Plans Change (2 page)

“After breakfast would you like to go out and check on the cows with me?” Jason asked. “You might enjoy yourself and, if nothing else, it will be a time killer for you.”

“I would love to,” I said. “Sounds fun.” 

We finished eating our breakfast, cleaned up the dishes, and headed out. 

“Calving is a pretty busy time of year around here,” Jason said.

I hated to sound stupid but I had to ask “What is calving?”  I was a pure city girl and where animals were concerned I knew very little.

He said his cows were having their babies. 

We went into the lots.  There were 2 new babies born. 

“I like to keep the cows close to the house just in case they have any problems delivering their calves. I need to be there in case they need any help,” Jason said.

“Help them out?” I asked. “How can you help one of those huge things out?”

He explained that he might have to reach way inside of the cow, get hold of the calf and then help pull it out. 

I gave a shudder. That sounded disgusting and the thought of doing something like that was starting to freak me out a little.  How gross. 

Jason laughed when he saw my face.  "Sometimes that is the only way to get the calf out without losing it and possibly the mom," he said. “Every life is precious.”

I started walking over to one of the baby calves to give it a pat and Jason quickly stopped me.  He explained to me that these mother cows are very protective of their young and would more than likely go after me. As far as they were concerned I was a predator trying to kill their young and they wouldn’t think twice about mowing me over.

An hour and a half later Jason said, “Well, things are looking pretty good here.  What do you say we head on into town and see how your car is doing?”

“Sounds good, let me go get my stuff,” I said.

It was an enjoyable drive into town. The scenery was beautiful and the small talk was pleasant.

Jason had something to do so he dropped me off at the car repair shop and said that he would be back shortly.

I went inside and talked to the man in charge and was informed that my car needed a new part.  Naturally, they didn't have the part on hand so they were going to have to order it. 

It was going to take 3 days before the part would arrive.  THREE DAYS!!!  I couldn't believe it was going to take that long. I guess that is how it goes out here in Smalltown, USA.  I didn’t want to stay in this town that long. I needed to get to California because stardom was waiting for me there.

I asked the head mechanic where the nearest motel was and as he was about to tell me, Jason came walking through the door.

“Is your car ready to go?” Jason asked.

I said, "I guess it's going to be at least 3 days before the part gets to town." 

“You can sure come back to the ranch with me if you want. It will be a lot more fun.”

"Thanks for the offer," I said, "but I just don't want to inconvenience you anymore. I can stay in town until the car is fixed." 

I didn’t want to let on how attracted I was to him and that my mind was getting into dangerous territory every time I thought about him. VERY DANGEROUS TERRITORY!!  

There was a motel right down the street.  I felt that it would be much safer for me to stay there.  Anyway, I was leaving in 3 days and there was no way I was getting involved with someone for a quickie.  Even though it sounded and looked very tempting.  By staying at the motel I would be staying away from temptation. 

I dug into my pocket and pulled out some cash. “Here is some money for giving me food and a place to stay.” 

“No way! Not going to take it!” Jason said. “Hop in and I will give you a ride down to the motel.” He helped me get my bags into the truck and drove me down to the motel.  He even walked into the motel office with me and talked to the owner while I was checking in. 

“Thanks again, Jason, for everything you’ve done for me,” I said and then walked down the hall to my room. As I opened the door I turned back to wave at Jason and he was already gone. All of a sudden I could feel my heart sink.

I went inside the room, threw my bags onto the floor, flipped on the TV and lied down on the bed. “What have I done?” I asked myself.  “Here is the perfect man and I just let him walk away.”

Then it dawned on me how quickly he got out of there after I thanked him. I thought the way he looked at me and the way he treated me he had strong feelings for me.  I guess that it was just my imagination playing games with me.  After all, we hadn’t even known each other for 24hrs. I guess that I wanted to believe that we were meant for each other.  That we were soul mates. God, what an idiot!!

About 20 min. later, there was a knock on my door.  I looked through the peephole and saw it was Jason.  I was so happy I accidentally let out a little squeal.

“Everything alright in there?” he asked.

“Just fine!” I said. “Just a second.” I gathered my wits and opened the door.

“I thought you might be getting a little bored and hungry.  I figured you might like to go get a little bite to eat.” he said.

“Would love to,” I said.   I was tired of sulking around and thinking of him.  I had needed to get him out of my thoughts, but he kept showing up. 

He took me to the local bar for supper. I wouldn't have thought about going to this place to eat because from the outside it looked like a pretty rough place. It looked like one of those “biker bars” that you see on TV. You know, the ones where you go in through the front door and leave through the window.  Pretty scary.

Once inside, though, it was a whole different story.   The place was very well kept. The employees were dressed in matching uniforms and they all wore a warm, welcoming smile.

