Chapter 4

The wind was a little gusty that night and the dust in the air caused the cattle to act nervous. It made Ed’s work a lot more difficult as the cattle were unwilling to head into the bidding pen. His horse was having to work double time to keep the cattle headed in a straight line and in the proper direction. It was at times like this that it would be nice to have a well trained cow dog, but they didn’t have one. Ed yanked on the rein to change the direction of his horse to cut off a cow that decided to head east rather than north.

When the last cow had been pushed into the pen, he sat back as the bidding began. He looked up to see who was bidding tonight. To his surprise, Kelly was in the stands waving at him. He laughed at the situation and rode over to her. When he reached her, she called out, “Hello, Ed.”

Laughing, Ed called out to her, “Did you know that you just bid on those cows over there?”

At the look of astonished embarrassment, she put a hand over her mouth. He listened for a minute and then said, “Don’t worry, you’ve just been outbid.”

“Thank God.” Kelly laughed in relief, happy that she didn’t have to find a home for them in her little apartment. For a minute there, she had visions of sharing her little bedroom with four full grown cows. The image wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was funny.

Ed moved closer and picked her up. It took a little maneuvering to get her seated on the saddle behind him. She wrapped her arms around him, a little frightened to be on such a huge animal. He nudged his horse over to the fence near the bidding pen and stopped next to it. He helped her get onto the fence. He said, “You can watch from here. They won’t interpret any gestures you make here as a bid.”

She leaned towards him and said, “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

“Time for me to get back to work. I’ll be right back.”

Ed rode over to the bidding pen. With easy commands on the rein he moved the cows out and back to their holding pen. He waited for the other guy to get his cattle into the bidding pen before he started directing the next lot in that direction. Kelly was seated on the fence post right next to where he would wait until the bidding for the current lot was finished. It would give him a quick chance to talk to her.

Another gust of wind threatened to scatter the four cows. He worked them back into order and down the chute towards the bidding pen. He stopped next to Kelly and asked, “So what brought you down here?”

She giggled and answered, “I wanted to see you work. You’ve seen me at work, so I thought I’d come down here.”

He shook his head and replied, “I’m afraid there’s not much to see.”

Kelly laughed and said, “Well, I almost bought four cows. That was exciting.”

He laughed and then noticed that the bidding pen was empty. The other guy working today had moved his cattle out. While waiting for the gate to be opened, he said, “I’ve got to get them in the pen now. I’ll be back soon.”

When the gate opened, he directed the cows into the bidding pen. He waited for the bidding to end. It wasn’t going to take long. Bidding always went a little quicker when the cattle were nervous like today. He didn’t know why, but they never fetched as good of a price on those days. The auctions usually lasted longer, but that was because it took longer to get the damn beasts moved.

He had made about four trips that way, when on the fifth, he was surprised to find Nevada sitting on the fence next to Kelly. He stopped beside them both and said, “Nevada, I’d like you to meet Kelly. She’s my girlfriend. Kelly, this is Nevada. He’s my boss.”

He glanced at Nevada for a second and then added, “And I’m Ed. And I’m probably in trouble.”

As Kelly looked like she was afraid that she was the cause of his problems, Nevada laughed. He said, “No. I only came over here to meet the woman that tamed Ed.”

Kelly looked at Nevada confused at the credit for taming Ed. She answered, “I didn’t tame him. He’s been this way as long as I’ve known him.”

Nevada looked at Ed and could see the look of affection that he was giving Kelly. This wasn’t the Ed he knew. There was a spark between the pair that Nevada, an old cowhand himself, couldn’t miss.

Ed glanced ahead and then said, “Whoops, got to work.”

He directed the cattle into the bidding pen. They balked at moving forward and he had to use his rope on the ass of one of the cows to get it moving. It wasn’t a hard blow, just a touch to make the cow think there was a hard one behind it. That pushed the rest of them in and the gate closed behind them. He really hated nights like this. It was twice as much work as usual. He didn’t know if having Kelly here helped or not, but it was nice to see her.

