The Cowboy

Kelly watched the tall rugged man slide down off of his horse and slowly make his way over to her. Their eyes locked when he was about 20 feet away from where she was sitting. Her horse was tied a few yards away. She broke eye contact for a moment and looked around. She was in the middle of nowhere, a good half mile away from her small farm house. How in the hell did someone just happen upon her out here? Can't a girl get a little peace and quiet on the supposedly deserted plains?

She didn't have too much time for these thoughts as the man sauntered over to her. She sat up a little straighter against the rock she was leaning on as he approached. She felt her stomach tighten as she got a better look at him. He was tall, with piercing blue eyes and dark hair. He had a healthy amount of stubble that was just a hair shy of a full beard. It was neatly trimmed but gave him a haggard appearance that she normally hated, but on him it fit. She could see a gleam in his eye that told her he would either have a biting comment for her or a pickup line. Under the circumstances she hoped for the former.

He stopped a few feet away from her and she started to stand up, but he stopped her with a flick of his hand.

"Goddamn city folk. You have no clue what you are doing, do you?" He growled lowly.

Her eyes widened and she started to sputter some sort of comeback, but the look in his eyes kept her quiet.

As she sat trying to come up with something to say that could appease him, she couldn't help but wonder how exactly she got here. How did she get in this position in the first place? Out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by cattle, no one who'd known her for more than a couple of years within 500 miles of her.

Her eyes widened and her jaw clenched as in a flash she saw the whole picture, the big picture, from beginning to end, or at least until this moment. It was almost cathartic as she stared into his cold blue eyes. She recalled how it all began.

**********

Kelly cheated on her husband. It took her a long time to be able to admit that without adding some sugar coated rationalization about how their marriage had been over months before she slept with someone else. She had finally gotten to the point in her life where she could admit her faults without trying to defend them. It wasn't a place she arrived at easily. For several months after her divorce, she would tell people that she and her husband had grown apart and gone their separate ways, but now she could finally admit the truth. She'd cheated on her husband. Plain and simple.

Three years earlier Kelly had been a successful corporate woman buzzing and whirring her way up the various machines. Her husband had been a carbon copy. They had been married 2 years when the tedium and monotony of their lives first started to get to Kelly. She assumed that it was just the normal passing of their relationship into a less passionate, more comfortable phase. Most of her married friends agreed. They'd tell her it was just how it goes after a little while. The spark dies, but the relationship remains. And that's what you're supposed to build your lives on. The relationship.

Kelly tried hard to buy into this philosophy. She really did. She ignored offers from other men. She tried her hardest not to fantasize about handsome strangers she met along the way. First, she stopped talking to her friends about her secret deep desires. Then, finally, she stopped talking to her husband about them. They used to have fun in bed sharing fantasies, but the longer they were together the less frequent their exciting moments got. They still had sex. A lot of sex from what she could tell from her other married friends. But it just wasn't exciting or core-shaking. It never really was.

Kelly was not sure when exactly the moment came where she decided that she'd had enough, but one afternoon, sitting behind her big oak desk, she took a chance. A co-worker, Michael, had been sending increasingly flirty inter-office messages to her for the past few weeks and this time she responded with just as much, if not more, flirt.

It started innocently enough. Michael was handsome and sexy and he made her feel like a goddess in bed. At first. He was a few years younger than she was so it was all a little forbidden on top of the fact that she was married. The first month of the affair was torrid, but eventually it began to take on the same slant as her unfulfilling marriage. Her exciting sexy affair became yet another thing in her life that she was obligated to do. She worked with the man, was even almost friends with him, so she couldn't very well just cut it off and return to life as normal. And she had the distinct impression that he was growing a little too attached to her.

It was with some horror one day that she realized she had chosen the worst possible partner for a discreet affair. Even worse was the fact that she was so damn good at hiding it. Kelly realized that part of the reason she had allowed herself to be lead into the affair was because it was a way out of her marriage. But at the rate she was going, her husband was never going to find out. He was working 90 hours a week and he thought she was doing the same. In truth, she was working about 70 hours a week and fucking Michael the other 20.

