New Beginnings Ch. 01

While this is not a continuation of Jessie McCallister and Luke Morgan's story, The Gray Dove, but actually pre-dates it, there are a few characters that overlap the two stories. You may recognize Lorraine Harris, the owner of The Gray Dove, and Bill Tate who was a frequent customer of Jessie McCallister's. I enjoy western historical fiction and, since there doesn't seem to be a great deal of it on the board, I hope you enjoy this two chapter offering. Just be warned, they're two loooooong chapters!

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Glenn Lambert sat astride his large, gray stallion and surveyed the view in front of him. From the top of the rise he could see for miles and miles and took in the ponderosa pine that covered the mountainsides, the deep green of the open meadows that spread out at their base and the large lake in the center of it all. It was beautiful country and he had appreciated this particular view more than any other on his property for over 35 years. It was where he came when he needed to ponder situations, and right now, he needed to ponder.

He had settled on this land when he was twenty years old, at first working for other ranchers and then gradually saving enough money to buy his own spread. He had an affinity not only for working the ranch but for business as well, and by the time he was thirty three he had prospered tremendously, buying out many of the neighboring ranches. As a result, the Flying L had become one of the largest cattle ranches in all of Nevada and Glenn Lambert had become one of the wealthiest and well respected men in the state.

Glenn had always been quick to credit his wife, Lucy, for providing the strength and determination in those early ventures, always encouraging him and working as a sounding board while discussing everything from land acquisitions to cattle breeding with him. Lucy had been a strong, loving, beautiful wife to him and he had loved her with everything that he'd had. They had worked together, side by side to build their ranch and raise their family of four boys and three girls. And, after he had had such success with arguing for property and tax rights for the ranchers, it had been Lucy who had encouraged him to listen to the neighboring ranchers who wanted him to run for the senate. She had been by his side when he won at age 50 and, as she had with the ranch, she provided wise advice during two of his three terms as senator for the state of Nevada.

But, during that time, Lucy's health had begun to fail. The doctors said that it was a heart condition that was untreatable so, for the final six years of her life, Glenn watched the vibrant woman that he had married gradually fade into a shadow of her physical self, although she never lost her wit and intelligence. It had been difficult on him in many respects, not the least of which was the fact that, over time, they were no longer able to share the physical intimacies that they'd so enjoyed all of their married lives. They had had a healthy, vigorous marriage in every respect and Lucy had been a perfect partner for him. She felt that there was no need for constraint between husband and wife and they were completely uninhibited with the other. Therefore, when Lucy's failing health decreed that that part of their lives would have to come to an end, they both felt the loss intensely.

Lucy, knowing her husband and his needs as she did, had even broached the subject of periodic visits to some of the brothels that Nevada was so famous for. But, for Glenn, that just wasn't an option. He had loved his wife completely for all these years and he wasn't interested in simply finding a warm body to release himself in, he wouldn't betray his darling Lucy in that way.

When Lucy died shortly after the beginning of his third term as senator, he felt a large part of himself die with her. While thankful that they had lived together long enough to see their children grow into adults that they were proud of, with the boys taking over the ranch operations and all of them marrying and beginning families of their own, Glenn still felt that they'd not had enough time together. He had wanted them to share their old age together, spoiling their grandchildren and looking back with pride over all that they'd accomplished.

Glenn sighed and began picking his way down the side of the hill towards the lake. As he got closer, a smile did slowly spread as he thought of all the times that his good friend, Bart Ramsey, and he had fishing at this lake. He had settled in the area at about the same time that Glenn and Lucy had and the three had become fast friends. The two men helped each other on numerous occasions and Bart's ranch, while not nearly as large or prosperous as the Flying L, was a well run establishment. He had married late in life to a girl, Anne Maxwell, who was half his age. She was the daughter of a congressman whom Bart had met while accompanying Glenn to the statehouse for a cattleman's meeting. Although it was a definite case of opposites attracting, the young woman who'd been educated in a boarding school out east and the rancher who was nearing fifty were attracted to each other and began to correspond regularly. While Bart had had some apprehensions for reasons other than age; reasons that Glenn and Lucy were the only ones in the area aware of, he proposed to the young woman and had been surprised when she said yes. Despite her age, she had fit in well and the two families had shared frequent meals with each other.

