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#Post#: 2565--------------------------------------------------
Like the Rain
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: February 11, 2013, 10:29 pm
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I really should have never watched The Cowboy Way last night, I
went weak in the knees when I spied Sonny, haha. I've changed my
usual characters and their names around a bit just to spice
things ups a bit. I've also got a playlist coming up that I hope
you'll enjoy. So sorry for the crappy summary!
HTML http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh628/mcohen3/45d890d1-dd30-4c93-bb2e-364caa70c177_zps2f89b017.jpg
HTML http://i1255.photobucket.com/albums/hh628/mcohen3/Ribbetcollage-1_zps4fd9c349.jpg
Summary:
There's a saying that goes, "What happens in Vegas, stays in
Vegas." Well, that is unless you're Cinda Bennett. It all
started innocently enough, a weekend trip to Vegas to cheer on
her best friend, Lettie's husband as he defended his Bull Riding
title. A night of celebration brings about two major changes in
Cinda's life, an aversion to Tequila and a husband who looks an
awful lot like one of Coy's rodeo buddies. Will the newly weds
make it work or will they just throw in the towel and wager
their losses?
#Post#: 2566--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Wolfy
Date: February 11, 2013, 10:40 pm
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Both banners are beautiful!
I thought I should mention that first. I also lose the new
characters you've chosen for this one and can't wait for it to
start. The summary has sparked my interest a whole lot :3 also
looking forward to the playlist! xD
#Post#: 2567--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: February 11, 2013, 11:57 pm
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Aww thank you my dear! :D I had a heck of a time trying to find
just the right picture of dear River for you, I kept thinking
"Well, what if she doesn't like it?" Talk about a moment of
panic, haha. I re introduced myself with country music over this
one just to kind of set a theme, it's mostly the older stuff I
grew up listening to through my parents so please forgive me
it's a bit long.
1. She's Actin' Single And I'm Drinkin' Doubles - Gary Stewart
(a favorite of my Father's)
2. Deeper Than The Holler - Randy Travis
3. This Ain't My First Rodeo - Vern Gosdin
4. Riding For A Fall - Chris LeDoux
5. Two Dozen Roses - Shenandoah
6. Like The Rain - Clint Black
7. She's Not The Cheatin' Kind - Brooks and Dunn
8. Amarilo By Morning - George Strait
9. Brand New Man - Brooks and Dunn
10. Whatcha Gonna Do With A Cowboy - Chris LeDoux and Garth
Brooks
11. Rodeo - Garth Brooks
12. Ring Of Fire - Johnny Cash
13. Straight Tequila Night - John Anderson
14. Just To See You Smile - Tim McGraw
15. Neon Moon - Brooks and Dunn
16. She Never Lets It Go To Her Head - Tim McGraw
17. Carrying Your Love With Me - George Strait
18. No One Needs To Know (one of my favorites by the lovely
Shania Twain)
19. Bubba Shot the Jukebox - Mark Chesnutt
20. Look Heart, No Hands - Randy Travis
#Post#: 2568--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Wolfy
Date: February 12, 2013, 7:51 am
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Ohh don't worry about that! any picture of River will be swooned
over! hehe. I especially love the one you picked out though; The
Thing Called Love is one of my favourite movies, as is his
character in it. I can't thank you enough for introducing me to
these songs! I have only heard a few of them before and it was
nice listening to those I didn't know. Country music will always
hold a special place in my heart :D and unlike what most people
say - it isn't all gloomy and depressing!
#Post#: 2571--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: February 12, 2013, 3:58 pm
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Oh you have no idea how glad I am to hear that! I think I've
still got my copy around here, probably in one of my boxes in my
closet. Oh you're most welcome! I feel the same way, there's
something about country music that will always have a special
place in my heart, maybe it's because I grew up in a farming
community and our idea of a "night out" was going line dancing
or having a huge bon fire, haha. I find the ones that call
country depressing are the ones that really haven't listened to
it much and I just want to give them a bit of shake haha. I
totally forgot to put this up last night, forgive me.
HTML http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=72119367
#Post#: 2572--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Wolfy
Date: February 13, 2013, 6:21 am
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Now that I think about it, James Wright is my favourite of all
his characters, so I'm definitely pleased with the image you
chose, just in case you needed a little more reassurance, haha.
Ooh, I love the sound of that! my life seems as boring as
anything now xD I would have loved to have grown up around that.
