After Jennifer and Jonathan were finished making love, they got showered and dressed and then headed into town.
Jennifer kept noticing signs that had been put up on the main road.
"Darling, have we ever met a man named Holt Gregory?"
"It sounds familiar. Why do you ask?"
"He looks familiar to me. I can't place where I know him from though. I bet he's the busiest realtor for miles around. We must've passed 25 signs of his by now".
"Well, let's pull over and take a look".
They pulled to the right and parked and got out.
Plain as day on a sign, was "Holt Gregory, California Realty".
"Wonder why he has all these signs out here?"
"The people who own the land must be willing to sell and hired him to do it".
"But why? And why so many signs? It's not like this road is well-traveled or even what we would consider busy. Is it really necessary to have the same sign every 100 feet?"
"Well, if we ever meet him, we can ask him that question".
They got back in the car and headed on to their errands.
On the way back, Jennifer was more serious about counting the signs and making note of how many properties were for sale.
"Darling, by any chance was the person who contacted you about us selling the ranch Holt Gregory?"
"Yep, that's him".
"So, maybe he's wanting to buy as many connecting properties as he can, and make one gigantic spread."
"Yeah, I think you're right".
"Well, I don't want to sell the ranch at all, but I especially don't want to sell to someone just so they can have a bigger piece of the pie…that just seems so wrong to me".
"I don't want to sell it either. And I'll be damned if he's going to force us to do so".
***The Ranch***
They pulled back up into the driveway, and into the garage.
Jonathan carried in the huge box of meat that they had picked up, and Jennifer began prepping it and putting it in the freezer.
"I'm going to get on the 4-wheeler and ride around the property line, and make sure that it's secure".
"Ok. Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, no. I'll be back quickly. It's alright".
He gave her a kiss and then headed out.
She turned on the fireplace when she finished putting all of the meat in the freezer.
She made them some grilled chicken for grilled chicken sandwiches, and then made him some of his favorite cherry sweet tea.
She had everything ready when he got back.
"Darling?"
"In here".
She stepped out of the bedroom.
"Lunch is ready. I grilled us some chicken and made you some cherry sweet tea".
"Thank you".
He gave her a few kisses.
He picked up the phone and called the stables.
"Hey Jeremy-it's Jonathan Hart. Jennifer and I are here at the main house. Can you get a work crew together? I have a few projects that need to be completed and I'm going to need some help. Ok, thank you".
Jennifer made their plates and then they sat at the table.
"So what did you find?"
"Well, nothing too major. There are a few places where the fence looks weak, and where it could use some strengthening. And I found one area where I thought we had a significant amount of brush and bushes, and it seems as though they have been thinned out a good bit. So, I think I want to build a tall brick wall and get rid of the brush all together".
"That sounds like a large undertaking. Are you sure you don't want to hire a company to do that?"
"I might. The work crew can handle the fencing, though. I also think we need a new mailbox, need to update the landscaping in the front of the house and we need to plant some more trees".
"That's quite an undertaking".
"Yeah, but I think we can do it".
He drew a diagram of how he wanted the fence to look like and how he wanted the brick wall to look like.
"Darling, do you want a brick wall like this one, with the smaller bricks, or like this one with the tall columns?"
"It's going on the side of the property, right?"
"Yes".
"So, what if we eliminate the columns, and do the smaller brick, but make it as tall as the one with the columns?"
"Great idea".
"We just need to make sure that the horses will still have access to the river".
"Yes, we will make sure they do".
They drew up the new diagrams and then Jonathan got out the architect's plans for the ranch house and compared them with his diagram.
"I think these will fit just fine".
After Jennifer had the kitchen cleaned up and dinner marinating, she and Jonathan took the 4-wheeler out to the stables.
He had a long conversation with the work crew while she saddled up a horse to take it for a long ride.
She selected Chestnut, a beautiful light brown horse with extra smooth and silky hair.
After she got her all saddled up and had given her some treats, they headed out.
About 10 minutes later, she came back and looked worried.
"Darling, can you get a horse and come with me?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Well, I don't know. When we got to the ridgeline, by the blackberry bushes, she started to get very agitated, and turned back and would not for anything go back towards the blackberry bushes. It was very strange".
"Ok, I'll saddle up a horse and come with you".
"I think I want to put her in the pen and let her run off some energy. I'll grab another horse".
Jonathan selected Midnight, a beautiful black horse, and Jennifer selected Raven, a beautiful reddish-brown horse.
Once they were all saddled up, they headed out in the direction of the blackberry bushes.
As soon as they got close, both horses did the same thing.
"You see? They don't want to go any farther either".
Jonathan handed the reins of his horse to Jennifer, and hopped down.
He started looking around, and a few seconds later, he found it.
"Darling, look right here. Someone has planted spike strips in the grass-looks to be 4 or 5 strips wide".
"Why would someone do that on our property?"
"I have no idea. But I have a gut feeling that crooked realtor is to blame".
"This doesn't make sense. This is our property. We aren't infringing on anyone else's property. It can't possibly affect anyone else if we ride here or pick blackberries".
"Something shady is definitely going on".
Jonathan pulled the spike strips up, and then Jennifer rode her horse right up to the blackberry bush, without any problems.
"Darling, maybe we should get some cameras or something, so we can figure out who is doing this".
