| Title: The Ranch Author: Anjell Chapter 1 It was six o'clock on Monday morning when my boss called me up. He had two new jobs, and because he couldn't make it to either one of our customers tomorrow, they became my jobs. I could hardly heard him on the phone due to the pounding headache throbbing in my head and of course I am completely hung over. It never really sinks in to me that I have to try and be in two places at once. I agree to do it, and then fall back to sleep. At about 10 a.m. the phone rings again. Anthony, my boss, wants to know why I'm not out at the farm he'd told me about earlier. "What farm?" I ask completely confused. "You have an appointment with our new clients." Anthony tells me as calmly as possible. I look at the clock trying to figure out what time it is but my eyes are still blurry from sleep. "What time is it Tony?" I ask finally giving up. "It's at 11:00 a.m." Anthony says thinking I was asking what time the appointment was. I leaped out of my bed amazed at the fact that I could even move, all the while swearing like a crazy person. I get in and out of the shower in 5 minutes. I take a minute to observe the mark on my right cheek and groan out loud at how awful it looks. "God, What a bruise! No amount of makeup is gonna cover that Lightning up." I grab a black pant suit completely forgetting that, oh yeah, I'm going to a farm. I get in my car as fast as I can and start speeding without even recognizing it. "Late AGAIN!!!! God why me? Why can't I once be on time!?!?" I pull up to the farm, jump outta the car and race up and ring the doorbell. Someone opens it. "I'm here!" I announce triumphantly. "I'm so sorry I'm late. But I.... oh never mind. Should we get started?" So far, it hasn't even occurred to me that the man standing at the door hasn't answered me yet. I barge in, leaving him just looking at me. "Oh wait! I forgot my laptop." I say before running back to my car and get it, all the while thinking "Wow, this guy is sooo cute. I must remember to thank Anthony when I get back." I march back into the house, talking away as only I can. So far, my good-looking new customer hasn't said a word, of course, that's because he hasn't had a chance. I've been talking a mile a minute. He's raised an eyebrow several times but I'm oblivious, as always. Half an hour into my great sales pitch, he stops me. "Who the hell are you? What are you doing in my house? And what the hell happened to your chin?" I paused for a second then blink. "Um.... Joanne McCarthy... or you can call me Jo. The chin? Well, I was in a fight last night." "Do you always make a sales pitch this way?" He asks. I pause again. "No, usually my customers come to me." He shrugs. "I was expecting a man." I nod. "Anthony right?" He nods. "Right." "He's my boss I guess. He couldn't make it." He nods again. "And you have no clue who I am, do you?" He asks me and I nod. "Sure I do. You are..." I grab my sheets of paper and start to search for a name. "Not Mr. Helms. He lives in North Carolina,...hmm that's a long way... Anthony, why the hell did you get a contract there when we're here?" I mutter. The man nods his shaved head in agreement. He is not Mr. Helms. I look through my papers. "That means you are... Mr. Williams." I say triumphantly. "See, I told you I knew!" I look at the papers more closely. "Oh. Steve Williams. Just like the wrestler! Cool! Anybody ever ask you about that?" He stares at me, dumbfounded. And then laughs. "You're serious?" "Totally. Why?" He doesn't answer, so I keep talking. Five minutes later he interrupts me again. "Wanna come in or are ya' gonna stand there all day?". Want coffee?" He asks walking into the shaded interior of his house. I follow after a few seconds. "Sure. "Don't put anything in it please. I like it that way." I keep blabbing on about the web site I'm going to design for him. And then the phone rings. It's Anthony, asking me why I didn't show up for my appointment in North Carolina. I ask him if he knew how far it was in the other direction. He said he didn't know. I said it was too far. I got upset and I lied and said that my cell phone batteries were dying. I pulled them out. Williams sees me, and starts chuckling to himself. I look over, not amused. "What?" I ask. "You pulled the batteries out?" I nod. Then, lightening strikes my brain. "Are you really Steve Williams AKA Steve Austin of the WWF?" I mean, the wrestler?" I ask. He nods. "Yes." "Oh." There is silence for a minute. Then I say, "Did you know that I have talked for almost