A Cowboy for Lynne: Cameron Family Saga

by Shirley Larson

  “Seems to me I took care of myself,” I said.

  “That you did,” Jake said, “but don’t you ever go off alone to face some maniac like that again. You make sure I know what’s going on.”

  “Jake, relax. It’s over,” I told him. Would you believe? I got identical looks from Jake and my brother, that male you’d-better-listen-to-me look. I was too tired to argue with them. I’d taken care of myself living in New York for ten years, I could surely do it in Florida.

  But seated in Jake’s pickup, I started shaking. My teeth were chattering even though it was seventy-five degrees outside. Jake shrugged out of his jacket and put it over my shoulders. Everything seemed to have a crystal clarity to me, the green lights on Jake’s dash board, the coldness of my exposed thigh, the warmth of the leather seat, the fine dark hairs on Jake’s hands as he started up the motor and threw the engine in gear. As we pulled out of the hotel parking lot, the palm tree fronds moved with the breeze, as if gently waving us on. I hoped never to see that hotel room again.

  “You’re a fool, you know that, don’t you?” Jake said.

  “It was my fault he had Leslie. I didn’t think he was a violent man, but he said he had a knife on her and that he would cut her if I brought you.”

  With one hand he reached out and pulled me across the bench seat as close to him as I could get. “And you were willing to risk your life for Leslie’s?”

  “I knew he wouldn’t kill me. He wanted to dominate me and it’s hard to do that to a dead person.” I tried to laugh and merely ended up in another bout of shivering.

  “You risked your life to save my sister. I thought I loved you before. But what I felt for you an hour ago is nothing to what I feel for you now.”

  He said the words with such heartfelt emotion that an overwhelming wave of love for him swept over me. I was here, I was safe. I was loved.

  When he reached the driveway in front of his house, he shepherded me inside past his mother whom he put off with a terse, “I’ll explain in the morning,” and led me down the hall to his bedroom. Once inside the room, he released my arm. The room was immense, as was the bed covered with a dark brown coverlet. The headboard was a dark walnut, plain and square. The furniture was homemade and gorgeous, walnut with severe lines that brought out the beauty of the wood. I stood just inside, my back against the door, trying to take in all the details, hoping to gain some control of myself. Jake stood a few steps away from me, his face dark and beautiful. “Tell me what you want, Lynne. If you want me to leave you here alone, I will. If you want me to just hold you, I will.” I shuddered just a little and shook my head, trying to clear it. Jake mistook my head movement, thinking it was a no. He headed for the door behind me. I reached out my hand and grabbed hold of his shirt. “Don’t…go.” With a fierce urgency, I held onto him. “I need…life. I need…you.”

  I let his jacket fall off my shoulders to the floor. I started on his shirt buttons, working as fast as I could, ripping his shirt out of his pants, pulling it off him, until it got caught on the cuffs. Gently, he said, “Just a minute.” He undid the cuff links he wore and tossed them on the dresser. “Who wears cuff links these days,” I said, as I made my hands busy at his belt.

  “It was a special occasion,” he said, standing very still, letting me work on his belt and his zipper. His trousers fell down over his pristine boots. “You haven’t done this very often,” he said, his mouth doing that thing where he wants to smile but he’s controlling it.

  “With a man wearing damn cowboy boots, never.”

  “Help me,” he said. He sat down and offered me his boot.

  I grabbed the heel and pulled hard. It came off so fast I nearly lost my balance. I was a little more expert with the other boot. Jake stood up and stripped off his pants himself, leaving me to look at him in his briefs. I drank in the sight of him, his hard muscled body bare to me for the first time, his erection tenting his shorts. I grabbed the elastic and pulled his briefs down for him to step out of them.

  “There,” I said, straightening. “Much better.”

  “Now you,” he said in that low husky voice.

  After two tries, I got the side zipper of the dress down and stepped out of it. It had a built in bra, so I stood there in my thong.

  Before I could divest myself of the strip of fabric, Jake brought it down over my high heels. I kicked them off and stood naked before him.

