Chapter 5

Jessica and Casey settle in fairly quickly. So far as he can tell, there is nothing all that special about the ranch. It has horses and cattle and acres upon acres of crops, but nothing out of the ordinary. They pull up and park and get out. Almost immediately a young girl comes out walking a horse.

“Hey strangers,” she says, smiling. “Ya’ll lost?”

Jessica giggles. “No, we have a reservation.”

The girl stops and they chat briefly about the ranch and all the fun Casey and Jessica are bound to have. Her name is Rosemary, and she is the owner’s daughter and sixteen. Through their conversation, they learn that she is real interested in horses—something that should be noticeable already—and that she is planning to go to college to be a veterinarian. She is a cute girl with a sweet personality. After a bit she says her mother handles all the check-ins and that she will get her.

A few minutes later, the girl returns with her mother, a woman that looks to be in her early forties. Casey and Jessica shake her hand and they learn that her name is Susie. She is pretty though she looks like she belongs on a farm. Where Jessica is very feminine, Susie has more muscle and an edge that says she isn’t one to mess with. She has a nice smile and auburn hair, pulled back in a ponytail. Even in jeans, a plaid flannel shirt and a bit of muscle, Casey can tell she has a nice body. They are given a walking tour the immediate surroundings of the ranch. They are taken to the stables where the guest riding horses are kept and then shown to their cabins and they make their parting.

Jessica had reserved a small cabin near a wooded area with the stables not too far away. With their bags unpacked, which doesn’t take long, she pulls Casey out the door and over to the stables. Casey has dressed in shorts and a simple shirt, while Jessica kind of followed suit wearing a shirt tied just below her breasts and a pair of short that are tight enough to reveal her shape down there. There a ranch hand is already waiting for them with two horses. He is a strong, tall guy in overalls and a cowboy hat. Casey chuckles a little to see such a good looking guy dressed this way. He doubts the guy has anyone making fun of how he dresses, at least not to his face.

“Welcome, city slickers,” he sniggers. “Name is Bart. I’m the head hand ‘round these parts.”

“And these must be out mounts,” Jessica says, giving the tall man a smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, tipping his hat at her. “This here is Jessie.” He pulls the male Appaloosa forward. “And this here is Brandy.” With the other hand, he leads the female quarter horse.

“Those are some big horses,” Casey says, his eyes going wide.

“Of course they are, Casey,” Jessica says. “All horses are big.”

“Most of ‘em are ma’am,” Bart pipes in. “Ever ridden before?”

“I have,” Jessica says, stepping up to brush her hand across the muzzle of Brandy. This will be Casey’s first time.”

Bart chuckles as he regards Casey. “Well, Jessie is just perfect fer you then. I had a feeling. I can usually tell a city slicker from a ranch girl.” When he finishes the latter of his statement, he looks at Jessica and smiles.

Casey watches as his girlfriend blushes. If he was insecure or didn’t know how much she loved him, he would feel threatened by the ranch hand. It doesn’t mean he wants to sit here watching some guy hitting on her though. “So, are we ready to ride?”

Jessica laughs, sensing the agitation in his tone. “Got the camera?”

“Just like you asked,” he says, lifting it into the air.

“Let me take that from you, pardner,” Bart says. “We got here a place to keep it safe.” He stuffs the camera in one of the saddle bags.

Bart runs through a few of the basics, feeling good that Jessica seems to know her stuff. And she should considering that she grew up around horses. After they are settled in on their horses, and without Casey embarrassing himself, they set off with Jessica leading the way. They bump along down the path, taking in the fresh air and the scenery. It is such a nice change from the hustle and bustle of normal everyday life. It is quiet and serene. The day is warm and cloudless. With the ranch being at a higher elevation and a few hours away from the city, neither of them is suffering from the oppressive heat that they are normally used to.

Bart mentioned a nice vantage point on the hill that overlooks the ranch,” Jessica tells him, pointing in the direction that they are already heading in. “I’m thinking that we can take some pictures, a little something to serve as a reminder of our retreat.”

Casey is all up for taking pictures. And with this retreat in such a nice place without anything out of the ordinary happening, he’s hoping to get a little lucky. Jessica glances back at him every now and again, smiling each time their eyes meet. And Casey cannot help but notice how she moves in the saddle, fluid and sensual. They find a clearing in the tree that gives a nice view of the ranch from above.

“How about here?” Jessica asks. “You can work out your amateur photography skills.”

“Maybe one day I can become a professional photographer,” Casey remarks.

“Maybe even a great one,” Jessica encourages. “Of course, you marry me and you won’t have to work. Then you’d have all the time in the world to do what you want to do.”