Loving the dress sense of both ladies by the way! especially the
cowgirl boots! I had a pair once but I've absolutely no idea
what happened to them. I found them a few months ago and they'd
disappeared on me again. Can't wait for this to begin :3
#Post#: 2573--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: February 13, 2013, 9:15 pm
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Author's Note : *Disclaimer* - Please know that this is a work
of pure fiction. I'm but a humble writer and I don't make a cent
from these works, I just write them for my own and the enjoyment
of others. I do not mean in anyway to infringe upon the famous
individuals/characters that are mentioned within the work. I
only own the original characters unless otherwise stated. If you
would like to post my work please contact me and I will gladly
grant permission as long as my name is mentioned and the
disclaimer (above) is posted along with the piece. I don't bite,
I promise. :-)
October 25 (Friday 8 AM) Truth or Consequences New Mexico Wolf
Ridge Ranch
"Oh come one, Cinda. It's only for the weekend and I've already
promised Coy you'd be there."
Lettie said as she rummaged through her bedroom closet and
started to through outfit after outfit out onto the bed almost
making my head spin as I tried to help her.
"Alright, I'll go but I'm leaving right after the rodeo, Lettie.
There's something about Las Vegas that rubs me the wrong way..."
Lettie looked over her shoulder at me, her wispy bangs blown out
of her face and sighed.
"Cinda, you need to get out more, you really do. It's just for
the weekend, what's the worst thing that could happen? You end
up with a hangover? You'll go have a good time and your world'll
be broadened a little bit. There's a lot more to life then just
mucking stables, gardening, and farm reports."
I stopped folding Lettie's shirts and pairs of jeans and sighed.
Lettie never sugar coated anything and when she summed up my
life I felt myself realize that maybe she was right, maybe I was
just a narrow minded small town girl after all.
"Oh, now Cinda I didn't mean to sound like that. I really
didn't, sweetie. It's just there's more to life then farming and
trick riding and I wanted you to know it. You deserve time off
and this might just be what you need besides, Coy'll be so happy
to finally see you. You know how much he misses his favorite
cousin."
I rolled my eyes as Lettie pulled me in for a hug as finished
packing her bags.
"I'm his only cousin, Lettie. Let me go and pack and I'll meet
you back here and we'll head out."
Lettie sent me off with another apology and a quick hug before
calling ahead to tell Coy that I'd be making my grand
appearance. I hurried on home which was only down the foot path
out back from Coy and Lettie's place and next to the stables.
After going over what I needed to pack I ended up stuffing a few
pairs of jeans and a few shirts into a worn out duffel bag and
made a stop by the bathroom for my toiletries and grabbed my
spare pair of boots from the boot rack by the front door and
scrambled back up the path and dropped my bag by the front door.
"Only took you twenty minutes, Cinda. You pack light or
something?"
I rolled my eyes as I slid on my sunglasses and sighed. Lettied
tossed me the keys to her prized Chevy Blazer which indicated
that I was the driver on this little road trip.
"I only packed the necessities, Lettie. You've got enough to
cloth an entire army and then some."
Lettie gave me a playful swat as she read the map and sighed.
"Well, some of us have to work at being beautiful, Cinda. You're
just lucky."
I let out a squawk and smacked Lettie in the arm causing her to
snort and break out into a fit of the giggles as we backed down
the driveway and out onto the main road.
"Willetta Marie Cole Krandall you take that back right now!
You're prettier then I am and you know it! Now, where do I
turn?"
Lettie sighed as she said right and then pulled her hair up into
a ponytail.
"Your beauty regimen is ivory soap with hot water at night and
cold water in the morning, corn husker's lotion for your hands
and chapstick, Cinda. Miss America would be green with envy if
she spotted your complexion."
"Oh stop it, I can't help it my mother never taught me how to
act like a proper lady, Lettie. My Mother sold her own preserves
and canned vegetables instead of Mary Kay. She was too busy
taking care of everyone to worry about beauty."
"You're lucky, I was my mother's guinea pig when it came to new
color palettes."
Memories of Mrs. Cole using poor Lettie as her demo model for
the season's newest color palettes came back to my mind and I
just shook my head. Poor Lettie used to buy tub after tub of
cold cream from Rodbell's general store every two weeks just so
her stock wouldn't deplete.
"Hey, that's why we're best friends, we complement each other.
