If this wasn't pure bliss then Everest didn't know what it was. Lounging in a cold and calm lake on a cool night, all alone and with nothing to disturb you.
Despite the frigid cold in the air, the pale white full moon shone down in all its glory. Its multiple bursts of reflections on the repose lake shimmered and sparkled like a thousand white jewels on the sleeping water.Although it was yet to rain for the season, the fresh, earthy scent that came with rain permeated the air like an air freshener. Everest could see the bright, translucent beads of moisture that the early late-night dew had formed on the blades of grass about the lake.Daring to explore beyond her backyard had been worth it after all. The landlady hadn't mentioned anything about a lake being on her property, so when she had found it in all of its restful glory, she had been astonished.It turned out the picturesque prairie that stretched on at the back of her house had an ending after all. She had just finished her steak and kidney pie for dinner and had retired to the Adirondack chairs on the back deck when she had got wondering. The way the green expanse of land stretched out and disappeared behind weeping trees in the distance intrigued her. She had wondered where it all led to and had finally given in to her curiosity and followed the grassland far out behind the thick copse of trees.She had just been about to give up the quest, seeing that the grass seemed to have no end when a bright reflection of the moon caught her eye down below. Then she had discovered that the downward plunge in the grassy plains had not been more prairie after all, but a landlocked body of water.Far out down the lake, more thick sets of overhanging trees drooped over the lake, shadowing the end and source of the landlocked area.She couldn't believe all that wide stretch of cool water was hers. Tall, forest trees on her right side blocked out everything else to the right. Besides, hers was the last house on the street, what sprawled on was woods and then vegetation. And the abandoned house on her left seemed lost in the distance. She was absolutely, totally private.Then giddy and feeling weirdly crazy for the moment, she had run back to her back deck to strip and skipped back to the lake, with the splendid moon licking her butt-nakedness aglow. This was her only chance to do crazy things as such, she was never going to be able to do something like that in the congested city.Here was also a good place to come think deeply, she mused as she waded lightly in the water towards the overhanging trees. She didn't go too close though, there the waters ran deeper and also, the canopy created by the trees shaded that part of the lake from the moon wash and Everest was ever wary of what might lay beyond her sight there. It could be a semi-aquatic animal living in the blanket of trees, or a family of creatures nestling in the deeps.She sighed out in pure pleasure and stopped wading. Stretching her lips in a contented smile, she lay her head back in the water, pushed her chest to the surface and let her legs dangle freely in the water. It was as though she were aiming to levitate toward the moon.She aspirated another sigh. I could definitely get used to this.Basking in the coolness of the air and water whenever she wanted, letting the wash of the moon glow cascade over her being, listening to the orchestra of nocturnal insects alternately harmonize and terminate. Two words - Pure. Bliss.She smiled and shut her eyes to draw in freshly scented air. I definitely can.All of a sudden, a plunking sound disturbed her inertia. Greatly alarmed, she sought the source of disturbance in the water. She squinted and frowned. She could clearly see a wide ripple breaking out from a point near the shore, it looked like something had dropped in there. Something heavy from the sound of it.And then it emerged from beneath the water like a banished sea god finally coming out of exile. Everest choked on a gasp. Someone, not something.The person had their head turned away from her vantage point and she could only make out the fair-haired head and the beginnings of muscled shoulders. It was a man.Distraught with fear that slowly trickled into her chest, her heart started an unruly hammer beneath her breasts. How the fuck was she supposed to get out of this now? Wasn't the lake supposed to be private? It was mostly on her rented property, after all!The person dunked their head again and when he came back up, his hair hung down heavily from his head and he shook his head vigorously from side to side like a wet dog to get rid of the soak. She could hear the person sigh out in pleasure and she was almost smiling at that mutual feeling when the guy's body rose further out of the water. His face was now somewhat turned towards her and she could see his tanned and well-toned upper torso glistening in the splendour of the moon.His hair still hung heavy in his face and Everest was pretty sure the intruding stranger had to be from the ranch house or something. When the said guy raised a thickly biceped hand to brush his hair out of his face, Everest just couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped quickly enough.It was that scary, rude head rancher from earlier. What the. . .?Everest wanted to find a hole in the water to bury herself in. Now she was in a deep fix.How the heck could she get out of the water with him all out there at the bank? And she was naked.Shit.For fuck's sake, why had she not brought her clothes with her? If he had seen them on the bank, he'd have known someone was in the water. Being near the shade of trees, he had to not have seen her.The guy appeared to have heard her gasp. He paused from rubbing water down his thick arms to look about and frown. But because she was shaded from the light of the moon, he couldn't see her. Also, he hadn't really looked towards there.An acidic mix of mortification bled through her sharply at the situation she was in. It made her body tingle to the curly bases of her scalp. She wanted to stay rooted to the spot and wait him out, but she knew that was equally a bad idea. She was bound to see things