by Robin, Juli
Helen led us over to a corner booth and once we sat down she handed us a couple of menus. “OK Jason, the special today is a buffalo burger with Jim’s special sauce and fries. Be back in a sec.”
Everybody was looking at us. A few people stopped by our booth and wanted to know who I was and where I came from. They also wanted to know where I was headed. The folks in this town were not afraid to ask questions.
Most everyone in the place knew about my car trouble. It was pretty obvious that news got around fast in this town.
Most of the people who stopped by to chat were local ranchers and even though they asked a lot of questions, they were all very polite. They had a way of putting a person – even a stranger like me - at ease and not making them feel as if they were being interrogated.
Everybody in the bar knew Jason and some of the people that stopped by to talk just wanted to know how calving was coming along and not to give me the third degree.
We ended up staying in the bar for hours, talking and learning more about each other.
“I better get you back to the motel,” Jason said, “because I need to get home and check on the cows.”
By the time we got back to the room it was 10:30. I thanked him again for all his help and for such a wonderful day and evening. Before I could say anything else Jason bent down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips and then said “See you tomorrow.”
It caught me by such surprise that all I could say was “AHHH.”
I was completely shocked. It was the last thing I expected. Then, he just drove off.
I spent all night thinking of that kiss and the thought of California never entered my mind.
When I woke up late the next morning I was still feeling a little dazed by the kiss. I took a quick shower and threw my clothes on. I had to do something to get Jason off my mind so I decided to take a walk around town. The only real problem with this idea was that it didn't take very long. About 20 minutes round trip and I was done.
I stopped at Charlie’s restaurant for some brunch.
“How ya doin, hun?” the waitress said to me. “Are you needing something to eat?”
“How ya doin hun” must be a favorite saying around here because that is exactly what the waitress at the bar said to Jason last night.
The waitress at Charlie’s already knew my name, that my car had broken down and that Jason had rescued me.
As I was sitting down she asked “Will Jason be joining you?”
I laughed and said “No, he won’t be. Does everyone know everything about everybody around here?"
"Sure do, hun" said the waitress. "Everything becomes pretty common knowledge real fast in a town this small."
After I finished eating I figured that I better head back to my motel room and give my parents a call. I talked to them for well over an hour. While talking to my mom I told her about Jason. That he was the one that helped me with my car and took me out for dinner. He was watching out for me.
My mother asked me a ton more questions about him. Then my dad wanted to ask me about Jason which was my cue to end this conversation as fast as I could.
My parents didn’t want to say goodbye or stop asking me a million questions. I finally told them I would give them a call again tomorrow and then hung up.
Shortly after I hung up I switched on the TV and within minutes I was asleep. The ringing of the phone woke me at about 5:00. It was Jason wanting to know if he could pick me up early tomorrow morning and bring me out to the ranch. “I would love to spend the day with you,” he said.
“That would be great,” I said.
I couldn't stand the thought of spending another day in this town with nothing to do. I was also missing Jason terribly.
Early that next morning, Jason came to pick me up. I didn't know how to act around him. For some reason I was feeling very nervous in the pickup on the way out to his ranch. Then I remembered why. I was feeling uncomfortable because of the kiss. Did it mean something? Did it mean nothing? I needed to find out.
“I don't let just anybody kiss me you know,” I blurted. That is not what I wanted to say but that is what came out.
“Well, I don’t usually kiss every pretty girl I see,” he replied.
That broke the ice for me a little and I became much more comfortable.
While we were driving to his ranch he explained that his parents had died while he was in the army and he had come back to the ranch to keep it going. During the summer, he hired a few extra people to help run the ranch.
He had one fulltime hired man, an older gentleman by the name of Mike Hamilton. This was a big operation and would be impossible for Jason to run himself.
I asked him if he had always wanted to be rancher or if he wanted to do something else. He always knew that the ranching life was for him. When he was in the Army he saw a lot of other countries and different traditions and he had learned a lot from that experience.
“I wish that I could see more of the world,” I said. Besides becoming a star that was another reason for going to California. I wanted to experience life to the fullest.
