by Ashlee Price
About halfway there, she passed the ranch that she had met Grahm in and she almost stopped there. She wanted to, but something told her that she shouldn’t and she kept going. She didn’t want to bother him, figuring he had a lot of work to do taking care of all of those animals. There was also the small pride issue that she didn’t want to prove him right either. Both seemed to have a higher chance of gloating that they were right and she just couldn’t imagine it.
When Ashley got to the small store, she was happy to see that it had a little bit of everything. A few men there looked at her strangely, asking when she was out back at the commune. She didn’t know what they were talking about and didn’t ask. They were kind of creepy and Ashley quickly paid for a few things and got some change for the pay phone.
She talked to her mom until the time ran out. She hadn’t lied, but there was definitely a lot of omission in the conversation. Ashley had spent most of her days harvesting from the orchard and working in the gardens, but the other systems she had been so keen to check out weren’t quite ready. By the looks of the hydroponics set, they had never even started some of them.
Ashley hung up and felt a little homesick. She wanted to be back where there was power and her own room. She was not too enthused with the commune type of lifestyle and there was just something in the back of her mind that kept telling her to leave. Ashley ignored the little voice and made her way back towards the commune. It was getting dark and when she saw headlights behind her, she got off the road. When it stopped, she looked over to see Grahm in a red pickup truck.
“I seem to always run into you walking at night.”
She started to walk up to the truck. “It is good for thinking.”
“You must have a whole lot to think about. Hop in and I will give you a ride.”
Ashley thought about it for a second and she really didn’t want to walk all the way back, especially not in the dark. “If you are sure you don’t mind.”
She got in and immediately smelled pizza. “That smells good. Is that your dinner?”
He nodded. “You are more than welcome to join me.”
“I would love a piece. They all eat vegetables and fruit, vegan and vegetarian. I feel like if I don’t eat grease soon, I am going to lose it.”
“Good, I always like pretty company.”
She didn’t say anything. He was being a lot nicer that evening, though she supposed it was because they were meeting on different terms. She wasn’t trespassing in the middle of the night this time and Grahm seemed to be in a good mood. Ashley needed some time away from the commune. She was sick of smiling and singing.
“So how are you liking the commune?”
Ashley sighed as she looked out the window. They were pulling into the long dirt road to his ranch and she looked over at him. “I’ll admit it, that place is a little crazy.”
“What do you mean?”
There was an edge to his voice, like he was worried about her. “Sebastian and Troy have like, this hold on the other girls. I don’t know, it’s kind of scary. I am starting to wonder if I should have come out here at all.”
“May I ask why you did?”
“I wanted an adventure, learn something new, but I guess nothing really ever turns out the way you want it to, does it?”
“No, I guess not.”
They stopped in front of the wooden cabin and she got out without any prompting from him. It was nice to get away and even after a week, she was missing some of the things she had come to think of as necessities, like electricity and television.
The two sat next to each other on the couch and watched a movie, eating pizza. Ashley felt like she was cheating in a way, but as she leaned up against him halfway through, she couldn’t think of anywhere else that she would rather be. She actually dozed off lying underneath the crook of his arm.
***
Grahm looked down at her. His arm was asleep from being outstretched on the back of the couch, but he didn’t want to move in fear that he would wake her. She was so soft and warm. He missed lying next to a woman. It had been too long, he thought to himself again. Pulling her in closer, he closed his eyes and fell asleep not too long after she did.
The next morning he was up first and looked down at the girl next to him. She looked like one of them, long hair and long colorful skirt, but she was different. He had gotten to know her and they were comfortable together. There was no guile in her, but a lot of fire. Getting up gently, he had to give himself a moment away from her before he woke her up. She seemed so peaceful, but was awake when he came back in the living room.
“Good morning.”
She rubbed her eyes and then frowned. “Sorry, I can’t believe I went to sleep. You were a lot more comfortable than the cots. Strange because you are about as hard as they are.”
Ashley started to look for her shoes. They had come off while she slept and she had to pull it out from underneath the couch. By the time she got back up, Grahm was staring at her with his dark eyes. “So I am going to just get out of your way. I have some work to do back there.”
“You can’t stay and have breakfast?”
She shook her head. Like him, she needed some space apart and tried to just walk back. He wouldn’t let her, insisting that he take her back in the truck and she was once again unable to refuse. It was the way he said it that made her want to comply. She needed to comply for some reason. They were quiet on the way back to Sunshine. Ashley didn’t want to go back in a way, but she had resolved to stick it out. She was convinced that it would get better once she got into the swing of things.
As he stopped on the side of the road, she thanked him again. “Thanks for everything Grahm.”
She had gotten out and was shutting the door when he finally said something. “You want to go out tonight?”
“We’ll see. I will come by if I can.”
“If you can?”
She sighed and pushed her long hair back from her face. It was tousled from just waking up and the wind was running through it. “This place has rules, like everywhere else.”
