by Nancy Hopper
"Now, do you see what you've done?" he complained harshly. "How am I supposed to sleep tonight? I've told you before, I can't afford to allow you to seduce me until we're married."
Tasha laughed, and punched him in the shoulder. "That's not funny, mister." She warned.
He rolled her back over, until he was half on top of her. "No. It sure isn't." He agreed softly. His eyes were sultry and passionate as he looked down at her. He examined the sweet curve of her lips, the soft texture of her skin, the smoldering passion in her green eyes. His kiss left her breathless and aching, and he went on, and on. She felt like she'd die if he didn't stop. His mouth, the heat and weight of his body on hers, were making her wild with desire. His hands were caressing her waist with a provocative touch that was alarming.
"I have waited a very long time to see passion in those green eyes." He drawled. He kissed her neck, and let his lips move lower, to the hollow of her throat.
Tasha was panting. He was lighting her up, in a way she could never recall feeling. He looked down at her, and smiled with satisfaction. "Oh, yeah." He chuckled. “That's what I've been dreaming about.”
"Tim." She whimpered. "Please."
"You drive me insane. What's worse, you know it." He accused with deliberation.
"I thought you didn't, um ... weren't in favor of … playing with fire." She reminded him breathlessly. "How can you do this to me and preach against … uh ... pre-marital passion on television?"
He shook his head. "I never said there was a thing wrong with passion." He corrected her. "I happen to enjoy seeing you drowning in it, very much. Just the way you like to send me over the edge."
"Oh! Look who's talking!" she objected.
He narrowed his eyes. "Your husband is talking to you, darlin'." He informed her in a low voice. "You know as well as I do that the only thing that's missing is a piece of paper. It's a whole lot different now than it was when you tried to tempt me into your bed."
She nodded her agreement, nervously.
"It's a good thing it's coming winter." He told her thoughtfully, and with more than a little reproach. “It's a little too cold up here for me to want to take anything off, tonight. Luckily, there aren't any blankets up here, or this could develop into a very dangerous scenario.” he teased.
She put a nervous hand to her throat, and laughed. "Oh, boy. Do you have any idea how overwhelming you can be?"
He looked surprised. "Is that bad?" he asked, a naughty smile playing around his lips.
"No." She admitted. "At least, I'm certain that I'll be glad of it when we're married." She put a hand against his cheek, and stroked it lovingly.
His eyes darkened passionately in response. "You know, lady, us farm boys -- we sometimes forget our manners. I suppose that I should let you out of this predicament, before I lose all reason."
She smiled. "You're too sexy and gorgeous and tempting for your own good, and you know it, don't you? How in the world have you stayed out of trouble until now?" she teased in a husky voice.
"I never had you to provoke me, I suppose. Before we go, I want you to do something for me."
"Tim, I think I've already done too much." She protested, and tried to sit up.
"Not so fast." He hissed, pulling her against him with iron arms. "Promise me, Tasha. Here and now. I don't want to wait anymore to hear you tell me you'll always be mine."
She looked up at him, uncertain what words he was waiting for.
"Just say, ‘I, Tasha." He prompted her, with expectant eyes.
Tasha paled, and then felt the blood rush back into her face. She looked into his expectant eyes adoringly, and had to swallow tears. "I, Tasha." she repeated obediently.
"Take you, Timothy."
"Take you, Timothy." She repeated softly.
"To be my lawful, wedded husband."
He continued until he'd gone through all the vows; and then, he gave his to her. Tasha couldn't stop the tears that flowed out of her eyes, as Tim pledged himself to her, for the rest of his life.
When it was over, he kissed her with tenderness, and held her against him for a very long moment. It was totally silent, and in the hush they both could feel the very strong presence of the Lord.
Tim looked down at her with deep emotion in his eyes, and Tasha knew that she'd never regret taking this man. Not for one second. All her doubts had flown.
"Tim," Tasha asked hesitantly.
"Hmm." He mumbled. He was totally absorbed in the feel of her against him, the smell of her soft hair.
