Alliances

Part 8

J.R. awoke as the sweltering, summer sun blazed down across the ranch. Sue Ellen felt him move, and opened her eyes.

J.R. smiled at her, and said, "Good mornin'. Sugar."

Sue Ellen stretched her arms overhead, and said, "Good mornin', J.R. You're up early, did you have any plans for today?"

J.R. said, "Unfortunately, I do. I have to fly down to the Gulf, and sign some documents for a second rig. We're lookin' into installin' a compliant tower rig."

Sue Ellen nervously asked, "You're gonna fly down in the Ewing helicopter?"

J.R. said, "Darlin', don't worry. I trust Hank Patterson with my life. Hell, we survived the last trip, even after collidin' with that private plane."

Sue Ellen put on a brave face, and said, "I know, J.R., you're absolutely right. I'll try not to worry."

J.R. hugged Sue Ellen to his side. He didn't want her to worry about him, any more than he wanted to fly down to the Gulf. He had to admit he was somewhat worried about the trip in the helicopter. He and Sue Ellen had grown so close, the last thing in the world that either of them needed was a day filled with fear about the helicopter crashing, again.

Sue Ellen asked, "J.R., when will Hank be here to pick you up?"

J.R. replied, "He should be here around ten, or so. You can fly down to the Gulf with me, if you'd like. I would love to have your company, Sugar."

Sue Ellen shyly smiled, and said, "I would really like to join you, Darlin', but I've been neglectin' my business. I have to interview one more candidate for the fabric buyer position, and I still have to audition models for my cover model for the new product line."

J.R was relieved that they would both be busy enough with the business end of things that they might not have time to worry about each other.

Sue Ellen tried not to convey how worried she was about J.R. flying to the Gulf in a helicopter. She had every confidence in Hank's skills a pilot, but accidents happen. It would be just like the fates to take J.R. away from her at this point in their lives. She fought back the tears that were stinging her eyes, as she walked into the bathroom to shower, and get dressed.

J.R. shaved his face, while Sue Ellen was in the shower. J.R. glanced at the outline of her body through frosted glass shower stall door. He hated having to leave her alone, but duty called. His new oil company would benefit both of them, and their son for generations to come. He wiped his face with a towel to remove any residue from his shave. He held a towel for Sue Ellen while she stepped out of the stall. She wrapped the towel around her torso, and smiled at J.R.

J.R. stepped into the stall, and adjusted the water temperature. He needed a cold shower, after watching Sue Ellen, but he decided to take a hot shower, instead. His muscles ached. He chuckled as he deduced that reason he was sore was from all of the times he and Sue Ellen had made love the past few days. You're getting' old, J.R., he mused, but he could still satisfy Sue Ellen. The thought of Sue Ellen brightened his mood, and he quickly finished his shower.

Sue Ellen was applying her make-up when J.R. stepped out of the shower. She turned around and handed him a towel.

J.R. touched her hand, and grinned at her.

He said, "Thank you, Sue Ellen. I don't want you to worry about me, Honey. I'll call you when I'm in the air, and I'll call you again when we land, I promise."

J.R. pulled Sue Ellen into his arms, and she leaned forward for a kiss. She hungrily ground her mouth against his lips. He opened his mouth to her, and tightened his grip on her waist. Sue Ellen trembled in his arms, partly from fear, partly from her increasing desire for J.R.

Sue Ellen dressed in the white linen suit J.R. bought for her when they were in Tuscany. She wore an emerald green camisole underneath the jacket. She felt that it would be best to dress more conservatively for a day at the office. She wore her hair in loose, flowing waves. J.R. smiled at her appearance. She looked flawless, the picture of elegance and sophistication.

J.R. tenderly kissed Sue Ellen's forehead, and asked, "Will you wait outside with me until Hank gets here?"

Sue Ellen lifted her head, and looked into his eyes, and said, "I'd love to, Darlin'."

They walked downstairs to get a cup of coffee, while they waited for Hank to arrive in the helicopter.

J.R. said, "Let's go outside on the veranda, Honey. I'd like to talk to you in private."