Grahm didn’t really understand what that meant, but he tried to ignore the inkling that he got. There was something about Sebastian and Sunshine Commune that rubbed him the wrong way. He didn’t want her to go back, but they barely knew each other and he had nothing more than a gut feeling about it. There was something not right about that place.
“Well I hope to see you. Take care of yourself Ashley.”
Chapter 5
As soon as Ashley got back, she was asked a bunch of questions from Ana about where she was the night before. She liked her, but Ana was very close to Sebastian, so she wasn’t sure she wanted to say anything. It was a weird situation all the way around and Ashley tried to avoid it.
They weren’t so happy about her being gone and as soon as she got in the shower room, Troy walked in. Ashley ignored him mainly, but he flirted. It was enough to have her leaving as soon as she got the shampoo rinsed off of her hair. Getting dressed, before she could take her things back to her bag under the cot, Sebastian stopped her.
“I would like to have a word with you when you have a minute.”
She told him that she was going to take her clothes back and be right there, but he insisted that she go with him right then and there. Ashley could tell he was perturbed about something and she followed him to his own house that he was very rarely in. Usually he was around sharing one of the other woman’s cots. No one was allowed in there, much like the two in the far back. The hair on the back of her neck went up upon entering the room. Something just wasn’t right.
The place was smaller than some of the communal homes. His place had walls and doors as well, whereas the regular ones had an open floor plan. There was some sort of couch that he was urging her onto and she looked back at the older man.
Sebastian wasn’t bad looking, but he was in his forties, late forties and he looked it. His hair was long and mostly gray, with a matching beard the same color. His ey
es were always watching everything and the man had a way about him. Ashley just didn’t see it. She had seen all of him in the shower room on two separate occasions and he had something to strut around about, but she was not attracted to him in that way. Ashley was not there for that.
“What’s going on Sebastian?”
“I want to talk to you about the way things run here Ashley.”
She nodded, but was not looking forward to what he was going to say. Ashley had a feeling she wasn’t going to like it. Though she had done everything that he had asked work wise, she had not partaken in any of the sexual advances she had received.
“Do you like it here Ashley?”
The question threw here off and she nodded that she did. There was a hesitation that Sebastian saw, but didn’t comment on. “Do you not find anyone here attractive? This commune is all about sharing ourselves in all ways, for the good of everyone.”
It didn’t make sense to her and she saw it as some kind of line to get in her pants. The conversation was going nowhere good.
“I didn’t think that was part of this. I am here to learn about farming techniques in practice. I did not put an application in here to get laid. I can get laid anywhere, but I shouldn’t have to explain myself or my desires to you.”
Her voice had started to rise as she got more upset. It was insulting for him to think that and the more she thought about it, the more she worked herself up over it. How could he ask her such a thing? They had only spoken a few times and he did not know her enough to ask such intimate questions.
“You are taking this too personally and defensive. We are here to help each other. There is a lot of time and energy spent to keep this place going.”
“I have worked every day that I have been here.”
“Yes and we thank you for that Ashley, but now we need you to do more. There is more work to be done, but it is usually done at night in the commune.”
Ashley didn’t understand what he was talking about. She took a drink of the tea that as offered, trying to wet her dry throat. He smiled at her in a way that made her tremble inside. “What kind of work?”
“What makes this place run. You have realized that we do not grow all of the food on site I take it?”
She nodded her head as her sight got fuzzy. “Well the money comes from other endeavors. We could subsist, but we need to thrive and grow.”
Ashley’s eyes were closing, his ranting making no sense to her. The way she got so tired, so fast didn’t make sense either. Ashley didn’t see the smile on Sebastian’s face or Troy when he came in a few minutes later.
“Why didn’t you just kick her out? It would have been easier Sebastian.”
Sebastian looked at the sleeping woman and nodded. It would have been easier, but she was the type to look deeper and tell someone. He couldn’t have that. When Sebastian found out she was seeing the rancher next door, the one that he fought with all the time, he knew that he had to stop them from seeing each other. What he hadn’t planned for was for any of the girls to meet Grahm. He was another person that couldn’t leave well enough alone.
“Easier isn’t always better.”
Troy just shook his head. He didn’t have much say in it and didn’t want it. All he cared about was the steady stream of drugs and women that Sebastian provided. It had been part of the deal when he had started and Sebastian had kept his end of the bargain. Troy didn’t ask many questions after that.
“So what are we doing with her?”
Sebastian thought for a moment, his fingers touching several strands of her long hair. “Take her into Cabin 2 and send Ana over there to get her ready before she wakes up. Give her a dose. I am sure that she will cooperate when it comes down to it.”
Troy nodded and picked the woman up. She was limp and light in his arms. Troy had seen the way she had balked at him and didn’t think that Sebastian had judged her reaction very well. It was not going to end in submission with Ashley. She had too much fire. It was part of the reason he hadn’t wanted her to come. It was one of the only times that the two men had fought and Troy had a feeling he was going to be vindicated, but he worried that it was going to ruin the good thing that he had going there.