  As I had done, Jake studied me in the soft light of his room. “Well worth the wait,” he breathed, and picked me up to carry me the few steps to his bed. I lay next to him, and we petted each other, there was no other word for it really. I ran my hand over his shoulders, over his chest, over his hard abdomen, and, carefully skirting his penis, ran my hands down his thigh.

  He did the same to me, except he took longer, particularly in the area of my breasts. He traced a finger around the bottom of their fullness, and let his touch wander up over the top, almost bypassing my nipple. Then he lowered his head and suckled me and I almost came up off the bed. The danger I’d been in heightened my senses, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. At my reaction, he doubled his efforts, using his tongue to lap me, suckling once again, hard, bringing the reaction in my womb to its fullest. Still sucking me, he put his hand on my mound and then slid his finger inside me to find me wet and swollen. He made a sound low in his throat of satisfaction and suckled me and rubbed my clitoris. I was wild with sensation and my body was alive with a burning, tingling that seemed to be on the edge of something. Then he inserted two fingers inside me, slowly, slowly rubbing me all the while he suckled me until the burning coalesced into an explosion I had never felt before. “Oh, Jake, Jake, is this what it feels like? I didn’t know…”

  “This is what it feels like, baby.” He kissed me and then sat up to reach for a condom he’d laid out on his stand. He rolled it on while I was still writhing, and then he entered me, and I cried out his name. Oh, I wanted this, I wanted more of him, more, more, more. I clutched at his shoulders, showing him what I wanted, that I wanted him deep inside me. He arched his back and cried out his pleasure and I came with him and then I came again and again.

  Reluctantly, Jake withdrew and got up off the bed to get rid of the condom in the nearby bathroom. He came back to lie down beside me and bring me into his body spoon fashion. “Not enough,” I said.

  “Wanton hussy,” he murmured in my ear. “Can you wait a bit?”

  “No,” I said. I rolled over and took his penis in my hand and began massaging it carefully, playing with the tip. He said, “Woman, you’re going to kill me.” But he was beginning to harden.

  “No,” I said, “I’m going to love you.” I took his tip into my mouth. I licked and licked until I felt him begin to harden. Then I went on with my massage, using both hands, bringing him to life. I didn’t think it would take very long for him to reach full capability, and I was right. Before he could reach for a condom, I brought him into me and plunged down on him. To feel the fullness of him inside me without a condom in between us was incredible. He made a slight protest. “Lynne.”

  “You said you wanted to marry me,” I said. By now, my moving my hips up and down was doing a better job of convincing him to stay where he was than my words.

  “I’m not sure I want you marching down the aisle nine months pregnant.”

  “We’ll get married right away…like tomorrow…or the next day. I’m not sure how soon my mother can put it together. But she’s pretty amazing…ah.”

  He’d gotten in a few moves of his own and because I was already so sensitized, I came in a glorious explosion. He soon followed. By now, I was exhausted enough to lie down on top of him. After a bit, he looked up at me. “Do you think,” he said, “we could possibly get a little sleep before we start the next round?”

  “I think that might be arranged.” I rolled off of him. This had almost been enough to take the taste of Richard out of my mouth. Jake rose and went into the bathroom to clean himself off. Then he cam
e back with a warm cloth to do the same for me. I watched his face while he cleansed me and there was such tenderness in it.

  “Tell me about this wedding,” he said, as he lay down beside me.

  “It has to be at my mother’s house. It’s tradition. All her children have been married there. We’re a prominent family in Rochester and anything we do draws photographers. Keeping the wedding at the mansion cuts down on the possibility of intrusion by paparazzi. Your family can fly up for the wedding.”

  “And when is this wedding going to be?” His finger had found my breast and was tracing around it.

  “Let’s see. This is Saturday. How about…next Sunday?”

  “Are you sure your mother can organize everything that quickly?

  “My brother’s wives will help.”