“How ya doin, hun? Want a booth today?” asked one of the waitresses.

“Yes, thank you, Helen,” Jason said.

Helen led us over to a corner booth and once we sat down she handed us a couple of menus.  “OK Jason, the special today is a buffalo burger with Jim’s special sauce and fries. Be back in a sec.”

Everybody was looking at us. A few people stopped by our booth and wanted to know who I was and where I came from.  They also wanted to know where I was headed. The folks in this town were not afraid to ask questions. 

Most everyone in the place knew about my car trouble.  It was pretty obvious that news got around fast in this town. 

Most of the people who stopped by to chat were local ranchers and even though they asked a lot of questions, they were all very polite.  They had a way of putting a person – even a stranger like me - at ease and not making them feel as if they were being interrogated.

Everybody in the bar knew Jason and some of the people that stopped by to talk just wanted to know how calving was coming along and not to give me the third degree. 

We ended up staying in the bar for hours, talking and learning more about each other. 

“I better get you back to the motel,” Jason said, “because I need to get home and check on the cows.”

By the time we got back to the room it was 10:30. I thanked him again for all his help and for such a wonderful day and evening.  Before I could say anything else Jason bent down and gave me a quick kiss on the lips and then said “See you tomorrow.”

It caught me by such surprise that all I could say was “AHHH.”

I was completely shocked.  It was the last thing I expected.  Then, he just drove off. 

I spent all night thinking of that kiss and the thought of California never entered my mind.

When I woke up late the next morning I was still feeling a little dazed by the kiss.  I took a quick shower and threw my clothes on. I had to do something to get Jason off my mind so I decided to take a walk around town.  The only real problem with this idea was that it didn't take very long. About 20 minutes round trip and I was done. 

I stopped at Charlie’s restaurant for some brunch. 

“How ya doin, hun?” the waitress said to me. “Are you needing something to eat?”

“How ya doin hun” must be a favorite saying around here because that is exactly what the waitress at the bar said to Jason last night.

The waitress at Charlie’s already knew my name, that my car had broken down and that Jason had rescued me. 

As I was sitting down she asked “Will Jason be joining you?”

I laughed and said “No, he won’t be. Does everyone know everything about everybody around here?"

"Sure do, hun" said the waitress. "Everything becomes pretty common knowledge real fast in a town this small." 

After I finished eating I figured that I better head back to my motel room and give my parents a call.  I talked to them for well over an hour.  While talking to my mom I told her about Jason.  That he was the one that helped me with my car and took me out for dinner.  He was watching out for me. 

My mother asked me a ton more questions about him.  Then my dad wanted to ask me about Jason which was my cue to end this conversation as fast as I could.

My parents didn’t want to say goodbye or stop asking me a million questions.  I finally told them I would give them a call again tomorrow and then hung up.

Shortly after I hung up I switched on the TV and within minutes I was asleep.  The ringing of the phone woke me at about 5:00.  It was Jason wanting to know if he could pick me up early tomorrow morning and bring me out to the ranch. “I would love to spend the day with you,” he said.

“That would be great,” I said.

I couldn't stand the thought of spending another day in this town with nothing to do.  I was also missing Jason terribly.

Early that next morning, Jason came to pick me up.  I didn't know how to act around him.  For some reason I was feeling very nervous in the pickup on the way out to his ranch. Then I remembered why.  I was feeling uncomfortable because of the kiss.  Did it mean something?  Did it mean nothing?  I needed to find out.

“I don't let just anybody kiss me you know,” I blurted.  That is not what I wanted to say but that is what came out.

“Well, I don’t usually kiss every pretty girl I see,” he replied.

That broke the ice for me a little and I became much more comfortable.

While we were driving to his ranch he explained that his parents had died while he was in the army and he had come back to the ranch to keep it going.  During the summer, he hired a few extra people to help run the ranch. 

He had one fulltime hired man, an older gentleman by the name of Mike Hamilton. This was a big operation and would be impossible for Jason to run himself. 

I asked him if he had always wanted to be rancher or if he wanted to do something else.  He always knew that the ranching life was for him.  When he was in the Army he saw a lot of other countries and different traditions and he had learned a lot from that experience. 

“I wish that I could see more of the world,” I said.  Besides becoming a star that was another reason for going to California.  I wanted to experience life to the fullest. 

Then Jason said, “Sometimes what you have at home is better than anything you can find out there. “

Maybe he was right. I was finding that just being with Jason made me very happy and content.  I don't think that I ever felt so comfortable with anyone else. Ever. 

We finally got to the ranch and the first thing we did was check on the cows.  He had several more cows birth calves since my last visit.