The Ranch

The
Ranch

by
Jane Majic

   That was it...Emma had decided
she had enough of the city life. This was the third time in two years that the
loft had been broken into. It was time to pack it all up and start over...The money
she came into, through a good investment would allow her to take a couple of
years off and just do her thing. This was the perfect time to start..she was
sick of her job at the newspaper..she had no partner, so there was nothing to
hold her back. except her fear of the unknown. She had hooked up with this
realtor named Amber a couple of weeks ago and Amber called the other night
raving about this old farm house she had found for sale...said it would be
perfect for her...just what she was looking for. So she grabbed her purse and
out the door she went to meet Amber.

     Through
conversations, she knew Amber was with Amy. They had been together for almost
eight years now and had a house on the lake. She had met Amy once briefly, she
seemed nice enough...and she and Amber

kept wanting her to come for dinner, they
had this nice girl they wanted her to meet. So with directions in hand, Emma
got in the car and headed down the road to meet Amber at this ranch. When she
saw the exit, she gently eased off the freeway and turned down this old dirt
road...she came upon a circle drive and that is when she saw it...the most
beautiful ranch style farm house set back among the trees...a veranda went from
one end to the other..it needed some work..but nothing a little paint and sweat
wouldn't fix up. As she drove up the drive she saw Amber's car. Standing beside
Amber was this woman, brownish hair, mid thirties, not butch, but not femme,
more the athletic looking kind of girl. Emma got out of the car and waved, as
Amber and this mystery woman walked towards her.

     "Hi Emma, I
would like you to meet Nina."

     "Hello, nice
to meet you. "replied Emma.

      "I
brought her along because she runs her own construction business and I thought
she could give you some input on how much work the ranch needs."

     So with eagerness,
Emma, Amber, and Nina walked up the steps.....is this the woman that Amber and
Amy kept talking about wondered Emma..... Emma entered the house first....as
she stood in the doorway and looked around, a feeling of excitement filled her.
She began to imagine all of her things here, what she could do with the place.
The three looked around, Emma asking questions and Nina giving her advice.
Amber trailed behind and just watched on as the two women chatted about repairs
and costs. Just the other night Amber and Amy were talking about how on earth
they were going to get Nina and Emma to meet. Then Amy got the scoop on the
farm house and it all came together...what a perfect opportunity to get the two
of them together

     As they locked up
the house Emma headed toward the back yard to get an idea of the rest of the
property. As she rounded the corner and stood near the house looking into the
back yard, she stopped, her breath caught and the look in her eyes was
indescribable. The trees, the flowers, and just at the end a pond...the ducks
swimming. For a moment Emma pictured herself sitting on the veranda, the sun
coming up, coffee in hand to fresh country air. This is the life...my
life...this is what I want. And with that she turned looked at Amber and said.
"I'll buy it". Her mind was made up.

      The next day
Emma met Amber at the office signed all the papers and the deal was
done...Amber handed her the keys to the ranch. Emma raced home and started to
make some calls. She had a month till the lease was up in the condo and there
was still so much to do. She had already given her notice at the paper, a place
she could truly say she would never miss. She had to pack and still decide on
what she needed to start repairing the ranch. She walked in the door, threw her
keys on the table and went to check the answering machine. She heard Amber 's
voice and suddenly got nervous thinking something fell through and she did not
get the ranch after all. But all Amber was calling about was to give Emma the
number for Nina, in case she wanted to get in touch with her about fixing up
the ranch....No other messages.

      Emma walked
down the hall to her bedroom. As she stood in the shower, she thought about
calling Nina to find out exactly what needed to be done first. Nina seemed like
a nice woman. Very attractive from what Emma could recall. As she got dressed
and headed for the kitchen, Emma decided she would call Nina. She got the
number and dialled, on the fourth ring Emma was about to hang up when she heard
the hello...Wow Emma thought to herself "what a sexy voice". "Hi
Nina, it' Emma, Amber introduced us the other week." Now Nina remembered
who Emma was, as if she needed reminding. How could anyone forget Emma. She was
tall, about 5' 7", nice build, blonde hair, curly in that wild kind of fly
away look, and the bluest eyes Nina had ever seen. "Emma gave me your
number, to ask advice on the ranch. Well I know that I need to go out and get
some things and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind coming to the ranch with
me tomorrow to take another look around. Maybe decide what needs done right
away."

     Nina knew she had
an appointment on Saturday to go and look at this new site..but she did not
want to miss the chance to see Emma. "Sure, sounds great to me." Nina
would send one of her partners to go for her. It was no big deal.

     "Great,"
said Emma," I will pack a lunch and meet you there."

     Nina hung up the
phone and sat thinking. Emma was a beautiful woman and she sure didn't want to
just jump into something as she had so many times before. She was getting older
and the thought of having someone to share things with was something Nina had
been longing for more than ever these days....maybe I'm getting old, she thought
to herself.

      Saturday
dawned and Nina hopped into her truck to head to the ranch house. She got there
before Emma did, so she had a few minutes to check things out. The house was
built strong. It definitely needed some work because it had stood unused for
such a long time but it had great possibilities. She walked to the outskirts of
the mowed property and noticed some wild roses growing there. She picked a few
red ones, and a yellow one because, at heart, she was a hopeless
romantic--always wanting to be the "white knight". As she walked back
towards the front of the house she heard the sound of Emma's car coming down
the driveway.

      "Hey
Emma" Nina called as Emma got out of the car. Nina was again struck by
Emma's appearance, as she looked gorgeous in a cute, simple sun dress. Nina
held out the flowers with a slight blush, "Here you go...beautiful flowers
for a beautiful girl" Emma looked surprised but happy as she brought them
to her face to smell the wonderful fragrance that only roses can bring. They
stood for a few minutes, Nina looking at Emma and Emma taking in Nina's
appearance...5'5" kind of slim build, brownish hair with just a hint of
some red, blue eyes that sparkled when she laughed and a dimple that showed
itself when she smiled. She stood in blue jean cut-offs, T-shirt with a flannel
tied carelessly around her hips, and her work boots...quite a sight.....and she
gave me roses Emma mused to herself....

