Weston Ranch, Fisher's Story Read online

  Claire pulled into Fisher’s driveway a little after six in the evening, and shook him awake. She kissed an unhappy Fisher goodbye and made her way home. She was excited to be home. She tossed her overnight bag on her bed and went to find her sisters to tell them that she was home. First thing in the morning, she was calling the bank, and maybe she could make an offer for the land. The place was a good start. The town and people were polite and truly welcoming. She spoke to Maddie earlier on the way home, and she seemed thrilled. Lexie was M.I.A. The only person that didn’t seem happy was Fisher.

  Her adrenaline was cursing though her body. She couldn’t settle down just yet. So, she focused her attention on writing out a business plan for the bank. She worked for two hours before yawning. She stood up and stretched. It was time to eat a quick dinner, take a long bath and head for bed. Tomorrow looked to be a long day.

  Fisher’s body ached. The long car ride, sleeping in a cramped position wrecked his body physically. He was up bright and early to work the fields. First he checked on Bree and the rest of the animals before meeting up with Asher a few hours later.

  The weekend was a total bust. He had a distinct feeling Claire loved what she saw and was going for it, regardless of what anyone else thought. She wasn’t dissuaded by what she saw like he was. He needed talk to her as soon as he was done for the day.

  “Where the hell are you at?” Asher cursed at him after he almost ran over a baby calf. He wasn’t with it today, his mind on Claire and her situation.

  “I’m taking off, you okay to take over,” he asked, steering his horse towards the barn.

  “Work out whatever the fuck is bothering you before you hurt someone by not paying attention,” Asher snapped, leading the calf away from him.

  Fisher didn’t bother to reply, just went home, his mind going over possibilities. Damn it, he loved Claire. There, he admitted it. They grew up together; he went through two years of hell when she dated Asher. He would be damned if he lost again, for a second time. This was their second chance. It was time he got his shit together. Six years too late, but he was ready now.

  He stalked into his home office and called his parents to come in. He wouldn’t be able to get anything done knowing Claire was leaving, so he would make her stay. He would give what she wanted if she stayed. That decision being made, he needed to sort some things out legally and rearrange things, starting with his parents.

  “You called us over, what’s going on son?” His mother asked.

  “Me and pa talked, and I decided to take his advice,” Fisher informed her. He watched his mother give his father a searching look.

  “I made plans to deed you guys the lot beyond the creek, on the east side. The construction starts here in a few weeks for the house I was going to build for you. It was to be your retirement,” he answered his mother’s unspoken question.

  “Fisher, you didn’t have to do that,” his mom sighed, while his dad chuckled.

  “He didn’t, let the boy finish speaking, I bet you will like what he has in mind better,” he told her, taking ahold of her hand.

  Fisher felt the silly grin taking over his face at what he was about to bestow on his mom, his father probably already guessed what he was about to do and approved, which made his decision easier.

  “I deeded you guys this house back instead. Mind you, I will still oversee the ranch and management, but the house and surrounding five acres are yours. I am going to sell Claire the land up by the creek, live up there with her and work on making you grand babies at the same time,” he watched his mother’s face light up with joy.

  “What about New York and your software company?” His father asked, concerned.

  Fisher already thought of that. He could easily handle his business from home. The art of delegation was priceless. His team already proved that they could handle things. He could oversee and occasionally fly to New York once a month.

  “I’ll work from home. I have an impressive team, and if it gets too much, I’ll sell,” he answered his father.

  “Finally, I was beginning to lose faith in you two. Grand babies! Oh my, Oh my,” his mother sputtered on, making him and his dad chuckled. Fisher watched his parents exit his office to go make plans for the future first grandchild. He didn’t have the heart to tell his mom that it would be at least a couple years before he was ready to take that step. First, he had to convince Claire to give him a chance.

