So�This Is Montana� Ch. 16
It was early the next morning when Lance wandered sleepily into the brightly lit kitchen to see an older woman busily preparing breakfast.
Selma looked up from her biscuit dough and greeted Lance as she wiped her hands on the apron covering her simple floral print dress.
�Well�good morning young fellow. My name is Selma�Selma Marshall.� She extended her hand to Lance, which he grasped gently, but awkwardly in his right hand, due to the brace that Dr. Shannon was having wear during his stay in Montana.
�Hello Selma,� Lance answered, smiling at her. �I�m Lance Bass and�this is a long story,� he added pointing at the brace after releasing the older woman�s hand. He watched as a pleasant smile formed on her lips.
�Well�it�s nice to finally meet the young man that Mr. B has been going on and on about and I heard about that,� nodding toward his arm.
Lance�s ears immediately turned a bright pink as he blushed and gave Selma a sheepish grin then looked down at his feet, waiting for the heat of embarrassment to disappear.
Instantly, Selma was impressed with Lance�s humbleness. She had been at her daughter�s home in Wyoming when Lance made his first visit to the ranch and was unable to form her own opinion of the young man until now.
When she had first heard about Mr. Benson�s business arrangement with the 21 year old, she was prepared to meet a cocky, self-absorbed young man, but Lance seemed far off base from her image.
Lance could feel Selma staring at him and it caused him to feel slightly uncomfortable. He glanced up and looked at the counter behind the older woman and a small smile began to form on his lips as he looked at the food that Selma was preparing.
Selma watched as Lance walked over to the flour covered counter.
�Wow�I hope you make enough of these, Selma,� Lance said as he turned around to look at her with a big grin on his face.
�We haven�t had homemade anything in a long time.�
Selma smiled. �There will be plenty, Lance�plenty.� She joined him at the counter and once again began to form the dough into the biscuits before laying them on a cookie sheet.
�How are your friends doing this morning�I heard about the accident yesterday afternoon, but you didn�t come in until after I went to bed.�
Lance nodded his head. �Yes ma�am�we didn�t make it in until a little after 2:00 this morning.�
Selma looked over at the young man was surprised to see that he was even up and moving after only, at the very most, 5 hours of sleep.
Lance saw the look of surprise on her face and smiled, knowing what she was thinking, but decided to answer her earlier question about the others.
�Um�Joey and Justin are going to be pretty sore for a while�especially Joe. They�ll both be taking it pretty easy for the rest of our stay. JC is going to have a killer headache this morning, but he�ll be okay. He�ll just need lots of rest today.�
�That�s good to hear. I�m looking forward to meeting your friends�maybe later today. I�ll have to make some special meals for them.�
Lance smiled and nodded his head. �They�d appreciate that, but don�t go to too much trouble, Selma.�
�Oh�never you mind that young man,� Selma said, waving a hand at Lance. �It�ll be nice to cook for some one new.�
Lance nodded at the remark then gazed about the kitchen and spied the coffee pot on the nearby counter. �Anything you make will be just fine Selma, but please don�t go to too much trouble for us.�
�Now�like I said�you don�t need to worry about that young man,� the older woman said before popping the baking pan into the oven. She noted what Lance was looking at.
�Would you like some coffee?�
�Yes ma�am�where are the cups?� he answered, as he glanced at the multitude of cabinet doors before him.
�In the cabinet right in front of you�sugar and sweetener on the other side of the coffee pot�cream in the refrigerator,� Selma said as she turned her back to Lance and returned to the task of making breakfast.
�Thank you.� Lance poured himself a cup of coffee then sat down on a barstool across from the older woman so that he could watch her as he drank his coffee.
�I hope you don�t mind an audience,� he said quietly before taking a sip of coffee.
�Not a problem young man,� she murmured. Selma wiped her hands on her apron once again then reached into a bread warmer. She grabbed a biscuit and handed it to Lance.
�Here�this is to keep you stomach from growing together.�
Lance chuckled at the remark. �Thanks,� he said as he took the biscuit from her hand before taking a small bite.
Selma watched Lance�s face as he chewed. A grin slowly spread its way across his face.
�This is great, Selma.�
The older woman smiled, then nodded her head as she continued working. After a few moments of silence, she was ready for more conversation.
�So�tell me about yourself, Mr. Bass.�
Lance swallowed what he had in his mouth before answering.
�Please call me Lance and there isn�t much to tell really,� Lance said before taking a sip of his coffee.
�That�s not what I hear.�
Lance raised his eyebrows as he took another bite of biscuit.
�I hear that you are a very successful young man.� Selma stopped what she was doing and looked over to see that Lance was blushing once again.
�Well�� he began, not exactly sure of what to say. Selma noticed his discomfort and decided to go a different route in learning more about the new owner of the ranch.