Nevada and Kelly talked through most of the auction. For the most part, Nevada explained how the auction worked and what the bidders were looking for when they bid on cattle. Kelly asked questions and made comments about the process. Many of her comments Nevada found humorous. There was, however, a long discussion about Ed and the changes in his behavior over the past week.

When the auction was over, Ed rode over to where Nevada and Kelly were seated. As he directed the horse to a stop, he said, “So, Nevada, are you done telling this young lady what a miserable beast I am?”

Shaking his head in disbelief that Ed would joke about himself in that fashion, Nevada answered, “I lied and I lied, but she still wasn’t interested in me.”

Ed sat back in the saddle and laughed aloud. Kelly grinned, not realizing that she was witnessing a first between the two men. Nevada climbed off the fence and said, “I’ve got to go look at the receipts and see how we did tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow, Ed.”

“Prepare to be disappointed, Nevada. Bidding was bad tonight, the cattle were too nervous,” replied Ed. He shook his head, “I don’t know why bidding is so bad on nights like tonight.”

Stopping in his tracks, Nevada turned and looked at Ed. He realized that Ed actually paid a bit more attention to things than he had credited him. Maybe Ed wasn’t just a dumb cowhand after all. He asked, “Would you like to speculate why?”

Kelly watched as Ed thought about it. She could see that he was considering several ideas and rejecting most of them. He finally answered, “It might be the pauses between lots is just a little longer and breaks up the bidding rhythm, but that’s only a guess.”

“What would you do about that?”

Ed shrugged and suggested, “Add a second bidding pen.”

Nevada stood there looking at Ed with a thoughtful expression. It was actually one of the best suggestions that anyone had made on how to improve his business in a long time. He said, “I’ll think about it. Now, take that lady of yours and get out of here.”

Taking the advice to heart, Ed helped Kelly onto the back of his horse and rode over to the corral. When they reached it, he helped her to the ground. She climbed on the fence post while he rode the horse into the corral. Once there, he dismounted. She sat a little uncertainly, surprised at the warm sensation between her legs that even that short ride on the horse had generated. She cooed, “Today is the first time I’ve ever been on a horse. I think I like it.”

Ed understood exactly what she meant. No cowboy was stupid enough to get between a woman and her horse. There were a lot of women in this part of the country that had their first orgasm riding a horse. With a wink at Kelly, Ed said, “Good, but I suggest you stay off them. I’d hate for you to end up bowlegged like me.”

She laughed, wondering if he knew the effect that the horse had on her. She said, “Well, you really know how to handle that horse.”

He patted the horse along its neck and said, “We’ve been working together for about four years. She’s got about another two years in her before I retire her to pasture.”

There was real affection in his voice, but he’d never admit to feeling that way about the horse. She watched as he ran a hand along the legs of the horse. Kelly said, “That’s a nice looking horse.”

“She’s not bad.” Bending down, he released the cinch straps that held the saddle on the horse. Standing, he lifted the saddle off and put it in its place. It only took him a minute to remove the other gear from the horse. Grabbing the curry comb and brush, he went to work on the horse. He talked the entire time to Kelly, but in a tone of voice intended to sooth the horse.

She watched and listened to how he talked. His intent might have been to calm the horse, but it had the opposite effect on her. Her body was reacting to him in a very sexual manner. By the time that he was done, her nipples were tenting her shirt through her bra and her pussy was soaking wet. Unaware of the effect he had on Kelly, Ed released the horse and put out its oats. Once that was done, he turned to Kelly and asked, “Would you like to get something to eat at the restaurant up the street?”

Preferring to go someplace where Ed could take care of a more urgent need of hers, she was about to suggest an alternative. It was about time for them to take the relationship to the next level, but she didn’t want to make the first move. Instead, she agreed, “Sure, that sounds good.”

He took her to her car and suggested, “Why don’t you follow me there? It’s just up the street.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

Ed went over to his truck and waited to make sure that she had started her car. He led the way to the restaurant where he normally ate during and after work. Watching in the mirror, he made sure that she was able to stay right behind him. He worried, as he drove, that he was moving too fast for her, but it sure was hard to resist her.

