and an heir, but I can assure you that everything gets my microscopic view.”
Susanna was dumbfounded to hear a man’s version of her own beliefs. She felt some of the haziness around Royce diminish, and she could see him more clearly. So far she liked what she saw, and heard. She re-gauged his confidence and arrogance to something he deserved, even if it was off the charts.
