1. Carla
Carla Jenkins stepped out past the airport security barriers, and took her first look around the place that would be her new home.
Well, here I am , she thought. Now what?
She was twenty-nine years old, single, and – if she was honest – had no idea what she was doing. Back home in New York City, this had seemed like a such a good idea: sign up with a mail-order bride service! Move to Nevada! Spend the rest of her life in the Wild West with cowboys and country music!
Carla still remembered the exact moment when she’d begun to think about moving out West; she’d been on the subway, doing her daily hour-long commute to a waitressing job she hated, when she’d noticed a poster. New York’s subways were plastered with posters, and she rarely paid much attention to them, but this one had stood out as though it was meant for her.
Ranch Romeos – Believe in True Love! it had said, the words printed over a picture of a smiling couple, holding hands in a meadow of wildflowers in front of a setting sun. It was a picture of everything Carla wanted and didn’t have.
Looking at that happy couple, while she sat in the dark, dirty underground subway tunnel, bumped and jostled by the crowd around her, knowing that her thirtieth birthday wasn’t far off and that she had no one to share it with... she’d promised herself right then and there that she would do whatever it took to change her life.
It had been a rushed few weeks since she’d contacted Ranch Romeos; she’d quit her job, packed her things, and then the final step of boarding a plane to Nevada. Carla felt like she’d hardly had a moment to breathe. All she’d thought about had been silly fantasies: wondering if it was hard to learn how to ride a horse, and if people really square danced, and if she should buy a cowboy hat to take with her. It was only now, as she was standing here alone in an unknown airport, that doubts began to stir in the back of her mind.
Ranch Romeos had matched her with a man named Diego Ramirez, and in his emails Diego had agreed to pick her up when she got off her flight. Carla looked around the airport, but saw no one who looked anything like the photo she’d seen. Granted, it had been a small, grainy thumbnail, but she still should have been able to recognize someone .
She watched as a woman who had been on her plane ran up to a waiting man and threw herself into his embrace; Carla looked away with a pang of longing. All around her, people walked confidently forward, knowing where they were going. Many of them were greeted by family and friends, and others headed straight to the doors that opened out to the warm autumn sunlight.
Carla felt awkward and alone, which wasn’t a new feeling for her. She looked down at herself, abruptly wishing that she’d worn nicer clothes. It had been a long flight – ten hours, including the layovers – and she’d decided to dress for comfort in loose black pants and an oversized blouse. Sure, it was cozy, but it wasn’t what she wanted to be wearing for her first meeting with her future husband.
He was probably expecting a slick city girl, like the skinny models or fashionable businesswomen that had always made Carla feel invisible. She was a big woman, with wide hips and plenty of ass, balanced by a round belly in the front. She’d hoped that she would fit in better here in Nevada, but all the women she saw were tall and lean, looking like they spent their free time roping cattle and running over the hills – or whatever it was that people did in the country. With a sigh, Carla was forced to admit that she had a lot to learn, if she was going to spend the rest of her life here.
She picked up her luggage and walked toward the other side of the airport, in case Diego was over there. It was a small airport, without a single coffee shop or gift store. The entire building was no bigger than a city block, with barely enough room for one baggage claim and a handful of counters. There
Carla Jenkins stepped out past the airport security barriers, and took her first look around the place that would be her new home.
Well, here I am , she thought. Now what?
She was twenty-nine years old, single, and – if she was honest – had no idea what she was doing. Back home in New York City, this had seemed like a such a good idea: sign up with a mail-order bride service! Move to Nevada! Spend the rest of her life in the Wild West with cowboys and country music!
Carla still remembered the exact moment when she’d begun to think about moving out West; she’d been on the subway, doing her daily hour-long commute to a waitressing job she hated, when she’d noticed a poster. New York’s subways were plastered with posters, and she rarely paid much attention to them, but this one had stood out as though it was meant for her.
Ranch Romeos – Believe in True Love! it had said, the words printed over a picture of a smiling couple, holding hands in a meadow of wildflowers in front of a setting sun. It was a picture of everything Carla wanted and didn’t have.
Looking at that happy couple, while she sat in the dark, dirty underground subway tunnel, bumped and jostled by the crowd around her, knowing that her thirtieth birthday wasn’t far off and that she had no one to share it with... she’d promised herself right then and there that she would do whatever it took to change her life.
It had been a rushed few weeks since she’d contacted Ranch Romeos; she’d quit her job, packed her things, and then the final step of boarding a plane to Nevada. Carla felt like she’d hardly had a moment to breathe. All she’d thought about had been silly fantasies: wondering if it was hard to learn how to ride a horse, and if people really square danced, and if she should buy a cowboy hat to take with her. It was only now, as she was standing here alone in an unknown airport, that doubts began to stir in the back of her mind.
Ranch Romeos had matched her with a man named Diego Ramirez, and in his emails Diego had agreed to pick her up when she got off her flight. Carla looked around the airport, but saw no one who looked anything like the photo she’d seen. Granted, it had been a small, grainy thumbnail, but she still should have been able to recognize someone .
She watched as a woman who had been on her plane ran up to a waiting man and threw herself into his embrace; Carla looked away with a pang of longing. All around her, people walked confidently forward, knowing where they were going. Many of them were greeted by family and friends, and others headed straight to the doors that opened out to the warm autumn sunlight.
Carla felt awkward and alone, which wasn’t a new feeling for her. She looked down at herself, abruptly wishing that she’d worn nicer clothes. It had been a long flight – ten hours, including the layovers – and she’d decided to dress for comfort in loose black pants and an oversized blouse. Sure, it was cozy, but it wasn’t what she wanted to be wearing for her first meeting with her future husband.
He was probably expecting a slick city girl, like the skinny models or fashionable businesswomen that had always made Carla feel invisible. She was a big woman, with wide hips and plenty of ass, balanced by a round belly in the front. She’d hoped that she would fit in better here in Nevada, but all the women she saw were tall and lean, looking like they spent their free time roping cattle and running over the hills – or whatever it was that people did in the country. With a sigh, Carla was forced to admit that she had a lot to learn, if she was going to spend the rest of her life here.
She picked up her luggage and walked toward the other side of the airport, in case Diego was over there. It was a small airport, without a single coffee shop or gift store. The entire building was no bigger than a city block, with barely enough room for one baggage claim and a handful of counters. There
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