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Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 01

By: small_town_girl



Author's note: 

Hello y'all, and welcome to my new story! 

I am writing this one for the #NaNoWriMo Challenge -- the National Novel Writing Month, where the challenge is to write a full-length novel (50K+ words) within 30 days. I've never done this before, but I do believe I can make it! :) 

I'll be posting chapters as I write them; so expect a new one every day or two. This story is the first under this category for me, and I hope to strike the right tone for it -- will you please tell me if I did or didn't, as well as any thoughts and feedback, down in the comment section? 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! I hope you enjoy :) 

***** 

They say, "today is the first day of the rest of your life'. Leanne had heard it before, but for the first time in her young life, the idea resonated. Today was the first day of the rest of her life, and she was celebrating! 

Well, sort of. 

She was sitting by herself at the far end of the bar, a bit off and to the side from other patrons. The semi-secluded spot allowed her to people-watch to her heart's content without calling undue attention to herself. Nursing her Coke and swaying to the upbeat music spilling from loudspeakers hanging over the packed dance floor, she felt way more comfortable than she'd expected when she first stepped through the door a half-hour earlier. 

'The lounge' at the unassuming Santa Rosa Inn had turned out to be an obvious pick-up bar, and she was a single, unaccompanied young woman who did not want to be picked-up. She almost turned and ran back out, before giving herself a stern talking-to, and marching in with her head held high. She couldn't start her new life by backing down from a little challenge, now, could she? 

So she braved it. But she didn't expect to enjoy herself as much as she did. 

She liked the buzzing, expectant vibe in the air; the promise of fun and passion. She enjoyed hearing the good-natured conversation and easy laughter around her. She was mesmerised by the flirting and the dancing, and watched it with wide-eyed interest. 

She wasn't a part of it, of course. She never had been. But the invisible bubble that had always kept her detached from everyone seemed flimsier tonight; the barrier thinner, almost transparent. She could feel more. She could imagine herself as one of those pretty women, outgoing and self-assured, celebrating their youth and soaking up enthusiastic male attention without a care in the world. 

It was strange, not having a care in the world. No bleak concerns, no devastating struggles, no overwhelming responsibilities, no one else's needs to consider but her own. 

It was a transient feeling, she knew. Tomorrow she'd start her new job, which she had chosen as much out of familial obligations, misplaced as they were, as for her own personal goals. But tonight she refused to think of it. Tonight she was just a young woman, out in the world, stretching her wings for the very first time, completely on her own. 

She felt empty and elated, all at once. 

* 

Joe noticed her as soon as he entered. 

Maybe it was her cute white top, with its narrow satin ribbon holding the scooped neck together in a tiny bow-tie, innocently begging to be tugged open. Or maybe it was that peaches- and-cream complexion, which made her seem to glow with an angelic inner light from across the dim, packed space. 

Or maybe he was just horny, and she was pretty and clearly alone in the town's notorious - and only - singles' bar. 

Either way, he was drawn to her. Which was more than enough reason to make a move. After all, this was what he was here for - finding a woman to spend an enjoyable evening with, hopefully followed by a mutually pleasurable night. 

He didn't consider himself a playboy. Not at all, in fact. But living on a farm in rural Northern California wasn't conducive to an active social life, and even less so to finding long-term relationships. At thirty, he was certainly open to the possibility of meeting the woman of his dreams and settling down; however he was a practical man, and he had more basic needs to meet. Those needs dictated his weekly forays into The Lounge at the Santa Rosa Inn. 

The patrons were mostly regulars, which made things easier and harder at the same time. Having his 'regular' fuck-buddies there was reassuring, but it kind of took the fun out of the hunt. Plus, if more than one of them were there, it sometime got a bit awkward. 

It also made any newcomers stick out like a sore thumb, and the tempting blonde sitting at the bar was as fresh as they came. 

He had to get to her before someone else beat him to it. Looking around to scope the competition he was relieved to see no immediate challengers. Good thing I came in early, he thought, and with that set out to introduce himself. 

* 

Leanne watched him stride towards her with a strange mix of trepidation and excitement. His intent was clear; his eyes had found and held hers as he took the most direct route across the room to her. When he reached her side he stopped, one hand on the back of the empty chair next to her, the other gesturing casually towards it. 

"Hi. Mind if I take this seat?" 

She was more than a little flustered. If he looked good from twenty yards away, up close he was even better: thick, wavy dark-blond hair, quite late for a cut; a mischievous glint in his eyes over his inviting smile, and a lean, athletic body that made his simple blue jeans and dark grey button-down shirt look downright sinful. Oh yes. Way better up close, she thought. 

Belatedly, she realized she was staring. "Um, yeah, sure, go ahead. It's just -" 

The man was about to sit down but stopped mid-movement at the uncertainty in her voice, and gave her a questioning look. "It's just -?" he repeated after her, straightening, waiting for her to complete the thought. 

She felt her cheeks pinken and hoped the dim lighting wouldn't let him notice. "Em, well, it's just that - I'm not looking to... to hook up, you know? And I thought I'd tell you that up front, just in case... in case you'd like to invest your time in... a more promising prospect." 

Her blush deepened. He had to have seen it by now. She used to hate being so transparent, but had eventually come to terms with her inability to hide her emotions. She figured, as long as she just owned up to them, it didn't matter anyways. 

Easier said than done, though. It was still very much a work in progress. 

Bravely, she met his eyes, and then gasped at their impact. She couldn't make out their color, but could feel their heat caress over her flushed face, her lips - now clamped together in mortification - down her throat to where she tried hard to swallow - and then back up to meet her gaze. 

She watched, surprised and fascinated, as he weighed her declaration in his mind. His head was tilted to one side as he stared at her, uncomfortably perceptive, studying her thoughtfully. Finally he reached his decision, and purposefully took his seat. 

"Well, thank you for being honest and upfront, ma'am. Duly noted. No hookup. Now, is it alright if we just hung out together? Have a drink, dance a little, enjoy each other's company?" 

Leanne finally managed to swallow past her dry throat. "Why?" 

His eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?" 

"Why would you like to hang out with me, when there's no chance of hookup at the other end of the evening?" 

The man looked at her in surprise, and something like appreciation. "Wow. You are as blunt as they come, aren't you?" Leanne just shrugged, and he smiled, looking pleased. "Because you intrigue me, that's why. And because you're a pleasure to look at. I am very much looking forward to just hangin' out with a beautiful stranger tonight." 

Leanne breathed a silent sigh of relief. She realized that didn't want him to leave, but she also needed to know he respected her ground rules. Smiling tentatively back at him, she extended her hand. 

"Leanne, please. 'Ma'am' makes me feel about ninety. And yes, hanging out together sounds fun! I'd love that." 

The man's large, calloused hand engulfed her palm, and she had to fight a momentary weak-in-the-knees reaction to return his handshake firmly. Whoa. Who knew a handshake could make her go all mushy inside?! 

"I'm Joe. And it is very nice to meet you, Leanne." 

He was still holding her hand, and she was in no hurry to take it back, either. So this is what 'chemistry' felt like, she thought. Incredible. It was another moment before they both drew apart, and Leanne wrapped her now-tingling fingers around her cool glass of soda, sliding them over the wet condensation that gathered there. 

His eyes narrowed in on the slight movement before jerking up to her face, where they stayed furrowed for another moment, until he noticed her uneasiness, and his easy smile returned. 

"It's a beautiful name, Leanne. A lovely name for a lovely woman. I'd love to hear more about you, but before that, what can I get you to drink?" 

Leanne was thrown by the compliment, unsure how she should respond - but Joe was already motioning for the bartender and she realized he wasn't expecting a reply, at least not for that comment. He did look at her questioningly as the tall, lanky server approached them, and she realized she was supposed to speak up. 

"Em, I don't really drink much... thought I'd pace myself with this soda." She gestured at the half-empty Coke bottle, and then cringed at the look that crossed Joe's features when he focused on her again. 

"Are you underage?" He asked bluntly, and Leanne blinked her surprise, then burst out in nervous laughter. 

"What? No! No. I am 23, almost 24 actually. Gosh! Do I look like a teenager?" 

Joe huffed out his breath, clearly relieved. "Well, you do look young - maybe not that young, but together with the 'no hookup, no drinking' thing... I guess I jumped to conclusions. Sorry." He shrugged his apology, and Leanne smiled and shook her head. 

"No worries. I can see how that would make you feel uncomfortable." 

Joe returned her smile ruefully. "Yeah. I mean, I'd still hang around, mind you. Not everyone here is a gentleman, and I'd feel obligated to keep an eye on you, at least until the social workers arrived." His eyes now crinkled in their corners. "But I'd still feel like an old goat." 

She gave him a bold up-and-down look. "You don't look that old to me." 

Joe half-turned towards her in his seat, meeting her challenge, and then deliberately raised it. "Oh? And how old exactly do I look to you, Leanne?" He asked softly, as he let one long, well-muscled leg stretch out to the floor, and leaned one hand on his hip, while his other elbow rested casually against the bar, opening himself up to her scrutiny. 

Cocky, much? Leanne thought, but then couldn't refuse his invitation to look her fill. She let her gaze slide down the strong column of his neck, pause at the small open vee at the base of his throat, where a hint of body hair tantalized her imagination, then continue down along the lean, hard torso that filled his dark shirt oh-so-well. The shirt wasn't tucked in, and its tails parted enticingly over his crotch. 

There was most definitely a bulge there. His jeans were midnight-blue, and there wasn't very good lighting, but she thought she could make out that contour quite clearly. Or maybe that was just the way the fabric bunched up? 

A choked chuckle made her look back up, and then it was she who was choking back her mortification. "Oh gosh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to stare, I just -" 

"Hey, hey... don't worry about it. I will most definitely take that look as a compliment." He reached out to touch her arm lightly, reassuringly, and the brief touch seemed to crackle along her bare skin. 

Leanne sucked in a breath. Was it always like that? She wandered. Her experience with the opposite sex had been pretty much non-existent, but feeling her nerves buzz with awareness at the light caress kind of made sense. People thought physical intimacy was a big deal. If this was anything to go by, they were onto something. 

Joe was looking closely at her again. "So, what would you like to drink?" he asked again, jerking his head towards the bartender who was hovering impatiently nearby. 

"Um, I'd like a draft beer - a light one?" 

Joe nodded, and turned to the bartender. "We'll have two of the house draft, please." 

The man moved to get their order and soon he was back, placing their drinks on small coasters while Leanne reached into her pocket to dig for some cash. Her fingers just closed around the wrinkled twenty when Joe's incredulous voice stopped her. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Er - paying for my beer?" 

Joe stared at her as if trying to figure out if she was making fun of him or not. Leanne rushed to explain. "I mean - it's not like we're on a date or anything. We're just hanging out together. And besides, I like paying my way. I don't like being indebted." 

Joe was staring and shaking his head as if finding her behavior hard to comprehend, but eventually conceded. "All right, tell you what. I'll pay for this round, and you can pay for the next one. Deal?" 

Leanne nodded. "Deal." she answered seriously, though inside she was giddy with how good he'd just made her feel. That she was able to speak her mind, and that this man would respect her stance, even when it was clear he didn't share it - that was no small victory for a young woman on her first day on her own in the world. 

Oh yes. She liked it here, a lot. 

* 

Joe was enjoying himself. Really enjoying himself. 

When she'd told him she wasn't looking to hook up he was going to walk away; after all, that's all he'd been looking for. But something about her made him stay, and now he was glad that he did. He liked her. He liked watching her sip tentatively at her beer; liked the way her face animated when they chatted. 

She'd told him she'd just graduated college the day before and was starting her first 'real' job tomorrow, and was feeling truly grown up for the first time. When he'd asked how come she was just now finished with school she shrugged and mumbled something about being a 'late bloomer'. Sensing her reluctance to elaborate, he didn't prod further. 

When she asked about him, he told her he'd grown up in the area and had moved all the way to Texas for college, but was tremendously happy to be back where he belonged. She smiled at that, and said it sounded real nice to have a place to belong to. He was going to ask her what she meant by that but she switched the subject, and again he could tell she didn't want to go there, so he backed off. Keep it light. 

Instead, he joined her running commentary on the unfolding scenes all around them. She told him people-watching was a favorite pastime for her, and he soon found himself joining in the fun. He had an edge since he knew pretty much everyone in presence, so it turned out to be a guessing game, where Leanne would come up with people's stories, and he'd tell her how close she'd been. 

Her quirky imagination made him laugh, but what struck him the most was the absence of malice in her made-up tales. She wasn't mean, or condescending, or judgemental. Rather she was curious, and empathetic, and acutely observant. 

Watching her, he thought she was much like a day-old, purebred filly, brimming with skittish energy that couldn't obscure her inherent grace, even as she was taking her first wobbly steps. Whoa. Easy there, cowboy. Getting fanciful, aren't you? Joe bowed his head, impatient with his own thoughts, and then noticed her foot tapping to the beat of the music. Trailing his gaze back up, her shoulders were swinging gently, too, even as she was sipping away at her beer. 

Now, there was a better idea. 

"So, how about a dance?" 

"What? - Oh, yes, sure - I'd love to!" 

If his offer surprised her, she recovered quickly - and was off to her feet in a flash, smiling expectantly. Joe grinned at her unabashed enthusiasm and offered his hand, excitement simmering in his own gut, flaring into a boil when she placed her soft hand in his. He felt alive; more so than he had in a long time. He squeezed her hand lightly and felt her return the gesture, and suddenly it was all he could do not to break into a jog towards the dance floor. He needed to hold her in his arms. 

Instead, he tugged her forward so that she could step ahead of him, and then freed her hand, placing his fingers lightly at her back as they walked. He was struck by how small she was next to him. The top of her head didn't even reach his chin. Well that wouldn't matter if you're both horizontal, you know. The errant thought triggered an explosion of explicit images in his mind, all featuring this very lovely girl sprawled across his bed, open and waiting for him. He felt his dick stiffen painfully inside his jeans. 

Cool it, cowboy. She said 'no hookup'. And you don't want to scare her away. 

They reached the floor just as the music changed into a slower beat. Leanne threw Joe a shy smile over her shoulder and offered him her hand as she led them both through the maze of swaying bodies until she found a clearing for them, and turned around to face him. They stood there looking at each other, Leanne expectantly, Joe feeling strangely hesitant. 

"What?" She asked in a nervous laugh when their odd standoff stretched a few seconds longer. 

Joe shook his head and admitted - "it's just - you're not here to hook up. And I respect that. I was just bracing myself because - well, you got me all worked up just by smiling at me..." he exhaled heavily, and then squared his shoulders, and stepped forward to fit one hand to the small of her back, while raising their already-connected palms higher so that they stood with their bodies close, but not quite touching, in a proper waltz hold. 

"There, is that better?" 

She giggled and nodded. "Mmm, much!" and then squealed in delight when he broke into a series of quick spinning steps, making the club and everyone in it blur around them. Surprised as she was by his sudden move, Leanne followed his lead easily, and Joe smiled his appreciation. 

She laughed and then met his gaze in challenge. "Bring it on, cowboy. I can dance with the best of them." 

"Oh, yeah? Let's see what you've got, princess." 

Her breathless giggle trailed down Joe's spine all the way to his balls, making them tingle. Damn. He couldn't remember the last time a woman made him so hard with nothing more than her laugh. He had to make conscious effort not to tighten his fingers around hers, not to drop his other hand lower to the sweet swell of her ass, not to press their bodies flush against each other. 

Instead, he set out to wow her with his dancing. 

Joe was a good dancer. A very good dancer, in fact, and he knew women liked that, a lot. But it quickly became apparent that Leanne could dance just as well as he did. Very possibly better. He'd be resentful, except she took to his lead as if they were made for each other, and Joe found himself relaxing, and yielding to the pleasure of dance. 

* 

It was a while later when they finally drew apart, breathing hard and smiling like a couple of fools. The music had gone from that cheesy waltz to rumba to salsa, and they had both thrown themselves into it. At some point a circle of spectators had formed around them, cheering them on as they each performed their best moves, trying to impress one another. Now the DJ had decided to switch it up with more current dance music, and Joe leaned in to speak into Leanne's ear over the loud beat. 


Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 01



"You want another drink?" 

"Yes, please. I'm parched!" 

She was, too, but the truth was she also needed a break. Leanne loved being in Joe's arms; maybe a bit too much. She needed a breather, one that didn't include inhaling the intoxicating mix of hot male skin, light aftershave and heady pheromones that was making her forget herself. She smiled as he lead them back towards the bar. 

Yes, one more drink would be lovely, she thought. Just don't let it go to your head. 

Once back in their seats Joe motioned for the bartender, and asked for another round of beer. When the drinks were served he reached for his back pocket, but Leanne had already beaten him to it, holding out the worn twenty. Joe looked at her, startled, as the bartender took the cash and gave her the change with a small nod, and stepped away. 

"You actually meant it earlier." He stated, surprise evident in his voice. 

Leanne smiled. "I usually do." she quipped and took a few deep, refreshing draws. Joe chuckled, shaking his head, and followed suit. They fell quiet for a few moments, and then Joe turned back towards her, leaning onto the bar with one elbow. 

"So, tell me, where did you learn to dance like that?" 

Leanne smiled, flattered that he'd noticed. "My mom was a dance teacher. We used to spend hours dancing together in our living room." 

They had worn their trailer's vinyl floor thin dancing for hours to music played by the old record player, their most prized possession. But Leanne wasn't going to tell him that. Tonight I am a princess, not trailer trash, she told herself firmly. Instead, she tilted her head and looked at him questioningly. 

"What about you?" 

Joe grinned back. "I was a competitive ballroom dancer in high school. All the way through college, in fact." 

She gasped in disbelief. "Seriously?" 

He nodded, his answering grin adorably lopsided. "Yeah. Seriously." 

"How come?" 

"Honestly? A friend suggested it, told me it was the 'best way to get a grope at half-naked chicks', which was a very compelling point, mind you." Joe shrugged in apology, then continued. "And he was right. I soon got addicted to it. Nothing quite like having an enthusiastic partner in my arms, feeling our bodies move in sync, getting all flushed and sweaty together..." He wiggled his brows comically at his own way-too-blatant innuendo, and Leanne had to laugh. 

"Well, I wouldn't know, really, but I'll take your word for it!" She answered laughingly, then clamped her hand over her own mouth when she realized what she'd just revealed. 

Joe's wide smile froze across his face. "Wait - what?" 

Leanne groaned, her eyes squeezed shut and her burning cheeks buried in her palms. "Oh God, please shoot me now." 

It seemed Joe had gone completely still next to her, but a couple of moments later she felt his fingers close around her wrists, gently tugging her hands away from her face. 

"Hey, there's nothing to be embarrassed about, princess. Please. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." 

She took a deep breath, and let him tug her hands down, let him hold them as they sat, mutely staring at each other, until finally she swallowed hard and nodded. 

"You - you didn't. I mean, I know you didn't mean to; it's just -" she stopped and shook her head. 

"It's just - what?" he asked gently. 

There was genuine interest in his eyes, and for some reason it compelled her to answer honestly. "It's just that I want my first time to be special. I want to cherish the experience. I want to share it with someone who I care for, and who cares about me, you know?" 

Joe nodded. "Yeah. I know." Joe smiled, and the faraway look in his eyes hinted at long-ago memories. 

"What was it like... for you?" 

She could see her question startled him and was ready to take it back and apologize when he shrugged and answered. "It was... special. And awesome. Even though we had no freakin' idea what we were doing and were both all elbows, fumbling throughout... it was - beautiful." 

Leanne turned fully towards Joe, leaned her elbow on the bar and put her chin in her hand. "Tell me more about it, please?" 

Joe seemed flustered by her request, but then answered nonetheless. "She was my highschool sweetheart. Jennifer. That was her name; Jenni. We were both in our Senior year, had been dating steady since we were Sophomores. Crazy in love as only kids could be." He smiled, remembering. "We'd been fooling around for a long while - you know, heavy petting, groping, necking, making-out - you name it, we were doing it - but we'd always stopped short of full intercourse." He peeked up to see her eyes on his face, riveted, and grinned. 

"Of course, I'd asked her to be my prom date. And of course, she accepted. Then, about a week before the dance, we were making out in my car, and that's when she asked me - while sitting astride me, with only our underwear between us and my face buried between her naked boobs, no less - she asked if I wanted to 'do it' after the prom." 

Leanne gasped, and Joe laughed. "As you can imagine, I shouted 'hell yes!'. And had promptly embarrassed myself a moment later." His smile deepened when Leanne sucked in a breath as his meaning registered. "Anyways, long story short, we both lost our virginity a week later, after the prom, in the back of my battered truck. It was the total cliche. And to this day, it's one of the best experiences of my life." 

Leanne nodded and sighed, and Joe reached out to cup her cheek gently, his thumb caressing over the flushed skin. "So you see, I do get it. I get wanting to 'save yourself' for the right person. I get wanting it to be special." 

Leanne shivered as his finger rasped lightly along her cheekbone, awakening sensations she could barely even name deep in her belly. But in the next moment Joe withdrew his hand, only to wrap it warmly around hers. "I'd have loved to show you how beautiful it could be, Leanne. To introduce you to the absolute pleasure sex is - or can be. But as much as I hate to admit it, you're right - your first time should be with someone you care for, and who cares for you. It should be special." 

Inexplicably, Leanne felt the prickle of tears behind her eyes, and blinked quickly to soothe it. 

"For what it's worth, I'm sure it would have been absolutely spectacular." she said, squeezing his fingers before pulling her hand back, curling it into a ball to keep the heat of his touch from evaporating. "and on that note - I think it's getting late, and I have a new job starting tomorrow, so I'm afraid I need to get going..." 

"Leanne - stay, please. Just for a while longer." 

His sincerity surprised her, as did his fingers, wrapped lightly around her upper arm. It was true she had an early morning the next day, but she was also more than a little aware of her having thwarted his original plans for the night. She figured if she made herself scarce he'd still have more than enough time to charm another woman - someone who was here to be charmed, who was looking for the same kind of no-strings-attached pleasure he was offering. 

"Why?" 

Joe looked at her thoughtfully. "Well, because, surprising as it may be, this evening has been the most fun I'd had in a long time, and I'd hate for it to end so soon. I'd love to dance with you some more." He paused, snuck a quick peek at his watch, and smiled up into her eyes. "The clock hasn't struck midnight yet, princess. We have another couple of hours ahead of us, so... shall we dance?" 

With that he stood, and gallantly offered her his hand. Leanne blushed with pleasure. How could she refuse such a tempting offer? She stood, took one last large gulp from her beer, and then took his hand and let him lead her back to the dance floor. 

* 

Inevitably, the clock had struck midnight. 

Or rather, in their case, it was the insistent buzzing in her back left pocket which she knew would be the calendar alert, letting her know today was 'Orientation Day' at Sun Valley Farms. Reluctantly, Leanne drew back, separating their bodies which had gravitated closer and closer, until they were fitted together as if made for each other. 

She bit her lips before speaking up, regret thickening her voice. "I need to go, Joe." 

Joe nodded and took a step back, smiling faintly down at her. 

"I know." 

Yet neither one of them moved to walk away. Instead they stood there, looking into each other's eyes in the middle of the dance floor, reluctant to let the evening end. 

Finally, Joe spoke. "Are you staying here at the inn?" 

"Um, yes, I am." 

"Well, would you allow me to walk you up to your room?" 

Leanne hesitated, looking up into his face searchingly. She may be innocent, but she wasn't completely naive. "No hookup, remember?" 

Joe nodded solemnly, though she could see his eyes creased in a hint of a smile. "I remember, princess. No hookup. I'd just feel better seeing you safely back to your room than sending you off to the woods by yourself, with a room full of wolves watching your every move." 

Leanne nodded. In her gut, she trusted him. And she'd long learned to trust her gut when it came to people. 

"Okay." 

Joe grinned, and offered his elbow to her in the most gentlemanly gesture. She took it, smiling like a fool, and together they made their way through the bar, feeling people's eyes on them all the way out. For once in her life Leanne didn't feel belittled or pitied by those stares; instead, she felt appreciated, even envied. And she had to admit it felt good. 

* 

When they reached the quiet lobby Joe left her arm to press the call button for the elevator, and then held the door for her to step in. He stood close to her in the cramped, old car, but didn't take her arm again. Worked up as he was from hours of having her lithe, nimble body in his arms, he figured it would be best if he kept his distance now. 

It was the right thing to do, yet his body apparently missed the memo. 

Suck it up, cowboy, he told himself firmly. He knew the deal coming in, and he wouldn't go back on his word. He just never expected it to be this hard. 

Literally. 

Groaning inwardly, Joe breathed his relief when the elevator crawled to a stop and the heavy door squeaked open. He held it for Leanne, and let her take a couple of steps ahead before following her down the narrow hallway towards her room. She stopped at the door next to last on their left, fished in her back pocket for the card key, and then turned back towards him, waving it weakly. 

"Here we are, then." 

Joe nodded, coming to stand in front of her. 

"Yeah, here we are." 

He held out his hand, and relished her soft, warm touch when she took it. Joe bowed low to softly kiss her knuckles, and felt her fingers trembled in response. A surge of lust almost knocked him over. 

God, but she's responsive. Imagine how she'd respond to other kisses... 

Inhaling sharply, Joe let go of her hand, and stepped back. 

"Good night, princess. I had a great time tonight." 

"Me, too." She smiled. "Thank you for being my prince charming tonight, Joe, and for making me feel -" she shrugged, then smiled. "- well, like a real princess. I'll never forget this night." 

Joe nodded and half-turned, but couldn't quite walk away. Not yet. This couldn't be it. Balling his fists in frustration he stood there, undecided, until Leanne's soft question reached him. 

"What is it, Joe?" 

He swore under his breath. "It's just -" he started, but stopped himself. This wasn't fair to Leanne, and he had no right asking her. 

"It's just - what?" 

He shook his head, already regretting it, but at the insistence in her eyes he relented. 

"It's just that I really, really want to kiss you." 

Leanne exhaled sharply, but he could tell she wasn't surprised, nor angry. She did seem nervous though, and excited at the same time. Joe watched wariness and need battle in her eyes, and had to bite his own tongue to keep from saying anything. Don't push her, cowboy. This is her decision to make. 

Finally, her gaze focused on his. "Just a kiss?" 

Joe felt his lips relax into a hopeful half-grin. "Well, I'd be lying if I said all I wanted was a kiss." His dick throbbed inside his jeans thinking about everything else he wanted to do with her... Joe took a deep breath, and continued. "But I know nothing else is going to happen tonight," he said softly, and the answering relief he saw on her face told him all he needed to know. She definitely wasn't ready for more. "So yeah - just a kiss. Please?" 

She bit her lip, her brow furrowed, and he was going to take it back altogether when she admitted softly - "I'd very much like that, except - I'd never really kissed before. So I - I don't really know what to do." 

Joe released the breath he didn't know he was holding, and stepped forward until he could feel the heat emanating from her body. She tilted her head back, and he took her upturned face in his hands. 

"It's just like dancing, princess. All you need to do is follow my lead." 

Joe bent his head down towards hers, but then stopped, hovering so close their breaths mingled together. He waited there, mutely giving her a chance to change her mind. But Leanne no longer hesitated. Instead the tip of her tongue snuck out to moisten her dry lips, and then she went up on her tiptoes and fitted her mouth to his. 

Joe's whole world shrunk to that kiss. All he could sense was the caress of her mouth, the soft pressure of her breasts against his chest, her sweet taste on his tongue. Her scent - not even a hint of perfume; just 100% Leanne. God, she felt so good. She felt right. He wanted so much more - it took every ounce of self-restraint not to take that kiss any further. Not to delve his tongue deep to dance with hers, not to fill his palms with her breasts, not to cup her ass and grind himself against her belly... 

Instead, Joe kept himself in tight check, kept their kiss unhurried and deceptively easy, kept his touch light, though there was no way he could keep the groan that rose from somewhere deep in his chest, nor his too-quick breaths. And there was no way he could ever hide his raging hard-on, pulsating with the heavy beat of his heart. 

He couldn't remember wanting a woman more. 

* 

Leanne wanted that kiss to go on forever. 

She couldn't believe how good it felt. How right. She'd expected to feel overwhelmed; out of her depth. Inadequate. Instead, she felt like she'd just found her place in the world. Like she'd just come home. 

Joe was big and warm and solid against her, and she melted against him. His kiss was sure, unhurried, his lips coaxing hers to open, his tongue inviting hers to join his in a slow dance. He didn't take; rather, he offered - and she couldn't resist the temptation. 

She slid her arms around Joe's neck, needing to get closer, to feel even more. She never felt so connected to another human being. So in tune with another. So intimate. She drew back just long enough to steal a breath, and then came back for more, opening her mouth wider, letting her own tongue slip into his mouth. 

He tasted so good. Her hands slid back to cradle his head, hold it in place as she kissed him with abandon, every slide and press of their lips together building the pleasure, promising more to come, sending another shiver down her spine. She felt heat pooling deep in her belly. 

God, it felt so good. 

A low, unfamiliar moan rose from her throat. She couldn't recognize herself, and she didn't care. She wanted to be lost forever in that moment, in the pleasure of Joe's kiss, in the safe haven of his arms. Those arms tightened around her, drew her even closer to his hard body, his tongue delved deeper still - and then he pulled back, tearing their mouths apart as he took a half-step back and held her shoulders firmly, so that she couldn't eliminate the distance. 

They were both breathing hard, both flushed and flustered. Leanne felt a thrill go through her, knowing that he was just as impacted as she was by their kiss. 

"Leanne - I..." Joe started, then stopped and blew a harsh breath, visibly gathering himself. "We need to stop. I need to stop. Now." 

She was going to protest and he must have seen it, because he shook his head and took another step back, dropping his hands from her shoulders. He rubbed them briskly over his face a few times, and then took a deep breath and blew it slowly, regaining his composure. 

Watching him, Leanne felt her own head clear from the thick fog of lust that had obscured all reason just moments before. Now that she'd taken a few deep breaths herself she knew why he'd stopped - and knew he was right, even when every nerve in her body still hummed with newly-awakened need. 

"You're right. We do need to stop." 

Joe half-smiled. "Yeah." 

"I never thought it would be this tempting... this hard to stop." 

"I know." 

Leanne broke their eye contact, looking down, trying to hide her inner struggle. When her emotions were more or less in check, she raised her head to meet his eyes. 

"Thank you. Again." 

Joe's smile seemed wistful. "You are one of a kind, Leanne. Stay true to yourself, okay?" 

She nodded. 

"Take care, princess." 

"Yeah. You too, cowboy." 

Joe never moved. Leanne stared at him, and then arched one eyebrow delicately. He smiled. 

"I need to see you getting into your room safely. Then I'll go." 

She laughed. "Ever the gentleman, aren't you?" she teased gently but then turned, slid the card key in, and unlocked the door. Looking over her shoulder she saw him still standing right there, hands in his jeans' pockets. He didn't answer, but nodded for her to step inside. 

Leanne entered her room, and closed the door quietly behind her. Then, unable to resist, she took one last peek through the peephole. There she saw Joe, looking lost in thought, until finally he shook his head, and walked away. 

***** 

Author's note: Did you like this chapter? Please tell me! VOTE, FAVORITE and COMMENT. Thanks!



Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 02



Author's note: 

Welcome back to my story, y'all! 

First of all, thank you so much for the lovely reception on my first chapter. I'll admit to have been biting my nails with anxiety as Romance is a completely new category for me. I love romance and have been reading it forever, but as a writer, I've been focused on edgier, more hard-core categories if you will - mainly BDSM and Group Sex - so I wasn't at all sure that I'd be able to get the vibe right on this one. Your feedback so far is hugely reassuring, and goes a long way in keeping me motivated. Please keep those comments and votes coming! 

Xoxo, 

Annie / small_town_girl 

***** 

The weather forecast promised a lovely June day ahead, but standing in the bus station at the crack of dawn, huddled inside her hoodie and too-light wool coat, Leanne had a hard time imagining it. 

She was freakin' freezing. She just hoped the bus would be there soon. 

A large, white pick-up truck signaled to the right as it pulled out of the inn's parking lot onto the main road, some fifteen yards away, and the logo on its door caught Leanne's attention. The distinct graphic of three black-and-white cows grazing on a green hill was identical to the one on top of the email print-out folded in her pocket, confirming she'd been hired as a seasonal employee, and that her new job was starting today. The words Sun Valley Farm were printed in a black-yet-cheerful font right under the image, both on the car and on her letter. 

Yes! 

Leanne couldn't believe her good luck. Braving the cold she stuck her bare palm out, thumb up, and tried to catch the driver's eyes even though the sun breaking the horizon behind him had thrown his face in shadow. Nevermind. She just hoped people around here were as friendly as they said. Catching a ride to the farm would mean she'd be warm sooner, get there earlier, and save a few bucks on top of it all. How great would that be? 

With growing hope, Leanne watched the truck as it rolled towards her, slowed and then stopped at her side, the window already rolled down. She stepped close and peeked up, her eyes barely clearing the bottom of the open window. 

"Hi, good morning! Could I catch a ride to the farm with you?" 

"Sure, hop right in." came a friendly reply, and a hint of recognition tugged at her brain even as she bent to collect her backpack, threw it in the back, and then opened the door to step up and onto the wide seat. But it wasn't until she settled there, buckled in, and pushed her hoodie off her head, that she finally caught sight of the man sitting at the wheel, staring at her incredulously. A choked gasp rose from her own throat. 

"Joe? What - I mean, how?" she asked dumbly. 

He looked as stunned as she was, shaking his head in disbelief. Leanne tore her gaze from his and stared ahead at the narrow road as she tried to wrap her head around it. 

She was at the same time ridiculously elated and totally freaked out by seeing him again. In the wee hours before dawn she had resigned to the fact that last night was a singular experience. Seeing Joe again, sharing a ride with him - not to mention probably working in close proximity for a few months - was not a possibility she'd even considered. 

She needed to reassess the situation. 

It is going to be tricky enough as it is, your presence at Sun Valley Farm. The voice of caution sounded in her head. You cannot possibly consider complicating things any further. 

Leanne had always listened to that voice before. She had had to. But the taste of rebellion was still sweet on her tongue from last night. Or maybe it was him. For the first time in as long as she could remember, she felt an overwhelming urge to throw caution to the wind, and just be. 

Moments ticked by, and Leanne realized Joe was as quiet as she was, and that they hadn't started moving yet. Now that her initial shock had dissipated enough to regain some control over her conflicting emotions, Leanne bravely looked for, and found, Joe's eyes. 

"You - you work at Sun Valley Farm, then?" 

Joe nodded. "I- yeah. I do. Is - is that where you're headed?" 

He sounded extremely uncomfortable with the thought. Somehow, it made her feel better, and she answered with an apologetic grimace. "Yeah. It's my first day. I'm one of the seasonal hires starting today." She stared helplessly ahead. "Gosh. What are the odds?!" 

Joe sat silent next to her for what seemed like forever. She dared a peek at his direction, and found him lost in thought. But he must have noticed her staring because in the next heartbeat he turned to her, and when he saw the distress in her eyes his face softened, his mouth curling up. 

"Hey, come on, we did nothing to be ashamed of last night. We talked, we danced, we enjoyed each other's company -" 

"We kissed." 

"Yeah, we did." he agreed lightly. "But that's all we did. Just a kiss, right?" 

Yeah, right. It may have been 'just a kiss' for him; for her, it had been earth-shattering. 

Leanne looked into his eyes, noticing their warm light-brown color for the first time. They were trained at her, a hint of a smile in their corners. She squared her shoulders. 

"For the record, it was one hell of a kiss." She stated boldly, and got a kick from his sharp inhale. 

"Yes. It really was." he agreed after a heartbeat. 

Leanne felt warmth spread in her belly at his soft-spoken admission, but didn't dare say any more. In her mind, though, she wondered if maybe, just maybe, there would be a chance for another one, a chance for it to go even further...? 

Joe nodded curtly. "All right then." With that, he shifted back into gear, signaled even though there was no one else on the road that early in the morning, and eased the truck back onto the lane, quickly picking up speed and leaving the town behind them. 

* 

It was indeed a gorgeous morning, but Leanne found it hard to relax and enjoy the scenery. As large as the truck's main cab was, sharing the closed space with Joe felt overwhelmingly intimate. She could pick up his scent with every breath she took - warm, clean male skin, fresh from his morning shower, and a hint of aftershave; completely foreign to her, yet welcome and inviting. She snuck a few peeks at his profile while he was focused on the road ahead. 

Last night he looked good, but almost mythical - the whole evening felt surreal. He was Prince Charming who swept her off her feet to dance the night away, and who had awakened her dormant sensuality with that one hot, unforgettable kiss. 

Today, he was Joe the farmhand. He still looked good, but in a completely approachable, down-to-earth kind of way. Light blondish hair, still damp and curling at his neck, caramel-chocolate eyes that seemed predisposed to smile, golden skin with a spattering of youthful freckles. Good, solid build. Capable-looking hands. 

God. She wanted to kiss him again. 

If Joe noticed her scrutiny he never let on, and kept his eyes fixed on the road. Leanne breathed deep, and turned her head resolutely to her side window, consciously focusing her attention on the green, rolling hills. They were dotted with flowering dandelions, under bright blue skies scattered with fluffy, white clouds. It looked like it was taken from a kids' coloring book'. Leanne exhaled slowly, and finally relax as she took it all in. 

"It's so beautiful out here." She said wistfully. 

"Hmm. Yes, it is." He agreed. "There's one spot in particular, a few minutes ahead. Every time I drive by, I'm just struck by how perfect it is. It's my favorite place in the world." 

Leanne's head swiveled back to look at him curiously. "That sounds lovely. Would you point it out to me when we get there?" 

Joe threw her a quick smile. "I can do even better - we'll stop for a moment and step out so that you can really experience it in all its glory. All right?" 

"Oh - yeah, that'd be awesome!" Leanne smiled excitedly. If she were honest with herself, what she liked the most about it was his taking the time to share his favorite place on earth with her. 

Maybe there could be something between them, after all? 

* 

Joe smiled at the enthusiasm in Leanne's voice, even as his gut was telling him to back the hell off. As lovely as she was, as much as he'd enjoyed the night before, he didn't do workplace romance. There was simply too much drama potential, and Joe figured he didn't need that kind of hassle in his life. So he kept things simple: be the professional, no-nonsense boss on the farm, and keep all fun and games for weekend nights out in town. No mix-and-match. 

Except, things were already mixed up with Leanne. The way he could smell her floral shampoo with every breath he took, the same scent that he'd immersed himself in last night when he held her in his arms, with his nose buried in her hair... 

That right there was a bright red light. And the way he'd found himself craving her smile again; that should definitely be a warning. 

Above all that, he hadn't mentioned to her what he actually did on the farm. He knew he should have. But he also knew she'd look at him differently once he did, and he really, really liked the way she'd been looking at him. Like they could have something going between them. Like she'd really like it if they did. So he never said anything, trying to tell himself it won't come back to bite him in the ass. 

Joe heaved a sigh. He loved his family. He loved the farm. He loved his job. But sometimes he wished he could be just a farmhand on someone else's farm again, free to fool around and follow his heart. Or his gut. Or other body parts. 

Damn. Now he was thinking about those other body parts. It wasn't helping. 

Finally, the road had inclined upwards and then sloped down on the other side of a low hill, and his favorite spot revealed itself. Joe felt a smile stretch across his face, the pleasure of this sight never failing to ease his mind and lift his spirits. Gosh, it's just perfect. 

He slowed to a stop on the grassy shoulder, and looked over to Leanne. "Here we are. Wanna come take a look?" 

"Sure!" she said even as she unbuckled, and reached for her door. Joe felt a tug of disappointment - he wanted to come around and open her door for her, to help her down the truck - but the truth was it was better this way. Or so he told himself firmly. 

He pushed his own door open with a little more force than necessary, hopped out, and met Leanne in front. She looked at him expectantly, eyebrows raised in silent question, and Joe smiled. 

"Over there. Come, let's cross the road so that we can appreciate it fully." 

He held out his hand without thinking; she took it naturally. He regretted it the moment their fingers touched, but couldn't bring himself to let go. Instead he squeezed her palm a little tighter and turned towards the road, paused for a quick look to make sure there was no oncoming traffic, and then tugged her across to the other side. 

Once there he kept walking, climbing over a low pile of dirt that stretched along the way and then stopping on top of it, squeezing Leanne's hand again. 

"There. Isn't it something?" 

He looked over to find Leanne staring in wonder, mouth agape and eyes wide at the breathtaking view before them. 

The low hills seemed to roll over each other like giant waves in a brilliant sea of vibrant green. The grass was tall and luscious, rippling with the light wind, adding to the water-like effect. Here and there some scattered flowers added a sprinkle of strong, happy yellow to the mix, and the sky above was the perfect, intense blue, emphasized by a few fluffy clouds. The low morning sun warmed their backs, flooding the scene before them in brightness which made every color stand out so vividly it was almost unnatural, only it was as real as it gets. 

Leanne inhaled next to him. "Gosh. I can't believe the beauty of this place. It's - amazing." 

"I know." 

They stood there, awe-inspired, their silence backdropped by the whisper of the breeze and the happy chirping of birds. Finally, Joe spoke again. "You know what I feel whenever I come here?" 

Leanne looked at him questioningly. 

"Bliss." he said, and breathed the sweet, clean air once more, looking out to the hills. "Pure bliss. It's just so serene. Happy." Joe smiled down at Leanne. "Sometimes, when I need to de-stress, I come here. I just sit down and stare for a while, let the view in. Best kind of meditation I've ever done, and I've tried quite a few." His smile widened as he met her eyes. "Don't tell anyone." 

Leanne grinned. "Your secret is safe with me." she promised, and then looked back out at the view. "I can see why you find your balance here. Thank you for taking the time to show it to me. It really is lovely." Then she looked up sheepishly. "Er... mind if I take a picture?" 

Joe was startled by her question, but then shrugged. "Sure, why not? As long as I don't have to pose in it." 