He pulled into the parking lot and got out of his truck. Stepping over to her car, he opened the door for her. Unfamiliar with the place, she stepped out and looked around what was basically a truck stop. He took her by the hand and they walked into the restaurant. Rather than waiting to be seated, they went directly to a table to wait for the waitress to come over with the menus.

The waitress arrived at the table and looked at Ed and then Kelly. She stepped back and looked at Kelly a second time. The attention being given her was immediately noticed by Kelly. Smiling the waitress said, “So! You must be the reason Ed quit flirting with us.”

Ed blushed and looked away while Kelly beamed at him. She asked, “When did he stop flirting with you?”

The waitress was sure she wouldn’t be happy to be Ed’s girlfriend. He had been a pretty obnoxious customer and didn’t have a very good reputation in the area. She answered, “Oh, about ten days ago or so. Hard to say, really.”

Kelly looked at Ed wondering if there was a connection between when they met and some of the changes in his behavior. She decided that it was because of her, the times matched well. She smiled and said, “That’s about the time I met him.”

The waitress took their orders and returned to her station. The parting look was clearly one of pity. In a very quiet tone, Ed said, “I think that the waitress feels sorry for you. She thinks you got a pretty rotten deal in taking up with me.”

Frowning at his poor self image, Kelly asked, “You don’t mean that.”

Ed looked over at the waitress and said, “Why don’t you ask her yourself when I’m gone.”

Without warning, he stood and headed to the bathroom. He took his time, knowing that the waitress would serve their iced teas while he was gone. In the restroom, he rolled up his sleeves and washed his hands clear up to the elbows. After washing his face, he dried off and left the restroom. The waitress was just leaving the table as he arrived.

Kelly waited until he had seated himself before saying, “You were right. She did everything except tell me to run like hell in the opposite direction.”

“I’ve been telling you the truth. I haven’t been a very nice person in the past.” He glanced in the direction of the waitress, sad that she was another example of a person that didn’t like him. On second thought, it wasn’t just her, it was the rest of the restaurant staff as well. He added, “A lot of people don’t like me.”

Kelly looked at him, the sadness in his voice expressing real regret, as her heart went out to him. Looking around at the waitresses, she realized that he had always been honest with her. She said, “You’ve been honest with me about everything.”

Reaching out, he took her hand and said, “I would really like to make love to you, but I have to work a few things out in my mind first. I don’t want to mislead you and hurt you in that fashion. You want something that I don’t know if I can deliver. I haven’t rejected it, but I’m seriously considering all of the ramifications.”

The consideration he was showing her contrasted so sharply with what the waitress had said about him, she didn’t know what to think. If he was the man the waitress had described, then he would have promised her anything and then dumped her after sleeping with her. She was about to answer that he could sleep with her anyway, when the waitress arrived with their food.

Ed looked at the waitress and said, “It all looks very good!”

With a questioning look on her face, she answered, “Thanks. The good cook is on duty tonight.”

“Really? I always find the food here pretty good. While I might not say it, I do find the service here excellent as well.” Ed bent down to eat his Chicken Fried Steak.

The waitress was left standing there. Kelly smiled at her and turned to her salad. When the waitress left, Kelly giggled and said, “You really blew her mind. She didn’t know what to think, particularly after some of the things she said about you.”

Ed answered, “That wasn’t my intent. I know that she won’t trust me for a long time, if ever. I have to earn her respect now. That’s a lot harder to do after you’ve lost it once.”

Kelly glanced in the direction of the waitress and asked, “Are they worth it?”

“The real question is if I’m worth it.” Ed looked around the restaurant wondering how many of the people in here knew him and, of them, how many didn’t like him.

That was a take on his position that she hadn’t considered. To know that others disliked you must be very tough on the self image. The upshot of this discussion was that she wanted to sleep with him even more. She held his hands and said, “Don’t worry, things will get better. I’ll see to that.”

Flustered, Ed wanted to change the subject. He was about to tell her that she had better start eating before her food got cold, but she was having a salad. He looked down at his plate and said, “I’d better eat this before it gets cold.”

Releasing his hand, she said, “Yes, you had better eat it before it gets cold. I want you to have all of the energy you can, for later.”