Perfect Valentine Chapter 15
SPOV
We went downstairs and found the vehicle waiting to take us on a tour of the land. It was a John Deere Gator, a type of utility vehicle with a seat for two people and a small bed in back for carrying tools, I assumed. We climbed in and took off. I was very excited to see more of the ranch Eric was so proud of. Seeing him here, seeing how much he loved it, had opened my eyes to a whole new dimension of this man I thought I knew so well. I could hardly describe the feeling it gave me, except to say that I'd somehow fallen even more deeply in love with him. I'd never considered that possible, but here it was! I was glad I'd had the nerve to tell him so, because he said he feels the same way. If I'd ever had worries that our love would last forever, which I really hadn't, they'd be gone now. I was ready for whatever the day could bring!
Our first stop was the overseers' house. Russell and Emily couldn't have been more welcoming to me, and it was obvious they loved Eric. They treated him like a long absent son, back at last. Emily insisted I join her for iced tea while Eric and Russell discussed some plans they were formulating for updating the house. After our short, but heart-warming visit, we were back on the "road," which was another caliche pathway across the pastures and fields. As we went, Eric pointed out different breeds of cattle which were separated by heavy pipe fences. There were Angus, which were good for beef, he explained, Hereford, which was a very popular breed, and Longhorns, which were usually kept as a novelty.
Interspersed throughout the pastures were small lakes, or tanks, as they were called by ranchers. The water perfectly reflected the blue of the sky. Small groups of oaks provided shade for the cattle, who sought it during the heat of the day. Finally we came to a pasture where no cattle grazed. It was off rotation at this time, Eric explained. He stopped the Gator, got out, and opened the gate. We drove through and toward a large tank in the distance. It was surrounded by several groups of oak trees, providing a perfectly idyllic setting for our picnic. After he'd pulled the Gator into the shade, Eric reached in the back and pulled out the basket of food Maria had prepared and a blanket. He led me to a spot near the water, under the trees, which had obviously recently been mowed. Since this pasture was not being grazed presently, the grass was above my ankles in most places, but here it looked like a well-manicured lawn. I suspected a conspiracy. I wondered if Russell or Pedro had been responsible for preparing the spot.
"This looks like a good spot," Eric said, as if he'd just walked up on it at random, "what do you think?"
"Looks perfect to me, almost as if it were hand selected ahead of time, hmm?" I couldn't just let him think he was getting away with his sneaky ways. He gave me a sheepish look, handed me the basket to hold while he spread the blanket, and stretching out across it, invited me to join him by patting a spot next to him. I did so with a smile, but couldn't help chastising just a bit, "There you go, spoiling me again. Your caretakers are going to hate me for all the pampering I require!"
"Pshh, they love you already. Everyone of them has either said so, or at least given me a nudge or wink. You're a darling, Sookie, they all see it," he said as he sat up and began pulling delicacies from the basket. After we'd eaten an obscene amount of delicious chicken salad on thin slices of homemade bread, munched on fresh raw veggies, and had lemonade and cookies, Eric again lay down on the blanket. "Join me, Sookie, let's let the food settle before we walk around a bit. I want to show you some things, but we need to relax first."
Doubting highly that "relaxing" was really what he had in mind, I nevertheless took up position facing him on the blanket, "It's all so beautiful, Eric, and you love it so. It's obvious in the way you talk about it. Thank you for sharing it with me."
"I intend to share my whole life with you, lover, you know that, but I hope I'm not boring you with too many stories and explanations," he said as his fingers traced along my face and neck.
"I'm not bored, I'm fascinated, if a little surprised at your knowledge of cattle, plants, and such. Rancher Eric is so different from Businessman Eric," I smiled up at him, hoping my affection for this new side of him shone through. He pulled my face to his for a tender kiss, then tucked my head under his chin, holding me close. The shade and slight breeze kept us delightfully cool, though the sun was high in the cloudless sky, and shortly we both dozed.
Some time later, I awoke to the sound of frogs in the nearby tank, and lifting my face just enough, placed a kiss just above Eric's collarbone. This caused him to stir, quietly groaning in protest at having to give up his peaceful slumber. Quickly realizing our location and situation, however, he opened his eyes and smiled down at me, "Nice nap?"
"Very nice, thank you," I replied, placing another kiss on his chin, "what's next?"
"I was going to take you on a walk around the tank, there's usually lots to see, but I think maybe we'll stay here on this blanket awhile," he waggled his eyebrows, as he's wont to do. I had expected this from the moment he'd spread the blanket, and at this point, welcomed it wholeheartedly, but I was feeling playful, so I couldn't give in right away.
"Out here in front of God and everybody? Eric, please, what must you think of me? First the shower, now this." I used my best prim and proper Southern belle voice.