Sue Ellen raised her eyebrows, as she looked at J.R. She wondered what J.R. needed to tell her that he couldn't tell her around the rest of the family. She took his outstretched hand, as he led her out of the kitchen to the veranda.

J.R closed the patio door behind him, as Sue Ellen walked outside, and stood underneath the balcony. The sun was casting a long shadow from the house across the patio, providing plenty of shade, and a welcome reprieve from the mid-summer's heat.

Sue Ellen leaned against a pillar under the balcony, and waited for J.R. to speak.

J.R. ended the suspense for Sue Ellen, and said, "I made arrangements for a photographer to take some pictures of you wearin' lingerie at the Valentine Boutique later today, after everyone leaves. I have her guarantee that you'll be perfectly safe, and that the pictures will turn out beautifully."

Sue Ellen was shocked, and asked, "Why on earth did you do that, J.R.? I thought you were dead-set against my modelin' lingerie."

J.R. said, "I am dead-set against you modelin' lingerie, Sugar. I just wanted some pictures of you wearin' lingerie. It's all the rage, accordin' to some of the newspaper articles that I've been readin' lately. I have the photographers guarantee that I'll get all of the proofs, and the negatives when she's finished."

Sue Ellen smirked at J.R., saying, "You never give up, do you, J.R.?"

J.R. said, "What do you mean? I just want a few pictures of my ladylove wearing intimate apparel. Is there anything wrong with that? What we do with our private life is nobody else's business."

Sue Ellen said, "I know what you're up to J.R. You think that if you free up my time with my lingerie business, I'll have more time to devote to learnin' the ins and outs of the oil business."

J.R. remarked, "I underestimated you, Sue Ellen. That is a brilliant idea. Now that you mention it, it just might work."

Sue Ellen lifted her arms into the air, and said, "I give up. You win. I'll do all that I can to find the time to learn about the oil industry."

J.R. put his arms on her shoulders, and said, "I knew you'd see it my way, Sugar."

Sue Ellen pulled J.R. to her for a good-bye kiss. J.R. lowered his hands to her upper arms, and planted a thorough kiss on her lips. Sue Ellen walked J.R. to the pasture where Hank Patterson waited for J.R. inside the Ewing helicopter. The rotation of the helicopter's main rotor caused Sue Ellen's hair to blow about her face at they neared the pasture.

J.R. put his briefcase inside the helicopter and motioned to Hank that he needed a minute with Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen waved at Hank. Hank smiled and waved back, then turned his head away to give J.R. and Sue Ellen some privacy.

J.R. cupped Sue Ellen's chin between his thumb and forefinger, and said, "Look at me, Sweetheart."

Sue Ellen met his gaze, as her eyes misted over with tears. J.R. hugged her to him, and whispered, "You have nothin' to worry about, Sugar. I'll be fine. I'll call you from the air, and when we land. I swear it. I'll be back before eleven o'clock, tonight."

Sue Ellen steadied her emotions, and asked, "Would you like me to wait up for you, Darlin'?"

J.R. grinned at her, and said, "I 'd love it. I'll make this up to you when I get home."

Sue Ellen tried her best to sound tough, and said, "You better believe you will."

J.R. waved to Sue Ellen, as he closed the passenger door of the helicopter.

Sue Ellen blew J.R. a kiss, as the helicopter ascended, and flanked to turn in a southwestern direction for its flight to the Gulf of Mexico. Sue Ellen waited until the helicopter was no longer visible in the sky, before turning around, and walking to her car. She opened the driver's side door of her silver-colored Mercedes Benz 450 SL, and tossed her handbag onto the passenger's seat. She placed the key into the ignition, and started the engine. She exhaled deeply, and tried to focus her thoughts on the day of work ahead of her at the boutique.