      So deep in
thought was Emma that Nina had to say her name twice to break into her
thoughts..."Um, Emma? Emma, hey, are you ok?"

     "Oh yes, just
fine...just thinking." Nina said

     "Well would
you like to get started with the place and give me some idea of what you are
looking for"

     Emma replied
"Sure let's go." She unlocked the door and they both walked into the
empty place. As they stood in the foyer they looked toward the living room.
They took the three steps down into a somewhat sunken living room. It was big,
with a huge fireplace as a focal point. Some glass doors led out onto the
veranda on one side and on the other side, three steps led to the dining room.
It had a built in china cabinet, and it was obvious that it was hand built from
someone who loved this place. On through another door to the kitchen. This was
big with a separate pantry lined with shelves, a mini vegetable cellar, and
another little nook that looked as if it was made for storing wines....so much
for being "average" ranch folks that had lived here. There was a
small bedroom off of the kitchen as well as a bathroom. Doors again led to the
outside to the wide wrap around veranda that completely circled the place. A
set of steps off of the kitchen led upstairs to the end of the hallway. As they
walked back through to the living room Emma made comments on possible things
she would like done and Nina jotted them down in the notebook she had brought.
As they climbed the wide stairs to the upstairs Nina was treated to the sexy
image of Emma ascending the stairs in front of her which again led her thoughts
in other directions than being the construction consultant for this woman.

     She quickly
snapped back to the present as Emma spoke to her. The master bedroom was big
and also had its own fireplace and bathroom. There were several possible for
improvement and Nina pitched the idea to Emma. "What would you think of a
huge skylight? It would add lots of light during the day and it is really
beautiful at night. The bathroom also needs a bit of work. It is big enough to
have a large shower-a walk in one, plus a garden tub and you would still have
lots of room...what do you think?"

     Emma was struck by
the idea and that Nina had very good suggestions. "Wow, that sounds great.
Can you do things like that?"

     Nina replied with
a laugh, "Of course I can, I am a builder."

      They moved
though the rest of the upstairs and Nina wrote down more of Emma's ideas. They
walked back down and out the door, standing and enjoying the warm breeze
floating around them.

     "Do you want
to look around back?" Emma asked.

     "Why sure,
that is why we are here, to figure out what you want to do with the
place." As they walked around they noted that the backyard was nice and
fairly large. Two shady trees were close, "perfect to hang a large hammock"
mused Nina and Emma looked surprised and said "I was thinking that same
thing" causing them both to laugh. The back deck needed work. Emma said
she wanted a place big enough to grill and maybe a hot tub if it could be
managed. The "tour" of the place ended up in the small one car garage
that also looked like it needed a bit of fixing up. Emma watched as Nina
checked things out jotting down notes, figures, and diagrams.

     "Hey I'm
starving, what about you?" Nina was saying, breaking Emma out of her
thoughts.

     "Yes, I am too.
Let's eat on the front porch."

      "Sounds
great! I will go and get the basket" Nina said and Emma was struck with
how thoughtful Nina was. Nina grabbed the basket and an old blanket from her
truck and met Emma on the porch. "thought we could use this so you don't
get your dress all messed up...it's probably the only thing that isn't dirty in
that ole truck "she said jokingly. "Do you need help?"

      Emma said,
"No I will do it, sit and relax." Nina sat and watched as Emma bent
to start removing the lunch. Her blond hair was tied back and was gently
ruffled by the breeze, her arms nice and firm as she lifted things from the
basket, the neckline of her dress dipped as she moved, showing just a hint of
the tops of her breasts. The swell of her hips as she stretched and the outline
of her nice tight ass as she reached for something just beyond her reach. Nina
was getting a butterfly feeling in her belly and knew this was just not how she
was going to do it this time...she jumped up and told Emma she would be right
back, she was just going to check out the pipes and electrical stuff while she
finished getting lunch ready. Emma looked somewhat perplexed at Nina's sudden
burst of activity. She had been very aware of Nina watching her and was
wondering now if maybe she had been wrong about Nina. Emma had thought Nina was
attracted to her but maybe she was wrong, maybe Ninawasn't, maybe she wasn't
even single. After all, she wasn't sure that this was the woman that Amber had
been wanting to fix her up with....

      As soon as
Nina got out of earshot she began talking to herself in earnest."What am I
getting myself into here?" she wondered aloud. She checked out the pipes
and the wiring and had gained her composure by the time she rejoined Emma on
the porch.

     "I thought
maybe you got lost down there, "laughed Emma."What does it look
like?"

     "Well it
looks as if you can move in as is. Most of the things you want done are for
improvements, but the place is in good enough shape for you to move in and work
on stuff a bit at a time."

      "Well
that sounds just great" said Emma. "Will you be able to do the work
that needs done? I know this is probably a very small job compared to what you
normally do, but I really would like you to do it if you can."

     "Right now we
are so backed up, but if you wouldn't mind if I worked on it in the evenings
and weekends, I think I can make time to do it."

     "Oh no that
would be fine. Just work when you have the time."

     With that part of
the conversation completed they were free to enjoy the food and the company.
Time moved by so swiftly that Nina looked at her watch, surprised at how much
time they had spent there."We better get this cleaned up and get
moving" she said reluctantly. They cleaned the remains of the lunch up and
walked back to the vehicles. They parted with the agreement that Emma would
call Nina once she had moved and was ready for the renovations to begin.