by Jackie Anton
“Cutter, my opinion doesn’t matter, if it ever did. I am no longer in your employ, so it’s not my place to approve or disapprove of how you handle the ranch business. I just think your horses and cattle will appreciate your efforts, and weather the interminable drought much better. But isn’t this overkill, even for you? What are you going to do with all that stored hay? It could just combust, taking the other buildings with it.”
“I don’t plan to store it any length of time. The Rocking R isn’t the only outfit in the area trying to outlast the drought. I plan on reselling it to anyone who wants it. What I would like to do this afternoon is talk to a few small farmers that are in danger of going under. It occurred to me that while here I could find a supply of corn and oats in addition to the hay. Our local crops have just withered in the fields, and aren’t good for much but fuel for spreading wildfires. Even if the drought ends soon it is going to take a while for things to get back to normal.”
They spent the afternoon talking to farmers near the hay fields under negotiations. Cutter made deals to lease three farms and buy two, letting the families that were involved stay in their homes as caretakers. He agreed to pay them to farm the land for him. On the way back home Lexie’s economical nature got the better of her.
“Cutter, this is really getting complicated. Do you have a good corporate attorney on retainer who will be able to guide you through this project? This has gone way beyond leasing of the hay fields that I had envisioned.”
“The Rocking R still retains the same attorneys my dad used for ranch business. Their advice was not to tackle it, but they are old-school in a lot of ways, and still think I’m just a dumb cowpuncher that doesn’t know how to do anything else. I haven’t connected with anyone here, yet.” He withheld the information about his personal lawyer, and the corporate law firm in Dallas that he had on retainers.
“You need to make a connection before Monday. You know Williams will have a lawyer in tow on his end. Do you trust me, Cutter?”
“With my life, darlin’.”
“Okay, two things. One, quit with the endearment crap; this is business. We are discussing your money, not putting your life in my hands. Two, do you trust me with your money?”
“With every penny, Lex.”
It was odd, but the shortening of her familiar nickname had annoyed her at first, however, lately she found that she missed the sound of it. Not another soul on this earth called her Lex. She banished the retrospective thoughts from her mind when Linda Potter answered the call she had just placed through her phone. “I hate to disturb you on a weekend, Mrs. Potter, but it is kind of urgent that I speak with Mr. Potter.”
Cutter continued to drive while listening to one side of the conversation. She had the ear-buds on, making him privileged to only her questions or responses. He remembered meeting her friend Melinda at the hospital in Amarillo; Potter was her last name.
“No. I didn’t make it today. Mr. Ross showed up unexpectedly. I will run up after church in the morning. Right, he’s that Mr. Ross. It seems he is bent on leasing or buying half the farms in this part of Ohio, and I thought that your husband might have a bright young attorney on staff that would be able to handle complex business negotiations including real estate deals. Thanks, I’ll pass along the invitation.” She disconnected, then turned to Cutter.
“You have another dinner invitation. Mr. Potter is visiting Mel, and will probably return my call later this evening. I will give him your cell number so that you can discuss options, and if you are comfortable with his firm, you can hire them to guide you through the Ohio laws governing the kind of transactions you have in mind.”
They’d only just parked in the drive when Grandma Jane opened the front door, letting Skip escape. “About time you two got back! I thought you might have eloped or something.”
“Gram, for God's sake! This was a business trip." Lexie turned her attention to her exuberant dog. “Okay, Skip, go get your leash.”
Jane hooked the leash to the excited dog’s collar when he bounded back onto the front stoop, but she couldn't resist getting in another dig. “Yeah, right. Monkey business. Dinner will be ready in an hour. Don’t dawdle.”
Lexie bit her lip and settled for rolling her eyes in exasperation as she and her two companions walked toward the small park at the end of the street. Cutter appeared to take her grandmother’s comments with more grace, just chuckling at her. Less than a block away from home and her buttinsky grandmother, musical tones announced an incoming call.