forty-five minutes about nothing? I mean, I didn't even know it was you, so half of the stuff I've said, is completely useless." "I know that." He answered. "Well, why didn't you stop me?" "You were so excited. I didn't want to spoil the fun." I laugh out loud at that. He giggles. The coffee is ready. He makes it, and then says, "I gotta have some chew." and pulls out a package of Tobacco Chew. "You should quit." I say. "Mind your own business." He says and chews, smiling. I grin and shake my head. Much later that night, I go back to the hotel. Anthony is there, wondering where the hell I've been "And what happened to your chin?" I shrug, and then hug him. He stares at me. "What's your problem?" "Great customer you picked." I give him a thumbs up and then walk into my bedroom and close the door. Sigh. What a great day! "Hey Anthony?" I poke my head out of the room. "What?" He asks from his place in the kitchen where he is making himself a scotch on the rocks. "How often do I get to meet with our new customer?" "Oh..." Anthony looks up as if remembering something. "Everyday until it's set up I think. Whatever you need." "Thanks." I close the door and thrust two fists in the air. "Yes!!!!" I try to make it a whisper. I open the door again. "Hey Anthony, how long are we in Texas for?" "I dunno... couple of months I think." "Thanks." I close the door again, excited enough to start jumping on the bed. Ah... what do I plan for tomorrow??? Title: The Ranch Author: Anjell Chapter 2 The next morning, I was up at 6:30 a.m. sharp. I flew around the house like a psycho with only one thought on my mind. This was, of course, because I only did have one thought on my mind: Steve. Today I wore something significantly more appropriate than a black suit... blue jeans and a white tank top. I was out of the house within an hour, and tearing down the road. A cop stopped me and gave me a ticket. I didn't even bother to try defend myself. I mean, 110 in a 60 zone? What is there to defend? I pulled into the driveway, and bounded up the steps to the front door. I rang it twice, but there was no answer. I opened the door and peeked my head in. "I'm here!!" I hollered out. No one was around. I heard a small noise coming from a hallway, so I walked in and looked around. "Shit!" A low voice mumbled. I turned around. It was Steve. He was shirtless and in boxers. "Shit is right!" I thought. Then I noticed that he was rubbing his eyes and scratching his belly. "Oops." I thought. It suddenly occurred to me that I was quite early. I'm never early. "What the hell are you doing here so Goddamn early?" He yawned. "It's barely 8:30!" "Oh... sorry. I didn't realize that you wouldn't be awake." He yawned and raised an eyebrow. "You live on a farm," I said. "Why wouldn't you be awake? Where's everybody else?" I walked into the kitchen and plopped myself into a chair. "I can wait until later if you need to shake some of the sleep off of you." Steve was busily rummaging around in the kitchen, mumbling curses to himself. I hoped they weren't directed at me. "Want a cup of coffee?" He asked groggily. "Yes please." I answered. "Have you eaten breakfast?" He asked. "Heck yeah! I've been up for a while." He nodded and stretched and yawned again. I did my very best not to stare. He was still shirtless. "Brew the coffee when the kettle goes off Jo. I'm gonna go get dressed." With that he wandered back off in the direction of the hallway. "No problem." I answered. Then I shook my head and dropped it on the table. "I am a very lucky woman. He is SO fine." I thought to myself. The kettle went off, and the shrill shriek made me almost jump a mile. Too lost in my thoughts I guess. "How do you take your coffee Steve?" I hollered out as I got up to pull it off the stove. At that moment, he came around the corner. "I'll get it." He said. "But you asked me to." I answered. "Well, now I'm saying I'll do my own." He reached for the kettle. I put it down and looked up at him. As our eyes met for just a brief second, two thoughts occurred to me. The first was that, at some point in the not too distant future, this man and I would have a very large argument. I don't know what made me think that, I just knew it was true. My second thought was that Steve had very lovely eyes. That thought made me smile. He smiled back, and I had to force myself not to blush. I grabbed my cup and went and sat down at the table. Steve ate some breakfast, and we discussed business for well over an hour and a half. "I haven't had a chew yet this