Losing my virginity at last
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Palomino Ch. 17 free porn video
Wesley chucked hay into the corral for the horse. Lance was caulked a leak in the water trough that had caused a huge mud puddle around where the horses would gather ’round for water. Hoof prints were sunk easily four inches deep. Luckily the afternoon sun had been hot the last few days and had hardened the ground somewhat. Still Lance was covered in mud.
Lance squeezed a thin line of caulk along the seam, using a wet finger to smooth it out and then continued along the bottom rim of the trough, having it turned upside down to do so. It had been a few days since the rodeo, and he and Wesley’s blow-out. They rode the next night and came in second, despite their cold shoulders towards one another and hardly a word had been said between the two friends since. Lance knew he had pushed too hard, but it seemed like he was the only one that could really get him to see what was sitting right in front of him. Standing upright, he stretched slightly with a groan and popped his neck before pushing off his hat to wipe at his sweat and then shove it back on top of his head again.
‘I’m just gonna have to break down and get a new trough fer up here…. this is the second leak this summer. Either tha’ er drag it into the barn during winter and heat it.’ Wesley said as he poured oats into the feeder. The sound of the things against the metal would call the horses better than any whistle could ever do. When they heard it, they knew it was food time and they’d come running in.
Lance glanced over at Wesley as he up righted the tank again and dragged it to a new place so the ground could dry completely where it had been. ‘Well not that yer askin’ my opinion or nuthin’ but I think that’s a wise idea,’ he said, grabbing the hose and turned it on as he sprayed out the tank and checked his work. He glanced up in time to see Lacey’s palomino Ice running up with the others. He had enjoyed finally being able to get out with the other horses and be in a herd again. They had had to keep him separated for too long while keeping the secret from Wesley.
Wesley just nodded as he pulled the pitch fork out of the hay as the horses came trotting in, pushing one another as if there wasn’t enough food for them all. He grabbed the gunny sack that’d held the measured amount of oats before Ice grabbed it and rolled it around his arm as he backed off to let the horses in. He turned back to the barn to put the tools away and tossed the sack on to the pile of empty ones. They’d need to weigh and measure out new bags soon. There was only a few days worth left that had been pre-measured out. He peeked out of the barn at Lance. ”ey…. when you’re finished wit that, ya wanna ‘elp me measure out feed fer the cows ‘n horses? We’re gettin’ low’
Lance glanced up, pouring out the contents of the small amount of water he had used to rinse out the trough and then shoved the hose in deep to let it fill up with water while he nodded and headed for the barn. Walking into the barn he moved to where Wesley was and picked up some of the empty gunny sacks and picked up a measuring can and started measuring and filling up bags.
They didn’t talk as they worked, measuring a week’s worth of oats and cache out so they didn’t have to do it later. When Lance grabbed the last sack Wesley leaned back against the big trailer that held the cache up off the ground and kept it fresher and real easy to move if they needed to and he lifted his hat to wipe sweat from his brow ‘So…. who was that gal you were draggin’ around all weekend?’
Lance continued to fill the sack, only glancing up momentarily to eye his friend for a minute. He had been thinking about apologizing … not for what he had done, but perhaps in the manner that he had done it. Hearing his friend start to actually talk seemed to clear the air a bit between them and he grinned a bit, shrugging her shoulders. ‘Eh, just some girl I met a couple of weeks ago. Wendy’s ‘er name … I think.’ His eyebrows furrowed a moment as he thought about it again. ‘Wendy? Mindy? Hell, I can’t remember.’
Wesley just chuckled and shook his head. ‘Ya ‘ave too many to keep track of anymore, eh? Funny ya never find one ya like and stick wit ‘er,’
Lance’s jaw tightened a bit and he seemed to still momentarily in filling the bag but then continued on, shrugging his shoulders. ‘There’s too many to enjoy. Why settle with one?’ He grinned good-naturedly and stood upright, closing the sack and then tossed it over with the rest, shoving his hat back a moment and reached for the bandana stuffed in his pocket and wiped his forehead. This was one topic he didn’t want to stay on long.
Wesley regarded his friend evenly. ‘You ‘ad one once.’ Wesley said it gently, but it got his point across. Lance hadn’t always been this way. He’d been engaged to some li’l gal from Jackson whose daddy sold big farm equipment. Soon after Anne’s accident Lance had broken off the engagement and hadn’t talked about the gal since, or why he’d stopped seeing her.
