…The Story Begins…
Chapter One
Mary Lou Carpenter sat at her desk allowing the tick of the clock to hypnotize her. She stared at her computer until the words on the screen began to blur. She shook her head as she snapped out of her boredom induced trance and took her eyes from the computer screen. She glanced at the clock. Yes! Thirty more minutes until lunch, it’s going to feel like three hours. It is going to be a long day she thought. She let out a sighed and looked around her miniature cubicle with its dull beige painted walls. God she felt like a caged rat in here. Oh, how she wished has some glamorous and exciting job, something that would make her life feel fulfilled, something that would make her family, friends and even strangers both impressed and envious when she revealed what she did for a living. A girl is allowed to dream.
But she had to be grateful that she landed this job, in one of the largest accounting firms in Detroit. She had worked her ass off to get here, working two jobs and putting herself through college. She was a twenty- six year old college graduate with a decent career. Guess I didn’t do too badly for myself. She kept that comforting thought as the clock stuck twelve. She jumped up, snatched up her purse and set off to get lunch. As she made her way down the hall she smiled and waved to a few of her co-workers. Caroline Ambersely, a short red head with animated blue eyes, a ready smile and an exuberant personality, stepped out from her cubicle stopping Mary Lou in her tracks. Oh no, here we go again, Mary Lou mentally rolled her eyes.
“Hey Mary, a few of us are going out for drinks later, and the activities are guaranteed to evolve into more than drinking” she gave a girly giggle and winked “are you in?”
Mary eyed Caroline wearily. She liked Caroline; she was always friendly to her and was pretty much her first friend at the firm when she started one year and five month ago. Caroline has made it her life’s mission to break Mary out of her shell ever since.
“Not tonight Caroline, sorry. Reign check”? Mary was certainly not the outgoing type. She knew she would feel extremely out of place with the rowdy group of co-workers that always turned Friday nights in to a party. She had heard plenty stories of their wild weekend celebrations, and she wanted no part of it.
“Come on Mary its Friday, you never accept my invitations” Caroline replied in exasperation. “Live a little honey, you look like you could use some enjoyment in your life” she said assessing Mary from head to toe with a small frown on her face, taking in her tortoise shell glasses, simple ponytail, make- up free face, frumpy grey suit and sensible black pumps.
“I- I already have plans for tonight.” I am such a damn liar.
“Sure you do” Caroline said, her tone dripping with sarcasm, hands on hips, ready to break Mary down.
“You know what; I really need to get going.” Mary quickly stepped around Caroline and darted through the door and hopped into a god-sent empty elevator before Caroline could comment any further. Narrow escape Mary mused.
Exiting the elevator, Made her way to her favourite deli located on the first floor of the building which she worked. .... Deli had the most delectable grilled chicken sandwich with melted cheese, topped off with fresh vegetables and fries seasoned to perfection. She placed her order then took her usual seat next to a front window so she could watch the people mixture of people go by. Detroit was such a big, beautiful city bustling with life. Mary couldn’t imagine residing anywhere else, she was a city girl though and through.
She continued to stare out the window. Look at those gorgeous women, and fine-looking men she thought to herself. They all look so happy and confident, unlike her. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window. There is good reason why my confidence is near to the ground she mused. She studied her vague image in the window. She was no great beauty, with her black medium length, naturally curly hair, unremarkable dark brown eyes, round face and curvaceous body. Her two best assets according to everyone else were her flawless deep brown skin and voluptuous lips. I suppose I do have pretty great skin she thought.
Growing Mary Lou was always the quiet, mousey girl who preferred to stay in the back ground or “blend in with the wall paper”. She often sat by herself in the school cafeteria and imagined what it was like to hang with the popular crowd. Since she wasn’t gifted with the skills and looks of a social butterfly, she focused on using her braid to get through life. Striving for academic perfection almost her entire life didn’t leave her much time to make friends, party, or even develop the basic social skills.