One dark-blond eyebrow arched at him, as if questioning his reluctance to be photographed, but then Leanne shrugged and pulled her phone out of her back pocket, selected camera mode, and steadied herself in a wide stance as she chose her frame and clicked away. After a few snaps she paused and checked her screen, flipping through the recent photos, until she found the one she liked the most and handed the camera over to Joe with a wide smile. 

"There, take a look. Isn't it gorgeous?" 

Joe bent down for a better look, and was actually impressed by the spectacular shot. "Wow. That is one helluva picture. You've got a good eye there." 

Her smile turned as brilliant as the morning sun. "Thank you! And thanks again for showing this place to me. I can't believe these colors - I didn't even use any filters! I'm going to send it to Sofia, she'd love it!" 

"Who's Sofia?" Joe asked, curious. 

Leanne paused, stuffing the phone back in her pocket, and then answered lightly: "A girl I used to babysit a lot. She loves browsing pictures on my phone. She asked me to send her pictures." 

"Would you like me to take your picture with this view for her?" 

"Oh, would you do that for me?" she asked with pleased surprise, and he wondered again why she seemed to never expect him to do anything for her, even something as small as this. 

"Sure, I mean, it would only take a second. Here..." Joe fished out his own phone and took a few steps away to get a good angle, and then called out in his best sing-song voice - "Okay, say cheeeeessseee..." 

Leanne laughed out loud, and he caught her just like that - with her head thrown back, her hair blowing behind her in the light wind, strawberry-blond highlights that he hadn't noticed before catching the sun in fiery sparkles, and her face lit up in merriment. Looking at the image on the small screen he felt his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't decide what was more beautiful, the place he loved so much, or the woman standing there, laughing in its midst. 

"What?" 

Joe's head snapped as her voice broke through. He cleared his throat. "Er- nothing. Great picture. I think Sofia would be pleased." 

Leanne took the phone from his hand and took a look herself, then beamed in delight. "Oh it really is great! I think this may be the best picture of me ever taken!" her eyes sought his and her voice turned wistful. "Thank you, again. This -" she waved her hand over to encompass the view - "this is an unexpected gift, and I'm grateful that you've shared it with me. Thank you." 

"My pleasure." he answered lightly, though an uneasy feeling was growing in his gut. He really liked how she enjoyed the simple pleasures of life - be it dancing, or this view - or kissing, his mind shouted before he could tell it to shut it. And yet, something about it bugged him. It was almost as if she were... too grateful. Too easy to please. 

It was as if she'd been surprised to be treated well at all. 

Thank you for making me feel like a real princess tonight, she'd told him the night before. And all he did was - well, just be a decent guy, he figured. Well, a decent guy who could dance. Still, it seemed to him as if she didn't believe she deserved it. 

Joe pursed his lips. Back off, cowboy. This isn't your business. You're her boss, she's your employee. Let someone else be her Prince Charming. A spark of jealousy crackled at that thought, and Joe cursed to himself as he struggled to choke it down before it ignited. Disengage, now. 

Joe half-turned away from Leanne, jabbed his hands into his pockets to keep from doing anything stupid with them - like reach out for her - and took a couple of deep breaths to clear his head. 

With his emotions back under control, he spoke. "We need to get going. The day isn't getting any younger." 

Risking a glance at her over his shoulder, he hated the way her smile faded away, replaced with a curt nod. "Oh - of course. Let's go then." Already she was walking past him, quick to get back to the truck. He had to suppress the urge to grab her hand and stop her. 

Instead, he choked back a few more muted curses. This was a mistake, Joe. You can't play it both ways. You shouldn't be playing it at all. It's not fair to either one of you. Let her go. With renewed resolve, he followed her across the still-deserted road back to the truck. 

* 

The rest of the drive passed in awkward silence. Leanne's eyes were glued to her window, though she didn't really notice the scenery anymore. What went wrong out there? One moment, Joe was sharing his favorite place with her, admiring her photograph, taking her picture for Sofia. In the next, he was closed off and distant, even impatient. What the hell did I do to piss him off? 

Let it go. You know you suck at these games, and this isn't what you're here for, anyways. Keep your eyes on your goals: get the money for Bill, and the entry for your resume. Preferably with some solid recommendations. You can't afford to get distracted. 

Pushing confusion and disappointment to the back of her mind with well-practiced determination, Leanne was relieved when the large sign of Sun Valley Farm came into view, and they turned onto the narrow road. It was a bumpy mile-long ride until they reached tall, cast-iron gates standing wide open, revealing a wide gravelled court in front of the main farm house. 

"Here we are." Joe said, looking back at her after he'd parked, still clearly uncomfortable. 

"Yes. Thanks again for the ride." Leanne forced a polite smile, and then asked lightly - "hey, do you happen to know where I'm supposed to report to? I mean, I know it's still early but maybe whoever's in charge is already up? Or should I just sit tight and wait here? It's a beautiful morning, maybe it would be alright if I walked around to take a look at the place myself...?" 

She stopped abruptly, realizing she was babbling, and clamped her mouth shut. When he still wouldn't answer, Leanne shrugged and turned to open the door, but a hesitant touch on her arm stopped her. 

"Wait, Leanne -" 

She froze, and then turned to look at him. His lips were thinned, as if in reluctance, until finally he spoke. 

"Your picture. It's on my phone. Where would you like me to send it to?" 

"Oh." 

Really, girl, she chided herself silently. What did you think he wanted? Out loud, she said, "if you hand me your phone for a moment I'll send it to myself." 

Joe nodded and handed her his phone, her own picture smiling up at her from the screen. Leanne's fingers shook a little as she fumbled to find the 'share' option, and a moment later her phone buzzed with an incoming message. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 02



"There. I think you got it now." 

"Thanks." She handed him his phone back and turned to leave, but was stopped by his voice once more. 

"Leanne -" 

"What?" 

She knew he could hear her annoyance, but at this point didn't quite care enough to hide it. She needed to get away from him. 

"I, ahem..." he cleared his throat. "I haven't introduced myself properly last night, for which I apologize. My name is Joe McConnell, and I am the Chief Operating Officer here at Sun Valley Farm." 

Leanne stared at him, mouth open. "I - what?! Oh gosh..." She clamped her hand over her mouth to stop stronger words from spilling out, and felt her face change colors from beet-red to milky pale and back. 

I cannot believe this. He's Mr. McConnell. He must be related to Claire McConnel - her son, probably. And he is my BOSS. And I'd danced with him last night. I KISSED him. I would have - 

Joe's next words cut through the panic in her mind. "I can see you are upset about this, and to be honest, so am I. I would never have approached you last night had I known you're my employee." 

Leanne nodded miserably. You wouldn't have approached me at all if you knew who I was, employee or otherwise. Joe's voice softened, apparently trying to ease her mind. 

"Look - please, no need to be upset. Although everyone on the farm ultimately reports to me, I doubt we'd have much day-to-day interaction. Seasonal workers are trained and assigned to their jobs by my sister, Tammy, who's our CFO and the head of HR. She's the one you'll report to. 

Leanne nodded again, somewhat relieved. Okay. You can probably manage to keep your distance then. And they don't know who you are; there's no reason for them to suspect it. You do your job well, earn that money fair and square - and they'd never know, either. What they don't know won't hurt them; it won't hurt you, either. This is a win-win solution, that's why you decided to do it, remember? 

Joe gave her a tiny, encouraging smile. "Let's go knock on her office door; I expect she's already up and about. If she isn't there I'll give her a call to let her know you're here." 

"Okay." 

Joe opened his door to get out of the truck, and Leanne scrambled to unbuckle and jump out before he'd even consider coming around for her. She was relieved when he kept his distance, waiting in front while she reached back to get her bag before joining him. 

"So, where to?" 

Wordlessly, Joe turned and started walking towards a small building lining the left side of the large courtyard, while Leanne followed a few steps behind him. He stopped to knock lightly on the first door, which was standing open to let the air in. 

"Morning, Sis. Your first seasonal is here." Joe said by way of greeting as he walked into the small, neat office. Leanne lingered at the door, unsure if she should step in. Peeking inside, she was greeted by a wide smile stretched across a friendly, freckled, makeup-free face, crowned by a striking mane of bronze-colored curls. 

"Oh hi! You must be Leanne. You're a couple of hours early; I like you already! Come on in, have a seat." 

Leanne stepped in, and hesitantly took a seat across the wide desk. "Oh - I - thank you." 

Tammy must have heard the hint of question in her voice because she chuckled and said - "If you're wondering how I knew it was you, well, you're one of exactly two new seasonals we got this year, and the other one is a guy, so it really wasn't much of a guess." 

"Oh." 

Tammy's smile turned conspiratory, and she leaned forward to whisper to Leanne, although it was clear she meant for Joe to hear her, too. "All that testosterone on the farm can get a bit much sometimes. I try to even the odds as much as I can." 

Leanne would have laughed, if she weren't all-too aware of the potent maleness of the man standing behind her. As it were, she just nodded. "Right." 

Tammy chuckled, seemingly amused by her deadpanned agreement. "Good! So, seeing as you're early, let's get you started with the administrative stuff." She pulled a bright green manilla folder from her drawer and handed it to Leanne, along with a pen. "Please fill these out. When you're done, I'll show you to your room so you can get settled before we start Orientation Day at Nine AM." 

As Leanne reached for the folder, Tammy returned her attention to her brother. "Need me for anything else, Joe?" 

Joe blinked and then took a step back. "Nope. All good for now; you'd make it to our morning sync-up as usual before starting today's training, right?" 

"Yeap, that's in thirty minutes. As long as we keep it short, I'm good." 

"Great. See you then." He made to leave, then cleared his throat and added - "Er, Leanne - welcome aboard, and good luck." 

"Um - thanks, Mr. McConnell" she said, willing her eyes to meet his, seeing a hint of annoyance there when he replied - "It's Joe. Mr. McConnell is my dad; you'll probably meet him sometime this morning. He's the big boss." Leanne mumbled an 'okay, sorry' but Joe had already turned on his heel and walked out, leaving her feeling chastised and pissed off. She bit down on her tongue to keep from venting out her frustration. I get that this is uncomfortable to him, too, but he doesn't have to be a complete ass about it! 

When Leanne turned back towards Tammy she caught her staring questioningly at her, then out the open door at her brother's retreating back. But she said nothing, except motion for Leanne to get going on the forms. Relieved, Leanne picked the pen up, and resolved to focus on the task at hand. 

That's it. He's gone. Now remember what you came here for: clean the slate for Bill's sake, and get some hands-on experience with animals. Focus. Dwelling on could-be's with Joe McConnell is most definitely NOT it. Move on, girl. 

* 

As promised, Leanne was soon shown to her room by Tammy. It was tiny, holding only the bare essentials - a single bed, a small desk doubling as a nightstand, a chair, and a single-door closet. But it was clean, with a good-sized window standing open to let good air in, adorned with a semi-transparent, lace-trimmed curtain that gave it a touch of femininity. And best of all - it had an adjacent shower/bathroom all of its own. 

Leanne was thrilled. 

She had never had a private room with an en-suite all to herself before. The trailer had one bedroom which she had shared with her mother, and in the Rogers' home she'd had a tiny half-room off of Sofia's nursery. Having a private space all for herself was a luxury she'd never expected; in her mind she'd imagined dorms with bunk beds and a shared public shower, like she'd seen once on some long-forgotten TV drama. Leanne stood in the middle of the room, her face lit up in a silly smile. Tammy grinned back at her obvious enthusiasm. 

"So, you like?" 

"Oh, this is incredible. Thank you so much!" 

Tammy chuckled good-naturedly. "You're welcome. It's not the Ritz, but there's good water pressure and the mattress is pretty new. You have about an hour until we start; feel free to walk around and explore in the meantime. The only places off-limits are the main house and the two smaller houses right behind it - those are the family's private homes. Any questions?" 

"I - yeah, well, only about a million, but I figure Orientation should answer most of them, so I thought I'd hang on to them until after." 

Tammy nodded. "Good! So, we're going to meet at Nine AM at my office. It would be good if you were already in your work clothes - you'll find a couple of pairs in the closet which should be in your size, as well as a pair of work boots. That's why we asked for your measurements on the phone." 

"Oh - yeah, I figured. I'll do that." 

"Great, see you in a bit then." 

"Thanks, Tammy. I appreciate it. All of it. Thank you for this opportunity." 

"You're welcome, Leanne. See you soon." 

* 

An hour into the orientation, Leanne's head was starting to spin with all the new information they'd received. They were four seasonals overall: Tracy and Jennifer were best friends from Santa Rosa and had been coming back for a couple of years now on their summer breaks from College, and Jackson was a newbie like herself, and much younger - fresh out of high-school and obviously eager to please. They seemed nice enough, Leanne thought with relief, and then gave herself a mental shake. 

This isn't high-school or college anymore, and you're not the odd one out wishing to fit in. You belong here just as well as them. 

With her new resolve she reciprocated their curious smiles, and then returned her attention to Tammy, who was methodically going down her laundry list of information, and was now talking about - well, laundry. 

"We take care of laundering your work uniforms - you'll find a couple of changes in the closets in your rooms - but you're responsible for any other clothing items. There's a free laundromat at the end of the building, as well as detergent and softener. If those run out just go up to the kitchen at the back of the main house and ask Mrs. Rojas for more; she'll help you out." 

Tammy scanned their faces, pausing on the new ones, and at their nods smiled and gestured around at the large dining area around them. "We'll meet here several times a day. Fresh coffee, tea and biscuits are served every morning at five am, then breakfast is at eight thirty. We lunch at one, and supper at six in the evening. Then the dining room re-opens at eight in the evening if you want to watch some TV or just hang around; there's always some snacks and such available, too." 

Leanne was again pleasantly surprised; she knew they'd be getting three meals a day, but hadn't expected to be treated like a guest at a hotel! Tammy noticed the look on her face, and smiled. 

"We like our staff to enjoy their stay here; it's more fun for everyone that way. You'll meet Julio and Todd later today when you each start on your designated tasks; they'll teach you everything you need to know about farm work and make sure you do your job right." Tammy paused and looked from one face to the other. "Any questions?" 

At their matching shakes she smiled. "All right then; I think that's enough talking for one day. Let's get you stationed." She conferred with her notes for a moment. "Okay, Jackson, you'll be going out to the fields with Julio. Please wait for him here, he should be around any minute. Tracy and Jen, you're on dairy duty as usual; you know what to do. Todd's waiting for you there." 

Leanne saw the big smiles on the girls' faces, and figured they liked dairy duty, or Todd, or both. Jackson seemed apprehensive, but just nodded in acceptance. 

"Leanne, you'll start at the petting zoo. I'll be with you today." 

Leanne just barely contained her squeal of delight. The petting zoo! It was like hitting jackpot on her first day of work. While it had been Bill's situation that had driven her - against her better judgment - to seek employment specifically here at Sun Valley Farm, she was thrilled with the other opportunities it presented her with. She had always loved animals; that was why she took biology and pre-med in college, hoping to become a vet someday. Working the small zoo would be the best kind of hands-on experience she could get. 

* 

The next couple of weeks flew by quickly, and Leanne took to farm life like a cow to the pasture, or a calf to the udder. She drank it all in in fascinated enthusiasm. 

Working the fields was the hardest job, physically speaking, but Julio turned out to be a blast - the wiry older man had a wicked sense of humor, a headful of long tales and a beautiful singing voice, and he'd used all three to make the long hours fly by. He also taught her how to drive a tractor, and she realized that Sam and Steven, Sofia's twin brothers, were absolutely onto something with their fascination with heavy machinery. She had Julio take her pictures mastering the yellow steel monster and had sent them over, along with that image of hers on the hill, for Elaine to show the kids. 

Their replies - three separate text messages full of colorful emoticons - warmed her heart. She missed them all so much. Then Elaine's text came - 'how's it going for you there?' - and she ended up taking all of her 15-minute break texting back and forth with her, but it was totally worth it. It wasn't so much what she said, but the way she said it. 

She may not live there anymore, but they still cared for her. Leanne smiled. 

* 

The dairy farm was a marvel of technology. Leanne was surprised and impressed to find that milking process was fully automated, using a robotic milking machine that seemed to be taken out of a science-fiction movie. It replaced much of the manual work that was traditionally involved in herding the cows and adjusting the pumps to their udders, and was utterly fascinating to watch in action. 

Even better, all cows were fitted with an electronic bracelet which tracked their vitals and movements at all times and reported it back into a central application. The software, in turn, sent alerts for when a cow got sick, pregnant, in heat, or going into labor. For a wannabe vet like Leanne, it was magical. 

Leanne bombarded Todd with a ton of questions, and he had obliged, answering patiently and at length, smiling at her enthusiasm. In his early thirties, he had an athletic build and a dark-and-handsome kind of look, which, along with his friendly demeanor, explained why Tracy and Jen were all over him. 

Leanne guessed she might have been, too, if she weren't obsessed, still, with one Mr. Joe McConnel, COO Extraordinair. 

As promised, they barely saw each other. Not in any official capacity, anyway. But wherever she turned, he seemed to be there, at the edge of her peripheral vision, drawing her attention away from the task at hand. When their paths did collide, usually around meal times when everyone gathered at the dining hall, he would treat her with detached professionalism. 

She told herself it was for the best. He was Clair McConne's son. There could never be anything between them, anyways. 

But then, every night, she'd dream of him, and wake up flustered and annoyed. 

* 

Sun Valley was an active dairy farm, but agro-tourism made a big part of their income, which meant the upcoming summer vacation would be peak season for them. On top of working the fields and the cows and helping Mrs. Rojas in the tiny Cheese Factory, the petting zoo was to be expanded for the summer, and then the seasonal farm market was to be set up. 

It was a ton of work, but it was fun to do, and Leanne threw herself into it with enthusiasm. Her contract stated she would get two afternoons off for every week she would work through the weekend, but she had no interest in taking any time. Going out to Santa Rosa held no appeal, and San Francisco was too far out, and way too expensive, to waste her time on. 

Instead, she approached Tammy and asked to work those extra shifts for extra pay. Tammy considered her request with a curious look, but then shrugged and agreed. 

"Well, yeah, sure, that works for me. Less juggling with the schedule, I guess. But let me know if and when you do want to take any time, okay? Tell me by Friday if you want any time on the following week so that I can work that into the shifts."  

Leanne smiled her thanks and left, already doing the math in her head. Two additional half-days meant an extra day of work a week, that would mean an extra fifteen percent income on the same time frame. It wouldn't make a huge difference, but in her situation, every little bit helped. 

Her spirits lifted as she was reminded, once more, of the value of diligence and determination. She might be on her own in the world, but she was healthy and smart, and knew how to work hard. 

She'd be all right. As long as she didn't get side-tracked. 

Hot dreams about handsome, charming impossibilities be damned. 

* 

Joe found her, as he knew he would, at the petting zoo. She was mucking the empty stalls while the ponies were out, grazing in the enclosed pasture. Joe stopped in the darkened doorway and listened to the sounds coming from the last stall on the right: the rhythmic scrape of shovel against packed dirt set the beat for her out-of-breath, out-of-tune humming. 

He chuckled to himself, and walked over to the open stall. Pausing there, he watched her work with growing appreciation. Her movements were smooth, efficient and energetic - even though she must have been on her feet all day. He noticed the lean muscles of her arms flex as she worked, the contours of her slim back visible under her green t-shirt where it clung to her sweaty skin, the dampness of her skin at her nape... 

Damn. He was imagining her naked again. Naked and sweaty; moving rhythmically and enthusiastically with him... 

Joe coughed, and Leanne swung around so fast a chunk of mucky hay flew from her shovel straight at him, narrowly missing his legs and landing in a wet plop just behind him. 

"Oh gosh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to do that - I didn't hit you, did I?" 

"No, no, it's alright. Would have served me right for startling you like that." he said, amused. 

Leanne blew a loud breath. "Phew. Okay, yeah. I guess... still. Wouldn't be wise to get my boss all dirty... glad I missed." 

Joe did his best to suppress the mental picture of getting dirty with Leanne, and instead focused on the issue at hand. "So, Tammy mentioned you were here today - how come? I thought we'd sent everybody home for the last weekend before the School Year ends?" 

Leanne looked uneasy. "I - yes, you did. But I asked Tammy if I could stay." 

He looked at her questioningly. "Why? Don't you want to spend this weekend with your family and friends? It's going to be a couple of months before you'd be able to do that again. Summer weekends are crazy around here, we need all hands on deck for them." 

Leanne shrugged, and then answered hesitantly: "I - I need the extra cash... Tammy said it was okay?" 

"Hmm. I see." Joe said, although he wondered, not for the first time, how badly she needed the money, and what for. They were proud of paying fair wages to all their employees - even seasonals. Why would she be that strapped for cash? But he kept his thoughts to himself. 

"Well don't get me wrong; having another pair of hands around today means our own weekend workload is lighter, and I'm happy to pay for it." Leanne breathed in relief, but he wasn't done. "But then again, I also heard you haven't been taking any afternoons off. In fact, everyone's already done it - twice a week, every week they were working the weekend through, as per your seasonal contract - except you. Which means you've been working non-stop for the past three weeks. That's unacceptable." 

Leanne looked increasingly uncomfortable, chewing nervously on her plump, pink lower lip. "I - I mean, but -" 

Joe shook his head, not letting her finish, though he gentled his voice when he continued. 

"Leanne, nobody can work 24/7, seven days a week for an extended period of time without burning out. There's a long summer ahead of us. I'd rather you took your breaks and stayed the course, than work yourself to the ground and then leave early because you cannot do it anymore." 

He had a long, heated argument about it with his sister just that morning on their sync-up, when the issue had come up by accident, while discussing some other scheduling issues. In the end his sister agreed that she may have gone too far in allowing an employee to work non-stop, essentially, but since Tammy was going out to town today, it was up to Joe to deliver the message to Leanne. 

When he stopped to think about it, he admitted to himself he was pleased at the opportunity to finally speak to her again one-on-one, even if it were solely on administrative issues. It was better than ogling her from afar when no one was looking, not even his own inner guard. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 02



Leanne looked confused. "But I don't work 24/7, Mr. McConnel. I get time off every night." 

"It's Joe." He knew he sounded impatient, but he really hated her calling him Mr. McConnel. As if our night together never happened. "And you work from sunup till sundown every single day, twelve hours straight. More, now that Summer had arrived. That's pretty damn close to 24/7." 

He had expected her to simply say 'okay' and promise to take her breaks as per her contract. Obviously, he was wrong. Leanne stood taller, squaring her shoulders and sticking her chin out, as if getting ready to tell him off. 

"No it's not, Mr. - Joe. In fact, it's the easiest time I'd had in years. You wanna know 24/7? Well, being a live-in au-pair to a baby and her twin toddler brothers; that's 24/7. Or taking up college when Sofia and the boys grew up a bit, attending classes in the morning while they were in school, and then taking care of them until they went to sleep, then starting on my home assignments until one or two in the morning - only to get up at six AM the next day and start all over again. That's 24/7." 

Joe just stared at her. All he could think was, Wow. and I thought farm life was hard? 

"And I was happy to do it, too, because I knew it was the only way I could afford my education. This -" Leanne gestured around her, shaking her head. "This is easy. I get to eat three meals a day that I don't need to make, nor clean up after. I get most of my laundry done for me, and don't need to do anyone else's. I work with animals every day, all day, which is everything I'd ever dreamed of. And when the sun sets, I go back to my room and still have hours of free time before getting a full, solid, uninterrupted night sleep." 

She held his gaze. "This is the easiest I've had since..." She stopped abruptly, her eyes darkening, and then shook her head. "Well, since forever, it seems. I don't need, nor want, any more time off. I want to make the most out of my job here." 

Joe had to admit it, at least to himself - he was seriously impressed. Her attitude was refreshing, especially compared with most newbie seasonals. And yet... 

"I'm glad you like it here. Still, you not taking any time off isn't right. It kind of makes me feel like a slave driver." He said it with a smile, though, and was rewarded with a tiny answering grin. 

"So you're saying I should take some time off for you?" 

Now there's an idea, he thought, and then shook his head to clear it. "I'm saying you shouldn't settle for less than you deserve, even if it's better than what you had before, or what you expected to get." 

His eyes locked with her, and he saw her blink twice, as if in a mental double-take. He decided to push further. 

"What other things would you have liked to do, if I made you take the time off you deserved? How would you spend a half-day off? Or a whole weekend?" 

Leanne paused, seemingly lost when confronted with this foreign concept, but then her eyes turned distant, and he knew she was imagining it in her mind. 

"Well, I - I've always loved hiking. My mom and I used to do it a lot before - " she swallowed. "I guess, if I had the time - I'd love to hike around here." 

Joe smiled. "These hills are beautiful, aren't they?" 

And then, acting on complete, crazy impulse, he said - "and you're going to see them for yourself, tomorrow. Nine AM, after morning chores and breakfast, I'm taking you hiking." 

At first, her eyes lit up in excitement. A moment later, they clouded. "Um..." She fidgeted uneasily. 

"What?" 

Leanne shuffled her legs, but finally pulled her eyes up to meet his squarely. 

"Are you telling me, as my boss, that I have to go hiking with you? Or are you asking me?" 

Her question hit him like a kick in the gut. Damn. He didn't think this through. 

All he wanted was to make her take some time off and enjoy herself. Okay, if he were honest with himself, there was also something about her that made him want to take care of her, to lighten her burdens. And although any kind of intimate involvement was strictly off-limits, he really, really wanted to spend more time in her company. 

But he never considered it may come across as inappropriate. Even borderline harassment. Cursing to himself, Joe back peddled, fast. 

"I apologize. That came out wrong. Let me rephrase: I am telling you, as your boss, that you're taking tomorrow off. I am asking you, as Joe, the guy you met a few weeks ago in Santa Rosa, if you'd like to go hiking with me tomorrow. I'd love to show you the prettiest trail on these hills." 

"Um..." 

Leanne seemed torn; her brow was wrinkled, thoughtful, but he could see the glint of excitement had returned to her eyes. Finally she gave him a tentative half-smile. 

"Just a hike?" 

A surge of excitement made his heart thud harder, and at the same time his belly dropped. Just a hike... yeah, right. Like it was 'just a kiss' that night? But he ignored that knowing voice in his head, and instead answered her solemnly, with just a hint of a lopsided grin. 

"Just a hike." 

Finally, she nodded. 

"Okay." 

***** 

Author's note: Did you like this chapter? Tell me! VOTE, FAVORITE and COMMENT. Thank you!



Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 03



Author's note: 

Welcome back, y'all! I have heard some rumors about a rebellion underway if you don't learn more about the background story. Well, lower your swords, people. KEEP CALM and READ THE CHAPTER. The big black secrets of the past are about to be revealed – at least most of them ;) 

Also, this chapter is where things start heating up between Joe and Leanne. Now, I've never written in Adult Romance before (and have only read a few stories in the genre here on Lit) so am not sure what the expectations are. Let me be clear about this, then: it's going to get explicit. VERY. Still romantic - or so I believe - but definitely 18+. Just sayin'. 

Now for those of you keeping track of my word count towards the 50K goal of #NaNoWriMo by the end of November, this chapter adds another 10K, for a total of ~25K. I'd have loved to say I'm half-way through, but this story is tracking towards 75K total, which means I'm only a third of the way there. But that's alright, because I'm only a third of the way into the month! #OnTrack 

So without further ado – please have a read, enjoy, and let me know your thoughts after :) 

xoxo 

Annie (small_town_girl / Anne A. Lois) 

***** 

On the breathtakingly beautiful trail with Joe, Leanne couldn't remember the last time she'd felt like that. So alive. So centered. So happy. 

It was a stark contrast to the agonizing indecision that had kept her up most of the night before. 

She had spent hours worrying, debating with herself, thinking and re-thinking her decision to go on this hike with Joe. She was close to canceling come morning. But in the end, she allowed herself to do it. 

You planned to earn some money for bill and some work experience for yourself here. Well, what if you could gain some life experience, too? She reasoned with herself. Make the most of it. Enjoy it while it lasts, and then move on, because you know it can never really be. No regrets. 

Now that several weeks had passed without raising anyone's suspicions about her identity, she figured she was in the clear. After all, she didn't share a last name with her father, Bill Richardson, as her mother had changed back to her maiden name - Sommers - twenty years ago, following the tragedy here on the farm, and its catastrophic aftermath. The name Leanne Sommers had raised no questions with either Tammy or Joe. 

Neither did anything seem amiss with Mr. McConnel. He had introduced himself on the first day at lunch time, and had checked in a few times since. She believed he was satisfied with her work, and he treated her just the same as he did them all, with gruff, fatherly impatience. 

She was right to let old dogs lie. 

What good could it do, dredging up the ancient past? And how would she have done it, anyways? Say, 'hello, Mr. McConnel, thank you for hiring me. Oh by the way, I'm the daughter of the drunk driver who killed your wife twenty years ago''? 

No. She had agreed to help Bill because she needed to believe redemption was possible, and because in the end, it was the right thing to do. But she didn't want to get tangled up in his story. At least, not any more than she had to. 

She was her own person, and had her own life to think about. Her own goals. Her own dreams. 

And those dreams had lately all been focused on a California cowboy who made her feel like a princess. 

So, for the first time in her life, Leanne decided to indulge herself. Have her fairytale with her cowboy; make the most out of it. And then, when the clock struck midnight and the magic ended, as it was destined to, accept the harsh realities of her life with grace and dignity like her mama taught her. 

She could do this. She knew she could. No one had to get hurt except herself. She figured it would totally be worth it. 

* 

The trail was glorious. Leanne loved the ancient grove of majestic redwoods, where the air was chilled and smelled of damp earth, mysterious and magical. She could just imagine tree nymphs and fairies dancing in the narrow rays of light filtering from the canopy way up above. And then, stepping out of the woods, they hiked down the ridge, making their way through lower trees and bushes until their trail opened to those grassy, rolling hills, awash with early afternoon sunlights. 

And Joe was there, sharing her wonder, encouraging it, smiling into her wide, awe-filled eyes. He must have hiked there a million times before, but he didn't seem bored. He looked as exhilarated as she was, his face shining with pleasure as they stopped and took in the views, breathed in the clean air. 

His gaze felt warm when it rested on her. Her cheeks reddened in response, but she didn't care. She could always pretend it was the physical exertion that had rendered flushed and out of breath. 

"How about we break for a picnic?" Joe sounded a little out of breath, too. "I don't know about you, but I'm kind of starving already." 

Now that he mentioned it, so was she. "Yes, I'm real hungry, too. Know any good spots?" 

"Oh yes, I know just the place." He said, expectation evident in his voice. "Come on, it's not too far now." 

They walked a few more minutes until they peaked over a low hill, and Leanne's breath caught in her throat at the sight. There, nestled within the bright green curves of mother earth, laid a perfect little pond. It was blue-green and smooth as a mirror, adorned with a few flowering water plants. Leanne laughed out in delight, and without conscious thought, left the trail to run down towards the water. 

"Hey, wait up!" 

She heard Joe shouting after her but ignored it, giggling like a child as the wind whipped strands of hair against her face, the sweet smell of water getting stronger by the second, the grass thick and lush under her boots. On impulse, she let herself tumble down, and rolled over as soon as she hit the soft ground. She continued to flip from her back to her belly and then back over again, laughing breathlessly, the whole world spinning around her in brilliant kaleidoscope of blue and green and yellow - 

"LEANNE!" 

Joe's alarmed cry came from somewhere behind her, followed by the heavy thud of his boots, just as she came to a stop lying on her belly in a patch of darker-green, soft, flowering clovers. Resting her cheek on her arms she just lay there, heaving, waiting for the world to stop spinning. 

One part of her mind was taking stock of herself, now that the adrenaline rush was fading, but aside from a few dirty smudges on her hands from breaking the fall she didn't think she was any worse for wear. The other part of her mind was still high on sensory overload. She felt incredible. She could hear the wind whooshing in the grass, the buzz of busy bees, the chirp of birds - and then Joe's voice, thick with concern, right above her. 

"You okay, Leanne? Talk to me, please." 

She lifted her head, squinting against the sun's glare coming from right behind his looming form. 

"Oh - i'm fine! Just got the breath knocked out of me... God, what a rush!" 

"You - you did that on purpose?!" He sounded incredulous. "Jeez, you almost gave me a heart attack!" 

Guilt tagged her conscience. "I - I'm sorry. I couldn't resist. It was so much fun! Maybe you should try it, too. Lighten up a bit, you know." 

Joe shook his head at her, but she could see a smile curl the corners of his mouth. 

"Here, let's get you up, nice and slow now." 

Joe's hand appeared before her face and she took it, then tried her best to ignore the zing of awareness his touch ignited. It's just the scraping that's making my skin too-sensitive, she told herself resolutely. 

"You really did give me the scare of a lifetime there, you know. I was imagining half a dozen horror scenarios... you sure you're okay?" 

Leanne nodded, too deeply touched by his concern, but wouldn't let herself linger on that. She was having fun - more fun than she'd had in way too many years - and she wasn't going to spoil it with self-pity. After a moment of scrutiny Joe nodded, and to her surprise linked his fingers with hers. 

"Let's go then. It's just over there." 

Leanne allowed him to lead her, still focused on the way his fingers felt, strong and warm and entirely too tempting between hers, until they came to stand under a lone, ancient-looking weeping willow, just a few yards away from the pond. 

"Here we are. That's our spot." 

It was perfect. Leanne's heart swelled. The willow's stooping branches created a green, airy cave around them, providing ample shade and a sense of intimacy. 

"It's awesome!" She smiled at Joe, and he gave her hand a little squeeze. "Yeah. I love this place. Now, let's eat!" 

They shrugged off their backpacks and dug into them. Leanne peeked inside, curious as to their contents, since it was Joe who had presented her with the already-packed bag that morning, and drew out a lightweight blanket. She spread it out and placed the plastic container that held their sandwiches in its midst, and pulled out the plates, cups and cutlery. Joe added water bottles, fruits, and a thermos of coffee to the little buffet, and then bowed deeply, gesturing at the blanket with flare. 

"Your feast is ready, princess." 

Her heart skipped a beat, the nickname bringing up memories of their evening together. Peeking at him she caught his light flush as he looked back apologetically. 

"Sorry. It slipped." 

"That's alright", she mumbled, and she sat down cross-legged, indian-style. She liked him calling her that, but knowing he'd feel even more guilty if she confessed as much, she kept quiet. 

Joe sat across from her. "Dig in, please. It's a mean ham-and-cheese, if I do say so myself." 

* 

It really was a great sandwich, Leanne conceded in her half-asleep mind. She was lying flat on her back with her head pillowed on her arms, her belly pleasantly full, her muscles relaxed, her breathing deep and even. She was very much in the moment, sensing the occasional ray of sunshine dancing across her closed eyelids, the light caress of afternoon breeze on her skin. It would have been a perfect opportunity to meditate for a while - that is, if it weren't for her hyper-awareness of the man lying not a couple of feet away from her. 

She dared sneak a peek from the very corner of her eye, doing her best to keep her head from rolling towards him. He seemed asleep, his chest rising and falling in easy rhythm, his eyes closed. He looked softer somehow, even though it was only his profile she could see. 

Emboldened, she cracked her eyes open and tilted her neck just a fraction so that she could see better. She trailed her gaze down his solid torso, until it rested on the fly of his pants. There it was, that lovely, enticing bulge she'd first noticed that night in town... 

"I'm still flattered, you know." 

Leanne's blue eyes flew up to collide with Joe's amused, honeyed gaze. She felt her face turn fire-red, and tried for a mumbled - "Um, sorry..." 

He chuckled, waving his hand to dismiss her apology, and changed the topic. 

"So, how are you enjoying your time off?' 

Leanne lay back. "Hmm. To be honest, I'm still getting used to this novel experience." 

"How come?" His voice sounded sleepy. It made her lower her ever-present guards. 

"Well, I haven't had any time off in - in as long as I can remember, really." She said flatly, accepting the realities of her life. "Between school and work - first helping my mom when she was sick, then caring for Sofia and the boys - I was their live-in nanny, did I tell you that? - anyways, I never really... slowed down to smell the flowers before." 

Leanne could hear the self-directed mockery in her voice, but couldn't help it. It's not like you can afford to do it too often now, too, she reminded herself. Don't get too used to it. 

"Wow, that sounds tough... what was wrong with your mother?" 

Leanne pressed her lips together, but finally answered. "She was diagnosed with breast cancer at forty, when I was fifteen. She died when I was eighteen." 

"I'm sorry. I know how hard it is to lose your mom. Mine died when I was ten. Car accident." 

She almost blurted 'I know', but caught herself in time. Instead, she mumbled - "I'm sorry. That sucks." 

"Yeah, it really does." He agreed too lightly, and she knew he was going to change the subject, just like she did when it somehow came up in conversation. 

"So, how did you end up as a live-in au-pair for three youngsters?" 

Leanne smiled. "Elaine Rogers was my mom's best friend. She offered me the job in exchange for room and board and a small salary. Then a couple of years later, she and her husband loaned me the money to pay for community college." 

"What about your father? Couldn't he help out?" 

Leanne's belly dropped, and her eyes flew to meet Joe's. He looked curiously back at her. Leanne swallowed hard. 

"He - he wasn't in the picture." That much was true, at least, even if it were a blatant evasion. 

"Wow. You've been through a lot." 

Leanne felt him looking at her, but refused to meet his gaze, gritting her teeth. "I don't like to be pitied." She was already regretting telling him what little she did about her life. 

"I don't pity you, Leanne. I admire you." The conviction in his voice soothed her, and she turned to look at him. Joe reached his hand, as if to caress her cheek, but then stopped and withdrew. 

"You're much stronger than you look. That much is obvious." 

Leanne's throat constricted with sudden tears. What doesn't kill you make you stronger, she thought; still, it meant a lot to hear his recognition. She blinked rapidly, willing her eyes to dry, and instead smiled her thanks. 

Joe nodded, and then rolled abruptly and got up to his feet, offering her his hand. Leanne took it and pushed herself up just as Joe gave her a stronger-than-expected tug - making her slam hard against his unyielding chest. 

"Whoa! Easy there, princess." 

His arms came up to steady her while her own hands wrapped instinctively around his waist, and their bodies pressed together from chest to knees. Leanne's heart rate, already quickened by their unexpected proximity, kicked up another notch when she looked up and caught the expression on his face. 

His eyes darkened and his nostrils flared, and as inexperienced as she was, she recognized plain male desire when she saw it. She leaned back, but that only made her pelvis press harder against the unmistakable ridge behind his fly. Joe's hands moved to her arms and she was sure he would push her away - but then he didn't. His fingers tightened their grip on her flesh, and his voice rasped as he spoke. 

"This is breaking every rule in my book." 

And yet he stood there, holding his breath, as if waiting for her to make the decision for him, and Leanne found it oddly endearing. She reminded herself her internal debate from last night; reminded herself that going down this route was bound to end in pain. But she couldn't care less. 

Throwing caution to the wind she pressed closer, went up on her tiptoes, and kissed him. 

* 

Kissing Joe was every bit as glorious as she remembered. He may have been surprised by her forwardness, but it wasn't a few seconds before he took over the kiss, deepening it, his tongue seeking access and then stroking hers, making her shudder with need. 

One of his hands found its way to the nape of her neck and his fingers tunneled into her hair, their tips tracing her sensitive scalp, making her shiver and press even closer. His other hand slid down towards the small of her back and then lower, to the curve of her hip. But that wasn't enough for Leanne, and she hooked her arms around his neck and brought his head down so she could kiss him back harder, grinding against him, instinctively seeking more. She may not have had any real experience, but her body seemed to know what it wanted. 

Joe's fingers tightened at her hip, and then he groaned and his muscles stiffened, and Leanne knew he was going to break their kiss a split second before he tore their mouths apart and stepped back, breathing hard. 

"Wait... Leanne. Shit. Wait. I - fuck." 

Leanne watched mutely while Joe visibly struggled to compose himself, half-turned away from her. Finally he met her gaze, and the regret in his eyes struck her like a physical blow. 

"I'm sorry." 

Pissed off, she stood up straighter, hands on hips. "Don't apologize, Joe. I started it. I kissed you." Against my better judgement, too, she added to herself. Her cheeks warmed as the humiliation of his rejection hit her full-force, dampening her lust, and her shoulders stoop in defeat. 

"I - I shouldn't have..." she shook her head miserably. "You told me you didn't do workplace relationships. I should have listened." She started to turn away from him, but his hand on her arm stopped her. 

"Leanne... wait. That's not why I stopped - not exactly. Just - tell me this: if I weren't your boss, would you still have kissed me just now? You sure this isn't just you feeling... obligated?" 

She stared at him, aghast. "Seriously?" 

The set of his jaws told her that he was. She shook her head. "Man, you've got issues." 

Joe's head jerked back, but Leanne was on a roll. "Let me remind you that I refused to go on this trip with Mr. McConnel, my boss. Rather, I accepted the invitation from Joe, the guy from the bar. Remember him?" 

Slowly, Joe nodded, his look still guarded. Leanne took a step closer. Maybe it was the sense of freedom inspired by their hike, or maybe it was her newfound femininity, awakened that night in Santa Rosa. Her body was certainly on high alert still, sending all kinds of urgent signals to her confused mind. 

She was trudging uncharted waters, but at this point, she wasn't backing down. Alone on the trail with Joe, she threw caution to the wind. Boldly, Leanne linked her arms around Joe's neck once more, inching up to whisper the rest of it into his ear. 

"Let me tell you a secret: I have the hots for Joe from the bar." 

She felt Joe's harsh inhale at her words, and smiled with growing, uncharacteristic confidence. "Oh, he's so handsome, and charming, and the way he moves when he dances..." Leanne sighed softly, exaggerating the gesture for good measure, letting the warm puff of air caress Joe's rapidly reddening neck. "I wouldn't dream of kissing Mr. McConnel, my boss. That would be so inappropriate. But I would love to pick up where I left off with Joe from the bar..." 