Lance shoved the bandana back in his pocket and tossed the measuring can back into the feed room and shut the door, almost as if he were shutting off that line of conversation. ‘What’s next on the agenda?’ he asked, feeling his jaw tighten. The last thing he wanted to discuss was the reason why all that had happened and Anne’s accident again. That was in the past and he intended to keep it there.
‘There was a postcard from ‘er on the kitchen counter. Theresa was ‘er name, wasn’t it? Yea…. was from ‘er. Didn’t read it, but was addressed to ya if Caroline didn’t tell ya.’ Wesley wasn’t going to let it drop this time. The girl had been sending postcards every now and then to try to keep touch with Lance. Lance ignored them. Without Lance’s knowledge Wesley had interfered and sent cards back to let the girl know Lance was still around and not dead, but that was about all he told her.
Lance sighed, his hands resting on his hips as he stood and regarded his friend. ‘Caroline told me,’ he said and then steeled his jaw some. ‘How’d we get on this conversation topic?’
”Cause now it’s my turn ta push. That gal deserves somethin’ from ya Lance. A card, a call… somethin’. Don’t leave ‘er waitin’ on ya…. ’cause she won’t wait forever.’
‘Good. She don’t need ta wait,’ he mumbled, sighing as he looked around the barn, as if looking for something else to do before settling his gaze back on Wesley. ‘I thought we were concentrating on YOUR love life?’
‘If ya don’t still love ‘er… then why ‘ave ya not settled down ‘gain?’ He didn’t let the side-stepping question bother him. It was his turn to push. He should’ve pushed a long time ago and hadn’t.
Lance just looked at him. He wasn’t sure Wesley was ready to hear the real reason, and lord only knew that he didn’t want to do more damage by letting it out. ‘Why don’t cha just let it be? I’m having a good time just the way I am.’
‘Yer gonna get yer butt into trouble one of these days and I won’ be able ta pull yer butt out of it. That gal this weekend wore a weddin’ band. I saw it. Whatchu thinkin’ runnin’ ’round with other men’s wives, Lance? This ain’t the only time ya done it neither. I ‘member that fight up in Ten Sleep over that li’l indian gal. I ain’t fightin’ fer ya ‘gain. Told ya that then… tellin’ ya ‘gain now. Next time your ass sits in the can.’
Lance blew a breath out of his lips and reached up to rub his forehead just beneath the rim of his hat. ‘Ya know the good thing bout married women? No chance of getting all hung up on ’em and then having yer heart ripped out when something goes wrong.’
‘Yea… then ya get tangled with their husbands when they find out and cause all kindsa problems not just fer you.. but her and the marriage too. Ya ever think ’bout that?’
Lance just looked at Wesley for a long time before asking, a pleading look for him to just drop it on his face. ‘Why are we having this conversation again?’
Wesley crossed his arms over his chest and just looked
at his friend. ‘Like I said… it’s my turn ta push a li’l. Ya ain’t gettin’ any younger, Lance. I ‘member ya once had dreams o’ turnin’ that house of yers down the way into a home wit a wife ‘n kids ‘n buildin’ yerself a nice li’l homestead ‘ere. Now yer as flighty as a hen in heat. Wha’ happened to the man who was ready ta settle down?’
Lance sighed heavily and sat down on a stack of hay bales, sweeping off his hat to run his fingers through his slightly damp and sweaty hair. ‘Okay look, I know I’ve been pushing ya and I’m sorry fer it, okay? But I … I just can’t git into that right now. Yer not ready to hear it and I ain’t ready to face it, if ya wanna know the truth.’
‘Fine. But Old man King ‘ad me git yer house re-done first ’cause you were gettin’ married, Lance. She was a sweet li’l gal too. Least get hold a ‘er an’ tell ‘er yer not interested. She deserves at least that.’ Wesley righted his hat and thumbed his nose… it was a habit to keep from sneezing due to allergies and slight hay fever.
Lance rubbed the side of his hand below his nose and across his upper lip. Truth be told, he didn’t want to completely cross the girl off his list but he was too scared to pick things back up. ‘I watched Anne die, Wes … watched her have that wreck and up and die right in front of my face,’ he said finally, his voice low and his eyes cast down. He hoped that the truth didn’t shove Wesley back into reverse but there was something inside that couldn’t hold it back anymore either. ‘Besides you, she was my best friend.’ He continued to look down and slightly to the left, only the top of his hat and his chin showing as he spoke. ‘Then I watched what it did to ya … the way ya shut off everyone and crawled into this hole and ya still ain’t come completely out, even with a gal as great as Lacey loving ya, and ya don’t quite see it.’ He glanced up for the first time, a pained expression on his face. ‘I’ve lived through it once with ya … I couldn’t do it again with a woman that I loved as much as you loved her. So …’ He shrugged some and left it at that.