Her husband, Peter, loved her and trusted her. He was painfully content with their life, even happy with it. This made Kelly feel even worse, even guiltier, about her unhappiness and her moments with Michael. Now both of the men in her life seemed quite content with the status quo and she was even more restless. Something had to give.

She and Peter had just settled down to a nice dinner one Saturday evening when she looked at him across her wine glass and said, "Peter, I've been sleeping with someone else. I feel horrible for doing it, but I'm so unhappy with my life I don't even know how to fully put it into words."

She watched his eyes bug out as he swallowed his drink of water. At least she hadn't elicited a spit take.

He argued with her at first. Declaring that they could work through it, save the marriage, that he was angry but could forgive her with a little work and a little time. That was Peter. The hero. The fixer. The ultimate good guy.

By the end of the weekend she had made it very clear with a lot of explaining and a few tears from both of them that it was over. She wasn't happy. As she explained how she felt to him for the first time, Kelly was able to see her discontent a bit more clearly. It wasn't Peter. It wasn't Michael. It was her. It was her life and her job and her lack of interest in it all. As she fumbled with her words trying to make it clear to Peter as well as to herself, she experienced a brief but shining moment of clarity. She had to get away.

Kelly hadn't thought too much about what telling Peter would do to her life, but she quickly realized that if she did not leave, then she would get sucked back into it all. Either with him or with someone else. She knew she had to leave the city, the entire state for that matter. The desire to start over - to wipe the slate clean, become someone else, someone much closer to who she really was - was so strong when it hit her it almost seemed too simple.

That's what she decided to do. That would be her new motto. Keep it simple. She would do what made sense to her and no one else. She needed to start something that would be hers alone and not allow the world around her to shape her into a form she didn't even recognize.

A voice in her head told her to go west. So, she went west.

She took half of their savings -- Peter made her -- packed one suitcase, and then she started driving.

Kelly ended up in southwest Kansas and decided that was far enough. During her first year she made a small purchase of land and an old farm house and began to rebuild her life. She did what she promised herself. She kept it simple. She kept to herself. She only formed relationships with a few nearby families and they were mostly business. She made a few smart moves and ended up with several heads of cattle and a few hands to work them by her second year.

By her third year, she was sitting pretty. She had steady income, good land, and hard workers who respected her decisions. She knew just enough about farm life to know that she didn't know a thing and hired the right people to keep things running smoothly. Things weren't perfect though. Kelly was lonely. Several of the local people looked at her as an outsider who swooped in, stole land, and was now profiting from the back break of others.

Kelly knew differently -- she knew just how hard she worked, how many hours she put in on her horse or in the fields - but she could understand their point of view. She had the benefit of coming into the situation with money and enough knowledge of the business world to make the right decisions for herself in the long run. So, she avoided most people and they avoided her. She had strong fences and enough help and protection that she didn't need to worry about everyone else.

It had been months since anyone other than her four farm hands or the neighboring family had seen or spoken to her when the handsome stranger had accosted her. Given the facts that she didn't know who he was, he was on her land unwelcomed, and he didn't seem too happy with her, her defences were decidedly up when she finally opened her mouth to speak.

**********

"I'm going to let you think about that for a second and then take it back if you're smart," she said with a little lingering heat in her voice. Kelly held the strangers gaze with what she hoped was just as much steel.

His jaw lost some of its hardness for just a moment before he growled a low response. "And I'm going to let you take a good look at the horizon before you decide if you're going to stay out here any longer. You'll be heading back to the house. If you're smart."

Kelly took a moment to break their heated eye contact. She looked past him to the western skies and noticed a wall of greenish black clouds steadily approaching. She realized that she must have been very lost in thought to not notice the change in the previously sunny sky. She was usually on top of the weather.