  Fisher changed out of his dirty clothes, threw on some shorts and a shirt. He called Claire’s phone, cursed when it went to voicemail. He looked out his living room window towards her house. Her truck wasn’t there. Glancing at the clock, it was two p.m. Where is she? He called Lexie’s phone, hoping at least one of her sister’s know where he could find his prey.

  “Hey Fisher, what’s up?” Lexie said right away as she answered.

  “Where is Claire? I need to speak to her,” he said hurriedly.

  “Maddie told me that Claire had an appointment with the bank about a loan. I do know that she spoke to Asher about selling him some of her share of our land to make the down payment she might need,” Lexie said.

  “Asher is doing what?” Fisher asked outraged. He just spent the morning with him, and he didn’t say one word about possibly buying any land. Yes, he had the money to do so, so did Fisher. If anyone was buying her land, it would be him.

  “I’m upset too. Claire needs to have a fallback plan, and that land was her inheritance,” Lexie said.

  “I’ll handle it. I’ll call you later, okay?” Fisher hung up after assuring Lexie that he would handle it, and he would handle it indeed. He tried calling Asher’s phone with no luck. He grabbed his keys, jumped in his truck and drove to the local bank in town. Sure enough, he found her truck parallel parked. He parked right behind her, close enough to her bumper that she wouldn’t be able to escape unless the car parked in front of her moved.

  He strolled into the bank, nodded at one of the tellers. He bypassed the counter in went to the only office in the small bank. He didn’t bother knocking.

  “Fisher? What are you doing here?” Claire asked after a moment of confusion. He could see hope in her eyes at seeing him. He looked over to Adam Bines, the loan counselor and then back to her.

  “You win. You don’t have to do this. I will sell you my land,” the words tumbled out of his mouth.

  “Don’t worry Fisher. Mr. Bines here denied me the loan request,” she said quietly, placing her hands in her lap.

  Fisher looked more closely at her. Her eyes held unshed tears, disappointment was written on her face.

  “Why was she denied?” He asked Adam, sitting down beside Claire, taking hold of her right hand.

  “There are many reasons. Mainly, she’s young. There is a massive financial risk with what she wants to do, while she has good credit, it isn’t enough, and finally the land isn’t worth the amount she is asking for,” he said, checking off something on the papers in front of him.

  “What if she had land available, but she just needed a business loan for the camp?” Fisher asked.

  “Would the land be used as collateral?”

  “Yes,”

  “I would have to work some numbers and depending on the amount of the loan, we might be able to help. Do you want to me to redo the loan as a business one?” Mr. Bines asked Claire.

  Fisher matched Claire’s stare and nodded to Adam to go ahead with a new application.

  “Can you call Claire when you are done? I would like to take her someplace and talk,” Fisher asked him. Claire remained frozen.

  “Sure. This will take a few hours. Let’s set an appointment for tomorrow. I will call her here in an hour to gather more information. Okay?” Mr. Bines asked politely.

  Fisher escorted a frozen Claire out of the bank and bundled her up inside his truck. He took her home to his house, thankful that parents were gone for the moment.

  “I was denied,” Claire repeated, dropping on the sofa. Fisher kneeled down in front of her, r
ubbing her hands in his.

  “I’ll fix this for you. Take my land. I’ll lend you money if you need it. Everything will be okay sweet heart,” he murmured to her.

  “Why,”

  “I waited for six years for you. I was a fool to let you leave the first time. I’m not about to let you go again. Spending last weekend with you made me realize what I would be giving up. I am not letting you go,” he said.

  Fisher undressed her and eased her back onto the bed. Blissfully naked, his cock jumped to attention. He spread her legs and nestled himself in front of her glistening pussy. He started stroking her clit with his rough fingers, while he used his tongue to zigzag inside her pussy. He clamped down on her hips as she tried to squirm away. She exploded on his mouth, screaming out her pleasure.