Chapter 6
“Grahm, how are your neighbors doing down there?”
He turned to see Jerry standing over him. Grahm was in town to pick up supplies and was just starting breakfast. Motioning the man in, Jerry ordered something from the waitress that brought him a coffee. Topping off Grahm’s cup, she walked away and left the two men to talk.
“You know what it’s like. You have them on the other side.”
Jerry nodded and took a drink of the hot coffee. “Yes, but have you ever been over there?”
“I have dropped someone off in front of it a couple of times, but after I talked to Sebastian once, I haven’t went back.”
“You should.”
“Why?”
Jerry took another drink and tried to decide how to word it. He knew that his friend was not going to like it and it would most likely start problems. “I have heard rumors that there is more going on down there than just partying.”
“Damn it Jerry. Spit it out. You know I hate it when you stretch everything out.”
“That old road down by Darby’s goes into the back end of the property and there has been a lot of traffic lately. Some say that you can buy affection down there from the girls.”
Grahm’s fork stopped in the air. It was not what he had suspected of going on down there, but it suddenly all made sense. All of the extra women down there and the creep Sebastian was just the sort of man to do something like that.
“You’re telling me they got a whore house back there?”
Jerry shushed him. “Don’t draw attention to it. I told you it was just rumors.”
“Have you been down there?”
He looked offended by the question. “You should know me better than that. I have Vee and I couldn’t deal with any more than her.”
Vee was Jerry’s wife and Grahm’s constant cupid, bound and determined to stop his single life. “Yeah she would kill you for sure. I just can’t believe that. I mean I can, but that it’s going on here in Riley and no one is trying to stop it.”
Jerry sighed and moved his cup when the waitress brought out his plate. “I am just trying to tell you what is going on. Thanks Cynthia.” Jerry waited until the waitress was gone. “Really I just thought you would have known something about it.”
“No. I know a girl that just moved in down there for the summer. I don’t think she knows about it.”
“You know one of the girls?” Jerry perked up with a smile. He was just as bad as his wife, meddling and so concerned about Grahm’s love life, or lack thereof.
“Yes, but nothing like that. She stayed the night last night, but we fell asleep watching a movie.”
“Uh huh.”
Grahm sounded disgusted. “That can’t be right. She would have said something if that was going on there. She is there to study ancient farming practices. There is no way she would stay if they were selling out the other girls.”
“Well maybe she is one of them. I am not saying anything bad about your friend. I am just saying it would be hard not to know, right?”
Grahm couldn’t get it all to make sense in his head. There was no way that she would be a part of something like that. He knew that he didn’t know her all that well, but he could at least be certain that she wouldn’t be one of the girls. She was not that type of women. He didn’t know much about her but he knew that much.
“You don’t know Ashley. She wouldn’t do something like that. She can’t know what is going on there.”
“Ashley is it? So are you two dating or something?”
Grahm sighed and shook his head. “It’s nothing like that. I did ask her out for tonight, but I don’t know if she is going to show up or not.”
“Good, I see you are letting go of some of the control.”
“Why is
it every time we get together, you end up shrinking me about my love life?”
Jerry shrugged. “I have known you my whole life and I just want you to have what me and Vee do. That’s all.”
Grahm listened half-ass to the rest of the conversation. His mind was dominated with thoughts of Ashley and what was going on over there at Sunshine. He had gotten a bad feeling from Sebastian and not too good of one when he had briefly met Troy. Grahm hated to think of Ashley down there in the thick of things. What was he supposed to do? Just go rush over there and take her away? It was his first instinct.
“You aren’t listening to a word I am saying, are you?”
He wasn’t. “Sorry. You got my mind all messed up thinking about all of that. I knew there was something wrong with that guy. If rumors are getting to you, I wonder why nothing has been done?”
Jerry shrugged. “If everyone is old enough and willing, what is the big deal?”
Grahm didn’t see it that way. He saw it as a couple perverts taking advantage of young women. “It’s just the principle of it.”
Jerry handed the plate to Cynthia and then his friend’s. “Can we get the bill please?”
“Be right back, Jerry.” Cynthia walked off to tally the two men’s tab.
“I think that is going to be your last words one of these days. Not everything is a crusade.”
***
Grahm thought about Ashley and then Jerry’s words all day while he worked. His mind and heart were not into and his horse almost threw him. He could feel the difference in the rider and Grahm’s mood made them both uneasy.
His eyes went to the fence line and he wished that she would pop through the trees and he would know that everything was okay with her. While he would never admit it to his smug friend, Ashley had touched him in such a way and she was dominating his mind far too much. It had been a long time since Grahm had felt anything for a woman. Not since Jess and that was years ago.
Now he couldn’t stop thinking about Ashley and his mind imagined all the things that could go wrong. He knew he had to do something before Ashley was caught in the middle of it.