  At first it seemed as if it would be impossible. I had to inform Max and the theater board that I would be out of town for a week. Max said he would explain and when he told the other members the reason for my absence, he was sure they would understand.

  I flew back to Rochester with Leslie the next day. I’d chosen Leslie as my bridesmaid and Natalie as my maid of honor.

  It was the first day in November when we got off the plane, and Rochester had saved its cloudiest, coldest day for us. At least that’s the way it seemed to me after being in Florida. Leslie didn’t feel the cold. She was over the moon to think her idol had chosen her to stand up at the wedding.

  Justin met us at the airport with the limo. Leslie climbed into the back seat with her eyes even wider, which I didn’t think was possible.

  “Is this what Broadway stars ride around in?” Leslie asked.

  “No,” I said dryly. “This is what CEO’s of a renovation company ride around in.”

  Mother had the house all decorated for Thanksgiving. Best of all there was a roaring fire in the fireplace. Seeing the house through Leslie’s eyes reminded me just how beautiful it was with its soaring twin stair cases and its wonderful library with the fireplace and the acres and acres of books.

  Mother was the perfect hostess. I thought I saw a few new wrinkles around her eyes, but other than that she was the same composed woman, ready for anything her siblings could throw at her. I introduced her to Leslie, who sparkled at her in true Leslie fashion and said, “I’m so happy to meet you, Mrs. Cameron. What a lovely home you have.”

  “Thank you, my child. I hope you will be very comfortable here.”

  Natalie was next to greet my future sister in law. “I hear you live on a ranch with horses. Do you ride?”

  “Sure. Everybody rides in my family.”

  “I’d love to ride a horse,” Natalie said wistfully.

  “You’ll have to come down and visit us.” Impulsively Leslie hugged her. “We’d be so happy to have you.”

  The next few days were a whirlwind of contacting a caterer, first things first, must see to the food, and getting our dresses for the wedding. Natalie and Leslie were well on their way to being fast friends by the time we got to the fittings.

  And then it was time. Time for me to walk down the left stairs with Leslie behind me and Natalie descending on the right hand side. Leslie’s dress was a deep blue that brought out her brown eyes and her black hair. Natalie’s dress was a sea green to compliment her red hair, now grown out to shoulder length. Both the girls wore high heels that made them look beautiful beyond their years.

  I had chosen a simple white silk dress that was strapless. The bodice was covered with pearls and sparkling brilliants. My bouquet was one simple white rose, the same as the girls’.

  We walked together into the library where I had stood so many other times to watch my brothers marry. Now it was my turn and when I saw Jake, I nearly cried, I was so filled with emotion. He wore a black suit with the v insets at the shoulder that proclaimed his relationship to the West. His hair was slicked back and very straight and his tanned face was as chiseled and as beautiful as ever. I could not believe that this man with a thousand facets to his personality would be the man I’d call husband. And the look on his face when he saw me. There was everything in that look, love, pride, and a fierce determination to protect. I went to stand beside him, and though it was too soon to do so, I handed off my bouquet to Leslie and reached down to collect Jake’s hand to hold in my own. I needed to touch him, to make sure that he was real, that I was real.

  We said our vows, we exchanged rings that we’d picked out together just the day before. They were heavy silver rings that went with the silver and turquoise ring Jake had given me as an engagement ring. We hadn’t gone with the traditional gold, because I wanted rings that spoke to his heritage.

  Afterward, we were surrounded by his family and mine. My family took turns hugging Jake, his family descended on me. Gabe, Leslie, Laura, and Elizabeth. Dorian was still in Nigeria. I was sorry he couldn’t come.

  Then it was my family’s turn. Anne, Liz and Susan all hugged me tightly and said how glad they were that I’d found such a wonderful man. My brothers Alex and Justin whispered in my ear, “Good job, sis, and atta girl, baby sister.”

  Hunter waited until everyone had greeted me and then he came to envelope me in his arms. “Every happiness, Lynne. You deserve it.”