You taught me how to exfoliate and I taught you about making
the best strawberry pie in the world."
Lettie looked at me for a second and then thought it over as she
tried to re examine the map.
"I'll be damned, we do complement each other. You're also the
one that played match maker for Coy and I. Without you
intervening I might have ended up with Billy Joe Wilton or
something."
A look of pure horror crossed poor Lettie's face as looked at
me.
"Oh now I wouldn't have let that happen, Lettie and you know it.
Billy Joe was just a stepping stone for you. Now, how long is it
going to take us to actually get to Vegas, Let?"
Lettie did a quick calculation in her head, something I actually
envied and then smiled.
"About ten hours. We'll make it there in eight with the way
you're driving, Cinda."
I fiddled with the radio button and sighed as nothing but static
came up, I had a feeling that it was going to be a long ten
hours.
"So we should be there by six if we play our cards right, Coy
had better roll out the damn red carpet for us."
Ten Hours Later (October 25 6 PM Two Hours until the Finals)
As we entered Las Vegas I had never been so captivated and
terrified all at the same time. The only way for me to sum it up
was I'd had the same feeling only once in my life and that was
when I was thrown during a trick riding competition. My world
was turned around but Lettie calmed me a bit.
"Cinda...Cinda...Turn...turn right, Cinda. Cinda, please turn
right."
I gritted my teeth and turned a hard right at the Thomas and
Mack Center, found a parking spot, and put the Blazer in park.
"Oh my God, land! Sweet sweet land and Coy!"
Lettie all but screamed as she spotted Coy leaning against the
back wall of the venue signing autographs for a few young fans
and posing for pictures with them as a plus. The next thing I
knew Lettie was out of the car and waiting ever so patiently to
wrap her arms around Coy as the crowd dispersed. I snapped a few
pictures of the two love birds and smiled in spite of myself.
Lettie had managed to knock off Coy's hat and all but pin him
against the wall and I felt myself turn beet red for them. Once
they came up for air Coy spotted me and grinned, his face face
covered in Lettie's Plum Passion lipstick. Coy's face colored a
bit as he tried to wipe off the remains of Lettie's handiwork.
"I didn't think you'd come out, Cinda!"
Coy came over and pulled me into a hug and ruffled my hair
making me let out a frustrated yelp and swat at him. We'd always
been more like siblings rather than cousins and this little show
of affection reflected it.
"Coy! Knock it off! I'll go on home if ya keep it up."
Coy laughed and hugged me tighter knocking the air out of my
lungs.
"If I didn't love ya I wouldn't do it to ya and you know it,
Cinda. I've got someone I'd like you to meet."
I looked over at Lettie who shrugged and smiled in spite of
herself as we followed Coy in through the back entrance and into
the arena where we found a few of the rodeo clowns chatting with
a few other riders on the roster for that night's finals. There
was one, number 45 to be exact that wasn't too bad looking
especially from behind. I felt my face color a bit as the room
got a bit hotter all of the sudden.
"Hey Sonny, I've got someone I'd like you to meet."
Number 45, also known as Sonny turned to face us and smiled as
he saw Coy. Lettie gave me a bit of a nudge as Coy introduced us
making me turn an even deeper shade of red.
"This is my cousin, Cinda Bennett. Cinda this is a buddy of
mine, Sonny Gilstrap. He's only ranked two under me this year."
Sonny tipped his hat to me as I held out my hand, both of us
turning our own respective shades of red and exchanging warm
smiles.
"Coy's told me a lot about you, Miss Bennett."
"I hope it's all good things, Mr. Gilstrap. Coy here's got an
awfully big mouth at times."
Coy wrapped an arm around Lettie and grinned.
"She's single, Sonny. Oh, come to think of it, so are you! There
ya go."
Sonny and I both looked at Coy shocked for a second, I was the
first to break the ice.
"See what I mean? So...nervous about tonight?"
Sonny rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head a bit.
"Oh who am I kidding? Of course I am. I don't even have my good
luck charm with me tonight or a cheering section, the fans
didn't turn out this year."
Coy and Lettie were nowhere to be found and the clowns had gone
back to their respective shoots.
"Well, I'm sure you're going to be just fine. I'll cheer you on
if you like, Coy's got Lettie for himself tonight. I just came
along to support her."
Sonny smiled and gave me a toothy grin that admittedly made my
knees a little weak.
"I'd like that, Miss. Bennett."
