by JA Low
I still don’t understand why they are together now if that’s the case?
Dad clears his throat. “Things between the four of us continued to include the four of us through college.”
Oh, I understand the meaning. “You were swingers?” Bile rises in my throat as I say the word.
“No, I wouldn’t say that,” Dad adds quickly. “We never shared with anyone else, just us four.” Okay, I guess that makes a little sense. “Reg and I loved two women at the same time.”
Claire reaches out and grabs his hand and squeezes it.
“It’s hard to explain, but when she lost Reg and your mother was dying, we had each other.” He looks down nervously at his feet. “That’s when Reg and Hillary came up with this idea before they passed. They knew we would gravitate toward each other for strength during that time, and I guess they wanted us to be happy with their blessings.”
Shaking my head in disbelief, I ask, “Is that the reason you bought ranches across the road from each other?” I look between the two of them.
“Yes,” Claire answers.
“And, um… how long did this go on for?” Embarrassment is warming my face, but I have to know.
“It never stopped, sweetie, until Reg and Hillary became sick,” Dad tells me.
Shaking my head, the realization hits me, and the conclusion is kind of gross if I want to put a word to it.
“That’s why we went on holidays together, isn’t it?” I thought it was great traveling with another family, but I didn’t realize it was so our parents could get freaky together. Oh my God, this is crazy.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart, that you were never told any of this,” Dad says sadly. “By the time we explained to the family why we were together so soon, you had left. You disappeared and changed your number, so we had no idea where you w-were.” Emotion makes my dad’s voice crack. “And by the time you eventually called home a year later, the entire fight was forgotten because we were happy to know you were safe,” he explains.
“I’m sorry about that,” I tell Dad. “In hindsight, it was cruel and immature of me to run the way I did. But I was hurting so much, and I thought the two people I had left in the world had betrayed me, which in turn, was betraying Mom and Reg, too. I was angry. So angry that I let it drive me away.” I can admit my part in this whole saga of miscommunication.
“I apologize, sweetie, that I never explained myself properly to you,” Dad tells me.
“I know.” I give him a small smile. “It was a bad time all around, and everyone did the best that they could, and things slipped through the cracks.” Letting out a heavy sigh, I continue, “I’m sorry, Claire, for taking my anger out on you.”
Claire has tears running down her cheeks. “You have nothing to apologize for, Stella, especially now I realize you didn’t know what was going on. I get it, sweetie. I truly do,” she tells me.
I get up and walk over to hug Claire. She breaks down while holding me. We stay like that for a long time, then I move onto my dad and do the same. I need to let this anger over the entire situation go. It’s not healthy, and by the sounds of it now, not what Mom would have wanted either.
“You going to stay for dinner?” Dad asks.
I’m exhausted.
Today has been a lot to take in and process, so I reply with, “Maybe not tonight.” His face falls. “I need a moment to process everything, okay?”
Dad nods his head in understanding. “We are just so happy to have you home. You take all the time you need, sweetheart.”
43
EJ
“That was a lot to unpack tonight.” We are sitting outside of the glamping tent Lacey set us up in after the craziness of tonight. It’s weird looking up at the black sky and seeing it covered in millions of twinkling stars stretching as far as the eye can see, along with the odd sounds of cattle in the distance echoing through the valley. The silence of being out in the open feels heavy, and it’s bizarre.
“That my parents were swingers?” Stella looks over at me, then bursts out laughing.
“Well, yeah, that. You okay?” Looking over at her, worried about how she’s processing it all because it really is a lot to take in.
“I guess it explains a lot now when I look back on it all,” she adds, twisting a beer bottle in her hand. “Why the four of them were so close.” Then she cracks up laughing again.
I have no idea if she’s dealing with this by nervous laughter or she truly finds the whole situation amusing.
“You know, it’s okay to not be okay with it,” I reassure her.
Stella glances up at me, and she looks so gorgeous by the fire. She seems wild with her wind-swept blonde hair and her cheeks rosy from the beer. She’s rugged up in a blanket with the darkness of night behind her. Stella suits it here. Not that she doesn’t suit the city, but I can imagine her riding a horse around the prairies. I grew up in the city, moved from one big city to another, so I don’t know what it’s like to live in a small country town.
“I’m okay,” she tells me, then takes a sip of her beer. “Just need some time to get used to it all. To let everything sink in a bit.”
“Oh my God, what was that?” Almost jumping out of my chair, I hear a loud howl. Are we going to be eaten by something? Stella bursts out laughing at my reaction, so much so, she clutches her stomach because she’s doubled over with laughter.
“It’s coyotes,” she eventually tells me. “We’re fine.” I give her a skeptical look that makes her giggle again. “They won’t eat us.”
“They may not eat us, but I’m going to eat you.” Reaching out, I pull her from her seat onto my lap. She drops the blanket and places her legs on either side of mine on the chair, and wraps her arms around my neck.
“Thanks for being there for me today.” Her face softens.
