Plans Change (3 page)

This time while we were checking them he caught one of the calves for me to pet.  Her fur was so soft and she had the most beautiful eyes. 

He said the mother to this calf was a bottle calf herself.  That was why she was so tame.  The mom had been raised by Jason since birth, so she allowed him to play with her babies.

We eventually made it through all of the calving pens and there were no problems. “Today has been a good day,” he said. “Come to think of it, there hasn’t been a problem around here since you first showed up.”

“Guess I’m your lucky charm!” I said.

“Guess you are,” he said. “Come on; let’s go over to the barn.”

The barn is where he kept the riding horses.  They were beautiful.  One of them was a palomino mare named Juli. She had a gorgeous white mane and tail that nearly touched the ground. The other horse was a big jet black gelding named Hercules.

“Do you like to ride?” Jason asked.

“I have never been on a horse before,” I admitted. “This is the first time I have ever even been around one.”

“Well, maybe we can go for a ride a little later on today. What do you think?” he asked.

“That sounds like so much fun,” I said. “I would love to.”

Jason also had 2 dogs on the ranch that worked the cows and protected the farm from predators.  Their names were Gabby and Belle. They were big, tough looking dogs.  Jason explained that out here they had a lot of coyotes, wolves and occasionally mountain lions that would kill a newborn calf and on occasion would kill an adult cow while she was in the process of giving birth.  

“I don't ever want to come face to face with any of those creatures,” I said.

After checking all the livestock and walking around the ranch, it was almost lunch time. 

Jason invited Mike to come and have lunch with us so he could introduce me to him.  Mike looked exactly like I had imagined a cowboy would look like.  He was tall, skinny, and had that brown leathery skin. 

“I was shocked when Jason told me he was bringing a girl out to the ranch today,” Mike teased. “The little rascal!”

I looked up at Jason and could almost see a little red creeping up into his cheeks. 

"I'm sure he brings a lot of girls out here," I said.

"You are the first and probably the last," Mike said.

Jason finally interrupted us and said we better get in and have our lunch. 

After lunch, Mike excused himself and said he was going to do some fencing out north of the ranch.  We said our goodbyes and I told him it was a pleasure meeting him. 

“The pleasure is all mine,” he said, “but I’m sure I will be seeing you again real soon.”   And then he was off.

“I was going to suggest we get in the pickup and take a drive around the property, but what do you say we saddle up the horses and take them instead?” Jason said.

“That sounds like so much fun!” I said. “Yes, let’s do it.”

Jason saddled up the horses, helped me up on Juli, whistled for the dogs and off we went. We rode for about a half hour until we came upon a small lake surrounded by a group of trees.  Beyond that you couldn't see anything but the hills and blue sky.  It was incredibly peaceful out here. 

We tied the horses to a tree and walked down to the lake.  “This was my parents’ favorite place to come and relax,” Jason said. 

We sat down on a fallen log and looked over across the lake. When I looked at Jason to tell him what a beautiful place this was, he was staring at me.  I gave him an uncomfortable smile.

“What was he thinking and why was he looking at me this way?” I asked myself.

Then he began to speak.  At first, what he was saying didn't register to me.  Then everything he was saying started to register immediately.

“I have strong feelings for you, Emily, and I don’t want you to leave,” he said. “I knew that I loved you that first night we met.”

I had been thinking how hard it was going to be to leave once my car got fixed.  Once those words came out of his mouth I knew for sure. “Jason, I don’t want to go either. I feel the same way that you do.”

He reached over and pulled me next to him. He gave me a long passionate kiss that made my whole body go limp. 

“Emily, you are the person that I want to spend the rest of my life with.  You are the woman I love.”

“Oh Jason, I love you too.”

I never did leave this town after my car got fixed.  I ended up marrying Jason.  I had big dreams of becoming a star.  But, my dreams ended up changing.

If you liked the book please leave a review and if you didn’t I apologize for taking your time.

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