As he pulled his horse up and dismounted by the lake, Glenn ground tied the animal and strolled down to the waters edge, taking a seat on a large boulder. Gazing over the water, he allowed his mind to drift back to a trip that he'd made to Reno with Bart two years after Lucy's death.

They'd supposedly been on the way to visit fellow rancher Bill Tate and look over several head of cattle to introduce into their herds as breeding stock. But, once they'd arrived and had sat down for dinner at Bill's ranch, Bart decided to impart the real reason that they'd brought him there.

"Glenn, you've been alone too long," Bart had said, looking his friend in the eye.

"Bart, Lucy's only been gone for two years. I've told you over and over, I'm not interested in looking for another wife," Glenn had responded heatedly. They'd had this conversation before. Glenn knew in his heart that he'd never meet anyone to take Lucy's place and he wished his friend would leave him alone about it.

"I ain't talkin' about a new wife," Bart continued on, stubbornly. "It's been over eight years since you've been with a woman. That's too long, Glenn. Too long for most men, and too DAMN long for a man like you."

Glenn opened his mouth to shoot back an angry response when he looked at the two men at the table with him. These men were his friends and there was nothing but concern on their faces. These weren't a couple of fellas that he'd met on the trail during a cattle drive and were trying to get him to visit a backstreet whorehouse. They honestly had his best interests at heart and he couldn't be angry at them for that. He snapped his mouth shut for a moment and then sighed.

"Boys, I appreciate what you're saying. And, if I was to be honest, I'd have to say that you're right," Glenn admitted, resignedly. "But, I don't know what to do about it. I've only been with one woman since I was twenty wears old."

"And before that?" Bill interjected, with a twinkle in his eye, amused that Glenn's face colored a bit.

"Well, before that I was with Big Hattie and a few of her girls," Glenn admitted, explaining that Big Hattie was a farmers widow who always seemed to have a few "stray" young ladies staying at her place. While the town gingerly accepted the stories that Big Hattie and her girls worked the land, it was common knowledge that many of the local farmers worked the land for them in exchange for a few "favors". Glenn's father had taken him for a visit to the farm when he was seventeen and instructed Big Hattie to "teach him a thing or two about men and women." The busty, blowsy woman had been more than happy to take his initiation into her own hands and had indeed taught him a thing or two. He had returned a few times , however the girls at the farm had always seemed too skinny, dirty and crude for his own tastes. And then he'd met his Lucy and had never looked at another since.

"That's why I don't like whore houses to this day," Glenn tried to explain. "The girls always look like they're about a meal away from death or are so made up that they don't really look like women anymore."

"Son, you've never been to the Gray Dove," Bill smiled broadly. "Miss Lorraine Harris runs the finest establishment in all of Reno, if not all of Nevada. Her girls are the best looking girls I've ever seen; beautiful faces, nice ripe figures in every shape and size you can imagine. And, I'm telling you, those girls can't be beat when it comes to knowing how to give a good, proper fuck any way that you like it! I've been seeing a little redhead named Jessie for over a year now, a real little lady, but after an hour in her bed I'm worn out AND feelin' twenty years younger!"

"I used to go in there with the boys after we'd drive cattle over to the Hayes ranch in Carson City. Even though I didn't visit the rooms upstairs, the girls were just like Bill said. The prettiest I'd ever seen. I tell you, it was always a real happy group of cowboys that hit the trail back to our ranch after a visit to the Gray Dove. They'd spend two weeks talking about their one night there."

Glenn sat and listened to the two men, long suppressed yearnings stirring inside him.