private, or worse.Deciding speaking up was the best option, she swam a bit closer, close enough for him to see her silhouette - or not - and far enough so he couldn't see her nakedness in the somewhat clear water.She cleared her throat, startling the already wary rancher. "I didn't realize this lake wasn't private."She watched as recognition slowly sank into the guy's features as he realized who she must be. It was an oddly satisfying thing to observe as his chiselled cheeks suffused with bright red colour in the moon bath - knowing she wasn't the only one embarrassed.Yet, she was the one to be more embarrassed (horrified, more like) when the rancher dashed out of the water. She gasped at his bare buttocks and her heart palpitated faster in her chest.Could she possibly unsee what she just saw, however attractive it might have looked?She slipped her gaze away as he slid on his pants, his bare back to her all the while. The images and thoughts that projected in her mind at the view made parts of her clench and her blood climb higher on her face. Where had the wantonness come from?She looked back at him when he started to apologise, relieved to see that he was now appropriately covered. Although the view of him standing there bare-chested, all husky muscles, hard uplifted pecs and firm abs with the moonlight cast on his handsome face, was something that made her heart continue its lewd race."I swear, I didn't see you in the lake," he was saying, his voice coloured with embarrassment. "I'm sorry I disturbed your calm."Everest had started to nod when another alarming thought hit her. This time, it wasn't wantonness that put her heart in a marathon. She was suddenly overcome with the thought of the calm lake. And how clear it was.He might not have been able to see her well from his point of view in the water, but standing above her there on the bank, in the moon-kissed night, he could probably see the tip of her painted toes in the water.She gulped and tried to coil into herself. She mentally willed him to disappear as soon as possible. Where had he even come through?When she snuck a glance at him, she could see he was looking anywhere but in her direction. Her stomach lost its bottom. He definitely had to have seen her.Fuck.To her further discomfiture and chagrin, he did not leave. He just stood there rooted to the spot, squirming and obviously embarrassed.Then he bent to pick up his button-down shirt and started to put it on. Everest was even more aware of him in the flood of the moonlight. It was strangely stirring how the flimsy material of the white shirt plastered to his wet torso like another skin as he did the buttons. It perfectly showed off the sectioned, flat planes of his taut tummy and the mound of his hard pectoral muscles. It was crazy toey how she could almost see the signs of a slight bulge in his pants, no doubt from seeing her on the water and it was frigging weird that her eyes had strayed there in the first place.The guy then cleared his throat and Everest could practically hear him swallow. "Um, and I'm. . . I'm really sorry about being harsh earlier," he said. He still had his gaze caught on everything else except her. "And thanks, for bringing back my daughter's toy set.""It's no problem, really."Now more mortified for him than for herself, she madly wished him to leave. So she could get out of the sudden cold water before she died from embarrassment.He looked conflicted between saying a bit more in explanation and bolting.She now practically prayed he'd do the latter. Her body was stewing hot from embarrassment in the frigid water. The thought that he might have seen her still sat ill with her. Her hair mostly looked like a lion's mane, fresh out of water."Uh, I usually come here at night to unwind, that's why. . ." he trailed off and slicked his wet hair back from his face, wiping the other hand over his mouth. He looked a bit worried. "Um, and yes, the lake belongs to you mostly, per se."When the embarrassed woman in the water remained silent, he murmured his apologies and might have bid her good night before turning on his heels and hurrying back in the direction of the back of the abandoned house.Long after he had disappeared, Everest let out a shaky breath and cupped a handful of the cold water to wipe over her face. Still a bit disoriented, she walked out of the lake and scooted in the direction of her house.The next two days were pretty uneventful for Everest. She spent time setting up her small rented house properly and of course, keeping up with her friends online.She had been wanting to go into town to check out stuff but had been putting it off to enjoy a few days of quiet she had come here for. Opening the pantry and finding it full of all of a bag of chips and pretty much nothing else had done it for her. She had had no choice but to go into town today.She walked down the piazza and broke into a small laugh on seeing the bustle before her.Finally! It seemed like she had found her way to the market successfully. She dropped into the nearest canopied seat at an open shop to the side and stuffed the map back into her tote bag to wipe the film of perspiration from her hot brow, breathing heavily. The real reason she had been postponing going into town was the absence of transportation. The distance from her side of the town to the umbra was a huge fucking stretch that couldn't be
Mentor Gayle Calloway had never found himself so worked up like this before. Well, at least, not in the past four years. The most he had done was get angry at some occurrence on the ranch or get worried.But the way his heart palpitated so fast like the workings of a water turbine, and the way the thing called fear clutched his whole being in a vice-like grip, it all sprung a new one on him.And that it was all happening because of his new neighbour was something that scared him the most. Akin to the emotions of a prepubescent school boy getting a first glance from his crush.When the subject of his unwonted feelings smiled his way, Mentor could have sworn his heart had done a rolling somersault in his chest of its own accord. Was it because of the way that elegant smile showed the slight dimple on her left cheek and lit up the room? Or the way that same glow of a smile seemed to affect all the males around her, dazzling them into a frozen audience?"Hi," she said softly. He struggle