Mary Lou spotted the slender, sexily dressed waitress coming her way, out of her peripheral and snapped out of her self-pitying recollections. She gracefully placed the tray on the table. “Enjoy”, she said with a smile.
“Thank you”, Mary said returning her smile and gazed appreciatively down at her sandwich and fries. Just as she was about to dig in, she spotted a woman smiling and waving at her though the window. Mary gave her a warm smile and waved back as the woman made her way to the door of the deli. I was her best friend Yvonne. She took in Yvonne as she sauntered over to her table and took notice of the men who turned to give her a second look.
Her best friend was absolutely stunning with her tall, lithe but curves in all the right places frame, caramel skin tone and long highlighted bronzed hair. Not to mention her sparkling hazel eyes and stunningly bright smile. It often amazed Mary how great of friends they were. They were the perfect opposite of each other. They had been coupled together for a history project in high school and had surprising hit it off. They have been inseparable able ever since. Yvonne often said it was because they were so different, why they were perfect for each other. She often said “you keep me humble and keep my ass out of trouble”, and Mary always finished “and I can live vicariously through you”, to which Yvonne would roll her eyes and suck her teeth.
“Hi sweetie”, Yvonne said as she sat down, resting her handbag in her lap.
“Hi, I wasn’t expecting you today, nevertheless it’s always a pleasure” Mary replied with a smile. The duo met up for the lunch at the deli every Monday to Thursday, except on Fridays when Yvonne only worked a half shift at the bookstore around the corner. “So what are you doing here, young lady? Shouldn’t you be at home preparing after school snacks for those adorable children of yours?”
Yvonne rolled her eyes “honey, those kids have long passed the adorable stage, when they learned to talk and walk and make a mess of my damn house”. The loving expression in her eyes contradicted her comment. Mary shook her head and laughed. Yvonne had married her High School sweetheart Craig Peters straight out of high school and they produced the cutes kids Mary had ever seen. Kayla who was now seven years but behave like she was thirteen going on thirty old, and Kevonne who was three.
“Girl, I’m walking around town selling raffle tickets for Kayla’s school fundraiser. The school is raising money to make a long list of improvements to the facility. To be honest, I can’t remember half of what is on the list. The child who sells the most raffle tickets gets a free trip for four to the Belle Isle Park. I really want her to win, she is so damn competitive and she is only in the second grade. Anyway, what do you say? Are you ready to spend some cash and buy a few tickets? It’s only two dollars per ticket. I don’t even remember what the prize is” Yvonne said giggling “The winner probably gets a high powered blender or something; who the hell cares?”
Mary smiled and replied “Anything for Kayla. Tell you what give me ten tickets” she said handing Yvonne a twenty dollar bill”.
“What? Alright big spender” Yvonne teased and handed Mary ten tickets, stuffing the bottom of the tickets with the same numbers into her purse. “Thanks a bunch darling you are an absolute doll”.
The two ladies chatted for a while until Mary finished her lunch. They hugged, said their goodbyes and left the deli; Yvonne, to continue selling raffle tickets; and Mary, upstairs to her boring little cubicle.
Four more hours to go, great Mary thought as she walked, shoulders slumped a
s she made her way back to the office.
Three days later, Mary struggled into her apartment which her hands full of grocery bags and holding her mail between her lips. As she kicked the closed she heard her cell phone ringing in her hand bag. Plopping the groceries down on the kitchen table, she dropped her hand bag off her shoulders and dug around for the phone. Gripping it she quickly pulled it out and answered it before it could go to voice mail.
“Hello, good evening” Mary Lou answered, propping her hip against the kitchen counter.
“Good evening. Miss Mary Lou Carpenter?” An unfamiliar high pitched, way too excited voice greeted her.
“Uh, yes this is she” Mary answered hesitantly, wondering who it was.
“I am Amy Valicenti, Vice principal of Bernard Elementary School.”
“Uh, ok...?” Mary hadn’t the slightest idea why the Vice Principal of an Elementary school would be calling her.