Wesley steeled his jaw a bit. It stung. It stung bad… but it was true. He’d never thought much what the accident did to Lance. He knew Lance hurt… but he hadn’t thought it’d affected him that deeply, or been the cause of him breaking off the engagement. He swallowed a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. He didn’t quite know what to say. He couldn’t promise anything about not losing a girl. ‘Ya know somethin’ Lance…. takin’ the chance of it all is more than worth it. It’s better ta love once than not love at all. I’ve been blessed with the ability ta love twice… most o’ us don’ ever love even once. There’s a nice gal in Jackson who wants ta love ya if you’ll let her, waitin’ fer yer call or a letter. Not that ya asked my opinion, and it may not hold much water with ya… but I’d give it a try.’ He said it gently, but it was a hard shove… a shove he should’ve made a long time ago. He hadn’t meant to let Lance waste away for three years with the fear he’d lose the one girl he loved.
Lance took his hat off and turned it some in his hands as he pondered Wesley’s words. He knew he was right … maybe that’s why he had just let Teresa’s letters come and never say nothing about it. He loved the girl, and he hurt every time he heard from her but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. ‘Mebbe yer right … I guess I could at least call ‘er,’ he said, slowly shoving his hat back on his head, looking up at his best friend. He couldn’t help but wonder if Wes had heard his own words. He had just proclaimed to love Lacey in a very round about manner, but Lance doubted he even knew what he had said.
———–
Lance looked at the receiver a long while. He’d been sitting at his kitchen table for nearly an hour, pondering on making the call. He’d gotten as far as dragging the phone to the table. He tapped his finger on the worn cherry wood table, his chin set in his other hand as he just stared and thought. What would Teresa say? What would she think? It’d been three years… and when he’d broken off the engagement he didn’t even really have that good of a reason for doing it except to tell her he wasn’t ready. He’d broken her heart. He reached into the breast pocket of his shirt and pulled out the postcard he’d gotten well over two weeks ago. He flipped it over to look at the delicate script of a woman’s hand. ‘Lance, I just wanted to say hello. Write me. Please. ~Teresa’ was all it said. The girl never did say much on her cards. He laid the card down and glanced at his watch before he picked up the receiver with the other hand, turning the dial to call the office she worked in for her daddy.
The phone rang in the western-themed ornate office. Teresa McGill was busy on the other phone with a client so the office receptionist picked it up, her drawl pronounced as she spoke into the receiver, ‘McGill Tractor Supply, this is Susan. How may I direct your call?’
Lance shifted the receiver to the other ear and cleared his throat to keep his voice from squeaking ‘Ah, yeah… this is Lance Finnigan. Is Miss Teresa McGill handy?’ He half-hoped the woman would say no, or that Teresa was sick or something today and wasn’t in the office. He was still half and half on whether or not if he really wanted to talk to her or not. He tapped nervously on the table and looked out the window that was over the sink and the glass doors that led out to the back deck.
‘Just a minute please, she’s on the other line,’ the woman replied before pushing the hold button and turned towards Teresa, motioning towards the phone. Teresa nodded as she spoke into the other phone, jotting down the customer’s order. When Susan passed her a note about who was on the other end, Teresa faltered on the phone a moment, her expressive green eyes going wide. ‘Yes I … I … I …’ she covered the phone receiver for a moment and blinked at the name on the sheet of paper before looking at Susan once again, dumb-founded. ‘I-I’m sorry, could you hold a moment?’ she stammered before putting the man on hold and looked at Susan, her face showing complete shock. ‘Are you sure he said Lance Finnigan?’
‘I think ‘e did. Perty sure. Kinda hard ta mishear that kinda name.’ Susan just turned back to her work.
Lance waited on the other end of the phone, each second ticking by, making him want to hang up more and more. Doubt was creeping into his resolve and he was fidgeting. What if she wouldn’t answer? What if she didn’t want to talk to him? What if she’d found another man? Wait… Wesley said something about not keeping her waiting…. maybe she hadn’t… He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, tempted to just set the receiver down, but instead tightened his grasp on it to keep from doing just that.