The two hours slipped away as we caught up with Lettie and Coy
and then saw the rider's off to their shoots and wished them
luck. Another hour passed before their numbers were called and
Lettie and I exchanged worried looks as their respective bulls
numbers came up. Coy was on a monster of a bull by the name of
Fire Water, named quite right for his cream and liver coloring.
With a buck percentage of 100% Coy had better start praying
because rumor had it that his last rider was gored and put into
the ICU down in Abilene. Sonny on the other hand ended up with
an even bigger beast named Storm Warning, who also had a buck
off rate of 100% but also had a nasty habit of attempting to pin
the riders he bucked off against the shoot gate. I couldn't help
but say a prayer for him as he got up onto the big rippling
black bull. Lettie grabbed my hand as Coy's shoot opened and off
he went staying on for 9.45 seconds before getting thrown feet
first into the dirt and making a run for the safety of the
shoot. Poor Sonny lasted only 8.45 seconds but spurred for three
extra points. Three more hours and Coy cleaned up well with an
85.64 total score ensuring his title was still in safe hands for
another year and Sonny received an even 84.00 total and looked
quite pleased with himself as we met up with them after the show
was packed up and the last of the bulls were loaded into their
trailers.
"I think we should go out and celebrate. Anyone up for a few
rounds of Jose Cuervo and dinner?"
Lettie asked as she and Coy pulled Sonny and I to Coy's beat up
Ford and all but strapped us in. The night flew by in a hazy
blur of shots, riding the mechanical bull, more shots, a few
beers at one of the western bars just outside the strip and some
line dancing with a few two steps. Lettie and Coy were out on
the dance floor leading off one of another two step and Sonny
and I were leaning against one another for support as our
world's spun in time to another as the first strains of "She's
Actin' Single I'm Drinkin' Doubles" came on over the speakers.
"Ever do a body shot?"
Sonny asked me as I fought back a fit of the giggles and shook
my head. The alcohol had certainly gotten to me but I wasn't
about to bring everyone else's night down if I ducked out early.
"Nope, but I'd give it a try."
Sonny gave me a goofy grin as he passed me a lime wedge and told
me to hold it between my teeth and lean toward him as he poured
out a shot. The next thing I knew he'd licked a trail on my neck
causing a massive case of the shivers and applied a liberal
shake of salt, took his shot, licked the salt off of my neck
making my toes curl, and took the lime wedge from my teeth as
gave me a rather thorough kiss causing the bar to give us a bit
of a cheer. The next few shots were back and forth between us
as Lettie and Coy drank themselves a little deeper into their
own bottle of tequila. We made a few more stops before finally
calling it a night and venturing back to the hotel which was
only a few drunken paces from the bar we were in. I vaguely
remember being asked a question along the way, probably if I
wanted a drink or something and answered with a resound "Yupp, I
do." Only would we know the truth when we woke up from our
drunken stupors.
October 26 (Saturday 8 AM) Las Vegas
The following morning dawned bright and sunny causing me to
groan in pain and move closer to the pillows finding them quite
nice. Well, that is until they started moving on me and let out
a yawn. It wasn't until then that I realized that I'd brought
someone back to my room and sat up before grabbing the sheets to
cover myself. I looked down and found the familiar face of Sonny
Gilstrap who was looking quite bed raggled but happy as he
opened his eyes and looked at me and sat up and looked at me
with a worried look.
"Well, looks like our night was eventful."
I grabbed my watch from the nightstand and found a folder
sitting next to the lamp and was horrified by it's contents.
"Yeah, sure was. Is this your signature?"
Sonny looked over my shoulder, his blue eyes wide as dinner
plates and nodded as we both stared at the piece of paper
declaring that we were, by the power of the great state of
Nevada, husband and wife.
"I leave home once and this is what happens. I told Lettie I
should've just stayed home."
I groaned as I adjusted my sheets and Sonny shot me a glance.
"Oh you make me feel so much better when you put it that way."
I softened a bit as I took his hand.
"I'm sure we can get it annulled it hasn't even been twenty-
four hours..."
I trailed off as I noticed a box of Trojans on the floor next to
the bed and felt my blood pressure rise to what I'm sure were
unsafe levels. Tears sprang up into my eyes as I noticed the box
was totally unopened. Sonny looked at me and then pulled me
closer to him.
