RED HOT RANCH

by Swale, Lizzie

  Tony nodded. He was a good man and Jackson enjoyed his company. It was rare that Jackson enjoyed anyone’s company, but Tony was an exception. He never let his mouth run to anyone, and Jackson trusted him with his life.

  “Tony, where do you think I should look to find a good girl?” Jackson asked.

  Jackson was good looking, and he knew it. With his long blonde hair and his baby blue eyes there weren’t many women in the world that wouldn’t turn their head to watch him pass, even in rural Iowa with all the pomp given to decorum and modesty.

  “Well,” Tony started, looking a little bemused by Jackson’s question. “I guess the first place I’d suggest is the Lucky Ladies. I mean, we’ve been having a lot of luck with them. They aren’t stuck up, but aren’t super slutty either. And the woman running them, Elizabeth, is really easy to work with. They don’t cause any trouble and keep to themselves. Not just that, but if you get one of them to fall for you, well, then you’d have a college educated lady. It might be nice to have someone around who is a little more learned is all.”

  Jackson nodded.

  “You know, I was thinking about that,” Jackson said. “The kind of woman I’m looking for should be able to hang out at the club, but I’d never ask her to live amongst the debauchery that happens here. I’d probably have to move out of the club house.”

  Tony nodded. Just about everyone knew that Jackson wanted to get out of the clubhouse. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to live among his brothers anymore, he wanted to give them some space to relax. It would probably be a few years before people got used to his leadership style. Jackson wanted people to be comfortable, he wanted people to get along with each other.

  “So, I just call up this Elizabeth and give her my wish list? And how exactly is this different from a brothel?”

  “Well, boss…” Tony stammered.

  “Don’t beat around this bush Tony, you need to be able to answer me honestly.”

  “You don’t pay ‘em. Well not in money anyway.” He replied with a little smirk.

  That broke the tension. Jackson laughed and slapped Tony on the back.

  It was another one of the things that the Rough Riders were having to get used to. The man that Jackson had replaced had really drilled into people that they didn’t question him. Jackson wasn’t that way at all. He was always looking for information from people, and appreciated it when his authority was challenged with new ideas. He wasn’t the old way, he was the new way. And maybe that meant that he just needed to get gone from the clubhouse in order to allow things to settle a little down a little bit. The old way was still strong, and Jackson thought that if he made himself scarce maybe people would start to forget there was a boss at all.

  That’s the kind of motorcycle club that Jackson wanted: a club without a real leader, a group held together by its own accord. It might end up being the end of the Rough Riders, but that didn’t mean that Jackson wasn’t going to see it through. He wanted to see his dream take life, wanted to see the Rough Riders go in a different direction. The direction could be something that let the club live forever in its own little microcosm.

  “Jackson. Jackson. You’re off in thought again.”

  “I’m sorry, Tony,” Jackson said. “I was. You know how I am sometimes. I got lost thinking about some hot tits with a brain attached.”

  Tony laughed. “Seriously boss? There was no way you were that deep in thought about a gash.”

  “Ya, you got me. Do you think it’s a good idea to have a club that’s held together by its members, or do you want a club where the guy running it holds it together through fear and money? Because at some point, Tony, and we both know this, someone is going to sell out.”

  “Loyalty is bought cheapest the second time. As you like to say.”

  Jackson nodded.

  “Well, would you get a hold of this Elizabeth woman for me?”

  “What’s on your wish list?”

  “You heard me. Nice tits and a brain. End of list.”

  “That shouldn’t be too difficult, Boss.” Tony stood up, clapped his hand on Jackson’s shoulder as he walked back inside.

  Once again Jackson was left with his own thoughts as he sat alone on the porch. He hoped that he was making the right decisions. As much as he detested the old way, it didn’t mean he didn’t love the Rough Riders with all his heart. Because he really did. When he’d been a nobody, a loser kid, orphaned and on the streets of Ames, they’d taken him in. They’d fed him. And they hadn’t ever anticipated anything in return. The “Old Man,” as he’d been called, who’d ran it then had only wanted to take care of him. It wasn’t exactly a loving environment, but it gave him all sorts of unconventional life skills.

