“I was thinking of changing it. Today is particularly hot and I was thinking the men would appreciate some cold cuts.” Sophie pressed a hand against her stomach to settle the nausea. She had woken up hollow-eyed this morning from mostly lack of sleep and a churning feeling in her stomach. She had taken the opportunity to make some mint tea and eat a few crackers. It had settled then but the scent of the bacon and sausages had stirred it up back.
“We have some ham in the fridge and we could make a salad or two.” She looked at the man towering over her. Joe had been hostile to her when she had gotten the job and had tried to make things difficult for her, but she had stood her ground and showed him that she was no pushover. Besides, she really needed the job. Silver Springs was very isolated, but it worked for her and the time she had been here had proven to have a healing effect on her.
“Maybe a helping of shrimp salad as well?” Joe murmured as he beckoned one of the maids over.
“That’s a good idea Joe,” She smiled at him.
“No problem,” he started to turn away and turned back to murmur. “You are doing a very good job.”
“Thank you, Joe.”
She set things into motion and made herself another cup of tea and grabbing the crackers, she went to her suite, praying that she would not run into another member of staff, particularly Ms. Jennings who seemed to have eyes everywhere. Letting herself into her suite, she headed straight for the rocker in her bedroom and lowered herself into it careful not to spill her tea. Leaning her head back, she closed her eyes as she balanced the cup on the handle of the chair. Her life had turned upside down almost a year ago. One moment she was a happy-go-lucky woman with her career taking off and loving supportive parents and then the next moment it had been taken away from her.
Stolen from her by a drunk driver who had run the red light. Jerome and Sally-Ann Witter had been on their way back from a dinner with friends when their lives had ended. She had tried to grieve the usual way but in the end, had bottled up her grief. The house where she had grown up had held too many memories for her and she had sold it right after the funeral. But she could not spend the money. Even the life insurance was still sitting in the bank and had not been touched. She had never been the same again and suspected that it would take a while for some semblance of normalcy. She had thought that going back to work would have served as some sort of catharsis, but she had kept breaking down in the kitchen and had decided to quit. She had stayed at her apartment for two days straight and not answered her phone. The third day she had seen the ad in the papers and had applied for the job, considering that it was a sign from heaven. Maybe something to help her get her life back on track. She had spent every night thinking about them and had barely pulled it together to bury them. She had been broken so much that she was hardly able to put herself back together. She had packed up everything and put them into storage, things she could not bear to part with and had sold the house. She had not had many friends, so it had not been hard for her to flee without regrets.
She sipped the tea now that it was considerably cooler and nibbled at the crackers, waiting for her stomach to settle. Pressing one hand against her flat stomach, she suddenly felt the import of what the pregnancy meant. She had not planned it, but it could probably be just what she needed. She had no idea what was going to happen. She was pregnant by her billionaire boss, her employer and a playboy to boot.
“Oh Mom,” She whispered. “I wished you were here. You would tell me what to do. How am I going to do this without you?”
*****
Hunter dug into the cooler and took out a can of beer and rolled the can across his forehead to cool down the sweat running from his forehead. He could feel the strain in his shoulders from pulling the ropes as he helped the men dealt with the rounding up of the cattle. He had spent time breaking in two horses that would be delivered to the next town. And the fence that had been broken down and had to be repaired. Running a billion-dollar cattle ranch was not easy but he enjoyed it. The men had eaten for the night and the ones with family had left for the night. It was still light out, with the sun still high in the sky. He had some more work to look at the horses and do the rounds but was just taking a breather.
“You okay boss?” Ben’s hoarse voice intruded on his thoughts.
“Yeah…!” Hunter put the hat away and popped open the can, tilting it to his lips to swallow the ice-cold beer. “Just hot and need a shower like nothing else. Did we get all the breaks in the fence?”
“We did.” Ben popped open his own can of beer and settled his rangy frame next to Hunter. He stared at the young man contemplatively. Hunter’s parents had died one behind the other and had left him reeling from the grief of losing them as well as the awesome responsibility that had been placed onto his shoulders. He had handled it well and Ben had stood right next to him during the transition. Hunter was a pro and had been in the saddle since he was a toddler. His father had shown him the ropes and had been exhilarated when he had turned out to be a natural. He could handle a horse better than any man on the ranch and was known for his expertise when it came to taming them. The only thing Ben did not approve of was his wandering eyes, but he supposed it could not be helped. Hunter Jason McTaggart was a female magnet with his ash blonde hair that he wore shoulder length and those magnetic sapphire blue eyes. Not to mention his height, the broadness of his shoulders and his muscular leanness. He was whipcord strong and worked as hard as or even harder than any man on the ranch. He was up at dawn and never turned until in the night, sometimes late at night. Ben was a confirmed bachelor without any kids and the ranch was his life. He thought of Hunter as a son and even though he was not very demonstrative and kept things close to his chest, he knew that Hunter felt a certain fondness for him. He had been living in the largest cottage on the ranch for so many years that it had become a home to him. Somewhere to lay his head and get some rest whenever he chose to go in. He never did that as long as Hunter was on the grounds and he watched over him like a lioness with her cub. He took out a rolled cigar and flicked open his lighter, puffing as it touched the flame.
“I know,” his light blue eyes crinkled in amusement. “These things will be the death of me.”
“I was thinking of bumming a smoke.” Hunter said mildly.
“You quit.”
“I was never a smoker in the first place.” He said dryly as he took the cigar from Ben. The rest of the men were scattered around the barnyard side and chatting around a cooler, swapping stories, some of them too tall to believe about women and fishing.
“You were caught with a cigarette when you were twelve.”
“Dad almost skinned me when it was brought to his attention.” Hunter rolled the tobacco between his fingers contemplatively. “Harvey was always a stickler for keeping healthy. Even though he took the occasional drink every now and then, he would never smoke, no matter how much I pressured him.” Ben chuckled as he puffed on the cigar. “He was one stubborn cuss,” he added fondly.