Authors: Claire Adams
I
quickly ran to the bathroom with all of my clothes in my hands and Garrett
jumped up out of the bed. As I closed the bathroom door I saw Garrett throwing
his shirt on and then pulling his jeans on. I hoped he was going to be able to
get dressed in time.
Chapter 11
Garrett
I
had barely gotten all my clothes back on when Sid knocked on the front door and
let himself in. My breathing was heavy and I just knew he was going to be able
to tell I had just slept with his daughter.
“Everything
all right? I know it’s a small cabin, but I think it’s better than the
bunkhouse.”
“Oh,
yes, sir. It’s perfect. I was just trying to clean it up a bit before heading
back out to work.”
Sid
looked around the cabin at the mess that Forest had left in there. He paused
for a very long time and it even seemed like he had looked at the bathroom door
that was closed. I desperately hoped he wouldn’t find a reason to go over there
and look in the bathroom.
“Have
you seen Sarah?”
“Nope,”
I lied to him.
I
hated to flat out lie to a man like Sid, but I also didn’t want him to chase me
out of town with his shotgun, so lying was really the only option. It was a
small lie, nothing that would cause too much harm and I hoped that it wouldn’t
come back to me.
It
was funny to me that I was even thinking about lying at all. As a CEO the
consequences of lying hadn’t really even been on my radar. I lied all the time.
I told people what they wanted to hear so I could get what I wanted out of
situations. In the business world, I had thought that honesty was a liability.
But I was starting to see that my way of thinking had been skewed back then.
As
I looked back on my career, I certainly could have been more truthful in my
interactions with other businesses. My lies hadn’t ended up saving my company
from getting into bad situations, my lies had really only saved me the personal
uncomfortable feeling of sitting in front of someone and telling them the
truth. But the truth always came out and I always ended up figuring out a
better or different way to complete what I had lied to people about.
I
had a feeling that eventually Sid would find out that I had been having sex
with his daughter. I could only hope that when that finally happened, he would
forgive me and not shoot me. Sarah was an adult, she was able to make her own
choices, and so was I. If we wanted to have a little fun between the sheets, it
really wasn’t any of Sid’s business.
“If
you see her, tell her to come find me.”
“Will
do.”
“Here,
I’ll walk with you back to the horse barn; maybe she’s there,” Sid said as we
walked out of the cabin.
There
wasn’t time for me to protest, so I walked with Sid out of the cabin and toward
the horse barn. At least I was getting him away from the cabin so Sarah could
sneak out. I felt like a teenager trying to trick my girlfriends’ father. It
was scary as hell and my adrenaline was pumping hard by the time we got to the
horse barn. I was just about to ask Sid if he had heard anything about my case,
when he started to talk.
“You
know, I heard from your placement agent the other day. I didn’t want to worry
you, but they said there was word that the man you were testifying against had
put a hit out on you. I’m sure you’re safe here and I agonized over whether to
even tell you or not. But I think it’s better that you know. He has probably
had a hit out on you since he found out you were testifying, nothing new; it’s
just new that they actually heard about it.”
My
sex high quickly dissipated and I felt like I was going to vomit. Sure, I knew
that Frank Gordano wasn’t going to be happy with me, but somewhere deep down I
hoped that he would just let justice take its course. It was a naive notion and
I felt stupid for even believing it. It was hard to believe that there was a
person out in the world that actually wanted to kill me, but then again it was
Frank and I knew he was ruthless.
Of
course Frank Gordano wanted me dead. I knew where he flew his drugs to. I knew
the people who carried the drugs and the people who picked up the money. I had
paid attention in our partnership, purely as a way of protecting myself if the
day should ever come. And now there I was, hiding out at a ranch in Montana and
scared to death that he would find me and murder me. All the strength that I
had had to agree to testify against Frank was a myth. It was just what I told
myself to feel stronger about the whole situation. But the reality was I was
scared and Sid had just brought that fact right back into my view.
“Thanks.
You’re right. I’d rather know it. I won’t go into town at all again, I
promise.”
“It’s
all right. I doubt anyone even noticed you and it’s been a while since that
happened. But you’re right to stick close to the ranch and even keep your eyes
open while here. I won’t be hiring any new ranch hands for now; I just can’t be
sure who they might be. But still, you will need to stay alert.”
“I
will.”
The
realization that I had actually put my own life at risk by going into town was
even more real. I had never been in a situation like that before and I hadn’t
been taking it seriously at all. If I had truly understood the gravity of the
situation I would have never have gone into town with Sarah when she asked. Not
only had I put myself at risk, but I had put her at risk too.
If,
by some chance, someone had been placed there to watch out for me, then they
would have seen me talking and laughing with Sarah. They would have questioned
if I had told her secrets and maybe even decided that they wanted her dead too.
The guilt filled me and nausea took over. I couldn’t be that naive again, I had
to be more responsible with my life as well as with Sarah’s life.
“What
are you two men talking about that’s so serious?” Sarah said as she walked into
the barn.
Her
smile beamed from one side of her face to the other and I couldn’t help but
take some pride in that. Making love to her had been the highlight of my time
at the ranch and seeing her happy made me even happier. She was a sweet girl
and she had been hiding behind that grumpy face for far too long. Sarah was too
damn beautiful to be sad, or grumpy, or any other negative feeling. I made
myself a promise to do absolutely everything right from that moment forward. No
more making selfish mistakes that put my life or hers into jeopardy.
“Oh,
you know, just talking business,” Sid said as he gave Sarah a quick hug.
“Thanks again for the photos of the land. I appreciate all you’re trying to
do.”
“Sure
thing, Dad. I want you to be able to retire someday and the only way we are
going to make that happen is if we get you some serious money.”
