The Ranch Read Online Free Page A

phone did not sink in
to her consciousness. It had rung several times, stopped and started ringing
again before Emma surfaced from where they had been to hear it."Baby, your
phone is ringing, "Emma said sweetly.
         "The hell
with the phone..we are busy "growled Nina.
         Although Emma
wanted to agree and just let it go, the persistence caused her to worry just a
little...."maybe it is something really important...maybe you better
answer it."
         Nina growled low
in her throat and grabbed the phone and said in a threatening
voice...."this better be damn important!"
         Her foreman, Rick,
was quite taken aback as he had never heard the boss sound like
that..".wonder what I interrupted", he thought to himself as he
dreaded even having this conversation with her. Emma, propped up on one elbow,
rubbing Nina's back while she was on the phone, could of course, only hear one
side of the conversation, and it wasn't sounding good! Nina was saying,
"All right, I will be there as soon as I can"...hanging up the phone
and tossing it in disgust.
         "What's
wrong?"Emma asked expectantly.
         "We are doing
a job away from here...a big job...worth almost a half million dollars...it is
the biggest job I have ever negotiated...Rick is my foreman. He is a good guy,
fresh out of engineering school, has great designs, he just hasn't had the
real-life experience and he is running into big problems. If we get this job
done under budget and on time we will get a big bonus and have the opportunity
to do more business with this development company. I need to go out there and
get things straightened out."
         "You mean
right now?"Emma said.
         Nina looked
dejectedly over and said, "they have a plane waiting for me, they have
been trying to get mefor a few hours."
         Tears sprang to
Emma's eyes as she said quietly, "how long will you be gone?"
         Nina tenderly
wiped a tear from Emma's cheek..."it may be a while. Baby, I am so
sorry...sorry to leave right now, like this, believe me when I say it isn't
what I want."
         Emma tried to be
brave, saying, "I will be OK. You better get ready."
         Nina slowly got up
and started throwing her stuff in the bag and getting into her clothes. Emma,
dressed in her robe, walked her to the door....Nina turned to her and hugged
her tightly, as if trying to draw her essence into her own skin."I know I
can't ask you to wait for me...I know you have your own life to live but I
promise I will make it up to you when I get back, if you will let me?"
         This caused a
fresh crop of tears to begin and Emma said, "I'll be here...come back to
me,eh?"
         "You can
count on it baby" Nina said, trying to swallow the lump that was
threatening to cut her breathe off. With one last longing kiss, Nina bounded
off of the porch and into her truck and was gone....
         Emma felt such a
feeling of emptiness...like she had happiness in her grasp and it was again
taken from her. She watched TV and drank too much wine and managed to drift
into a restless sleep. The next day she just meandered around the house, her
thoughts returning again and again to Nina....
         Monday dawned
sunny and bright. She had just had her first cup of coffee when she heard the
sound of vehicles coming down the drive. Wondering who in the world it could
be, she looked out the window to see a few of Nina's company trucks pull to a
stop and a young guy come to the door.
         She opened the
door and he introduced himself as Greg, Nina's crew boss. He said he got orders
to be here first thing Monday morning and to make all the repairs that she had
discussed with Nina. Emma replied, "I'm not sure I have the money to do
all I wanted to do at one time."
         Greg replied,
"the boss says she will discuss the fee when she gets back." This
caused Emma to chuckle and kind of turn a slight pink, thinking of what kind of
fee Nina might charge....Greg wondered at the way