Casey grins at her. He knew this wouldn’t be a simple getaway. Of course he was expecting something else too. He should have known that this trip would just be her way of convincing him that it best to marry her and not wait any longer. With the scenery and the serenity of the place, Casey can see himself wondering the land, taking pictures and enjoying life without all the toil of working for someone else, making that person richer. Jessica’s family owns businesses, factories and all kind of stuff. They made their money off the backs of others. Jessica makes a pretty good salary, but she gets to help people. And here she is offering him an easy life, one where he can enjoy it all to the fullest with her. Am I a fool for not jumping on it?

Jessica swings her leg over the saddle to dismount. Casey catches a glimpse down her shirt and smiles. Due to the fact that she doesn’t have large breasts, she can go without wearing a bra sometimes. And today, she is not wearing one. She sits down on the trunk of a fallen tree and pats the spot next to her for Casey to sit down. He sits and she gets up to reach into the saddle bag in her horse. Pulling out a couple of bottles, she hands one to him and explains, “Bart put them in before we left. It’s part of the experience here at the ranch.”

“I see that,” Casey says almost smartly. “It’s like we’re being catered to. I wonder if all the guests get the same treatment.”

“We’re the only guests,” she says, frowning at him. “It’s all paid for and included in the price.”

“Do I want to know how much it cost?” he asks. “Never mind, it’s best I don’t know.”

“I get the feeling you got something on your mind and it’s not about how much I spent,” she accuses.

Casey is about to deny it, but he knows that it would be stupid to do, and he doesn’t want to risk ruining their retreat right off the bat. “I don’t know...” he murmurs.

“Is it Bart?” she asks. “I’ve never known you to be the jealous type.”

“No it’s not that,” he flatly denies.

“Then what... ?” she begins to ask. “Is it because you find him a little attractive?”

“What... ?” Casey is ready to deny this too, but then he stops himself and wonders if that is what it is. “I just thought we were coming here and there was going to be, you know...” He drops his head. “I mean, I didn’t know what to expect. And then I saw Bart, and...”

“You thought I was bringing you here to get fucked by the farm hands?” Jessica asks, sounding very sincere. “I brought you here to discover yourself.”

“By riding horse?” he snaps. Casey instantly realizes that he shouldn’t have done that. But Jessica is so patient, caring and understanding that it doesn’t even faze her.

“Look, Casey,” she says, putting her hand on his thigh. “I know you’ve been battling things for a while now. While it may not be obvious to the majority of people in the world, it is to me. As a therapist I want to help. As your future wife, I need to help. Trust me when I say you’re going to leave here with a new perspective.”

“I’m sorry,” he says, taking in her words, but still feeling bad for snapping at her.

“Don’t be,” she says, patting his leg. “Besides, maybe if you’re lucky you could fuck Rosemary.”

“Excuse me?” he says flabbergasted.

“You heard me,” Jessica says. “I think she has a crush on you.”

Casey is torn between word and thoughts. He settles on saying the first thing that comes out of his mouth. “But she’s sixteen. I could get trouble over that.”

“I figured you’d be more concerned about fucking her, being with me and all,” she says nonchalantly.

“Well, I am, I ... I mean, I wouldn’t think of...” he frowns. “I’m not helping myself here, am I?”

“If I were a normal girlfriend, no you’re not,” she says smiling. “But I’m not normal, am I? Besides, I won’t tell if you won’t.”

Right now, Casey doesn’t know what to think. Jessica has never mentioned him fucking anyone else ever. She has never hinted at a threesome, him being with another woman let alone a guy. Hell, the whole gay thoughts thing only recently got revealed and confirmed recently. There really hasn’t been time to talk about such things. Calling it gay might be too stereotypical. As Jessica would say, it is normal human instincts to wonder and fantasize and even have sex with people of the same sex. People have been influenced by religion, which in turn has influenced the rest of society. It’s become a three ring circus, but at least more and more people are slipping out of that lien of thought and realizing that it is totally normal.

While it is nice to sit in such beautiful scenery, in the quiet of the countryside and in the turmoil of thought, Casey isn’t quite sure how he feels about all of this. Maybe coming to the ranch was Jessica’s idea of revealing these ideas on him, or maybe the ranch held some kind of magical power that is now influencing her thoughts. He doubts there is magic involved. He gets up to stretch his legs and back, and pat the grass off his ass. He turns and looks at Jessica and the way the light hits her face.

She smiles up at him, holding out his camera. “Ready to take some pictures?”

Casey nods and takes the camera, snapping off a few shots before she has a chance to get up herself. She gets the hint and poses in a few different angels as he snaps away. Jessica is beautiful with a natural beauty without the need of makeup. If anything, he is lucky to have found a girl that didn’t need to worry about improving her looks with makeup.