Montana (Modern Mail Order Bride Book 2) (10 page)

Chad watched her walk away.

“Stop watching my wife’s ass, Chad,” Billy Joe said.

Pap spoke up, “I was watching it, too!”

“You may have redeemed yourself with that one,” Chad told him. “I’m still not cool with the idea of mixed raced babies as the next generation, but she...she is something else.”

Chad looked about the porch for his keys.  “What day is good for you?”

“What do you mean what day is good for me?”

“Dinner?  What day should I come over for dinner, maybe Sunday?”

“Sounds good,” Billy Joe told him.

His brother had not moved off the porch.  Neither had Pap. “So, she calls you William...”

“Yep,” he said.

“Don’t that beat all,” Chad said as he walked off the porch with a tilt of his hat. Billy Joe climbed back onto Bucky.

“Where you headed?” Pap asked.

“To the far side of the canyon for some of those flowers. I can be back by sunset,” he told him as he clicked his tongue and took off at a gallop.

“It could go faster than that if you drove the truck, Jackass,” Chad yelled as he started his Cadillac.

“Everybody is a critic,” Billy Joe said as he rode his horse around to the barn to swap it out for his truck.  A pretty lady needed some flowers and he was going to get her some.  Flowers today.  Some up close sexy dancing tomorrow, maybe a piece of poetry on Sunday. 
She wants romancing.  I am going to romance the panties right off  her and get me some babies.

At the end of the day, it was what he wanted more than anything.  To have the house full of life, laughter and the joy of children.  Pecola was going to give him those things, which meant he was going to give her everything she wanted as well.

F
riday evening came with a flurry of activity packing and planning for the barn raising on Saturday.  Honestly, she was much more excited than she should have been, even though they were going to be sleeping in a tent.  In a field.  On somebody’s farm.  With only one bathroom.

That wasn’t the worst part.  The worst part was there were many families coming out to this barn raising and only one bathroom?  Pecola couldn’t wrap her head around that concept.

“You are overthinking it, Honey,” he said to her.  He was loading pallets in the bed of his truck. “Only the girls have to sit down.”

In her head, the idea just got worst.  A bunch of men peeing on the ground behind a building. “In New York, we call that indecent exposure,” she told him.

“Well, out here we call it watering the grass,” he told her.  She watched him load in poles, a giant canvas bag, lanterns, and solar powered lights.

“I’m curious to see how all this plays together,” she said.

“Let me walk you through the house to help you gather the things we’re going to need,” he said.

From the top shelf in the laundry room, he took down the picnic basket, the blanket, a pair of lady gloves, and a wash bowl and pitcher.  “You will have to take the pitcher to the well to fill it with water for us to wash up before the party,” he said.

Next, he went into the bedroom. “Lay out what you’re planning to wear tomorrow.  You’ll need some jeans, those gloves, closed-in shoes, and something lightweight with sleeves.  A pretty dress for the evening dance is necessary, too.  We may have most of the floor laid in for when the dancing comes, but I’m not sure.  Closed-in shoes will be best; we still have to walk across the field at night.”

Pecola watched him move about the room with ease, talking, sharing, and explaining everything to her with patience. “You’re going to make a great dad,” she said.  It came out of nowhere but she said it aloud.

“Thank you.  I can’t wait.  I’m ready for some babies, Pecola,” he said to her with a smile.  “I have so much to teach them about this land, our heritage, the legacy we will leave.  Most of all, that unconditional love you get...no expectations other than be cool and be their daddy.”

Genuine affection poured through her as she touched his arm.  The warmth of him under her hands made her wrap her arms around his neck and hold him close. “I am proud to be the woman who will give that to you,” she told him with a soft kiss on his cheek.

The flowers he had brought her earlier were lovely wildflowers in bright colors.  It was obvious he took his time to hand pick each one because they each were cut at an angle at the base like he had bent down to decide which ones were good enough to take home. “The flowers were lovely,” she told him as she kissed him lightly on the lips.

I am not done yet, Mrs. Johnson
.

Over dinner, from his back pocket, he pulled out a note.  No words accompanied it as he took his plate to the sink then headed down the hall for his evening shower.  Her fingers were shaking as she picked up the piece of paper and read his words.

“Light, hope, and eternity

Shine in your eyes,

Eyes which bring sight each new day.”

“Damn,” she muttered as she pressed the note to her chest.  It even smelled like him.  Sweat, bergamot, and something else which was making her get antsy. “This man is trying to seduce me,” she said.

It was working, too.

T
he sun was still in Japan when they got up to head over to the Mckinley’s farm to raise a barn.  Somehow, she had managed to get everything loaded in the truck, including her New York Style cheesecake and a carafe of coffee.  Billy Joe loaded in a small table and a rug that he picked up at the last minute with a wink of his eye.

It was all back roads across the land he called home until they reached a locked gate.  “Get behind the wheel and drive her through when I unlock the gate,” he said.

Pecola shook her head no, “I will open the gate; you drive her through.”

“Honey, it’s dark out and that grass is high,” he said.

“I know, but I don’t drive,” she told him.

He took off his hat to look her in the eyes. “New Yorker,” he said softly. “Okay.  What we’re going to do is have you put the vehicle in gear, then take your foot off the brakes and let it roll forward.  After you clear the gates, step on the brakes and put the truck back into park.”

