Monday's Tale

Hi Everyone,

I'm flying back today from meeting PK.  I hope to have a post up by mid week to tell all. She will probably beat me to it though, so I'll fill in the blanks.  

As I've said in the past, my writing brain is on vacation.   So, instead of a new story today, this is an excerpt from my book Taming Maria. The thing is, if you want to read more, the rest of the story is already written. :)

Life resumed much as it had prior to the earthquake. The difference was that she and Juan now worked together. She continued working in the vineyard as well as overseeing the horse breeding operations while Juan worked both in the office and in the orchard. His love was the cultivation and experimentation of grafting different varieties and types of fruit. He had learned much in college and wanted to put the knowledge to use. Their aim was to improve the quality of their products. He was more involved in this area of the ranch than with the cattle. That had never been his interest so although he was still the overseer of all ranch operations he hired people to handle that end.

Cole Redding was the person he hired to handle that chore. He was new to the area but came

with great recommendations from his former employer. A friend of a friend had inherited a ranch in California and offered Cole a job assisting him during the settling and consequent sale of the estate. Cole jumped at the chance to remain in California. He was born into a ranching family in Wyoming and although he loved ranching, he hated winter. Ranching during a Wyoming winter was a lot more difficult than a California winter. He was tired of trudging through frozen snow and ice to disburse feed to the cattle, tired of breaking through two-inch thick ice in a watering trough and having to make the same rounds every hour to be sure it hadn't frozen over. He hated going out in the dark and coming home in the dark, so tired and cold that it literally took all night to get warm only to go out and do it all over again the next day. Granted winter was only a season but it took a season to get ready for the winter and a season to recover from the winter, leaving the summer season, which sometimes seemed as if it only lasted six weeks, to do everything else.

Cole settled into his job quickly. He didn't come with many possessions, so instead of moving into the Ranch Manager's house, he chose to stay in one of the bungalows the seasonal workers used. His long lanky frame and easy gait along with his blond hair, and often a day or two's

beard growth, turned female heads wherever he went. He never paid much attention. He had grown up around women. He had two sisters of his own and a myriad of cousins who also lived on his family's ranch, so his attraction to women was more of a brotherly one rather than a romantic one. He was no saint and took pleasure when it was offered but he hadn't experienced any long-term romantic entanglements during his first twenty-seven years. That's why his reaction surprised him when he noticed one of the vineyard workers while coming home one evening. She was having a very animated discussion with his boss and based on what he overheard, he hoped she still had a job in the morning because he planned to get to know her name and much more.

                                                     ---oOo---

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The following morning Cole stepped out of his bungalow and headed toward the stable. Today he had to go to the far pasture and went out to the stable to saddle the horse he'd been told was available to him. He enjoyed riding rather than driving the truck. The other workers could bring out the truck later if he needed any supplies. The horse was a beautiful chestnut stallion, about 16 hands. As he laid the blanket over the stallion's back, he was whispering to him when he heard someone speaking.

"His name is Diablo Roja. We call him Diablo for short. He is a beauty no? He makes beautiful babies, too."

He turned toward the sound and saw the beauty he had seen arguing with Juan yesterday.

"Yes, he is. Have you ridden him?"

"Many times, but my horse Domingo gets very jealous when I ride anyone but him."

"I can understand. Males get jealous when a beautiful lady looks at or gives her attention to another."

He flashed a grin, and the little lines around his eyes crinkled as the smile reached them.

"Save the flirting for someone else, vaquero. I am not interested."

She turned on her heel and walked out of the stable. Cole watched that pert little ass sashay all the way out the door. He still had no idea who she was, but she was a spitfire and he was more interested now than before. He wanted to get to know her better, wanted to smooth his palms over the peaks and valleys of her body and feel the texture of her skin. His jeans grew tighter just from his thoughts. Stop it, he told himself. He continued to saddle Diablo while thinking of ways to make her change her mind about him.

Maria was riding back toward home after her disappointing tryst with Juan at her usual breakneck speed. She spied the new vaquero on his way out to the southeastern pasture. He is a handsome looking man, he did seem interested in me, and maybe instead of rejecting him I should encourage him. Would it make Juan jealous enough not to reject my romantic requests? I bet it would.

