Montana Moonrise

[McKenna]

This is a closed thread for McKenna and PP01. Read along and enjoy!


Charlie Hansen stepped off the train and felt like she’d stepped back a century in time. All around her she saw the remnants of an Old West mining town including businesses sporting names like Mason’s General Store and Dirty Sally’s Saloon. Charlie felt instantly and comfortably at home.

She had grown up in a town not dissimilar to this, and it felt good to put her feet on soil that was as close to native as she could get. Charlie breathed in deep and stepped into the train station.

At first she was reluctant to take the train; it seemed so old-fashioned and time-consuming. It was one of the last remaining lines Amtrak kept running, and in the end Charlie decided it would be more enjoyable to take it –plus, she wouldn’t have to worry about returning a rental car in the remote town where she had taken up employment.

Six weeks ago Charlie was head chef at one of Seattle’s more exclusive restaurants. After a stint in school studying hospitality and culinary skills, Charlie moved from her native Montana to Seattle in search of life in the big city. She knew her culinary skills would most-likely be wasted in Montana; there just wasn’t a demand for chefs of her caliber there.

But after ten years in the city, Charlie had had enough. If the traffic didn’t get to her, the pace of life did. Not to mention the three failed relationships she’d had over the past ten years, or the fact that even though her salary was good, she’d have to live far out in the ‘burbs to be able to afford a place on her own. Plain and simple, Charlie needed breathing room, and that was something Seattle couldn’t offer her. So at 32 years of age, Charlie decided to start over again.

She’d placed her resume online with one of the major job-hunting/job-searching companies and hoped for the best. When she was contacted by an Ian McLeod of the Moonrise Ranch in Montana, Charlie knew she’d take the job. It seemed a perfect fit: she’d be able to get out of the city and back to her roots without having to loose her culinary skills. Sure, cooking for cowhands wouldn’t quite be the same as cooking for Seattle’s elite, but she didn’t care. Her skills would not be wasted, and what’s more, she’d be able to find the solace and quiet she craved.

Charlie looked around the train station and saw a tall man in a black Stetson searching the terminal. She didn’t know if he didn’t see her, or if he was looking for someone else. Charlie decided to take a chance that this was her new boss, and walked up to him.

At 5’2”, Charlie had to look up to meet his eyes –eyes that were shaded beneath his Stetson. She cleared her throat and squared her shoulders, determined not to be intimidated by his size. “Excuse me, are you Ian McLeod?”

His look was quizzical. “Yes, yes I am. Who are you?”

“I’m Charlie Hansen,” she said, extending her hand. She was unprepared for the complete and utter shock that overtook his features, followed quickly by anger. Charlie dropped her hand and took an instinctive step backward as the storm that was brewing behind his gray eyes threatened to break forth.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

Ian McLeod is a 41 year old single rancher who owns the family Moonrise ranch he'd inherited free and clear, all 600 acres of it, in it's own little valley at the base of the mountains that tower over the landscape.

Ian's 6' of bone, muscle and tendon with the broad chest and shoulders and narrow waist of a horseman and hard worker. He has dark red hair shot with some grey that reaches his collar and dark grey eyes. His craggy and wind and sun tanned face is smooth shaved and the squint lines reflect his years outdoors.

Since his former wife's departure, the only interaction he's had with a woman is when he goes shopping in town, 45 miles away where the train station for the area is located, for necessary supplies and the like.

He used Monster.com to find a cook/houseman when Raphel had to return to Mexico for a family emergency and wrote his apology and that he wouldn't be returning again.

After reviewing the few replies he recieved chose Charlie Hansen's and send plane fare to Butte and money for a local train ticket from Butte to bring him to the closest town where Ian would pick him up and bring him to the ranch to start working caring for the house, doing the laudry, cooking and light chores like feeding the chickens.

Ian was standing scanning those few who got off looking for a man who seemed to be looking for someone to meet him when a little bit of a woman came over and asked if he was Ian McLeod.

When he said he was and she introduced herself as Charlie Hansen Ian could feel the flush of anger and the fire in his eyes as he realized he'd been tricked into hiring a woman to live and work in his house.

He looked around and saw they were the only ones left on the platform, but kept is voice down again way as he said, "You tricked me.
"I thought I was hiring a man when you put Charlie on your emailed application.
"I don't hire women miss.
"I'll pay your way back to Seattle and give you a couple of hundred dollars for you trouble.
"I'll also pay your room here in town 'til the next train to Seattle and give you money to eat on.
"Come on and lets go to the bank so's I can get some money out for you."