"I think you are the most beautiful, sexiest woman I've ever known, and I want to make love to you any and everywhere, and, even though there is no one for miles around, I don't really care who sees us," he said close to my ear. Well, that did it. I snuggled into his neck, and moved closer. Eric lifted my chin and kissed me, deeply. Wasting no time, he began to work on the buttons of my shirt. I did the same to his, and we were soon undressed, feeling the cool breeze on our heated skin. I shivered as he trailed kisses down my body, then up my thighs, before reaching his intended destination. My body bucked as soon as his warm tongue made contact. We both moaned at the sensation. He continued to demonstrate his skills until I was teetering on the edge, at which point he moved his body over mine, and entered me in one long stroke. A groan escaped my lips as I began to move under him. Neither of us lasted long. Something about the country air, I guessed. After we were spent, we lay on the blanket, our fingers exploring each others' lips for long minutes before Eric finally said, "If we're going to take that walk, we'd better get up. Mom and Dad will be arriving soon. We'll want to shower and change before they get here." At the mention of shower, I blushed and smiled at him. "A shower in our own bathroom, maybe even separately, if that's what it takes, Miss Hot-to-trot," he scolded.
"Me? Hot-to-trot, that would be you, buster!" I replied, retrieving my clothes and getting dressed.
Yeah, well, you're not saying no, now are you?"
"Maybe I will next time!" I teased.
"Don't you dare!" he said, slapping my butt playfully.
We laughed while we loaded the basket and blanket back in the Gator, and started out hand-in-hand to explore around the lake. Eric pointed out game trails down to the water, leaning close to the ground to identify tracks in the soft dirt. He showed me deer, raccoon, and even coyote, fox, and bobcat tracks. "You really have a lot of wild animals, here, huh?" I asked, realizing it sounded stupid, considering the evidence we'd just examined.
He didn't openly laugh, he just grinned, "Yes, a lot. Near water, especially, you can see just about anything when the sun gets low. Most of them are most active at night. Of course, we've seen the jackrabbits and cottontails today."
"Could we come down here some evening and watch them? I've seen deer and raccoons, of course, but I've never seen a fox, coyote, or bobcat in the wild," I said, hoping I didn't sound too geeky.
"I'd love that, Sookie. We'll plan that for our next trip. I don't think we'll have time this go-round," he explained, as parent might to a child. "There's one more place I want to show you before we go back to the house, so let's head back to the Gator."
EPOV
My jaws were aching from smiling so much, not to mention trying to stifle the laughter that hovered just below the surface. Touring the ranch with Sookie was like taking a kid to the circus for the first time. She was in awe of everything I showed her, or told her, for that matter. She was impressed at my knowledge, which was weird, because I don't know anything about this business if you compare me to someone like Russell, who's lived in the area, and worked at ranching all his life. I've just soaked it up by listening to him, the same way Sookie's listening to me today. I've tried to show her in one day the places that are most special to me, the reasons I love the place so much. Thankfully, she gets it, she even said so. I was hoping she'd learn to love it too, but it seems that won't be any problem at all. Just one more place to go before we go back to the house, the most special of all. Keeping my fingers crossed she won't hate it.
"Where are you taking me now?" Sookie asked, almost bouncing in her seat.
"You'll see," I answered mysteriously, "It's my favorite place on the whole ranch. Very special."
"Tell me about it!" she pleaded.
"Wait until we get there. I want you to see it first, then I'll tell you about it, okay?" I tried to placate her impatience.
After about fifteen minutes on the caliche road, I turned off onto a barely visible trail that led through a wooded area. I was the only one who came here much, and obviously I didn't come often, so the trail was quite overgrown. Luckily we had the four-wheel drive to get through. After a bumpy ride down the neglected trail, we came to a clearing where a rustic cabin stood. I pulled up in front of it, and turned off the motor.
"Oh, Eric, what a cute cabin!" Sookie said, "Is it really as old as it looks, or was it just built to look old?"
"It's well over a hundred years old. I had some repairs done to it a few years ago, but it hasn't been modernized. It was built by the people who owned the land before us," my voice was unintentionally hushed, I noticed. "I just couldn't bring myself to add electricity and indoor plumbing, and the like. To me, they would ruin it."
"Does anyone ever stay here?" she asked.
"I do sometimes. I've also brought Alcide and Quinn down to hunt or fish, and we stayed here. You are the first woman I've ever brought. Generally speaking, I don't think girls much like roughing it quite this much," I said, mentally ducking in case a punch was headed my way.
"Well, I don't think I'd want to live here all the time, but a day or two might be fun," she answered, without even turning to look at me. "Can we go in?"
Stifling yet another laugh, "Don't see why not, but, be aware no one's been in there since last fall, so it will be dusty, and there might even be a mouse or two. Can you handle that?"
"I'll just hide behind you. You'll protect me, right?" she said, batting her eyelashes. Little vixen.
I unlocked the door, stepped in to look around first, then held out my hand for her to join me. She looked around, turning her head slowly, and gripped my hand harder the longer she stared. That kid-at-the-circus look was back. "Where'd you find these furnishings, Eric, they're perfect."