"Boys, I appreciate your concern, I do. But, all those young girls don't attract me at all. I'm afraid I'd spend the whole time thinking that they're young enough to be my daughters," he said with a hint of a smile. Then, becoming serious again, he continued. "I want a woman who's going to look and feel like a woman, a grown woman that I can talk to, not just someone with a pussy between her legs so I can shoot my load. Besides, in case you've forgotten, I'm a US Senator. I don't think it'd look very good for me to go waltzing into the Gray Dove, big as you please, and go upstairs with the first young thing that smiles at me. I can see it being in the newspapers the next day for my children and grandchildren to read!"

"Glenn, I knew what kind of man you were when I asked Bart to bring you here," Bill said, leaning across the table. "I done made arrangements for you to stay at The Palace Hotel in town tonight; you and Bart have adjoining rooms there. Once you've checked in, everything else will be taken care of."

"What do you mean, taken care of?" Glenn asked, eyeing both men warily.

"I talked to Miss Lorraine about you a few months back, explaining your situation," Bill said, ignoring the flash of temper in Glenn's eyes. "Now, Miss Lorraine hasn't worked the upstairs rooms in over ten years, she's in her mid forties and every bit a lady. Still has a face and a figure that men would do battle over. Comes from a fine family in Wyoming that…well….I'm getting off track here, that's another story. Anyways, as a favor to me AND because she's taken kind of a personal interest in your situation, she's agreed to pay you a visit tonight at the hotel. Now, before you get your dander up," Bill said, holding up his hand as Glenn began to protest, "You have no idea how lucky you are. I had the privilege of knowing her when she was a regular saloon girl and we had us some times that I'll never forget. But, she hasn't done that for a long time, not even for me or some of us who were her regular customers way back when. But, once Bart and you have registered over at the hotel, Bart's to leave the back way and come back here and she'll come up the same way to take his room. Now, mind you, Miss Lorraine DOESN'T go sneaking around the backs of hotels for ANYONE, so you better consider yourself the luckiest man in Nevada right now."

They'd talked quite a bit more about it, but as they talked, Glenn admitted to himself that it HAD been too long, that he'd missed physical contact with a warm, female body and, as he got older his urges hadn't recessed as he'd thought they might. At 60, he was still a strong, virile man and he needed to come to terms with that. The final push over the edge had been a comment Bart had made.

"Glenn, old buddy, I know what you and Lucy had together and I'm sorry that she's gone. But I'd love to be able to pleasure my Annie the way that you can still pleasure a woman. Don't waste the rest of your days thinking that that part of your life is all over, cause it's not," Bart had said quietly.

Both Bill and Glenn knew what he was talking about. When Bart was in his early twenties he had been thrown and stomped by a horse that he was breaking. The horse's hoof had caught him between his legs and damaged muscles, tendons and other things permanently. He was impotent and only able to pleasure his wife with his mouth and hands.

He had been honest with Annie before they'd married, giving her the opportunity to back out, but she's said that that wasn't the only reason that she was marrying him and that the lack of sexual intimacy wouldn't be a bother to her. She always seemed to enjoy their physical contact and told him the things that especially pleased her however Bart was the one who always initiated their intimacy. But he never doubted her love for him and, in the same way as Glenn and Lucy were, they had become a team when it came to running the ranch and making investments. Annie had been a smart, willing pupil when it came to learning about ranch life and Bart knew that it would be in good hands long after he had passed on.

Glenn had reflected a short time on what these men were proposing and, coming to a decision, found himself pacing back and forth in one of the best rooms in the fanciest hotel in Reno. It was a suite when the adjoining doors were all open and in his room there was a large bed, two easy chairs with a small table between them facing the fireplace, as well as a bureau with a mirror to the left of the bed. He had smoked several cigarettes to try to calm his nerves however they only seemed to make it worse, so he simply paced. He knew when he'd checked in that Miss Lorraine was already in the adjoining room because he heard the occasional movement there. He had nearly decided that this had been a terrible idea after all when there was a knock on the adjoining door. Taking a deep breath, he crossed the room and, with a shaking hand, reached out and turned the knob.

He didn't know what he'd expected a brothel madam to look like, but it certainly wasn't the elegant woman standing in front of him. Her blonde hair was perfectly coiffed, her dress was of a stylish, tasteful cut and her figure was pleasantly full but not blowsy. Everything about her reeked of gentility and, had he not known who she was, would have thought her to be one of the local society matrons.