morning." He said. "You should quit." I said. "Mind your own business." He said as he smiled and chewed a clump. I smiled back. "Well you should." I said again. "Wanna have a look around the farm?" He asked. "Yeah, sure." I answered. He led me out round the back, and showed me all sorts of different things. I drank everything in. I saw the cows, his hunting dogs, chickens, a few other animals, and last but not least, the horses. They were in the barn. "I bought this one a week ago." Steve indicated a beautiful black stallion in a very large stall right at the very back of the barn. "He's not broke yet." I stared at it. It was undoubtedly the most beautiful horse I'd ever seen in my life. I walked towards it. "Do you ride?" Steve asked me. "Not really, no. I'd love to learn though." I answered. "I'll teach you if you want." Steve said. I looked back at him. "Really? Oh that'd be great!" I kept walking towards the horse, totally mesmerized by its power and beauty. The horse was moving nervously and made a great deal of noise. Obviously, it wasn't used to the stable. "Leave him alone." Steve said. A firm hand clamped down on my shoulder, and I found myself being led out of the barn. I looked back at the horse and shook my shoulder. Steve took his hand off, but I could still feel the weight. The rest of the day was spent looking after business. I didn't get a chance to go out to the barn again, unfortunately. The crush on Steve had, remarkably, worn off. Now all I thought about was trying to get back into the barn to see that horse. I don't know why it was on my mind so much it just was. Several days later, I finally got the chance to meet Steve's parents. They were very nice. Mrs. Williams even invited me to stay at the farm while I was working for Steve. After all, it would save me the trip back and forth everyday, and all in all, she would enjoy the company. The house was filled with men. Not that I minded that of course. One or two girls in a house full of men was practically heaven! The day after I moved all my stuff into one of the spare rooms, Steve had to go away. I forget where it was he went. California maybe? I think he said there was some Pay-Per-View or something. I dunno. I walk around in oblivion most of the time I guess. But, I did get a chance to sneak back into the barn. There he was! The veritable Black Beauty himself. I slowly walked up to the horse. He actually came towards me you know. I was quite surprised. I closed my eyes and put a hand on his nose, and another hand on his neck. I moved around and then hugged it. I could feel its pulse. Oh! It was incredible. I opened my eyes. I just HAD to learn to ride. And then, by some strange impulse, I found myself opening the gate to the stable. I led the horse out. "Please don't let anyone catch me!" I silently prayed. The horse followed me, holding his face very close to my shoulder. And then, I vaulted up onto its back. The horse reared, but I held on. It reared again, but still I held on. And then he stood still. Sudden inspiration hit us both, and we went charging off across the field, galloping at full tilt. Eventually, he slowed to a canter, and then a trot. Much later that day, we went back to the barn. I brushed and fed him and then went back to the house. No one knew what I had done. "Perhaps I'll do it again." I thought to myself. I named the horse Lightning. No one knew except me and Lightning, but we went out riding everyday, even on Saturday when we had all that rain. It was truly glorious. Sunday I slept in, and so we didn't go. Monday, Lightning was furious with me, so I took him for an extra long ride. Tuesday morning, Steve got back. "You want coffee?" He asked me as he made breakfast. "Yes please." I said. "Have you eaten breakfast?" He asked. "Yes. I'm fine thanks." I answered. My mind was clearly not on Steve, or on the web project I was supposed to be doing for him. I'm not sure if he noticed or not. After supper, I just HAD to sneak out to the barn. Unbeknownst to me, Steve saw me, and quietly followed me into the barn. I opened Lightning's stable. "Hi Lightning!" I hugged him. The horse whinnied, thrilled to see me. At that moment, Steve came around the corner. "Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" He hollered. Without even considering answering him, I vaulted onto the horse, and thundered out of the barn Steve was yelling out curses behind me. He must have thought about chasing me, but nothing less than a train is faster than a wild horse and a wild woman. |