  “Turn over, on all fours,” he swatted her ass as she eagerly complied. He freed his erection, pulled his pants down out of his way and entered her from behind. She was dripping wet and so tight. He put his hand in the center of her back and pushed her down so that her pert ass was sticking up in the air. He groaned as he pumped into her faster, holding her sides as he slammed his cock inside over and over. Her fingers digging in the comforter on the bed, she was begging him to allow her to come. He reached around and rubber her clit as he fucked her faster.

  She met his heated gaze over her shoulder, her heavy lidded eyes and red cheeks causing him to go over the edge. They slumped down on the bed as they came together. What felt like hours, which was probably only a few minutes in reality. He pulled out of her and went to clean himself up, only to come back and find Claire snuggled under the covers, fast asleep.

  He left her sleeping peacefully. This felt right. It was absolutely the right decision. He called the bank and spoke in detail to Adam about his land, the appraisal that he already had done for the new house and the assurance of his own money if Claire needed it. He hung up the phone, positive Claire would receive good news in the morning. He went back and climbed into bed, cuddled her close and fell asleep.

  Chapter Ten

  Claire held Fisher’s hand tight as they made their way into the office at the bank, at eight the next morning. Her thoughts were running in every direction. Fisher assured her before they left that everything would work out. She wanted to believe him. She was naive to have believed her business plan would convince the bank to lend to her. Now, she was to get Fisher’s land and not land in Arkansas. Everything was happening too fast for her.

  “Miss Hicks, Mr. Weston. Please sit,” Mr. Bines invited with a smile on his face. Claire breathed a sigh of relief. His manner was encouraging, that and he had a stack of paperwork waiting on his desk.

  “Good news Miss. Claire. We are going to approve the loan for the Special Needs facility and camp, providing the zoning is approved and Mr. Weston co-signs,” he smiled.

  “Mr. Weston co-sign?” Claire asked questioningly at both men.

  “I assured Mr. Bines that I would co-sign on the loan. It was the only way they were willing to do it,” he told her.

  “You knew and didn’t tell me?”

  “Claire, please. We will talk about this later, after the loan process is finished. I didn’t do it for you. I have my own selfish reasons,” Fisher gave her a crooked grin and a fast peck on the lips before turning to Mr. Bines.

  “Let’s get everything ready and signed,” he told the loan counselor. It took an hour to get through everything. The purchase agreement, terms and conditions, transfer of deeds and signing endless papers for both of them, but it was done and over with. Claire was staying home. That in itself was an enormous burden off her shoulders.

  “We need to have a serious talk,” Claire glared at Fisher standing on the sidewalk outside the bank.

  “I’ll follow you home, we can talk at your place,” Fisher said.

  She clamored into her truck and drove home, Fisher right behind her the whole way. She called both of her sisters, and they would be there. She needed to tell them how everything went anyway. She called Asher to see if he was still interested in buying her share of the land. She didn’t want to have this loan with Fisher’s name hanging over her head longer than necessary. He would meet her at the house. She didn’t tell him about Fisher’s involvement with the loan. They still thought she was leaving for Arkansas.

  “Congrats on the loan,” Asher said, greeting her as her and Fisher stepped inside. Maddie and Lexie were both home at the same time for once.

  “When are you moving? Not too soon I hope,” Maddie said as she hugged her.

  “I’m not moving. I’m staying here actually. Let’s sit in the living room, and we will explain everything,” Claire told everyone, grasping Fisher’s arm, she propelled him and the rest to the living room. She sat down, pulling Fisher down beside her. Maddie sat in the lazy boy recliner. Lexie and Asher sat on the love seat. It seemed that they worked something out. They seemed happy, at least for now.

  “Fisher’s allowing me to use his land,” she told the group.

  “He sold his land to you?” Asher asked, surprised.

  “No, he is allowing me to use it for the camp. The loan is a business loan to get the camp started. He co-signed for me. It was the only way for to get the loan,” she answered.

  “Wow, that was very generous,” Lexie exclaimed.