* 

Joe's head was spinning. Her words, her boldness, her body pressed against his - he wanted her so badly he ached. 

He knew he couldn't act on it; not in the way he most wanted. For all her brave words, she was just as inexperienced today as she had been that night at the hotel. But that didn't mean they had to stop right that second... 

With a deep growl, he took her in his arms again. 

* 

A loud quake startled them apart a few good minutes later, and they both stumbled back, staring in confusion at the source of the obnoxious noise somewhere in the nearby pond, and then broke up laughing together. 

"I guess that's our que", Joe shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from reaching back to her. Leanne mimicked his move and they stood there, close but not touching. 

"Yeah, um... I - thank you for a lovely lunch." 

Leanne licked her lips nervously, and Joe wondered if it was lunch that she tasted on her lips, or him. His dick jerked inside his pants, and he knew they needed to head back, or he'd seriously risk doing something they'd both regret.. 

"The pleasure was all mine", he said instead, meaning every word, and then bent to start gathering the remains of their lunch. Leanne followed suit, and soon they were following the trail back to the parking lot where his pickup truck awaited. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 03



The drive back to the farm was uncomfortably quiet. Joe mused about how naturally they found intimacy out there by the pond, while the forced proximity of the truck seemed to only foster unease. Still, he wasn't sorry for any of it. He wouldn't break his damned self-imposed rules, but maybe he could stretch them a little...? 

I'll just have to wait for her make the next move, he decided. Just to be on the safe side. 

* 

Leanne wanted to go hiking with him again. 

Okay, if she were being honest with herself what she really wanted was to kiss him again, but as that wasn't going to happen - certainly not on the farm, that was very clear - she wanted to go on another hike. 

At first she'd hoped he'd come by and ask her. But Joe kept his distance, wearing his detached-if-friendly attitude around him like an invisible cloth. Only once she caught him staring at her from way across the dining room. He'd looked startled when their eyes collided, and then gave her a little grin and an even smaller wink. 

It was enough of an opening to give her courage. 

* 

On Sunday evening, when everyone had retired to their rooms to wash up before dinner at the end of their first high-season weekend, Leanne decided to make her move. Giving herself a little pep-talk about 'living the moment' and 'seizing the day', she crossed the large graveled yard in decisive strides towards his wide-open office door. 

Joe lifted his head from his laptop screen at her light knock, and breathed deep when he saw her. 

"You came." 

Leanne closed the door behind her, and the soft click seemed to charge the atmosphere between. Leanne breathed it in, excitement bubbling in her belly. Joe stood up slowly and walked around his small desk, but then stopped and leaned back against it, as if belatedly reminding himself to keep his cool. 

"You were expecting me?" she asked with a tentative smile, and his answering grin was crooked, suggesting the joke was on him. 

"Not quite expecting... hoping, is more like it." 

Leanne cocked her head. "So..." 

"So...?" 

He was going to make her say it, then. Leanne raised her chin. 

"Will you come hiking with me again tomorrow afternoon?" 

He hesitated. Leanne pushed. "As you said, I can't work 24/7. And after this weekend, I sure need some R&R." 

Joe was silent for another moment, and then asked quietly - 

"Just a hike, then?" 

A pang of disappointment stabbed her, but then she realized how carefully he'd asked his question. She met his eyes boldly. 

"I was hoping to pick up where we left off, actually." 

His eyes darkened, even as his face registered his surprise. After a heartbeat of silence, he finally replied. 

"I would very much like that, too." 

His gruff tone felt like a caress. She nodded, heart pounding, unsure what to do or say next, and Joe gently turned her away from him by her shoulders, but then leaned close to add quietly - 

"Now you should go, princess, because while I may be reconsidering some of the 'no mixing business and pleasure' rule, I am still 100% adamant about it on-site." 

He gave her a little shove and she stepped forward, only to stop at the closed door and look back at him. 

"When and where, then?" 

Joe considered her for a moment. "I'll pick you up after lunch. Wait for me by the Western gate at two. With sundown being so late this time of the year we'll have time for another one of my favorite trails. It actually ends in the exact same spot by the pond." 

Leanne's heart was already beating faster. It ends in the exact same spot... her mind was quick to conjure up images of their last time under the old willow tree. "Okay, see you then!" she breathed and hastened out the door, almost skipping her way back to her room. 

She'd just asked Joe out, and all but begged him to kiss her again. 

And he'd said yes! 

* 

Indeed, Monday afternoon found Leanne and Joe on the old blanket under the weeping willow. But the still-full coffee thermos was lying in the grass next to the tightly-closed box of homemade cookies, pushed aside by their urgent bodies, rolling back and forth. 

They'd held back when she stepped up into his truck, when he parked and helped her out, and all through the hike. They didn't speak much except for ooh's and aah's over the scenery and the occasional wildlife that crossed their path, both too wound up for idle chat, both eager to reach the end of the trail. 

To pick up where they'd left off. 

When they finally got to that spot - their spot, or so Joe had started referring to it in his mind - he had every intention to take his time, to wine and dine Leanne - or in their case, serve her coffee and cookies - before he took her in his arms. But she wouldn't have it. As soon as he'd placed the food down she stepped forward and reached a tentative palm to his shirt, just over his thudding heart. 

She didn't say anything, just looked at him expectantly. Slowly, savoring the breathless tension, he lowered his head and took her mouth in his. 

She tasted infinitely sweeter than those chocolate-chip cookies he'd made the night before, and the kick in his gut was way more potent than any caffeine rush. He wondered, even as his lips and tongue and hands explored her, even as hers returned the favor, at the overwhelming effect she had on him. 

Was it that she was a forbidden fruit? An employee? He didn't think so; it was the same that night in town, before he knew she'd be working for him. 

Was it her innocence, then? He couldn't dismiss that one as easily; it was, undoubtedly, part of her charm from the get-go. But he'd never before been drawn to the virginal type; in fact, he'd made a point to stay clear away from them, had always preferred experience and a straightforward approach towards mutual pleasure in the women he'd bedded. 

But Leanne was different, and he was different with her. To his own amazement, he'd actually liked knowing that she was innocent, that she'd never kissed another man like she did him, now. That he was the first to experience her passion, her responsive body, her surprising boldness. He wanted her more than he could remember ever wanting another woman. 

With a low groan he hugged her closer, and tasted her more deeply. She opened her mouth for him with a whimper that spiked his hunger as her hands came up into his hair, fisting as she clung tight. He felt as if he'd burst up in flames. 

In some distant part of his mind he remembered he'd need to stop, eventually - he didn't go around picking girls' cherries, and if and when the time ever came, he'd do it in a nice bed, with the door locked behind them - but he desperately wanted more than those sweet, sweet kisses. 

Joe kneeled and then pulled Leanne to lie down on the blanket with him, and drew her close until not an inch of distance remained between them. He pressed his thigh between hers, and she hooked her knee up over his hip, while their hands were stroking, squeezing, hurried and greedy. 

In the next moment Leanne tugged his shirt up and ran her palm along his side and then across his back, the sweet touch going straight to his throbbing dick, making it jump inside the farm's uniform cargo pants. He reciprocated, pushed both her shirt and bra up so that the small mounds of her breasts were bared before him. and in the next heartbeat he bent for a taste. 

Leanne arched her back as if trying to push her breast deeper into his mouth. Joe's tongue rasped over her taut nipple and she shuddered, and then pulled his head with both her hands to the pebbled, cherry-red tip. 

"Oh my God that felt so good... do it again, please!" 

He did it again, and again, and again, licking and suckling, going back and forth between her two beautiful tits. Pulling back occasionally simply to admire the magnificence of this woman, flushed and sweaty and completely uninhibited in her passion, begging him for more. 

Finally, the insistent pain in his balls and his too-hard dick made its way to the forefront of his mind and he drew back, reluctantly putting a few inches of necessary space between them. 

"No -!" She looked as pained as he was, reaching her hands out to him. "Please, please, I need - I don't know what I need, I just feel like I'm going to explode any second!" 

Joe just looked at her, still breathing hard, unsure if he'd understood what she just said. Shaking his head, he asked carefully - "You don't know what you need? I'd say that one is pretty damn obvious, princess." 

The look she gave him - a desperate mix of confusion and frustration - was almost his undoing. Could she really not know? Could she actually be THAT innocent? 

"What?!" she growled up at him, oblivious to the way her hips humped his thigh. Despite his own acute need, Joe felt the hard set of his jaw soften, and he gentled his voice as he answered. 

"Sweetheart, that sensation that you feel inside - that pressure low in your belly?" At her impercible nod he smiled and continued. "There's only one way to release it, and that is a good, hard orgasm. Have you never had one of those?" 

He found himself holding his breath as she just stared at him, wide-eyed, and finally gulped and stammered - "N-no, I - I don't think I have." 

Joe closed his eyes, exhaled loudly as he tried to control his galloping heart before returning his knowing gaze to her troubled one. 

"Now that's just criminal, princess." 

Her eyes widened, and he chuckled. "How old are you? Twenty three? How long since you hit puberty? Ten, eleven years? And you've never masturbated? Never made yourself come? Not even once?" 

Leanne shook her head jerkily, and he could see the color in her cheeks - already flushed with her lust - had just deepened to a glowing red. Belatedly he realized she may be uncomfortable, even humiliated by his questions, and now his words stumbled on top of each other to try and fix that. 

"Hey - I'm not judging or anything, honest. All I'm saying is -" Joe shoved a frustrated, unsteady hand through his already-mussed hair. "Look, Leanne - it's your body, you know? You should learn what makes you feel good. You deserve that. Giving yourself pleasure - that's one of the basic rules of self care. Just like eating right and exercising." 

Leanne just stared at him, her mouth partly open as if a question was stuck there, unvoiced. When it occurred to him what that question probably was he flushed self-consciously, but then met her eyes and answered it anyways. 

"Of course, I am speaking from vast personal experience here. I make it a priority to take care of myself, well and often." 

Watching her face as she processed his words, clearly picturing them in her mind, was a unique kind of torture. But it was worth it when the tension in her shoulders ebbed, and she actually giggled. 

"Are you saying what I think you're saying, Joe?" 

He grinned, profoundly relieved to hear her laugh, and then, unable to stop himself, leaned in to catch her smiling lips in his for another deep, hot kiss. When they finally came up for air they were once more intimately intertwined, his raging hard-on pressed against her tummy and his thigh between hers, feeling her heat through both their pants. He held her face in his hands, looking straight into her eyes, and his voice, when he finally answered her, was low and urgent. 

"Yes. I'm saying that like any red-blooded male - heck, like any healthy human being - I masturbate. And I'm saying that you should, too. You should start giving this beautiful body of yours the tender loving care that it deserves." 

His heart was beating like crazy. He liked talking dirty in bed, but this - this kind of talk was a level of intimacy he'd never imagined existed. But he was on a roll now, and she looked like his words struck a chord; he threw caution to the wind, and continued. 

"I am saying there is a decade of missed orgasms you should catch up on, so you'd better start soon, and do it often, to make up for all that lost time." He gave her a pointed look. "So, will you promise me you'll start taking care of your own needs, princess?" 

Leanne hesitated, and then answered so quietly he had to look at her lips to understand her whispered response. 

"I - I want to say 'yes' but the truth is - I don't know how." 

She worried her lower lip with her sharp front teeth, and her eyes seemed to plea with him. 

Oh, no. She couldn't possibly be asking him to - 

"Will you - will you teach me how to do that?" 

Joe's heart was going to explode. His balls were in similar danger. And yet, if she'd just asked him what he thought he heard, he figured he'd at least die a happy man. Just to be on the safe side, though, he asked carefully - 

"Leanne, that's something - well, private. Most people learn how to do it on their own..." 

"Well, I'm not 'most people!" she sounded almost pissed, but then her tone turned begging, and she pressed closer to him. "Joe, please. Please, show me..." 

What was a gentleman supposed to do, when the damsel in his arms was in such obvious distress? 

With a moan that came from somewhere deep in his chest, he kissed her again, harder and deeper than before, and she breathed a high-pitched 'ohh - thank you!' as she realized her little victory. Joe's hands returned to her midriff and glided up to cup her breasts, circling her puckered nipples with his thumbs, and then gently rolled them in his fingers. Leanne shuddered, and then her hands were pushing his own shirt up, her intent clear. 

Joe sat up and raise his arms, and Leanne followed, kneeling before him and tugging his shirt off completely, smiling as she discarded it behind her back. They paused there for a moment, kneeling and facing each other, Joe naked from the waist up, Leanne's shirt and bra still bunched above her pretty breasts, tucked under her armpits. She moved to take them off, but Joe stopped her. 

"Please, allow me." When she paused, he added - "Raise your arms for me, princess." 

Passion darkened her sky-blue eyes as she did as asked, and Joe leaned closer to slowly pull the garments up and off of her, and then trailed his hands down her arms to her back, coming to rest at her sides as she laid her own hands on his shoulders. Her breathing was harder now; Joe could feel her ribs expand and contract quickly in her growing excitement. He caressed the soft side curves of her breasts with his thumbs as their eyes locked. 

Slowly, he hands moved to her belly where he found the top button of her cargo pants. Her mouth dropped in a soft exhale, and then, at his unspoken question, she nodded. Joe undid the button and the short zip, and with another deep breath Leanne slipped her own hands into the loosened waistband to push her pants down until they bunched around mid-thigh. Then she stood up to let them fall to her feet. Holding onto Joe's shoulders, Leanne stepped out of her pants, and kicked them aside. 

Joe's hands tightened around her panty-clad hips and she stood still over him while he stared at her body, naked save for a pair of simple bikini-style briefs. The simple white cotton was adorned with soft pink polka-dots and a tiny pink ribbon on top, and Joe thought he'd never seen sexier underwear in his life. His hands moved to caress lightly along the pink trim at her panty line, until finally he raised his head to meet her hooded eyes. 

"You're beautiful." 

Her lower lip quivered. She bit it and then smiled tentatively. "Thanks." 

He had a feeling she didn't quite believe him, and was determined to change that. He shifted so that his bare back was against the tree trunk; the bark was thick and cracked and poked at his skin, and he couldn't care less. Maybe it'll help me keep my head for this, he thought briefly as he settled back and opened his legs to make room for her in between them. 

"Come here, princess. Sit on the blanket with your back to me." 

Leanne took his outstretched hand and came down to sit as instructed, leaning back until she pressed warmly against his torso. Her skin was pale, soft and smooth against his harder, coarser chest, and Joe had to fight his urge to rub against her. Instead, he gently guided her head to rest on his shoulder. 

"Still good?" he asked, caressing her arms as she placed her hands lightly on his thighs. Leanne nodded and her fingers twitched, and Joe could feel that slight movement all the way to his dick. He let his hands glide down towards her thighs, grazing the delicate skin along the creases of her legs. 

"Open your thighs for me then, princess, and give me your hand". 

Leanne sucked her breath, and did as he asked, opening herself to his touch, pillowing her head on her own left arm, folded over his chest, while putting her right in his hand. Joe's heart slammed against his ribcage, so hard he was sure she could feel it. He kept caressing the tops of her left thigh lightly and encouraged her to do the same with her own hand, guiding her movements, then slowly increasing their range to include the soft, smooth insides of her thighs. 

Leanne moaned and opened her legs even wider, tilting her pelvis up, watching - and matching - his every move. 

"Oh my gosh, Joe, that feels so freakin' good... please..." 

Joe hummed in agreement, and inched their joint hands closer to her mound. When her response was to arch in anticipation he smiled and moved her hand so that she cupped herself gently, then gave her the barest of squeezes, his hand pressing hers over her folds. 

"Oh...!" Leanne cried out, pushing herself against her own hand, and Joe chuckled in delight. 

"Feels good, does it?" 

"Ohhh yesss..." She hissed as he squeezed again, a little firmer this time, and then moved to rub in small circles over the crotch of her panties. The dampness beneath made the thin fabric first cling to her folds, and then glide more easily over them. 

"You see, princess..." he murmured close to her ear while his fingers kept guiding hers in light, teasing circles at the apex of her thighs - "you should try this for yourself, learn what kind of touch brings you most pleasure... try lighter caress, or firmer strokes..." he demonstrated as he spoke, trying to gauge her preference from her responses. "Try a quicker pace, or go slow and easy... little circles, or side-to-side, or all along your pussy, top to bottom and back..." 

Leanne writhed and arched in his arms, her breathy sighs and low moans resonating in his mind. But then her other arm came down from behind her head, her free hand capturing his and then pressing hard, making their laced fingers sink between her cotton-covered folds. 

"Please, please, Joe, I can't... I need... please!" 

Joe inhaled sharply, taking in the sweet smell of her sex that wafted in the air around them. He was getting high on lust, and finding it harder and harder to remember there was a line he shouldn't - couldn't - cross with her - even if he'd already blown way past every other limit he'd ever told himself to keep. He drew their hands up to her belly, and then edged his fingers under the waistband of her panties, until the soft curls underneath tickled his sensitive pads. 

Leanne sucked her breath and froze, her whole body suddenly tense. Sensing the change, Joe stopped his exploration. Her sudden distress was like a bucket of cold water dumped over his head, shocking and effective, clearing it from its passion-filled haze. Refocusing on the young woman in his arms, he slowly withdrew his hand until it rested safely on her abdomen once more. 

"Enough, princess?" he asked gently. 

Leanne swallowed hard, but then shook her head resolutely, half-turning in his arms to try and look him in the eye. "No, not even close! Please, I - I want to feel you touch me like that. Here -" and before he could quite grasp her intention she tugged her panties down and off her legs, throwing them all the way to the far edge of the blanket. Stealing another look at him over her shoulder she suddenly grinned, as if surprised and pleased with her own brevity, while he stared, speechless. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 03



Slowly, deliberately, Leanne laid back against his torso, pillowed her head on her arms, and opened her legs even further than before, hooking them over his knees, rendering herself utterly and completely open to his touch. 

Joe's trotting pulse kicked into a crazy, thundering gallop. Who was this incredible woman? His arms came around her lithe, nimble body, one low over her hips, the other just under her breasts as he hugged her tight, trying to gather his runaway senses. 

He needed to center himself, to somehow rein in his out-of-control desire that called for him to simply flip her over and bury himself balls-deep. Holding her tight kept him from making any immediate mistakes. It also kept the granite ridge of his dick squeezed between her firm ass cheeks, alleviating his acute need momentarily, just enough for him to take a few slow breaths. 

Joe felt Leanne melt in his arms as he hugged her, and smiled. "All right, then. You ready for this, princess?" 

He could feel her answering grin. "Oh, am I ever!" 

He chuckled in delighted expectation. "Right. Here we go then, sweetheart." 

* 

Leanne held her breath as Joe tugged at her right arm, and then laced their fingers once more to move them lower, over her plump, fuzz-covered Venus hill, lower still along her outer labia, until her whole pussy was covered. Her own warm hand felt incredible against the sensitive, swollen tissues. Her middle finger slid along the damp middle slit, which seemed to peel back of its own accord under the light, gliding touch. 

Joe paused, and she realized he was waiting for her to make the next move. What do I do now? She thought frantically, and as if reading her mind, Joe spoke quietly. "Your turn, princess. Do whatever feels good." 

She realized what she really wanted to do was sink her finger into that utterly soft, wet heat below, to sample the sensation more deeply. So, with a shuddering sigh, she did. 

Leanne kept her touch light, and was astonished at the overwhelming, all-encompassing response sweeping her body with every tiny, minute stroke. 

How could she have missed this experience? He was right. It really was criminal not to do this. 

She teasing herself, her fingers sliding easily along the cream-coated inner lips. At some point she became aware that Joe had withdrawn his own hand from between her thighs, and settled to gently hold her hips, while she became bolder in her moves. She dipped her middle finger deeper, trailed a circle along the tight rim of her entrance, even pushed just a little bit inside. 

The sleek tightness around the tip of her finger felt incredible. She pressed it a little further in and stroked harder, and a wave of pleasure swamped her, making her breathe so hard she almost hyper-ventilated. 

And then, true to his promise to teach her, Joe spoke again. 

"Remember the first tip I gave you, princess? Try out different kinds of touches and learn what feels best for you. Some people like soft and gentle, others like hard and fast -" he reached down and flattened his fingers over the top of her slit and started rubbing quickly, working her clitoris through the protecting tissues surrounding it, and Leanne arched, her inner thighs trembling. 

Joe kept rubbing her for a few achingly exquisite moments, but then withdrew his touch and she whined, the sound agonized and woeful. He chuckled quietly. "This is the beauty of doing it yourself, princess. You don't have to wait for me to give it to you. Don't be shy - try anything and everything that comes to mind. Maybe you'll learn you like some squeezing and pinching -" He took both outer labia together between thumb and forefinger and pinched firmly, rubbing the pinched folds against each other, knowing her clit was caught right in the middle. 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my gawd!!" 

Her head rolled from side to side, her stomach heaving with every sharp breath. Joe released her pussy and instead started tapping on it gently, making wet splotching sounds with each gentle smack. 

"You may even want to try a little spanking and see how it feels..." 

"Oh god yes, it all feels good... I just need... oh god please, please, please!" 

As if oblivious to her desperate need - although there was no way he could have missed it - Joe kept talking. "The only other tip I have for you is this - always use lots and lots of lubrication. Make sure you don't chafe this delicate skin." 

Deliberately, slowly, he caught her fingers and brought them to his mouth. 

* 

Her sweet taste exploded on his tongue, threatening to unman him, but he breathes through it. Layering a thick coat of saliva on her fingertips he then returned them to her pussy, and watched them slip between her open folds to glide right over her swollen clit, and then start rubbing it, gently but firmly, with quick, focused moves. 

"Oh, fuck yeah, just like that. You know what feels good to you, princess. Do it. Make yourself come. Show me." 

The tension in Leanne's body mounted with every passing moment, with every stroke across her clit until she seemed unbearably taut, every muscle straining and trembling, her face a mix of bliss and agony, her eyes squeezed shut. She whimpered and brought her fingers to her mouth to wet them even more and moaned deeply as she tasted herself, even as her fingers returned to her clit. 

Joe groaned behind her, imagining how she felt tasting herself. 

Her quick strokes glided smoothly, aided by her spit and her own girl juices. She arched again and whined, her head flipping across his chest from side to side until finally, finally, she shuddered hard, and came undone in his arms. He saw her pussy flood with a sudden gush of liquid heat, and she screamed her pleasure to the tranquil world around them. 

Both their hearts seemed to beat too hard, too quick as aftershocks continued to rock Leanne's body. But after another minute had passed all tension left her muscles, and her limbs became limp as a rag doll's. 

Joe kept holding her throughout her orgasm, as her high-pitched scream turned to moans, then small whimpers, until she eventually quietened in his arms, breathing softly, her body heavy with lethargy. 

He, on the other hand, was anything but relaxed. His dick was hard as steel, his balls so full they must have turned purple, and his conscience so heavy it was going to bury him alive. 

What the hell did he think he was doing? 

* 

"Oh. My. God." Leanne said when speech returned. She couldn't believe how good it felt, as if every cell in her body was singing hallelujah in joyful thanks to the earth-shattering experience. 

Joe hugged her close, and then moved her gently until she was cradled sideways in his lap. 

"You're welcome, princess." he murmured, kissing the crown of her head, but for some reason, she thought she heard regret in his tone. They both fell quiet for a while, and Leanne started drifting. But then Joe spoke again, sounding more like himself, more calm and collected, with a hint of humor warming his tone. 

"So, now you see what the fuss is all about?" 

Leanne nodded and nuzzled into the crook of his neck, languid and sleepy. "Mmm-hmm." 

He gave her another quick squeeze and then relaxed his hold, leaning back against the tree - only to jerk away quickly. 

Leanne opened her eyes to peek up at him. "What is it?" 

He shook his head with a rueful grin, and slipped her gently off of him to sit on the rumpled, damp blanket below. "That tree bark is nasty." Her brow furrowed and he shrugged it off with a smile. "Sweetheart, right now, that's the least of my pains. I'll live." 

Leanne's eyes widened as his meaning registered, dropped to find the prominent tent in his pants, and flew back up to meet his. 

"Oh no, that doesn't seem fair at all," She pouted in mock concern, and batted her eyelashes cheekily at him, letting him see the glint of renewed awareness in her gaze. 

Joe's jaw moved as if he was gritting his teeth. "As I said, princess, I'll live. Let's head back." 

Leanne shook her head halfway through his protest. "No, no, you can't hike back like that! I know how painful it is, remember? I know. It's your turn now." 

Joe was adamant. "I know how to take care of myself, princess. It's you who needs the practice." 

She met his gaze head-on. "Then go ahead and do that. Take care of yourself. Show me how you do it." 

* 

Joe just stared at her. Could she really be asking him to - but then clearly she was. It was there, shining in her eyes, written all over on her flushed face which was growing redder by the second. 

"What?! You want to watch me -" gulp. "M-masturbate?" 

She smiled, and he'd be damned if it weren't excitement blazing in her eyes now. "Yes, please." 

While his head was still reeling, trying to make sense of her request - of her - trying to remember why this was a mistake, his hands seemed to move of their own will. His fingers made quick work of his button and zip and pushed his pants and boxers down, fisted his throbbing shaft and started pumping with practiced ease, all without conscious thought. His flared cockhead was angry-red and sticky, but fresh precum oozed from his slit and he used his thumb to spread it all over, shuddering with every delicious glide, eyes closed to savor every sensation. 

And then she made a sound, a soft sigh, and his eyes snapped open. Leanne was watching, riveted, completely focused on his dick, on the way it pushed inside his tight fist. 

"Gosh, that's so sexy!" she exclaimed, as she kneeled next to him, so close her breasts almost brushed against his moving arm. Joe groaned and quickened his pace, dizzy with desire now. 

God, jerking off never felt so good before. 

Then her voice sounded again, breathy and light - "Don't you need some lubrication, too?" - and he watched, transfixed, as she tugged at his hand to release his tight grip on his dick, and brought it to the apex of her thighs. 

He was going to self-combust. "Are you trying to kill me, woman?!" he growled through clenched teeth, even as his fingers slid into her and then returned, coated with her slippery cream, to pump himself with renewed vigor. 

Her delighted, breathy laughter tickled down his spine, from his hot, sweaty neck and down his spine to engulf his balls Joe knew he was done for. 

Succumbing to the white-hot pleasure he let himself go, shouting his release and shooting his cum in thick ropes onto the packed dirt at the foot of the tree. When the last of his climax pulsed through and spilled to the ground below he relaxed his fist and slowed down, squeezing those last few drops out, until, finally, he dropped his hand. 

Lightheaded now, Joe lowered his hips to rest on his heels as he leaned forward, holding onto the tree trunk for balance, fighting to regain his breath. 

Not to mention his equilibrium. 

"Wow." Leanne's soft voice seemed to come from another dimension, sifting through the red fog of lust still hanging thick in his brain. "That was..." she shook her head wonderingly, smiled wide, and said nothing else. 

Now that some oxygen had finally found its way to his deprived brain, Joe was trying - struggling - to come to terms with what had just happened. 

What the hell am I doing? Have I lost my mind? 

He'd never done anything like that before. None of it. 

He'd never been that intimate with a woman before - employee or otherwise. He'd never taught a woman how to masturbate. Had never watched her reach her first-ever orgasm - not that he was aware of, anyways - and he'd certainly never jerked off in front of anyone. 

And in public, no less! 

Sure, their spot was pretty secluded, and they haven't met any other hikers on the trail; still, it had been more than likely that someone would have stumbled upon them. Heck, the way they both shouted - it was a miracle the park rangers hadn't come running! 

With his brow furrowed in a deep crease, Joe tucked himself in, and then sat down heavily, arms around his spread, upturned knees, leaning forward until he got his breath - and his emotions - firmly under control. Still, he couldn't bring himself to meet Leanne's eyes. 

What must she think of him? 

He wasn't just 'Joe from the bar in Santa Rosa', no matter how much they both wished he were. He was still her boss - 

The soft touch of her hand on his bare shoulder stopped his mind in its trucks. I guess I'll know soon enough. 

"Hey... you okay?" 

With effort, he made himself meet her gaze, which stared curiously back at him. She was kneeling at his side, still buck naked and apparently comfortable in her indecent state, and looking at him with her head tilted to one side and questions in her eyes. 

Questions he was not sure he knew how to answer. 

"Leanne - I'm..." he was going to apologize, but then caught himself. Despite of everything, he wasn't sorry. Surprised, hell yes. Concerned and confused, sure, because he'd never been in a situation like this and wasn't sure how to handle it. But he wasn't sorry. He didn't regret any moment that he had her in his arms; nor any outrageous acts they'd just done together. 

In fact, he hoped to do it all over again, and soon. 

He felt a smile tugging his lips, and when he found her eyes, her wariness melted into relief that bubbled out in a little giggle as she leaned close to hug him. He pulled her onto his lap and her giggle turned into a delighted shriek - which quickly quietened when he kissed her soundly. 

"You know, that's what got us in trouble in the first place", Leanne quipped when they finally came up for air, both flushed and panting, and Joe broke up laughing, the last of the tension leaving his shoulders. "Yes, we should definitely get you dressed, or I may just forget all my good intentions and ravish you on this very blanket, princess." 

"Hmm... is that a threat or a promise, my charming prince?" she asked, looking at him from under lowered lashes, but then laughed and rolled away as he growled and made a half-hearted move, as if to act on his words. 

"Oh, that is most definitely a promise." 

Already in her panties and in the process of hooking her bra behind her back, Leanne smiled back at Joe. "I think I'm going to hold you to it." 

He grinned back. "I'll be counting on it." 

* 

When they were both dressed and turned around to collect the last of their discarded picnic Leanne stopped suddenly to stare down at the blanked with a horrified expression. Joe followed her gaze to see it fixed on the large wet spot still visible at the edge by the tree. 

Her voice shook slightly when she forced the words out. "Have I - have I peed myself?! 

Joe burst out laughing, but then he realized she was serious, and rushed to reassure her. 

"No! Oh god no, sweetheart. You just came. Beautifully, if I may add." At her still-stricken expression he moved to take her in his arms, and then peered down at her. "Sex tends to get messy," he said gently. "Good sex, at least. It's all part of the fun, sweetheart. Don't ever be embarrassed about it, please." 

When she still seemed unconvinced Joe bowed to mumble in her ear - "I loved how wet you got, princess. You taste and smell absolutely delicious, and seeing that wet spot, to me, feels like winning a trophy; like I just received a 'prize lover' ribbon or something. It means we did it right." 

Leanne's cheeks flamed, but she nodded shyly as she looked into his eyes. 

"Okay." 

* 

They finished packing and walked hand-in-hand back to the truck. Joe turned the radio on a country station and they both sang out loud along with the music, with him making up outrageous lyrics to replace those he didn't remember. Leanne laughed and soon tried to follow suit, although her imagination for all things naughty clearly needed some work to reach his level of creativity. 

Too soon they went off the road and onto the gravel path winding between the fields, until they could see the Western gate a few hundred yards away. Joe slowed to a stop and then turned to face Leanne, taking her hand in his. 

"Are you okay, Leanne? Are - are we okay?" 

She squeezed his hand reassuringly. "I am much more than okay, Joe. I'm - I'm grateful. You gave me an amazing experience. Thank you." 

Joe nodded and returned her squeeze. "I'm glad. In many ways today was a first for me, too." 

She nodded, looking down, and he reached to turn her face back up so that he could see her eyes. "Seriously though, you really do have some catching up to do. I meant what I said earlier." 

The mischievous glint returned to her eyes. "Are you giving me homework, Joe?" 

He chuckled and shook his head, but then gave her a serious look. "You know - yes, I guess I am. You really do need to learn your own body. Learn what feels good, what doesn't, what you like and don't like. So you should definitely do your homework, yes. Practice every day, until you get proficient in this new skill." 

Leanne gasped. "Every day?!" 

"Oh, yes. You should absolutely masturbate daily. Or nightly, whatever time works for you. Both, if you're an overachiever." He was fighting to keep his face straight, while deeply enjoying the red color flooding her cheeks, and the astonished excitement on her face. He went for the kill. 

"You do your exercises, work on honing those new skills, and I'll quiz you on them next week." 

She choked, unable to form words. He laughed and gathered her close, dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and drew back, only to quirk an eyebrow at her. 

"Unless you don't want me to?" 

Finally she was able to squeak - "Oh, I want you to. Absolutely. Yes, please!" 

Stealing another quick kiss Joe straightened and turned to his wheel resolutely, easing the truck forward. 

"Good." 

***** 

Author's note: Did you like this chapter? Tell me! VOTE, FAVORITE and COMMENT. Thank you!



Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 04



Author's note: 

Thank y'all for returning to my story! Another 10K-word chapter here packed full of action for you, which brings my total word count to about 35K, which is tracking quite well toward the 50K #NaNo goal, and is even on-target for finishing the whole ~75K of it within the month. Phew! 

Anyways, as always, please have a read, and then tell me what you think - FAVORITE, VOTE and COMMENT! Thank you :) 

xoxo, 

Annie 

***** 

The following week, Joe found himself hanging by the women's dorms way too frequently. 

He'd upped his running schedule to twice-daily, and had adjusted his route so that his warmup and cooldown took place just behind the elongated, low-roofed building. I've turned into a freakin' peeping tom, he thought self-mockingly even as he walked down the narrow path before the crack of dawn on Thursday morning, much slower than was effective for a proper pre-run warmup, and strained his ears to hear... what? 

A gasp, maybe? A hitched breath? 

He shook his head in annoyance and increased his speed to an easy run, leaving the buildings behind and heading towards the Western gate and the fields beyond. If nothing else, this obsession would get me fit enough for the Golden Gate Half Marathon, he thought, and made himself keep a faster pace than usual. It was better to drive himself to the edge of exhaustion than to lurk in the shadows like a stalker. A man needed to have some self-respect. 

But miles later, even with his muscles and lungs protesting the unusual strain, he still couldn't get Leanne out of his mind. He knew she was back there in her room, possibly busy with... homework. The assignment that he'd given her. Practicing her new skill. 

Joe groaned. Imagining Leanne naked on her bed, one hand working her pussy, the other tweaking her nipples, trying out different strokes and caresses, finding just the right touch and arching into it, driving herself higher and higher, her juices leaving a large wet spot on her sheets, just like they did on their picnic blanket - 

Dammit. Now he was hard as fuck. Which made running damn near impossible. 

Joe stopped and bent over, fighting for breath. He couldn't keep going like this. He needed her too bad. And sneaking around to make out on his picnic blanket, fun as it was, wasn't the kind of relationship he wanted. 

He wanted a relationship with her. 

The revelation kicked him in the gut, even as a smile stretched across his face. His father and sister had been nagging him mercilessly about 'finding someone'. It may just be that they were right about that, too. 

He straightened, breathed deep, and resumed his run back towards the farm. His new resolution seemed to have lifted a weight off his shoulders and it felt like he could breathe easier, his achy muscles no more than a distant echo in the back of his mind, which was busy making plans. 

He would court Leanne Sommers, publically and properly. No more sneaking around, no more stealing time together, no more maintaining their distance on the farm for the sake of misplaced propriety. He was ready to take it to the next level. 

* 

Although she'd preferred the petting zoo over any other duty, Leanne enjoyed working the dairy farm as well. 

Not only did it involve direct contact with the animals, but also it presented Joe and her with more opportunities to meet, as he spent most of his out-of-office hours there. 

Sun Valley Farm was, first and foremost, a dairy farm. While Joe had been pushing to diversify the business from all-production to include agro-tourism, 'putting his UC Davis MBA into good use' as Mr. McConnel put it, the cows were still at the heart of it all. 

Leanne knew Joe wouldn't risk any physical intimacies there, nor candid private talks, but just being around him felt good. She was eager to learn and he was happy to teach, and the heavy underlying current of awareness between them added a thrill that they both clearly enjoyed. She especially loved the curious questions in his eyes each morning. Knowing full well what he was thinking, she's laugh and wink, which made him groan in an exaggerated, dramatic response. Leanne basked in the effect she had on him. She had never felt so sexy in her life. 

And she did do her 'homework' every day, as instructed, and enjoyed herself immensely - both the pleasure she was learning to give herself, and knowing that Joe was aware of her doing it. It felt incredibly naughty, in the best sense of the word. Having spent all her life being the perfect good girl, fighting to prove that her living on a trailer park with her single mother didn't make her 'trailer trash', it was a wholly liberating experience, doing something so... slutty. And knowing that she was appreciated, rather than condemned for it. 

Leanne smiled at the thought. She was driving a small tractor, pushing silage with the trac's flat front loader to spread the pile of fodder along the rails. The cows stood back as the noisy machine approached, but as soon as she passed they stuck their heads out and started munching. She imagined they were smiling at her, and her own grin grew. It felt darn good to be productive. 

When she was almost at the far end of the cow shed, she saw someone step out from behind it to block her path. Joe. He raised his hand in greeting, and she slowed to a stop and killed the engine. Joe approached her side as she was climbing down. 

When she turned around he was right there, definitely within her personal space. Her startled eyes sought his as he stepped even closer and took her upper arms in his hands, bent his head, and kissed her. 

While caught off-guard, Leanne wasn't complaining. Going up on her tiptoes, she linked her arms around his neck and returned his kiss with enthusiasm. 

* 

A few steamy-hot moments later they finally broke for air. Joe looked at Leanne with trepidation, well aware of stepping outside the boundaries he himself had set in place, though her reaction was everything he'd hoped for, and then some. 

"Um, wow! Okay, just tell me what I did to deserve this, and I'll do it every day." Leanne cocked her head, hands on hips, and watched him shuffle his feet in uncharacteristic nerves. 

"I couldn't help myself. I hope you're not mad." Joe peaked at her from under his lashes. 

"I'm happy to kiss you anytime, Joe. It's your rules that we're breaking, not mine." 

She didn't play games. It was one of the things he liked most about her. 

"Yeah. About that. I've been thinking." 

"Hmm. Sounds ominous." A single eyebrow arched up, and the corner of her mouth twitched. Joe breathed a little easier. 

"Not at all. I think you're gonna like it." 

"Oh?" 

Joe took a breath. Here goes. 

"Would you like to go out with me to Santa Rosa tomorrow night?" 

"What, like, on a date?" 

"Yeah. A proper date. Dinner and a movie. Or dancing. Would you like to go dancing with me again?" 

"Um... but, I mean - how come?" 

There was that little furrow between her eyes that made him want to soothe all her troubles. Instead of answering right away, though, he held out his hand, and when Leanne took it, he led them to sit on one of the hay bales in the shade. Still holding her hand, Joe found her eyes. 

"Leanne, I - you deserve more than a roll in the grass when nobody's looking. You're worth breaking my goddamned no-workplace-romance rule for." He pursed his lips. "I'm not gonna hide like a coward anymore, as if what we're doing is wrong." 

Leanne was staring at him, wide-eyed, and he thought she was going to protest, so he rushed on. 

"I want this, whatever it is between us. I want to date you properly. I don't want to feel like a cheater, lurking in the shadows to sneak a few moments with you. I want to do this right." 

Leanne kept staring at him mutely, and he could see panic rising in her eyes. Swallowing a curse, he clamped his lips together, held his breath, and waited. 

* 

Leanne didn't know what to do. 

Every cell in her body wanted to say yes! right then and there. She would love to go out with Joe - movie, dinner, dancing, the whole nine yards. She had missed on so much, growing up the way she did. Sharing a bedroom with her dying mother and then with a baby, and practically raising three young kids while working through college didn't leave any room for romance. Dating was just one more thing she desperately wanted to catch up on - with Joe. 

But that would up the stakes way higher than she had gambled for. 

What they had shared so far was simple and straightforward; an honest exchange. He may say she deserved better than a roll in the grass, but for her it had been an unexpected, precious gift. Having strings attached to it would complicate things immeasurably. 

Could she date him, but keep her secrets to herself? Could she, in good faith, agree to a 'real' relationship, knowing it was doomed from the start? 

Or should she come clean, right then and there, and hope he would see past her lineage, past her lie by omission, and give her a chance for real? 

She ruled out that second option right away. In all probability he would kick her out of the farm on the spot, which means no money for Bill to pay back his outstanding debt to the McConnels, no work experience for herself, and no romance for either one of them. She couldn't see any good in doing it. 

The first option, on the other hand... 

"I take it that your answer is 'no', then." Joe's voice, soft as it were, broke through the silence between them, startling her. 

"No! That's - that's not it." 

"What is it, then?" She could hear the hurt in his voice, and it ate at her insides. I don't want to hurt you, Joe. 

"I just don't want there to be... undue expectations attached to it." 

Joe leaned back, a look of incredulity on his face. "Seriously, Leanne? Is that what you think?" He shook his head, but then, after a moment, his voice gentled, as did his fingers around her hand. 

"Your virginity is safe for as long as you want it, princess. That's not what this is about. I thought you knew that." 

"Oh God. Shoot me now." Leanne blushed crimson, and buried her face in her hands. After a moment, though, she breathed deep, and straightened. 

"Joe, that's not what I'm talking about. I trust you. I know you won't do anything I don't want you to. Besides I - I think I want to - to -" 

He blew a hard breath. "Okay, okay. That's not it then." And then - "So, why, Leanne? Why not date me for real? I thought we were having a good time together?" 

Leanne bit her lip, but finally answered. "I would love to go out with you, Joe. As long as we both remember this is just - temporary. Let's not pretend it to be something else, okay?" 

For the longest time he just stared at her. And then he tilted his head, as if seeing her in a new light. "Are you saying that I shouldn't aim for anything long-term?" 

Leanne bit on her lip so hard she could taste blood. But then she nodded. "I - yeah. I'm saying I am a seasonal worker, and I will leave in a few months. I want to be clear about that." 

Joe considered her again, his jaw working. And then, he nodded, too. "Okay. Duly noted." 

Leanne inhaled deeply. Okay, then. Out loud, she asked - "So, which movie did you have in mind?" 