“I told you, Stell, I’ve got you.” Reaching out, I caress her cheek. “I love you. Nothing is going to change that.” As my thumb runs along her cheek, goosebumps form on her skin. “Not even a pair of swinging parents.”
She laughs heartily, then leans in and kisses me hungrily.
“So that you know I don’t share,” she warns me. “So, don’t get any ideas.”
“Neither do I. You’re mine, and you are stuck with me forever and ever,” I tell her.
“Exactly where I want to be.” She kisses me again, this time with a little more heat. Her deft fingers unbutton my jeans, and her hand disappears inside my briefs, then runs along my hardening length before squeezing to wake him up.
I pick her up and shimmy my jeans down my butt before sitting back down to give us room. Her hands push down my underwear and wrap about my heated skin. I hiss at the touch of her cold hand. Thankfully, she is wearing her dress still as my hands bunch the fabric around her, exposing her thighs to the cool night air. My hands do quick work, ripping her lace underwear apart, as I don’t have time to take them off properly, not when I know she’s already wet for me.
My fingers disappear inside of her, and Stella throws her head back at the intrusion. She looks like a goddess with the stars behind her and the glow of the fire lighting her hair. She begins to ride my fingers like the cowgirl I know she used to be. But I don’t want her coming on my fingers. I need to be inside of her, I need to show her she’s mine and I’m hers.
Removing my fingers, much to Stella’s annoyance, I pick her up and let her hover over my dick.
“I need to make love to you under the stars.”
Stella nods in agreement and slides down on me, and everything feels right in the world again.
“Come on,” Stella screams at me as she gallops away on her horse like some kind of blonde cowgirl.
Her dad took us down to Stella’s plot of land on the ranch. It has some of the most stunning views I’ve ever seen. As far as you look, there is nothing but green rolling hills with wildflowers, blue skies, and skyscraper-sized snowcapped mountains.
Stella relaxed as soon as she saw her plot of land. It has a mountai
n-fed stream that runs through it, which is perfect for fishing—so I’ve been told.
Her dad excitedly spoke about Stella maybe turning it into a working ranch again. Perhaps we will, I’m not sure. But what I do know is I want to bring a family up here, not full time, but I want to give my kids access to this kind of life.
My ass hurts. Flies keep assaulting my face. Daisy, the older yet calmer horse I’m riding, keeps farting, and it stinks. I guess I have much to learn about this ranching life. It’s a far cry from the farms Stella and I have been looking at back in Connecticut. Least back there, I know a rattlesnake isn’t going to slither up to my tent and get me in the middle of the night, or that coyotes will not want to nibble my toes.
Austin joins me at the back of the group pulling me from my thoughts. “You okay?” he asks.
“No, my damn ass hurts.” I groan.
He chuckles. “Yeah, you’re going to have sore balls for a long time.” My balls don’t appreciate it. “You’ll get used to it eventually,” he tries to ease my pain. “If you’re going to be with my sister, you’re going to have to love horseback riding,” he tells me.
Seeing Stella with the horses, I know what he means. This is her world. She’s so much more relaxed out here. Carefree. I give him a look of ‘hell no, I’m never doing this again,’ which has him cracking up once again.
“Tell me you know how to shoot a gun at least?” Austin asks.
“No. Why would I need to know that?”
Austin shakes his head, giving me a disappointed look. “Bears. Coyotes. Wolves. Snakes. You know… so you can protect my sister from them.” Wait, I have to do what? “Tell me you at least have some knife skills?”
Yeah, but not to have hand-to-hand combat with a bear. “Of course, but not kill anyone,” I tell him.
“That’s a shame.” Austin chuckles, shaking his head, then he bursts out laughing, almost falling off his horse in the process. “I’m just messing with you.”
I flip him off, the fucker.
“It’s just too easy to tease the city slicker.” Austin grins.
“Wait till you come to the city, then you’re in my domain,” I reply.
“You going to save me from a New York taxi or something,” he jokes.
“We have cougars in the city, and those are much scarier.”
Austin breaks out into a full belly laugh, and once he calms down, he says, “You’re not so bad. We might be able to turn you into a cowboy yet.”
As long as I can wear a cowboy hat, I’m in.
“Stella tells me you used to do rodeo,” I ask.
“Yeah, did. World champ right here.” He puffs out his chest. “Until I met a bull that decided enough was enough and tried to kill me. Stopped my career dead in its tracks. So, now I train the young ones and any city slickers who want to try to be a cowboy for the weekend.” Austin looks up into the blue sky and squints into the sun before turning back to me.
“You miss it?” I ask.
“Yeah, I do. It was a part of me. My identity. It took me a while to work out who I was again once it had gone. I guess it might be a bit like if you lost your hands and couldn’t be a chef. You’d have to adapt,” he explains. “I miss the excitement. It’s addictive having that much attention. I was no saint on the scene.” He grins. “Especially with the number of rodeo groupies who would do anything to fuck a world champ.”
I get it. It sounds eerily similar to my life before Stella.