“I
can’t argue with that. It sure would be nice to retire. Your mother has been
begging me to buy one of those campers and drive across the country. Maybe
someday,” Sid said nostalgically.
“I’m
going to make that dream come true for you,” Sarah said.
I
believed she would. Sarah was a dedicated daughter and she was determined to
sell that land at a price that was worth it to her parents. I had no doubt in
my mind that she would get them the money they needed to take a step back away
from their ranch work.
There
really was no reason Sid couldn’t hire a lead ranch manager to take over the
duties he was doing. As long as he had a decent amount of money and could
afford the person’s salary, a manager would take the pressure off of Sid and
Meredith and give them the time they needed to actually start relaxing and
enjoying their life. I suspected they didn’t take much time away from the ranch
and had problem not even gone on many vacations over the years.
“All
right, enough of all this. You two get back to work,” Sid said and then turned
to leave the barn.
“That’s
my Dad, he’s so mushy and feely all the time,” Sarah joked.
“Your dad is a good man,” I said as we watched
him walk across the ranch toward the main house. “He’d kill me if he knew all
the dirty thoughts I was thinking right now.”
I
grabbed Sarah and pressed her against the horse stall as my lips moved to meet
hers. My adrenaline was running wild from the combination of making love to her
and hearing the news from Sid. I felt like a teenager sneaking away to make out
with his high school girl.
Sarah
kissed me back a little bit and then pushed me away. She looked around to make
sure no one had been watching us before she pulled me close for one last kiss.
She already felt comfortable to me and I knew it was going to be hard to act
normal around her when we were working during the day. All I could think about
was getting her back into that damn bed.
“We
can’t be doing this out in public.”
“I
know. I know. But when? I can’t think straight. I keep seeing your naked
perfect body walked away from the bed.”
I
groaned and pulled her close to me again. With my hands on her ass I tried to
kiss her, but she pressed me away. She looked around the barn to make sure no
one had seen us and I couldn’t help but smile.
“I’ll
come to your cabin tonight after everyone goes to bed,” she whispered to me.
I
held onto her for a moment before releasing her. I couldn’t wait to have her
again. I was going to work my ass off to get all my jobs done and hurry to get
back to the cabin and finish cleaning up before she got there. I was so happy I
had taken Forest’s job and had my own little home to bring Sarah to.
That
night, and for many nights after, I made love to Sarah in my little cabin on
the ranch. Life was good and I really couldn’t complain at all. I loved working
on the ranch now and I looked forward to waking up each morning and getting to
see Sarah. She was everything I had never known I wanted in a woman and I
couldn’t get her out of my mind.
We
flirted and teased each other like we were teenagers. It was fun, and exciting,
and just what I needed to take my mind off of the thugs that wanted to kill me.
I laughed more when I was with Sarah than I remembered laughing the entire year
before I had arrived on the ranch.
As
the weeks went on I stopped worrying so much about the news that Sid had given
me though. Obviously, they wouldn’t be able to find me on some random ranch in
the middle of Montana. I didn’t leave the ranch, not for any reason, so there
was no way for them to really know where I was. Even if they had gotten close
enough to figure out I was in Montana, they would never know where I was in the
massive state.
As
the weeks turned into months, I was coming up on my one year anniversary at the
farm. Sid and Meredith were like family to me, and Sarah was my love. I hinted
that I wouldn’t be around forever, and Sarah said she understood and was happy
we had the time together we did. But I never truly felt like she understood
that I would actually have to leave the ranch someday.
Overall
though, I couldn’t have asked for a better placement while I waited for the
trial. I hated that it was taking so long to bring Frank to justice, but I was
happy where I was at. I was growing into a better man while I was on the ranch
and I had Sid, Meredith, and Sarah to thank for that. They were good people and
sometimes I felt like I was a better man simply because I had met them.
“Come
have dinner with us tonight,” Meredith said to me one afternoon as I was
watering the flowers in front of my little cabin.
“Sure,”
I quickly replied.
I
wasn’t about to turn down the opportunity to enjoy some good conversation with
Sid, Meredith, and Sarah. The other ranch hands had become my friends, but I
enjoyed hanging around the Miller’s the most.
Sarah
and I snuck around and spent a lot of time together. I was certain that
Meredith knew what we were doing, but I wasn’t so sure that Sid knew. If he knew
what was going on, he didn’t seem to care too much. If he didn’t know, I felt
horrible because I had lied to him on plenty of occasions about where I had
been as well as where Sarah was.
“I
know Sarah will be happy to see you,” Meredith said with a knowing look in her
eyes.
Meredith
was a smart woman. Even though I was sure that Sid hadn’t come out and told her
who I was or everything about my past, she seemed to know there was so much
more to me than what was on the surface. She also was a great bridge between
Sid and Sarah and I. The longer I stayed on the ranch the harder it had become
to hide my feelings for Sarah. We were still careful and didn’t come right out
in the open and say we were sleeping together, but I knew that Sid and Meredith
weren’t stupid. They had to know something was going on between us.
The
way Sarah and I looked at each other, it was hard to hide our feelings. I was
happy to see her and it didn’t matter if I had just seen her an hour before.
Sarah was a vibrant and fun woman and she made me happy. Just being near her in
the barn made me happier than working alone in there.
“What
time should I come?”
“Let’s
make it eight o’clock so we are all done with our chores for the day and can
relax. I’ll open some wine.”
“Now
that sounds like an invitation I can’t refuse.”
“We
will see you then.”
I
hurried off to find Sarah and tell her about her mother’s invitation. Sarah
could tell I had something on my mind as I walked quickly toward her near the
pigpen. I usually avoided those animals, they were the only ones that I still
hadn’t been able to conquer. They were cute pigs, but I still felt the pain of
that bite on my leg.