literature or had interesting reasons why not, or because he was a witty conversationalist or because he made her laugh.
Definitely not because his large, strong hands, which had a light dusting of black hairs on the backs, rested with easy, elegant competence on the wheel, or because the muscles in his forearm did a fascinating dance every time he shifted gears or because when he popped the clutch, thick muscles played under the jeans from his knees to his groin… Julia whipped her head around and stared blindly out the window.
Something was definitely wrong with her. Stress was driving her crazy. Either that or the silence was driving her crazy. She wasn’t used to silence. Maybe if she talked to him, this weird spell she was under would be broken.
“Is it far?”
Cooper’s gaze flicked briefly over to her. “We’re here.”
Julia stared. “We are?” She took a good look around. She couldn’t see anything but what had been there for the past half hour, trees, grass, trees, grass then more trees.
“We’ve been on Double C land for over ten minutes now,” Cooper said. Sure enough, now that he mentioned it, she could see fences neatly laid out, running parallel to the road and in the far distance abutting a range of hills. The fencing enclosed land that looked exactly like the terrain they’d been traversing for half an hour. Julia couldn’t see the difference between the fenced-in part and the free range part.
“Hey,” she said suddenly, excitedly pressing her nose against the Blazer’s window. “Horses!” She turned to Cooper, romantic visions dancing through her head. “Do you think they’re mustangs?”
“No,” Cooper said as he started to slow the vehicle. “They’re mine.”
“Oh.” Julia watched the beautiful animals. There were at least forty of them, gracefully loping in the field and she felt an odd pang of disappointment. “I suppose mustangs only exist in the movies.”
“Actually,” Cooper said, turning into a wide driveway, “they mainly exist in Nevada and New Mexico. Here we are.”
There was so much to see, and all of it foreign to her, that it took Julia a few moments to sort her impressions out. The fencing was white now and enclosed large, freshly painted buildings and circular areas full of sand. Julia had read enough Dick Francis novels to recognize stables and paddocks. Or were they corrals out West?
Ten or twelve men were working industriously, some raking the grounds, several leading horses by what looked like a single long rein, a few on horseback. The impression was of a busy, prosperous business.
Then Cooper slowed the Blazer and they drove by what Julia at first took for a geological formation. Then she looked again. No geological formation she knew of was rectangular and made of wood. “What’s that?” she breathed and waved her hand at the…the thing they were driving by.
“The house.” Cooper turned a corner and brought the Blazer to a halt in a carport as large as a normal building. The house itself must have been designed by NASA. Julia wondered if it was one of those buildings with its own weather.
“Who built the house?” She tore her eyes away from the huge building and looked at Cooper. “God?”
“My great-great-grandfather.” He circled the truck and came to open Julia’s door, cupping her elbow until she was safely on the cement floor of the carport.
Julia smiled up at him. “Looks like he had to fell a forest to build this thing.”
His eyes were dark, fathomless. “My great-great-granddad believed in elbow room.”
“No kidding. You can probably see it from outer space, like the Great Wall of China.”
Julia stepped out from under the carport roof for a moment and looked around. She had to move her head to take the building all in since close up, it was bigger than her field of vision. “Good thing he built it before the EPA was around or they would have arrested him for destroying an ecosystem. Why’d he need so much
Definitely not because his large, strong hands, which had a light dusting of black hairs on the backs, rested with easy, elegant competence on the wheel, or because the muscles in his forearm did a fascinating dance every time he shifted gears or because when he popped the clutch, thick muscles played under the jeans from his knees to his groin… Julia whipped her head around and stared blindly out the window.
Something was definitely wrong with her. Stress was driving her crazy. Either that or the silence was driving her crazy. She wasn’t used to silence. Maybe if she talked to him, this weird spell she was under would be broken.
“Is it far?”
Cooper’s gaze flicked briefly over to her. “We’re here.”
Julia stared. “We are?” She took a good look around. She couldn’t see anything but what had been there for the past half hour, trees, grass, trees, grass then more trees.
“We’ve been on Double C land for over ten minutes now,” Cooper said. Sure enough, now that he mentioned it, she could see fences neatly laid out, running parallel to the road and in the far distance abutting a range of hills. The fencing enclosed land that looked exactly like the terrain they’d been traversing for half an hour. Julia couldn’t see the difference between the fenced-in part and the free range part.
“Hey,” she said suddenly, excitedly pressing her nose against the Blazer’s window. “Horses!” She turned to Cooper, romantic visions dancing through her head. “Do you think they’re mustangs?”
“No,” Cooper said as he started to slow the vehicle. “They’re mine.”
“Oh.” Julia watched the beautiful animals. There were at least forty of them, gracefully loping in the field and she felt an odd pang of disappointment. “I suppose mustangs only exist in the movies.”
“Actually,” Cooper said, turning into a wide driveway, “they mainly exist in Nevada and New Mexico. Here we are.”
There was so much to see, and all of it foreign to her, that it took Julia a few moments to sort her impressions out. The fencing was white now and enclosed large, freshly painted buildings and circular areas full of sand. Julia had read enough Dick Francis novels to recognize stables and paddocks. Or were they corrals out West?
Ten or twelve men were working industriously, some raking the grounds, several leading horses by what looked like a single long rein, a few on horseback. The impression was of a busy, prosperous business.
Then Cooper slowed the Blazer and they drove by what Julia at first took for a geological formation. Then she looked again. No geological formation she knew of was rectangular and made of wood. “What’s that?” she breathed and waved her hand at the…the thing they were driving by.
“The house.” Cooper turned a corner and brought the Blazer to a halt in a carport as large as a normal building. The house itself must have been designed by NASA. Julia wondered if it was one of those buildings with its own weather.
“Who built the house?” She tore her eyes away from the huge building and looked at Cooper. “God?”
“My great-great-grandfather.” He circled the truck and came to open Julia’s door, cupping her elbow until she was safely on the cement floor of the carport.
Julia smiled up at him. “Looks like he had to fell a forest to build this thing.”
His eyes were dark, fathomless. “My great-great-granddad believed in elbow room.”
“No kidding. You can probably see it from outer space, like the Great Wall of China.”
Julia stepped out from under the carport roof for a moment and looked around. She had to move her head to take the building all in since close up, it was bigger than her field of vision. “Good thing he built it before the EPA was around or they would have arrested him for destroying an ecosystem. Why’d he need so much
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