  “There is still a lot of work to do. I have so much to get together, people to get in touch with. Now I feel as if I am in over my head. I was going to ask you two for help,” she said towards her sisters. “Are you still interested in my share of our land?” She directed this to Asher.

  “No. If anyone buys your land, it will be me and I’ll no arguments,” Fisher declared before Asher could answer.

  Asher didn’t say anything, just shrugged his shoulders. “Is there anything else I can help with?” He asked.

  “I will take of most of it. Claire needs to get together the proper people that will be employed, and we have to take this to the village council and get it approved. Then we will seek help if we need it,” Fisher answered before Claire had a chance too. She frowned at his tone. It was like he was taking over and leaving her the small stuff. Her frustration lever grew as she sat there, listening to Fisher making plans with her sisters about her own camp.

  “Since you know what I want. I’ll let you handle everything,” Claire snapped at Fisher and left the room. She needed to do something productive, or else she would go crazy. She changed out of her dressier clothes and into some jeans and a tee shirt. She snuck out of the house amidst the arguing in the living room.

  Fisher cursed as he watched Claire leave the room. He stood up to go after her, but Asher stopped him.

  “What the hell is going on? Since when are we allowing someone to use our land? At least sell it to her so we can put it back into the ranch,” Asher snapped.

  “I bought the ranch to keep it in the family. I can do whatever the hell I want with it. Don’t worry about something you know nothing about!”

  Fisher left the twin sisters gaping at him and went to find Claire, cursing when he found that she left at some point of his arguing with his brother. He went home, hoping she would show up, even if it were to yell at him. He didn’t have to wait long. She showed up an hour later, loaded with grocery bags. He met her at the door and tried to help her, but she had other plans.

  “You’re making me dinner and then you are going to explain yourself,” she said, shoving everything into his chest.

  “Does this mean I am forgiven,” he voice laced with charm.

  “Do you know what you did wrong?”

  “Nope, just know you’re mad as hell about something,”

  “I am mad because you are taking over everything. Just because your name is on the loan, gives you no right to make my decisions and do whatever you want,” she said.

  Fisher dropped the bags on the counter and took her in his arms. “I’m sorry. I promise not to take over,” he said as he kissed her. She remained rigid in his arms.

  He lift
ed her up, sat her on the counter and stepped in between her thighs.

  “Please forgive me,” he kissed her and when she melted into him, he realized he had gained her forgiveness. He ran his hands up under her shirt, kissing her neck as his fingers found her nipples. Her heavy breathing was turning him on. Jesus, but he loved her so fucking much.

  A cough drew him away from her. He turned around, standing in front of Claire, providing her with some privacy. He faced his father’s knowing grin and his mother’s fierce frown.

  “I raised you better than that,” his mother said tersely.

  “I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Weston,” Claire said, climbing down from the counter. He shushed her and turned his attention back to his parents.

  “Wash off my counters and get a room,” his mother’s frown eased into a smile, her eyes glowed with laughter. He lips kicked up in a grin.

  “We are leaving for a camping trip, just wanted to pop in and say goodbye to you boys,” his father explained. Fisher nodded, said a few more words to his parents and wished them well on their trip. Jesus, he hadn’t been caught in the act since making out with his cousin’s girlfriend in middle school. He turned around and fixed his gaze on a properly put back together and flustered woman.

  “That was very embarrassing,” she laughed.

  “When we have our own house, we won’t have to worry about parents and sisters interrupting, just the kids” he said. He studied Claire’s reaction to his revealing statement.

  Claire took a deep breath. Did he just mean what I think he means? She thought to herself. She turned away from his piercing glare and started unloading her groceries. She knew she couldn’t ignore the comment forever.

  “Claire, you must know by now that I love you,” he whispered softly in her ear.

  Well, she certainly couldn’t ignore that. “Why do you love me? I haven’t been home in six years. These past two weeks have been great, but where do we go from here?” She finally asked.