Chapter 6

When everyone had left, I went up to my room and set up my laptop. I was just finishing talking to my assistant back in the capital when Connie knocked on my door. I opened it thinking everything could wait. This afternoon belongs to Connie and me!

Wrong!

“Hurry we need to get you packed. The hotel is full for the rest of this week. They need you to pack and get out of the room so the maid can clean it.”

As I put my overnight bag on the bed I suddenly realized. I do not have clothes to spend a week up here on the ranch! I doubt that little gift shop off the lobby sells clothes.

“Connie, maybe this is a mistake. I don’t have the clothes to spend a week up here and now there are no rooms...”

Again, he interrupts me and of course he has all the answers.

“Lula, I am living with Marcus in his spare bedroom. That’s where I am taking you. And do not worry about clothes. Maria and you are about the same size, she will gladly lend you clothes.”

What could I say? Like he promised my mom, he is taking care of me!

The maid was at the door when we opened it to leave. Downstairs I put my overnight bag in the back of that EV and off we went.

Connie unlocked the door and helped me with my bags. His room was small, but we could make this work. I laid my laptop on the desk and when I turned, he took me in his strong arms. I love kissing that man. He makes me melt. Know what I mean?

He said we both needed a shower as he slowly stripped off my top.

“What about Marcus and...”

“They are working at the greenhouse this afternoon they won’t be home until dark.”
He has all the answers!

We stripped down to nothing and before we made it to the shower he had sucked on my nipples and fingered my clit until I was so close! It was an effort to walk down the hall to the bathroom. But I did it holding onto his dick!

We bathed each other then made it back to the bedroom.

Wow!

It was completely dark when we heard Marcus open the door and announce they were home! I jumped up to shut the bedroom door but both Marcus and Maria got a good look at my naked body. I was so embarrassed when I left the bedroom wearing one of Connie’s tee shirts and a pair of his boxers.

“Looks like you guys enjoyed your afternoon,” Maria was looking through our open bedroom door at the crumpled bed sheets.

“We did! Four times to be exact and it was amazing!” Maria hugged me and I knew at that moment that I was going to be a part of their family!

We ate left over lasagna, watched a little television, then talked about my idea. Everyone thought it would work.

The next two days were filled with me working on my laptop while the three of them went off to do whatever it is they do during the day.

There was a problem and a big one.

When I talked to my father, he told me diesel fuel had jumped to $8.50 a gallon. This was going to increase the cost of the meat he was buying from the O’Shea’s. He was afraid that the increase would price the meat out of the reach of many of his customers. Hauling tomatoes and peppers would be out of the question. I was visibly upset when Connie came in that night. So upset that I cried in front of everybody as I explained why my idea would not work.

I was so upset that I could not even eat the stew that Maria had left cooking all day in a slow cooker. The others ate then Connie suggested that we take a ride and look at the stars. It was a beautiful night and there were a million stars shining over the lake. We rode to the dam and watched the spillway.

“Have you ever taken a boat ride down this river?” he asked.

“Of course not. Why would I do that?”

“This river flows down and crosses the highway before it gets to Conception. The plane flies thru its valley to get to the lake.”

“So?”

“So, we need to take a boat trip!”

He grabs me and kisses me. He is excited about something! I have no clue what has gotten into him. We piled back in the electric vehicle and raced back home. Connie sat us all down in the living room and explained his idea. This man is a genius! I think his idea of floating the produce down river might just work!

The next morning found us securing a boat just below the dam. Connie was ready with a rope that had a piece of metal tied to one end of it. Every six feet up the rope he had tied a knot. He was going to measure the depth of the river.

Marcus and Maria left in a truck driving through the mountains. They were going to meet us at the bridge. We set off in the fishing boat, with me driving and Connie sitting in the front making notes about the depth of the river. Every now and then he would throw the rope overboard and yell “Mark Twain!”

The third time he did that I had to question him, “What the hell are you doing?”

“Mark Twain means the river is over two fathoms (12 feet) deep. Safe enough for a river boat to pass.”

I thought Mark Twain was an American author, Huckleberry Finn I think.”

“Samuel Clemens worked on a river boat when he was young. When he started writing he took the pen name ‘Mark Twain’. I guess he thought it was cool.”

The entire trip he yelled ‘Mark Twain’ when he dropped his rope into the water. We arrived at the bridge and pulled the boat up on the shore. We had made the trip in a little less than 2 hours! Marcus and Maria drove up over an hour later.