It was early morning, maybe a bit past six. Filmy blankets of mist still wandered in the low sky, shrouding everything down below it in damp layers of cold. Everest wrapped her white terry robe tighter around her body and shut the curtain. Then she turned away from the window and leaned against the wall beside it.She covered a yawn and eyed the four-poster bed. Going back to sleep would be a good thing right now, but she had made up her mind to start working today. Her days of lazying about were over.After that trip to the market a few days ago, she had barely stepped out of the house. With the gardening equipment she had found in a metal box in the barn, she had worked on her front garden, discovering her very green fingers. Then she had been to the big bookshop cum library in town just yesterday afternoon. Bored and having all day on her hands, she had wandered her front yard as though looking over her garden when Mrs Casss's rusty old truck Lassie pulled up at her front gate.Th
A normal day at Calloway Cattle Ranch involved nomadic cowhands and ranch hands herding the cows out to new pastures all day, workers that operated the dairy and those that were in charge of animal care and the likes. Most of the ranch hands slept in the ranch bunkhouse, a gentrified redbrick building that sat further up the hillMentor walked towards the large stable, having handed off his daughter to a trusted worker who was wager to give her a tour. The stable held a total of thirty-four stalls and twenty-nine horses, with seventeen lined on either side of the wide longitudinal walk path.The smell of juniper and steed enveloped the air as he entered through the main front door.He could hear some whistling ranch hands busy in the empty stables with spades and iron pans and he remembered the stables were supposed to be mucked today."Nice morning, boss," they greeted him.He returned their greeting and nodded."Where's Pinky?" he asked a guy carrying a filled pail beside him."He's
It was afternoon before Everest knew it. She had spent all day on her laptop sketching and then working on the foundation of two houses. Now the inertia had worked a kink into her shoulder.She pushed to her feet from the desk and massaged her shoulder blades, working her neck from side to side. She closed her laptop to put it to sleep and walked toward the dressing table.She bent to inspect her fatigued face in the mirror. Her black curls were packed into a puffy bun on the top of her head, and now perspiration clung to her hairline.She stood and examined her pink dress shirt and tight black leather shorts. Maybe she could go out.The sheet of perspiration in her hairline trickled down her right temple. A cold shower should probably be in order first. Everest had started toeing off her sneakers when she remembered the lake and how it'd be a perfect place to have a cold afternoon bath. Besides, the shower was likely to be too hot at this time of the day anyway.While slipping off t
When Everest had made the offer to help the rancher's kid braid her hair someday she hadn't expected the girl to show up on her doorstep thirty-two minutes later with a toothy smile and a kvetching goat.She had been mixing cake batter and had just slid the last cupcake tray into the oven whether doorbell chimed.The little girl had changed out of her dress into a sky-blue spaghetti top and blue and pink jeans. She gripped a small box to her stomach and also tried to plead to the recalcitrant goat with the same hands."Mrs Rosenthal said I could come," she explained with a smile."Come in." Everest opened the door wide and let the girl walk in. She cast a glance at the goat and hoped the headstrong creature wouldn't cause a nuisance in her house.She closed the door and turned to the girl. She wouldn't lie, she was excited. And nervous. She hadn't made someone's hair in a long while.The time she had been consistent with hair making had been when she was young and her kid brother youn
"Girl, you never said how long you'll be staying."Everest exhaled and shrugged, glancing over at Leesa. "I don't know yet. Maybe about a month or so. Maybe I'll be extending my rent when it expires."Khessica gasped. She swiped madly away at her overgrown jet-black bangs. "You're kidding," she declared. "Girls, don't just sit there and watch her make crazy decisions." Khessica glowered at the other four faces in the video call - including Everest's.Jinny was busy spooning large portions of green ice cream into her mouth. Her pregnancy had given her a strange craving for freezing cold and soft food. She set down the large striped tub with a roll of her eyes. "Our girl is being a bonafide cosmopolitan bitch," she said to Khessica. "I support you, woman," she said to Everest, picking up her ice cream again.Elise groaned. "Why do we have to argue about when Evie's returning?" She stabbed at her pink glasses and tsked. "No offence, babe, but you're as stubborn as a fucking mule. You don
Mentor was pleasantly surprised to meet his buddy Garth Mowman pulling up at his doorstep in his Toyota SUV, just as his own truck arrived home.Garth ran a goat farm near the other side of town where the rivers and hills were much more in abundance. He and the guy, who was almost two years his senior, had been friends since their teens and he had come to see Garth's family of four as his own too and vice versa.He was also Queen's godfather — he had gifted her the pesky goat kid as a birthday gift."Dude," Garth boomed, slapping his back as he stepped out of the truck. "It's nice to see you too, pal," he said in reply, pumping his hand and slapping him on the back too. "How's Helena and the kids?""They're all good. Helena extends her greetings too."The two friends walked up to the house and shed their outer clothing in the hallway. Mentor was especially glad to be rid of the cashmere sweater. When it had been so cold in the morning, he hadn't expected such a drastic turnaround in