Sue Ellen checked her rear-view mirror, as she backed her car out of the driveway. She stopped, and shifted the car into 'drive,' and sped down the asphalt driveway to the frontage road that surrounded Southfork. Sue Ellen drove her car onto the freeway on-ramp for Interstate-80. She would stay on I-80, until she reached the exit for the Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Texas Interstate 635. She scanned the road ahead, knowing that she was getting closer to the exit. She heard the faint sound of music playing, and reached for her purse. Her mobile telephone ring-tone played Beethoven's 9th Symphony. She picked up the phone, and placed it to her ear.

Sue Ellen's lilting Texas drawl was becoming more prominent with each passing day.

She softly said, "Hello?"

J.R. smiled when her heard her voice, and said, "Hello, Sugar. I promised that I'd call you once we were in the air. I miss you already."

Sue Ellen sounded anxious, and said, "I miss you, too, J.R. How does the weather look in the Gulf? The weather report on the radio said that the wind was kickin' up. How will that affect your flight?"

J.R. said, "Hank knows about the weather report, and he's fairly sure that we'll be able to fly around it. I wish there was somethin' I could say to you to make stop worryin' about me."

Sue Ellen said, "There is, you can tell me that you love me more than words can say, and you can't wait to held me in your arms again."

J.R. chuckled, and said, "You took the words right out of my mouth, Honey. My phone keeps cutting out on me, so why don't I call you back when we land?"

Sue Ellen bravely smiled through her tears, and said, "I'm gonna hold you to that, J.R. I love you. Please be careful?"

J.R.'s voice deepened as he spoke, "I'll be very careful. I love you, too, Honey. I'll talk to you soon."

Sue Ellen listened as J.R.'s voice was replaced with a dial tone.

Hank told J.R. that they would be flying away from the winds that the National Weather Service issued warnings for.

J.R. thanked Hank for his concerns, and his attention to detail. J.R.'s thoughts wandered back to the apprehensive tone he could hear in Sue Ellen's voice. He had every intention of reading the financial proposal from the contractor for set-up and installation of the compliant tower platform.

J.R.'s company already had a fixed platform, but the compliant platform could withstand large lateral forces by sustaining significant lateral deflections. The platform's piled foundation would support drilling and production operations that would prove useful at depths between one thousand and two thousand feet.

J.R. couldn't get his mind past the distressed sound he could hear in Sue Ellen's voice. He kept telling himself that everything would be fine. He and Sue Ellen would be fine. J.R. breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the heliport dock that was a quick boat ride away from his fixed platform rig. Hank effortlessly landed the helicopter on the landing pad. J.R. thanked Hank for flying him to the Gulf, and for his skills as a pilot.

Hank said, "You're welcome Mr. Ewing. I'll refuel and be waitin' for ya when you're ready to fly back to Southfork."

J.R. hurried down the steps of the landing platform to the boat awaiting him to take him to his offshore rig. He gripped the wrought iron balustrade as he scurried down the rickety staircase. He waited until he was safely in the boat before calling Sue Ellen, to let her know that he was safe, and on the rig.

J.R. dialed the number to Sue Ellen's mobile phone, and waited for her to answer.

Sue Ellen was busy reviewing resumes for potential candidates for her new fabric buyer when she heard her mobile phone ringing. She opened a drawer in her desk, and fumbled through her handbag for the phone.

J.R. said, "Sue Ellen? It's me, Honey. I'm here at my rig in the Gulf. I'll only be a few hours signin' some paperwork and cuttin' through legal red-tape, then Hank will bring me back to Southfork. I really would like it if you wouldn't mind waitin up for me, Sugar. I'll make it worth your time."

Sue Ellen said, "I'm glad you called, Darlin'. I've been tryin' not to worry but you know me. I'll be waitin for you on the balcony when you get home. I love you, J.R."

J.R. grinned and said, "I love you, Sue Ellen. I'll see ya real soon."

J.R. sighed as he pictured Sue Ellen waiting for him on the balcony at Southfork. He remembered their night of love on the balcony their first night in Tuscany. You'd better change the subject real quick, J.R., he said to himself. It would be hours before he would be back at Southfork. It would be best for all concerned, if he put thoughts of Sue Ellen out of his mind, for the time being. He would have his night with Sue Ellen soon enough. He had plans for a night of romance that they would never forget…