  After the wedding and the hugs, there was of course, the food. Amelia had outdone herself. There was the usual roast beef to be cut and all the trimmings for that meal, but from somewhere, Mother had found someone to make some authentic cowboy chili. When the lid was pulled off the chili pot, Elizabeth and all of Jake’s family laughed and clapped their hands in appreciation.

  They were all busy with their food, but Jake looked at me, and I looked at him and without a word to anyone we made a mad dash up those stairs I’d come so sedately down only moments ago.

  Inside Amelia’s luxurious bedroom, I stripped off my bridal gown and he his fine western suit. We fell into bed together and without any foreplay, I simply pulled him on top of me and into me. I gave a deep sigh of contentment. This was what I had been waiting for all my life. This was what life was about…a man and a woman joined together…loving each other. And eventually, children.

  As if Jake understood he made love to me slowly, tenderly, trying to make up for the lack of loving beforehand. I allowed him complete access to my body. My neck, my arms, my breasts were his to taste and to love.

  When he finally brought me to the blistering climax that I now knew so well, we came down together in each other’s arms.

  “We need to get dressed,” I said.

  “Why?” He pulled me on top of him and covered both my breasts with his hands.

  “Because Hunter has made reservations for us to fly to his island place in St. John. It’s traditional for all the Camerons to spend their honeymoon there. It’s a completely secluded place next to the ocean.”

  “I’d like to stay here for just a little bit…”

  “We can walk around without any clothes on…all week if we like.”

  He scrambled out from under me and yanked on his briefs. “We’re burning daylight, wife. Let’s get out of here.”

  “My sentiments exactly,” I said.

  Epilogue

  On opening night of Oklahoma, the little Florida town of Caramel buzzed with excitement. It would be the first time in over forty years that the old theater would host a live performance. If the town was buzzing, inside the theater, an electric current of emotion sizzled through every cast member. I’d cast a young man from Orlando as Curly. His voice was to die for and his swagger was just right. I’d cast Gabe as Will Parker, one half of the comic relief couple. Of course, Leslie was to play the lead feminine role of Laurey.

  She would steal the show. Her fresh look, her gorgeous voice, her complete rightness for the part blew all her competition away and saved me from any suggestion of currying favor with the family I’d married into.

  The show began with Curly breaking into “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.” David Murchison sang the song masterfully and had the audience in t
he palm of his hand. But when Leslie came on stage, the audience burst into spontaneous applause. She was the hometown girl everybody loved. She sang all her songs like an angel come down from heaven, no sign of strain in her voice at all. To put the frosting on the cake, she danced the part of Laurey in the ballet sequence. I had no doubt that Leslie was on her way.

  As luck would have it, there was a talent scout in the audience. He offered to pay Leslie’s way to an audition in New York City.

  “You have to let her go, Jake,” I told him as we stood under the theater marquee after the show while Leslie, along with the rest of the cast, received handshakes and hugs from the audience members. “She’s too talented. You hold her back and she’ll be an unhappy, discontented woman the rest of her life.”

  “How can I protect her?”

  “You can’t. You just have to hope that she will have the good sense not to get into a situation like I did with Richard.” I pulled him close. “We’ll instruct her together, you and I, give her some ground rules.”

  “Maybe I’ll give her some lessons in self-defense.”

  “That’s a good idea, no matter what Leslie does with her life. She’s a beautiful woman, Jake.”

  “You have to help me,” he said, putting an arm around my waist and pulling me into him.

  “I think I can manage that.”

  “You know what? I haven’t properly congratulated you. You pulled off this production without a hitch, on a shoestring budget with volunteer actors pulled from the community.”

  “I did, didn’t I? Do I get a congratulatory kiss?”

  In answer, Jake pulled me into his arms and gave me a full blown kiss. And so here, under the marquee of this benevolent old theater where we had once stood drenched in rain and shared a real kiss for the first time, we came full circle, husband and wife, partners facing the future together.

  The Cherubs

  “What a wonderful show. Wasn’t it great to see the auditorium filled with people, hear the music, see the lights?” Sarah sighed. “Curly was so handsome.”