�So�tell me�where are you from Lance?�
�Clinton, Mississippi.�
Selma gave Lance a surprised look. �I thought you and your friends were from Orlando,� she said.
�Well�none of us originally. Justin is from Tennessee�JC is from Maryland�Joey is from Brooklyn�and Chris is from Pittsburgh. One thing or another led us to be in Orlando�mostly our work.�
Lance finished the biscuit and made himself another cup of coffee.
�Oh�what kind of work do you do?� Selma asked, already knowing the answer but she also knew that this would probably be the only way that this young man would talk about himself.
�Um�we�re in the music industry,� he answered quietly.
�Oh�you sing?�
�Yes, ma�am.�
�Country?�
Lance chuckled, shaking his head as he stirred his coffee knowing that the others would grimace at that suggestion. �No, ma�am. We sing pop music actually.�
�Oh�� Selma said, sounding somewhat surprised as she placed another pan of biscuits in the oven. �What�s the name of your group?�
�N Sync,� Lance answered, figuring that Selma probably would not have heard of them, but he didn�t realized that Selma did her homework for more than one reason when it came to Mr. Benson and his business dealings.
Selma began putting items away as she cleaned off the kitchen counters. As she worked, she began to quietly hum and Lance nearly choked on his coffee when he realized what tune the older woman was humming��Bye, Bye, Bye.�
She quickly reached over and gave Lance several firm pats on the back. �Did it go down the wrong pipe?� she asked, her voice full of concern, but her eyes full of mischief.
Lance could only nod since he was still coughing. �You�you listened to us?� he asked between coughs.
Finding that Lance was okay, Selma went back to her work as she spoke.
�I did my homework, young man�personally, I like �This I Promise You� the most, but �I thought She Knew� is also one of my favorites too,� Selma explained without turning to face the young man. �Maybe I�ll get you and the others to sing them to me sometime before you have to leave.�
�Yes ma�am,� Lance murmured, his eyes wide open in amazement by what had just happened.
�Selma had to be at least 60 and she knew some of their material�she�s great,� Lance thought to himself as he took another sip of his coffee.
Minutes later, Chris bounced into the kitchen with his usual early morning energy.
�Something smells good,� Chris said with a smile as he walked up to Lance who had just taken another bite of a biscuit that Selma had just handed him and patted him on the back.
�Morning Chris,� Lance said between bites.
�Good morning young man,� Selma said as she turned around to see who had entered the room in such a chipper mood.
Chris looked from Lance over to the older woman and was instantly reminded of his grandmother. He quickly extended his hand and approached her.
�Morning�I�m Chris.�
�Well�I�m Selma,� the woman replied. �Coffee?�
Before Chris could answer, Lance interrupted. �Give him decaf, Selma�please,� he pleaded.
�Hey!� Chris interjected while giving Lance a thump on the side of the head as he passed him on the way to the coffee pot.
�Better respect your elders, boy,� he added with a smile.
�I�m sure there�s a story behind the need for decaffeinated coffee,� Selma said with a smile as she handed Chris a coffee mug then pointed out the sugar, much to Lance�s dismay.
�Oh�you�ll find out soon enough Selma,� Chris said as he wiggled his eyebrows at the older woman while dumping several spoonfuls of sugar into his coffee, much to Lance�s dismay. He tried to signal Chris that he had enough, but he was completely ignored.
Selma laughed at both young men and shook her head as she continued to watch the pair of young men.
Lance rolled his eyes, shook his head then inwardly groaned as he watched Chris wiggle his eyebrows at him before taking a sip of his coffee. With all that sugar and caffeine in his system�it was going to be a long day. The only bright side would be the fact that he would be going on that ride with Troy and Mitch.
�Why don�t the two of you go out on the back patio and visit while I finish making breakfast,� Selma suggested, interrupting Lance�s thoughts.
�Sounds like a good idea,� Chris said as he followed Lance through the kitchen and into the living room. The view through the French doors leading out to the back patio was stunning, but when the pair stepped out onto the stone porch, the view was breathtaking.
For a few moments, neither man spoke. Finally, Chris broke the silence with a small whistle of appreciation before commenting. �Man�now I understand why you love this place.�
�Yeah,� Lance quietly said in return.
The view before them was expansive. The house sat at the top of a tall hill. Down below the home lay the north pasture lands�almost 150 acres. It was here that more than 50 head of cattle were kept. The other 150 or so head were kept in the larger pasture off to the eastern end of the property.
The rising sun cast a soft glow over the trees in the bottoms causing their changing fall leaves to explode into muted reds, yellows, and oranges. One could only imagine what the colors would look like later in the day in the full sun.
Both young men sat on a long porch swing, grasping their warm coffee mugs in their hands in an effort to draw warmth from them.