 

[McKenna]

Charlie couldn't believe what was happening.

"I don't hire women."

Good God, had she stepped back in time a hundred years to a time before women's liberation and equal rights?! Charlie bit back the thought before it passed her lips. Instead, she planted her feet and squared her shoulders, preparing herself for battle.

"Mr McLeod. You did not ask if I was male or female in your letter of inquiry, and I did not feel my gender was of importance, only my capabilities to fulfill the duties of the job you hired me for. Which I can fulfill, very well I might add."

Ian McLeod stopped in his angry departure and turned on her to catch the last bit of her soliloquy face to face. Charlie had expressive green eyes that had the ability to express every nuance of emotion she felt; right now they were shooting sparks of anger and indignation.

"My name is Charlie, short for Charlene, but nobody ever calls me that but my grandmother, and she's long since passed away."

She could see Ian McLeod wasn't about to give her an inch. He had erected between them a solid wall of antipathy -a wall which Charlie was willing to climb in order to get what she wanted.

"There is no need to pay my fare back to Seattle, because I'm not going. I'm staying. Right here. I'm going to work on your ranch for the three-month trial period we agreed upon." Charlie's voice dropped a note as she continued with determination, "I will hold you legally responsible if you choose to break this contract Mr McLeod." And she would, too. She'd given up everything she had in Seattle to come here and start over; she wasn't about to leave without a fight.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

His face became even redder when she threatened legal action and he was aware that an email contract was binding just as anything posted on the internet or emailed was legally considered protected under the copy right laws as 'intellectual property'.

He quickly mentally tallied how much three months wages would be and added in a figure for the included room and board and said, "If you stayed the three months you'd be paid $3,300.00 dollars and I figure the room and board would be another $750.00 a month in cash value so that totals up to $5,500.00 I'll give you that and return money plus room and board money here in town til the next train comes if you'll sign a release letting me out of that trial period Charlene," he says looking down at her with slitted and angry eyes.

 

[McKenna]

Charlie Hansen

Charlie considered it ... for a split second. "No."

"What do you mean, 'no'?!"

"I mean, no." She was calm and collected, and utterly stubborn as she faced the man down from two feet away. Her heart was racing and her palms were sweaty, but something told Charlie she needed to face this man "man to man" if she were to gain any amount of respect in his eyes -respect she sensed she'd definitely have to earn.

Charlie raked an agitated hand through her hair and exhaled. "Look, I don't believe in taking money for nothing. I don't want your money, I want the job you offered -at least for the trial period. Three months. That's it. After that I'll gladly take your money and go, but I'll expect a fair and objective letter of reccomendation when the time comes, too. Your choice. We can be employee and employer, or prosecutor and defendant. It's up to you."

She watched as his eyes narrowed even further until she could no longer even read them beneath the shadow left by his Stetson. Charlie clamped her jaw and waited. This was it, this was as far as she was willing to push him. Would he call her bluff or up the ante?

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

He stood there and listened as she rejected his offer, and he thought it damned fair too. Hell all added together it'd be almost ten thousand dollars he'd be giving her.

He could feel the mucles at the corners of his jaw clenching over and over and imagined the veins in his neck were visible and plusing as he fought back his locally infamous temper and tried to rationally make up his mind rather than giving into the anger pulsing through his veins.

He opened the big tanned hands with the scarred knuckles he realized he'd unconsciously clenched and thought about defending his position in court, and how his friends and neighbors would laugh at him to his face and behind his back if the little bit of a woman sued him for sexual discrimination.

He hadn't asked what "Charlie" was short for. He hadn't asked her gender. He hadn't stipulated he was only interested in a male employee. He was fucked. He had to give her the three months or be kidded about it all for years to come.

No matter how pissed off he was Ian was still the quintessential western gentleman and though it galled him to even have her at the ranch he said, "Okay, but three months and that's the end of it Charlene.
"Now where are your things so I can carry them to the truck and don't you dare give me any women's lib crap about carrying your things yourself or your fired right damned now for not doing what I've asked you to do."

 

[McKenna]

Charlie Hansen

Women's Lib?! Jesus, thought Charlie, I'd forgotten what Neanderthal's men in Montana can be like. Montana: Where the men are men and the women know their place.

It was on the tip of her tongue to contradict him about carrying her luggage, but she didn't. Instead, as he hefted her two big duffle bags in either hand, she corrected him with all the temerity of an Old West schoolmarm: "It's Charlie, not Charlene, Mr McLeod."