  The Old Man had hated Ames and the people who attended the University. He claimed that was the reason he took Jackson in – to spite them. “All those rich people, I used to watch them walk past you on the street, saw how they turned their nose up at you. I hated it. That’s when I knew I had to do something real about it.”

  And so, Jackson had found a home, and in the most unlikely of places. And as he thought back on it he knew how lucky he was to be in charge now, even if his head hung heavy with the crown.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Elizabeth had gotten used to fielding texts from the Rough Riders. Elizabeth knew that they valued her discretion. She’d get texts out of the blue from numbers she didn’t know. At first it had been really strange. They always used her name. Always. And they were always short and to the point. It wasn’t at all intrusive, and that was something that Elizabeth appreciated.

  Most of the young men at the college were so disrespectful, any kind of discretion was amazing to her. She was starting to get the hang of it, and justified her relationship with the club by the fact that no money ever exchanged hands. She wasn’t a Madam. It takes two to tango, was her new mantra, and her girls were always interested in dancing.

  It always excited Elizabeth to speak with the Rough Riders who hit her up. They were respectful and most of them just looking to get laid, but there had been a few short term relationships that had bloomed from her match making.

  It wasn’t hard to ferret out when some of the Ladies were starting to get big heads about things. And it also wasn’t hard to rein the girls back in, simply uttering threats of cutting of the sorority/MC arrangement was enough to keep them in line. The biggest rule, well after keeping quiet about everything, was that they were forbidden to use the Rough Riders as muscle.

  And things really had sparked off. It was easy to discount it as the way of the world when men and women spend time together, but Elizabeth knew that deep down all of the Lucky Ladies and the Rough Riders knew that they were part of something special.

  Elizabeth smiled as she walked out on the university’s big lawn for privacy, finding a spot far away from people. She knew how much Jackson’s guys loved her sorority sisters. And although she’d yet to meet the new President, Jackson, himself, the feedback her sisters were getting from their individual Rough Riders could leave no doubt that he was different.

  The phone range once.

  “Hey, this is Tony,” the voice on the other end said. “I was just hitting you up to let you know that Jackson is looking for someone to be with beyond just, well, you know …”

  Elizabeth smiled. So he was different. “Do you mean that Jackson wants to engage with someone romantically, in the literal sense of the word? Because that could be possible, if that’s what he’s looking for,” she said.

  “Someone pretty. And smart. You know, can hold a conversation and suck a good cock” Tony said. “Shit, sorry. It’s hard to switch out of club lingo. My apologies”

  Elizabeth wasn’t shocked by his language. She looked around her to make sure none of her peers had, for whatever reasons, wandered out onto the grass and could hear her. After making sure she was alone, she resumed her conversation.

  “I do get it, Tony.” Elizabeth said. “Let me talk to someone I have in mind and
get back to you? How does that sound?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Tony said. “And sorry about the language again. I mean it.”

  “Don’t give it a second thought.”

  Elizabeth said goodbye and disconnected the call. She wondered what had gotten into Jackson, in that he wanted to settle down with someone.

  Which was fine by Elizabeth, even though it went against her advice to her pledges. She told the Lucky Ladies time and again not to get attached to anyone. If they didn’t listen it was because they didn’t want to, and Elizabeth wasn’t going to begrudge anyone making their own mistakes. That was an important part of growing up, and ultimately that was what the Lucky Ladies was all about—helping young women grow up so that they could face, and embrace, the future in ways that were most beneficial to them.

  As Elizabeth left the university she couldn’t help but think about the person she’d already picked out in her mind for Jackson. Samantha was a great choice. She was one of those girls who had been full of angst as a teenager—maybe a goth kid at some point—but now she was really maturing. Samantha wasn’t like the rest of the Lucky Ladies. She had been through the system and survived, and now thrived.