“Congratulations Miss Carpenter! I am pleased to inform you that you are the winner of the raffle draw held this month.”
“Oh. Wow. Thank you”. Awesome Mary thought, shocked and excited all at once. She never won anything. “This is great news Ms. Valicenti. Would you mind dearly reminding what I have won?”
“Yes, of course dear. You have won an all expense paid trip for one week to Cooper’s Guest Ranch and Tours in Oklahoma.” Miss Valicenti answered excitedly.
“A- A ranch? In Oklahoma?”
“Yes! Congratulations again. Please drop by Bernard Elementary tomorrow to pick up your package and receive further information. Thank you again for making our May 2015 fundraiser a success. Enjoy the rest of your evening, Ms. Carpenter.”
“Bye. Thank you.” Mary hung up her phone, drew out a chair from the nearby dining table and slumped down in it, arms folded, sporting a disgusted expression. A ranch, Ugh! What happened to a nice five star hotel here in the city? Hell, even a three star would do. What about the damn high powered blender “or something” as Yvonne had put it? She would be satisfied with that.
“I am so not leaving the city for a ranch” Mary said aloud. “I am going to chew Yvonne’s freaking ear off” she continued, dialling her best friend’s number.
“Hey sugar!” Yvonne answered.
“Don’t you sugar me, I’m pissed. I just got a call from Kayla’s school. I won the stupid raffle draw” Mary huffed.
“Well congratulations and what the hell are you pissed about?” Yvonne asked in confusion.
“Well, a turn out the prize is a trip to a ranch in Oklahoma for one week?”
There was silence at the other end of the line, then suddenly laughing; loud, hysterical laughter. Mary moved the phone from her ear and glared at it, whishing Yvonne could really receive the brunt of her withering glare.
“Wait. What? You won a trip to a ranch? What is there for you to even do for enjoyment on a ranch?” Yvonne could barely get the question out between her bouts of excessive laughter.
“This all your fault” Mary Lou huffed “If you had cared enough to get the full details of the fundraiser, you would have known what the winning prize would be. Now I’m stuck with some trip that I want no part of. You know what? I’m going to go to Bernard’s Elementary tomorrow and politely decline my so called prize.”
“Oh come on, Mary cease the opportunity, take the damn trip. When was the last time you went on a vacation? And it’s all expense paid. A little country air might do you some good” Yvonne encouraged.
“I will take my polluted city air over the country any day thank you very much. Besides-
“Oh please” Yvonne interrupted “The trip might turn out to be fun. You need a little fun Mary; you sure as hell don’t make the effort to have any in the city so the country might just be the thing you need.”
Mary rolled her eyes “You sound like my co-workers, they all thing I’m boring”.
“Uh, well I hate to break it you honey, but you are” Yvonne said with pity in her tone. “Hear is what’s going to happen, you are going to Oklahoma, you’re going to go to a few rodeos, and bang a hot cowboy or two. When you get back, you are going to rub it in your jerk of an ex-boyfriend’s face. You know, the one who keeps calling you-“
“Please, can we not talk about him” Mary whined. Why did Yvonne have to remind her of the doomed- from- the start relationship that she was ended just three months ago? She had though Justin was the perfect guy when she met him last year September at the grocery store. He was tall, dark, handsome and charming as hell. He told her he was a mechanic and he had just moved to Detroit all the way from North Carolina to start his own business.
Mary had been impressed with his bold courage to venture so far to follow his dream. He was ambitious and good looking and seemed interested in Mary- something that she did not experience regularly. At age twenty six, Mary had her first real boyfriend. She was floating on top of the world. She thought she had had it all, a job, someone to love and someone to love her back. She had never experienced that kind of love, neither had she any good example of it growing up. Her father had run off with another woman when Mary was eight years old, and she grew up watching her mother go through a series of relationships that always ended badly. She had though a good relationship was impossible until she had met Justin.