"Oh God, we were too drunk to take any kind of precaution we're
screwed. My Mother's going to kill me."
"Well, we've officially been given a third option. We suck it up
and give this marriage thing a go and see where it takes us.
I'll tell you what, if it turns out you ended up pregnant after
last night I'll stand by whatever decision you make."
Tears welled up in my eyes as the gravity of the situation
finally hit me like a freight train and I was babbling and
sobbing. Sonny moved closer to me, wrapped an arm around me and
let me cry it out. I'm quite sure he'd never been around an
emotional person let alone a crying woman and he seemed a bit
unsure as to what to do.
"Oh please don't cry, I hate to see a pretty lady cry. We're
going to be just fine."
" I appreciate your positive outlook on this entire situation
but you realize we're going to be judged. I don't even know if
Sonny's a nickname or not! Let alone your favorite things
or...the usual things married couples know about one another."
Sonny patted my hand while giving me a worried look.
"The only person that can judge us is God and if some narrow
minded idiots try to pull that crap on us we'll ignore it. My
name's Samson but everyone's always called me Sonny, my
birthday's December 21, my favorite color is blue, I was born in
Abilene, and I own a ranch in Silver City."
I took comfort in Sonny's attempt at filling me in on the
missing pieces and felt it only right I do the same.
"My name's Lucinda but Coy could never say it when we were
little so I was always Cinda, My birthday's September 1, my
favorite color's green and I'm art therapist for children with
special needs out in Truth or Consequences. I was born in
Amarillo."
A quiet calm settled between the two of us as the bedside phone
rang causing us to look at one another in horror.
"You get it."
"No, you get it."
"It's your room."
"You're the guest."
"It's on your side of the bed."
I threw up my hands leaned over the bed and grabbed the phone.
"Hello?"
Lettie's voice came booming over the line in a sheer panic as
she stammered something I made her repeat just to understand it.
"We can't find Sonny..."
My heart started to pound as I felt my pulse pick up.
"He's right here."
"What do you mean he's there?"
"He spent the night, Lettie.."
Lettie let out a yelp as she dropped the phone.
"Coy! He's with Cinda!"
I heard the sudden sound of footsteps and the door to the hotel
room burst open with Lettie clad in her Eeyore pj's and Coy
still sopping wet from a shower and hurriedly dressed came in
both looking like they were going to go into shock.
"Holy mother of God! They've gone and..."
Sonny grinned as he leaned back in the bed with his back against
the head board.
"Gotten married, looks like we're family. Now, if you'll excuse
me I'm going to take my shower."
Coy's mouth fell open as Lettie stood there sputtering,
something that would go on until we left Sunday evening. Coy the
first of the pair to congratulate us.
"Married? They got married? They've only just met for lands
sakes."
Lettie muttered as we packed up our vehicles and settled in for
the drive home. Sonny seemed a bit antsy as he grabbed my bags
and loaded them into the back of a beat up 4x4 that was parked
next to Lettie's Chevy.
"Sorry, I ended up using the farm truck for the longer haul when
I met up with Coy. I can promise you it's cleaner then it looks
and there's no way you're going to end up needing a tetanus
shot."
Lettie came over and pulled me into a hug before wiping her
eyes.
"Now, you call us if you need anything, ok? Promise me."
I held up my pink and we did our usual pinky promise. Lettie
turned to Sonny and gave him the most dire looked I'd ever seen
her give anyone.
"If you even as so much as cause her to shed one single solitary
tear I'm coming to get you, Gilstrap."
Sonny looked at me and then to Coy and then back at Lettie.
"Lettie, I cross my heart that I won't do anything to hurt her I
promise you."
I felt myself slightly charmed as Sonny opened the passenger
side door for me and gave me a hand up into the cab. Maybe it
wasn't going to be so bad after all. Everything was going fine
until we were halfway back to Silver City when the driver's side
tire decided to blow out. The skies opened as we managed to get
the front end up on the jack which ended up slipping and causing
us to tuck and roll away from the truck and into the muddy
ditch.
"Well, this whole married thing is off to great a start, huh?"
Sonny asked as we finally managed to change the tire and make
our way down the road. As we turned into the main driveway I
spotted something tied down to the mailbox out of the corner of
my eye.
"You've got that right. Hang on a second! Stop! There's
something tied to your mailbox."
