Unspoken Pleasure

“Sweetheart, just so you will get that bee out you bonnet, Carson gets to stay in the cabin next to Sam’s,” Bill said.

“And what else,” she still demanded to know.

“That and he gets to eat you mother’s fine cooking.”

“So you’re saying you aren’t paying him. Why would he work for nothing?” Caitlin persisted.

“He has his reasons and it’s not my place to tell you,” Bill said.

“Working to have a chance to taste your mother’s cooking is worth a lot. I don’t think she would like to hear you say that it’s nothing,” I chipped in. Caitlin shot me one more glare and stormed out of the barn.

Bill shook his head. “She reminds me so much of her mother when she was young. I didn’t think I would ever tame Colleen.”Content © NôvelDrama.Org 2024.

At supper that night we were joined by Caitlin. She sat next to Sam on the opposite side of the table from me. She gave me another sharp look when I came into the kitchen. I waited until everyone had filled their plates before speaking.

“Your mother tells me that you have finished your doctorate in veterinary medicine,” I said in a pleasant voice.

“Yeah,” was her one word answer given without looking up.

“Sam says that there is only one other vet in the area and he’s over fifty miles away. I’m sure your going to be a very big asset to the folks in this area.” Caitlin did glance up at my compliment and I thought I saw her eyes soften a bit.

“Yes, that would be Doc Harrison,” Colleen said. “He has more business than he can handle and is often needed in more than one place at the same time. I agree with you Carson, our Caitlin will be able to provide a great service.”

During the rest of the meal Caitlin talked with her parents and Sam who had been on the ranch since before she was born. She didn’t address me directly and I for the most part kept quiet. This was her homecoming and I knew her parents and Sam wanted to hear what had been happening in her life while she was away.

As soon as I finished eating I excused myself to turn in. I returned to my cabin and checked my e-mail and saw that I had one from Jake. He reported that he had talked to a friend of his who was on the police force and casually asked if they still considered me to be a missing person. His friend said that everything had been dropped after they received the e-mail with the picture I had sent them. As for Janice, Brandon had apparently dumped her as soon as he learned I had disappeared with all the money and it didn’t look like Janice was going to get her hands on any of it soon. Of course she couldn’t afford the rent on the house we had been living in and was now living in a seedy apartment working as a waitress. She didn’t have the money to hire a lawyer to pursue me. I thought it ironic. She had apparently only married me for my money and her boyfriend had only wanted her for the same thing, my money.

I was still working on replacing fence posts. I now only did so about every third or fourth day. I had moved out of the hill country and was down where I could drive the pick up to where I worked. It really was easier to load the posts in the back of the truck rather than on the mules. The morning after Caitlin returned home I loaded the pickup with posts and drove to where I had left off. When it was my normal time to take lunch I started to the truck and realized that I hadn’t brought my lunch with me. If any of us were going to be working away from the main house all day, Colleen would make sure we had a lunch and I guess I spaced out picking mine up. I could have driven back to the house but decided that missing one meal wasn’t going to kill me.

About a half hour later I had just set a pole and was attaching the wire when I heard a vehicle approaching. I looked back and saw it was one of the ranch trucks. The truck came to a stop just as I finished with that post. I turned around and was surprised to see Caitlin get out. She had a small sack in her hand like the ones Colleen put our lunches in.

“Mama said you forgot your lunch,” she said shoving the bag towards me. I reached out and took it from her.

“Thank you, Caitlin. That was very kind of you,” I replied. I looked in the bag and saw it contained two sandwiches as usual. I took one out and offered the other to Caitlin but she shook her head no. I shrugged my shoulders and went and sat on the tailgate of the truck to eat. Caitlin walked over to where she was standing about five feet to my side and just stared at me. I just sat and ate, keeping my eyes focused in front of me.

“Why are you here?” she asked finally. I turned and looked at her and decided to fuck with her.

“You can’t tell anybody. I robbed a bank and stashed the money. I’m hiding out here until the heat is off and I can retrieve the cash.”

At first her eyes grew wide then she glared at me. “You’re a real clown,” she huffed and turned to leave. I waited until she was half way to her truck.

“Caitlin.” She heard me say her name and stopped and slowly turned around. “I married a woman who never loved me and only wanted the things I could provide for her. I ended up here because I just wanted to get away from everything I knew for awhile.”

Caitlin again stared at me and I think she decided I was telling the truth this time. She nodded her head and left without another word. As she drove away I thought about what her dad had said about her mother being like Caitlin when she was that age. He said he had tamed Colleen but I suspected that it was their love for each other that was the secret. It had been less than twenty four hours since I first met Caitlin and I couldn’t imagine any man “taming” the fiery redhead.

Supper that night was pretty much a repeat of the night before. Caitlin had conversations with her parents and Sam. I didn’t really feel slighted, after all, she didn’t know me and we had nothing in common really. We were just finishing dinner when there was a knock on the door and Bill went to answer it. He came into the kitchen followed by a man about my age. He was what women would call tall, dark and handsome.

Caitlin excitedly called out a name and jumped from her seat and hugged the guy. It was obvious they knew each other. They were gabbing away about how long it had been since they had seen each other. A few minutes later there was another knock on the door and Bill went and answered it and returned with another man. This one was fair haired but also good looking. He received an equally warm greeting from Caitlin.