  Most of the sorority girls were going to go on to live semi-normal lives in cubicles somewhere. But not Samantha, she wasn’t done being wild by a long shot. And, she would look at Jackson as an equal. Samantha would be able to understand Jackson in ways that the others couldn’t. She knew there would be girls that weren’t very happy with her decision, but she knew it was the right call.

  CHAPTER THREE

  “Do you really think he’ll like me?”

  Samantha wasn’t so sure that Jackson would find her interesting.

  It was always surprising to Elizabeth how some of the most beautiful and confident women she knew seemed to wilt when it came to self-worth.

  Since her conversation with Tony, Elizabeth followed up with a call to Jackson. There had to be more to his wish list and she wanted to get the info directly from the source. She could hear in his voice, and words, that he was looking for a pretty girl with substance. He was also very clear that he wouldn’t waste his time with anyone who didn’t pique his interest right away. So, Elizabeth knew that she had her work cut out for her.

  It was fall, and the sun dipped down until it was a dark red crescent. Where Elizabeth came from, there were sometimes sun dogs that would accompany the sunsets, but over the Midwest there was no such thing—although there were sometimes Northern Lights, which seemed to be a fair trade-off.

  “I’m not sure,” Samantha said. “I mean, this Jackson guy. He’s important. Even powerful! That’s not something that I’m used to at all.”

  Samantha was a total knock out—a blonde bomb shell. She was the kind of girl that men drooled over as they walked past on the street. It wasn’t like Jackson was going to have any problem finding something interesting about her physically. And beyond that Samantha was one of those girls that brooded a lot and was all mysterious. Elizabeth had heard a little bit about Jackson through the rumor mill and knew that he was the kind of person that would really appreciate someone with a few more layers than one. Samantha was one of those girls.

  “Listen,” Elizabeth said. “Jackson is going to find you interesting because you are interesting, Sometimes I just want to shake you! You’re so, gorgeous, and you’re also smart, and you’re deep! You’re the kind of thing that Jackson is looking for. And you know what, you should ask yourself if Jackson is the kind of thing that you’re looking for. Because at the same time he’s assessing you, you’ll be assessing him. And if you really want to be fair to yourself and him, you’ll go into it with both eyes open, really giving this an honest opportunity to go wherever it wants to.”

  Samantha didn’t look convinced. “I’ll do it,” Samantha said hesitantly as she watched the sun set outside of the window in the distance.

  Elizabeth turned and ran down the stairs two at time to call Tony.

  “It’s on. Your boy has a date with Samantha. She’s free this weekend. Your boy has to step up to the plate and make the arrangements.” Elizabeth gave Tony Samantha’s number.

  And with that it was out of her hands. If Jackson didn’t want to reach out, then maybe Samantha would just miss out on the entire thing. Which would be a shame. This could be exactly what Samantha needed to shed that layer of insecurity.

  Elizabeth heard a few of the Lucky Ladies coming through the front door and collected herself. She couldn’t get tunnel vision over this one thing, it just wasn’t good leadership if she did. There were plenty of other Lucky Ladies who would need her attention, and maybe even need her to set them up with some Rough Riders. When the handful of Lucky Ladies finally stumbled through the front door she smiled, beaming at them like a proud mother.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “You’ve talked with her?” Tony asked Jackson. “Samantha, that is.”

  Jackson nodded.

  “Sure have,” he said. Not divulging the fact that the two had already spent several hours talking on the phone.

  “Well that’s great, then,” Tony said. “I think things will go decently, at least. You’ll probably get a roll in the hay out of it, if nothing else.”

  They were on the club house porch again, this time feet up on the railing as they both sipped craft beer. In the days gone by, long ago, when they’d both been young and dumb, they’d have been sucking down suds like they were on their final days of spring break. That was a long time ago now.

  “Listen, while I’m out with Samantha I don’t want to be bothered with club stuff. I hereby appoint you as my right-hand man and you’ll be in charge. Sound like a plan?”