“But you have to make do with the way things turn out, don’t you?” he tells me, and he’s right. “I still get to be on the scene as a spectator and train the next world champ. I never thought I would be happy helping others achieve their dreams, but it seems perhaps I do.” He chuckles. “How’s Stella this morning?” Austin changes the subject. “The story of Mom and Dad’s relationship must have hit her hard?”
“Last night was a lot.” Daisy shakes me around. “I think she’s processing it, but slowly,” I tell him. “Seeing Stella today like she is, I think she’s going to be fine.” Staring over at Stella in the distance, she’s riding like the wind across the plains as if she doesn’t have a care in the world.
“You think you might settle back here in Moonlight Falls?” Austin asks.
“We haven’t spoken about that yet,” I tell him truthfully. “Maybe not full time, but I think I can see us spending holidays here.”
“Stella was never one for this life,” Austin muses. “But it’s in her blood, so her love for it will always be there.”
I understand what he’s saying—Stella will always want to come home.
“I’d like our kids to experience all this.” I wave around, looking at the imposing snowcapped mountains.
“I’m warning you now… I’m going to be the cool uncle, and I’m going to take them to places they shouldn’t go, or let them do things their parents won’t allow.” He chuckles.
These were my exact thoughts about Chloe and Noah’s kids, but now I feel nervous about the statement. And with that, he slaps Daisy’s ass, which makes her whinny, and she bolts across the plains with a screaming chef holding on for dear life.
Eighteen Months Later
We’ve come back to Moonlight Falls to move into our new home on the ranch Ariana designed for us—our little slice of mountain life heaven.
My horseback riding skills have improved significantly since that first fateful ride all that time ago. Now, I can keep up with the others. I also know how to shoot a shotgun. I haven’t run into any bears yet but have seen a coyote roaming around. I’ve even become quite good on the old grill, cowboy style.
Jesse’s beef is fucking amazing. He took me out the first time I was here and showed me around his ranch, explained how it all worked. I loved being able to see first-hand how well the produce is looked after. We trialed the beef on the menu back in New York, and the critics went crazy for it. Jesse’s business has blown up since, and there are articles in all the major newspapers and magazines about his organic beef, with the top restaurants in the states wanting in on a slice of his product.
The last time we were here checking on the construction, I spoke to Stella’s dad and asked his permission to marry Stella.
He cried.
I wasn’t expecting that.
The big burly cowboy with tears in his eyes.
He loves his daughter so much, and I can’t wait to be like that one day with my kids.
I am not ready for them yet, though.
Speaking of kids, my friends are reproducing like rabbits. Logan and Lenna have popped out twins. Emma and Anderson are pregnant too, which was a surprise as they were always so adamant that they didn’t want kids in their future, but I guess life had other plans. I also know Noah and Chloe are trying now they are married too.
“You ready to open the door to our new home,” I ask Stella as we stand in front of the luxury log and stone cabin. Honestly, the place is spectacular, thanks to Ariana’s exceptional architectural skills. We were the first project signed to her new firm. She’s been inundated with work recently, especially with New Yorkers moving from the city to the suburbs. Then there are the Manhattanites’ holiday homes in The Hamptons, and also there’s redesigning the multimillion-dollar apartments in the city. You name it, she’s doing it.
“I can’t believe this is ours.” Stella stares at the front door.
“Come on, let’s take a look.” As I push open the front door to our new home, Stella’s in tears as soon as she takes in everything before her, but all I can think about is what’s in my pocket and if I’m going to be able to say the words to her.
We finally make our way into the living room, which has rose petals all over the floor and a picnic basket and rug set out in the middle of the living room. Stella pauses and takes in the scene of the snowcapped peaks framed perfectly through the glass doors. She then looks up and reads the sign hanging from the ceiling above them.
Will You Marry Me
Her hands come to her mouth on a ga
sp as she reads the sign.
When she turns around, I’m there on one knee with the ring box open, showing her the five-carat oval diamond ring. Tears run down her face as she takes in the scene before her.
“Stella. You are my best friend. Confidant. Biggest cheerleader. You make my life so much richer for being in it. I never knew what love was until you walked into my life. I was too stubborn to listen to what my heart was trying to tell me until I thought I’d lost you.”
Tears begin to well in my eyes as I say the words but being a man, I try to blink them away.
“I never want to go through life without you, Stell. I want us to grow old together. I want to sit on the back porch of this house watching our kids play with coyotes.” Stella giggles. “Maybe not.”
Grinning up at her as I begin to slip the large diamond ring onto her finger, I continue, “I can’t wait to live the rest of my life traveling on this adventure that’s called life with you. Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes. Yes,” Stella squeals as tears fall down her cheeks, and I slip the ring entirely onto her finger. She wraps herself around me as I stand.
Reaching out, I take her face between my hands and kiss the ever-loving shit out of her.
Stella Price is going to be my wife.
“Come on, let’s christen every room of this home.” Nuzzling into her neck, I smirk.
“There are ten bedrooms.” She gasps.
“Exactly, so we better get cracking,” I state, then slap her ass for good measure.
THE END
Acknowledgments
Thanks for finishing another one of my stories.
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