I got out to investigate and soon found that it was a small
speckled puppy covered in mud and tied with twine to mailbox
post. The poor little thing was shivering, caked in mud, and
half starved. I was amazed it let me pick it up and carry it
back to the truck as easily as it did.
"Would you look at that little face?"
I muttered as I wrapped up the still shivering pup in my jacket
and found Sonny looking down at him and shook his head and
chuckled.
"Man, wife, dog, my life just keeps getting better. Looks like
we've got ourselves a good thing going."
Indeed we did, or so I'd hoped.
#Post#: 2574--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Wolfy
Date: February 13, 2013, 10:55 pm
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Ooh :3 I am in love with this story so far and am just dying to
read the next update now. I believe I will be rather impatient
this time, cause that first bit captured me and I can't wait to
see what married life is like for the two of them. The body shot
moment was quite interesting too; I've not heard of that before
so I looked it up and received a few half naked images, haha. I
also had the song that was mentioned playing quietly as I read
that bit :) I look forward to the next update!
#Post#: 2575--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: February 13, 2013, 11:11 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Oh I'm so glad you liked the first installment :D I do have to
apologize for not telling you what a body shot was. I'm so so so
sorry for having you subjected to half naked people. :( I've
got my fingers crossed for these two because I've got a feeling
that they could go a long ways. Lets not forget the lovely
Krandalls ;) I've got some tricks up my sleeve for them as well
:D
#Post#: 2661--------------------------------------------------
Re: Like the Rain
DIR By: Maggie Flannery
Date: May 17, 2013, 9:29 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
November 14 (20 days into wedded bliss) 6AM
Our first few nights at home were quiet to say the least. I'd
ended up having to use one of Sonny's old t shirts and a pair of
sweat pants to sleep in because somehow my shampoo had leaked
all over the place on the way home. I still think it was
sabitage but I was still playing dumb to it. A quick run over to
Coy and Lettie's solved the problem the following day but out
respect for the man that seemingly never parted with anything I
kept rotating between my favorite pajama set and Sonny's hand me
downs. I'd already learned two things since I set foot in
Sonny's place. One, the man was a quintessential bachelor who
lived a very humble existence, the floor plan was open and in
need of a good dusting but it screamed Sonny, it could have been
all the trophies or buckles that were displayed but it was
certainly a place I could get used to, and two, he had no idea
how to do his own laundry or use the ancient washer that was in
the mud room off the kitchen. The end result of his work was
having my clothes shrunk down to a mere nothing. Dinner was a
near miss since Sonny's fridge was bare and we ended up ordering
pizza. I'd made a mental note to go out and pick a few staples
up but with the work that needed to be done around the place I
found myself near exhausted by the end of the day. The second
night, when we finally settled in (there had been a bit of spat
over us actually sharing a bed, it resulted in a coin toss being
done and me losing.) and I got assimilated with the layout of
the house our newly acquired puppy wanted to be up in bed with
us.
"If we get him up here now he'll never want to sleep on the
floor, Cinda."
Sonny said as he adjusted his pillows and looked at me holding a
very pathetic looking pup.
"Oh come on, Sonny. Look at his little face. The poor little
guy's been through enough today. He's endured his very first
bath so he's clean, he's got a full belly, and look he likes
you."
The puppy wiggled a bit as he reached out and licked Sonny's
hand.
Sonny sighed as he ran a hand over the back of his neck and
finally relented.
"Alright...ok, he can stay but if he has an accident I'm kicking
you both out of the bed until further notice."
I raised an eyebrow and gave Sonny a look that said it all. The
puppy had settled in on the foot of the bed nestled in the quilt
and on his back without a care in the world, fast asleep. Sonny
was left thinking quick for a moment as I crossed my arms titled
my head to left.
"Or better yet I'll sleep on the couch, how's that?"
I busied myself adjusting my blankets and fluffing my own pillow
before I answered.
"Better, dear. Much better. Goodnight, Sonny."
The light flicked off and we settled in I felt an arm snake
around my waist and I couldn't help to smile to myself as I felt
his lips graze my ear in a soft peck.
"Goodnight, Cinda."
I found myself moving closer to him just because he exuded this
calm safe feeling I hadn't had in a very long time. I drifted
off to sleep curled up next to Sonny's back and slowly drifted
off to sleep.
The following morning the alarm went off at six on the dot, the
bed shifted and Sonny grumbled to himself as he got up and went
about his morning routine and found me still trying to get
assimilated to the early morning wake up call. I blindly got
myself changed and made my way downstairs to start the morning
coffee.