"Not bad. I think I might rent a chopper and fly over the whole property and that way I'll be able to spot anything suspicious".
"Great idea".
He handed Jennifer the spike strips and then climbed up on the horse. She handed him the strips back and they rode slowly up and down the ridgeline looking for more strips.
When they got back to the stables, Jennifer made sure to check Chestnut's hooves for damage. Thankfully, she found none.
They rode back to the house and Jonathan put the 4-wheeler away, and then he came inside.
They each took a long, hot shower, and then got started on dinner.
Jonathan got the fireplace going and turned on the tv. Jennifer got everything ready for dinner.
He grilled them steaks, while she made him some mashed potatoes and made herself a salad.
They did the dishes together and then curled up on the couch to watch tv.
"I cannot remember the last time you and I didn't have evening plans and could just spend time together at home in our pajamas".
"Yeah, same here."
She gave him a back scratch while they watched tv.
"Darling, do you think maybe whomever put the spike strips there thought we were coming onto their property?"
"It's possible. Maybe we should go into town and get a copy of the property lines, just to cover our bases".
"Couldn't hurt".
"I still think we need to build the brick wall so that there is a clear border".
"I agree".
Jennifer rubbed his shoulders and then just wrapped her arms around him for a few minutes.
He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingers.
"Darling, if you could go back to when you met me, and marry me all over again, would you?"
"Absolutely".
"You would? No hesitation?"
"None. 12 years of marriage to you is more than I ever deserved".
He turned to look at her.
"Would you marry me all over again?"
"Yes, absolutely. Only this time, I wouldn't wait as long".
She leaned over and kissed him, and rubbed his chest for a moment.
They stayed up a little longer, and then decided to head to bed.
Jennifer went and turned on the heated mattress pad, and got the bed all toasty and warm for Jonathan, just like he loved it.
Jonathan locked up and got them each a glass of water for their nightstand, just like Jennifer liked.
They climbed into bed and she scooted over right next to him. He wrapped his arms around her, and held her close.
"After 12 years of holding you every night, it's still my favorite part of the day".
"Mine too".
She scratched his arm as he kissed her head a few times.
"Darling, what do you think about us moving here full time?"
"Maybe someday. But in the meantime, we have the company, we have Max. Max would hate living here full-time. Not enough poker games around".
"Yeah, he would".
"Besides, I like the idea of this place being our little hideaway".
"You do?"
"Yeah. At home, you and I have to be respectful of Max, even if we don't want to be, and sometimes that means we have to…wait. But here, it's just us".
"That is true. And you and I are both more…uninhibited and less disciplined when we are here".
"And with good reason".
"Darling, tell me again how you knew I was the one?"
"Nobody else would give me the time of day".
"Jonathan Charles!"
"I'm kidding. Actually, the thought of you with anyone else bothered me greatly, and then I thought about my ex-girlfriends and how I hoped they were with anyone else but me, and that's how I knew. Also, I talked to Max and he told me".
"Max is so smart".
"How did you know I was the one?"
"Well, unlike your scientific theory of process of elimination, I realized rather early on that you were the one person in the whole world that I felt like I could trust more than anyone else, save for my father."
"That's a good reason".
"Darling, do you really think you and I could live here full-time?"
"Sure. Why couldn't we?"
"Well, there's nothing here but our ranch. The nearest stores are almost an hour away".
"Yes, but you could ride horses every day, darling, and you know how much you love to do that".
"Yeah, I do".
They chatted till they fell asleep in each other's arms.
***The Next Day***
Jennifer and Jonathan had a lovely breakfast together, and then got ready.
She was in the kitchen doing the breakfast dishes when he came out of the bedroom.
"Ok darling, I'll be back in a little bit. I'm going to go rent the chopper".
"Now darling, be careful."
"If you're pretty, maybe I'll buzz the house later".
"Jonathan! Don't you dare!"
"I love you, I'll land in the pasture and pick you up".
"I love you too".
She gave him a few kisses and then he headed out.
She was sitting in the living room waiting for him to get back when the doorbell rang.
Who could that be? We never use the front door when we are here, ever.
She found her keys and went to open the door.
"Hi, can I help you?"
"Hi. We just wanted to come and introduce ourselves. We are your new neighbors. We moved in around the corner, so to speak. Our ranch backs up to your ranch".
"Hi. I'm Jennifer Hart. My husband Jonathan, isn't here right now. But he should be here soon".
"Nice to meet you. I'm Danny Thompson, and this is my wife Kemper".
"Hi, it's nice to meet you".
"It's lovely to meet you as well".
"Well, we won't keep you, we just wanted to say hello and give you this. It's a cactus. We grow them at our farm in Arizona".
"Oh, thank you. That's very kind".
Just then, Jennifer heard the sound of the chopper coming towards the house.
"Oh, if you'll excuse me, that sounds like a helicopter, and that means my husband is back. Thank you so much for the cactus, I promise to take very good care of it".
"No problem. Well, see you around. Have a nice day".
"You too".
She closed the door behind them, and locked it, and then found a place to set the cactus down.
She headed out to meet Jonathan, making sure to lock the doors behind her.
A few minutes after she was up in the chopper with Jonathan, a red light in the base of the cactus turned on, blinked three times, and then stayed solid.