"Good evening, Mr. Lambert, it's so very nice to meet you," she said with a smile of her full, pink lips as she extended her hand. He took it, feeling it's softness in his work hardened one.

"Miss Lorraine," he said, releasing her hand and gesturing into the room. "Won't you come in?"

"Please, Senator, call me Lorraine," she said, moving into the room gracefully and turning to face him.

"Well, it's not Senator, it's Glenn. When people call me Senator it generally means that they're either trying to get on my good side or have a bone to pick with me," he said with a smile, relaxing just an inch. "Won't you sit down?"

"Thank you. May I get you a drink first?" she asked, gesturing to the crystal decanters on the mantle.

"I wouldn't be adverse to a scotch," he nodded. "I didn't want to start drinking before you got here. I'm so on edge I was afraid if I started I'd lose track of how much I'd had and be three sheets to the wind," he said ruefully.

"Now, you're not really that nervous, are you?" she smiled, handing him the glass before settling into one of the chairs.

"As a virgin on her wedding night," he admitted, gulping the drink down in two swallows, much to Lorraine's amusement. She retrieved the decanter from the mantle and placed it on the table between them, refilling his glass.

"Well, Glenn, I've both been a virgin and been with virgins. I've always found that the nervousness disappears once the pleasure begins," she said, a twinkle in her blue eyes. "And, I promise I won't let you become three sheets to the wind."

The combination of the drink and her good humor caused Glenn to relax just a bit more.

"I appreciate that, Ma'am," he said. "And I want to thank you for tonight. Bill Tate told me that you don't …ah…do this anymore. He said that I should consider myself to be one of the luckiest men in Nevada and I'm beginning to understand why."

"Bill's a good man, he was one of my first friends here in Reno," Lorraine smiled. "He's very good with finances, as well as being a good rancher. He was kind enough to show me how to invest my money wisely which has made a tremendous difference in my life."

"What kinds of investments?" Glenn asked, curiously.

So, for the next hour, the two talked about finances and investments which led them to discover they had had interests in several of the same business ventures over the years. Glenn was impressed with the woman and the fact that she had taken the basic knowledge gleaned from Bill Tate and built upon it. That was how she had saved enough money to go from being a working girl at The Gray Dove, to being the owner at the age of thirty five.

"I try to help any of my girls that ask to manage their money, too. Sometimes they have children and families that they're helping to support, but a couple of them have a good business sense," Lorraine said. "It's my experience that none of the girls would be there if they had their choice, so I try to help them save and have more choices."

"That's a generous philosophy," Glenn said with a smile, his admiration growing. He got up and replaced the decanter on the mantle then leaned against it while looking down at her. "So, what choices brought you to The Gray Dove, if you don't mind my asking?"

He saw a shadow flicker through her eyes then disappear and was afraid he'd said the wrong thing.

"That's a very long story, Glenn," she said, then stood and walked over to him. "And, I believe there are more pleasurable ways to spend the evening, don't you?"

She reached up and laid her hand against his cheek as she asked the question, running her thumb over the skin. Even at sixty, he was handsome. His thick hair was mostly white now with just a dark strand remaining here and there. His skin was tanned and leathery, which only accented his deep blue eyes. The lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth only made him appear more handsome and distinguished. He looked like what he was; a man who had known hard work and wasn't afraid of it, a man both strong of mind and body. A true man's man. He was, Lorraine decided, man enough to know how to pleasure a woman, no matter how long it had been.

Glenn saw her taking stock of him and reached up to cover her hand with his own. He dipped his head and, for the first time in forty years, kissed a woman who wasn't his wife. The touch of her soft, warm mouth to his was all it took to make his cock twitch and begin to strain against his pants. Wrapping his free arm around her waist, he pulled her to him, feeling the heat racing through his body as he held this voluptuous woman against it. He moaned and slid the other arm down around her, pressing her more firmly to him as his lips searched hers with a deepening passion, his tongue pressing between them and exploring the warmth and wetness of her mouth.