She saw the stutter in his step and could just imagine the anger that flashed on his face. She grinned impishly, and continued walking.

"Now then, Mr McLeod, I do hope you won't be expecting me to bunk with the cowboys. You weren't expecting a woman, so this leads me to wonder what kind of accommodation I can expect at your ranch?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him in a parody of innocence while the dimple in her cheek flashed once, then disappeared just as quickly it had appeared. She was winning the war, she just knew it; the fact that it rankled this Man's man somehow made it all the more pleasing.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

"While you're living on my land I can call you what I want," Ian says as he stops himself from spinning on a boot heel to confront her again, "and right now I choose to call you Charlene, a proper name for a woman."

"No you won't be staying in the bunkhouse, although it might serve you right if I put you there.
"You'll be sleeping in the room in my house where Rauol, my former cook and housekeeper, used to sleep on the first floor," he said as they reached a new crew cab four wheel drive pickup truck and he put her duffels in back.

"Best get on it. I won't be waiting for lolly gaggers and it's a 45 mile walk to the ranch," he says as he opens the driver's door and steps up into the cab.

 

[McKenna]

Charlie Hansen

"While you're living on my land I can call you what I want." Charlie bit back a grin. How like a petulant child he was, to assert himself in such a manner. Good thing Charlie could see through such a tactic. She made a mental note for future use.

Charlie was relieved to find out she'd have space of her own where she could escape from her duties on the ranch, and possibly, the ranch hands. Would she need to escape from her boss, too? Charlie doubted it. He seemed dead-set against women in general, which was just fine by her so long as he kept his personal feelings aside and acted like a professional. She knew she'd already pissed him off by forcing him to do just that, to keep to a contract he didn't want to keep. Oh well, thought Charlie. Maybe the lesson would do him some good.

Charlie scampered up into the truck as best she could, but given her height and the height of the truck, it wasn't an easy task. But Charlie managed to do it with what grace she possessed, and after fastening her seatbelt, settled in for the long drive to her new home.

Once they were out on the highway, Charlie turned to her new boss. "So Ian," she used his first name deliberately, determined to meet him as an equal and not some simpering female afraid of his masculinity. "Why don't you tell me about your ranch, and what exactly you'll be expecting of me?"

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

'There's no reason not to be civil since I'm stuck with her for three months,' he thinks as she asks about the Moonrise and her duties. 'And since she'll be Charlene, Ian is no big deal.'

"My great grandfather settled a valley between what's now the Kootenai and Flathead National Forests.
"It's a boxed valley or canyon and is some over 1250 acres or two square miles on the valley floor, but the ranch boundry extends to the tops of what surrounds the valley so in land it's bigger than that.
"It's been handed down father to son until I inherited it from my dad. I don't have any children, and doubt I will since my ex-wife took off years ago for the big city, so I guess I'll wind up leaving it to the park service as long as they maintain it as park of the National Forest and maybe as an example of an working ranch.
"Maybe they can tie up with the sheriff and make it one of those ranches for troubled kids," he says as they eat up the road and a good clip.

He lights a cigarette and continues, "As for your duties, they aren't all that hard really.
"The men do their own wash when they're at the ranch, but you'll do mine.
"You'll cook for everyone o'course. As it's coming on to winter a lot of the hands will be heading South so it'll be pretty easy for you where that's concerned.
"Before the first snow the men staying will be stocking wood for the line shacks. There's no wire or fences except across the entrance to the valley, but they have to tend and feed the stock as needed in the winter and rotate line shack duty. We'll be stocking the line shacks with food for those going out first. The replacements carry out new supplies with 'em after the first
stocking and you'll put it up for them.
"You'll keep up the inside of the house, feed the chickens, collect the eggs and as other things come up can either do 'em or ask me if you have to."

As he's been talking you've passed a sign beside the forested road reading "Moonrise Ranch 5 Miles" and as he finishes he slows and turns left onto a gravelled road heading into the forest and toward the mountains.

 

[McKenna]

Charlie had to crack open a window or be suffocated by cigarette smoke. She refrained from saying anything to her new boss, though she knew he didn't miss her action. Charlie had smoked for a few years as a teenager and young adult, but she stopped when she got into culinary school; Smoking compromised her taste-buds, and as a chef, she had to rely on those taste-buds.

As Ian told her about her spread, the story seemed a familiar one. How many families had she known who owned and operated the same stretch of land, generation after generation? It was a story well-known in the West. As was the story of such small-time operations going out of business as larger conglomerates moved in and movie stars looking for solace bought out the land. Charlie was impressed that Ian had managed to hold on to his ranch. In this day and age, that said something.