Billy Joe opened the truck door and shined his flashlight on the ground.  “Slide on over in the driver’s seat, Honey.”  She did as she was told.  He pointed at everything he wanted her to do once more and she was certain she had it.

The gate was unlocked.  Strong hands pulled back the metal fencing clearing the truck.  “Foot on the brake, Honey, put it in gear,” he said to her.

She followed his instructions, gripping the steering wheel for dear life.  It rolled through the gate, as he pulled the fencing closed.  Pecola pressed down on the brake feeling right proud of herself, but she forgot to put it in park as the truck lurched forward.  She slammed down on the brake again.

He was at the side of the truck watching her with curiosity. “I tell you what, Honey, you are going to get your first driving lesson today,” he said to her.

“Why?”

“Because out here, a girl can’t call a cab or car service,” he told her as he slid into the passenger seat. “Seat belts on, let up off the brake and let the truck coast down the road,” he said.  They had just left Johnson land but were still on a back road.  “Give it a little gas until you feel comfortable with the power of the vehicle in your hands,” he told her.

It only took a few scary tries and they were rolling along. “Holy Crap!  I’m driving!”

Her mouth was wide open as they came to a four way stop.  Lights were descending upon them as he asked her to put the truck in the park gear so they could switch seats. A long trail of pickup trucks turned down the road.  Billy Joe jumped in the line and followed along to the McKinley farm. 

T
wenty minutes later, they arrived at a wide-open area.

“McKinley mainly has sheep.  I am not certain what he grows on this land, but we should have a fair sampling of it today.  I know there will be lots of corn recipes,” he said with a frown.

“I brought some tacos for us to eat for lunch.  I made breakfast sandwiches to go with the coffee and since dinner was a potluck, I made the cheesecake and some pasta salad.  I hope that’s okay?”

My wife is adorable.
  “It’s just fine,” he said with a pause. “I’m wearing the old jeans to work in today, but for the dance, I’m going to wear one of the new shirts and britches you got me.  Thank you for those, by the way,” he said as he found a flat spot to park.

“Well, I can’t have my man running around ragged, now can I?” A twinkle was in her eye when she spoke to him.

“Your man, huh?”

“Yeah.  My man,” she said as she licked her bottom lip.

“Can your man get a kiss?”

“I don’t see why not,” she said, leaning over and grabbing him by the collar.  The kiss was not one of passion but a loud one of smacking followed by a raspberry then licking of his bottom lip.

“If you didn’t want to kiss me, Pecola, you could have said so,” he told her as he wiped his mouth.

He’d misread her intentions.  He was out of the truck in a flash and around back pulling down the tailgate. 
Crap.  How did I get it wrong
?

Opening the truck door, she grabbed her gloves and headed around back. “Can I try that again, William?”

“It’s okay. We need to get this tent up,” he told her.

Bold, brazen, and full of a desire to make him happy, she reached low and cupped him in her hands. “How about I get this tent up first,” she said as her right hand massaged him. Her left hand went up around his neck, as her lips pressed against his.  Billy Joe moaned a bit when her tongue slipped in between his lips, playing with his own.

“Damn, Honey, we ain’t gonna get much done today if you keep that up,” he told her.

Wanting to keep it light-hearted, she said, “We can get a lot of things moving forward if you can keep that up,” she said with a waggle of her brows, clamping her hand down on him.  She didn’t know what she waggled then; it was still dark as hell and she could not see his face in the darkness.

“Let’s pitch this tent first and later, we can re-pitch mine,” he said against her face.  He disentangled himself from her, pulling away to grab the lanterns.  He struck a match and pulled up the glass covering to light the wick.  The amount of light that appeared was amazing to Pecola.

“Pallets on the ground first,” he told her.  Gloves on, she helped lay the pallets flat on the ground side by side.  “That is our floor,” he told her.  Next, he drove in the stakes before pulling the canvas bag down.

“Get inside to hold that centerpiece there, Honey,” he said to her.

Again, without question, she followed his instructions as the green tent took shape and came to life.  It was bigger than she thought it would have been, especially after he brought in two cots and a table.  She also understood what the rug was for when he put it on top of the pallets right before he opened up the cots.  On the table, he set the wash bowl and pitcher, along with the carafe of coffee and cups.  The lantern gave a lot of light in the tent.

“Keep the light low when you are changing; too much light will leave little to the imagination,” he told her.  He went back out to the truck to bring back two lounge chairs.  He rolled out a sleeping bag on the cot.  “We can’t do nuthin’ till the sun comes up and that isn’t for another 30 minutes, so I’m going to grab a nap,” he said to her.  The hat lay across his eyes as he leaned back on the cot and drifted off to sleep.  Pecola was sorely disappointed that he didn’t want to pitch his tent again.

She watched him lying there motionless. Sleeping as if he hadn’t a care in the world.  Two could play that game. Her first attempt on the cot didn’t go very well. No matter which way she lay, she could not get comfortable.

It’s him.

In four days this man has ruined me
.

She stepped lightly as she made her way over to his cot, balanced her weight by holding the side and lowered herself half on top of him. He made a grunting sound as his hand came up to grab a handful of her bottom.  Pecola rested her head against his chest and soon she too had fallen asleep. Being married to him was nice.  She now had to find a way to connect with him on another level.