�Geez�it gets cold here in late August,� Chris complained as he lifted his feet from the porch, drawing his knees up to this chest in an effort to stay warm.
�Yeah�just a little,� Lance agreed through slightly chattering teeth. He had never been one to enjoy the cool weather being a good old southern boy.
They sat in companionable silence, enjoying the view until Chris�s watch began beeping, startling them both.
Chris turned it off and stood up.
�What was that for?� Lance asked as he watched Chris slightly stretch.
�Time to wake up JC again,� he said, his face twisted in a slight grimace as he walked to the edge of the patio and dumped the remaining coffee from his cup into the grass. �Want to come help?� he asked Lance hopefully.
Lance chuckled as he stood up and followed Chris back into the house toward the bedrooms down a long corridor off the living room.
Before going into the bedroom that Chris had shared with JC, the pair stopped to check in on Justin and Joey and found that they were both still sleeping soundly.
�I had to give Joey a pain pill this morning right before I got up,� Lance whispered as he tip-toed into the bedroom and made his way over to Joey�s bedside. Very gently he placed his hand on Joey�s forehead and smiled as he slightly nodded his head.
�What?� Chris whispered.
�He felt kind of warm last night when I checked on him and Justin, but he�s okay now,� Lance answered. The doctor had warned them of the possibility that Joey could possibly run a slight fever during his recovery time.
�Yeah�I remember him saying that might run a slight fever,� Chris replied quietly before turning to leave the room with Lance not too far behind him. They walked across the hall and entered the bedroom that JC and Chris had shared.
JC was still asleep, somewhat tangled in his sheets. Chris gave Lance a look that begged for him to do the honors of waking their friend. Lance almost laughed out loud at Chris�s expression but was able to suppress the laugh into a light giggle as he nodded his head before sitting down on the side of JC�s bed.
�C�JC�� Lance said quietly as he lightly shook JC�s right arm. JC groaned in his sleep and grimaced as he attempted to turn away from who ever was trying to wake him up.
�Please�Chris�let me sleep,� JC pleaded in a voice thick with sleep as he reached to brush the hand off his arm.
Lance�s low chuckle and Chris�s giggles brought JC slowly out of his sleep.
He rolled over and struggled to straighten his covers, quietly moaning before giving an exasperated sigh when his efforts were not working while rubbing his temples. With eye�s half open, JC looked first at Lance and then at Chris.
�Sore?�
�Yeah,� JC said as he winced. �He talked you into doing the dirty work�huh Lance,� JC said quietly before once again attempting to straighten the tangled covers that he was tightly wrapped in. He gave both of his friends a pleading look and immediately was met with chuckles as both Lance and Chris worked to untangle him.
�Are you hungry?� Lance asked as he and Chris finished straightening JC�s covers.
�Yeah�a little.�
�Well�Selma is putting out a spread,� Lance said. �Do you feel up to going to the kitchen to eat some breakfast?�
JC nodded his head and slowly sat up. �If I eat something, I can take something for my headache. How are Joey and Justin doing?�
�They�re still asleep. Lance had to give Joey some pain pills last night, but other than that, I guess they�re okay,� Chris answered. �Do you need any help or anything?� Chris added as he and Lance watched JC�s slow movements.
�Nah�I can manage�I�m just a little sore and my head hurts some,� JC answered as he slid out of bed and made his way over to his suitcase. He rummaged through the bags and within a few minutes was dressed in a pair of sweat pants and a long sleeved t-shirt.
The trio left the bedroom. �I want to go see Joe and J,� JC said quietly. The three young men entered the bedroom and allowed JC his chance to check on the other two members of the group.
Meanwhile, Selma was standing at the window over the sink. Using a pair of binoculars, she watched several of the ranch hands moving at least 10 or 15 head of cattle toward the western pasture.
Checking over her shoulder to make sure that Lance and the others were not coming into the room, Selma picked up the kitchen phone and quickly dialed her son�s cell phone number.
�Hello?� a gruff voice answered.
�I see that you�re moving a nice sized group,� she said quietly. �Just wanted to let you know that some of the group is waking up.�
�Him?�
�Yes.�
�Did he mention anything about the ride he wants to take later this morning?�
�No�he didn�t,� Selma answered. �Will everything be ready for him?�
�Yes Mama,� he answered.
�That�s my boy,� Selma quietly crooned into the receiver. �That�s my little John. Someday�all of this will be yours John.�
�No, Mama�it�ll be ours,� the ranch hand answered.
�As well it should be,� Selma answered in a bitter voice. �Mr. Benson and Mr. Bass and friends have no idea who they are dealing with�do they.�
Selma heard her son chuckling on the other end of the line. �No they don�t Mama�no they don�t.