“Thanks for returning my call so quickly. How is Mel today? That’s excellent! I was really worried about her. Around ten or ten-thirty, it depends on how windy the priest is in the morning. Sure. He’s right here.”
Lexie handed the phone and ear-buds to Cutter, and took off playing with her dog, giving him privacy. It sounded like Mel was on the mend from Lexie’s brief conversation with her friend’s father. The loss of the baby that she hadn’t even known about until she’d miscarried had sent her into another bout of depression. That unfortunate turn of events really stoked Benson’s quest for vengeance.
Cutter caught up with her and Skip. They spent nearly an hour wandering around the park before returning for the evening meal.
Dinner went off without a hitch or any more kibitzing from either of her outspoken elders. And arrangements were made to meet at the house at nine thirty the next morning. She was to make introductions at the hospital and visit with Mel while her father and Cutter went off to conduct business.
After he left for the evening, Lexie settled in to work. She was way behind with her online assignment. She’d been frustrated at the time, but with the recent demands on her time, she was relieved that her temp assignment had ended the prior week. The funds the job had provided helped to pay for her online classes, but it had curtailed the ability to really study the material. She was beginning to doubt she would ever pass her CPA exam at the rate she was going. It was nearly four the following morning when she could no longer keep her eyes open. Her head had barely dented her pillow when Gram’s voice called up the stairs to jolt her back to consciousness.
“Lexie, your handsome cowboy just pulled in the drive.”
“Give him some coffee and a couple of muffins.” How could she have overslept? She was sure she had set her alarm. Okay. Just concentrate on basics — shower cap, a quick shower, brush teeth, a little make up, blue pullover. “Damn!” Pull arms back out of the sweater, and apply the forgotten deodorant, arms back in sleeves. She brushed hair, tied it back with black scrunchie, slipped into her black pumps, picked up her black shoulder bag, and went downstairs for a much-needed cup of strong coffee to jumpstart her day. Halfway between her room and the stairs, a draft on her legs caught her attention. Oh, my God! I am really sorry I missed Mass this morning. Please don’t let this be an omen of how this day is going to unfold, she prayed silently to the Lord as she hurried back to her room and kicked off her pumps. After she slipped on the black slacks she’d forgotten and stepped back into her shoes once more, Lexie took the time to check out her reflection in the full-length mirror mounted on the inside of her closet door. Satisfied that she hadn’t forgotten anything else, she made the second attempt at descending to the main floor. Just the thought of how she almost made her entry caused an unwelcome heat to rise from her feet to the top of her head. Lexie likened herself to an old fashioned thermometer with the mercury rising. Visions of everyone’s reaction, and the humiliation of showing up to greet Cutter without her slacks, had her face glowing with a monster blush. She descended the stairs more slowly than her grandmother usually did, in the hopes the slow pace would give her a chance to regain her wits.
14
Composure regained, and her professional woman guise back in place slightly less than two hours after the near-miss with a slack-less breakfast appearance, Lexie introduced Cutter Ross to Mel’s dad.
“Mel, I think you already met Cutter.”
“Yes, hello again, Mr. Ross. It
seems to me that the last time we met was in another hospital.”
“I remember our first meeting very well.”
“Whatever happened to Mrs. Ross?”
“Unfortunately, she was just the product of a paperwork snafu.”
Lexie hadn’t expected Mel to bring up the Mrs. Ross debacle in front of her father. Once the men had adjourned to Potter’s law offices Mel started with the inevitable forty rapid-fire questions.
“What is he doing here, Lexie?”
“I think he’s trying to stake a claim on a large portion of Ohio farmland.” Her answer was a little flippant, but she didn’t feel comfortable talking about Cutter’s business dealings with anyone.
“Is that the only thing he’s is here to stake a claim on?”
“I can’t imagine why else he would travel here from Texas.”