* 

It was a silly Rom-Com, and Joe had to admit he had thoroughly enjoyed it. 

They had both groaned in unison at the more ridiculous parts, and chuckled at the quirky bits. More importantly, Leanne cuddled under his arm as soon as they sat down, and had squeezed into his side at the mushy, ultra-romantic happy ending. Their date, he concluded with satisfaction, was going well so far. It was a relief after its rocky start. 

He had waited for her by his truck at six PM, as agreed. Tammy, his sister, saw him standing there, and had swung by to discuss some less-than-urgent issues. He had been blatantly impatient, and she was about to go off on him when Leanne had appeared at their side. 

Tammy had stopped abruptly and turned to Leanne, while throwing Joe an annoyed look over her shoulder. "Hey, Leanne. Did you need anything?" 

"Um - I -" Leanne stumbled, and Joe spoke up. "Leanne's with me tonight, Tammy. I'm taking her out to Santa Rosa. Dinner, movie and some dancing. We'll be late coming back, so unless there's anything urgent, we'll talk tomorrow morning." 

Tammy didn't hide the speculation in her eyes, although Joe noticed she didn't seem overly surprised, and didn't ask any more questions. Instead, she met his gaze. 

"Well, well, well, big brother. There may be hope for you yet. Just be careful with this one, I actually like her." She nodded at Leanne with a hint of a smile. "You two enjoy. I'll be out of your hair. Leanne, remember that you open the kiddie farm in the morning. Don't be late." With that, she turned and left them on their own. 

And so it begins, he thought ruefully. Although, interestingly, Tammy's reaction was milder than he had anticipated. He knew he'd have to answer to his father in the morning - there were very little secrets between the three of them - but he was ready for that. He squared his shoulders unconsciously. 

Leanne's hesitant voice drew his attention. "You sure this is a good idea, Joe?" 

His lips thinned as he turned to open the truck door, and then held his hand out to help her climb up. "One of the best I've had in a long time. Don't let my sister intimidate you. She's all bark but no bite, and she really does like you. I promise." 

Leanne smiled faintly as she settled in her seat. A moment later they were on their way. 

He took her to dinner at the town's only half-decent steakhouse. She was self-conscious about her clothes, which she was afraid were too casual. Joe thought the hip-hugging jeans and the white eyelet cotton shirt - the same clothes she'd worn that first night they'd met - looked absolutely perfect, and had told her as much. Leanne's eyes shone with gratitude in the candlelight, and her fingers caressed the smooth, white tablecloth, as if checking to see if it were real. He was tempted to ask her more about her childhood, to figure out where all those insecurities had come from, but then he held back, knowing it was a touchy subject for her. 

It's a matter of trust, he told himself. Give it time, and eventually she'll open up to you about it. Instead, he told her some of his experiences in UC Davis, and asked her about her dream to become a vet. 

"Why animals?" he prodded. "I mean, I love being around them, but I've grown up on the farm, so I figure I'm biased. But you grew up in Sacramento, right? How come you're so into them?" 

Leanne shrugged, and he thought she would evade his question. But then she met his eyes. 

"They don't judge. If you treat them right, they'll love you for it. It's that easy." 

Joe almost pushed. Who judged you unfairly? He wanted to ask, but he could see Leanne wouldn't answer. So instead he tried to show her by example. He was there, and he treated her well, and he didn't judge her. He hoped she took notice. 

* 

Back at The Lounge, on the dance floor, in Joe's arms, Leanne felt like a princess again. The man could move, she thought, smiling her delight as they performed a series of intricate steps effortlessly, smooth as butter, as if they'd been made to dance together. Pride and satisfaction laced Joe's voice when he spoke, loud enough for her to hear over the blaring music. 

"You've gotta admit we're good together." 

Leanne smirked. "I've never argued that point, cowboy." 

"Right. As long as we're clear on that." He swirled her around faster, making the room blur until the only thing she could focus on were his warm brown eye, holding hers captive. 

His arms supported her in a proper dancing hold, but Leanne didn't want to be proper tonight. She wanted to be bold and reckless again. She wanted his passion. In a deliberate move she pressed closer, until she could feel his erection graze her belly through their jeans. 

Joe grunted low. "I'm trying my best to be a gentleman, princess. This is making it hard." 

Leanne raised her eyebrows. "I like making it hard." 

"Dammit, Leanne..." Joe tried to pull away, but she wouldn't let him. "Joe, please. I - I want this. I want you." 

Joe stopped dancing and stood still, breathing shallow. She didn't think it was because of the physical exertion. Softly, she repeated her request, spelling it out for him. "Please. Let's get a room and go upstairs." 

For the longest time Joe didn't respond. Finally he whispered hoarsely. "Are you sure?" 

Leanne just nodded, biting her lips hard to keep them from quivering with her mounting excitement. 

Joe dropped his head and exhaled slowly. After a moment, he looked up. 

"There's nothing I want more than to make love to you tonight, Leanne. But not here. Not at a - a cheesy place like this." 

"But -" she started, and he silenced her with a look. "Let's head back to the farm. If you're still sure this is what you want by the time we get there, I'll take you to my home, to my bed, and I will give you the first time that you deserve. Okay?" 

Giddy with expectation, she almost jumped for joy. Her smile threatened to split her face, but all she said was, "Okay!" 

* 

The ride back to the farm seemed eternally long, but then all of a sudden they were there, parked in front of the darkened main house. 

Joe turned to Leanne, though he couldn't make her features in the darkness. He reached for her hand instead, noting the slightly-damp softness, and gave her a small squeeze. 

"Leanne -" 

"I still want this." 

Her words reverberated in the confines of the cabin. He let them wash over him, soak him in reassurance. "I want this, too. Very much." 

He thought he saw her mouth curl up in a little smile. 

With a parting squeeze of her hand he let her go, climbed out of the truck, and walked around to her side, feeling a disproportionate kick of satisfaction seeing her sit there and wait for him to reach her door. Finally. 

Taking her hand, he led her around the main house to one of the small cottages standing behind it. The porch light was on, and Joe pulled the screen door and pushed the unlocked door behind it, motioning for Leanne to move before him. 

"After you, princess. Welcome to my humble abode." 

* 

Leanne walked a few steps inside, and then stopped to look around. The porch light filtered through the open door so she could barely make the modest kitchen to her right, separated from the main room by a rustic looking dinner table and chairs. To her left was a small study, and a closed door which was probably a bathroom. Stairs in the far left corner climbed to the second floor. 

In spite of the darkness, it seemed clean and orderly; with a pleasant, airy feel. She smiled back at Joe, who reached for a switch before closing the door behind him. The kitchen was flooded in soft light coming from under the top counters. 

"So..." 

Joe approached her, and stopped a foot away, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

"So...?" 

She turned fully to him, her own hands going to her back pockets, unconsciously mimicking his move. 

"You want something to drink?" 

He seemed nervous. Leanne's heart pounded harder as she took a tiny step forward. 

"I want you to kiss me. Please." 

A slow smile relaxed Joe's tense jaw, and he took her face in his hands. 

"I can do that." 

* 

God, her mouth tasted so good. 

Joe had to fight to keep their kiss light and easy. He needed to keep his head for this, try to ignore his body, which was screaming with urgent need. His fingers shook with effort as he traced her jaw and softened his lips to coax hers open. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 04



Leanne had no such reservations, apparently. Her mouth opened and her tongue licked his lower lip, inviting him to play. Her hands moved to his neck, her fingertips tunneling in his hair, her short nails scraping deliciously at his scalp, making him shiver. Joe's hands moved to her shoulders and he pulled her close, mashed her breasts to his chest, and kissed her deeper. 

Leanne's breathy whimpers were driving him crazy. He wanted more. Lifting his head, he waited for her to open her eyes. Her slightly unfocused look gave him a kick of satisfaction. 

"You know, there's a big, comfy bed waiting for us upstairs." 

She swallowed, and then smiled faintly. "Lead the way, cowboy." 

* 

His hand felt good around hers, warm and solid, as he led her up the stairs. The space above the landing was pitch-black, and Joe slowed his pace. 

"Hold onto the railing, princess. I don't want you tumbling down - there. Wait here for a moment while I get some light on." 

She waited at the top landing and wondered what he was doing as he walked straight into the blackness. A moment later soft light flickered inside what she now recognized was an en-suite bathroom. Shadows and lights danced on the tile wall beyond the narrow door in front of her, and then Joe appeared, holding two large, chubby candles in his hands. He half-smiled, and turned to the bedroom at his right to place the candles on top of the dresser that lined the bathroom wall. 

The soft glow of the candles was enough to illuminate the room. The sharply sloped ceiling looked like a built canopy above the large, traditional four-poster bed that dominated the space. There was a padded linen chest at the foot of the bed, a closet nestled in the far left corner, two small night-stands, and a single recliner chair in the far right corner, next to a standing lamp. The dark wood furniture looked hand-crafted, smooth and elegant, and stood in stark contrast to the light color of the walls and the bedspread. A shaggy rag and semi-sheer curtains gave a comfortable, cozy feel to the room. There were no pictures hanging, but she imagined the view from the large window that took most of the West-facing wall would be spectacular come morning. 

When Leanne's gaze returned to Joe, she found him looking at her softly. She returned his smile hesitantly, and he stepped closer until they were within arm's length, although he didn't touch her yet. 

"You do know I care for you, right?" 

"I - I guess so?" She wasn't sure where that came from, or how he expected her to answer. Joe reached up to cup her face. 

"When we first met at The Lounge, you said that you wanted your first time to be with someone who cared for you, and who you cared about, too. Remember?" 

Leanne nodded, her lip caught between her sharp teeth. Joe half-smiled. "I just wanted to make sure you knew that - I do care for you. I wouldn't do this if I didn't." 

"I know." she whispered, and then, peering up into his eyes, she added - "I care for you, too, Joe. I wouldn't do this if I didn't, either." 

He nodded solemnly. "Okay." 

They stood there, undecided, for another moment, and then Joe grinned, and the wicked glint in his eyes made her heart skip a bit. "That bow on your shirt had been calling my name since the first time I laid eyes on you." 

Leanne peeked down, and giggled. "Oh did it, now?" 

"Mmm. Indeed." He reached for it, holding her eyes, and when all she did was arch her eyebrows in challenge, he chuckled, and tugged on the tiny satin bow. It came undone easily, and the scooped neck separated and drooped open, exposing the soft top swells of her breasts, and a hint of the valley between them. 

Joe's fingers caressed along the bared flesh, just under her collarbone. "Beautiful." he murmured, and Leanne's insides melted. She stepped closer and reached for his shirt buttons just as he moved to undo hers, one by one, before pushing the capped sleeves off her shoulders. Leanne's shirt floated to the carpet behind her, while Joe's was now open, revealing his solid, golden torso with its spattering of soft, blondish-brown chest hairs. Leanne reached up to caress him, and the soft tickle against her palms spiked her passion. 

She wanted to feel it against her naked breasts. 

Leanne reached behind her to unclasp her bra, seeing Joe's eyes darken and his jaw slacken at her move. His hands moved to her jeans, making quick work of her button and zip. By the time her bra was off he had pushed his palms inside her waistband to fill each one with a fleshy, warm ass cheek, and was stepping close so their bodies touched from chest to knees. 

Leanne's whimper hitched in her throat at the delicious contact, and she reached for his head and pulled it down for another deep, hot kiss, enhanced now by his chest rubbing against hers, and his hands roaming her back side, squeezing and stroking, adding fuel to her flame. She was getting high on sensation, and loving every moment. 

She hadn't realized they were moving until she felt the bed behind her. Joe lifted his head, and then, slowly, kneeled in front of her. He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her jeans, and after a peek up to her eyes and a nod from her, peeled them off, taking her panties with them, until they were pulled at her ankles. 

"Have a seat, princess." He said with a smile and she complied, and watched at the play of muscles in his arms and shoulders as he took her flats off, then her socks, and then finally tugged at her jeans until they cleared her naked heels. He folded them haphazardly and placed them atop her shoes off and to the side, and then sat back on his heels, and looked up, finding her eyes, even as his palms moved up her legs to rub lightly up and down her outer thighs. 

Leanne's heart was beating like crazy. She felt lightheaded. She wasn't sure what she expected, probably for him to push her back and climb on top of her, but he kept kneeling, his touch so light it was almost imperceptible, and tilted his head, looking into her eyes. 

"So... you've been doing your homework this past week?" 

Leanne gasped her surprise, feeling her cheeks warm, but then nodded and answered softly - "Yes, I have. Every day, like you told me to." 

"Remember what I said I'd do if you did?" 

"Um, you - you said you'd quiz me on it." She was going to faint. Or catch fire. 

"Mmm. That's right. I've been thinking of very little else for the past week... I'd love to see how you've progressed. Wanna show me?" 

Leanne couldn't answer in words for the life of her, but she managed a jerky nod. Joe's face softened. 

"Go on then, sweetheart. Make yourself comfortable and let's see what you've learned." 

Leanne hesitated for a moment. She kind of expected Joe to just climb onto the bed and take over; she hadn't expected this. On the other hand, she felt surprisingly confident with the idea of masturbating before him. For one, she'd done it already. And also, she really had been practicing, so there was much less fear of the unknow. She could do this. 

Even as she scrambled back and piled his pillows behind her back against the headboard, she realized he was doing this on purpose; was trying to ease her into it. Her heart swelled. She met Joe's eyes boldly, and spread her legs wide. 

"Prepare to be amazed, cowboy." 

His startled look - and his following deep groan - were all the encouragement that Leanne needed. Giggling, she took two fingers into her mouth to wet them, and then brought them to her pussy, and started stroking. 

* 

Joe was pretty sure he was risking a heart attack, and he couldn't care less. With his eyes trained to Leanne's slim fingers working along her slit, he moved up onto the bed, and settled close at her side, propped on his right elbow, and leaned to kiss her shoulder, even as his left hand moved to cover her small breast. He alternated between kneading the soft, firm flesh and cupping the gentle swell, strumming its peak with his thumb, before moving to her other breast and giving it similar attention. 

Leanne whimpered and arched into his hand, and her fingers quickened their pace between her thighs. 

"God, you're so sexy like that." 

He wanted to see more closely; the angle he was in didn't allow for details. Joe pushed himself to his knees and moved lower, until he settled between Leanne's spread thighs, and then scooted back so that he could bend low to kiss and nibble along her delicate inner thighs. 

Her scent was driving him crazy, sweet-salty musk that begged to be tasted. Joe resisted, wanting to let her lead, at least for now. Leanne's breathy voice pulled his attention momentarily to her flushed face. 

"So, am I doing it right?" she panted. 

What? Oh. The 'quiz'. Joe grinned. "You're perfect, princess. And I lied. This isn't a quiz." 

"Oh?" her fingers slowed for a moment. "What is it, then?" 

"It's a tutoring session. A private lesson. Now I need to pay attention, so don't distract me with all this talking, please. Just keep showing me what feels good so I know what to do on my turn." 

Her brow was furrowed for another split-second before her smile broke, and her fingers quickened. "I like that idea... watch and learn, cowboy. I may be new at this, but I think I'm on my way to becoming a pro." 

Joe laughed and shook his head, grinning so hard he felt it in his ears, and then bent to kiss higher, almost to the crease of her thigh. 

"Go ahead, princess. Show me what you've got." 

She wet her fingers in her mouth once more and Joe's hands tightened at her hips. He couldn't resist clamping his teeth on her quivering inner thigh, just barely keeping from actually hurting her. God, this is torture. And I'm loving it. Who knew? he wondered, even as Leanne's hand was back at her pussy, rubbing in tight circles over her clitoris. Soon, she was going so fast her fingers were blurred. 

"Ohmygod I think I'm going to - oh!" 

Leanne bucked and jerked, her knees closing, trapping him for a moment before opening again, and he watched, mesmerized, as her whole pelvis area seemed to pulse, squeezing and relaxing rhythmically, small gushes of her juice trickling down her slit to the bedspread below with every contraction. Her fingers kept working, slower now, more squeezing than stroking. 

Gradually the storm had passed and Leanne slumped back against the pillows. She was still gliding her fingers through her folds, and her legs have slipped to lie straight on the bed at his sides. Joe smiled up to her flushed face, and bent forward to take her fingers into his mouth, and suck them clean of her essence. 

Leanne watched him with a heavy, hooded gaze and a hint of a smile, even as her breaths were still coming in shallow puffs through her parted lips. Joe crawled up until he was at her side. 

"That was beautiful, princess. Now, will you allow me a try, too?" 

Her eyes widened. "What - you mean, using your f-fingers?" 

Joe nodded, watching her closely. She was biting her lips, and that tiny wrinkle appeared on her forehead. 

"But - don't you want to - to - f-fuck me?" 

Joe grimaced. For some reason, the word didn't sit well with him, though he never had an issue with it before. 

"I want to have you in every way imaginable, yes, but I don't want to rush this. I want to make sure you're ready for me." 

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I'm ready!" She said with a self-conscious giggle, and Joe smiled and winked, relieved to hear the sound. 

"Mmm. I'd like to verify that for myself, if that's alright with you." 

* 

Leanne felt the lethargic satisfaction evaporate from her muscles as Joe leaned in to kiss her soundly, and then started kissing a path along her chest and her belly, until he reached her damp curls. He was kneeling next to her, still wearing his jeans, which seemed extremely uncomfortable - not to mention unfair - and was reaching for her thighs, pressing them open, and then his fingers were almost at her pussy, both hands rubbing her inner thighs, the motion causing her labia to open slightly with every press. 

The tips of his fingers found her outer lips and pulled them gently open, exposing the pink inner folds to his look, and then, a moment later, for his tongue. 

Leanne jumped at his first soft licks, just the tip of his tongue tasting her. She looked down, watched his strong jaw move with every lick, then his lips kissing her intimately, and couldn't believe he was really doing it. She had liked her own taste, had seen his pleasure when he sucked her fingers, but to have him actually lick her right there...! 

And then the exquisite pleasure registered, and any other thought fled. It felt amazing! Leanne relaxed with a deep sigh, and opened her knees wider. 

She saw the smile in his jaw at her surrender, but he didn't look up, just kept on licking, suckling and kissing her leisurely, as if he had all the time in the world. Soon, she wanted more. She tilted her pelvis up so that he could reach her better, and was slowly rocking up into his mouth. But instead of obliging her this time, Joe pulled back, and then he licked his own fingers and brought them to her pussy. 

Oh that felt so good! 

Leanne thought her brain was going to melt from the jolt of pleasure that hit her. His fingers felt very different than his tongue, their skin hard and slightly calloused, but he used them with infinite care, and they slid easily over her wet folds. 

"Oh god!" she whimpered, and watched, mesmerized, as Joe sank the tip of his finger into her tight hole, and then slowly started stroking it in circles. He was pressing out ever so slightly, as if coaxing her to relax the taut ring of muscles there, and then withdrew to pleasure her clit, only to return a moment later and do it again, and again. 

Leanne's hands had been grabbing to the bedspread at her sides, but now they had moved as if with a will of their own to her breasts, and she started squeezing them in time to the slow, deliberate moves of Joe's fingers. With every passage he dipped a little deeper, until he was two knuckles in, and Leanne found herself squeezing and releasing herself around the invading digit. 

Joe groaned. "Ahh... that's right princess. Just like that. Let's try to add another one." 

He looked up, but her own eyes were riveted to his hand between her thighs and his two fingers pressing slowly, carefully, into her. She exhaled, soaking up the sweet sensation, and a smile curl her lips even as her breath hitched. 

"Yeah... that feels good!" 

Joe started pumping shallowly, in controlled moves, and when she relaxed around him he gradually pushed deeper, until his two fingers disappeared into her with every stroke. Leanne couldn't look away, until she heard Joe speak, low and urgent. 

"Feels good, princess? Nothing hurts?" 

Her eyes sought his. "It feels incredible. Intense, but so good." 

He held her gaze, his fingers still slowly fucking her. "I think you're ready." 

She nodded, her belly fluttering so bad she didn't think she could speak. Joe half smiled, and slowly withdrew his hand. He crawled back and off the bed completely, and tugged his jeans and underwear off. He then padded over to the bathroom and returned a moment later with a condom already rolled on, climbed onto the bed, and took her in his arms. 

* 

Pleasure spiked in him as Leanne pressed their bodies together and intertwined their thighs, and he stroked down her back to grab her ass and grind her against him. Leanne whimpered as his rigid erection poked at her belly, and with a muttered curse, Joe rolled to his back, until she was leaning over him, straddling his thighs, his dick standing stiff and swollen between them. 

Leanne looked at it, bit her lips, and then met his eyes with a tiny smile. "You promise it'd fit?" 

Joe grinned, though it felt strange on his taut face. "Oh yes. And you're going to set the pace, so it'd feel great, too." 

She looked from his eyes to his dick and then up again, looking so startled it was almost funny, except he was in no mood to laugh. Despite his promises, he wasn't at all sure he won't hurt her, though he'd do his damned best. Joe reached down to take Leanne's hips in his hands and nudged her up and forward until his sheathed cock rested along her hot, damp slit, his cockhead just kissing her swollen clit. 

"C'mon, princess. Guide me in. I promise I won't push. You control how much you take, okay?" 

Instead of answering him, Leanne raised herself higher on her knees and took his dick in her small, soft, hot hands. Joe's dick jumped at the hesitant touch, and he gritted his teeth as he struggled to keep his touch light at her hips. 

Leanne looked down between them as she held his cock with one hand and leaned with the other onto his chest for balance. Then she lowered her hips a fraction, and carefully guided him until his flared cockhead burrowed just at her opening. Joe's eyes closed as he savored the sweet, sweet sensation, and then opened to look as Leanne lowered herself, a fraction of an inch at a time, onto his shaft. 

Not pushing up into her was the hardest thing he'd ever done, and Joe knew he'd forever be proud of that, even if there was no one he could ever brag to about it. His hands did tighten at her hips, but only to help take some of her weight off her trembling thighs. He watched and waited, his breath trapped in his chest so long it hurt, as she made her excruciatingly slow descent. At one point she paused, hissed quietly, and pulled back up a hair, paused to breathe, and then moved down a little more. She repeated the process a few more times until finally, incredibly, he was all inside, and she was seated atop his hips. 

They both released shuddering breaths, completely still except for their chests and bellies heaving. 

"You okay, princess?" he panted, and Leanne nodded, a wondrous smile spreading slowly across her face. 

"It feels - incredible." She whispered, and he couldn't agree more. 

"Take your time, sweetheart. Do what feels good, just like before." 

Her baby-blue eyes were almost black as she started rocking her hips in tiny motions. Her inner muscles clamped around him like a hot, wet glove that fisted his cock in a perfect fit. His palms itched with the need to grab her and take over their lovemaking; instead he brought them behind his head. 

Leanne smiled, her cheeks flushed with high color. "I think I like this... having you at my mercy like that. Maybe I'll start ordering you around..." 

Joe smiled wide at that. "As you wish, princess." he said and winked at her, but it turned into a loud hiss when Leanne rolled her hips harder. 

"God. Do it again, please!" He was reduced to begging, and he didn't fucking care. 

Leanne's giggle tickled his spine and made the small hairs in his nape stand, and then all reason fled when she rolled her hips once more, and all he could do was feel. 

* 

Leanne couldn't believe how good it felt to be filled to capacity, stretched, challenged. Joe laid spread out under her, deceptively still as he reclined on the pillows, but she could see the fire in his eyes, and feel the fine tremor in his body between her thighs. The latent power in him excited her beyond her wildest expectations. For the first time, she understood the thrill of a heavy road bike. Placing both hands on his hard pecs she leaned forward, and kissed him. 

At first he was totally still under her, but then his arms came from behind his head to hold her face and he took over their kiss, giving his tongue the freedom to plunge deep into her. 

Leanne moaned into his mouth as her need rose again, and started grinding harder, trying to press her clit against his hard pelvic bone while their mouths devoured each other. One of Joe's hands tangled in her hair and tugged gently to draw her attention. She raised her head until she could focus on his eyes. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 04



"I need more, baby." 

He sounded desperate. Leanne found his eyes. "I can handle more, cowboy. I'm stronger than I seem, remember?" 

Joe's response was a muffled curse, and then his arms tightened around her and he flipped her to her back. Then he ground into her, once, twice, three times, a growl rumbling from somewhere deep in his chest. 

"Fuck, you feel so good princess... argh!" 

His hips started pumping as if against his will, and Leanne cried out with the intense sensations. Joe froze mid-stroke. 

"Shit. You okay baby?" He was actually shaking in her arms, and Leanne knew he was close to his own limit - one that she had no interest in him keeping. 

"Don't you dare coddle me, cowboy. Give me all you've got." 

His body tightened above her. "You have no idea what you're asking for, princess." he muttered, and she was about to protest when he drew back, and then thrust into her with more momentum than before. Her breath hitched, her protest lost, along with any coherent words. 

"That's what I thought." he hissed, and pulled back to thrust slowly again. Leanne moaned, the sound becoming a bit of a cry halfway through. But when he paused she opened her eyes to find his, her hands coming up to hold his face. 

"I'm okay. Don't stop, please." 

He didn't answer, but his hips moved with longer, deeper strokes, and his eyes held hers when he took them both higher. When her high-pitched cries sounded over his last irregular movements, when he was no longer in full control of himself and couldn't keep from going harder, he bent to kiss her and felt his dick swell and pulse before he exploded with a shout, filling the condom with his cum, nestled deep inside her body. 

His arms shook. The strength of his release made him tremble all over. He managed to shift his weight so that when he collapsed he didn't smother her; instead he rolled to his back and took her with him so that her head was pillowed on his shoulder, and then waited for the Earth to return to its axis. 

* 

Leanne's head was spinning, but one thought did manage to formalize itself above the buzzing in her ears. 

That was freakin' awesome. I want to do it again! 

She felt like she did coming off the Vortex thrill ride at the Great America park in Santa Clara that they visited with the kids on school spring break. She went to do it on her own, while Elaine and the kids watched from a nearby bench. Coming down from the ride her whole body was shaking from the extreme experience, she couldn't quite walk straight and there were strange aches and pains in parts of her body she never realized existed. But she felt joyous and free, young and able-bodied, and she wished she could go back up, right then and there. 

Much like now. 

She felt the muscles in his chest move as Joe raised his head to peek at her, and looked up to meet his gaze, a smile hovering over her lips. A small muscle jumped in his cheek. 

"You okay?" his eyes were searching hers for signs of distress, she could tell. Leanne pulled his neck to draw his face closer, and kissed him full on the lips, soft and sweet. 

"I am wonderful." She promised, and Joe nodded and smiled. "Yeah. You are." 

Leanne's heart squeezed as Joe hugged her close and kissed her hair, before he withdrew and rolled off the bed, and padded over to the shower. She heard the trash bin open and close, and then the water running. 

"Hey, you wanna come join me in the shower? It's nice and hot in here." 

"Um, nah that's okay. I think I'm too tired to move." she answered apologetically, but could hear no response from Joe. 

By the time the water had stopped running Leanne was already drifting to sleep. She was just barely aware of the bed dipping beside her, and then Joe's hand, gently nudging her shoulder. 

"Let's get you under the bedspread, princess. And I brought a wet washcloth, if you'd like to clean up a bit." 

She mumbled 'n'kay' and let him roll her off the bedspread and then under it, and never bothered protesting when she felt the slightly rough, warm washcloth that was pushed gently to wipe in between her thighs. A moment later it was gone, and then Joe was back in the bed, taking her gently into his arms and tucking her head under his chin. 

"Nothing hurts too bad, right?" He asked quietly, and Leanne shook her head. "Did I bleed a lot?" she blurted, and then cringed internally, but Joe seemed to take it in stride. "Not too bad, actually. There was only a little spotting that I could see." 

"I should put something on..." 

"You most definitely should not. I love having you naked in my arms." 

"But what if I stain your -" 

"Shh. I don't care if the bedding is fucking ruined tomorrow. Now go to sleep, sweetheart." 

"Mmm. M'kay." she mumbled, and in the next moment, she was asleep. 

* 

Waking up in Joe's arms was the best feeling in the world, Leanne thought melancholically, keeping her eyes resolutely closed and her breathing carefully even. She wouldn't cry. Not now. There will be time for tears and heartache later. 

She was eternally grateful for the experience Joe had given her the night before. As different as it was from how she had imagined it, it was everything that she had dreamed. 

He was everything she had dreamed. 

And right there was the problem. 

Stifling a miserable moan she tried to roll away without disturbing him, but as soon as she moved his arms tightened around her. 

"Where're you goin'?" His sleepy voice sounded gravelly. 

Leanne cleared the lump in her throat. "Um, to the bathroom?" She was glad for the almost-complete darkness of the pre-dawn hour; the last thing she wanted was for him to read her face too closely right then. 

He released her reluctantly, and she scampered to the adjoined bathroom. She didn't bother with a light; reluctant to see herself in the mirror. Instead she sat down to do her business, absently relieved that there wasn't any lingering soreness, and then washed her hands and her face, and finger-combed her hair. Once done, she took a deep breath, and released it slowly. 

She needed some perspective to think clearly. But she'd need to face Joe first, and as confused as she was, she was clear about one thing: she didn't want him to have any regrets. He was wonderful to her last night, and he deserved to feel damn good about himself this morning. 

With a curt nod to her darkened silhouette in the mirror, Leanne consciously relaxed her features, and then turned, opened the door, and turned towards the room which was now cast in gentle light coming from Joe's bedside lamp. 

He was sitting on the side of the bed, the corner of his blanket thrown haphazardly over his hips, looking worriedly at her. Leanne managed a brief smile, and stepped closer, until she was standing before him. He reached up to trace her naked hips with his fingertips, and then took her hands in his. 

"So... we still good?" he asked carefully, and Leanne had to blink back her threatening tears. 

"Yes. We're good. Very good." she promised huskily, and then added - "Thank you." 

His brow, which cleared a moment before, furrowed again. "You're thanking me? I think you got it backwards, princess." 

She shook her head, but couldn't speak. After a moment, Joe's frown relaxed into a small smile. "Okay." At her slight but reassuring nod, he got up and pulled her into his arms for a long, warm hug. 

Leanne let herself soak up his closeness, the expanse of his naked skin against hers, and breathed in his good, masculine scent. She could feel his cock press against her lower belly, semi-hard, but he seemed to keep their embrace light on purpose, and she followed his lead. His cheek was resting on her head, but then he turned to kiss her hair before stepping back, putting some distance between them. 

"I'd love to keep you here for the whole weekend, but we've got a full day of work ahead of us, and if we're not both at the dining hall in about twenty five minutes people would come looking for us." 

Leanne nodded. "I know. I - I need to get back to my room for my work uniforms and my toothbrush anyways, so I might as well shower there." 

Joe half-smiled, and then released her completely. "Yeah. Okay." he said, before going around the room picking up her discarded clothes from last night, and then handing the pile to her. "Here you go, sweetheart. I showered last night, so I'll just get dressed and walk you over to your dorms, okay?" 

"Sure - you don't mind if someone sees us, then?" she asked hesitantly. Joe shook his head, and took her shoulders in his hands, looking her straight in the eyes. 

"I'm done hiding; I told you that. We're adults, and we're doing nothing wrong. So unless you are uncomfortable with it, I don't give a damn about what anyone else thinks." 

"Oh - okay." 

Joe grinned. "Good. Let's get going." 

* 

They had just turned onto the pavement in front of the main house, walking hand-in-hand, when a voice sounded from behind the rose bush that flanked the stairs. 

"Well, good morning, son. Leanne." 

Joe's belly dropped a little. He wasn't seventeen anymore; Leanne and him were clearly consenting adults. Still, that's not the way he wanted to break the news to his father. Although looking at the older man's face, there was not even a hint of surprise there, only good-natured curiosity. Tammy had told him already, then. 

"Good morning, Dad." 

"Good morning, Mr. McConnel." 

They spoke together, and then gave each other a startled look. His dad chuckled. "Nah, I think under the circumstances Mr. McConnel is entirely too formal. Call me Michael, please." 

Leanne nodded, the slight blush on her cheeks visible under the porch light, even though the morning was still almost dark. Joe cursed to himself, and rushed to intervene. 

"Dad, we're in a bit of a hurry. We'll chat later, okay?" 

Michael McConnel looked from his son to the young woman next to him and back. "Sure, son. Why don't you bring Leanne over after supper to join our movie night? I'm sure Tammy would love to have another female vote. Even the odds, and all that." 

Joe stared at his father, taken aback by the easy way he was taking the situation. Inviting a friend - a lady friend - to their standing 'family date' tradition - had never happened before. 

Then again, he never had a woman over in his cottage, either. And his father was well aware of that fact. 

"Um -" Joe was fumbling for an excuse to get them off the hook, but Leanne spoke up before he could. 

"That's real nice of you Mr. McConnel. But I wouldn't want to intrude on your private family time." 

"It's Michael, please. And you wouldn't be intruding. We'd love to have you there. Right, son?" 

Joe knew when he was beaten. He turned to Leanne, his eyes apologetic, even as he dutifully affirmed his father's assertion. "Absolutely." If he were honest with himself, he actually liked that idea. More than he should, probably. 

Leanne had a deer-in-the-headlight expression on her face, and he chuckled. "C'mon. It would be fun! We won't bite, I promise." He winked, and she blushed, making him, in turn, remember moments from last night when he actually did. His smile widened in spite of himself, but he kept his voice gentle when he repeated their invitation. "Please join us tonight. We'd love to have you there. I'd love to have you there." 

She nodded, and he had a sneaking suspicion she was getting teary-eyed. Damn. He looked up to find his father watching their exchange intently. Double damn. 

"We really are in a hurry, dad. We'll talk later, okay?" 

"Sure. Go ahead." 

"Thank you for the invite, Mr. - Michael. I - I guess I'll see you tonight." 

Joe watched the smile light up his father's face, and with a start realized he hadn't seen one of those for a long time. Too long. 

"Good! See you then." 

With that, his father turned back to the rose bush, pruners raised, and Joe chuckled, took Leanne's hand, and tugged her along. 

"C'mon. Let's get you to your room before everyone's up, or we'll never start our day on time." 

* 

In the privacy of her own shower, Leanne finally let her tears run free. 

She cried for the joy she found in Joe's arms, which she knew wouldn't last. And she agonized over Mr. McConnel's invitation, too, because having a pre-defined, short-term relationship with Joe was one thing; getting close to his family was another level of complexity she would be a fool to engage in. 

But she wanted to, so very much! 

She missed her mom terribly. A fresh bout of tears spilled down her wet cheeks, and choked sobs rocked her. And she missed her faux-foster family - Elaine and Sofia, and Sam and Steven - she even missed Jim Rogers, even though he was away so much she barely saw him anyway. 

She longed for that sense of belonging to others, being part of a family, false as it were, brief as it was bound to be. 

Turning her face to the cascading water, Leanne made her decision. Much like with Joe, she would let herself enjoy it for as long as she could. After all, Tammy and Michael McConnel weren't really going to see her as family, regardless of her make-believe fantasies. When Joe and her separated, when she was gone, there would be no heartbreak for them. At most, they'd be mildly disappointed. 

In the meantime, she would enjoy taking part in this 'family date night' - and any other family activities they would decide to include her in. What harm could be in that? 

* 

The McConnel's family movie night was even more fun than Leanne had expected, despite a few rocky patches. 

Tammy was obviously excited having her, and had snagged her hand and taken her aside as soon as they entered the main house to conspire together about which movie they wanted to choose. 

Tammy's enthusiasm was contagious, but Leanne felt more than a little uncomfortable, knowing she had little to offer by way of opinion on any of the options Joe's sister had mentioned. Finally, after one more 'what do you think?" from Tammy, she ditched her hummed non-answers and went for the truth. 

"Honestly, I wouldn't know what I'd like. I don't think I've watched any non-Disney movie in the last five years, and before that, with my mom -" she stopped. There was barely enough money for food and utilities; sometimes, not even for that. "Movies weren't our thing, I guess." she offered lamely. "So I honestly can't be of help here. But I promise to support whichever one you want." She finished quickly, and held her breath. 

Tammy looked at her a little funny. "Gosh. I cannot imagine not watching movies, like, a lot. This family movie night tradition - we've had it for ages - ever since my mom died, I think. Dad didn't know what to do with us back then, so this was his way to hang out. I think we've seen every movie produced in Hollywood at least once." 

Leanne bit her lip to stop from blurting something she shouldn't. The mention of Claire McConnel was like a dose of ice water, shocking her awake to the reality of the situation. 

Don't get sucked into the fairy tale, Leanne. You know you will never, ever, be part of this family. 

"Leanne?" 

Tammy was looking at her curiously, and Leanne shook her head with an apologetic smile. 

"Sorry. I guess - go ahead and choose your favorite. My vote is yours." 

Tammy kept staring at her, and then nodded decisively. "Okay then. A movie virgin, are you? I know just the one for your initiation. It's the ultimate chick flick, a bona-fide cult movie, AND my dad and Joe would never say 'no' to watching it, even for the umpteen's time. Let's go." 

When The Princess Bride title showed, Leanne looked up at Tammy, startled. She'd never seen the movie, but have heard enough references to it to have a rough grasp of the plot. All she could think was, she chose an ultra-romantic fairytale for me?! But then the movie started, and soon Leanne was engrossed with it. 

The three other people in the room seemed to know it by heart, and started role-playing the different parts, having memorized the script verbatim. Leanne watched their animated faces, and tried to ignore a sharp pang of envy. They were a tight bunch, for sure. 

Then Buttercup - and Tammy - started ordering Westly around, and the farmboy - and Joe - kept saying As you wish. A moment later Grandpa's voiceover - and Mr. McConnel's - spelled it out for her: 

'That day, she was amazed to discover that when he was saying "As you wish", what he meant was, "I love you." And even more amazing was the day she realized she truly loved him back.' 

Leanne's eyes flew up to find Joe watching her intently. Something in his expression told her that he remembered saying those exact same words to her the night before. Right after she had taken him into her body for the first time, as she was straddling him, she told him she might order him around. And he smiled and said, 'as you wish, princess.' 

Did he mean those words like that? Leanne thought frantically, but she wouldn't ask him. She couldn't risk his answer. 

Instead, she turned her unseeing eyes to the movie. Joe sighed next to her, and his arm tightened at her shoulders, but he said nothing. Instead, after a couple of minutes, he rejoined his family in their unofficial quote competition, and Leanne breathed a little easier and forced her attention back to the movie. It was, she had to admit, very funny, and very romantic, and a really good distraction. 

It also gave her a great excuse to get all teary-eyed towards the completely over-the-top ending. Tammy was delighted. 

"At long last! A girl after my own heart. These two keep teasing me for getting too emotional." 

Leanne forced a smile, and Joe chuckled, and then stood up. "Anyone else for a night cup?" 

They all moved to sit around the dining table standing in the middle of the huge kitchen. Joe uncorked a bottle of wine and then poured and served a glass to each. 

"Cheers." 

Mr. McConnel raised his glass in a cursory motion and they all mimicked him before taking their first sip. The wine was delicious, fruity and aromatic, and Leanne took a second, larger gulp. Tammy winked and murmured, "Yeah, I'll second that," and did the same. Leanne smiled wistfully. She'd never had a sister, and Tammy was treating her exactly like she'd fantasized a sibling would. It wasn't fair that it wouldn't last... but then, life wasn't fair. She'd learned that lesson early on. 

"So, are we happy with the initial numbers we're seeing this summer, with the expanded kiddie farm and the fresh produce store?" Mr. McConnel asked conversationally, looking between his two children. Tammy shrugged, and looked pointedly at Joe. "It's only been a couple of days, I haven't got all the numbers yet. What's your sense of it, Joe?" 

Leanne shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Being their guest for a movie night was one thing; being privy to a business-related conversation felt different, and she was decidedly out of place. Joe noticed her discomfort, and answered curtly. 

"My gut feel is that it's going very well, but that's all it is at this point. We'll know more in a week or two, when we've had a chance to compile and analyse the data properly. But the truth is, I don't want to talk shop tonight. Thank you for choosing the perfect movie, sis. Now if you'll excuse us, Leanne and I will be calling it a night." 

He scraped his chair back as he stood, and then helped Leanne with hers, offering his hand at the same time. She took it gratefully as she thanked both Mr. McConnel - Michael - and his daughter for the delightful evening, and within moments they were out the door. 

Once outside they both breathed deep, and then smiled to each other. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 05



Author's note: 

Hello, y'all! Welcome back! :) 

So, this chapter is, well, where things get kind of messy. Okay, VERY messy. We all need some messiness in our romance, right? 

8K words for those who are counting with me, which brings my total to ~43K. Awesome for my #NaNo 50K goal, but still a while away from 'the end'. I'm thinking three more chapters should do it, but we'll see how goes... 

Thank you everyone who have commented already, *especially* those of you who have left specific feedback about stuff that you feel needs improvement. I appreciate it! 

Anywhoo... hope you enjoy! 

***** 

The summer weeks seemed to fly by. Working the weekends had melted them together into one long marathon, broken only by the occasional afternoon off. 

But oh, those afternoons were glorious. And the nights were spectacular. 

She had become a woman. Leanne would have laughed at the notion of sex changing one in such a fundamental way, but it did. She felt as if she'd grown into her own skin. The pleasure she'd found in her body - and in Joe's - nurtured a budding sense of self-confidence. Seeing herself through his appreciative eyes, hearing the satisfaction in his voice, reassured her in ways she had never imagined, nor expected. 

She was thankful for it. She hoped its memory would keep her strong after the looming end of the season, getting steadily closer with each passing day. 

I will not regret this, Leanne told herself resolutely. I knew the end game coming in. 

She was more determined than ever, though, to keep her secrets safe until she left, with none of the McConnel's the wiser. Getting her own heart broken was her risk to take, but she wouldn't hurt Joe and his family. That, at least, she felt fairly sure that she could guarantee. After five weeks on the farm without anyone suspecting anything, she figured she was in the clear. 