Teresa sat dumb-founded for a moment and then glanced to Susan. ‘Would you finish this order for me on line 2? I need to take this call from Mr. Finnigan.’ When Susan nodded, Teresa handed her the order form she had been working on and looked at the blinking button for line one. Lance Finnigan … she was both surprised and nervous. She had pretty much given up on ever hearing from him again and felt suddenly foolish for continuing to send him postcards over the past three and a half years. If it hadn’t been for Wesley replying back to her, she would have given up all hope. Picking the receiver back up, she cleared her throat and closed her eyes momentarily, pushing the blinking button, ‘This is Teresa. How may I help you?’ God, that came across as really cold and formal sounding but it’s all she could think of to say at the moment.
Lance jumped. He’d been in a reverie of thought that had been spiraling downward more and more. Hearing a voice had startled him. Oh God… it was Teresa. His heart thumped in his chest and he shifted the receiver to his other ear again. ‘Teresa? It’s Lance.’ He was normally such a forward sort of guy… had no problem with doing the talking… but his voice was small and rather nervous. ‘I… got your
card.’
Teresa held the phone to her ear with both hands, her grip tightening around it as she heard his voice for the first time in over three years. It was enough to bring tears to her eyes … he still sounded exactly like she remembered. Turning a bit so that Susan couldn’t see her face, she flicked away a tear before gently asking, her voice not showing any kind of hostility or anger but instead curiosity about what had prompted him to call now, after all this time. ‘Uhm, yeah … which one?’
‘One of ’em…’ he reached for the card to pull it over and look at the postdate on it.’ The one I’m lookin’ at was postdated ’bout three weeks ago. But…. I’ve gotten ’em all…. ’bout every three months ‘r so.’ There was a long silence as he drew his thumb nail over the worn surface of the table, smoothing his fingers over it. ‘….How are you? I’m not disruptin’ yer work am I?’ he suddenly asked, remembering he’d called the office. ‘I kin call back later….’
Teresa sat there for a long time as if she couldn’t really believe that he was on the other end, her fingers toying with the spiral cord of the phone. She couldn’t help but inhale deeply, trying to still her emotions after all this time. No, it’s okay … busy as usual. I’m doing okay.’ She sighed gently and then softly added, ‘I’ve been keeping up with your rodeo’ing. You and Wesley have been doing real well lately.’
Lance smiled a bit. Teresa always had a knack for lightening a tense situation real well. It was part of her charm he liked so much. ‘Yea… finally got the ol’ scoundrel back in the sport this season. We ‘ave a strong bid ta go in to Nationals…’ Again there was a long silence and again he was tempted to hang up. He wound the cord around his finger and before he could even think about what he was saying he spoke. ‘I miss you, Teresa.’
Teresa’s heart jumped at Lance’s words and she reached up to brush away fresh tears that stung her eyes. Susan was starting to glance in her direction and she turned a bit more, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. ‘I miss you too, Lance. I was just starting to give up on you ever getting in touch with me.’
Lance closed his eyes. She hadn’t immediately jumped in to excuses with another man or anything… so that was a good sign. If there was one thing he could trust about Teresa it was that she was always honest and got it all out at the front. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. ‘Look… ah… I hate phones. Ya prolly ‘member that. I’m ‘eaded up ta Jackson here in a few days fer a convention… mebbe I could take ya ta lunch ‘r sumthin’?’
Teresa couldn’t help but chuckle. Yeah, she remembered everything about him and hearing his voice brought it all back vividly. She wanted to jump at the chance to see him again, but at the same time, she didn’t want to come off as eager and pathetic enough that she had been sitting around pining over him the past three years and had nothing else to do. ‘Uhm, yeah … I’ll just have to check my date book and make sure I’m available.’ Leaning across her desk some, she absently ran her finger over the framed picture that still stood on her desk of their engagement picture. Sighing gently she softly added, ‘I’d like that a lot, Lance.’
Lance shifted in his chair. There really was no convention in Jackson this weekend.. he’d used it as an excuse to make the trip. He nodded before he realized he was on the phone and she wouldn’t be able to hear his head rattle. He shifted the receiver again. ‘Alrigh’… I’ll be in Friday afternoon ‘r so. I’ll call ya when I get into town.’ A long silence. ‘…It’s been nice to hear yer voice ‘gain, Teresa… I…. I’m sorry I haven’ called ‘r written.’
Teresa was jotting down the day, making another note to take the day off and get a hair and nail appt that morning, nodding habitually herself as she smiled into the receiver. ‘I’m glad you called, Lance … I’ll talk to you on Friday.’ Before he could say anything else or before she could blurt out something that she might regret later, she gently placed the receiver back into its cradle and just sat for a moment, looking at the phone. Then after a long moment, her smile reached her eyes and she picked up the phone once again to call her hair dresser.
Aspen
- 27.10.2022
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