"We've really got to start thinking of a name for the dog. I
think he's starting to think his name is Hey You or Don't Chew
That."
I said as Sonny and I prepared for the day's work ahead of us.
I'd had a client back out of an appointment that was scheduled
for later on that afternoon over at Coy and Lettie's so Sonny
was stuck with me for the entire day, which he insisted he
didn't mind. I'd never been given an official tour of the ranch
so I was itching to get outside.
"Well, since he seems to like to chew on my boots why don't we
just call him BC for Boot Chewer?"
I rolled my eyes as I went about trying to get breakfast started
but found the fridge and cupboards all but bare. There had been
small staple runs but those had since run out and I was left
dreading our first official shopping trip.
"Dear lord, you don't shop much do you?"
"Really don't see a need to. I'm either on the road competing or
I order out. It's too much trouble to cook for just one person.
I've got to hand it to you though, it's nice to have someone to
eat with and you're pretty good cook."
I found myself blushing a deep pink color and went back to the
mental list I had running in my head.
Sonny shrugged as he poured himself some coffee and sat back
down at the kitchen table and scratched the puppy, which was
still to be named behind the ears eliciting a howl and foot
stomp from the little mixed breed. The puppy's attentions soon
turned back to poor Sonny's hat, which was left on one of the
kitchen chairs causing him to set his jaw and shoo the pup away.
"Oh come on that's my favorite hat."
I turned to Sonny and grinned as the pup yapped at him wanting
to sniff and possibly gnaw on his beloved Stetson.
"Why thank you and I believe we've officially found our name."
I began my search for food in the cavernous kitchen that was at
the heart of the house much to Sonny's amusement.
"You know, now that I'm looking at him he does look like a
Stetson. I've married a genius, what're you looking for, Cinda?"
I stopped the search as I perched myself on a chair and rummaged
through the upper cupboards and found an ancient canister of
oatmeal and some cornstarch.
"Food, my dear darling husband, food. Alright, all you've got
here coffee, cornstarch, and something that looks like a lab
experiment in a Tupperware dish in the fridge, I'm pretty sure
that's been in here since before you left for the rodeo. We've
got to go shopping."
Sonny pulled a face as he finished his coffee and set down the
newly dubbed Stetson who started his usual gnawing of Sonny's
boot and was gently reprimanded with a swat from me as I got
down from my perch and moved back toward the table armed with a
pen and paper and went about making out the list while flipping
through the weekly circular and clipping various coupons.
"You're actually making out a list? I never shop with a list let
alone coupons."
I stopped mid sentence and looked up.
"I can tell, you're going to get a crash course in that today my
dear. Besides, it'll give us time to learn each other's likes
and dislikes."
Sonny raised an eyebrow as a grin played at his lips.
"Alright, just please tell me one little thing."
"What?"
"You don't like red beets do you?"
I made a face at the mere mention of the dreaded root vegetable
and cringed.
"No! No! A world of no!"
Sonny sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.
"Thank you Lord!"
I raised an eyebrow as I followed Sonny out to the corral and
gave him a hand feeding and watering the horses and cows. By the
third trip to the water trough I finally caught the sunrise and
caught myself in awe of it as it came up into the horizon. The
piece of property that we were standing on was truly breath
taking, a valley of pasture land over looked the east and
mountains lined the western expanse. The air was fresh with the
scent of pinon and alder trees mixed with the blooming Desert
Marigolds and Indian Paintbrushes. I took a deep breathe and let
it out with a sigh, an overwhelming calm coming over me.
"I thought I lost you, Cinda."
Sonny said as he came over and looked out at the sunrise with me
and smiled.
"No, I'm just taking it all in. You've got a beautiful piece of
property here. Please tell me you take the time to take this all
in."
Sonny let out a long sigh and shook his head leaving me in utter
disbelief.
"I've never really had someone to slow down and enjoy life with.
Yeah, there were girlfriends but they all wanted the cowboy to
be up and gone in the morning. Some of them were in love with
the image, not me. Didn't want to get their hands dirty and put
in a day's work or hang around with the horses and cows."
I chuckled at the mere suggestion of someone not wanting to put
in a day's work, given the way I was raised taking time off was
a foreign concept to me. I'd go crazy if I wasn't doing
something or I was stuck in the city somewhere. I needed wide
open spaces and lots of room to roam, something my parents
always told me was a good thing.
