March 1999
John Ross politely networked his way around Southfork to the poolside bar. It was rodeo season in Texas and the ranch practically came to life with the hustle and bustle of the finest cowboys in Texas.
"I think… Marilee Stone just hit on me," John Ross squeezed himself beside his sister who appeared preoccupied by a vision in the distance. He discreetly plucked a hip flask from the inside pocket of his denim jacket and poured its contents into his and her soft drink. "Hey," he clicked in front of Eleanor's face when she failed to respond to the remark with her usual nauseated expression.
"You do realise he's courting her, right?"
John Ross followed her line of vision across the pool to the makeshift dancefloor beneath the white ash tree. A string quartet serenaded guests with instrumental versions of popular country and western songs, and their parents swayed back and forth to the music. He rolled his eyes apathetically, "Would that be so bad?" Eleanor responded to her brother with an incredulous snarl. The notion of their parents reigniting their relationship for a third time churned Eleanor's stomach. "They enjoy each other's company," John Ross defensively commented, as the melody of their mothers laughter carrolled in the air.
Visibly frustrated by his apparent carefree attitude, Eleanor drained her drink of its contents and stormed a path to the open barbeque. "You okay, kiddo?" Bobby watched his niece furiously pile spoonfuls of various side dishes onto her plate with mild bemusement. She barely heard his concern, "Ellie?"
"Fine, uncle Bobby," she lied with little pretence and he deducted the source of her irritation.
"Hey, bud, how you doin'?" His brother's booming voice stood out from the crowd as he cheerfully schmoozed with the more elite attendees at the event. Sue Ellen was suspended from his arm in a relaxed fashion, so much so that anyone would assume they were still a married couple. She had barely stepped foot onto the ranch before J.R. had made a beeline in her direction, chucked her car keys to the nearest valet and vaulted her to the dancefloor.
Eleanor isolated herself to an empty table furthest from the dancefloor and furiously shuffled the food around her plate. "Your daddy puts me off my food too."
The boisterous voice was a familiar one and Eleanor didn't need to turn her head to match a face or name. Eleanor immediately broke into a wide smile and threw her arms around her eldest cousin, who flaunted platinum blonde locks that were cut shorter than ever before and bounced off of her shoulders. "Hi, Lucy."
"Hi, honey," Lucy surveyed the swarm of Texan jet-setters and socialites, all of whom flocked to Southfork for the most prestigious events of the season. She often flew in from California to revisit her childhood home and the abundance of memories it harboured. "J.R.'s on good form today," Lucy remarked with a faint but comical sense of disappointment in her tone and Eleanor twisted her lips into a smile. She had always been entertained by the back-and-forth between her father and cousin, and Lucy's unique ability to rile him. "Let's see if we can't fix that," she winked and sauntered across the pavestones to interrupt J.R. and Sue Ellen.
"You just gon' ignore me all day?"
Eleanor let out an exhale of exasperation. She had sought solace in the privacy behind the stables but, of course, he found her. "What do you want, Hunter?" He had stalked her from afar for the whole day, like a cat prepared to pounce on his prey, and she had been successful in her evasion until now. He wasn't strictly invited to the event but Eleanor presumed their mutual friend, Tyler, had been pressured to accept him as his plus one.
"You," he readily replied. Eleanor stubbed out the almost burnt-out Marlboro Gold with her foot and started back toward the house. "Hey, hey, hey," Hunter raced forward and pulled her into his arms. "Don't walk away from me."
"I have nothin' to say to you," she calmly snatched away from his reach, yet he continued to block her path.
"Come on, Len, don't be like this," he pleaded, but his fond nickname did little to soften her. "I miss you."
"I told you before - we're done." Eleanor replied coldly when Hunter coiled his arms around her waist. Their relationship of two years had bounced up and down like a see-saw since day one. He was an exotic and forbidden fruit - their families had been at odds for years, ever since the range war his grandfather initiated - but Eleanor's loyalty lay firmly with her father.
"We both know that's a line to keep your daddy happy." Hunter whispered into her ear, "We're all alone out here." He pressed his body into hers until her back hit the wooden wall of the stable. Eleanor strained away from kisses to her neck and Hunter tempered his annoyance. "What's the problem?" He had defied his grandfather for Eleanor which was no mean feat since his initial acceptance into the McKay family had been a battle of wills. Carter had been extremely wary that Hunter would be the carbon copy of his father, Tommy, who had abandoned him and his mother before his first birthday.
Eleanor stared upward and precisely met his eye, "You bore me."
Hunter scoffed his disapproval, yet he relented and ambled backward to put physical distance between them. Eleanor readjusted her blue babydoll dress which he had hitched upward with his hand and turned to leave a second time. "I'd watch my back if I were you," his voice taunted her when she turned her back on him. "Your daddy's company is 'bout to be in real trouble." Given that Hunter's family connection had awarded him an apprenticeship at Barnes Global with the promise of future status within the company, Eleanor heeded his caution and halted in her tracks. "Cliff Barnes wants your daddy's head on a platter."
"My father can handle Cliff Barnes." She defied the subtle threat which he would inevitably downplay. J.R. may not have outmanoeuvred Cliff into obscurity but he was still able to match his brainpower and keep any threat to Ewing Energies at bay in spite of Cliff's conglomerate power.
"Baby, I'm on your side," Hunter declared earnestly, if not convincingly.
"I don't need you to be," Eleanor snapped. Once upon a time, she had almost convinced herself that they were childhood sweethearts destined to become an authoritative power in the oil business. His ambition matched her own but it stemmed from darker roots. Hunter possessed an insecurity deeper than her own and it rendered him too impulsive to be trusted. She was privately relieved her father had renounced their relationship.
"You'll be on your knees soon enough," Hunter mocked with a taunting wink.
"There you are," her mother's arrival interrupted Eleanor's opportunity for rebuttal. "Your father wants you to present the next award." Sue Ellen's eyes curiously darted between Eleanor and Hunter. Tension thickened the air between them and Sue Ellen nervously played with the silver chain that draped delicately around her wrist.
"Mrs. Lockwood, I'm Hunter McKay," he stretched forward a hand and smiled. She politely but cautiously placed her palm in his and observed Eleanor's twitchiness at their introduction, both arms folded across her chest defensively. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am," Hunter respectfully tipped his Cattleman cowboy hat.
"Likewise," Sue Ellen deferred to Eleanor for an indication of how best to respond.
"Len's told me so little 'bout you. I sure do hope we see more of each other," his lips curled into a crooked smile.
"You won't." Eleanor firmly replied to him, as she looped a protective arm around her mother's and steered her away. "C'mon, mama." She expertly fielded her mother's dubious remark of 'he seemed nice' and warily looked over their shoulder to ensure a safe distance from him. She didn't bother to return the casual wave of his hand.