Their new relationship had seemed to be made in heaven, when two months into it she started to wonder why her boyfriend never invited her to his house and never took her out on a real date. They only spent time in her apartment and when she mentioned going out, he always say “Baby let’s stay in tonight, I don’t want to share you with anyone else.” Hearing that back then made Mary feel all kinds of special. Now she knew he was feeding her a huge load of crap.
Three months into the relationship Justin had started to hit her up for money way too many times for her comfort. When she had mentioned it to her mom, she was outraged. Mary could remember he mother’s shrill voice over the phone “Child, I thought I taught you more sense than that. Don’t you be using your hard earned money to support any man!”
Yvonne had told her to break it off with Justin immediately. But Mary had fancied herself in love, poor fool that she was. When she decided to start refusing to loan Justin money his charming personality changed so fast it gave her whiplash. He became verbally abusive, burying her already low self-esteem in to the ground. But Mary had held on to him and the hope that he would come to his senses and return to the sweet, charming man that she had met. It turned out that he was just a super-sized phony.
It was no great surprise when Justin had dumped her unceremoniously over the phone, but it had cut her deep. The events of her first real relationship and the way it ended, had managed to murder what little life her self-esteem had. Months after their break-up, Justin still called her phone, but she never answered. He kept leaving messages about how he had made a big mistake and wanted her back. Mary was sure he didn’t want her back; it was her bank account that he wanted. Yvonne had attempted relentlessly to set Mary up with a few of her husband’s friends. But Mary refused to even make the effort to talk to another man.
“Mary Lou Carpenter!” the sound of her name bought Mary back from her painful trip down memory lane. “Are you still there?” Yvonne asked, her voice laced with concern.
“Yes, I’m here. Sorry about that. I was just thinking that maybe you’re right, this trip might be a god- sent in disguise. I suppose I do need to get out of here for a while.
Chapter Two
Devin Cooper rolled over in his king sized bed, moaning as the early morning sun burst through the curtains and shone directly on his face, waking him from his slumber; and hauling him out of the incredibly erotic dream that he was having. His dream featured an incredibly hot blond, with legs that went on for days, wrapped around his waist, moaning sweetly in his ears...
Or, was it a dream? As he fully awoke, reality set in and his head began to throb. He moaned again, covering his eyes with the back of his hands. He had gone overboard with the drinking again.
He looked over to his left when he heard a small sigh. Holy shit! It wasn’t a dream after all. Beside him, laid the leggy blond, be thought he had conjured up in his sub conscience.
She was still asleep, her blond tresses spread out on the pillow beside him. Damn, he couldn’t even remember her name. Vague memories of the wild night before flashed though his mind, intensifying his headache. He glanced again at the woman in bed with him, coming to the realization that he had yet again picked up a complete stranger. Devin sighed, I hope this one is mentally and emotionally stable enough to understand and accept that this was just a one-night stand he thought; remembering last month’s fiasco with a woman who thought him sleeping with her was a marriage proposal. He shivered and turned his efforts to getting out of bed, not wanting to remember the details of that particular disaster.
He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and cautiously eased himself out of bed, partly because his head was about to explode and largely in part to not wanting to wake his bed partner. He quietly snorted, as he came to the realization that he was sneaking out of bed in his own damn house. Ridiculous he mused. Turns out the woman beside him was a light sleeper, the slight shift of the mattress quickly aroused her from her slumber. Her eyes fluttered open as she searched the room for him.
Spotting him, she smiled “Good morning”.
Devin forced a smile and responded “Good morning”. He sighed inwardly; time to let another one down easy. “Listen, um...”
The woman frowned, “You don’t remember my name, do you? It’s Carleen.”
“Right, Carleen. I have a busy day ahead of me; I’m already late for work so, I’m going to get going. You can show yourself out, right?
Carleen glared at him. “Are you seriously? You are such a jerk! Not even breakfast?”
ROMANCE: YOUNG ADULT ROMANCE: WESTERN ROMANCE: The Smoking Cowboy (SPECIAL FREE BOOK INCLUDED PLUS FREE GIFT) (CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE) Page 4
