Weston Ranch, Fisher's Story (5 page)

“What about your class?” He asked, hoping she would go back to it.

“I had another experienc
ed classmate take over for the rest of class
,” she said simply.

“Fine, let’s talk it out
,
” Fisher urged her to go first.
Ideally, he
would
have
like
d
to have a few beers in him for
this
.

She sighed and turned her body towards him
,
and
suddenly his cab just got
a whole lot
smaller. “
I
need
to talk
to you
a
bout the acreage I want
,
”
Claire
said
.

“No.
I want to t
alk about
you
and me
,
that’s
it,
”

“It’s the same thing,
”

“We have had sex nine ways to Sunday six years ago
,
and
you
think that all we have to talk about is a piece of land. Are
you
serious
,
Claire?” H
is voice raised a little. He tried
to
control
his breathing, calm himself down.

“It was six years ago, Fisher. I
t was nothing.
Aren’t
women
interchangeable to
you
?”
She shifted restlessly in the seat, tightening the blanket around her.

“You really don’t know when to quit do you sweetheart?”

“Look, I am sorry, but I
don’t
want to
talk about that weekend,
”
she refused to look at him. I
nstead
,
she
stared out the passenger side window.

“
You
were
a
god
damn
virgin!
Y
ou
never told me
. Instead,
you got up and left. I never heard from
you
. I
had to hear from Asher that
you
moved to Ohio
.
Where the hell
do you get Ohio from?
How messed up was it that you kept in touch with Asher, a guy that you dated fo
r two years, never had sex with.
Bu
t the guy
you
di
d, you never bother to call
or to answer your phone when he
called you
?" He snapped out.

Fisher hated himself for sounding like a whiny little kid, but this shit had been on his chest for years now. Asher had a lot of explaining to do. He wished to hell that he straightened this out
when it happened
, but he could see
it
now.
Hey Ash
,
I fuck
ed
your girlfriend
.
It
wasn’t lik
e you were doing the job.
T
hat would have gone over well.

“Fisher, I am sorry that I never told
y
ou
. I honestly
didn’t
think
I mattered to
you
. I
won’t
lie to
you
now. I always had a
crush on
you
when I was younger.
I might have even loved y
ou in a teenage first love kind
of way.
That weekend, I saw the chance to have
you
just once before I left and I was selfish. I
don’t
regret it one bit, but the
next morning I knew
you
were sorry for what we did
,
and
for the first time, I was ashamed. I ran as fast as I
could
.
I
wasn’t
going to wait around for
you
to wind up with
someone more your type than me
and I was right to leave.
I’ve seen the tabloids
,
” Claire finished her speech and sat there unwilling to look in him the face.

Her admission stunned him. This was the last think that he expected.

“Claire, Sweetheart,
I might live in New York, but I’m
still
a rancher. I’m still me,
”
h
is voice softened.

“Don’t pity me now.
You
are
a
n
extremel
y
successful,
wealthy
man in New York. The women flock to
you
. I’m nowhere near your type.
Anyway, class is letting out, so I will
catch a
ride home with
someone else
,
”
s
he started to straig
hten up.

Fisher
didn’t
even give her a chance to remove her blanke
t before he threw the truck in
drive
and high tailed it out of there. He
wasn’t
let
ting this confusing woman out
of his sight
until
she put some things straight.

“Fisher!
Maddie
is waiting for me,
”
Claire screeched
, holding onto the door to keep from flying forward
.
She hastily put on her seat belt.

“No, she is not, I already
texted
her. Your mine
for the night, get used to it,” he said.
Fisher drove to his house and prayed to God that his parents
weren't
home. It sucked sometimes
. S
ince he bought his
parents’
house, they
weren't
in a hurry to move out, and he didn’t want them too.
Good thing he already had a
plan
in mind for
their
living arrangements
.

Chapter Three

The drive
was
filled
with
suppressed
sexual tension. Claire
was at her breaking point by the
time they
reached his house.
Claire followed Fisher into the house. She
hadn’t
truly
been inside
it
for six years. Earlier didn’t count, she never made it past the foyer. She took in her surroundings.
It had changed drastically. There was no
faded
wallpaper lining the walls
. T
he shag carpets
were replaced
by
gleaming
hardwood
floors
,
and all the furniture
was updated
.
She
didn't
have
too
much time to take
all the changes
in before she
was hauled
into the kitchen.

"Talk now,
" Fisher demanded as he leaned against
the
newer
granite counter top, h
is hands gripping
it
behind him.

"Where do you want me to start?" She went to the fridge to grab a
drink, selecting a
beer without bothering to ask. He remained silent and watchful.

"Explain to me what the hell is going on between you and Asher?"

Why did he care about her and Asher?
What about Fisher and her?
She thought to herself
,
but answered the question regardless.

"We are just friends. He wants
Maddie
. H
e always had. Sh
e was too busy to notice him in
high
school.
His hope was
,
if he was always around, she would take an interes
t.
She never did. End of Story,” she exhaled a sigh when he
didn’t
immediately ask
more
questions.
She j
ust stood there,
his
unyielding gaze telling
her
nothing.

"I see,
"
h
e
finally
said.
She doubted it,
but
sat down and
sipped her beer, waiting for him to continue.
It
wasn't
the end
of the story
, but it was all she was willing to tell at the moment.
Fisher grabbed himself a beer from the fridge and sat dow
n opposite of her at the
island
which sat in the middle of the kitchen.
The kitchen
was ren
ovated
as well, with
brand new appliances, cabinets and the table
had been repla
ced
with this beautiful island. Fisher had a
marvelous
eye for details. 

"Why were you a virgin?"
He asked, interrupting her wondering thoughts.
So much for avoiding this conversation, he obviously
wasn’t
going to let it go.

"Just was, everyone thought I was dating Asher. It
wouldn’t
look
too
good
if people thought that I was cheating on him. I had other things to
keep myself occupied.
Besides,
I
was still in high school,
"
s
he stuck out her ch
in, daring him to make a comment
.

Fisher
suddenly
flashed a smil
e and leaned back, studying her,
"Do they still exist
, the virgins
?
Please
,
enlighten me as to how
you
know this?"

"Stop teasing me. I need to talk to
you
abo
ut the land,
" Claire switched subjects. She
didn't
need to be talking to Fisher about anything sexual. She knew where it would lead.
The two of them
naked on top this beautiful
island top
.

Fisher gave a heavy sigh and shifted in his seat. Claire felt a moment of hope that he would relent and hear her out.
Those hopes were dashed when he spoke next.

"I am not selling any land. I
don't
know
where
you
heard this tidbit.
I have never had
the
land for sale. I just bought the
place last year from my parents,
to help out. It is still theirs,
"
he conceded.

"You
r
mom told
me to talk to you,
she seemed excited,
"
s
he said.

"
You
spoke to my mother about this? They felt
ashame
d
for almost losing the ranch to the bank.
Do you
honest
ly think that they would want to talk about selling their land
?
A place that
means so much to them?
Do
you
hav
e any tack?"  Fisher’s frustration showed in his voice.

"I
didn't
know Fisher.
They said they retired. I thought
they
were tired
of working the cattle and farming the land
,
”

"They were about to lose everything.
I found out at the last minute, and
I stepped in to he
lp. T
hey are still in the red and refuse to take any of my money.
I am working my ass
off
to cover everything
from what they have to work with
. We probably will not
re
-
lease
your parent's land next year, if
ou
r
profit margins
don't
increase,
"
h
e said as he got up and started pacing.