Her face softened a bit as she gave the stranger a little nod before standing up. "Good choice," he chuckled darkly, "I knew you were smarter than you looked."

Kelly turned on her heels to face him, the anger back in her pretty face. "I don't know who the hell you think you are..."

"Whoa, whoa girl," he cut her off, "I'm just kidding. You shouldn't be so easy to work up. I'll just want to keep doing it."

The playful look in his eyes surprised her. "Who are you again? And why are you out here? I didn't realize the Weather Bureau still sent out scouts."

He extended his hand then. "James. I've been working on the neighboring ranch for a couple of months now." Out of polite habit she reached to shake his hand.

"Kelly," she replied curtly.

"I know," he all but grinned now, "I stopped by your place to see if anyone needed a hand with the coming storm. All of your hands were so busy hunkering down the house and barns that they didn't seem to know where you had gone. So, I told them I'd find you and make sure you got back home safely. Though I'm beginning to realize why they weren't too worried about you being sucked up by a twister. Assuming you're as warm and caring to them as you're being to me."

If she hadn't heard the smile in his voice as he spoke his rather biting comments, she would have been angry. But the soft tones he used and the smirk on his lips made it impossible for her to be mad.

"I'm not really a bitch you know. I just get a little defensive when strangers question my intelligence."

He held up his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry about that Kelly. Now can I please get you home safely? If we don't get going soon we're going to be stuck in this field to ride it out."

She nodded, looking up at the darkening sky. She could feel the change in the wind. It was gusting much stronger now and carried an eerie coolness and the smell of rain. She knew just how quickly a summer storm in the Midwest could turn deadly.

Kelly mounted her horse and watched as James easily climbed on to his, his long jean clad legs winding around the strong animal. Kelly bit her bottom lip watching him, wondering to herself how she'd gone three years without feeling the strength of a man in her bed. The thought surprised her and she shook her head, thinking that it was not the time, the place, or the right man for those thoughts.

They made the short ride in silence, the wind too strong and howling in their ears to allow for much conversation. As they rode next to each other, they were both surprised by the comfortable quality of the silence between them. James especially was impressed by the fact that she didn't seem to feel the need to fill the air between them with words. He was kicking himself for assuming the worst about her. He knew better than to believe everyone in town's assessment: that she was an uptight snobby know-it-all. His initial impression of her was that she was an intelligent warm woman who was in a tough spot in her life, whether she was willing to admit it or not.

The first fat raindrops were beginning to fall as they made their way to the barn. Kelly insisted that James tuck his mount safely into the barn and come to the house to wait out the storm. The sky was black now and the trees were bent. By the time they made it to the house rain was coming in sheets, blowing horizontally. Kelly shivered as she peeked out the picture window in the living room, hoping the cattle were safe and her hands were protected in the barn.

She voiced her concern to James but he assured her that they would all be ok. With the rain coming down like it was they were likely not on the receiving end of a funnel cloud, he told her. She nodded; recalling that weather tidbit from another source as well, but still looked worriedly out the window. She realized just how easily a tornado could tear apart all she had worked so hard to build.

James moved next to her, standing close to her so that she could feel the warmth of his shoulder next to hers. "It really is goin' to be ok you know. But you should move away from that window just in case, Kel."

The abbreviated version of her name caught her off guard and she rewarded him with the first genuine smile she'd bestow upon him.

"Alright Jimbo," she smiled choosing a nickname she was pretty sure he'd hate.

She made her way over to the sofa and took a seat. She was a safe distance from the window but could still see the action outside.

He rolled his eyes at her obvious attempt to bate him and took a seat on the sofa next to her. "Jimbo huh? I don't think I'll be answering to that any time soon."

She curled her legs under body and wiggled her bare toes. "But James sounds so formal, especially if you're going to call me Kel."