"Some of them were left in the cabin. Some I picked up, or Emily found at flea markets, and the like. It should be fairly authentic to the time period it was built," I proudly walked her further into the one room dwelling. "The man who owned this land, and built this cabin was Norwegian, as were many of the settlers in this county, and since we are Swedish, the cabin and the furnishings are probably similar to what our ancestors might have used. That just makes me kinda proud, you know, to have a little bit of our heritage here in Texas." Sookie had dropped my hand and was walking around the room now. When she stood next to the iron bed, she ran her hand over the simply wrought frame. She looked at me wickedly over her shoulder. "Forget it," I said, smiling, "we don't have time right now. Maybe we'll come back tomorrow." She stuck out her bottom lip in a delicious pout, but walked back over to me.
"Thanks for sharing this, Eric," she whispered, encircling my waist, "I can tell how much it means to you." She walked out the door, and looking around once more, continued, "You're right, we need to get back to the house, but I definitely want to come back again." I bent to kiss her cheek, and then we climbed into the Gator and hit the trail back.
SPOV
It had been a great day of exploration. Eric showed me his favorite places on the ranch, we had a relaxing picnic lunch, and enjoyed each other thoroughly. I was glad to see that Eric's parents had not arrived when we got back to the house. I would rather not greet them until I'd had a shower and changed. When we got there, I went straight upstairs to do just that, while Eric took the basket and blanket Maria had provided back to the kitchen. I was just stepping out of the shower when Eric entered the bedroom. I had a towel wrapped around me, and another on my hair, but the way he looked at me, I might as well have been completely exposed, "Damn, I'm too late! I wanted at least to help you dry off," he said, flashing his sexy grin.
"Oh, no, you don't!" I chided, "I don't want your parents to think I'm some kind of brazen female trying to trap you with my feminine wiles." I batted my eyelashes, flashed him quickly, and then had to run back into the bathroom and slam the door to prevent being grabbed. I combed out my hair, and applied body lotion while I listened to him bang on the door, asking to come in. After a few minutes I opened the door, wearing a robe, and said, "Can I help you?"
"You little tease! I need a shower too, lover," he explained, "now, leave, so I can get cleaned up in peace!" I hurumphed, and marched out into the bedroom to find some clothes. He giggled behind me and I heard the water being turned on in the shower.
I chose a flowered sundress and strappy sandals to wear, since they were nice, but still casual. I left my hair down, and formed large, loose curls at shoulder level. When I was ready, I did a turn for Eric, who whistled his approval.
"You look gorgeous, Sookie, they're going to love you, so just relax, okay?" he soothed, standing close, but not touching me. "I've decided we'll tell them about our plans before dinner. My mom will probably notice the ring, so we might as well. What do you say?" I just nodded in response, trying to will my heartbeat back to normal, and walked out the door he held for me.
Inge and Lars Northman had arrived while we dressed, and were in the den, chatting happily with Maria and Pedro when we came down the stairs. "Ah, here you are!" cried Inge, "Eric, come give me a hug, son!" He did so immediately, whispering something close to her ear. She turned to me then and smiled, "Sookie, dear, you look lovely! We're so happy you're here!" Her arms went around my shoulders in a light, acquaintance type hug.
I stepped back and smiled, "Eric's been showing me around. I absolutely love it here! It's all so beautiful-the house, the fields, the cabin!" I realized I was gushing and stopped talking when Eric gave me a look. "Thank you for inviting me." I added quietly.
By this time Eric had walked over to his father and was discussing something with him, business, I assumed, but I couldn't really hear them. Lars gave some final instructions to Maria and Pedro, who promptly left the room to finish dinner preparations. Eric and his father then turned toward me and Lars said, "Welcome to our retreat, Sookie. I'm glad you are enjoying your stay." Though he smiled, he was somewhat stiff in his delivery. I tried not to take it personally. After all, Eric had mentioned his dad's reserved nature more than once. Eric walked back over to me, and we sat on the couch opposite his mother, as his father asked, "Drink anyone?" He began putting ice cubes into a glass.
Eric looked at me, taking my hands in his, "Mom, Dad, Sookie and I have something we want to tell you before dinner." Inge leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees, all ears. Lars turned to face us, holding the ice tongs in his hand. With another look and a smile at me, Eric continued, "We're going to be married."
Inge immediately left her chair and ran to us with her arms extended. She squealed and hugged us both hard, then turned to her husband, "Lars, isn't it wonderful?"
Lars Northman had turned back to the bar, and poured a generous amount of amber liquid into his glass. He took one sip and then walked, without a word, out the door to the patio beyond.
My heart was in my throat. Inge sat down beside me, putting an arm around me in a motherly fashion. Eric looked at me for a long moment. I know he wanted to comfort me, but I could see the rage seething behind his eyes. I unsuccessfully tried to stop the tears that gathered at the corners of my own eyes. He stood up and followed his father out the patio door.