"Do you believe that we can stay in love and be happy, for the rest of our lives?"
"Sure, I do. Don't you?"
"Yes. I feel it here as I never have, before. I fought coming to Jackson, so hard; now I feel like I totally belong here. With you.”
Tim pulled back, and looked down at her with bedroom eyes. She’d never noticed before, just how long and tangled and beautiful his eyelashes were. "We have everything it takes to be very happy. Don't worry about it."
"Everything it takes -- you mean like a hayloft of our own, and them pigs?" she teased innocently.
"For starts." He agreed. "But the most important thing, is that we have the blessing of the Lord. He intends for us to be together. We won't be torn apart. I promise." He sighed. "But now, I suppose we'd better tend to them pigs."
Before they left the barn, Tim quickly filled all the grain bins and water buckets for the horses. Tasha saw the ponies, and wondered about them. Tim didn't let her wonder for long.
"This here is Buster." He told her, ruffling a pony's long, white mane. A pair of wide eyes and flaring nostrils peered up over the stall door. His jaw was busily crunching grain, and he quickly put his head back into the feed bin. He was a beautiful chestnut and white Pinto. "He is going to belong to Mr. Lucas."
"Tim, I'm not sure it's wise yet. Maybe when Luke is a little bigger."
"Don't you worry, Tasha. I know what I'm doing. Buster knows how to take care of a young cowboy like Lucas. Dana's outgrown him, and she started when she was younger than Luke. He's as trustworthy a babysitter as you'll find, anyplace in the world."
He moved on to the next stall. "And this little lady is Sundance. Dana rode her quite a bit, too. She was actually trained as a trick pony for the circus, but that didn't work out because the owners retired. She's a real lady, and she'll delight Naomi for a good many years."
Sundance was about the same height as Buster, and she was the color of newly minted gold. She had high, white socks and she was as dainty and beautiful as anything Tasha had ever seen.
"I'll ask Dana to start riding both of them a bit, to make sure there aren't any rough edges." Tim assured her.
"And this guy is Lucky." Tim introduced, scratching a big black and white Pinto's ear. Tasha looked up at the horse with interest. He had a mischievous gleam in his eye, and he looked nimble-footed. He eyed Tim with bright affection, and nuzzled him with his upper lip. "I always wondered why I picked that name for him. Now I know." Tim chuckled.
"Oh? Why is that?" Tasha accommodated.
"Because, he gets to belong to you." Tim answered with a grin.
Tasha looked up at him apprehensively. "Oh, Tim. I don't know." She hedged.
"Why not?" Tim chastised. "What's wrong with him?"
"Oh, nothing. But he's big. And he looks as though maybe he likes to make mischief."
Tim laughed. "Yeah? Well, I suppose that could be true. But he's got a heart of gold, and he's very trustworthy, even if he is a little feisty, sometimes."
Tasha cast a dubious look at the horse, who was busily nibbling Tim's coat collar, and then she transferred the dubious look to his master.
"Trust me. He loves to be ridden. Just give him half a chance. And keep your hair tied back, he'll try to eat just about anything. I think he's part goat." He teased.
He sighed heavily. "Well, this ain't getting them pigs fed, is it?"
"No." She agreed.
"And in about fifteen minutes, Mom is going t
o be quite certain that she needs to send Dad out here. Maybe five." He corrected himself. "We'd better let her hear that truck motor running."
Tasha laughed. "She knows you well."
"Yeah, she does. Come on, Mrs. Rain, let's get back to work. But don't you forget, you sold yourself right down the river tonight. It's a done deal now, darlin'." He warned her with squinty eyes.
Tasha gave him a wide-eyed, innocent stare. "My, but the country air does have an alarming effect on you."
"Is that right?" he growled. He gave her a long look that promised her she hadn't seen anything yet. "Well, little darlin'; just you wait until you let this old stallion out of the stall." He threatened. "I'm going to pay you back for all this teasing, in spades."
She laughed, with pink spots of embarrassment appearing in her cheeks. "Promises, promises." She taunted, with a flirting lilt in her voice.