Then Jason said, “Sometimes what you have at home is better than anything you can find out there. “
Maybe he was right. I was finding that just being with Jason made me very happy and content. I don't think that I ever felt so comfortable with anyone else. Ever.
We finally got to the ranch and the first thing we did was check on the cows. He had several more cows birth calves since my last visit.
This time while we were checking them he caught one of the calves for me to pet. Her fur was so soft and she had the most beautiful eyes.
He said the mother to this calf was a bottle calf herself. That was why she was so tame. The mom had been raised by Jason since birth, so she allowed him to play with her babies.
We eventually made it through all of the calving pens and there were no problems. “Today has been a good day,” he said. “Come to think of it, there hasn’t been a problem around here since you first showed up.”
“Guess I’m your lucky charm!” I said.
“Guess you are,” he said. “Come on; let’s go over to the barn.”
The barn is where he kept the riding horses. They were beautiful. One of them was a palomino mare named Juli. She had a gorgeous white mane and tail that nearly touched the ground. The other horse was a big jet black gelding named Hercules.
“Do you like to ride?” Jason asked.
“I have never been on a horse before,” I admitted. “This is the first time I have ever even been around one.”
“Well, maybe we can go for a ride a little later on today. What do you think?” he asked.
“That sounds like so much fun,” I said. “I would love to.”
Jason also had 2 dogs on the ranch that worked the cows and protected the farm from predators. Their names were Gabby and Belle. They were big, tough looking dogs. Jason explained that out here they had a lot of coyotes, wolves and occasionally mountain lions that would kill a newborn calf and on occasion would kill an adult cow while she was in the process of giving birth.
“I don't ever want to come face to face with any of those creatures,” I said.
After checking all the livestock and walking around the ranch, it was almost lunch time.
Jason invited Mike to come and have lunch with us so he could introduce me to him. Mike looked exactly like I had imagined a cowboy would look like. He was tall, skinny, and had that brown leathery skin.
“I was shocked when Jason told me he was bringing a girl out to the ranch today,” Mike teased. “The little rascal!”
I looked up at Jason and could almost see a little red creeping up into his cheeks.
"I'm sure he brings a lot of girls out here," I said.
"You are the first and probably the last," Mike said.
Jason finally interrupted us and said we better get in and have our lunch.
After lunch, Mike excused himself and said he was going to do some fe
ncing out north of the ranch. We said our goodbyes and I told him it was a pleasure meeting him.
“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, “but I’m sure I will be seeing you again real soon.” And then he was off.
“I was going to suggest we get in the pickup and take a drive around the property, but what do you say we saddle up the horses and take them instead?” Jason said.
“That sounds like so much fun!” I said. “Yes, let’s do it.”
Jason saddled up the horses, helped me up on Juli, whistled for the dogs and off we went. We rode for about a half hour until we came upon a small lake surrounded by a group of trees. Beyond that you couldn't see anything but the hills and blue sky. It was incredibly peaceful out here.
We tied the horses to a tree and walked down to the lake. “This was my parents’ favorite place to come and relax,” Jason said.
We sat down on a fallen log and looked over across the lake. When I looked at Jason to tell him what a beautiful place this was, he was staring at me. I gave him an uncomfortable smile.
“What was he thinking and why was he looking at me this way?” I asked myself.
Then he began to speak. At first, what he was saying didn't register to me. Then everything he was saying started to register immediately.
“I have strong feelings for you, Emily, and I don’t want you to leave,” he said. “I knew that I loved you that first night we met.”
I had been thinking how hard it was going to be to leave once my car got fixed. Once those words came out of his mouth I knew for sure. “Jason, I don’t want to go either. I feel the same way that you do.”
He reached over and pulled me next to him. He gave me a long passionate kiss that made my whole body go limp.
“Emily, you are the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with. You are the woman I love.”
“Oh Jason, I love you too.”
I never did leave this town after my car got fixed. I ended up marrying Jason. I had big dreams of becoming a star. But, my dreams ended up changing.
If you liked the book please leave a review and if you didn’t I apologize for taking your time.
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