All of these thoughts were going through her mind and she neglected to pay attention to the low-hanging tree branch in her path. Domingo was safely under it but the branch caught Maria's forehead and knocked her backward. She was so startled she let go of the reins and Domingo kept moving forward while Maria was lying back in the saddle with her arms at her sides. When Cole first spotted the horse, he thought the rider was just enjoying the ride, and thought how dangerous it was to ride so fast and not pay attention to the terrain. There was something in the way Domingo was running that seemed almost out of control. He turned Diablo and headed toward Domingo and the rider. As he approached, he realized the rider was the black-haired beauty. Cole reached for Domingo's reins several times before he succeeded but was finally able to bring the horse to a halt.

The girl was unconscious and he could see a large cut on her forehead. He managed to get her down from Domingo. She awakened as he was easing her down to the ground. She recognized him as she opened her eyes. Realizing she was in his arms she started kicking, causing him to re-balance them both.

"Ouch!" he yelled as her leg made contact with his hip.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? Unhand me, you fool."

"I will Miss as soon as I get you down so I can check that cut on your forehead."

"What are you talking about?"

"Apparently you had a mishap and somehow managed to get quite a gash in your forehead. I think whatever happened must have knocked you out for a bit. I was able to get the horse under control and get you down and here we are."

"Oh," she said quietly.

"Is it safe now for me to take a look at that cut, or am I in further danger from that foul mouth or any other moving parts?"

"I'm sorry," she said, and flashed him one of those earth-shattering smiles and he felt his temperature rise.

Cole poured some water from his canteen on to his neck scarf and cleaned the wound. Luckily, it did not look too deep and would not need stitches. She might end up with a little scar but it was close enough to her hairline that it would not mar her beautiful face. When he was finished, he put on some salve from his kit and offered her a drink.

"Thank you. I cannot keep addressing you as vaquero. Now that you have rescued me, I think I should know your name so I can thank you properly."

"I'm Cole Redding. I am the new -"

"I know who you are," she interrupted. I was in Juan's office when he was checking your references. I know all about you."

"And yet, I still know nothing about you, Miss."

"I think you probably know more than you think. I'm Maria Elena Bartolá."

"Bartolá, as in Diego Bartolá?"

"He is my Papa, so now you know who I am," she told him and flashed him that smile once again.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Bartolá and now that I know who you are, may I apologize for my earlier remarks."

"Please call me Maria, and your apology is accepted but I don't think…

 "I think you probably know more than you think. I'm Maria Elena Bartolá."

Without even realizing it, she was flirting with Cole and was enjoying every minute of their exchange. Maria began to notice him as a man, not just another vaquero, the way his hair fell over his eyes, his strong solid chest that filled out his shirt and the way his back muscles rippled as he bent over to retrieve his canteen. She noticed his sinewy arms beneath his white rolled up shirt sleeves. He had large manly hands, tanned and calloused, and she wondered how they would feel wrapped around her neck. She was angry with Juan and wanted to make him sorry for turning her away. Cole recognized the behavior but wasn't sure how to act or react. Not that he didn't want to wrap his arms around her and get the taste of her. He wanted her scent to fill his nostrils like the fresh sea air that surrounded them.  But for the moment, he thought it best to continue in the employer/employee mode.

"I have a job to do Miss Bartolá and should get to it. Are you well enough to get back home on your own, or should I accompany you?"

"My name is Maria, remember. I think I would feel better if you would ride alongside me, at least part of the way home, I still feel a little groggy," she answered him coquettishly.

 "I will explain to Juan if you get in any trouble."

I'm already in trouble, Cole thought to himself. Maria chatted to Cole all the way back to the house. He tried thinking of her as if she was his sister rather than the desirable woman she was. It wasn't easy but he liked this job and wanted to keep it. His daddy had always told him to stay away from the help. He assumed it meant both ways. Once they reached the courtyard entrance, he helped her down and guided her horse back to the stable. He told the stable hand to unsaddle and groom Domingo and to check for any cuts and then headed back out to the southeast pasture, hoping his tight pants didn't give him away.

"Lord, what a woman."

Since it's my book, I've taken some poetic license here so the story flows. See you later for more Aimless Ramblings.  This book and the others are available by clicking the icon on the side.