“Yeah, well, you should see the way he looks at you when he thinks you aren’t aware. I would sell my soul and give up my inheritance to have a man look at me that way.”
“Oh, I think that you have had the look you just vividly described. I remember at the time thinking, ‘turn around Mel, there is Mr. Right’, but you were otherwise occupied and oblivious.”
“Who?”
“The day you get released from here. I will tell you. How you deal with the situation is up to you, but you need to be stronger, and get back to your old self.”
“Well…Don’t let your Mr. Right get away by hiding under your independent, self-sufficient woman-of-the-business-world mask, Lexie. He didn’t think twice about giving you his name when it counted. There must have been some connection there before that. He just doesn’t strike me as the type to give just any good-looking woman his name to get her admitted to a hospital.”
Before she could respond, Mrs. Potter entered the room. Lexie sighed as if relieved of a crushing load when Mel dropped the subject. But what she had said kept playing in Lexie’s mind. She still didn’t remember what had happened after he deposited her near the Escalade; she vaguely remembered losing her phone in the mud, and two cowboys rescuing the newborn calf, but then nothing until she awoke in the hospital. She figured she might never fully remember the interim.
Mel’s familiar complaints about hospital fare struck a chord, and interrupted her side trip down memory lane. “Mrs. Potter, is Mel’s diet restricted?”
“No. She can eat pretty much anything. Why?”
“I brought her something I know she likes, but I wanted to ask first.”
Lexie withdrew a small container from her shoulder bag, handing it to Mel. She took the lid off smiling and rolling her eyes. She quickly stashed the container of blueberry muffins under her bed sheet when her Mom questioned the contents.
In her best imitation of a little girl Mel, declared, “MINE!” Her mother laughed so hard tears spilled over.
“Well, gee, Mom. You don’t have to cry about it. I guess I could let you have one.”
Lexie made the trip down to the lobby to give Mel and her mother some time alone. She thumbed through the unseen pages of a nameless magazine while she waited for the universe to issue its next twist in her life. Mel was right; there had been some connection there the very first time she had seen him appear out of a downpour like a wraith. Just the sound of his voice had elicited chills. At the time, she’d shrugged it off as her soaked condition and fogging mind. That initial meeting aside, she found herself drawn to him, and when he had rescued her a once again, after Mel had evicted her, the attraction had grown.
Lexie lost track of time searching the archives of her memory banks for clues. She and Cutter really weren’t the least bit compatible. Grandma always told her that opposites attract, but they don’t last. Mom held the opposite view, and claimed it sure had been great while it lasted. Mom acted like Grandma’s point of view was a personal dig at her, and Lexie’s long dead father. She wondered if her grandmother’s viewpoint was because her grandparents had been at odds most of the time, like she and the boss of the Rocking R. As if she had conjured him up, Cutter arrived with Mr. Benson Potter.
She ended up sharing reheated beef barley soup and roast beef sandwiches with him at their small kitchen table. Once they’d left the hospital, he offered to buy her another meal out, but when she refused, he gave her that “I hate to eat alone” line. They had the place to themselves, with the exception of one happy dog parked at her feet, wearing a hopeful expression as she sliced the roast for their sandwiches. Skip knew Lexie was good for a couple of handouts of the mouthwatering meat that beat the heck out of the dry food in his bowl. Once she was seated at the table, Skip laid down, but kept an eye peeled for food that periodically fell from the table; his mistress was particularly prone to dropping food more often than his other house mates.
Cutter frowned, and Lexie took it as a sign of disapproval. “Haven’t you ever had a dog?”
“When I was a kid, but he wasn’t allowed in the house.”
“Why not?”
“Maria’s mom was our cook and housekeeper back then, and she pitched a fit about dirty animals in her kitchen, or dirtying up the house. She claimed to have enough to do, cleaning up after Dad and his two unruly sons.”
“Were you unruly, Cutter?”