"Yeah, well. You should be real glad I still have to haul hay bales tonight." He grumbled.
She watched, wishing she could help, but knowing better. She could tell that each bale was plenty enough for Tim to handle. He threw them down through a big hole in the loft floor, so that they landed right on the pickup bed. A dozen of them. Only one fell off the truck.
"How much do those weigh?" she asked incredulously.
"About a hundred and twenty pounds." He answered a bit breathlessly. "Let's hurry, and get that truck started, or Mom will be after me with a willow switch." He teased, and held her hand as she started down the ladder. Then he followed her, and put the last bale back on the truck.
“Okay. Now, them pigs.” Tim sighed. He flipped on a light switch and walked through the barn’s side aisle to the back door. He walked outside through a passage way created by a maze of corrals on each side of the door.
Tasha followed him, a bit alarmed by the depth of the holes in the frozen ground. In warmer weather, Tasha was aware that this would be deep mud.
There was an area ahead illuminated by very high powered overhead lights. Tim made his way toward the lights and cranked a big wheel on what appeared to be a silo. There was a swishing sound and fodder spilled out of a chute down into large, cement troughs.
Out of the darkness came hulking giants, uglier and more frightening than anything Tasha had ever seen! With their big noses and snuffling noises, they backed Tasha against the opposite rails in a hurry. A little scream escaped as she ogled these monsters, many of them five feet tall at the shoulder.
Tasha screamed again, brilliantly, as a snuffling nose butted against her thigh from behind.
Tim couldn’t help chuckling as she leaped into his arms in absolute terror.
“There, now. You finally figured out where you belong, did you?” his voice caressed against her ear.
“My God! What in the world are they?” she gasped. Her heart was hammering.
“Them are pigs, babe.” he advised humorously.
“My Lord in heaven.” she gasped. “They are horrible!”
“No, no. Now, darlin’, you can’t talk that way. You’ll hurt their feelings.” he warned in a whisper.
Tasha gave a gaping, frightened look at the beady eyes and hairy snouts, and snorted in disbelief. “So sorry.” she gasped.
He chuckled. “Let me start some feed into these other troughs, and get some fresh water to them, and then we can end this trauma for you.”
“I’ll go for that.” she agreed immediately.
Tim squeezed her comfortingly as he put her on her feet. Tasha watched nervously as he poured feed into the troughs behind her. Then, he walked beyond the lights and Tasha felt compelled to follow. She didn’t want to be left alone with those horrible, hairy, snorting creatures.
At the far end of each fence, there was a spigot to water the hogs. Tim let the water run for awhile, smiling at Tasha with amused affection. When the troughs were full, he shut off the water, and closed all the feed valves.
“All right, let’s go.” he said with a chuckle.
“Gladly.” she agreed breathlessly.
He grinned and put an arm around her as they walked back into the barn. After latching the door, he led her to the truck and helped her inside.
"All right, now you get to help me." He advised, jumping up onto the back of the truck.
"Really? What do I do?" she asked eagerly.
"Drive." He advised. "Once we go through that gate and I close it behind us, we'll be in with the animals. Go nice and slow, and smooth. About five or ten miles an hour. And go in a big circle to the right. Think of it like the face of a clock. You’ll see the tire tracks in the snow, to guide you. I'll be cutting open the bales and dropping them off the truck, as we go. So when you hit six o'clock, I should be half done. You just keep an eye on what I'm doing, and you'll catch on. And watch out for animals laying down. They'll probably get up when they hear us coming, but you never know. Sometimes they just look like mounds in the snow. All right?"
Tasha nodded nervously, and started the truck. She pulled out of the barn and stopped, so Tim could close the door behind them. She followed his hand signals for directions, and saw a gate in front of them after they'd passed his house.
After going through the gate and waiting for Tim to close it, she saw cows coming toward them with interest. She was a little glad she was inside the truck.
She had no trouble with the circle, or gauging where she ought to be, to keep on track, and give Tim the right amount of time to cut and push the bales off.