He shrugged as he casually draped a long arm across the back of the couch. Turning to face her a bit as he spoke, "Well, that's my name. I can call you Kelly if you'd rather."

She shook her head, turning to face him now, mirroring his body movements until she was practically curled under his arm, her bent legs separating their bodies. "No. I like Kel. No one's ever called me anything for short before. I like it."

He watched her lips as she spoke; wishing he was paying more attention to her words, but the mood in the room had shifted. All he could smell was her. Her shampoo or perfume or soap was invading his nostrils and making it impossible for him to concentrate on anything but the scent of her. Her pouty bottom lip had his full attention as she spoke.

He actually felt himself blush as he realized that she was very aware of the fact that he was staring. "Good," he finally said, saving himself, "Kel it is then."

Kelly found herself enjoying being the object of his apparent desire for the moment. It had been a long time since she'd felt this relaxed with anyone, let alone a man she found so attractive. His soft white t-shirt was clinging to his body. It contrasted against the deep blue of his jeans and the deep tan of his skin. She fought the urge to run her fingertips along his collar. She wanted to feel him against her, feel his arms wrap around her as she sank her fingers in to his curly longish hair. She wanted to slide her soft lips against his and taste him.

She felt herself blush at her rush of unwanted thoughts. She shouldn't be sitting there with him like this fantasizing about all of the things she wanted to do with him. She'd never live it down if anything happened between them. No good could come of it. Her reputation was already bad enough without giving everyone more fodder for hating her. But she found herself unable to take her eyes off of him. And his were just as locked on her.

They hung in the moment together. Both wanting something to happen, but not moving.

A loud clap of thunder made Kelly jump, her body gravitating closer to his.

"It's alright Kel," he said soothingly, naturally, "The heart of the storm must be passing us now. It'll be over soon enough."

She felt herself melt a little at how much he seemed to care about her safety and comfort. She knew then that she couldn't let this moment get away.

She slid her legs down -- effectively removing the only barrier between their bodies -- leaning her body forward as she nodded in response to his words. She felt her heart skip a beat at what she was about to do, but she knew there was no way she was going to stop now.

She tilted her head up towards his, hoping like hell he wouldn't push her away, and brushed her lips against his, lingering for a moment.

James froze. He could not believe that the supposed ice queen was kissing him. She was so soft and warm and inviting that he almost didn't know what to do with himself as she softly leaned in and kissed him.

Kelly felt the butterflies in her stomach slowly start to beat into a frenzy as he sat motionless. She was about to pull away and crawl under a rock when he finally came to life with a low throaty growl. She felt his arms slide around her body as his lips returned her gentle kiss. Her hands rested on his shoulders as their bodies pressed closer and closer with the intensifying kisses.

She let out a soft whimper as his lips grazed down her jaw line to her soft supple neck. He nibbled and licked his way to her earlobe, sucking softly as she let out a soft moan.

Kelly felt her body respond immediately with a fierce passion. The sleeping beast had been awakened and there would be no lulling it back to rest. She wrapped her arms around him, sliding over into his lap, straddling him. James slid his hands down her sides, along her ass and thighs, feeling her, loving how she felt in his hands.

She sat up and pulled her t-shirt off revealing her full soft breasts, her pink nipples swollen and hard from want. Their eyes met and he smiled as she dipped her head to kiss him again. His hands found their way to her firm breasts and he enjoyed the shiver that went through her body as he played with them.

Their kisses turned warm and playful as she tugged his t-shirt off of his body, pausing for a moment to take in the sight of him. "You're gorgeous," she murmured softly.

He slowly shook his head at her compliment, a smile lingering on his lips. "Not like you are," he said simply.

She slid out of his lap and stood before him. Slowly she undid her jeans and wriggled them down her full hips, tugging her undies off with them. Stepping out of them, she stood before him naked in the dim light of the storm. The rain beat against the house, filling the room with its sound, but Kelly could still hear James' heavy breathing as he took in the sight of her body on display for him alone.