Pleasure at its Lowest

Chapter:13

I sat in the living room with a pillow under my knee to prop it up as I sat in the recliner. Toby had been running around like a rooster with his head cut off. I heard a vehicle pull up as Toby went upstairs. A few seconds later the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Toby yelled after I was already up and making my way to the door.

As I got to it Toby was halfway to the door. I opened it making sure to keep the crutch in place. "Mason." I said as he hugged me. "Nice to see you Zoe." He said. "You too." I said. "When he released me I realized both crutches had fell. He kept his grip on me until I had both crutches securely holding me up. "How are you Mason?" Toby asked shaking his hand. "I'm good and you?" He asked.

"Been busy." Toby told him. "Need any extra help before the event this weekend?" He asked. "Yeah. With her out I've been looking for help. Her friends have been taking turns helping me around the ranch but the last ranch hand had to be let off so we're short handed completely." Toby said. I sighed still standing.

"Sis go sit." Toby told me. "I need to use my left leg so it won't go flabby on me and I'll need therapy on it too." I said. "You need to get off you leg." He said. "I need to get some fresh air." I told him. "Your such a pain." He said. "Thank you maybe a weekend without me will do you good." I said before going outside. After two months of a wheelchair I was finally allowed to use crutches.

I made my way to the stables and to Gizmo's stall. He was freaked out about the gun shot when it had went off. I pet him before grabbing his lead and taking him to the arena. He ran around like he really loved it. "Cooped up?" I looked behind me seeing Mason. "Yeah." I said. "I saw there were a few yearlings outside running around." He said.

"If I sold them it would go to horse feed and whatever the horses need." I said. "And there were some heifers that would make some rodeo bull breeders happy to have on stock." He said. "Knowing Toby he wouldn't give up any of his cattle." I said. "He would to save the ranch." He said. "Yeah and knowing him he'd try to swipe money from the horse account." I said.

"This is none of my business but I think it would benefit you if you moved from here to a ranch all your own." He said. "How and where?" I asked. "Now I know a cowboy who would love to buy and train a few of those yearlings. With their breeding they'll make excellent mounts. He'll pay you for their feed until their two. Then he'll by them from you. There is a ranch in Cassville seven minutes from Exeter that is for sale. It's got a hundred acres and the acreage can be sold separately depending on how many of your horses you want to keep." He said.

"So me and this guy could go into business and I could make money on breeding horses." I said. "Yes. And any help you need I'll be just a few minutes away." He said. "When home." I said. "Yeah. Which should be more than one day a week." He said.

"And what would he think?" I asked. "That he should let you be an adult even if he still sees a sixteen year old girl that is incapable of taking care of herself, because I see a twenty year old woman who could survive on her own without her brother holding her back." He said. I looked down at my boot.

"Zoe." I looked up at him. "How dependent are you on your brother?" He asked. "Not very." I said. "And how dependent is he to you?" He asked. "He usually needs me for money because he doesn't want to sell a head of his cattle." I said. "If you were to move off the ranch he'll need some way to make money. The cattle he can't use will go for big money if he finds the right buyer." He said.

"He babies me so much."  I said. "I'm not trying to get you to move to Missouri to be closer to me. I just thought it would be nice for you to..." I had to cut him off. His lips felt good on mine. His hands found my waist. I have no clue what made me kiss him. He tried to deepen it. I denied. He tried once again before breaking apart.

We both were trying to catch our breath. "I wouldn't mind you shutting me up like that again." He said. "I think getting off this ranch will do me some good." I said. "I'll help you move." He said. "If I'm going to move almost every horse I've got I'm going to need a semi or three huge trailers to move every horse." I said.

"I've got some buddies that have gooseneck trailers large enough for at least ten horses." He said. "Oh my parents left a twenty hauler behind for me. But I'll need a semi driver to operate a semi." I said. "How many horses do you have?" He asked. "I've got close thirty horses I use for the western pleasure camp then I've got twenty breeding mares." I said. "So almost fifty horses." He said. I nodded.

"Your probably going to need the hundred acres." He said. "Why don't you call that guy and ask him if he can come over to look at the yearlings. And if he likes what he sees he can help out by transporting them." I said. He pulled me closer to him. He was five inches taller. A good five inches. "I'll call him if you get a good night sleep and tell him what your offering." He said. "Then it's a deal." I said. "One more thing." He said. "And that is?" I asked.

"Would you kiss me again?" He asked. I grabbed his shirt collar kissing him again. This time letting him deepen it. "Oh is that why you dropped in?" We broke apart seeing Toby standing there.