He just grinned, raising one dark brow for emphasis. She made the comment that at least they had that much in common. While Cutter devoured the slice of apple pie, Lexie cleaned up and loaded the dishwasher. Skip trotted down to the landing to return with his leash dangling from his mouth.
Cutter empathized with the hopeful fleabag hopping up and down, his tail wagging like mad, all for a little attention from the center of his world.
“I think Skip wants to go out for a walk. Would you mind taking him out back while I slip into a pair of jeans?”
He wasn’t at all sure that the dog would go with him, but the poor guy must have been home alone for quite a while, and was in desperate need of relief; Skip rocketed through the door as soon as it was opened. The dog dropped the leash just outside the door and continued to make record time to a small square of gravel at the rear of the cyclone-fenced yard, where he took care of business. That necessity taken care of, the canine wonder returned to pick up his leash.
“How are you guys getting along?”
“I think he was ready to bust a gut. He must have been confined in the house alone all day.”
“I was up until the wee hours of the morning working on my online prep course for my CPA exam, and overslept. I usually take him out in the morning, but you were already here, and I was not functioning very well yet. I forgot to remind Gram to let him out.”
They walked to the end of the street, turned left, and kept walking. Skip stopped occasionally to christen a worthy tree or fire hydrant. Cutter was amazed by how green the grass was, and the abundance of colorful shrubs and flowers this late in the year. It was sure a different universe than the one he lived in.
“What kind of dog did you have, Cutter?”
He was lost in comparing the pros and cons of the worlds they each grew up in. It took him a moment to recall what was fast becoming ancient history. “He was a mutt. I guess he’d been some kind of a hound mix. Less than half the size of this guy.”
“Mutts and half-breeds are some of the best dogs. What did you call him?”
“Red Baron.”
“I’ll bet he looked like Snoopy, right?”
He just nodded his head in reply, and looked as if he expected a rebuke.
“That’s great! It shows a lot of imagination. Most kids would have tagged the puppy Snoopy. Did you have him a long time?”
“No. Less than two years, I think. I was only about seven or eight at the time.”
“Did he get hurt? I lost my first dog when a car hit her.”
“No. My dad shot him.”
“God, Cutter, that really sucks! Why did he kill your dog! Did he contract rabies?
“Something got into the hen house and killed a couple of chickens, the others wouldn’t lay for
a week. Juanita told Dad that Red Baron had done it.”
“Was he bloody, or have other signs of a kill on him?”
“I didn’t see him. When I got home from school, he was dead and buried. The only blood that I saw was on the back step where he’d been killed.”
Lexie didn’t know what to say. What a horrible experience for a child! No wonder he had frowned when she told him she had a dog. Now, she was grateful that she didn’t wait for her belongings, including Skip. Maria, like her mother, would probably have pitch a fit over a dog in the house.
Back at home, Skip was checking out the tires on the rental while they made plans to meet late Tuesday for dinner with the Potters. She was totally unprepared for him to wrap her in his arms and kiss her senseless. It was becoming difficult to take a breath, and her heart was bruising the inside of her ribs. In self-defense, she pushed away from him. Still breathless, all she could manage was his name. “Cutter?”
He pulled her closer again and whispered in her ear. “I’ve wanted to do that since I first saw you.”
He went for an instant replay, adding tongue for a little added attraction. She was completely out of control, and latched onto his invading tongue as her body melted into his. Cutter was the one who managed to hold his passion in check, and he broke the carnal embrace. Lexie was mortified by her abandon of proprieties smack in the middle of the lighted driveway, for the entertainment of the neighbors. She picked up Skip’s leash, mumbled a good night, and made a quick retreat through the front door. His soft chuckle echoed in her ears even after she closed the door and he was a long way down the road. Parts of her body she was unaware of until tonight were still humming and throbbing. Lexie had occasionally dated since high school, enjoying some intimate moments, but she was always in control. Nothing in her experience compared to the earth-shattering experience of being kissed by Cutter Ross.