Sometimes she would get angry - at Bill, at fate - for having put her in this position. Had he not sat behind the wheel after touring those wineries, none of this would happen. Had his Fiancé, Melissa, didn't contact her, she wouldn't have applied for this job, and wouldn't have set herself up for misery. 

But then again, having met Melissa, she felt compelled to do it. 

* 

That phone call came six months before, when Leanne was still at school and living with the Rogers. The kind, unfamiliar female voice on the other end of the line shook when she spoke. 

"Hello, is this Leanne Sommers?" 

"Yes, this is she. Who is it?" 

"Oh, how lovely it is to finally speak to you! You don't know me, but I've heard so much about you. My name is Melissa Berns. I am your father's fiancé." 

"I - what? My father's - I'm sorry, I don't understand." 

"Oh, dear. I'm sorry. I'm going all wrong about this. Could we - could we meet up for coffee sometime? I would love to speak to you, to get to know you." 

Leanne pressed her lips to a flat line. "I don't mean to be rude, ma'am, but I don't see what good that would make. I don't know Bill, and I don't want to know him. He's as dead to me as my mother." She almost didn't recognize her own venomous voice. 

There was a pause on the other side of the line, and then a soft sigh. "I understand how angry you are, Leanne. For what it's worth, I think you've every right to hate your father. All I'll say is, he is a changed man than the one who'd destroyed so many lives twenty years ago. I've seen first-hand how hard he's been working to make good in this world, both in prison and after his release. I - I wanted to share that with you. But I - I understand if you're not interested. I'm sorry." 

Leanne could sense the other woman was going to disconnect, and out of impulse, she blurted - 

"Wait. I - I'm okay with meeting you. But just you. I don't want - him - there." 

She heard the other woman's exhale. "Oh - thank you so much! That would be lovely. When would be a good time for you to meet?" 

And so, the following week, she found herself sitting across the small table from a friendly, plump, fifty-something year old woman, whose kind eyes watered when she spoke. 

"I'm a social worker, and I've known William for years, ever since he was sent to prison, basically. He was one of the first cases I was assigned there, and certainly the one who'd made the biggest impression." 

She went on to tell Leanne about her father's life in prison. The first several years when depression was a constant battle. How he'd mourned the life he took, and the many more he had wrecked forever. And then news of her mom's illness came, and that, paradoxically, had made him change for the better. 

"You see, up until then, he figured you'd be better off without him. That's why he never contested the divorce, and why he never tried to make any contact. But when his aunt, who was his only other remaining living relative, came to visit and told him of Holly's cancer - he realized he had to turn himself around, for you. He wanted to be able to be there for you, if your mother -" 

Melissa stopped, and then continued. "It was such a remarkable change. He just - pulled himself by his shoestrings. He started taking care of himself. Exercise. He signed up to any and all in-prison programs dedicated to helping inmates prepare for life outside. He had his undergrad degree from before, but he took online courses, and by the time he was released he was halfway towards his graduate diploma." 

"He came to see me at my mother's funeral." 

Melissa nodded. "I know. I was there, though I hung back because I didn't want to intrude. God he was so nervous..." 

"I told him he was dead to me." 

"I know." 

"Was that why he never tried contacting me again after?" 

Melissa shook her head. "Honestly? I think even after all the changes that he'd made, even after all the work he'd put in, he believes you're better off without him. He is utterly broke. Still unemployed, although he volunteers full-time at the homeless shelter where he used to live after his release. And he would still live there if we hadn't met again. He lives with me now." 

"How - how did you meet?" 

"Well, they took all of us prison social workers to tour the different shelters who accepted ex-inmates to get an idea of what to prepare our guys for after their release. William was there." 

"Why?" 

"Because he had nothing, coming out. Your parents went bankrupt after the accident. They didn't have much even before, and after they had paid out the court-ordered compensation - well, most of it - there was nothing left, but you know that already. And there aren't too many employers out there who would hire ex-cons, just as there aren't many homeowners who would rent to them. So it was the shelter or the streets for him." 

"Oh." 

Leanne's mind was reeling. She remembered the man who had approached her five years before at the graveyard; the one whose face she didn't even recognize, but couldn't forget since. She remembered the guilt and the sorrow in his eyes, but she couldn't recall what he wore that day. So he was homeless then? 

Melissa's hand was warm as it covered hers. 

"I know this is asking for a lot. But he has worked so hard to become worthy of you, Leanne. Will you please, please, meet with him? Allow him some kind - any kind of relationship with you? I just feel, with everything else, there's so little I can do to help him with. But with this one thing, I hope I can. It would mean the world to him. Please." 

For the longest time, Leanne couldn't speak. Eventually, she whispered - "I - I can't. I don't - I can't." 

Melissa dropped her eyes, her head bowed. "I understand." She looked up, and tried for a smile. "It - it was worth a try, at least. I will tell him that I met you, and that you've grown to be a lovely person. That, at least, should bring him some consolation." 

Leanne sighed. "If there is some other way I could help, I might - I might consider it. But this, meeting with him -" she shook her head. 

"There's a roof over his head and food on the table, and he has me." Melissa gestured self-consciously. "It's not much, but it's all he needs, or so he tells me." 

Leanne noticed she was playing with the thin silver ring on her third finger, and took a closer look. "You said you were his fiancé - when are you getting married?" 

Melissa's shoulders lifted and fell in a tiny motion. "Not anytime soon, unfortunately. He won't set a date before he gets his remaining debt paid off, and that isn't likely to happen soon." 

"What debt? I thought he went bankrupt?" 

"Yes, but some debts are nondischargeable. Like those for 'personal injury caused by the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated'", Melissa quoted, clearly having memorized that particular phrase. "There are a couple of thousand dollars left as outstanding debt to the McConnel family. And William won't marry me until it's paid off. He said it was enough that he let his first wife and child pay for his sins; he wouldn't let me do it, too." 

Leanne looked at the older woman, and couldn't speak past the lump in her throat. 

"I -" She stammered. "I'll think about it, okay? I'm not promising I'll meet him, but I'll think about it. I have your number; I'll call you." 

Melissa smiled. "That's all I ask, Leanne. Thank you. Thank you so very much." 

* 

After they had said their goodbyes Leanne kept thinking about their conversation, about Melissa, about Bill - 'William', as Melissa had called him, unlike her own mother - and a plan started to form in her mind. 

She wouldn't meet him; she wasn't ready for that. She didn't know if she could ever face the man who had fathered her, and who was responsible for so many hardships in her young life. But she could understand wanting to rise above one's past. Melissa, who was a genuine, lovely lady, seemed to think her father was worth the trouble. 

Leanne figured she could help give William Richardson a chance to restart his life, together with Melissa. A couple of thousand dollars' worth of debt wasn't nothing, but she had mastered the art of saving her pennies by taking a job that included room and board. 

She had already toyed with the idea of finding a seasonal position at one of the smaller farms in NorCal to get hands-on experience with animals after graduation. And she remembered, from the little her mother had told her, that the McConnels lived on such a farm. They had only talked about it once, but those few sentences her mother said were etched to her mind. 

'Bill had promised me that he would only 'taste and spit' , so i agreed that he take a winery tour solo while I took you to tour the farm and visit the petting zoo. But he had broken that promise. He hit Claire McConnel when he came back to pick us up. She died a few hours later.' 

All of a sudden, Leanne was consumed with the need to do it. Not just so that Bill's debt could be paid off, but because she wanted to meet Claire's family, to see how they had fared over the years. 

She would apply for a position at the McConnel farm, both for herself, and for Bill and Melissa. She will get her answers, her work experience and recommendations, and the money to repay the debt, and then leave. The McConnels wouldn't even know who she was. Everybody wins. 

* 

Leanne sighed miserably. Falling for Claire McConnel's son was not part of the plan, she thought, and huffed in annoyance. Enough of that. It is what it is. Don't let it ruin the here and now. Hold your tears till after the season ends, and you're gone. 

Which reminded her, there were only five more weeks left for the summer. She needed to start looking for her next full-board gig, or she would be homeless and broke. And for that, she needed some recommendations. 

A quick look at her phone told her it was almost suppertime. She had finished all her chores a while back, and was sitting inside the petting pen with her favorite mother rabbit on her lap, while she let her mind wonder. With a quick glance around to verify there was nothing more to do for the day, Leanne carefully released the animal and got to her feet, and set out to catch Tammy before the evening meal. 

* 

Knocking lightly on the open door, Leanne waited for Tammy to lift her head and smile at her before she would enter. 

"Hey, Leanne! Come on in. What's up?" 

It was an adjustment, being treated as a friend more than an employee. Leanne had to admit she'd enjoyed it, even as the weight of truth laid heavy in her belly. She walked in to take the seat across the small table from Joe's sister. 

"Um, I need a letter of recommendation." 

Tammy seemed taken aback, but recovered quickly. "Oh - I mean, sure, I'd be happy to give you one, but isn't it a little early for that? You still have half the summer to go." 

"Yeah, I know, but I need to have my next gig lined up already, so I figured I'd start on it." 

"Um, what's the rush?" Tammy quirked her head, and when she saw the discomfort on Leanne's face, she leaned back. "Sorry, none of my business." 

Leanne grimaced. "It's just that I'd be in-between homes as well as jobs once the season's over, so I can't afford to wait until the last moment." 

Tammy considered Leanne quietly for a moment. "Would you consider staying here longer, after the season had ended?" 

"Um, what? I don't understand. Do you mean like a - a permanent position?" Leanne couldn't hide the panic in her voice. No. I can't. God! I'd love to. But I can't. 

"No, no, I mean a couple of months longer, just until Halloween. While the peak ends on Labor day, there's still enough extra work for one seasonal to continue with us through the end of October. Mid-summer is usually the time when I start talking to Joe, Todd and Julio, to figure out who we'd like to stick around. This year I think our choice is obvious." 

"Why - because I'm dating Joe?" 

Tammy grinned. "It doesn't hurt, but no, that's not the reason. Tracy and Jen won't stay - they plan to take the money they'd spent and go on vacation together before restarting school. And between Jason and you - well, he's a nice kid, but there's no doubt who's the better employee. So, if you want to stay until Halloween, the job's yours." 

Leanne's mind was going a mile a minute. Stay for two more months! It wouldn't change the end, but oh, to have two more months of Joe... 

"I would love that. Yes, please." 

"Great!" Tammy's wide, toothy smile was contagious, and Leanne found herself returning it as excitement bubbled in her belly. "It's yours, then. I'll let everyone know, though you can tell Joe yourself - I'm sure he'd be delighted! And don't worry about that recommendation letter - I'll be sure to write it. I'll leave it in an envelope under your door for you." 

Leanne nodded, still feeling dizzy. "Thank you, Tammy. I promise I'll work my butt off those extra two months." 

"I know you will. That's why I offered you the job. Joe's just a bonus." 

* 

That night, when Leanne broke the news to Joe, he had jackknifed in bed, with a shit-eating grin splitting his face. 

"Seriously?! You're staying? You're staying. YES!" 

Rolling on top of her he grabbed for her hands, lacing their fingers as he pinned them above her head. She was biting her lips, and he could see excitement and turmoil struggle in her eyes. His face grew serious. 

"You were the obvious choice from our end, but I worried you'd say no. I still feel like you may bolt at any moment." 

"You could have asked me to stay, you know." 

"Yeah, well, you made it very clear I should make no long-term plans about us. Dare I hope that's changed?" 

Leanne grimaced, and his belly dropped. He didn't need to hear her spell it out for him. 

"I see." 

She looked like she was going to cry, and he bent to rest his forehead on hers. "Sorry. That wasn't fair. It's just - I wish you could stay even longer." Indefinitely, maybe. 

Leanne hugged him close, and he reciprocated after a heartbeat. God, she felt so good in his arms. 

When they drew apart, he met her eyes. "Let's focus on what we do agree on, okay? We have three more months together starting today. I suggest we make the most of them." 

He accompanied his words with a roll of his hips, so that there was no mistaking his meaning. The corner of her mouth twitched, and she crunched up to kiss him. 

"No argument there, cowboy. I'm totally down with that." 

And I have three months to change your mind about the long-term, princess. 

* 

Knowing her time on the farm being extended, Tammy started seeking more of Leanne's company. Leanne didn't know what to make of it at first, having assumed she was to socialize with the other seasonals. But the truth was, Tracy and Jen had each other and she often felt like the odd one out, and Jason - well, she had very little in common with him. And then she also discovered she loved having Joe's sister as a girlfriend. 

At first, they talked mostly about work. But from there it evolved to their dreams and hopes and how their chosen career paths could get them there. Leanne told Tammy when she decided to be a vet - that time when she was five years old and found a half-starved kitten and nursed it back to health, sharing the milk left over in her cereal bowl and giving it all her love and attention. She remembered how her Kitty had been her main source of solace when her mom fell sick and then passed away, and how heartbroken she was when Kitty herself died a couple of years later, when they were already living at the Rogers' place. 

Tammy listened quietly and hugged her close when she finished, and Leanne cherished the moment, that feeling of having someone really get you, feel your pain. She realized she'd never had a friend like that before. The only one who came close was Elaine, but Mrs. Rogers was more like a surrogate mother. Coming from someone close to her age, it was an unexpected blessing. 

Tammy told Leanne how much she loved the farm and wanted to keep living there, and so chose to learn accounting and human resource management, because she knew these skills were needed. 

"But what about, you know, a personal life?" Leanne asked carefully, and Tammy blushed red so deep it almost matched her bronze curls, and admitted, "Well, that actually works, since my boyfriend happens to work right here on the farm." 

"What?! I mean, who -?" But even as she asked the question, Leanne knew what the answer had to be. "Todd? You and Todd?" 

Tammy nodded, her eyes shining as she leaned in to speak in a conspiratory voice: 

"Yeah. It's been going on forever... you're the first I've told about this. I don't think anyone else had guessed yet." 

Leanne shook her head. "But - but why would you keep it a secret?" 

Tammy shrugged. "I - I'm not sure, honestly. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. With my dad and my brother working so close with us both, I figured it could get complicated. Plus we didn't really know how serious we were to start with. We were mostly looking for some fun stress relief at first." 

Now it was Leanne's turn to blush, but she couldn't stop herself from prodding. "And now? Are you guys, you know... serious?" 

Tammy bit her lips. "I - I think it's getting to that point. Especially now that you and Joe are dating openly, it seems kinda funny that we'd keep our own relationship secret." 

Leanne shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, well... it's not like Joe and I are long term, you know." 

Tammy looked startled. "Why would you say that? You guys are so good together. I mean, seriously, I've known my brother all of my life, and I've never seen him this happy. Or quite this head-over-heels in love. Well, not since his first girlfriend but that was, like, a lifetime ago. He adores you, you know." 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 05



Leanne forced herself to meet Tammy's eyes. "I love him, too. But I told him from the get-go not to expect this to be something it can't be. I will leave come Halloween. 

"Why, Leanne? Why not give this relationship a real chance?" 

Because it never had one. Not really. 

"It's just - I'm too young to think about a serious commitment, you know? I literally just started my life as an independent adult a couple of months ago. I - I'm just not in that place in my life right now." 

Tammy made a sad face at her. "It's not fair. I really like you. I would have loved having you as my sister." 

Leanne wanted to cry. "We could still be soul-sisters, right?" 

Tammy hugged her again. "I'm an optimist, AND incurably romantic. I'll just do everything in my power to change your mind and keep you guys together here on the farm. Okay?" 

Leanne's pained smile was her only response. She had learned the hard way life didn't turn out the way you wanted just because you wished it so. But she didn't have it in her heart to tell Tammy that. 

* 

For the next few weeks, Leanne had squashed any thoughts of the future before they could take residence in her mind. November was a while away, and the here and now demanded her full attention. Work was intensive, and she thrived on it. And Joe -  

She sighed, and wished for the thousand's time that things could be different. Sitting at the dining hall together with the other seasonals at lunch - their last lunch together, this being Labor Day Monday - she tuned out their excited conversation about their upcoming vacations as she played absently with her food. Thinking about Joe and their situation kind of killed her appetite. 

With a muttered curse, she made herself think of something else. Like the upcoming Labor Day Party that evening. She was excited! 

Tammy told her it was a steadfast tradition on the farm. Every year, they would celebrate the end of summer with a huge bonfire party. On Monday night, when the last of the weekend visitors had left, they invited friends from all over the county, as well as every hand on the farm - past and present - to celebrate with food and music and dancing. 

Leanne was wholeheartedly looking forward to it. Maybe he'd even dance with her... 

...Or maybe not, she was quick to remind herself. While their relationship was no longer a secret, it was highly unlikely that Joe would engage in any public displays of affection in front of his staff. She sighed. It was a shame, really. 

Shrugging mentally, Leanne raised her eyes to look around, only to notice Joe and Tammy walk into the dining hall and head straight over to the buffet, along with their father and a second older gentleman, whose gait was surprisingly springy and energetic, completely at odds with his frail, slightly-hunched frame. 

Something tugged at the back of Leanne's mind; a small string of memory. Had she seen this man before? 

A little panicked at the thought, Leanne didn't want to stay and find out. It would be safer to simply keep her distance. The past was weighing on her conscience, fraying her nerves. I should just tell him and be done with it, and hope as hell he'd forgive me. I can't go on like this, she thought, but knew it wasn't the time nor the place to do it. Tonight. I'll tell him tonight, after the party. After we've made love one more time... I'd just lie low until then. 

Her mind resolved, Leanne kept her head low hoping for an opportunity to escape before the older gentleman had seen her. Joe had turned with his full tray and spotted her, giving her a smile and a nod from across the room before walking over to the only open table. Soon his family and their guest joined him, and Leanne was relieved that the he had sat with his back to her. 

She realized standing up and walking out right then would just draw undue attention to herself, so she gritted her teeth and waited until everyone in their table had finished and stood to take their trays to the far edge of the dining hall. She kept herself semi-hidden amongst her peers when they'd all scraped their leftovers into a large bin and submerged their dirty dishes in a soapy water basin. 

Then they all moved to the hallway and stopped there to wash their hands after the meal, forming a makeshift line. Leanne looked over her shoulder to see the McConnels and the elderly gentleman already en-route to deposit their trays, too, and decided not to wait any longer. Mumbling a hasty goodbye to her friends' surprised faces she set out in a half-walk, half-run towards her room. Better not push her luck. 

* 

"Hey, Joe, I've a question for you." Dr. Lewis asked conversationally as they'd all made their way from the dining hall and around the farmhouse, to get back in through the front door. 

"Sure, what's up?" Joe paused in his stride to turn to the doctor. His father and sister had continued walking, deep in their own conversation, but then slowed and stopped when they noticed them falling behind. 

"Oh, you two go on, we'll catch up with you in a moment." said the doctor, to which Michael raised an eyebrow. But Dr. Lewis waved his hand at him reassuringly - "Go on. We'll be there in a moment." 

Shrugging, his father turned and fell into step with Tammy again, jumping right back into their heated discussion. Dr. Lewis watched them for a few moments, until Joe cleared his throat. 

"Ahm, anything you wanted to chat with me about, doc?" 

Dr. Lewis's sharp, light-grey gaze met Joe's, giving him a silent once-over before replying with his own question. "How come you haven't scheduled any baseline checkups this year for your summer temps?" 

Joe scratched his jaw. He could point out it was Tammy's job, as head of HR, to do it, but Dr. Lewis was well aware of that fact, and still chose to ask him. Joe relented. "We honestly didn't think it was necessary. I mean, I know it's part of your retainer, but it's such a hassle to go through with young, healthy people who're gone before they get here." He shrugged, but then tilted his head, looking questioningly at the older man. "Why?" 

Dr. Lewis kept quiet, and Joe was getting a little uneasy. "Do you think there may be something wrong with one of them? They all seem perfectly okay to me. And they did fill out the health questionnaire for their insurance when they'd arrived. None had any pre-existing conditions to report. " 

The doctor didn't respond, but searched Joe's face, and the silence stretched for so long it was downright uncomfortable. Finally he spoke up, his voice surprisingly thick with emotion. 

"No, it's not that at all. It's just... that girl, the blonde temp? She reminds me of a woman I met briefly, many years ago... I'd always wondered about her." He took in a deep breath, and then continued. "I know it sounds crazy, but she looks so much like that woman I could swear they were related." 

Joe looked over to the women's dorms, frowning, and then levelled his gaze with the doctor's once more. "What's the secrecy, then? You could have mentioned it in front of my dad and sister. What aren't you telling me?" 

Dr. Lewis thinned his lips, clearly uncomfortable answering the question. Joe kept silent, and a few moments passed in tense silence. 

"I met that woman on the night of the accident. The night your mother died." 

Joe's breath caught in his chest. It took a couple of false tries before he managed to choke out - 

"What?!" 

Dr. Lewis looked undecided before he continued in a measured voice. "I don't know how much you remember from that night. I know you saw some of it, and later you went into some kind of shock, but -" he drew a deep breath, then exhaled loudly. "That drunk driver, he came here to pick up his wife and daughter. He took a winery tour while they were here, and when he returned..." 

The doctor's voice trailed off. Joe's throat hurt as agonizing memories rushed in, unchecked. 

The screeching tires, spewing gravel every which way. The screaming. The sick, muted thud. And then, the silence that stretched forever while he was planted to his place, unable to move, unable to tear his eyes away, until suddenly there were people running everywhere, shouting, calling for help... he remembered little Tammy bursting out the main door and then freezing next to him when the horror scene sunk in, remembered her chubby hand slipping into his, tugging... they couldn't see his mother's face - the wretched car blocked their view - but they could see her legs lay in an unnatural position, and could hear her pained moans. He remembered thinking 'Tammy can't see this.' and he'd turned and picked her up and ran inside and up the stairs to her room, where he'd tucked her into bed although it was still only afternoon and then snuggled next to her and hugged her shaking form to his, telling her 'it's all right, Tammy, it's all right' although he knew even then that he was lying, and that nothing was ever going to be all right. 

Joe coughed to clear his clogged airway, struggling to refocus his mind on the present, and on the doctor's words. "I - I didn't know there were a wife and kid - dad never said anything." 

"Hmm. Yes, of course you couldn't have known. They were at the petting zoo when - when it happened. They must have not realized something had happened, or maybe the mother didn't want to scare her kid, I'm not sure - either way, they stayed there for another hour or so, until closing time, and only when no-one came by to close, nor did her husband come looking for them, she must have realized something bad happened." 

Joe cleared his desert-dry throat once more. "Yeah, well, what I don't understand is - what's that got to do with this Leanne - the temp you saw?" 

Dr. Lewis's head snapped back. "Leanne, that's her name?" he asked sharply, and Joe nodded slowly. "Yeah - why?" 

Dr. Lewis stalled, but finally admitted - "well, she's the spitting image of that woman - Holly Richardson, William Richardson's wife. Holly fainted when she'd learned what happened, and they called me to check up on her - by that time your mother was already at the hospital, taken by ambulance, while I stayed here. I couldn't leave before I knew... And then Holly fainted and they called me to help..." 

The older man's voice trailed off as he shrugged helplessly, until finally he added - "That little girl, she wasn't much more than a toddler. Maybe three or four years old. Her mother called her Lily - or so I thought, but it could be a nickname - LeeLee?" 

Joe felt all his blood draining from his face, leaving him dizzy, while his heart beat erratically in his chest. No, no, it couldn't be... could it?! 

Through numb lips he managed to mumble: "Do you - do you think Leanne is William Richardson's daughter?!" 

Dr. Lewis shook his head. "I don't know. All I'm saying is, her resemblance to Holly Richardson is uncanny. I feel like - like I've seen a ghost." 

Joe breathed a silent expletive. "This can't be a coincidence, can it?" he asked quietly, and Dr. Lewis's frown deepened. "I don't know. It might be. I just felt I needed to say this." 

Joe thinned his lips, then turned on his heel and started towards the offices. 

"Where are you going?" Dr. Lewis asked after him, but Joe just muttered over his shoulder - "To check the facts before I jump to conclusions. Go ahead inside, I'll join you in a few." 

Dr. Lewis stood and watched as Joe paused outside Tammy's office, as if afraid to go in. Finally, he turned to go up the steps and into the main house. 

* 

The party was in full swing already, but Joe still hadn't showed up. Leanne tried to swallow her nerves and disappointment. He'll come. He has to! Even if they couldn't dance, they could still have fun tonight before she would tell him, right? And then, maybe, she could make him see - 

"C'mon, don't brood there on the sidelines. Shake that bootie with me!" 

Tammy took her hand and pulled her into the action, and Leanne let her, leaving the beer bottle she was nursing for some liquid courage on the makeshift bar. It really was fun - the weather was perfect, the air still warm even though the sun had sunk; the music was loud and lively and upbeat, and there was food and drinks and lots of happy, celebrating people around. Leanne pasted on a smile and joined her friend, rocking and swaying to the rhythm. 

Truth was, aside from Joe's out-of-character tardiness and the nerves from her decision to come clean to him, she was feeling darn good. The dress she had on - a short, flirty little thing in bright blue - made her eyes pop and skimmed her curves in all the right places, and she felt beautiful in it. Her grey flats were great for dancing on the packed dirt, and were a passable match, for which she was thankful - there weren't any other options - but that's why she bought the neutral-colored, practical pair in the first place. 

She didn't have any jewelry on, but she took care with her small stash of makeup, and loved what Tammy had done with her hair. She talked her into using some kind of hot ceramic curler thing, and the soft wavy curls floated around her shoulders and framed her face perfectly. 

She couldn't wait for Joe's reaction, seeing her like that. The man loves you. She gave herself a quick pep-talk. He will listen, and he will understand. Trust in him. 

A half-hour later she was out of breath and antsy again. "I'm going to grab something to drink," she shouted to Tammy, who nodded and gave her a thumbs-up. Leanne turned and walked back to the bar on the other side of the huge bonfire. 

The huge bowl of spiked lemonade looked heavenly, and Leanne took one of the already-filled cups and downed it with a few large gulps, refilled it, and then sipped the second one more slowly. She was halfway through when a hand closed around her wrist, and tugged none too gently. 

"Come with me." 

Startled, Leanne turned to look behind. Her slightly-buzzed mind seemed to follow at a slight delay, and then took another moment to recognize Joe, who stood in the shadow just outside the fire's circle of light. 

"Joe! You came. Now the party can start!" 

Her smile faltered when he didn't return it, but rather tugged at her hand once more. 

"Let's go. Somewhere private." 

"Um... okay, if that's how you want to get the party started, I'm totally game!" 

His jaw tightened and his steps quickened, and Leanne's heart skipped a bit. She liked having this effect on Joe. Maybe it was the alcohol making her more brazen, but she didn't think he'd mind. In fact, maybe he'd like it! 

He was walking so fast she had to break into an awkward jog once or twice to keep up, and something about his silence jarred her, but she figured he didn't want to draw any undue attention, so kept her own mouth shut, too. Joe led them towards the two small sheds at the Southern edge of the farm. The evening was quite dark; the moon was only a thin sliver of light in the black sky, and the few lights from the party and main house were too distant to give good illumination. 

Once there he stopped, so abruptly that she bumped into him, and his hands closed around her shoulders - steadying her, but squeezing harder than usual. Leanne reached her arms to circle his waist, moving closer. His hands flexed, fingertips digging into her shoulders. 

She couldn't quite grasp his mood, nor see his features properly. But she had sensed the tension in him, humming in his taut muscles. Was it desire? Stress? Something else? She wasn't sure. 

"What is it, baby?" 

When he wouldn't answer she hesitated, but then went on tiptoes and spoke close to his ear. 

"Whatever it is, maybe I could make you feel better, cowboy?" 

* 

Joe's heart was going to pound right out of his chest. Rage and hurt burned in his gut, and now passion - swift, hot and unexpected - added even more fuel to the flames. 

He didn't want to want her. He hated the way his body responded to her proximity like it always did, growing painfully hard in seconds. 

She's a fucking liar. He shouted inside his head. She is a lying, scheming, manipulative little bitch, who'd been playing some kind of a sick game with you right from the very start. Just tell her the game's over, and walk the hell away. 

But even as he was rehearsing the words in his mind, his hands were drawing her to his body, his mouth taking hers, accepting her sweet tongue inside. 

He hated that she looked like a sweet angel under the moonlight, with her blond curls framing her face like that. He hated that she tasted like innocence and sweetness, when he just learned she was anything but. He hated that every cell in his body craved her when she called him 'cowboy' in that sexy voice. He hated that he couldn't resist her. 

Just one more time, was the last thought in his mind before he let his body take over, his hands closing on her ass and lifting her up so that he half walked, half carried her backwards to the narrow alley between the two sheds. Just once more, before you finish this once and for all. 

* 

The rough surface of the sidings scraped at her back, but Leanne didn't care. The annoying little pain was insignificant, drowned by the overwhelming, intense pleasure engulfing her, focused between her legs. 

Being fucked standing against the wall was completely different than anything they had done before, but oh, was it good! 

Joe had pinned her against the outer wall of one shed, and then grabbed her thighs and had her spread and prop them up against the other side of the narrow pathway, forcing her dress to bunch up at her hips. His weight against her torso kept her suspended as he fumbled for his belt, button and zip, and pulled his cock out, and then reached for her panties, and with a muttered curse tore them off her body. 

She tried to help him, had reached for his chest, kissed his jaw as he held his shaft in his fist and slid it along her dampening pussy until his thick head found her opening, but he jerked back, and then found her hands, pulled them up above her head where he pinned both her wrists with one of his hands. 

"No, don't." He hissed through clenched teeth. Don't, what? Leanne's brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of his strange mood, but then he pushed in, and all thought was lost. 

He felt so freakin' good inside her body! 

Leanne tilted her pelvis to better accommodate him. Usually he would start slow and easy, but not tonight. His thrusts came sharp and deep right from the get go, as if staking his claim. His fingers held her wrists in an iron vice, while his other hand found her breast through her dress and squeezed. Then he tugged at her neckline impatiently, until the soft material bunched with her bra under her small breasts, making them push up obscenely. 

He stared at them, panting, even as his hips continued their relentless thrusts, and then looked up. Their eyes met and held through the blackness. 

"Joe -" She tried, unsure what she wanted to say. 

"No. Don't speak, either." 

Leanne swallowed her protest, and then whimpered when he dropped his head and took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking it deep, almost too hard. The sensation traveled down right to her pussy, making her clench around him. 

Joe released her breast only to take the other, his fingers squeezing the soft mound while his mouth covered its tip, tormenting it with sharp pleasure. Leanne's head lolled to one side, resting against her raised forearm, and her back arched, offering herself to him. 

"At least this is real." He muttered harshly, and then cursed hard under his breath, and wet his thumb in his mouth before bringing it down to the point where their bodies were connected. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 05



Leanne cried out when his spit-covered, calloused pad made contact with her clit, and then started stroking it roughly. Her peak was fast approaching, scary high and unexpected, and she found herself biting the soft inner side of her arm to try and muffle her high-pitched whines and whimpers. 

Joe was unrelenting, fucking into her with enough force to grind her ass painfully against the rough sidings behind it, making her back scrape up and down the bumpy surface with every hard shove. But the pleasure his thumb and his cock were giving her drowned the discomfort, making it nothing more than background noise as her need coiled ever tighter low in her belly, until her breath caught and her whole body spasmed and jerked, and then released with a deep, shuddering cry that seemed to come from the very bottom of her soul, until her trembling limbs could no longer support her and her feet started slipping from their hold on the opposite wall. 

"No. Not yet." Joe grunted and both his hands came down to grab her thighs, holding her in place as his hips increased their pace, smacking their flesh wetly together over and over, fast and hard, until he, too, froze and shuddered against her as he came deep inside her body, his cock pulsating in her tunnel with every shot. 

* 

He was crushing her, was the first conscious thought that entered Joe's whirling mind. It would be fitting, came a second later, even as he pushed back and Leanne heaved a shaky breath, even as her legs slipped and then slumped down with two matching thuds. A moment later her knees buckled. 

He reached out for her instinctively, but then let his hands drop as he took a step back to lean against the other wall, and watched her impassively as she came to sit awkwardly on her hunches, most of her weight still supported by the shed behind her, and looked up, dazed, at him. 

"Joe? What - what's wrong?" 

Her voice was thick with tears, and her face, when he dared take a peek, showed two wet trails down her cheeks. Don't get sucked into her manipulations, Joe. Not again. Not ever again. He gritted his teeth even as he turned away to tuck himself in, fighting the bile rising in his throat as he spit the words out. 

"You know what's wrong. You knew what's wrong all along, didn't you, Leanne Richardson?" 

A choked cry escaped her mouth before her hand flew up to cover it. 

"Yeah. I see that you do." 

He straightened, pushed his fingers through his hair, looked out into the night - anywhere but her. 

"This was a mistake. A fucking huge, gigantic, colossal mistake." 

He was going to get sick. What the fuck did he do? Joe made himself look at Leanne again, and found her watching him mutely, pale as the silvery moon, her huge eyes intent on him, oddly serene. Accepting. As if she'd always known this was going to happen. 

"What the fuck did you think, huh? What the hell did you try to achieve by coming here?" 

Leanne still didn't answer. Joe wanted to hit something. Break something. Fucking burn the place down. Back off, now. Walk away. You've done enough harm already. 

He took a deep breath, and blew it slowly, until he felt somewhat under control again. 

"It's over, Leanne. We're over." 

Still no sound from her. Just that wide-eyed, oddly quiet look. Fisting his palms, he turned his back on her, and walked away. 

* 

It's over. 

For the longest time, her mind was blank; only those two words repeated over and over until they seemed to have lost their meaning. But the piercing pain in her chest was all too real. 

It was over. And not in the kind, gentle way she had hoped for, when the time for final goodbye came, and they would hug and vow to always remember each other with a smile, like you did loved ones who had to leave you. 

No. Somehow, Joe had found out who she was, and their end had come swiftly and ruthlessly, in the worse way possible. Despite her best intentions, she was not the only casualty. 

Leanne rested her head on her folded arms, and let the sobs take over. 

* 

She wasn't sure how long she had cried there, hunched between the two sheds on the Southern side of the farm, but at long last the well had dried up. Leaning back against the shed Leanne took big, gulping breaths, and wiped her face as best as she could with the backs of her hands. 

She needed to get to her room, pack her things. Come morning, she'd be leaving. She will have time to mourn later. The rest of her life, probably. 

She took a hesitant step away from the wall and paused, waiting for her numb limbs to awaken and her dizzy head to stop spinning. How much did she have to drink, anyway? More than she should have, she was sure. When she felt like she could walk without falling on her face she rearranged her clothes, although her torn panties were nowhere to be found in the dirt, and started back. 

She would need to walk past the party, past the men's dorms and then all the way to the far North edge of the farm to reach the women's dorms, but with everyone busy partying, she thought she could make it. Putting one foot in front of the other, she made herself go. 

When she drew closer to the party Leanne made it a point to stay out of the circle of light, walking around and behind the bar. She thought she was in the clear already when Tammy popped ahead of her and grabbed her hand. 

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Where have you been?" 

"I - I'm sorry I just went to - to the bathroom." She managed. 

"Oh okay. Here, we're doing tequila shots. Have one with me." Tammy thrust a shot in front of her face, and Leanne took it obediently. Might as well, she thought. Isn't that what you do when your heart is broken? Get wasted? 

"Cheers!" 

A third shot glass appeared, connected to a tanned, male hand and arm. Leanne followed it to see Todd's smiling face, and produced a grimace in response. 

"Cheers." She mumbled, and tossed the drink back. It burnt her throat all the way down to her belly, and Leanne got into a fit of coughs so bad, she almost toppled over. Tammy's arm came around her for support, followed a moment later by a loud sucked-in breath. 

"For the mother of God, Leanne, what had happened to you?!" 

Leanne looked up to see Tammy peering over her back, a horrified expression on her face. 

"I - I slipped and fell in the dark trying to find my way back from the bathroom." She fibbed, and saw Tammy exchange worried looks with Todd. "Seriously, I'm totally fine!" she insisted. "Let's toss another shot?" 

Tammy looked like she was going to investigate further, but Todd was already pouring another one for each, and in the next moment his cheerful 'Cheers!' sounded, and they all drank on cue. 

"Okay, back to the dance floor, my friends!" Tammy motioned and grabbed for Leanne's hand. But that shot was one too many servings of alcohol for Leanne. The world started swirling around, and she knew, with sickening certainty, that she was going to crash. 

It didn't happen, though. Todd caught her just as her legs gave way, and held her steady to his chest, while speaking to Tammy over her head. "I don't think she'll be doing any more dancing tonight." 

"Shit. How much did she have to drink?" Tammy sounded annoyed as she came to slip her arm under Leanne's. 

"Okay. It's bed for you tonight, girlfriend. Let's go." 

They only got a few steps underway with Tammy and Todd half-carrying Leanne, when her stomach heaved. 

"I - I think I'm going to - shit!" was all she got out before she became violently sick, folding in half while her friends' arms kept her from toppling over completely. 

"Argh - okay, that's alright. You're alright. Just get it all out." Tammy was speaking to her while trying to hold her hair back from her face, while Todd kept supporting her. 

After a few more utterly humiliating moments, the worst of it was over. 

"I - I think I'm okay now." 

The resumed their walk, only to stop for another bout of sickness a few steps away. 

"There's no way we can get her to her room like that." Tammy looked at Todd over her shoulder. "You think we could have her crash in your room tonight? You could stay with me." 

Todd nodded. "Yeah. We can do that. Good idea." 

Again they waited for Leanne to finish and then helped her stumble the few more yards to Todd's door at the edge of the men's dorms. Todd pushed the door open and they all got in. He reached for the light switch and flipped it on. 

"Aaaarrrggghhh!" Leanne's pained groan sounded loud in the tiny room as the light hit her eyes, but it didn't quite hid Tammy's sharp intake of air. 

"Dammit, Leanne, what happened to you?! Your back looks like someone smashed you against a wall or something. Repeatedly." 

"What? N-no I t-told you I -" 

"Stumbled and fell on your way back from the bathroom. Yes, I heard. Well you got some nasty looking scrapes there; your dress is torn in places, and there's a bit of blood stains too." 

Leanne was too dazed to focus on Tammy's words. "I'm okay. I promise. I'm okay." 

Tammy gave her a pointed look. "No you're not okay, Leanne. You look like someone beat you up and then dragged you through the dirt. You look like you've been crying, and you're ass-drunk. You most definitely are NOT okay." 

Leanne could feel her tears rise again, and fought them with every ounce of sanity she still possessed. 

"I said I'm fine. I just want to shower and go to bed. Please." 

Tammy and Todd exchanged another look, and finally Tammy nodded. 

"Okay, honey. We'll let you be. Todd will leave you some clean clothes to sleep in tonight." 

Leanne nodded. "Thanks," she mumbled. 

"You're welcome. Have a good night, and let's talk tomorrow, okay?" 

Too tired to argue, Leanne just nodded. A moment later, the door closed behind Todd and Tammy, and she was left alone. 

All alone. 

Leanne crumbled to the floor, and let the tears take over. 

* 

Author's note: did you like this chapter? Ahem, well, you know what I mean, right? VOTE, FAVORITE and COMMENT, please! Thanks :)



Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 06



Author's note: 

So, I've pissed off quite a few of you with that last chapter, didn't I? 

TBH, while I knew writing an 'angry sex' scene was risky, I had hoped to do a better job making it clear it fell solidly within the 'jerk, but NOT a rapist' category. Reading some of your comments, it seems I didn't quite succeed. 

I hope this chapter helps put some better context around that scene, and starts redeeming Joe in your eyes. We'll see how goes... 

Please note that there's no sex in this chapter, so if that's what you're in the mood for, please move on to the next story :) 

For those of you counting with me, this chapter adds ~9.5K words to the story, so my total is now ~53K!! which means I have 'won' the #NaNo challenge - woo-hoo! BUT am not going to celebrate yet, because my goal is to reach THE END by end of November; about 20K more words or so... 

Thank you again, everyone who had voted, favorite, PMed and commented, even those of you who are ready to beat the crap out of Joe and/or crucify me just about now. As long as you're engaged with the story and give me your honest reaction and/or opinion, I wholly appreciate your feedback. 

xoxo, 

Annie 

***** 

She felt like death warmed over. 

Her head was pounding, the taste in her mouth was foul, and her throat was scratchy and dry as a desert. 

It was all made worse by an obnoxious shrill coming from somewhere to her right. Leanne fumbled blindly until her hand landed on the vibrating source of that noise, and brought it close to her crunched-up face. 

It was a phone, but it wasn't her phone. Hoping the red X meant 'turn off', Leanne tapped it, and blessed silence ensued. She heaved her relief, reached over to plop it back on the small table, and then groaned when nausea followed her movement. 

God, she felt like crap. 

When her head stopped spinning, Leanne made herself open her eyes and look around. The room was eerily familiar: the exact same layout and furniture as her own, but the curtains were grey rather than cream, and there were different items on the table next to the bed. The pillow smelled funny. Like an unfamiliar man. 

Todd's room. 

Humiliation hit her like a sledgehammer, followed closely by despair. 

It really was all over. She wanted to put the covers over her head and pretend last night never happened. She wanted her beautiful, made-up princess story to go on, just for a little while longer. 

But then, life didn't work out that way, she knew. In real life shit happened that tore you to pieces, and then, somehow, you survived, even when it didn't feel like you ever could. You just needed to keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

I've done it before. I can do it now. 

She pushed herself to sit at the edge of the single bed, and looked down at herself. She was drowning inside a man's clothes - T-shirt and boxers - which she vaguely remembered putting on after her endless shower the night before. 

Bless Todd and Tammy's hearts, she thought miserably. And after I'd puked all over their shoes, too. God! She shuddered. They'll all hate her soon enough, too. As soon as Joe told them how she'd lied to them all. 

Stop it, she snapped at herself. You took the gamble, now you pay up. Stop whining. 

Gingerly she stood up, and padded over to the bathroom. A few minutes later, after finger-brushing her hair and her teeth, and splashing her face with cool water, she re-emerged, and looked around. 