  Jackson wasn’t sure how Tony was going to take this order. Tony wasn’t the kind of guy who wanted be in charge, and as far as Jackson was concerned that made him even better material for leadership; combined with the fact that Tony wasn’t the kind of guy who passed the buck. He wasn’t the kind of guy that let his brothers get the shaft, and he never shirked his duty to the club.

  “You know,” Tony said. “I used to wonder why in the world the Rough Riders didn’t have a number two from the very start. Maybe it’s because I like to watch Star Trek when I’m not on my bike, but it does seem to make a lot of sense. Almost all other clubs do something similar.”

  “I’ll tell the rest of the Rough Riders at the next meeting,” Jackson said. “I think everyone will be all right with it. I mean, in the past, you and I both know, that it has caused problems when the head guy is away and suddenly he’s needed, or he’s tied up with something and there is a decision to be made. Remember when the Old Man went away to jail for a few months, how everyone just kind of stood around waiting for orders, as if he was going to be able to communicate with us from solitary or something.”

  Tony nodded. The memory, although years ago, was one that all the Rough Riders shared. It had been a time of great upheaval, when the law had really been after them. Now that the Old Man was dead, the law didn’t seem all that interested in them. It was something they had all noticed, and something that had given them all pause. How many times had they been shaken down just because the Old Man was running things?

  It was a question that Jackson never expected to get the answer to. But he knew deep down if they had had a rotating head of the club for a while things would have been easier. It’s hard for a motorcycle club to make money and do what it needs to do day in and day out if the heat is on, and especially when the heat knows that there is just one guy making all of the decisions. Now, with Tony as a second in command, Jackson felt a lot better about the future of the Rough Riders.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Samantha was having some real doubts about her date with Jackson. She was surprised at how easily they could talk for hours on the phone, but that didn’t help soothe her anxieties. She was excited, but didn’t want to let her expectations get the best of her.

  “Chemistry is important,” Elizabeth had reminded her. “Just b
e open to what may be and what may not be.”

  Elizabeth was always good for advice and it was second nature for her to give Samantha the push she needed.

  “How are you doing?”

  “About the same,” Samantha said. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but seriously, I just don’t want to let anyone down. Including myself. And I know that sounds silly considering this is just a date and it’s not like anything has to come of it or happen afterward—I just … I don’t know.”

  “Don’t worry!” Elizabeth said cheerfully. “You are a little worry wart about things. Seriously, this isn’t something that should be consuming your thoughts. Just go have fun!”

  And before Samantha could think of something else to get anxious about Elizabeth gathered up Sam’s handbag and shooed her out of the room.

  “Change of plans. You’re not driving. I’ll drop you off at the restaurant.”

  “But how will I get back?”

  “Are you serious? Ames is so small you could walk back if you really needed,” Elizabeth said. “And besides, it’s not like he won’t want to give you a ride home on his bike.”

  Samantha nodded, feeling a little bit better about the entire thing. Because Elizabeth was right, she really did have all the power. If she wanted, they could probably head back to Jackson’s place after the date and fool around. Or they could come back to the sorority house to hang out.

  As they pulled up to the pub Elizabeth squeezed Samantha’s hand.

  “Good luck,” Elizabeth said. “And have fun!”

  Samantha didn’t reply, but she did squeeze Elizabeth’s hand back. When she turned to walk into the restaurant she saw a gorgeous rough looking man with long blonde hair on the patio. That’s when her palms got sweaty. It was hot out, so Samantha was glad for that, she’d have an excuse for her clammy hands.

  Instead of walking through the restaurant Samantha entered through the patio’s small gate. Jackson saw her right away and smiled a big, perfect smile. He looked great, his hair looked “dirty,” in that it was dark, in some places looking as if it was almost brown. He had broad shoulders and blue eyes. His plaid shirt was tight in the arms, subtly showing off his biceps. Samantha could tell that Jackson worked out a fair amount in his spare time. Surprisingly, it wasn’t something that put her off, like it usually did.