"Well, looks like you've got yourself another set of hands to
help you out, huh?"
Sonny looked at me for a moment and seemed mystified at the idea
that I actually wanted to be here.
"You're a rare breed aren't you?"
I shrugged and smiled feeling myself turn a shade of pink.
"I guess you could say that. Alright, since the sun's officially
up why don't you introduce me to the your live stock?"
Sonny offered me his arm and led the way to the stables. The
horses believe it or not were the easiest part of the entire
morning routine. The cattle on the other hand were a little
different. Sonny had a second work truck that was used strictly
for the back pastures and property surveying. It was ancient and
looked like it was held together with rubber bands and glue at
this point, loaded down with hay and a few more bags of feed for
later on that evening.
"Well, what do you want me to do?"
I asked as Sonny got in on the driver's side and opened the back
window.
"Just get in the back and when we get to the gates let down the
gate and start cutting the strings on the bales and push'em off
the tail gate."
That sounded easy enough to me, it was something I did for my
Dad plenty of times back home. Thirty minutes into our little
adventure in the back pasture the cattle were upon us and I was
busy cutting the ties and sliding them off the back of the
truck.
"Mind if I pick up the pace?"
Sonny called over the din of the mooing cattle as they trailed
behind us like dogs.
"Go for it!"
The truck picked up speed as we went toward the back pastures
causing me to pick up the pace with cutting the bale strings.
Somewhere along the line we hit a bump and I ended up flying off
the back of the truck before I could even scream. Attempting to
hang onto the roll bar wasn't an option as I tumbled forward and
landed hard on the ground staring up at the magnificent blue New
Mexico sky. The next thing I knew I was surrounded by cows
looking at me with friendly brown eyes and giving me licks of
appreciation across the face. Somewhere along the line I'd
landed on a rock or two and knew I was going to have a bruise
later on. My back popped a few times as I tried to move and
catch the breath that had been knocked out of me, I had taken a
fall many a time but nothing like that. My world was slightly
spinning until a few of the more curious cows came over to sniff
me.
"Hello there. How nice to meet you."
I muttered as I got up and patted a few of them on the head
causing one of them to head butt me in my lower back, targeting
the spot where I'd landed on a rock, eliciting a scream of pain
from me. I flagged down Sonny as he did a U turn and came back
around.
"You alright? I'm sorry about that, I should have told you to
hang on or given some sort of warning. You're sure you're ok?"
"Yeah, I'm just fine. Back's a little tender but I'll be fine.
We done with the back pasture?"
Sonny shook his head as he moved over toward the passenger side
and opened the door for me. I hobbled up into the truck and
tried to pick the rest of the grass and hay from my hair.
"We've still got to feed Ferdinand. He's been wandering out a
little further these past few months. Keep an eye out for a big
grey and black Brahma missing a horn. He'll probably come to
your side first. Are you sure you don't want me to drop you back
off at the house?"
My eyes widened as I looked at Sonny unsure of what to say.
"Hell no! Do I look like some kind of city slicker ditz to you?
I'll be just fine. He won't charge the truck will he?"
Sonny laughed as he shook his head as he kept as eye out and
then came to a stop.
"No, my dear you don't, remind me to write that Lucindaism down.
We'll be fine since his harem's out on in the front pastures."
Sure enough Ferdinand, who was aptly named, was sitting on his
hind quarters with his face stuck in a bunch of wild flowers
sniffing deeply.
"Oh great, I've got isms now. Feel free to use it. Is
he...sniffing those wild flowers?"
I asked incredulously as I got out of the truck and helped Sonny
with the last of the hay bales. Sonny grinned and nodded.
"Now you know how he got his name. He's just a big lug but I
still don't trust him as far as I can fling him. He's a bull
after all."
I nodded with the sentiment as Sonny called Ferdinand down and
we piled back into the junk heap of a truck just in time for me
to have my personal space invaded by a curious bull who wanted
to sniff me.
"I think he likes you."
Sonny chuckled as he swatted the bull away from the passenger
window but not before I was given a huge lick upside the face
and covered in fresh cow saliva. I attempted to inch away from
the window but my back was having none of it, a spasm kept me
rooted to the spot.
"Yeah, tell him I like him too."
I muttered as I hastily tried to wipe off the newest batch of
bovine saliva from my face.
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