Her flats were by the wall, and she slipped them on. Her blue dress and her bra lay in a pile, and she picked them up, her eyes fixed on the tiny tears on the back, tinged with reddish-brown. Last night in the shower, the hot water cascade sent prickles of pain every time it hit one of those scratches, but this morning she couldn't feel them anymore, although she reckoned they would still be visible. She didn't dare try to look. 

Why did Joe fuck her last night? Was that what they called 'hate sex'? 'Revenge sex'? 

She sat heavily on the bed, and forced herself to remember. 

As he took her hand and told her to come 'somewhere private' with him, she assumed sex was what he wanted. It certainly was what she wanted, she bluntly pointed out to herself. She wanted to make love one last time before she told him the truth. Leanne snorted. Joe beat her to it, in more ways than one. 

She remembered him stopping next to those sheds, unease and tension radiating in waves around him. She remembered asking him what was wrong, and that he didn't answer. And she remembered stepping close and wrapping her arms around his neck, and telling him how she wanted to 'make it all better for you, cowboy'. 

And then there were his words when he'd stroked her clit and made her come. 'At least this was real,' he had said, as if nothing else was. Leanne choked a sudden sob. 

He thought she was a liar. 

She was a liar. 

Her fists clenched the rumbled blanket under her. Enough. What's done is done. Now you do what you need to do: Pack up and leave. Stay at Elaine's for a few nights, until you find another job. Give Melissa your envelope with your un-cashed paychecks, and a note asking to use any outstanding payments to cover Bill's debt. Have them mail it to Michael McConnel. 

Call Joe to say you're sorry that you lied, and that you never meant to hurt him. He'll probably hang up on you, but at least you'll have tried. 

Leanne took a deep breath and stood, picked up her ruined clothes, and walked to the door with her head held high. 

* 

Joe was going to break into his jog when he heard one of the doors in the men's dorms open. He turned around, half-hidden behind a large, flowering bush, and saw Leanne leaving Todd's room and then shuffling towards the women building. 

She'd spent the night at Todds?! 

He couldn't breathe, his chest felt utterly constricted. 

He thought he couldn't feel worse than he did last night. He'd never been betrayed by someone he loved before; had never expected the depth of pain and rage that consumed him. And then, when it was over and he left her there, crying, regret and shame followed. 

Not enough to forgive her - nothing could. But enough to make him feel like a lowlife. 

And then she went and spent the night at Todds?! The lying bitch was even wearing the guy's fucking underwear. 

Joe fumed. He took a step forward before he stopped himself short. What are you going to do, cowboy? Wasn't last night bad enough, you want to hate-fuck her again? 

His body answered with a 'hell, yeah!' to his mind's rhetorical question, but his head was firmly in the driver's seat this morning, thankfully. Gritting his teeth until his jaw hurt, he watched Leanne's retreating form, huddled over herself as she hugged her clothes from the night before to her middle and hurried to her own room. 

She must be freezing, he thought, and then almost punched himself. How could she still evoke that knee-jerk protectiveness in him, even when he knew the fucking truth? 

Releasing a slew of curses under his breath, Joe broke into his run. This morning called for ten miles, at least. Maybe fifteen. 

* 

"I want her out of here, Tammy. I can't do it, I can't even look at her face. I need you to fire her, get her off our land. Today." 

Tammy's eyes had grown as wide as he'd ever seen then as she gaped at him in disbelief. 

"What - what the hell happened, Joe? You two were all over each other, like yesterday." 

Joe pursed his lips. He was afraid she'd ask. The truth tore his insides, and he knew it would do the same to Tammy. She and Leanne have become so close over the summer; his sister would be devastated to learn her 'friend' was a liar, that it was all just a charade. 

He hated to see his sister hurt. 

"That's between Leanne and me. Point is, it's over. I don't want to set eyes on her ever again." 

Tammy was quiet for too long. Way too long. And something in her pale, somber expression was making him feel uneasy. Finally she spoke quietly. 

"Joe, I need to ask this. Did you - did you beat Leanne up last night?" 

"What?!" he hissed, so fucking angry he was shaking. Was she kidding him?! Did the little bitch go and tell his sister lies about him, on top of everything?! 

"I'm asking because, well, something happened. I don't know what, exactly, but Leanne -" Tammy shook her head. "We were together. She was waiting for you. And then she disappeared - I don't know how long, maybe a half hour or so - and when she returned she looked like - like she'd struggled with someone, or something." 

Joe's head swung back as if his sister slapped him. What?! He may have been a little rough with her - okay, he was rough with her, but he never beat her! Right? 

No, he didn't. He told himself resolutely. This is just another manipulation. God, the girl could pull those! 

Through clenched teeth, he answered. "I broke up with her, but I did not beat her up. Of course I didn't! Is that what you think of me, Tammy?" 

His sister dropped her gaze, and shook her head. "No. No, I know you wouldn't. It's just - well, maybe she really did stumble and fall like she told me... she was piss drunk, you know." 

"She got drunk?" He couldn't imagine it. It made his belly churn. Was that why she slept with Todd later? Did the man take advantage of her? 

It's none of your business, cowboy. Whatever games she was playing, you are no longer a participant. And the whole damsel in distress act was just a way to get you wrapped around her little finger. When will you take that into your thick skull?! 

Tammy shrugged. "Yeah. It wasn't pretty." Then she sighed deep, and met his gaze. "I'm sorry, Joe. Breaking up sucks." 

"I'll live. And I'm better off without her, that's for sure." 

Tammy pursed her lips as if to stop herself from arguing, and then gave him a pointed look. "I get that you want her out of your face, but we can't fire her over your breakup, you know." 

"What? Why the hell not? This is a private operation. I can fire whoever the hell I want." 

Tammy sighed. "It's a risk, Joe. A huge one." 

He was silent as her unsaid words sunk in. "You mean she could sue. Sexual harassment. Discrimination. Unjust termination." 

"All of the above." Tammy agreed uneasily. "Listen, Joe, I'm not saying she would, or even if she did, that she'd win. But this situation has FUBAR written in capital letters all over it." 

Fuck. Fuck her. Fuck this. Fuck, fuck, FUCK! 

"I see." he grumbled. "So you're saying we need to keep her on board." 

Tammy nodded. "It's only a couple of months, Joe. You're a grown man, I'm sure you can handle it." 

Joe grimaced. "Maybe she'll leave on her own." 

"Maybe, but I wouldn't count on it. Honestly, I think she just really needs the money." 

"Is that what she told you? I no longer believe a word she says." Joe spat vehemently, but the, reluctantly, he backed off. "Sorry sis. You're not the one I'm angry with." He breathed deep, and then added - "I'll keep my distance, I promise. But if she fucks up at work - if she gives us any plausible excuse to fire her - I want her ass kicked off the premise, right then and there." 

Tammy shook her head. "Wow. I've never seen this side of you, you know. Remind me never to cross you." 

Joe stood. "You have no idea, Tammy. Let's just keep it at that." 

* 

Leanne froze when Tammy's door opened and Joe burst out. His step faltered when he saw her, but then he simply stomped past her without acknowledging her with even a nod. 

She looked back to see him half-run up the stairs into the main house and disappear inside, and then returned to see Tammy staring at her grimly through her open office door. So, he told her. She thought, and forced her spine straight as she entered the office and closed the door behind her. 

"Have a seat." 

Leanne did, although she fidgeted with nerves as she worked up her courage to say what needed to be said. To apologize for her deceit, although she knew there was little hope for forgiveness. 

"I -" 

"Listen to me, Leanne. I don't know what happened between Joe and you, and quite frankly, I'm not sure I want to. He just told me you two broke up. He wants to fire you." 

He didn't tell his sister who she was? 

Leanne blinked in confusion, and then forced herself to refocus on Tammy, who was still speaking to her in a low, half-apologetic tone. 

"I told him as long as you continued to do your job right, I didn't see a reason to let you go. You weren't hired here on the basis of your relationship; you won't be fired over it, either." 

Leanne looked up in confusion. "I - I can stay?" 

Tammy's face was taut, but Leanne could see the compassion in her eyes. "You can stay." She said quietly, and the added - "Look, Leanne, I know about your situation. I understand you'll need some time to get another room-and-board-included job lined up, that's why I wouldn't let Joe kick you out today. But you need to know you've just been put on zero-tolerance notice. You make any mistake, and I won't be able to keep you on board. I'm sorry. Maybe - maybe it would be a good idea to start making some other plans, just in case." 

"I - I understand. Thank you." Leanne bit her lips. "Will - will that be all?" 

After a pregnant pause, Tammy nodded jerkily. "Yeah. That's all. You may leave the door open on your way out." 

Stiffly, Leanne stood, and walked away. 

* 

Back in her room, she called Elaine, who answered before the second ring, given the text message she'd received earlier that morning from her. 

"Are you on the bus yet, sweetie? What time should I pick you up from the station?" 

"I - not yet. I think I may stay for a while longer." 

"What?!" her friend shrieked into her ear. "You can't be serious, Leanne. I told you from the start this was a bad idea, and now -" She huffed in her ear. "You cannot stay there, sweetie. Please. Take your things and leave. This was never your mess to fix, and now it's just got exponentially worse. You'll only get yourself hurt even more if you stayed." 

Leanne swallowed past her achy throat. "I - I feel if i stayed, maybe, maybe I'd be able to explain, you know? Maybe once he'd cooled off -." 

She swore she could hear Elaine shaking her head through the phone. "Sweetie, have you forgiven Bill after all this time?" 

"N-no." She sobbed. 

"Neither will Joe, I'm afraid." Elaine sighed heavily. "Sometimes forgiveness isn't an option, honey. Some wounds are too deep. And you staying there and seeing Joe every day would be like picking at them. It would only serve to hurt the two of you over and over again. Please, just come home." She pleaded. "You know I can't afford giving you your job back now that the kids are older, but you're always welcome here if you need a place to crash. The kids and I miss you very much." 

Leanne wiped at her tears absently, and tried to get her thoughts in order. Elaine fell quiet for a while, but then spoke up again. 

"Look, I think I've got an idea for you, another live-in care job. It's not going to help with veterinary experience and it's not immediate, but it's on the horizon. Jim's aunt, Sara - remember her? She's set to have an operation - knee replacement - sometime in November. They were talking about getting her some help around the house; someone who would be her companion, even before that, but definitely for the time after the operation when she'd be quite disabled. Want me to ask for you?" 

Leanne whimpered through her tears. "Yes, please. Please do." 

"Okay then. I will. Now, are you getting on the next bus?" 

Leanne blew her nose with the crumpled tissue in her hand. "No, not yet. I know this is probably a mistake, but honestly, what do I have to lose at this point? He hates me already. He dumped me already. What worse could happen? I know I said I'll leave - I didn't think they would keep me! - but now I feel like maybe there's a way to make this right somehow." She choked. "Besides, you know I can't afford being out of a job for weeks on end!" 

"Of course you can, sweetie. You'll be here. You won't be out on the streets." 

Leanne chuckled miserably. "It's a couple more grand that I can save up. I'm in no position to say no to that." 

"It's just money, Leanne." 

Said no poor person ever, she thought, but managed to keep it to herself. Elaine didn't deserve her snark. 

"Ask aunt Sara about the job for me, will you?" she said instead, and her friend sighed. "Sure. Will do. I'll let you know as soon as I have more details, okay?" 

"Thank you, Elaine. For everything. Give my love to the kiddies, tell them I miss them. I'll send them more animal pictures soon." 

"They miss you too, Leanne. I hope you change your mind about this. Remember our home is always open for you." 

"I know. B-bye." she managed before her tears choked her completely. 

* 

September dragged by. Feeling lonely sucked in a familiar, comfortable way. 

Leanne functioned as if on autopilot. Work was a blessing; as long as she had stuff to do she could focus on that, and not on how miserable she was. She threw herself into it with abandon, intent on making the kiddie farm the best darn petting zoo in Northern California. 

Joe had gone stone-cold on her. He never spoke to her, never looked at her direction - in fact, whenever she happened in his vicinity he would literally turn his back on her, and then find the first excuse to leave the place. 

It was getting ridiculous. 

She tried approaching him in his office once, but that was a disaster. 

"Go away." He said when he saw her at the door, and returned his eyes to his computer screen. 

Boldly, Leanne had walked in and sat down across his desk. He looked her in the eyes then, and the hurt and the anger she saw in his took her breath away. 

"I said, go." He hissed. 

"I'm sorry, Joe." She whispered. "I should have told you the truth, but -" 

"But being who you are, you couldn't help yourself, could you?" His voice rose and his hand fisted on the table before he heaved a breath and, with concentration, relaxed it. "You are bad seed, Leanne." He managed through gritted teeth. "And one thing being a farmer teaches you is that you can't grow anything good from bad seed. Better cut your losses and move on." 

His words sliced her gut. How many times did she hear them, or a variation of them, growing up? She'd lost count. 

He held her gaze, his face closed and his eyes shuttered. "I stay out of your way, you stay out of mine. Five more weeks. That's all." 

He was counting the days until she was gone. 

"Right." Leanne fled his office, and vowed to keep her distance. 

She called Elaine that night to ask about Sara and the job offering. Elaine said Sara was open to the idea, but didn't want to start before her operation. "She said she'd feel like an old person, having someone to care for her at home. She wants to feel young and independent for as long as she can." 

Swallowing her disappointment, Leanne thanked her and promised she was doing perfectly fine and was just asking for after Halloween. Elaine didn't sound convinced, but, having had the same argument before without success, didn't push. 

* 

That evening when suppertime came, Leanne couldn't bring herself to go to the dining hall and suffer through yet another awkward encounter. Besides, she had very little appetite. Stress and unease accompanied her like an underlying sense of nausea everywhere she went these days. Instead, she waited until she saw the others leave, and then jumped in and arranged for a plate to take back to her room. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 06



Mrs. Rojas stopped her on the way out. "What's going on, Leanne? Why so late? 

Leanne worried her lip. "I'm sorry Mrs. Rojas, I just - I'd prefer to eat in my room." 

The older woman gave her a knowing look. "It's you and Joe, isn't it?" 

Leanne nodded miserably, and Mrs. Rojas placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I see. That's okay, just return the dishes to the kitchen when you're done, okay?" 

Leanne nodded, and then asked - "Um, could I maybe get some cereal or maybe some sandwich bread and peanut butter to keep in my room?" 

The older woman considered her for a moment, but then shrugged. "Sure. Let me bring you some." She returned a moment later with the requested items, and a bag of fresh fruit. "Here you go. I hope this helps." 

Leanne thanked her profusely, and returned to the safety and solitude of her room. 

Only five more weeks. I can do this. 

* 

For the next couple of weeks, Leanne made do with breakfast, lunch and supper of cereal, fruit and sandwiches in her room. If anyone had noticed, nobody said a word, for which she was grateful. 

Halloween couldn't come quickly enough. 

She was working the fields with Julio every morning, taking care of the ripening pumpkins, which helped keep her black mood at bay. He was as friendly as ever, and the physical exertion felt good. And her afternoons were dedicated to the kiddie farm, her refuge. She was no longer assigned to the dairy farm, so the risk of bumping into Joe was minimized, thanks to Tammy's consideration. 

There were several pumpkin patches, and not all squashes ripened at the same time, so they would walk up and down the field every day, picking the ripe ones, and then leave them to cure under the warm autumn sun. Then they'd be collected and taken to the big patch right next to the farm gates, where people were coming in every day to purchase small mountains of them for the upcoming holiday. 

It was hard work, but Leanne liked being away from the farm, breathe the clean air and feel the sun warm her back as she worked. The physical exertion seemed like a positive outlet for her nervous energy. Once she went overboard with it and had to sit down for a moment to catch her breath, which made Julio's face frown with concern, but when he saw her up on her feet in no time, he let it go. 

She was losing weight, too, Leanne realized when she found herself pulling her pants up repeatedly while piling bright-orange, rotund pumpkins onto the tractor bed. Annoyed, she found a piece of rope and used it for a makeshift belt. There, that's better. 

An annoying, persistent bug had taken residence in her gut had had killed her appetite. That morning was going to tell Tammy she'd need a sick day. But she remembered all too well Tammy's warning from weeks ago - the 'zero-tolerance notice' - and wouldn't take the risk. She made herself a cup of tea and felt better, or so she convinced herself. And once out on the field, she really was fine. 

* 

That evening, Joe watched Tammy as her eyes followed Leanne scurrying across the gravel yard. Reluctantly his own gaze drew to her hunched form as she walked, hugging herself, head bent, as if determined to avoid any and all eye contact. 

"Something is very wrong with that girl." 

Oh, you have no idea, sis. Joe thought, but said nothing. The past few weeks had been hell. Wherever he turned, she seemed to be, and he couldn't bare look at her. Every time he saw her, the same gut-wrenching mix of emotions flared - hatred and regret, hurt and shame, desire and loathing - and all he could do was turn his back and walk away. But he was not going to dump this shit on anyone else. He kept his mouth shut this long, he could continue to do so a few weeks longer. 

"Seriously, Joe. I'm worried. I mean - look at her. She looks ill. And she hasn't been herself since - since you two broke up." 

Joe shrugged. Looks could be deceiving. "I don't know. She seems okay." 

"Ugh." Tammy looked disgustedly at him. "Typical male. You really are blind to these things, aren't you?" 

He wasn't sure if his sister was criticizing him personally, or his kind in general, but either way the dig struck a nerve. 

"Oh yeah? Please do share your insights with me, Oh Observant One." 

Tammy huffed with annoyance. "For one, she'd stopped eating. Or at least, she hasn't joined everyone for meals in a long time. And she'd lost a ton of weight; I mean - look at the way her clothes are hanging. Not that she had that much to start with." 

Joe clenched his teeth, his mind all too quick to conjure up the gentle curves of her slim body. He'd made a conscious effort not to look at her too closely - or at all - since that night. Now, for a moment, he wished he'd succumbed to temptation. 

"Also, she'd completely withdrawn into herself. I know part of it must be that the other seasonals had left and she's awkward with us all for obvious reasons, but still. I haven't seen her smile since that night, Joe. Not once." 

Joe cleared his dry throat. "What about work?" He wouldn't put it past her kind to skip work once her cover had been blown, or playing up the 'I'm sick' card. In fact, he expected it. 

"She still reports to work every single morning - including weekends, as per our revised agreement. And she does the work as required, but even there keeps mostly to herself. Puts her music on and ignores everyone. And then when the day is over she's back in her room, door closed. Doesn't speak to anyone, doesn't join us in the common room. It's like she's trying to disappear or something." 

"And you think it's because I broke up with her?" 

Tammy bit her lips, and then blurted - "Remember I asked you if you - if you beat her up?" 

At Joe's muted nod, she charged on. "I think she was assaulted that night, Joe. And if it wasn't you, then it has to be someone else - though I can't believe any of our guys -" She stopped. "The more I think about it, the more obvious it is to me - she's avoiding him. Whoever it is who attacked her." Tammy met his eyes. "I need to know who did it. I mean, anyone could be at risk from this guy. Hell, I could be at risk!" 

Joe listened with growing unease to Tammy, but it was the fear that he heard creeping into her voice in those last words that made him react before he could think. 

"Stop it, Tammy. You're not at risk." He snapped. "And besides, it wasn't like that." 

Silence greeted him, and when he raised his eyes he found Tammy staring at him in disbelief. 

"What?!" 

The anguish in his sister's voice was more than he could bare to hear. 

"Tammy -" 

"Oh no. Don't you dare 'Tammy' me! What the fuck, Joe?!" 

His sister jumped to her feet and stood before him, fists on hips, more angry than he'd ever seen her. He tried again - 

"It wasn't like that, Tammy. Please just let me -" 

"What, 'explain'?!" 

She was shouting, but then her voice broke, and to his horror he saw tears spill down her cheeks in two hot streams over her flushed cheeks. 

"She was fucking bleeding from those scratches on her back!" Tammy's voice was thick with tears. "There were bruises on her wrists - what the fuck did you do, Joe?!" 

He shook his head, a little dazed. She was bleeding?! He guessed the siding on that shed could be rough, and he probably did hold her wrists hard enough to bruise, but - "I didn't rape her, Tammy. I swear. Yes I was angry, but -" 

"No, no, no..." 

His sister voice was pained, and the next thing he knew she was pounding her fists on his chest, crying "no" with every jab. 

At first he just stood there, letting her hit him, but then his arms came around her to hold her close, locking her hands between them. She struggled until her fight drained and then she bent her forehead on his chest, her whole body shaking with her sobs. 

He had to make her understand. 

"Tammy, I swear to you, I didn't rape her. She was into it. She wanted the sex. She initiated it. She enjoyed it. I didn't force her to do anything." 

His arms relaxed as he spoke, and Tammy leaned back to look up at his face, but then she pushed his chest with both hands, sending both of them stumbling back a couple of steps. Her look was thunderous. 

"She was 'into it'! Are you fucking insane, Joe?! Do you even hear yourself?!" 

He tried replying, but his sister shut him up with a single finger held up in front of his face, shaking but effective. Her voice, too, was quivering, but the burning emotion behind it was unmistakable. 

"Here's what I know, Joe. For whatever reason, you were angry with her. So much that you decided to break up with her. Fine. But you didn't just break up. Oh no. You hate-fucked her. You used her and discarded her; you fucking left her bruised and battered, literally dumped in the dirt! Oh yeah, she was definitely into that! So much so that she promptly went and drank herself into a stupor. And hadn't been back to herself ever since." 

His sister's heartbroken expression tore at Joe's guts. 

Fuck. He felt lower than a worm. 

"I don't care what she did, Joe. I don't care how angry you were - or are - with her. I want you to fix this." 

He tried to work his dry throat, then coughed. The lump didn't budge. 

"H-how, Tammy? How do I fix this?" 

Tammy waved her hands emphatically, but had no ideas forthcoming. 

"I don't know, Joe. Apologize, for starters. Beg for forgiveness. Ask her what you can do to help. Do something. But you can't leave it like that. You can't." She gave him a fierce look. "I won't let you." 

Joe nodded grimly. Tammy was right. Whatever her ulterior motives were, whatever her ultimate game was, he couldn't escape the fact that he hurt Leanne in a way he never should have hurt a woman. He may not have raped her, but the way he treated her would still have his mother turn in her grave. Even if she did sleep with Todd later that night - well, maybe that was his fault, too. Maybe he pushed her into the other man's arms - 

Don't go there, Joe, or you'd really go crazy. Just do what you need to do. 

"Right." 

Joe turned on his heel and started in the direction Leanne had taken earlier. He was never one to postpone difficult tasks. Might as well get them over with. He wasn't going to forget or forgive who Leanne was or what she did, but he was going to own up and apologize for his own wrong-doings. He was going to fix this. For his sister's sake. For his own peace of mind. 

He'll apologize, and then he'll put Leanne Sommers behind him for good. 

* 

Joe walked through the open gate to the petting zoo, and stopped just inside to look around. He hadn't been here since their breakup; had kept his distance not only from Leanne, but also from what he had come to think of as 'her domain'. Scanning the open lawn surrounded by pens and cages, he had to admit it looked good. Real good. 

To start with, it was neat. Of course there were some feathers scattered around, and some dust gathered in corners. But the grass was trimmed, and the air smelled like healthy animals and fresh hay. All the wood benches got a fresh coat of paint, as did the picket fences and the wooden signs. Peeking into the small bathroom building, the floor was clean, there were stacks of toilet paper rolls in the stools, and the soap dispensers were full. 

Whether she was traumatized by his actions or not, Leanne's work wasn't affected. That should have made him feel better; instead, his guts twisted even more. Gritting his teeth, he raised his head to scan around from one cage to the next looking for her, until the sudden, unmistakable sound of rake scratching on concrete floor caught his attention. He set out in that direction, a sense of doom intensifying with each step. 

Apologizing wasn't pleasant. It was even harder to do when he didn't hold any respect to the person he was going to apologize to. Then again, what he did was wrong, and he had to own up to that. He sighed heavily, realizing his thoughts had slowed his walk along the narrow pavement to a snail's pace. Cursing impatiently under his breath, he picked up his strides. 

Better get it over with. 

He drew nearer to the rabbit cage, where she was raking, immersed in the music streaming into her ears. Joe stood just outside the wire-net door, reluctant to make his presence known. Instead, he took the opportunity to take a closer look at her for the first time in a month and a half. 

Tammy was right; she did lose weight. Her cargo khakis and forest-green sweatshirt, which fit her just fine when she'd received them in the beginning of the summer, looked a size or two too large now. His gaze travelled up the bulky top that seemed to swallow her torso, until it rested on her face. Her cheekbones, once subtle, now jutted in stark contrast above her sunken cheeks. 

And yet, to his utter confusion, she didn't seem sad or withdrawn at all. She was practically dancing with the music as she raked the soiled straw off the floor in energetic, efficient sweeps, piling it up before using a shovel to pick it up and dump it into a waiting bin. It reminded him of that first time he came looking for her and invited her on a hike. 

The memory annoyed him, and so did the woman herself. What the hell was her story? 

Pressing his lips, Joe pushed the wire door and stepped inside. The rattle of metal when it sprang closed behind him was loud enough to alert Leanne that someone had entered, and she swung around, pulling the buds out of her ears as she did. When she saw who it was, she froze. 

They both stared. Joe saw hope flare momentarily in her eyes, before it was washed away with wariness, and an instinctive step back. Her hope poked at his slumbering fury; as if! blinked like red neon in his mind. Her caution, on the other hand, pushed his guilt front and center. 

He pushed his hand impatiently through his hair. She said nothing. Finally, he realized he would have to break the heavy, awkward silence between them. 

"Hey." He sounded every bit as uncomfortable as he felt. 

"Um, hi." He could barely make her reply. She hadn't moved, still as a statue and holding that damned rake between them like a shield. 

Frustrated, he blurted the thought foremost on his mind. "Are you afraid of me, Leanne?" 

That clearly threw her off. Her head snapped back, confusion written across her too-thin, pale face. 

"No. Do I need to be?" She frowned, and asked with a hint of alarm: "Are you - am I being fired?" 

"What? No! No. Of course not." 

He knew she had every reason to think he would fire her. After all, he wanted to. And yet, right now, he needed to reassure her. He repeated in a calmer voice: "No, you're not being fired. And no, you don't need to be afraid of me. I just want to talk. Could we sit down for a moment?" 

She eyed him undecidedly before giving him a short nod, gesturing towards the benches lining the perimeter of the cage. Joe folded himself to sit on the too-low surface, feeling ridiculous in the uncomfortable crouching position. Leanne leaned her rake against the cage wall, and then came to sit at the other end of the bench, hugging her sharply bent knees. 

At her questioning look, he cleared his throat. "Er, I - I came here to see how you were doing." 

No answer. Just that same uncomfortable stare. Then again, he realized, he hadn't quite asked her a question. He huffed, striving for patience, and tried again. 

"Are you okay, Leanne?" 

Still, she just looked at him, chewing her bottom lip uneasily. Finally, just when he was ready to ask again, she spoke up. 

"I don't understand, Joe. You broke up with me weeks ago, and the way you did it..." she grimaced. "You made your feelings crystal-clear. You haven't spoken a word to me since. And now you come over to see how I'm doing? I just - I don't get it." 

She was still hugging herself, but her voice was steady and strong, and he could hear the underlying message. Don't bullshit me. 

Taking a deep breath, he finally met her eyes full on, for the first time in months. Damn. That pull he felt whenever he looked at her - really looked at her - was still there in full force. Even knowing who she was, in spite of her lies and her conniving ways, it still felt like their souls were somehow connected. 

Irked, he gave himself an internal shake. Snap out of it, man. Apologize, and then get the hell away from her. Swallowing hard, he made himself say the words. 

"I came here to apologize." 

* 

It was the last thing she expected to hear from him. Not that she didn't deserve an apology - damn right she deserved one! - but knowing how Joe felt about her, she never imagined she'd get it. 

Well, that wasn't exactly true, she thought ruefully. She did fantasize about him seeking her out, going down on his knees and begging her forgiveness, saying he realized how badly he wronged her, and how much he'd loved her still. But as the days stretched into weeks she had come to terms with the fact that was not going to happen. 

Leanne knew the futility of arguing with reality, unfair as it may be. That lesson had been drilled into her aching heart with every turn her mother took for the worse, regardless of her best efforts and her desperate prayers. Shit happened. It happened to everyone, good and bad. And no amount of wishing ever changed that fact of life. You simply had to accept the injustice for what it was: blind, uncaring fate. And then you moved on, because, when all's said and done, there wasn't any other choice. 

Which made his presence there in her little haven all the more inconceivable. 

"Apologize?" She asked carefully, unwilling to hope. Hope had never failed to fail her before. 

He held her gaze, and pushed the words out through his resentment. 

"I hurt you, the night of the bonfire. I was out of control, and I hurt you. I am sorry." 

His words seemed to echo inside her head, their syllables rippling and overlapping on top of one another until she could barely recognize them. They didn't make any sense. 

"I don't get it, Joe. It's been weeks - months - and now you're here to tell me you're sorry?" 

One of the fat mother rabbits had inched her way over and onto Leanne's lap, and she started stroking her soft fur absentmindedly. Joe followed the movement with his eyes, but then returned to her gaze, his guilt now too obvious to miss. 

"I tried not to think about it. I mean, I knew that I -" he paused, then rushed forward. "I didn't realize quite how rough I was that night, Leanne. I didn't realize I left you - left you bruised and bleeding." His face twisted. "I don't know what to say, except I'm sorry." 

Leanne stared in disbelief. "And now you suddenly felt the need to apologize?" She snorted. "Yeah, right." 

Joe pursed his lips, but then admitted through them - "As it happens, Tammy brought it up." 

"Tammy -" Leanne groaned, and buried her face in her hands. She thought the humiliation of that night was behind her. Apparently she was still the topic of conversation, months after the fact. 

Joe cleared his throat. "She's worries about you. That's what brought that whole conversation about - she pointed out that you seemed withdrawn ever since the night of the bonfire, wouldn't join everyone for meals, keep to your room..." he looked down at his hands. "She told me you looked like you were assaulted that night, and that she thought you were traumatized. I -" he stopped, pushed his hand through his hair, and finally looked at her. 

"I never meant to - to harm you like that." 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 06



Leanne felt the blood boil in her veins. Was this guy for real?! She took a moment to compose herself, and then asked in a tightly controlled soft voice, which only underscored her crude words: 

"So, just to be sure I got this straight, you still think I'm a lying bitch, and you're still glad that you dumped my sorry ass. You just realized you may have crossed the line between 'rough sex' and 'assault' with that revenge fuck, and since your sister brought it up, you're here to risk-manage this mess. That about right?" 

She took perverse pleasure in the way his head had snapped back, as if she slapped him. He replied slowly, as if sorting the words in his head. 

"I won't apologize for calling you out on your lie, or for ending our relationship over it." 

His face seemed set in stone. It struck her, how the gentle, sweet, fun-loving man she thought she knew could be so utterly cold. Unyielding. And then his next words came, quiet and sincere, and her eyes were drawn reluctantly to his. 

"But I am profoundly sorry for taking my anger out on you in a physical manner. That's just... wrong. Regardless of what you did, I shouldn't have done that. So yeah, that's what I am apologizing for." And then he added - "This isn't about my sister, although I'd admit the look on her face when I told her I was the one who -" he stopped, staring down at the hay-strewn concrete under his boots. When he looked up, and she was struck by the anguish she saw in his eyes. 

"I never realized I was that rough with you, Leanne. But Tammy said you were bruised, that the abrasions on your back were so bad your dress was stained with blood. And she tells me you're not back to yourself and you're avoiding people and not eating and I -" he opened his palms, as if begging. 

"I did cross a line that night. I should never have done what I did. Being so rough as to leave marks and break your skin - that's... that's despicable. Leaving you so traumatized that you've been hiding for months -" His mouth turned down. 

"I'm sorry, Leanne. Truly sorry." 

* 

She wouldn't look at him for so long he didn't think she was going to acknowledge his words with an answer. Her head bent, she seemed engrossed in petting the docile, dirty-brown rabbit in her lap. But finally she looked up, and he was shocked to see a half-smile twisting the grim line of her mouth. 

"It's ironic, you know. You apologizing for the one part of that night that I actually enjoyed." 

A gasp escaped his open mouth, but no coherent response emerged. His mind replayed that night. 

Pressing her into that wall, making her brace herself with her feet planted wide against the other side of the alley... using his thumb, lubricated with his spit, to make her body accommodate him; no finesse, no teasing foreplay... quick and dirty and crude. Holding her wrists captive in one of his hands above her head so she couldn't touch him as he drove into her, out of control, fucking forcing her to come all over his dick, thrusting into her convulsing body, not really caring if it hurt... 

Finally, some movement caught Joe's unfocused stare, snapping him out of his reverie. Leanne tilted her head, and her eyes caught his so that he couldn't look away. 

"I was excited, you know, by what I mistook for your 'overwhelming need' for me." Leanne's face colored in remembered humiliation. "I was all too eager to participate. It wasn't until after you were done with me that I realized what a fool I'd made of myself." 

She shrugged stiffly, the movement clearly forced. "But you're not sorry for that part, are you?" A knowing, pitiful smile braved her otherwise sober face as she gave him the opportunity to deny it. 

He couldn't. She was right. He wasn't sorry for humiliating her. She deserved that part. She was a liar. A fraud. A cheat. She deserved to be dumped in the dirt. 

"Yeah. I figured." 

The mother rabbit jumped and scattered away as Leanne stood up abruptly and then leaned sharply against the wire net wall of the cage. Joe's still-reeling mind anchored on the unexpected movement, and then he was on his feet too, reaching out to steady her. 

The moment his fingers closed around her upper arm he knew it was a mistake. He could feel the muscles flex in her too-slim limb in rejection of his touch through the thick fabric; could imagine the heat and softness of her skin underneath. He released her as quickly as he'd grabbed her, and she took an unstable step back, visibly shaking. 

Shit, was she going to pass out? 

But then she regained her footing and took a deep breath, releasing it slowly. 

"I'm okay, Joe. I'm fine. Please, just - just go." 

Joe fisted his hands in frustration. "You're not fine, Leanne. You nearly collapsed just now. You look ill. Tammy's worried about you... you're not fine. And I can't just ignore that. I'm COO of this farm. I'm responsible for the wellbeing of my employees - all of them, regardless of how I feel about their morals or character." 

She laughed. She actually laughed, though the sound was hollow. "God, you're full of yourself, aren't you?" She stood up straight, her cheeks, so pale a moment ago, now flushed with anger. "You think I'm hiding from you?" 

Joe started nodding, only to realize she asked it rhetorically. "Well, think again, mister. Hangover and humiliation may have kept me in my room for a couple of days, but let me tell you, I've survived worse. Much worse. You throw accusations at me without listening to my side of it? You decide that you don't want me anymore?" She raised her chin up, managing to look down her nose at him despite their height difference. "Well guess what, big guy. It's your fucking loss."  

She threw him one last furious look. "Just for the record, boss, as apologies go, this one is the crappiest ever." Then she added, with sarcasm dripping from every word - "Lucky for you, unlike some people, I'm not one to dwell on the past. Shit happens. I move on. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do." 

With that she turned, and set out to the cage door. But he couldn't let her leave like that; not when despite her bravado, he could still see her hands tremble - and he didn't think it was just her anger. 

"No, you're not excused yet." 

It was probably his cool tone - which he had struggled to achieve - that stopped her. She turned to look at him, no longer bothering to hide her emotions from her expressive face; anger, hurt, indignation, and apprehension all mixed together. His gut clenched in response. 

He kept his voice low. "I still need an answer, Leanne. Something had kept you hiding in your room for weeks on end; something makes you to look like a light breeze would knock you over. If it's not me, then - what is it?" 

He hated the concern that pushed itself to the fore, coloring his words in softer hues. She's a natural-born liar, he reminded himself sternly. Don't get sucked into her little game again. Get your answers and get out while you still can. 

Leanne sighed and rubbed her face wearily before meeting his unflinching stare head on. "There's no big drama, Joe. Sorry to disappoint you. If you must know, it's a stomach bug." 

Joe blinked. "A stomach bug?" he parrotted after her, feeling decidedly stupid. 

Leanne shrugged, looking tired now that the fight had left her. "Yeah. A stupid virus. I did feel lousy for a while, and had very little appetite, so I lost some weight. But as I said, I'm fine. I think the worse of it is over." Her weary eyes met his. "May I go now, boss?" 

He searched her face, trying to figure out whether or not he believed her. Either she was the world's best liar - a possibility he couldn't ignore - or she just happened to be telling the truth. In the end of the day, he figured, it didn't really matter. He wasn't going to get a different answer from her by challenging this one; if she were lying, she'd just keep piling up the lies. And if she were telling the truth... 

His gut twisted again. Don't get sucked in. Partial truths make the best lies. 

Pressing his lips in frustration, he answered. "Yes." 

Without comment, she turned and left, letting the screen door crash loudly behind her. Joe followed her with his eyes until she disappeared into the tiny office across the lawn. 

Releasing the breath he was holding, Joe set out to find Tammy. He'd tell her the short version, he decided. I apologized. She said I did a crappy job at it, but that, regardless, she'd already moved on. Turns out she wasn't traumatized or avoiding anybody, just keeping to her room due to stomach flu; says she's feeling much better now. It's all good. 

* 

The next morning, Leanne made it a point to show up for tea and biscuits at five AM before heading out to the fields, though she skipped the biscuits, just to be on the safe side. Joe came into the dining hall a little after, and joined her and Julio at their table; Todd and Tammy still hadn't showed up, she figured he had little choice. 

She nodded at him. He returned the gestured. Barely. 

"Morning, Joe." Julio gave him a friendly salute. 

"Morning, Julio. We covering the hillside plots today?" 

"Yeap. These are the last ones we have left to pick. I asked Tammy for all hands on deck." 

"Yes, you got it. You and Leanne start, Todd, Tammy and I will join after morning milking and our sync-up. Should be with you by seven thirty at the latest." 

"Yeah, I know. Thanks. With everyone's help I think we should be done by tonight." 

"Cool. I'll see you later, then." 

Joe stood and left without acknowledging Leanne, and Julio frowned at his back. He looked like he was going to say something, and Leanne stood up. 

"I'm done, are you coming?" 

Julio shrugged, and stood, too. "Yeah. Let's get this show on the road." 

They stopped by the sheds to pick up their tools - large pruners and a pair of gloves each - and then Julio motioned over to the muddy all-terrain ranger standing outside. "We'll take the ranger; the other guys will come by with the truck. Grab a helmet and let's go." 

Leanne smiled despite her nerves at the prospect of spending the day in Joe's proximity. She loved the ranger, and for the next couple of hours she could still enjoy herself. With her helmet on, she hopped in and buckled up, giving Julio a thumbs-up over the loud revv of the engine. In another moment, they were speeding away, big, matching grins on their faces. 

* 

Joe parked his truck next to the Ranger at the edge of the field and hopped out, taking his shears and gloves with him. Tammy and Todd filed out the other side. 

Looking out he could barely make Julio and Leanne's forms, way out, almost to the other end of the field, bending and straightening every few moments. Picking pumpkins was a back-breaking job, but like many others on the farm, it simply needed to be done. Bracing himself for it, he motioned for Tammy and Todd to spread out, and they all started working. 

The day grew long and unseasonably hot. Lunch break came and went, and they were back at the seemingly endless rows, bending, picking, rolling the pumpkins away from their canopy to cure in the sun, then walking over to the next one. It was monotonous and boring, and it left him with all too much time to think. 

Problem was, his thought process seemed to be as monotonous and sisyphic as picking pumpkins, and hours into it, he had no new conclusions to report. 

The facts were still the same. Leanne came to their farm knowing exactly who they were and what their past connection was. She had deliberately kept her identity secret from them for months, even after they had become lovers. She had insisted their relationship would be temporary, but never told him why. 

When he went to check her HR file he found any 'father name' boxes left empty, her mother's name listed as Holly Sommers, and the next of kin showed Mrs. Rogers, 'a friend', with a Sacramento address. It was only when he searched for her birth certificate using her Social Security Number that he found the damning proof of her connection to William Richardson. 

And then, there was the whole Todd business. He didn't even know what to make of that, but every time he remembered her sneaking out of the man's room at the crack of dawn, drowning in his fucking underwear, he felt like his head might blow off. He wanted to believe it was innocent, but given nothing else about her was, it was a hard sell. Instead, he tried to forget it. Fat chance. 

With an exasperated huff, Joe stood, stretched and wiped his brow with his sleeve, looking around. They were almost done. He and Julio were at the close end of the field, with Tammy and Todd - who had kept pace with each other throughout the day, joking and laughing, though he didn't know what about - just a couple dozen of yards away. 

Leanne was a tiny figure at the very far edge of the field. She had kept to herself all day today, too, with those damned earbuds plugged into her ears and her demeanor focused and efficient, as if those fucking pumpkins were the most important thing in the world. It grated on his nerves. 

"I think we're done, right?" Tammy reached them, and was smiling up to Julio. "I promised Mrs. Rojas I'll go over her purchasing requests tonight. Was hoping to do it before supper." She still wasn't happy with him, though she grimly accepted his recount of his apology to Leanne. Instead, her words were aimed at the older man. 

"Yeap. All done. Jesus! My back is killing me. I can't wait to get into the hot shower. This has been one long day." 

"Yeah. I still need to go check on the cows, make sure no problems with the afternoon milking." Todd looked at Tammy. "You coming?" 

Joe looked from one to the other with trepidation. They were all clearly hoping to hop on the truck and return to the farm as soon as possible, which left him to bring the Ranger - and Leanne - back. He was going to protest when his sister arched an eyebrow at him 

"You have the keys to the truck, Joe?" 

Reluctantly, he fished them from his pocket and handed them over, accepting the ranger's set in return. He watched the truck speed away before he sighed, donned his helmet, and headed out toward Leanne. 

***** 

Author's note: So, what did you think about this chapter? VOTE, FAVORITE and COMMENT. Thanks!



Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 07



Author's note:

Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride, y'all. This chapter will require buckling your seatbelts.

If you're counting with me, we have 7K more words here, and just crossed 60K! I think it will be just about 70K overall, and there's a real chance I'd actually make it to 'The End' in November. AHHH!

Okay. Here we go then. ~Shudders~ ~Deep breath~

SQUEEEEE!!!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------

She was thirsty and tired and her back was killing her, but Leanne kept working doggedly. The end of the line was getting nearer with every pumpkin she picked. Soon she would reach it, and the reprieve she needed.

If it were just her and Julio out there in the field, she may have stopped mid-line for a drink of water, rest and some stretches. She knew he wouldn't mind; in fact, he would probably give her one of his fatherly, approving nods. But she refused to show any sign of weakness to Joe, after his show of reluctant concern the day before. She couldn't bear it. It felt too much like pity. 

Or worse, he may think you're being lazy, and fire you on the spot.

So she increased the volume until her music drowned everything, even her thoughts, and kept at it with stiff-lipped determination. Just a little more. I can do this.

"Leanne!"

Her name was shouted so close behind her that she'd almost jumped out of her skin. Joe sounded annoyed; he must have called her several times without success. Leanne straightened and turned, too fast, to face him.

The field didn't stop spinning around when it should have. She looked up and tried to anchor her gaze onto something, only to be blinded by the glare of the sun reflected from his helmet. Her hand flew to shield her eyes even as a sickening background noise roared in her ears, and a moment later everything became dark.

*

"Leanne! Dammit, Leanne. Talk to me, please."

Seeing her crumble felt surreal. It was as if everything slowed down as he watched the flushed heat drain from her face and her legs fold under her as she collapsed. Her head knocked the ground with a muted thud, and then she lay there, unmoving.

At first, he told himself she was playing games, like she did back on their hike, when she tumbled down the hill on purpose. But then she was laughing and squealing in delight. Now, she wasn't making any sound.

With his heart pounding way too fast, Joe crouched next to Leanne's still form, and tried to get a reaction out of her.

There was none. 

She hit her head. She must have been knocked out. With hands that were shaking almost too bad to function, he managed to get his phone out and speed-dial Tammy.

"Tammy, I need you back here with the truck ASAP. Leanne hurt her head. She's unconscious. Call Dr. Lewis on your way."

He barely waited for her 'gotcha, on my way' before he hung up and stuffed it back to his pocket, and then peeled his t-shirt off.

Check if the wound had penetrated the skull. Stop any bleeding by applying steady pressure. Don't move the injured person if you can avoid it. He forced himself to recall their last first-aid training even as he was ripping the cotton shirt into long stripes. Then, realizing he hadn't checked yet, he stopped mid-tear and shuffled closer on his knees, and reached under her head to get a feel for her injury.

There was a small gush on the back of her head. It was bleeding, but not profusely. Using his fingertips he tried to ascertain if her skull was fractured, but all he could sense was a quickly-swelling bump. 

Okay. No obvious break, no foreign object stuck in, no brain matter visible. He resumed ripping his t-shirt, and, once done, folded one strip over onto itself until it formed a makeshift gauze, and pressed it firmly onto her cut using his whole palm.

Leanne stirred, and moaned in pain. 

"Don't try to move. You hit your head. Stay still."

She stopped moving, and he wasn't sure if it was because she heard him, or passed out again. Panic started edging in. Where the hell was Tammy?

The first-aid instructor said to apply pressure non-stop for a full fifteen minutes; suggesting they timed it. Cupping his hand firmly to her head, he used his other to dig his phone out and set out a timer for fifteen minutes. Then he called Tammy again.

"I'll be there in two minutes. How's she doing?"

"Still unconscious, I think. Is Dr. Lewis on his way?"

"Yeah, he'll wait for us on the main road and assess her. If need be we'll continue straight to the hospital, if not we'll take her home."

"Okay. Please hurry."

"I'm almost there."

He could see the dust rising from the truck getting closer, and within moments Tammy was crouching at his side.

"How can I help?"

"I can't move my hand. Must keep constant pressure to control the bleeding."

Tammy bit her lips, and then nodded. "Okay. I'll put stress dressing on it, and then we'll get her to the truck."

She was already moving to do it, taking the leftover shreds of his shirt forgotten in his lap and tying two, and then three of them together. Then she had Joe place one of the thick knots atop the temporary bandage, and tied the long tails of cotton securely around Leanne's head to keep the knot pressing onto the wound through the soft layers of cloth.

"There, I think this should hold for a few moments. Let's get moving."

"Awwww!"

Joe and Tammy looked down to see Leanne staring, somewhat unfocused, back at them.

*

Her head was pounding something fierce. Leanne moaned miserably. She wanted to sit up, but it seemed even the slightest shift took superhuman effort.

Tammy pressed her hand to her shoulder. "Shh. Don't try to move."

"My head hurts."

"I know. You hit it on the ground when you fell. Does your neck hurt? Or your back? Anything feel broken?"

Leanne tried to get a sense of herself. "I don't think so. Just my head. And I'm really thirsty."

"Okay. I'll get you some water. Sec."

Tammy disappeared. Joe was still close to her side. Leanne closed her eyes; she couldn't handle him right then. Thankfully, he didn't try to talk to her.

Tammy returned with a small bottle of water. "Joe, can you help her up a bit?"

Joe's arm came under her shoulders to slowly raise her upper body. Tammy cupped her head carefully with one hand, and with the other brought the bottle to her lips.

The water tasted heavenly. Tammy only allowed her small sips, but she kept asking for more, and soon the small bottle was nearly finished.

"Wow. Okay. I guess you really needed that drink." Tammy smiled at her approvingly.

"Yeah. Thanks, Tammy." She was feeling a lot better already, even if her head felt it was about to explode.

Tammy looked at Joe. "Okay. Let's get going then. You pick her up, I'll make sure her neck and head are straight with her spine, just in case."

Joe nodded, shifted closer, and gathered her in his arms, while Tammy supported her head. Under different circumstances Leanne would have deeply enjoyed being pressed against his solid, warm, naked chest. As it were, every move was making her dizzy, and all she could think was - please, don't let me puke.

*

Together, they managed to move Leanne to the truck with minimal jarring, or so he hoped. She was in pain, and every choked whimper tore at him. But it wasn't until he was seated with her head cradled in his lap and Tammy at wheel, trying to balance the need for speed with keeping the ride as smooth as possible, that his mind came out of its emergency operating mode enough to pray.

God, she has to be okay. Please. Make her be okay. 

He could taste his fear, acidic, sharp and sickening. He remembered the last time he prayed for a woman he loved to be okay. It didn't work. 

This time is different. He told himself. It's just the heat. She'll be okay. She has to be. 

*

Leanne knew she must be delusional because every time she opened her eyes she saw Joe's gaze upon her, dark with concern. She closed them and turned her head. Her cheek pressed to his naked belly, and the soft hair of his happy trail tickled her. She remembered all those times when she nuzzled and kissed and licked him there, and inhaled deep. His scent enveloped her, warm and musky, and so good it made her cry. 

She shut her eyes tighter, but her tears squeezed from their corners and slid along her nose and into the hair at her temple. She felt Joe's thumb trail them, and her heart broke all over again.

She missed him so much.

*

The truck stopped and she heard more voices, and in the next moment Joe nudged her fully to her back, and someone was gently tugging her eyelids open one at a time, only to blind her with a flash of light which felt like a hot poke into her brain, but was quickly gone. She moaned low.

"Her pupils are equal and responsive, which is a very good sign." A kind, authoritative voice sounded, and then it came closer to her.

"Leanne, can you hear me?"

She blinked her eyes open. "Yes. I can." An older man was hunched upside-down over her through the open back door of the truck, his light gray eyes sharp and alert. She recognized him. He was the older gentleman she saw at farm, the one who looked familiar.

"Good! Very good. My name is Dr. Lewis. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I fell. In the field. Picking pumpkins. Hit my head."

"Okay." Dr. Lewis looked up at Joe. "How long have you been pressing on the wound?

Joe reached awkwardly for his phone. "Um, it's not yet fifteen minutes. About twelve."

"Okay then. Keep pressing. The bleeding doesn't look too bad, and she's conscious, with no obvious cognitive damage. I think it's safe enough to bring her back to the farm; I'll give her a more thorough exam there."

*

They were moving again, and it made Leanne dizzy. More silent tears came, and she choked another moan.

"We'll be there soon and then Dr. Lewis will give you something for the pain. I promise."

She shut her eyes against the gentleness in his voice. He still hates you. Don't fool yourself. Leanne kept her mouth shut and wished for the ride to end.

In moments, it did, and the door behind her opened to show Dr. Lewis peeking in. "What are we going to use as infirmary?"

"My cottage." Joe's replied flatly. Leanne stifled a whimper of protest.

"Okay. You need to get the bed ready. Better use a few towels under the bedding just in case, and if you have water resistant mattress protecting sheet, that would be even better."

"I'm on it." Tammy was already out of the truck, jogging toward Joe's cottage.

Dr. Lewis looked down at Leanne. "How are you feeling?"

"Lousy." She croaked, and then added - "Can I get some more water?"

Dr. Lewis patted her shoulder. "Just a few more moments, okay? I don't want you to get sick from drinking too much, too fast. I'll give you some IV fluids as soon as we're inside."

"'Kay". She closed her eyes, and tried to keep her mind blank. Thinking made it hurt more.

A few minutes passed. She tried to block out Joe's proximity, the supple warmth of his skin against her cheek. She wanted to ignore how big and solid and good he felt. More tears came. His thumb moved to trace them, and then stopped, as if he caught himself. 

"All set." Tammy's voice sounded from outside the truck.

"Good. Joe, your turn. I'll support her head when you pick her up. Don't rush; slow and smooth, okay?"

Joe nodded and shifted to slide his arms under her shoulder and thighs while Dr. Lewis hands came to hold her head steady. Still, getting out of the truck involved a few rolls and pitches which made her dizziness and nausea intensify tenfold, and the throbbing in her head came rushing back to the forefront. Leanne whimpered, and Joe hissed 'shit, sorry', and then she was being carried more or less steadily to his place.

*

Fifteen minutes later Dr. Lewis came down the stairs, and Joe jumped to his feet. From the corner of his eye he saw Tammy rise, too.

"How is she, doc?"

"She's resting. I put her on fluids and gave her medication for pain and nausea through the IV, so she should be more comfortable now."

"How bad is it?" He couldn't sound cool right then if his life depended on it. He saw Tammy look at him funny, and threw her a dark look. Don't go there, sis. Not now.

"It's not. She's going to be fine very soon. The cut to her head was minimal and didn't require stitches, and if she has a concussion at all, it is very mild. She should be back to normal in no time."

Joe nodded, and Tammy spoke from behind him. "Why did she faint like that, doc?"

Dr. Lewis gave them each a pointed look. "Dehydration and fatigue, probably. She'd been out there on the field doing strenuous physical labor for close to nine hours today, and it's been hotter than usual. It would be easy to overdo it."

Joe was so pissed with himself he just barely kept the slew of curses that was about to roll off his tongue. He should have paid more attention. He knew she was just coming out of a sick spell.

"So you're saying a few more rest-and-water breaks and she'd have been fine?" Tammy sounded skeptical.

"You don't?" The doctor replied mildly.

Tammy shrugged, and Joe intervened. "She hasn't been feeling well lately. Could this be a sign of something more serious?" Say no, please.

Dr. Lewis looked from one worried face to the other, and his expression softened. "Look, I know you two are worried, but in all probability this is no more than a passing event. At any rate, I'll come back tomorrow to see how she's doing, and I'll give her a full physical, just to be on the safe side. I'd rather not do it right now because she's still quite nauseated and any movement will be uncomfortable; and honestly, what she needs most right now, aside from the fluids IV, is to rest."

Joe and Tammy nodded, and Dr. Lewis continued. "In the meantime, Tammy, there are a couple of things you need to do for her."

"Sure, I'm listening."

"Well, first, you cannot leave her alone tonight. I want someone in the room with her so that she doesn't try to get up from the bed unassisted; she's likely to fall again, and we don't want that."

"Right. I'll stay with her. What else?"

"Be sure to unhook her drip from her branula when the fluids bag empties, it should be in about a half-hour or so - you remember how to do that?"

"Yes, doc. I do."

"Great. Once you do that she'd be able to take a shower if she wanted to, but I want you in there with her; again, we cannot risk another fall. She can also hold it off until tomorrow - nobody died from a little sweat and dirt - or you can have her towel-wash the worst of it in bed."

"Got it. So we'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yes. I'll start my day here. Expect me right after breakfast." 

"Thank you, doc. We appreciate it very much." Tammy smiled and motion that she would walk him out. Joe nodded to them as they left. When they were gone he took a deep breath, and headed up the stairs. 

He needed to see for himself that she was okay.

*

She was asleep. Her cut was dressed properly with a square of bright white gauze, and her pale face no longer scrunched up in pain as she rested on his pillow, her body covered with a light sheet.

He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest and relief rushed in his veins, even as frustration tightened his belly.

She was going to be okay. 

And then she'll leave, and you'll never see her again.

Joe walked over to his single, padded chair, sat down heavily, and toed off his boots before propping his legs up on the low ottoman. He should be looking forward to it. Instead, he felt choked. He took quick gulps of air, and huffed them out, like he did to regulate his breath after a run. It didn't help. He wiped his face with his hands, only to realize they were wet with tears.

When was the last time he cried? He thought, staring at his damp hands, sensing the unfamiliar heat rolling down his cheeks.

Twenty years ago, he remembered. The day his mother died.

Fuck it all.

Joe buried his face in his hands, and let the tears come.

*

Some time later his front screen door cluttered against its frame, followed by the noisy descent of work boots up the stairs. He barely managed to wipe his face and then rub his hands dry against his work pants when his sister's ginger curls appeared.

Her eyes focused on Leanne's still form on the bed. "She's sleeping?" 

"Ahem, yeah." He managed in a semi-steady voice, which made his sister throw him a quick glance, and then return to him fully with an audible gasp.

"Are you - Jeez, Joe, are you crying?!"

She moved over to his side and then came to sit on the ottoman, putting her hand on his knee over his pathetic protests.

"Okey, big brother. We need to talk."

Joe groaned internally. Let the interrogation begin. They've had those in the past, more than a few times, taking turns playing investigator-slash-shrink for each other. He usually didn't mind being in the hot seat; he liked his sister's perspective, especially when it came to these things. But with Leanne, he didn't think he'd have any answers. None that Tammy would like to hear, anyway.

But all he said was - "What do you want to know?"

"Well, for starters, why the hell did you break up with her?!" 

Joe bowed his head. "You don't wanna know, Tammy."

She slapped his thigh sharply. "Oh, come on! Stop babying me, will you? I asked. I want to know."

He pressed his lips in frustration, feeling a muscle jump in his jaw. Fine, he conceded. Fuck it. She's a big girl. She asked.

"Leanne is William Richardson's daughter."

"William Ri-Richardson - you mean, the man who-" his sister stammered.

"The man who killed our mother, yes." He finished for her, holding her gaze. Tammy stared at him, wide-eyed. 

"Well, fuck me."

"Yeah."

She fell into a stunned silence. Her hand left his knee to join her other across her belly as she rocked slightly back and forth while the news sank in. Joe felt sick. 

"I'm sorry. This is why I didn't want to say anything."

His sister gulped hard, and met his eyes. "How - how long did you know?"

"Since Labor Day Monday. Dr. Lewis came early and joined us for supper, and he saw her."

"But-but how would he know her?" Joe couldn't resent the disbelief in his sister's tone. He wanted to deny it too.

"Apparently she looks very much like her mother, who was here the night of the accident. Look, Tammy, I checked it out. Found her birth certificate based on her social security number. William Richardson is listed as her father."

"But her name is Leanne Sommers."

"Sommers was her mother's maiden name. She changed it back after the divorce, for both of them."

"Damn." 

They fell silent again. After a while, Tammy spoke hesitantly.

"Look, Joe, I get this was a shock. But you can't seriously blame her for what her father did."

He pursed his lips. "Of course I don't blame her for his actions, Tammy. She wasn't even four when it happened. But she was an adult when she decided to lie to us. To me. She came here on purpose - I'm not sure what for, exactly - but she kept his name off the forms, and she held up this charade for months."

"Couldn't it be a coincidence that she came here? She lives in Sacramento. She wants to study veterinary. She needed to gain some relevant experience. There aren't endless options in the area."

Joe gave her a 'come on' look. She grimaced. "Yeah, I know. That's a stretch. Still -" Tammy looked at him pleadingly. "I don't know why she came here. But it doesn't have to be some big, bad plot. Maybe she was just curious. Maybe she wanted to know what happened to us. People do all kinds of strange shit when they try to come to terms with their past."




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 07



"Okay, yeah, maybe." He conceded grudgingly. "I get that there isn't necessarily an evil conspiracy there. Still -"

"I get that you feel betrayed, Joe. I get that she'd lied to you. But maybe - maybe she just wanted to protect you. Protect all of us."

"From what? From the fucking truth?" His voice started rising.

"From painful memories, perhaps. From heartbreak." She suggested gently.

"Well, too fucking late for that." he said vehemently, and then shut up abruptly when he realized what he had admitted. His sister just gave him a sad, pitying look, and put her hand on his knee again. Joe gritted his teeth, and then hissed through them.

"She had a million opportunities to tell me. She could tell me when I told her how our mother died. She could tell me when we kissed for the first time. She could have told me any number of times before we -" He stopped, and took a deep breath. "She could tell you, too."

"Maybe she was afraid to lose what she had with you. Maybe she wanted to have it for as long as she could."

He felt those damn tears clogging his throat as realization slowly dawned on him. Yeah. He could see that. Fuck.

"She always knew it would end." He swallowed hard. "And you know what, she was honest about that from the start. She kept reminding me that she will leave, as if she wanted to make sure I didn't get too involved. As if she wanted to keep me from - from falling for her. But fool that I was, I kept hoping I'd be able to change her mind." 

He leaned back, staring unseeing at the sloped ceiling of his bedroom. "There wouldn't be a chance for that, anyway, after the way I treated her. God, Tammy, the things I said to her...!"

His sister squeezed his leg. "Maybe she could forgive you. Maybe if you forgave her lies, she could forgive you being a total jerk. From where I'm standing neither one of you is a saint, but maybe you could find a way to overcome this."

He shook his head. "Even if we did, it wouldn't make any difference."

"Why not?!" Tammy's exasperation was palpable. He shrugged helplessly.

"Because in the end of the day, she is still his daughter, Tammy. She is William Richardson's flesh and blood. Which means she was right; this could never be long-term. What would I say to dad? To mom, next time I visit her grave? 'Hey, remember the man who killed you, and ruined all our lives? Well guess what, he's family now. How about that?""

Tammy looked at him in stricken silence. Joe blew his breath. "Yeah. Exactly." He shoved his fingers into his hair, wanting to pull them out by their roots in his frustration.

Silence stretched between them. And then his sister rose, and stepped close to give him a fierce hug. "I'm sorry, Joe." She mumbled in a thick, hoarse voice, and then she kissed his head, and straightened, sniffling.

"I'll just unhook her fluid bag and be out of your hair. You stay with her tonight. Give me a call if you need me." 

Joe coughed. "Thanks, sis." 

After a few moments, his sister mumbled a final goodbye, and left. Joe leaned back and closed his eyes, succumbing to the weariness that seemed to come from his very soul.

He would apologize to her tomorrow, for real this time. He decided. She deserved it, even if it didn't change the end result. She'd leave, like she said from the start. And he will be left to curse fate for taking away a woman he loved, again.

*

She managed to contain her sobs until she heard the front screen door rattle shut. But once they were left alone she could no longer keep pretense.

Her sniffles startled Joe, who was at her side within two quick strides. His hand found hers, and squeezed her fingers as he knelt on the floor.

"Leanne -"

She made herself open her eyes and meet his, no longer trying to hide her regrets.

"You heard." His own remorse was palpable. She couldn't bear it; it made her cry harder.

"Shh... I'm so sorry...God. I'm sorry. I should never have -" He heaved a breath, looking up and taking a few moments to compose himself before he could look at her.

"I'm sorry I assumed the worse, Leanne. And I'm sorry for the way I lashed out at you, the things I said and did -" He reached his free hand to cup her face, and Leanne pressed her cheek to his warm palm, and gave herself a moment to soak the sweet, comforting touch before she opened her eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry, too." She said softly.

Joe half-smiled, and his thumb caressed her cheek. Leanne choked back her sobs. "God, this sucks!" She finally exploded, and Joe gasped, but then chuckled without humor, his expression as pained as hers.

"It does, totally. God. I'm sorry." 

They stared at each other in defeat for a while. Leanne shook her head. "What a mess, huh?"

Joe huffed. "Yeah."

She gulped hard, and then dared ask. "So, you don't hate me anymore?"

Instead of answering, Joe moved around the bed, climbed up, stretched atop the sheet next to her, and gathered her carefully in his arms. Leanne turned toward him with a whimper, and sobbed into the crook of his neck. Joe was silent as he held her through her tears and after, when they just lay there, hugging close, until they both drifted to sleep.

*

She woke up sometime in the middle of the night with a mild headache, hunger pains in her belly, and in desperate need to pee. Joe helped her to the bathroom against her mortified protests, gave her the painkillers left by Dr. Lewis, and then had her sit down in his chair.

"Let me see if there's something in my kitchen. I'll apologize in advance though; the pickings are bound to be meager. I can't remember the last time I made something to eat here. Mrs. Rojas cooks too well."

"There's bread and peanut butter in my dorm room, if you want to go get it."

"You promise not to try to get up until I do?"

"I promise."

"Okay. I'll be right back."

It took him two minutes flat to do the round-trip, and then he was back at her side, watching her wolf down her second sandwich. She really was hungry, he realized, and a troubling thought followed.

"Is that all you were eating for the past six weeks?" He asked carefully.

"Well, not entirely. I also had cereal. And lots of fruit. Mrs. Rojas kept me well-stocked."

The way she said it, with actual gratitude in her voice, made him want to punch something. Just how poor was she, growing up? he thought, and then remembered exactly why she had to go hungry as a kid. No wonder she'd been so damn accepting of their situation. She'd been paying for her father's sins all her life. It was simply the way the world worked, for her.

God, he hated that man.

She fell asleep shortly after finishing her food; he, on the other hand, was too restless for that. He padded down to his kitchen and got a bottle of beer to help force his own sandwich down. At one point he caught a whiff of himself, and realized he stunk. With a disgusted grunt, he marched to the shower.

The hot water helped soothe him. He stayed there until it turned lukewarm and only then stepped out and dried himself. He flipped the boiler to 'on' thinking Leanne will want to shower in the morning, and then donned a clean set of boxers to sleep in. Looking back to the bed, though, he realized that won't be enough, and returned to his dresser to fish out his rarely-used pajama bottoms and a white T-shirt, and then, finally, climbed in.

This time, he snuggled under the covers with her.

*

Waking up with Leanne in his arms, knowing it was for the last time, was the sweetest torture. Joe made himself lie still so as not to wake her, and studied her features in the soft gray light, committing them to his memory.

Her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey, princess." The unintended endearment rolled off his tongue, unchecked. A hint of a smile curved her lips, even when her sad eyes focused on his. She remembered.

"Hey, cowboy." She murmured back. He closed his eyes, fighting for composure. Hearing her calling him that reminded him of everything he thought he'd have with her, and couldn't. Leanne cupped his face in her warm hand.

"No, no regrets." The conviction in her voice startled him to look at her.

"I'm sorry for a lot of things, Joe. But I'm not sorry I met you. And I'm not sorry I fell in love with you." The eyes beseeched him, gray-blue like the pre-dawn sky outside. "I will always be thankful you were my first love and my first lover, and I will forever remember everything that you've taught me. No regrets. Please."

He lowered his head next to hers on his pillow. "I regret so much, Leanne. I regret every hurt and pain that I caused you. And I regret every moment I wasted on being angry and sulking that will never return. I'm so full of regrets I could explode."

Leanne turned to her side to look at him fully. "That's all in the past, Joe. We are here, now. Let's not spoil this."

He tried to smile. "Are you one of the enlightened?"

She grinned. "Nah. Just an opportunist. Whatever good life happens to offer, even if it's just small and temporary, I'll take it. There's enough crap out there without me adding to it with my attitude."

He nodded, and then tilted his head to study her closely. "You feel better this morning?"

Leanne breathed in, and smiled. "Yeah. Much better. I think I just needed a good night's sleep." Then she looked down at herself. "I'd love to take a shower, though. It feels like I brought half the dirt from the pumpkin patch into your bed."

Joe's heart kicked, but he pushed any inappropriate thoughts like how much he liked her being dirty in his bed to the back of his mind. Instead, he rolled off the bed and came around to her side, reaching out his hand.

"Come on, then. The shower it is. I'll just make sure you don't fall on your way over." He clarified.

He could swear he saw disappointment in her eyes before she accepted his hand and let him help her the few steps to the en-suit, where he had her sit on the closed toilet while he went in search of a nylon cling-wrap to protect the bandage on her head and then adjusted the water temperature for her. Then he pulled out a towel and hung it on the rack.

"All set, princess. I'll come help you back when you're done. If you feel dizzy sit down first, and then call me."

"Thanks." She smiled at him, and he returned it briefly, and made his escape. 

*

The shower was heavenly. Leanne sighed as she watched the suds wash down her body, taking yesterday's grime with them, leaving her clean and fresh. 

She looked around at the familiar, small space. She'd taken so many showers here during the summer, most of them shared with Joe. The memories filled her with yearning, body and soul, but she resisted the urge to cry. Instead she turned her face to the water for one last wash and then shut it down, and reached for the towel.

Once dry, she wrapped it around her body and stepped outside the glass door, shivering slightly in the chilled morning air. There was a knock on the bathroom door.

"May I come in?"

She slid the door open to reveal Joe, a pink pile of folded clothes in his hands. "Tammy was over. She asked how you were this morning, and brought you some pajamas." He thrust it in her hands and turned his back, as if afraid to look at her.

"Um, sit down when you get dressed. And let me know when you're ready." He was already moving away, back into the bedroom.

"Joe, I'm fine. Honest. No dizziness whatsoever."

He didn't turn back. "Good. I'm glad. Still - humor me, please."

"Okay." She said softly, and slid the door shut.

*

"I'm ready." Her voice beckoned from behind the thin wood barrier.

He opened the door to reveal Leanne sans the nylon cap, and dressed in the two-sizes-too-large, fuchsia-pink pajamas, which, he now realized, were covered in tiny gold princess tiaras, while the word PRINCESS was emblazoned in bold letters over her chest. 

Leanne giggled at his expression."I know, right?!"

Joe groaned his exasperation, and then offered her his arm. "Come on, princess. Your chariot awaits."

Leanne took his arm and let him lead her the few steps over to the bed. She seemed quite steady on her feet, although that didn't stop her from squeezing close to his side, he noted. When they reached the bed he folded back the fresh, bright-white top sheet, and waited for her to climb up.

"I ruined the other set, didn't I?" She asked ruefully.

"You're always welcome to ruin my sheets, baby." He drawled, unthinking, and then cursed under his breath. "Shit. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have -"

"Joe."

Something about the way she said it made him stop and look up. Leanne turned to him, and then stepped so close that their torsos were touching and slipped her arms around his waist. He swallowed hard. She fit her soft, slim body to his, and he braced himself for what he knew she was going to say.

"I know this doesn't change anything." She held his gaze. "We both know that. But will you make love with me, one last time?"

*

She held her breath for so long waiting for his response she damn near fainted again. It blew out in relief when his arms tightened around her, letting her feel his answer, hardening against her belly, before he bent his head and kissed her.

His lips took to hers almost desperately, firm and demanding, before he grunted and pulled away, took a couple of breaths, and then returned, much more gentle this time. His hands came up to cup her face, his fingertips warm as they held her in place to receive his sweet attention.

Leanne almost wept with heartbroken joy, but then she pushed both emotions to the very back of her mind, and focused on the present, on their pleasure and their growing need. Right now, this is everything. The rest will wait for later. Her hands sought his skin under his T-shirt, greedy for his warmth and his good, solid strength. She stroked along his back muscles, feeling them ripple and bunch under her touch. Etching them to memory.

He helped her out of her clothes and then removed his own before taking her into his arms, skin to skin, and then pulled her with him under the covers. Their bodies drew together like they were meant to be. 

They touched each other slowly, as if they had all the time in the world, wanting to savor every moment, every sensation. 

Leanne loved him with her body, with her mouth and her hands, treasuring every one of his moans and trembles. Joe returned each pleasure tenfold, as if determined to prove it was real, they were real. 

Even if not forever.

She cried when he entered her, because it felt like he belonged there. And she cried when she came apart in his arms, because she knew, with every aching cell of her heart, that it would be the last time that she did, with him. She cried when she saw him struggle with himself to prolong the moment, and knew he wanted to treasure every last second they had together.

In the end he let go with a muted cry, and shuddered in her arms as he came. She held him close, thankful for his solid weight pressing down on her, feeling real and secure. Instinctively she knew she would relive that sensation in her mind for a long time to come.

*

They stayed there, intertwined, unwilling to let their last time together end yet, even after their passion had been spent.

"Joe?" Leanne's hesitant question broke the bittersweet silence between them.

"Hmm?" 

"If it weren't for your family, if it were just you and me in the world, would you have me stay?"

He pulled back to look into her troubled eyes. The deep-seated insecurity in them tore at him, knowing some of it was by his own doing. 

"If it were just you and me you would be wearing my ring already, princess." He hugged her close, feeling her nod against his neck. "But I am not an island."

Her body stiffened in his arms, even as she hugged him closer. "It's not fair!" she wailed miserably, and he could hear the tears in her voice.

He sighed heavily. "No. It isn't." 

"It happened twenty years ago." She whispered. "It's already ruined your family. Mine, too. How long will we let it define our lives?"

He shook his head, unable to answer for several long moments. Finally, he spoke.

"My dad fell apart after my mom died. He lost it completely for a while." Leanne quietened in his arms, and he knew she was listening, so he went on. "Julio and Mrs. Rojas were the ones who held the place together, including us kids. It took him over a year, I think, to - I dunno. Work through his grief, I guess. And then, gradually, he returned to himself, to the farm, to us." Joe heaved another breath. "I just - I can't even imagine having that conversation with him. It scares the shit out of me."

"What, you think he would disown you or something?" She wasn't skeptical, exactly, but he could hear a frustrated undertone. He found her eyes. 

"I'm afraid he'd break again, Leanne. I honestly don't know how he would react. I just - I can't risk it."

Leanne bit her lip. "I get it. I hate that I get it."

He kissed her hair, and, reluctantly, disengaged from her soft, warm body. "I'll be right back." He murmured, and padded over to the bathroom to get rid of the used condom.

When he returned she was watching him, and he could almost hear the wheels whirring in her head. He lay down on his side, facing her, close but not touching under the light sheet. After several long moments, she spoke.

"That movie, 'The Princess Bride' - do you believe in that 'true love' theory?" She asked, and then added with a self-mocking smile - "I have, like, zero experience in this. You are the first man I've ever loved. I need some perspective here."

Her question was like a punch to his stomach, but he knew what she was asking. What she needed to hear. I can give her that, at least.

"I do, yes. But I also believe there can be more than one true love in a person's lifetime." His low voice was thick with conviction. "You're young, princess. You'll have more true love in your life. I promise." He wasn't so sure about himself, though.

She nodded. "I'll survive this. I know that."

"I've no doubt you will, but I want you to promise me you'll do more than that. Promise me you'll be happy." He swallowed, and pushed through. "Promise me you'll find another love."

"Okay." She whispered into his chest, and her hot tears warmed his skin under her cheek. "I will."

He hugged her close. I hope you'll be happy enough for the both of us.

*

His phone rang, and Joe rolled over and sat on the side of his bed as he reached for it.

"What?" he grumbled.

"Dr. Lewis called. He said he'd be there in a half hour. You wanna come over to the dining hall for breakfast? I can sit with Leanne while we wait for him."

Leaving Leanne's side right then was not an option. He wanted to spend every last moment he had with her. "Um, could you arrange for a couple of plates for us and bring them over?"

"Sure, will do." His sister hesitated. "Hey, Joe, is everything - you know, all right with you?"

Joe threw a look over his shoulder at Leanne, who scooted back to sit, looking at him with that same strangely serene, accepting expression he'd been so confused with before. He got it now. 

"No, it's not. But I'll survive." Leanne's mouth curved into a small smile, even as she teared up.

There was silence on the other end. And then - "I wish there was something I could do."

Joe returned his attention to the phone. "You've already done way more than you could imagine, sis. And I have a feeling I'd be needing some more of your pep talks in the foreseeable future."

"You got it." She said softly, and then sighed. "Okay, then. Two breakfasts, coming right up. See you in a bit."

She hung up without waiting his reply. Joe put his phone down, and when he turned to Leanne he found her already dressed in her pajama top, and halfway through putting the pants on. His eyes shot up to hers, and she shrugged apologetically.




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 07



"Real life is upon us."

Regretfully, he agreed. "Yeah. I'm going to hop in the shower. Won't be more than five minutes."

"Go. I'll be fine. I'll be here when you're out."

If not for longer after, he could imagine her thinking. But all he said was, "Okay."

----------------------------------------------------

Author's note: Did you like this chapter? Tell me! VOTE, FAVORITE and COMMENT. Thanks! 



Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 08



Author's note: 

It is 23:54 on November 30th, and I just wrote 'The End' for this story. 11K words on this chapter, 71K words total in 30 days, and most of them not complete drivel! I am officially stoked. 

So, what can you expect in this chapter? Well, lots of twists and turns, but, eventually, Joe will manage to do *something* right. I promise. 

Are you ready, y'all? Let's do thiiiiiiiiissssss!! 

***** 

"How are you feeling this morning, Leanne? Still in pain?" 

Yes, but not the kind your pills would help with, Leanne thought. "No, no real pain. More like mild discomfort, really. I think I'm good, honest." 

"Let's check, shall we?" 

Dr. Lewis proceeded to check on her wound, sounding content to see that it was starting to heal, and then asked her to sit on the side of the bed. He had her follow his light with her eyes, do some simple math calculations in her head, and checked her reflexes. Then he asked her to stand up, and checked her balance and space orientation through a series of peculiar tests. She managed everything with no issues save for minimal dizziness. 

"From the neurological angle you're fine, Leanne. Have a seat, and let's give you a quick physical, okay?" Leanne did, and Dr. Lewis continued. "Joe mentioned you haven't been feeling well lately; could you tell me more about that?" 

"Um, there's not much to tell, really." 

"Hmm. Any problems sleeping? Changes in eating? Feeling sick?" He asked matter-of-factly, while looking into her ears and her throat for signs of infection. It was strange, being checked over like that. Leanne couldn't remember the last time she'd been seen by a doctor. She tried not to flinch at the unfamiliar sensations. 

"I've been under some stress so that may had something to do with it." 

"Hmm. And how did it manifest itself?" 

"I - haven't been sleeping great, that's true. And I think I may have had a virus in my guts; I did have some spells of nausea." 

"Any diarrhea? Vomiting?" The doctor fit his stethoscope to his ears, pulling her shirt up her back so that he could place the scope in different spots. 

"No. None." She said, and then at his indication, took deep, steady breaths. Dr. Lewis spent a few moments listening through her back, and then moved to her front, although he made sure to keep her covered, for which Leanne was grateful. 

"Okay. So far so good. Let's have a feel for your internal organs real quick, shall we? Lie down on your back again for me, please." 

Leanne lay down and pulled her top up to her breasts, and Dr. Lewis tugged her pants slightly down to her hipbones, and then started pressing at different points, deeper than she had anticipated, starting from the top, just under her ribs, and moving methodically down. 

"Tell me if anything hurts or feels uncomfortable, okay?" He said even as he kept going, already around her midriff. 

"Um, okay. So far so good." 

When he got to her lower abdomen he paused and then pressed again, going at it from different angles, looking up to her face as if expecting to see something there. 

"Something wrong, doctor?" She asked nervously 

Instead of answering, he rearranged her pants for her, and indicated she could straighten her shirt. While she did, he turned to pull the ottoman from its corner and sat down next to the bed so that they were more or less at eye level. 

"Can you tell me when was your last period?" 

Leanne thought back, and then shrugged. "I honestly can't remember. I've never really kept track of it." She did briefly, when Joe and her were together, but once they'd broken up it didn't really matter. 

"Okay. Can you try and pinpoint the last time you positively remember having had your period?" 

"Um... in the summer. I can remember having it twice during the high season, so both in July and in August." 

She wasn't bleeding on Labor Day, she remembered. The next moment, her stomach dropped. Shit, shit, SHIT. He didn't use a condom. Her pulse kicked and her hands shook as adrenaline shot into her bloodstream. No. This can't be - 

"From your expression, you know where I'm going with these questions." Dr. Lewis said quietly, and Leanne braved a look into his eyes. There was no judgment in them, only compassion, and she felt her throat constrict with sudden tears. 

"It was only that one time we didn't use protection." She whispered. Dr. Lewis repled gently. 

"Sometimes that's all it takes." 

"No... God. This can't - I can't be pregnant. I can't be. Please." 

His pressed his lips, and gave her a level look. "While this isn't one-hundred-percent proof, your uterus is enlarged, and in my estimate the size fits about eight weeks gestation, which correlates with the last time you remember getting your period, and with the time you had unprotected sex." 

She stared at him, her mind trying to catch up with the implications of his words. Dr. Lewis patted her hand. 

"I can see this is a shock. The good news is, you're young and healthy, and it is still very early pregnancy. There's time to think this through and make plans. I understand you and Joe hadn't planned this, but -" 

At her gasp he stopped, and then grinned knowingly. "Come on. I may be old, but I'm not blind, you know. I've seen the way he looks at you. And he did insist to bring you here." Dr. Lewis gestured around them; at the rumpled bed, which indicated more than one person had slept in it the night before. Leanne blushed red, and the older man sobered. 

"I've known Joe since the day I helped his mother bring him into this world, Leanne. He's a good man, and he'll do right by you." 

Her tears, so close to the surface ever since last night, spilled again. She tried several times before she managed to whimper - "It's more complicated than that." 

Dr. Lewis's face grew serious. "It usually is. And there are other options, too, obviously. All I'm saying is, there's time to make these decisions, and it's best to make them together with the father." 

Leanne swallowed hard. "Are you - are you going to tell him about - about this?" 

Dr. Lewis gave her a long, hard look, and then spoke grudgingly. "I'm not allowed to discuss the specifics of your condition with anyone without your consent, Leanne. All I am going to tell him is if and when you will be fit to work again." 

She breathed her relief. "Thank you." 

Dr. Lewis shook his head as he got to his feet. "Look -" he sighed. "As your doctor, I am obligated to confidentiality, and I will abide by it. But as an old man who had seen a thing or two in his lifetime, I will say this: sometimes, life calls for a leap of faith. Do the right thing, and trust that he'd do the same." 

Leanne sniffled, and wiped her tears impatiently. "I'll think about it." 

Dr. Lewis nodded, and patted her hand once more. "You do that. I'll be on my way. I'll call to see how you're doing in a few days." He turned to leave, and then paused. "In any event, you should schedule an appointment with an OB/Gyn as soon as possible, just to verify everything is normal - listen to the baby's heartbeat, and make sure the pregnancy is located in-utero." 

Leanne looked at him, wide-eyed. Listen to the baby's heartbeat? The concept was surreal. Her head started pounding from her mile-a-minute thoughts running around in it. 

"Oh - okay, yeah. I'll do that." 

With a nod, Dr. Lewis turned and descended the stairs, leaving her feeling lightheaded and dizzy. 

She was pregnant with Joe's baby. Dear God. What was she going to do? 

* 

"What's wrong with her?" 

Joe's lungs felt constricted when he saw Dr. Lewis's dark expression. The older man looked startled and then schooled his features and answered in measured tones. 

"She is recovering well, Joe. Have her keep it light for a few days longer; I wouldn't want her straining herself too soon. Let's keep her away from the fields for the time being, and no heavy lifting; I'll check on her again next week and we can re-evaluate." 

Joe blew the air he'd been holding. "So, 'keep it light' - is that full bed rest, or simply off work for a few more days?" 

Dr. Lewis shook his head. "No, no need for bed rest. In fact, it would do her good to get up and walk around. But, yeah, no farm work for now." 

Joe nodded. "Okay. Thank you very much, doctor." 

"Of course. That's what I'm here for. You take care, Joe." 

Joe walked the older man to the door, and held it open for him. "Thanks again. I'll see you soon." 

With a wave of his hand, Dr. Lewis was gone. Joe closed the door behind him, and then turned and climbed up the stairs two at a time. But when he saw Leanne, he paused. She was sitting on the ottoman, putting on her work boots, and crying. 

"What's wrong?" 

Leanne shrugged and wiped her eyes impatiently. "I need to get to my room. Pack up my things." 

"What?! What the heck are you talking about?!" 

She looked desperate. "Please, Joe. I can't do this." 

"Do what, Leanne? Rest? Heal?" He knew he sounded angry, but he couldn't help himself. She fainted yesterday. She still wasn't well. She can't be serious. 

"I can't prolong this - this breakup between us. I won't survive a week-long goodbye. I - I need to go." 

"How, Leanne? Where to? Who's going to take care of you until you're fully recovered? You can't be on your own yet. That's irresponsible." He was probably exaggerating. He stood by it, anyway. 

Leanne gave him a 'come on' look, but then answered. "I'll be at Elaine's. My friend in Sacramento. I won't be alone." 

Joe breathed deep. He knew that name. She was listed as 'next of kin'. "Alright, and then what?" 

"And then I'll find another job, and another place to live." Her tone softened. "I'm a big girl, Joe. I'll be fine." 