Charlie offered very little to the conversation until they cleared the pine trees and moved out into a spacious meadow. She could see black angus lazily laying in the sun and off in the distance a large, modern-looking cabin -more like a lodge than a cabin. Modern? How can that be? I thought he said his family had been here for generations. That structure doesn't look more than ten years old!

Charlie cleared her throat delicately. "That's a mighty impressive house you have there." She turned in time to catch a slight tightening of Ian's jaw, but he offered no reply.

Charlie was undaunted. "It looks too modern to be something your grandfather would have built."

"He didn't," Ian fairly snarled, and Charlie wondered why it seemed she had struck a nerve with him. His testiness was explained in the next sentence, "I tore down the old homestead and built this for my wife, because she said she needed something more modern." He said the last word like an epithet. Charlie cringed.

"It's a beautiful structure," Charlie studied its expansive window and wrap-around porch. "Modern or not, it fits in very well with the surroundings."

That last sentence seemed to have mollified Ian, albeit slightly. He grunted a response and opened the cab door. Charlie was quick to follow suit, though had to be more careful on the decent. It was a bit more of a drop for her from truck to ground than it was for Ian.

"You coming?" Ian asked impatiently as he waited near the front door. Charlie straightened her shirt and fought back a sharp retort. "Yes, I'm coming. You know, running boards on this monster sure might help with the dismount," she quipped, and flashed the irascible rancher a dimpled smile.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

He parked in front of the main house, the barn, bunkhouse, from the smoke coming from it a smoke house, garage and other outbuildings and corrals were spread out behind the house against the backdrop of forest between them and the wooded slope leading up toward the towering snow capped mountains.

When he gets out he reaches into the bed and gets her duffle bags and walks to the front porch, stops and asks if she's coming.

When she mentions running boards he says, "I had 'em on my last truck. Snow ripped 'em off so I figued why bother this time and waste the money."

He opens the main door and leads her into a mud room then into a huge living room dominated by a stone fireplace large enough to cook a side of beef with a heatalator in it and pictures and mementoes on the slab of wood mantel.

The wall were all tongue and grooved paneling and adorned by photos from early tintypes to modern ones and ranch memorbellia as well as some animal heads. In one corner is a mounted grizzly bear standing on its back legs, front ones extended and mouth open in a silent roar.

A staircase leads to the second floor and a balcony that looks down into the living room connecting the two upstairs halls leading to the wings of the house.

 

[McKenna]

Charlie looked at the stuffed bear in the corner and rolled her eyes. Typical, she thought, but she was very impressed with the rest of the house. Other than the bear in the corner, the decorating was done with sublte masculine undertones, but the effect was warm and inviting.

"Your room is up here," Ian started climbing up the stairs that led to the second floor. Charlie looked up to see that the living room extended to the second floor, and Ian was already at the landing. Charlie scampered after him, taking in the pictures on the walls as she passed them. Brief though her look was, she could tell the people in the photographs bore a strong resemblance to Ian. Must be family, she thought, and followed Ian to the end of the hall.

"This was Rauol's room. It was good enough for him, so it's going to be good enough for you."

Charlie looked around the room. It was spacious; a double bed was against the wall on her left, a dresser and a television on a tv cart were on her right. She could also see through the open doorway an ensuite bathroom and breathed a silent sigh of relief. She wasn't looking forward to accidental meetings with her tempermental employer in the middle of the night.

"It's lovely," Charlie said, and meant it. Ian just looked at her and grunted, then dropped her duffles on the bed.

"Right, well I'm sure you'll want me to start right away," Charlie said, determined to establish their working relationship immediately. "It's 2:30 now, I can have dinner by 6:00 -assuming the kitchen is stocked. I'll need to go in to town in a few days to pick up a few boxes I had shipped out. Most of it is my cooking supplies. Would it be possible to arrange a trip to town in, say, three days? Oh, and another thing, I'd like to know when my days off are, and if I'll have access to a vehicle?" She knew she was rambling but couldn't help herself. Something about having this man in so personal a space as her bedroom was unnerving, and when Charlie got nervous -or drunk- she rambled. She bit her lip to stop herself and glanced out the window to give herself time to compose herself.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

When he saw her stare briefly at the bear in the corner family pride prompted his explaination for it, "She didn't like it either, but my granddad shot it as it charged him late one fall.
"It was a damned close thing as it dropped and died with it's nose nearly touching his boots he and the old hand with him told one and all and it stayed no matter what she wanted.." then Ian heads upstairs.

