A New Life

Aurora POV:

The first few days out of Michael’s office were the hardest. I couldn’t forget how I’d looked forward to every new day, to each morning’s first glimpse of my handsome boss. My heart would jumped at the sound of his voice. My tingled all over when, rarely, he smiled at me when she finished a difficult task for him.

Even the scent of a certain masculine cologne could trigger memories, because he always smelled of it. I felt deprived because my life would no longer contain even a casual glimpse of him. I was working for his worst enemy. Not much likelihood that Michael would turn up on Leo Jordan ranch in the near or distant future.

But as week passed, I slowly fell into a routine at the ranch. The spreadsheet programs were easy to use once I learned what the various terms meant, like weight gain ratio and birth weight.

I learned that Leo used artificial insemination to improve the genetics of his cattle, selecting for low birth weight, good weight gain ratios for offspring and lean cuts of meat in the beef cattle offspring that would eventually be generated by his purebred herd sires and dams.

I was fascinated to find that science was used to predict leanness and tenderness of beef cuts, that genetics could manipulate those factors to produce a more marketable product for consumers.

I was fascinated by the various pedigrees and the amount of history contained in his breeding programs. It was like an organic history of Texas just to look back over the first herds that had contributed to Leo’s formidable beef concern. He kept photographic records as well as statistical ones, and she found the early beef sires short, stocky and woolly compared to modern ones. It graphically showed the progression of genetic breeding.

My duties were routine and hardly exciting, but I made good wages and also had enough free time on my hand. I registered at the gym and attended regularly, I also followed the diet charts I was provided with ar the gym regularly. It was hard at first but I adapted to the pain. 'No pain No Gain' like my gym instructor always said, in this context 'No pain No loss.

It wasn't drastic like a fairy tale but I could feel myself changing. I was eager to look at mirror every morning, to watch my growing curves. It prompt to work even harder at the gym and follow my diet more strictly.

I was growing in confidence and was happier, both at home and work. My mother was becoming more active with the increase in her trips to the hospital, My new boss was very nice to, not once had he raise his voice at me. I absolutely liked the people I worked with. Mr Leo had full-time and part-time cowboys, as well as a veterinary student who worked one semester and went to school one semester. He had three people who did nothing but work with his Internet Web site that sold his premium organic ham and bacon products.

My job was quite different from that of the other workers. There was a new storefront that Mr Leo had just opened in Jacobsville to market his organic pork. There was also a modern office complex adjacent to the enormous barn, where the production and lab staff were located. The barn, in addition to containing the pride of his purebred cattle herd, his expensive seed bulls, there was also a climate controlled room where the frozen sperm and embryos were kept for artificial insemination. The procedure itself was conducted in the barn. Purebred embryos from superior herd sires, as well as straws of semen from champion bulls who were now long dead, were kept in vats of liquid nitrogen. These were placed in surrogate mothers who might be Holsteins or even mixed breed cattle rather than the purebred heifers he also sold along with each new crop of yearling bulls from purebred sires.

I had a passing acquaintance with the employees who ran the lab, one of whom was a graduate biologist named Delene Crane, a young woman with a quirky sense of humor. The only woman working for Mr. Leo apart from me. We were simply nodding acquaintances, because she didn’t have much free time to socialize. None of the staff did, for that matter. With every day that passed I realized I was the given the most freedom in the whole establishment and was the only one quite free with the boss, which I never exploited in any way.

Routine at the ranch was chaotic because spring was the busiest time for everyone, with calves being born and recorded and branding in full swing. I knew that Mr. Leo used not only hot branding, but also had computer chips on plastic tags that dangled from the ears of his cattle. These chips contained the complete history of each cow or bull. The information was scanned into a handheld computer and sent by modem to my office computer to be compiled into the spreadsheet program.

“It’s just fascinating,” I told Mr. Leo as I watched the information updating itself on her computer screen from minute to minute.

He smiled wearily. It had been a very busy day for everybody. His chaps and boots were dirty and blood-stained because he’d been helping with calving all day. His red shirt was wet all over. His hair, under his wide-brimmed Stetson, was dripping sweat. His leather gloves, tight-fitting and suede-colored, were dangling from the wide belt buckle at his lean waist over his jeans. He was dusty as well, but none took anything away from his hotness. How incredibly good looking he is has been seeping into my mind everyday and how he looked right now wasn't helping matters neither.

“It’s taken a lot of work to get this operation so far,” he confessed, his eyes on the screen as he spoke, his voice deep and pleasant in the quiet office. “And a lot of cash. I’ve been in the hole for the past year. But I’m just beginning to show a profit. I think the pork operation may be what finally gets me in the black.”

“Where are the pigs kept?” I wondered aloud, I'd only seen cattle and horses so far. In addition to the cattle herd, Mr. Leo maintained a small herd of purebred Appaloosa horses.

“Far enough away that they aren’t easy to smell,” he replied with a grin. “They have their own complex about a mile down the road. It’s remarkably clean, and purely organic. They have pastures to roam and a stream that runs through it all the year, and they’re fed a carefully formulated organic diet. No pesticides, no hormones, no antibiotics unless they’re absolutely necessary.”

“You sound like the Harts and the Tremaynes and…” I began.

“…and Cy Parks and J. D. Langley,” he finished for me, chuckling. “They did give me the idea. It’s catching on. Christabel and Judd Dunn jumped on the wagon last year.”

“It’s been very profitable for them, I hear,” I replied. “Mr. Angelo handles all the paperwork for the Harts and Cy Parks…”

I bit my tongue as his face hardened and the smile faded. “Sorry, boss,” I said at once.

How could I be so stupid.

He moved jerkily. “No harm done.”

But I knew how he felt about Michael. How both felt about each other. I bit my tongue even harder. I opened a second window quickly on the computer screen and diverted him with a question about another procedure.

He explained the procedure to me and smiled. “You’re a diplomat, Aurora. I’m glad you needed a job.”

"“Me, too, Mr. Leo” I replied, smiling

He reached for my hair suddenly. I froze as he rummage through my hair and fished out a straw out of my hair and showed it to me.

"How did you get straw in your hair" he asked puzzled

"I went t.o ta..ke a look at the co'ws e.arlier" I stammered

"Why would you want to go to such smelly place" He said as he combed my hair with his fingers and tucked the few straying nonetheless behind my ear. I struggled to breathe as I couldn't dare to look at his face.

"I wanted to see the calves" I struggled to make every word.

"He pulled his hat down over his eyes. “Well, I’ve played hooky as long as I can,” he said with a grimace. “I’ll get back to work before Lance comes in here and lassos me and drags me back out to the pasture. You go home at five regardless of the phone, okay?” he added. “I know you worry about your mother. You don’t need to do overtime.”

“Thank you sir" I said, and I meant it from the bottom of my heart. “It’s hard for her to be alone in the evening. She gets scared.”

“I don’t doubt it. Oh, if you get a minute,” he added from the door,

“call Calhoun Ballenger and tell him I’m sending him a donation for his campaign.”

I grinned. “I’ll be happy to do that! I’m voting for him, too.”

“Thanks" He closed the door carefully behind him. But popped his head through the door again.

"And Aurora, don't forget to run by the post office and drop the earlier letter. It's very important."

"I would never forget sir"

"Thanks Aurora" he said. He close the door again, this time he didn't open it again.