Chapter 18

Lucy and William were in the gym practicing their Tai Chi first thing in the morning. As always, they were both naked so that any imperfection in their movements would be visible. Normally, they flowed together with ease. This morning was different. His movements flowed, but hers were jerky.

After having moved through four of the major movements, William stopped and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Lucy answered.

"You're moving like your joints are rusted shut," William said.

Lucy dropped her position and turned to face him. She said, "I guess I'm just a little upset about last night. To tell the truth, I'm a little jealous."

Hearing her give voice to his worst fear, William said, "I was afraid of that. You don't have to be jealous of them. I love you more than life itself."

"I'm not jealous of them," Lucy said amused by his reaction. She had always been impressed with the beauty of the two women, but last night they had been spectacular in a more subtle manner. Rather than relying upon their outer beauty, they had allowed their inner beauty to shine through. The sight had actually taken her breath away.

"You're not?" William asked.

Lucy said, "I'm jealous of you."

"Me?" William asked even more confused by her statement. He wondered if she was jealous that two women were interested in him and none of the men had expressed an interest in her.

Looking around the exercise room, Lucy felt it wasn't the best place to have a talk about this subject. She didn't think that a room with exercise equipment and a training mat was the ideal setting for a heart to heart talk. She said, "Let's talk about this somewhere else."

"Where?" William asked.

"How about our bedroom?" Lucy asked.

With butterflies in his stomach, William followed Lucy to their bedroom. When they arrived there, Lucy said, "Have a seat."

"Okay," William said taking a seat on the bed facing her. He watched her move nervously around the room. Her long brown hair had grown down to the small of her back. It flowed with her movements. Her body was toned and unblemished. Watching her, he knew that no woman in the world could match her beauty.

Lucy opened the curtains of the room so that the canyon was exposed in all of its glory. She looked out at the rough wall of the canyon. The jagged rocks with sharp edges reflected her feelings. Turning to face him, she said, "I envy your ability to give."

"You're the most giving person I know," William said confused by her statement.

"Last night, there was a time when you were kissing Barbara. Your other hand sought out and caressed Sandra. Both women were responding to your attention. I knew that each of them was feeling the full force of your love for them. I felt a little thrill when you looked over at me. I realized that you had enough love within you to satisfy a dozen women all at once," Lucy said smiling at him.

"I don't know what to say."

Lucy tilted her head and studied her husband. He was a handsome man with all of the best features of ancestry. The two scars on his chest did nothing to mar his appearance. He had trimmed his hair so that it just brushed his shoulders. More than his physical appearance, he had a real presence. There was a solidity to him that left her breathless in the same way that the canyon did. She said, "You don't have to say anything."

"I don't want you to feel bad," William said.

"Don't worry about it," Lucy said.

Frowning, William said, "Maybe I should cancel the trip to the desert."

"Don't do that. I need a little time alone with my thoughts," Lucy replied.

The stable smelled of hay, oats, horse manure, urine, sweat, and leather. It was the kind of odor that smelled good if you were used to it and horrible if you weren't. The stable was relatively clean, but no amount of cleaning could chase away the smell. It was a smell that reminded William of his days at Ed's place across from the Druid College. It always brought back good memories.

Dressed in a blue work shirt, blue jeans, and cowboy boots, William moved with ease through the building. There were two dozen stalls, but none of them held horses at the moment. He made his way to the corral which held six horses. A number of the men who worked the ranch were out on their horses otherwise the corral would have been much more crowded.

His and Lucy's horses were among them. Derrick was leaning against a post of the corral watching William with a wry smile. William waved and shouted, "How are you doing, Derrick?"

"I'm doing fine. How about you?" Derrick answered.

"Things are looking up," William said. He took a deep breath and smelled that special fragrance of the desert.

Derrick wandered over to him and said, "What's up?"

"I'm going to spend a few days in the desert. I need to get my horse and a pack horse," William answered looking around for a lead rope to attach to the halters of the horses.

"I'll take care of that for you," Derrick said.

"That's okay. I can do it," William said not wanting to divert Derrick from his work.

Derrick looked over at him and shook his head. Knowing that William would saddle his own horse, Derrick said, "I'll help you with the pack horse."

"Okay," William said.

Derrick whistled and a man came running out of one of the buildings. Derrick pointed to the two horses. Seeing which horses Derrick had pointed at, the man glanced over and spotted William. He immediately entered the corral while grabbing a couple of lead ropes to put on the horses. In just a minute he was leading three horses over to the stables.

"I would have been happy to get the horses," William said with a frown. He wondered why he couldn't see the identity of the man who had fetched the horses. The only time something like that happened was when it involved someone he cared about. It wasn't until the man was headed in his direction that he realized the man's identity.

"Hello William," Dale said with a wink.

"Dale! What are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet tomorrow out by the gully behind your place," William said.

"I got out of work a day early," Dale answered with a grin. He held out a lead rope for William.

"It is good to see you," William said taking the lead rope.

"It is good to see you again. You've been gone too long," Dale said handing the lead rope for the pack horse to Derrick.

"Just trying to keep the peace," William said shrugging his shoulders.

"Is that all?" Dale asked with a grin.

The three men headed into the stables leading their horses. Each horse was tied in front of the stall where the appropriate gear was stored. Grabbing a brush, William started brushing down the horse. As he worked, he asked, "So where do you want to go?"

"How about we just head west for a week?" Dale asked. He continued to brush his horse while he talked.

"Sounds good to me," William answered.

"How long are you going to be gone?" Derrick asked.

"Two weeks," William answered. He walked around the horse keeping a hand on it. Once there he returned to brushing the horse. He actually enjoyed the process of getting a horse ready for ride. The act of grooming the horse helped calm him.

Derrick mentally calculated the weight they'd be putting on the horse. He asked, "How much water are you taking?"

William looked over at Dale and asked, "How's the water out there?"

"Not too bad. The last time I checked, the seeps had plenty of water. We'll only need to carry a couple of gallons for the horses while we move from seep to seep," Dale answered.

Derrick said, "Okay. I'll pack ten gallons."

"That should be fine," Dale said.

"That'll be eighty pounds of water and sixty pounds of alfalfa cubes. How much gear will you be packing?" Derrick asked.

"Forty pounds," William answered.

"Food?" Derrick asked.

Looking over at William, Dale said, "Forty pounds of food?"

"Yes," William said.

Derrick shook his head and said, "That's two hundred and twenty pounds."

"That's about right," William said. "I'll carry five pounds of water on my horse and about ten pounds of gear."

"Same here," Dale said.

"You'll be packing heavy," Derrick said. He didn't like to put more than a hundred and eighty pounds of gear on a horse.

"It is a big horse. You could put two hundred pounds on it," Dale said looking over at Derrick.

"The horse wouldn't like that much," William said. He put the brush back where it belonged before heading over to the saddle.

"The weight will drop by ten pounds after the first day," Dale said.

Derrick went about the business of putting the pack on the horse. He knew that Dale was right, but he didn't really like to load up a horse like that. He said, "We're going to have to buy a mule. A mule can carry two hundred and twenty pounds."

After checking the saddle, William picked up a saddle blanket and carried it over to the horse. After giving the horse a chance to smell it, William laid the blanket over his horse taking care to position it properly. He said, "I'd rather take two horses."

"A mule is better. It can carry more and work longer than a horse," Derrick said.

William went back to the saddle and hooked the stirrup over the saddle horn. He laid the cinch strap across the saddle. He carried the saddle over to the horse. He gently set the saddle on the blanket. He said, "That might be true, but a mule is a lot more stubborn than a horse."

"Kind of like you and Dale, right?"