The cows were really big, and kind of scary. Tasha had never been so close to cattle, before. Their noses pressed against the glass, leaving a slimy residue behind, that made Tasha shudder. But, Tim knew them all and called them all by name, talking nonsense to them in what Tasha would come to call “ranch blather”.
Then suddenly, a great big blob of a mound reared up out of the snow before her. Beady eyes and horns turned and burned in her headlight beams. She slammed on the brakes in sheer reaction. She was terrified!
Tim yelled in surprise, as he fell forward in the truck bed, and slammed against the cab with his left shoulder. Tasha gasped, and flew out of the cab, to see if he was all right.
"Oh, Tim! I'm so sorry! Are you hurt?"
"No, I don't think so. But my stars, woman!" He complained.
"Tim, there's something really, really big laying out there. It reared up its head and scared the daylights out of me."
Tim crawled over the edge of the bed and dropped into the snow. He waded through the deep snow, looking into the beam of the headlights. Then, he laughed.
"It's just Geronimo. Hey, you old grump, what do you think you're doing?" he demanded. He turned to Tasha, and urged her to come closer. There was a deep groan and a huge form, literally standing feet above Tim's head, rose before her, shaking off snow.
Tim just walked up, and fearlessly caressed the woolly, snowy neck.
"Are you deranged?" Tasha asked incredulously.
"What's the matter? Haven't you ever made friends with a buffalo?" he teased. "You have to come over here and let him smell you. If he doesn't know you belong with me, he'll probably chase you out of his pasture. He does not allow unauthorized humans on his turf."
Tasha swallowed hard, not sure if Tim was teasing, or not. She ventured closer, her knees growing weaker with every step. But, Tim pulled her under his arm, and made her put her hand out. A nose that was bigger than her palm sniffed at it cautiously, then examined her with one large, dark eye. Then his rough, warm tongue licked her fingers.
"Now that he's kissed you, you've got to pet him, or you'll hurt his feelings." Tim instructed.
Tasha slowly reached out and rubbed her hand across his thick, woolly neck, and found it not unpleasant. The bison blew noisily and stamped his foot. Tasha nearly jumped out of her skin, making Tim laugh.
"Are there any more of these mobile mountains out here?" she asked feebly.
"Oh, yeah. Geronimo has girlfriends." He told her significantly.
"No doubt." Tasha snorted. “H
e’s a very fine specimen, obviously.”
Tim gave her a lopsided grin, and pulled her into his arms. "You’re learning. Come here, and feel grateful you don't have to share my affections with anybody." He prodded. “Unlike Geronimo, I’ve been very satisfied to wait for just one lady.”
"You're becoming totally unmanageable, Tim." She pouted. "Don't you ever get enough?"
"Nope, I sure don't. And I've had to wait too long to even think about feeling guilty." He answered pointedly.
She smiled and squeezed him tightly, willing the comfort to tide him over for a few minutes.
"All right," he sighed. "I suppose we'd better get that truck running again." He patted Geronimo's shoulder and then they took their positions to finish the feeding rounds. When they'd finished their circle, distributed all the hay and gone through the gate ritual, Tim joined her in the truck.
He was cold enough that he was shivering, and had to work to keep his teeth from chattering. He still hadn't recovered when they arrived back at his parents' house. He met her at the driver's door, and swung her down into a bear hug.
"Check this out. I'm so frozen I can't even think about standing here and helping myself to sugar." He complained.
"I'd think you've had enough to last you at least until the wedding." She chastised.
He just laughed. "Do you have any idea what it does to me, to think of you inside this house – in my bed?" he complained.
"Is that all you think about anymore? Sex, sex, sex?" she accused sweetly.
"Pretty much." He admitted, letting her know he felt exceedingly justified. "I may be a little out of balance right now, but I think I've done quite well, considering. You got a problem with it?" he teased.
"Oh. No. Actually, I like sex. A lot." She teased shamelessly.
He narrowed his eyes and growled at her.
"It's just that you're getting a little bit scary." She admitted.
"Well, it's your own darn fault. You didn't have to play so hard to get, you know." He accused with wide eyes.