He stood there helplessly, and watched her finish lacing and tying up her boots, and then stand up and square her shoulders, clearly ready to butt heads with him some more. He stifled a curse. 

"How will you get to Sacramento?" 

"I'll hitch a ride to Santa Rosa, and then take the Greyhound. It's a little less than four hours ride." 

"Are you sure you're well enough for that? Can't you wait until tomorrow, or the next day?" It wasn't going to change anything, he knew. But dammit, he didn't want to see her go. 

Leanne shook her head miserably. "It'll only hurt more, Joe." 

Joe exhaled heavily, finally acknowledging defeat. "Okay. Let's go get you packed, and then swing by Tammy's office to handle the administrative stuff. I'll take you to Santa Rosa this afternoon, and make sure you get to the bus station on time."  

Her eyes swam with tears, but she gave him a brave smile. 

"Yeah. Let's do this, cowboy." 

* 

They stepped outside into the bright sunlight, and walked hand-in-hand, crossing the large gravel courtyard toward the dorms. Leanne looked down at herself. 

"I look like I'd escaped the asylum with this pink princess pajama and work boots combo." 

Joe stopped and looked at her. "I think this outfit suits you." 

"Yeah? You dig the crazy look on me?" She joked self-consciously, and he shook his head. 

"You are a hard-working princess, Leanne. I love that about you." 

She gulped hard, and quickened her steps. She needed to get out of there as soon as possible. 

* 

At her dorm room, she grabbed a set of clothes and went into the bathroom to change. Two minutes later she was out and pulling her backpack from under the bed, and five minutes after that all her worldly possessions were inside, and she was ready to go. 

Joe took her bag and reached for her hand as they walked back across the courtyard to Tammy's office. She looked up and frowned when they came in, but then gestured for Leanne to sit. Joe remained standing, leaning against the wall at her side, since there was no other chair in the tiny space. 

"You're leaving, then. You sure you feel well enough to travel?" Tammy looked at her, not unkindly, which, under the circumstances, was touching. 

"There's no point in me staying further. I cannot work, and lounging in bed at your expense isn't what you've signed me up for." 

Tammy frowned. "You were hurt while working the fields, Leanne. If you need a few days of rest to recover, it is only fair that you get them. We're not complete ogres, you know." 

Leanne shook her head. "If this were the middle of the season, maybe. But by the time I'm cleared for work it'll be Halloween, and my contract would be up. Might as well cut it short." 

Tammy sighed. "Okay. It's your call." She pulled out Leanne's green HR folder, and opened it to reveal a new checklist, yet to be marked, titled 'end of contract'. She started down the list with Leanne while Joe brooded behind her shoulder. The two women did their best to ignore him as they covered the short list. Key to dorm room, check. Two sets of work clothes, check. Work boots, check. 

"All right. We're all done here." Tammy said as she marked the last item, while handing Leanne her last due paycheck. "By the way, I noticed you haven't yet cashed any of your previous checks." Her eyebrows rose in question, although her voice stated it as a fact. 

Leanne bit her lip. "Yeah, well, I - I didn't get a chance to do it yet. I will, just as soon as I get to Sacramento and settle down." It wasn't a complete lie, she told herself. 

Tammy nodded. "Yeah, I figured as much. Just see that you do as soon as possible, okay? I need to keep track of our cash flow and this much money out can be a problem if we don't plan for it." 

"I - I understand. I'll take care of it, promise." 

"Good. So, when is your bus scheduled to Sacramento?" 

"Leaving Santa Rosa at 2:50 PM." 

Tammy smiled. "Good! We have time enough for one last lunch with everyone. We'll make it a little goodbye party for you. See you at Noon at the dining hall? I'll let everyone know." 

Leanne was going to protest but Joe just put his hand on her shoulder and answered for her. "That'd be great. See you there, sis." 

At Leanne's startled look he gave her a half-smile. "Come. We've got just enough time to bid proper goodbye to the animals. I know they'll all miss you, too." 

Leanne nodded and stood eagerly. Hugging her ponies and petting her fluffy rabbits may be just what her aching heart needed. "That'd be lovely. Thank you." Joe squeezed her hand. "Let's go." 

* 

The tables were drawn together so they would all be able to sit as one group. Michael McConnel sat across from her, and Joe was at her side. Then there were Tammy and Todd, Mrs. Rojas and Julio, all as friendly and warm as they'd ever been, talking and laughing while sharing the hearty, delicious food. 

If Joe's father - or anyone else - was surprised seeing his son reconciled with his soon-to-be-leaving, ex-girlfriend, nobody said anything. Maybe Joe had spoken to him, too, Leanne mused. But Mr. McConnel looked at her kindly, and she didn't think he knew who she really was. 

Her throat hurt, and she couldn't taste the food over the salt of tears. She will miss them all. She'll miss this place so much. 

When they were mostly done eating, Joe's father clinked his spoon to his water glass. "Ahem, quiet down, people, I want to say a few words." 

Everyone hushed and looked at him expectantly. Leanne's heart hammered in her chest. She didn't do well at situations like these. Her cheeks flushed. Joe squeezed her knee under the table in reassurance. 

"Leanne, I want to thank you for choosing Sun Valley Farm for your first seasonal experience, and for the excellent work you've done for us over the summer and fall. You are a dedicated employee and a lovely person, and it was a pleasure getting to know you. I hope you have found your stay here as valuable as we all have." 

Leanne coughed. "Ahem, thank you. So much." She barely managed. She couldn't breathe. 

He seemed to start saying something else, but then thought better of it, and stopped, after throwing a quick look at his son. All he said was - "Good luck in your future endeavors. I know Tammy gave you a brilliant and well-deserved letter of recommendation, but if you need any further references, please do not hesitate to give my name, too." 

"Thank you, sir." She choked. She needed to get out of there before she broke in front of them all. Leanne pulled her phone from her pocket and made a show of looking at the time. 

"Gosh, Joe, we really should get going or I'll miss my bus." 

Joe looked at the time, then at her face, and nodded. "Yeah, okay." Turning to everyone else, he spoke up. "Guys, we need to get going." 

* 

Everyone stood. Leanne went from one to the other around the table for a final goodbye. 

Joe watched his father shake her hand and squeeze her shoulder fondly, and his stomach churned. If only I could keep her here under her false identity, he thought, but immediately banished the idea. His own sense of betrayal would pale in comparison to his father's, if he ever found out. 

Mrs. Rojas and Julio each gave Leanne a big, warm hug, and she returned them wholeheartedly. When Todd bent to take her in her arms as well, and said something that made her laugh through her tears, Joe stiffened and cursed under his breath. Tammy looked up at him in surprise. 

"What's wrong?" She mumbled, and Joe gritted his teeth, but then admitted to her - 

"I think they may have slept together. The night of the party. I saw her leave his room the next day." 

Tammy grabbed his arm and pulled him to the side, then hissed into his ear: "You are such a blind jerk, you know that?!" 

Joe's startled, 'what did I do now' expression seemed to only grate on his sister's nerves. Her short fingernails bit into his arm as she leaned close to his ear. 

"One," she pointed a single finger at his face, "you really think after what you did to her that night she'd turn around and look for another man to fuck her?!" He opened his mouth, but his sister wouldn't let him get a word in. "Two, having sex with a woman who's passed out drunk isn't 'sleeping with them' - it's rape. You accusing Todd of that is downright insulting." Her voice shook with her emotion. "Three," a third finger joint her first two, "yeah, she crashed at his room that night because she literally couldn't walk all the way to hers, but Todd didn't spend the night with her." 

"How can you know that?!" Joe hissed back at his sister, and got a pitying look in return. 

"Because he spent it with me, you moron." 

"With - what?!" 

"With me. In my bed. Like he'd been doing for months before." 

"You - you and Todd?!" Once he said it, he realized it shouldn't be such a shock. They had been spending a ton of time together. He just assumed - 

"Yeah. You got a problem with that?" His sister stood taller, hands on hips, and Joe was quick to raise his hands in surrender to prevent her from starting World War Three right there in the dining hall, while everyone else were staring at them curiously. 

"Not a single one, sis. No Problem at all. You are right, and I'm sorry for - for being such a dick. We'll talk more later; right now Leanne and I need to get going." 

Tammy deflated. "Okay, yeah. You guys go." She turned to Leanne, paused, and then stepped forward to wrap her in a warm hug. "I wish you could stay." She murmured, and Leanne nodded. "Me, too." 

When they drew apart Joe put his hand at the small of her back, and together they walked out to his truck, where her backpack had already been waiting. Within moments they were leaving the wrought iron gates behind them. 

"Goodbye, Sun Valley Farm." Leanne murmured, and Joe reached for her hand, and squeezed. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 08



* 

She wouldn't let him wait with her at the Santa Rosa Greyhound Station. 

"Give me a hug and tell me you love me," she asked, and he did, and then he kissed her. He wanted to tell her she didn't have to go, but they both knew that she did. And then her hands came between them and pressed. Reluctantly, he took a step back. 

"I love you, Leanne. Be happy." 

"I love you too, Joe. Take care." 

Her tears tore at him. He tried to reach for her, but she stepped aside and turned her back. "No. Don't. Please go." 

Against every burning emotion in his heart, against every cell in his body that shouted at him to take her in his arms and never let her go, Joe turned, and walked away. 

* 

Leanne cried herself to sleep, curled on her side across two chairs toward the back of the bus with her head pillowed on her backpack. She woke up around Fairfield, lightheaded and disoriented, and then sat up and stared out the window, lost in thoughts. 

Putting distance between them was the right thing to do. She needed some perspective. There were big decisions that she needed to make, and she couldn't make them based on naive wishful thinking and fairytale dreams. But her heart was heavier than she could ever remember. 

* 

Joe sat in his truck and watched the Greyhound bus leave. He drove by the bus station again, hoping against hope that he'd see Leanne there, but she was gone. 

She was gone. 

Back on the main street, The Lounge at The Santa Rosa Inn mocked him. See you soon, cowboy, it seemed to whisper, and Joe hit the steering wheel with his clenched fist. He hated that thought. The idea of going back to the hookup circle made his skin crawl. 

He didn't want anyone else. He wanted Leanne. Just her. 

He made a terrible mistake letting her go. 

And yet, what other choice did he have? 

His knuckles turned white. There's always a choice, some part of him insisted, but he'd been through that in his mind already, over and over. Yes, there was another choice, but the risk was too big for him to take. He couldn't put his own happiness ahead of his family's. 

He could still remember, all too vividly, his father's breakdown all those years ago, after his mother died. He seemed to lose his will to live, and for too long they were afraid they'd lose him, too. Then he watched the man pick himself up, piece by piece, somehow gluing them together to become the head of their crippled family once more. But although he seemed whole again, Joe couldn't forget those cracks. And he would never, ever, risk another blow. 

If his father shattered now, he may never be put together again. 

* 

He couldn't return home. Not yet. Once he did, it would truly be over. 

Joe sat at his usual spot, watching his favorite place in the world changing colors under the setting sun. 

But today, no bliss descended, only vast emptiness. Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he flipped through his photos until he found the one that was etched to his heart. Leanne, laughing, her face brightly lit by the dawn, her strawberry-blond hair streaming behind her head, its highlights glittering like a princess's tiara. 

He tried positioning the picture inside the view. It didn't work. The lighting was all off. It was as if she never belonged there at all. Maybe it was a sign. 

With a heavy sigh, he pushed to his feet and shuffled back to his truck. 

* 

She was sitting at the familiar, worn kitchen table across from her friend, both of them hugging warm cups of cocoa. 

She was exhausted. She had arrived at Sacramento a little after six thirty in the evening, and Elaine was there at the bus station to pick her up. When they got home the kids were all over her; their excitement and their sweet hugs heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. 

Was she ready for that kind of commitment? Could she do it on her own? 

She managed to keep it together until they were all tucked in after having read them their stories, and then escaped to the shower and cried her eyes out. She hoped the warm water would help calm her down, but even snuggled in Elaine's soft fleece pajama under the fluffy blanket in her old bed off Sophie's room, she couldn't go to sleep. Not with the insistent churning in her belly. She needed to unload; she needed her friend's clear, unbiased point of view and her steadfast support. 

So she padded back down to the kitchen, where Elaine and Jim were speaking in hushed, worried tones. They stopped when they saw her, and Jim promptly excused himself to his study, leaving the women alone together in the cozy space. 

Elaine made them cocoa, like she always did when they needed to talk, and then sat down across from her. 

"Okay, sweetie. Spill. What happened?" 

Leanne burst up crying. It took several long moments wrapped in Elaine's warm hug before she managed to get any words out. 

"I'm pregnant, Elaine. And I don't know what to do." 

"Aw, sweetie..." Elaine hugged her again and Leanne clung to her, thankful beyond measure for the lack of judgment in the older woman's voice. When they finally drew back, Elaine looked at her expectantly, but said nothing. With a deep breath, Leanne told her everything. 

"He doesn't know. I just found out this morning. I love him, Elaine. And he says he loves me, too, but we can't be together; not with our histories. He said if it were just him and me he would want to, but as it is..." She shook her head. "I don't know what to do. I couldn't stay there." 

"I'm glad you came here, sweetie." Elaine paused, and then found her eyes. "You need to tell him." 

Leanne swallowed. "What good would it do? It won't change our histories." 

"It's the right thing to do." Her friend gently insisted. Leanne bowed her head. "Trying to do the right thing is what got me in this mess in the first place." 

"It's not the same thing, and you know it. What you decided to do for William may have been noble, but honestly, I never understood it. It was never your debt to pay. This - telling Joe he had fathered a baby - this is your moral obligation, Leanne. It's on you, one hundred percent." 

Leanne buried her face in her hands. "God, what a mess." 

Elaine squeezed her wrist, and then let her go and leaned slightly back. "You don't have to do it tonight or tomorrow, sweetie. But you know you'll need to, eventually. Better start working up that courage of yours. I know you have it in you. And you know I've got your back." 

Leanne swallowed hard. "I - I'll think about it, I promise." She breathed in. "Will you - keep this to yourself for now?" 

Elaine's look shot daggers at her. "After everything we've been through, you even need to ask?" And then her face softened. "Go to bed, sweetie. I promise everything will be clearer after you've had a good night's sleep." 

Leanne nodded, and did as she was told. 

* 

The next day, she called Melissa. Bill's fiancé answered on the second ring. 

"Leanne, oh gosh, it is so good to hear from you. I thought you decided you didn't want anything to do with us." 

"Um, yeah, hi. I'm - could we meet, maybe? Just you and me again?" 

Melissa agreed heartily. A few hours later, they met at the same coffee shop as they did months before. 

"So, you've given my request some more thought? Any chance you'd meet with William?" The older woman's voice held so much hope, Leanne hated to disappoint her. With a grimace, she clarified. "I - no, I don't want to meet him." 

"Oh -" The excitement died in the other woman's face. 

"I do, however, have something for you." Leanne interrupted her, and, with unsteady hands, pulled out the envelope that seemed to have weighed a ton in her purse. She placed it on the table between them. 

"What is it? A letter to William?" Melissa asked with renewed curiosity, and Leanne shook her head, and then, softly, explained what she did. Bill's fiancé sat back, her eyes wide and her jaw slack, so shocked Leanne worried for a moment she may actually pass out. 

"You did WHAT?!" 

Leanne shrugged helplessly. "I thought it would work in everyone's favor. I was planning on temping on one of those farms, anyways. It seemed - it seemed like a good idea at the time." 

Melissa shook her head. "I don't know what to say. I can't take this money from you, Leanne. This - this is mind-boggling." 

Leanne reached for the older woman's hand. "The checks are already cancelled. I crossed them out. The money is in the MaConnels' bank, and it won't be going anywhere. It's a done deal. I just want William to know that - that I want you two to be free to - to start over together." She swallowed hard. "Please, take this. Give it to William. Tell him I said it was my wedding gift to you both." 

Melissa sat across from her, twin streams of tears running down her soft, wrinkled cheeks. "I don't know what to say." 

"Say you'll be happy." Leanne whispered. "Please." 

The older woman rose and came around to hug Leanne tight. "Thank you. Thank you so much." 

Leanne returned her hug, and then withdrew. "I need to go." 

Melissa released her reluctantly, and sat back, still looking dazed, as Leanne stood up and walked away with a new, unfamiliar spring to her step. Despite everything else, she was glad that she did it. It may not have been her debt to pay, but somehow, it made her feel better to know that it was settled. 

* 

They were halfway through their sync-up on Halloween morning when Tammy's desk phone rang. His father stopped mid-sentence and looked at his daughter, who winced apologetically, and picked up on speaker. 

"Sun Valley Farm, this is Tammy." 

"Tammy, good morning. This is Dr. Lewis calling to hear how our patient is doing." 

Tammy rose her eyes in question to him. Joe's answered grimly, loud enough for the mic to catch his voice. 

"Dr. Lewis, this is Joe. Leanne left the farm last week. She went back to Sacramento." 

There was silence on the other side of the line, followed by a terse - "I see." 

Everyone in the room - his father, his sister, and even Todd, looked at him questioningly. Joe cleared his throat. "Ahem, is there a problem we should be aware of, doctor?" 

There was another long pause. "I - no. There isn't. I was just following up." 

Unlike some other people who simply let her go, Joe's conscience was poking at him mercilessly. Not that it was true; he had thought of little other than Leanne in the days since she'd left. Still, he didn't do that basic, decent thing - call and see how she was doing, if she were recovering properly. 

Joe cursed under his breath, and then turned to leave. "Excuse me, everybody." he muttered, and marched over into his own office, shutting the door closed behind him. Once there, he pulled his phone out, and called Leanne. 

It rang and rang until it went to voicemail. Joe hung up, and texted her instead. 

*Leanne, are you okay? Please call me. J.* 

He threw his phone on his desk. There was a knock on his door, and a moment later it opened and his father entered, closing it quietly behind him. 

"What's going on between you and Leanne?" His father didn't beat around the bush. 

"Nothing, dad. She's gone. I'm just worried about her, that's all." He evaded his father's look. 

"Why the hell did you break up with her, son? Obviously you care for her." His father's gaze was disapproving. Joe wanted to hit something. You don't want to know, dad. 

"I do, dammit. I care about her. A whole damn lot. But there were - fundamental incompatibilities between us that we couldn't get past." 

His father looked at him with open skepticism. "That sounds like a load of BS." 

For a moment, Joe was sorely tempted to tell his father the truth. But in the end, he chickened out. You can't risk it, Joe. Remember? That's why you had to let her go in the first place. 

"It's none of your business, dad." He hissed instead. His father raised his eyebrows as if to challenge that statement - over the years, his kids had made their private issues his business more often than not, and he was proud of that fact - but seeing Joe's dark expression, decided to give it up. 

"Fine. Mope if you want to. You know where to find me when you want to talk." 

Joe nodded tersely, and his father turned on his heel and left without another word. 

* 

"I spoke to my doctor. The OB/Gyn. She agreed to take you on pro-bono, and scheduled an appointment for you tomorrow." 

Leanne raised her head to look at Elaine. Her knee-jerk reaction was to protest - pro-bono?! She wasn't a charity case! - but then she thought better of it. She was, in fact, a charity case. And she needed the doctor's appointment. Leanne breathed in, and pasted on a smile. 

"Thank you. I'll put it in my calendar. What time will it be?" She was patting her back pocket for her phone, but then remembered she left it charging in her room. 

"Ten AM!" Elaine called after her as she disappeared into the hallway to get it. Leanne grabbed the device from her nightstand and punched in a new appointment in her calendar, and then noticed the small icons notifying her about an unanswered call and a new text message. Switching over, she sat down heavily as Joe's text glared back at her from her screen. 

*Leanne, are you okay? Please call me. J.* 

"Leanne?" 

She looked up to see Elaine at the doorway, a crease marring her forehead. 

"I - I got a text message from Joe." 

"Oh." Elaine came to sit next to her on the bed, and read the message over Leanne's hunched shoulder. 

"You need to tell him." Elaine said quietly. 

Biting her lips so hard she tasted blood, Leanne nodded. 

"I know." She whispered. Then she straightened, took a deep breath, and keyed in her message. 

*Yes, I'm okay. I'll call tonight. L.* 

She hit 'send', and turned to look at Elaine. "I have until tonight to figure out what I want to say." 

Elaine smiled gently. "You'll be fine, sweetie. Now, wanna take your mind off of this for a little while? I've got three kids to dress up for Halloween, and we need to go candy shopping. You'll have the house for yourself tonight when we take the kids trick-or-treating." 

Leanne nodded gratefully. "Sounds like a plan. Thanks, Elaine." 

* 

Halloween was an exceptionally quiet day at the farm, a fitting start to the low season. No families ever visited on the day of the holiday; even the worst procrastinators had bought their last pumpkins the day before. With the morning chores and midday milking behind them, and with no more tasks to do out on the fields that day, lunch was a laid back affair. Everyone was looking forward to a more-or-less free afternoon. 

Joe, Tammy and their dad were walking back around the house from the dining hall to the main door when an old, beat-up Toyota appeared at the gates, and crawled to a stop in front of them. 

An older couple stepped out. The woman who had been driving looked somewhere in her fifties. The man, who was slower to come around, leaning against the car as he walked across the uneven gravel, seemed older. They stood there, looking uncertain and anxious. 

Joe stepped toward them, motioning to his father and sister to hold on. 

"Hi. Welcome to Sun Valley Farm. May I help you?" 

The man was at a loss for words. The woman threw him a worried look, and then turned and stretched her hand out. 

"Hi, my name is Melissa Berns, and this is my fiancé, William. We were looking for Mr. McConnel?" 

Joe turned to see his father step forward and put a heavy, unexpected hand on his shoulder, as if to restrain him. 

"I'm Michael McConnel, and this is my son, Joe, and my daughter Tammy." He looked at the older man. "And I know who you are, Mr. Richardson." He stopped, squeezing his son's shoulder hard when he felt Joe take a step back as recognition hit him. Joe could hear Tammy's choked gasp behind them, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the weathered old man who looked grimly back at his father, his lined eyes dark and anguished. The woman next to him laced her fingers in his and then raised her chin and broke the deafening silence. 

"Mr. McConnel, could we - could we sit down and talk somewhere?" 

Joe could feel the trembling start somewhere around his knees - fear and rage pouring together into a dangerous, potent mixture. But before he could say or do anything, his father's fingers grabbed his arm in a vice-like hold, biting into his flesh, stopping him in his tracks. 

"Come on inside. We'll sit in the kitchen." 

His father's voice was surprisingly steady and low, darn near polite. Joe couldn't breathe. Tammy recovered first, and found her voice, too. "Follow me, please." she said, and started toward the house. A moment later, the older couple followed, and Joe noticed how the woman supported the man - that man - as they ascended the stairs slowly. He himself felt planted to the ground; he couldn't make his legs move. 

His father released him and turned as if to go after the others, and now it was Joe's turn to grab his arm. 

"What the f- dad?! How can you invite him into our home like that?!" He meant to shout the words, but they came out only as a hoarse whisper. 

His father stopped and looked at him evenly. "It took a hell of a lot of courage for him to come here, Joe. I might as well listen to what he has to say." 

"What difference does it make what he has to say?!" His voice was getting stronger, and he had to shout over the roar of blood in his own ears. "This man is a killer. What the fuck do I care what he has to say?" 

His father inhaled sharply, and then levelled his son with a look that left no room for argument. 

"Listen to me, son. This man killed your mother. Yes. But that was twenty years ago. None of us are the same people. If he were still the same careless, reckless drunk, he wouldn't be here now. Thank God I'm no longer the clinically depressed emotional wreck that I was. And you and Tammy are no longer little kids terrified by their family falling apart. This man came here to talk to us after all this time, and, by God, we are going to listen." 

Joe paled, his breath stolen by swift, merciless realization. He folded over, leaning his hands on his knees as he fought for breath. 

"Are you okay, son?" His father's face softened in concern. A moment later, at his father's urging, Joe stumbled over to the stairs and sat down heavily. His father settled next to him, his arm hugging him by his shoulders as if to keep him from collapse. 

"What's going on, Joe? Talk to me." 

Joe took a shuddering breath, and forced himself to look into his father's eyes. 

"You all may have grown up in the last twenty years, but me - I never stopped acting like a scared shitless ten year old. God!" 

He buried his face in his hands. Shame and guilt sliced at his gut, making it damn hard to breathe. 

"What are you talking about, Joe?" 

"I'm talking about Leanne, Dad. I -" His throat closed, clogged with his emotions. His father fell silent next to him, rubbing his back soothingly. When he finally raised his head, his father spoke carefully. 

"I may be a little slow here, but - what the hell does Leanne has to do with all this?" 

Joe's head snapped back, and barked a surprised, wholly inappropriate laugh. His father tilted his head, and waited. Joe took a few slow, steadying breaths, and finally met his eyes. 

"Leanne is William Richardson's daughter, dad." 

His father blinked and gasped, and then dropped his gaze, shaking his head slightly. Joe shifted toward him, feeling the familiar panic climbing quickly toward his throat. "Dad -" 

His father looked up, and Joe stopped short at the disappointment - the sadness - he saw in them. 

"Is that why you broke up with her, Joe?" He asked quietly. 




Dawn over Sun Valley Ch. 08



Joe nodded. 

Michael McConnel studied his son intently. 

"And yet, you love her." 

He swallowed hard. "With all my heart, dad." 

"Well then." his father said conversationally. "You don't exactly make an exemplary Westley, now, do you?" 

Joe gasped. "I -" 

His father rose to his feet. "Although you do look like you've been put through The Machine down at the Pit of Despair. I'll give you that" 

Joe was rendered speechless. His father chuckled. "You can go after your princess, farm boy, but not before we hear Mr. Richardson out. Now, Tammy is probably getting frantic. Let's go." 

Joe took his father's offered hand and let him help him to his feet. Just as they were stepping inside, his phone buzzed in his pocket, indicating an incoming message. His step faltered, and he paused to take a look. 

*Yes, I'm okay. I'll call tonight. L.* 

He had to lean against the wall as relief swamped him, fierce and sweet. He took another moment to compose himself, and then stood up, walked into the kitchen, and took his seat next to his family, across the table from William Richardson and his fiancé. 

* 

"Th-thank you for - for this." William Richardson's gravelly voice shook badly as he gestured around the table, where the five of them sat, each with a steaming hot, ignored cup of coffee in front of them. 

The older man swallowed hard and coughed a few times. Joe watched his fiance squeeze his fingers, giving him an encouraging look. Mr. Richardson nodded, and returned his eyes to his father's. 

"I came here to tell you how sorry I am, how sorry I have been every single day since - since I -" he heaved a breath, and it came out shuddering while tears filled his eyes and slipped down his creased, hollowed cheeks. "I made a horrible, horrible mistake, and there's no way I can undo it. I am so, so, sorry." 

The older man sniffled hard, and managed to contain himself enough to continue. 

"I have grieved for your wife - for Claire - every single day since. Every day, I've thought of her - of you, of your kids. How I've hurt you. The pain I had caused." He gulped. "I am so sorry." he whispered. "I know nothing I can say will change anything, but I wanted you to know that. I am sorry." 

Joe's father breathed deep, and finally nodded. "Thank you." Joe saw his eyes were red-rimmed, as well. Tammy and Melissa were both wiping at their cheeks. 

Joe cleared his throat. There were no coincidences, he thought. But for once, he wasn't being paranoid; only curious to learn the truth. It had to have something to do with Leanne. He wanted to know everything before they spoke tonight. He wanted no more secrets between them, ever again. 

"What - what made you come here today, after all these years?" 

William and Melissa exchanged looks, and, at his nod, she reached into her purse and pulled out an envelope. It carried the Sun Valley Farm logo. 

Michael looked between the envelope, the couple in front of them, and his own children. "What's that?" 

Mr. Richardson looked undecided, and then replied haltingly. "I - I know this - I know the money was never the point to you, Mr. McConnel. But I still owe you some - some of the compensations." 

Michael looked back and forth between Tammy and Mr. Richardson. "I don't understand. The compensation was paid in full right after the trial ended, no?" 

Mr. Richardson shook his head, and Tammy intervened. "Technically, a tiny portion of it remained, dad. I've seen it in the books; I just never mentioned it because, well, you know." 

Mr. Richardson cleaned his throat. "It's not a lot, but it is your money, and I wanted you to have it." 

Michael shook his head and sat back. "I don't want any money, Mr. Richardson. As far as I'm concerned, that debt had been paid and done with more than nineteen years ago. I appreciate your coming here to say you're sorry. I do. Please, don't insult me with this." He pushed the envelope across the table toward William. 

Melissa fidgeted uncomfortably in her chair, and then spoke up. 

"Um, technically, the money is already in your bank, Mr. McConnel. We just - just wanted to let you know." 

Michael looked startled between her and Tammy. "What? How?" 

Joe could see understanding rise in his sister's gaze even as she reached a shaky hand to the white paper rectangle. And she was looking at him as she hesitated opening it. What the fuck? 

With a determined set of her shoulders, his sister tore the envelope open, and pulled out a piece of paper, though he could see there were more inside. She read it out loud. 

"To: The McConnel Family 

Please use any outstanding payments directed to me to cover the remaining debt of Mr. William Richardson. 

Signed: Leanne Sommers." 

There was silence around the table. For long moments, nobody spoke. 

"When - when did you see Leanne?" Joe forced himself to look into William Richardson's eyes. The man lowered his gaze. 

"I - I didn't. She wouldn't meet with me." 

"Then - how?" He choked. 

"She met me, a couple of days ago." Melissa interjected quietly. "And she brought me the envelope. I was blown away, I had no idea she worked here, and certainly no clue that she was saving up her paychecks to - to help us." 

"Why would she do that?" His sister's voice surprised him. "She told me a little bit about her childhood. I know you have not been part of her life since the accident." Tammy looked straight into William Richardson's eyes, but she didn't sound accusatory. Rather, she sounded like she really wanted to know. 

William shook his head helplessly. "I really don't know. I had no idea about any of this." 

Again, it was Melissa who spoke up. "I met with her about eight months ago. I tried to get her to meet with her father, but she refused. She did ask me then when we were getting married and I told her there was no date set, and likely won't be any, since William won't marry me as long as he wasn't debt-free, and there was no way he was going to be able to pay this. She just said 'I'm sorry." I thought that was it. Then, two days ago, she called, and then gave me these checks. Told me it was her wedding gift to us, and that she hoped we'd be happy." 

Be happy. He made her promise that, too. 

Everyone fell silent. And then his father's voice sounded, in a deadpan imitation of Inigo Montoya: "True love! You could not ask for a more noble cause than that." then he changed his pitch, taking on the exact nasal tone of Miracle Max. "Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world. Except for a nice M.L.T." He even smacked his lips. 

Joe barked a laugh, and then, unable to sit any longer, he jumped to his feet. "I gotta go." 

His father winked at him. "Yes, you do." 

Tammy looked between them. "What did I miss?" 

"I'll fill you in later." he promised. "Joe, good luck, son. Don't come back without her." 

* 

Sam, Steve and Sophia were all dressed as Minions, and were the cutest kids ever to go trick-or-treating. Jim and Elaine donned matching goggles and crazy purple hair, and the family had left the house at five PM with plans to conclude the holiday tradition at Chuck-E-Cheese's, giving Leanne ample privacy. 

Elaine left Leanne with a huge bowl of candy to hand out, a quick hug and a whispered "Call him!" before she joined the rest of her family for the adventurous festivities. Leanne merely nodded. 

The next hour was busy with kids ringing the front door every few moments. But with sunset the steady stream dwindled down to a trickle. Looking at her almost-empty bowl of candy Leanne decided she could no longer postpone the inevitable. She closed the curtains facing the street and turned off the porch lights, locked the door, and flopped down on the sofa, phone in hand. 

She placed the call and held her breath until it connected. Joe picked up on the first ring. 

"Hey." he sounded anxious. There was some undefinable background noise. 

"Hey." she mumbled, unsure what to say. 

"Are you at Elaine's?" 

"Um - yes. Why?" 

"How's the bump?" 

His question threw her off at first - how can he know about the bump?! - and then she realized he was asking about her head. 

"Oh - it's gone, I think. Mostly." She felt tongue tied. 

"Good. Good." There were some more indescribable noises around him, and then it sounded like he was walking outside. "What about your dizziness? You haven't fainted again, have you?" 

She felt close to it right then, with her heart beating so crazily. "No, no. I'm good. I promise." She knew she was stalling. You need to tell him, Leanne. She was just about to open her mouth when the doorbell rang loudly. 

"Just a sec, Joe. I need to get the door and hand out candy. Hold on." 

Keeping the phone pressed between her shoulder and her ear Leanne reached for the candy bowl and unlocked the door, swinging it open even as she pasted a smile on. 

The smile froze on her face as her phone plopped on to the carpet below, as did the plastic bowl. 

Joe was standing in front of her, waving his phone at her. "Trick or treat?" he said lamely, and then, probably seeing the color leave her face, reached out to grab her arms before she fell. 

* 

"Hey, hey! I thought you said you were feeling good! Shit. Come here." 

Joe wrapped his arms around Leanne's trembling form and then, in one decisive move, picked her up in his arms and walked into the living room to sit down in one of the recliners with Leanne cuddled in his arms. 

She twisted until her shocked eyes could find his. "Joe! What the hell are you doing here?" 

"I came for you, princess." 

"You came for me? What does that even mean?" 

Joe chuckled. "Sorry. That was me referencing Westley. I forget you don't know the movie by heart yet." 

"Joe, I - I don't understand. Your father -" 

"Knows who you are, and knows that I love you, and that I intend to bring you back to Sun Valley with me. In fact, his words were, and I quote, 'don't come back without her.'" 

"But - how?" She looked dazed. 

"I'll tell you all about it later. There's something I need to do first." 

"Oh?" The tiny lilt of her mouth told him she was onto him, and Joe smiled wide. 

"Yeah." 

Her lips were already open in invitation when he met them with his own. 

* 

When she came up for air she was straddling his hips, and his hands were each grabbing an ass cheek, urging her to grind her the spread, jean-covered apex of her thighs against his solid ridge. Leanne pulled back and inhaled deep. 

"Joe - Joe, stop. We can't do this. Not here, anyway. Elaine and her family will be here soon." 

He wasn't really listening. His mouth moved to her exposed neck, and his nibbles there were driving her insane. "Joe, please -" 

Reluctantly, he drew back. "Okay. Not here. Come back to my hotel room with me." 

Leanne bit her lip, and then nodded shyly. "Okay." 

He sat up straight, holding her closer to his chest. "Okay? Really?" 

Leanne giggled. "We have two months of catching up to do, cowboy. I've even been too depressed to do my homework properly; I think I may need some special tutoring." 

Joe's arms tightened around her as he took her mouth in a swift, hot kiss, before pulling back and looking in her eyes. "If you're telling me you've been a bad girl, princess, I'm be more than happy to play it that way, too." 

Her pussy clenched, even if she wasn't sure exactly what he meant by that. She only knew the delicious glint in his eyes and the dark undertone of his words made her heart race and her insides melt. 

"I've never done it at a hotel room before, you know. Last time I asked, you refused." she reminded him teasingly. 

Joe groaned and pushed up, making her slide slowly down the length of his body until she stood more or less steadily on her own two feet. "I am eternally glad then that the only room left in the whole of Sacramento was in one of the nicest hotels in town. I'm going to treat you right tonight, princess. And every single night from now on, too." 

She was trembling with need, and they haven't even gotten naked yet. "Let's go." She breathed. 

"Wait. Let's get your stuff first. I want to drive back to Sun Valley in the morning." 

"Um, we can't go right at dawn. I have an appointment scheduled tomorrow." 

"An appointment? What, like at the hair salon or something?" 

Leanne started to answer, and then stopped herself. Just to be on the safe side, she will keep her news until *after* their night at the hotel. She wasn't taking any chances in ruining the mood right now! 

"Yeah. Or something. Point is, I'll have time to pack up in the morning." She took a step back and tugged his hand to have him follow. "Now, are you going to treat me right tonight at the fancy hotel, cowboy?" 

He grabbed her around the waist and kissed her silly before taking her hand and practically marching her out the door, pausing just long enough to let her lock up after her. 

* 

On the way over, Leanne texted to Elaine. 

*Don't freak out. Joe came over. I'm spending the night at his hotel.* 

Her response was almost instantaneous. 

*Eeek!! Have fun!! xoxo* 

Leanne giggled, and Joe threw her a look from across the truck's cabin. "What?" 

She winked. "Elaine approves of our shenanigans." 

"Shenanigans. How old are you, again?" 

Her smile broadened. "Old enough for shenanigans to be legal." 

He nodded. "Right. Not complaining." and stepped on the gas. 

* 

With the heavy door to his room closed behind him Joe stood, and watched Leanne look around the elegant setting with a bit of a star-struck expression. He was thankful for the small distraction. His nerves were making him queasy. 

The ring was burning a hole in his pocket. 

Leanne turned to look at him. "Okay, cowboy. I'm seriously impressed." she smiled. 

He took a step forward, and then another, and another, until they were almost touching, and then guided her the couple of steps back to sit down on the snowy-white down comforter, and kneeled in front of her. 

"Leanne, I - I have a confession to make." 

Her eyes widened as he took her hands in his, and she nodded at him nervously. "Oh - okay." 

"I didn't bring you here tonight just for - for shenanigans and private lessons. I want all that, too, but I really needed to ask you something." 

A tiny crease appeared on her smooth forehead, and she sobered. "Okay, ask away." 

His shaking fingers fumbled in his pocket until they grabbed the ring, its smooth surface slippery against his pads. He closed his eyes, sent a prayer to the heavens, and then presented the ring to her, trembling so bad he just hoped it wouldn't slip his hold. 

"Will you marry me, Leanne?" 

His eyes locked with hers, registering every emotion running in their baby-blue depths. Shock and disbelief, slowly but surely chased away by clear, wholehearted joy. He almost laughed out loud with relief. 

"Yes, please!" she squealed, and he pretty much tackled her, so she was pinned under him on the huge bed, and kissed her thoroughly. His knee moved in between hers and was working her pussy, pressing in rhythm to the heavy thud of his heart. By the time he remembered he had yet to slip the ring onto her finger she was whimpering and grinding against him. 

Joe tugged at her hand to get her attention, and they both watched with baited breath as he slipped the antique-looking gold band with its intricate etching of tiny little meadow flowers onto Leanne's finger. It gleamed in the dim light. 

"Oh my gosh, Joe. It's beautiful." 

He swallowed hard. "It was my mother's." 

She nodded, choking back tears. Joe spoke again, playing with the ring between his thumb and forefinger. "My father gave it to me when I was eighteen, and told me I'll know when the right woman came along." He looked up and into her eyes. "He was right." 

Leanne threw her arms around his neck, and pulled him close. "I love the ring, and I love you." she said, and then kissed him, opening her lips to invite his tongue inside. With a deep growl, Joe took her up on that invitation. 

* 

The pleasure was so acute, it was almost too much. Leanne's little toes curled and her hands fisted in the pristine white sheets, while Joe's tongue kept stroking her clit that was captured between his lips, and his fingers stroked slowly, fully, in and out of her sleek tunnel. 

Another peak was coming, and she wasn't sure if she'd be able to take any more. Joe, on the other hand, seemed confident enough for both of them, speaking in-between sucks and licks. 

"That's right princess... let it come again... mmmm... yeah... God you taste good!" 

She cried out as his mouth and fingers pushed her over the edge, making her body convulse and gush small amounts of girl juice with every spasm. Joe lapped it up, grunting his pleasure, making her shudder in return. 

"Please, no more... I can't. Too sensitive." She whimpered, and thankfully, he relented. 

Joe extracted his two fingers slowly, allowing them both to enjoy her aftershocks as she squeezed and released around his thick digits. He sucked them clean as he moved up her body, his mouth finally leaving her swollen, pink pussy to inch up to her belly, kissing and nibbling the soft skin of her abdomen while his hands held her hips captive, his thumbs caressing over her protruding hip-bones. Leanne squirmed. 

"I'm going to have Mrs. Rojas fatten you up in no time, princess. A farm girl needs to have some more curves on her body." Joe was speaking against her skin, and Leanne trembled. Oh, you've already done some fattening yourself, cowboy. You just don't know it yet. She thought, but then all thoughts were gone when his mouth reached the underside of her breasts, and he started nibbling there, catching her soft flesh between his teeth in tiny little bites. 

"Oh my gosh that feels incredible! Harder, please..." she begged, and he complied, letting his teeth sink a little deeper into her skin, leaving tiny white grooves in their wake, which turned pink before disappearing. 

"Ahh! More. Harder. Please." 

Joe bared his teeth as he looked down at her splayed form. "You want me to leave teeth marks on your breasts, baby?" 

"Yes. I do. Please!" 

Joe shook his head. "There's a shortage of perfect breasts in this world. It would be a pity to damage yours." he quipped, and then chuckled as her eyes widened in recognition. "Just a little bit harder then. Not long-term damage, I promise." His wet fingers returned to stroke her clit slowly, leisurely, and then he bent his head and captured more of her breasts in his mouth, biting just a little harder as he lifted his head, pulling her breast back with it. 

"Ohmygod-ohmygod-ohmygod ahhh!!" 

Leanne screamed her pleasure as one more climax, swift and unexpected, seized her. Joe released her breast and moved up, and entered her still convulsing body, sinking slowly in, hissing with every tightening of her inner folds around his rigid, swollen cock. 

"God." He gasped, and then moved to take her head in his hands, holding her in place so that his eyes could capture hers while he claimed her, body and soul. Her own hands came up to his back to pull him close. Joe moved, stroking deep and steady, making each one count. Leanne arched and opened her legs wider, tilting her pelvis to take as much of him as she could inside. Joe's movements quickened, even as his face seemed to soften as he watched her take him into her body. 

"God, you're beautiful like that, Leanne." 

Her breath hitched, and so did his a moment later, and then he was coming, shuddering in her arms, his forehead buried in the nook between her neck and shoulder. Leanne hugged him close, smiling and teary-eyed.