Ian hrumps at the "It's lovely." comment and says, "It's clean and comfortable. You can add some if you want Charlene, but don't change it to much."

"The hands have every other Sunday off, you can too and I'll think about what you can use then.
"Weekends you'll only have to cook two meals a day for them. They have a kitchette in the bunkhouse and fend for themselves for lunch," he says when she asks about days off. "I'll take you to town myself as I have to stop at the feed and grain store to place my winter order to suppliment the silage anyhow," he says looking down at her after putting her duffles on the bed.

"You make up a shopping list to last a month at a time and we'll do and get the supplies is how it's usually done, but winter's nearly here and we do get snowed in sometimes, snowmobiles are available of course, but don't do much for hauling supplies.
"So in the next couple of weeks make up a four month shopping list to hold us the winter, just in case it's as rough as I expect it to be this year.
"The signs are it's gonna be a real hard and cold one with lots of snow."

 

[McKenna]

As Charlie took stock of the kitchen pantry, she thought over Ian's words earlier in regards to his wife. She didn't like it either... She had heard the venom in his tone and wondered at it. Anger had a way of eating up a person, Charlie knew from experience. She recognized in Ian the signs of unhappiness she once experienced herself during a rough period in Seattle.

There wasn't much she could do for Ian; someone had to first recognize the problem before he could learn to deal with it, and besides, it wasn't Charlie's problem. She would do her job and enjoy the peace and quiet afforded her and that was that. Let Ian McLeod work out his own problems. If he wanted to compare her and every other woman on the planet to one who obviously hurt him -so be it. Charlie was only interested in doing her job, not psychoanalyzing the boss.

Charlie found what she needed to throw together a stew. She soon had it boiling on the back burner while two pans of rolls lay out on the counter to rise. Simple fare, but serviceable. Charlie had to remind herself she didn't have to be fancy here, though she was already making plans for future dishes after her professional gear arrived.

The rest of the afternoon was spent thoroughly cleaning the kitchen. By the time dinner hour rolled around, Charlie was tired and ready to sit down. She set the table and when she went back to the kitchen for the stew, she heard the cowhands shuffle in, exchanging ribald jokes and laughter. All conversation stopped, however, when Charlie walked back into the room carrying the stockpot.

She glanced around her at the stymied expressions of the cowhands. She grinned. After setting the pot down on the table, she leaned back and pasted on her broadest, most engaging smile. "Hiya fellas. I'm Charlie. I'll be the new cook and housekeeper around here."

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

Just then Ian walked in from behind her since he's cut through the kitchen.

"Her name is Charlene and that's what you'll call her. If she'd put that on our correspondence, well never mind. Just remember call her Charlene," he said looking at each one of them in turn.

"Now, Charlene, meet," and points to each in turn as he tells her their names, "Harry, Ed, Wally, Jack and Bill, who's kind of the foreman since he's in charge if I'm away."
"Boys meet Charlene our new cook and my housekeeper."

He didn't bother going into the three month time period as it was between the two of them and none of the boys business as he pulls out a seat and says to her, "Charlene this is where Rauol usually sat so he could get to the kitchen easily."

Then he walked around the table and took his seat at the opposite end.

 

[McKenna]

"Ian here prefers to call me Charlene," she immediately addressed the table at large, "But I prefer to be called 'Charlie'." The table fell silent as curious looks passed between boss and housekeeper, but no one said a word. She wondered how many would begin to call her Charlie in private and Charlene in front of the boss. Charlie smiled sweetly at Ian though the gesture made her feel nauseas, then turned to go back in the kitchen, .

She returned moments later with the rolls she had baked in a large basket. "Now then, I think it would just be easiest if I dished it up tonight, so why don't you pass me your bowls?" Immediately several hands shot forward presenting her a bowl. Charlie smiled and took the nearest. She filled each bowl, and then finally her own. It wasn't until she sat down that she realized Ian hadn't handed her a bowl. "Ian?" Charlie lifted an eyebrow in question. "Aren't you eating tonight?" It took all her nerve not to choke on her politeness. Truth was, she was spitting mad at the man. How dare he order his personnel to call her by a name she did not prefer? She knew he was trying to establish some pecking order, like he was a master and she a slave, but Charlie would have none of it. He didn't pay her enough to play games.

Wake up and smell the 21st century, Charlie wanted to say, but didn't. Instead she shoveled a spoonful of stew in her mouth to prevent her from saying anything scathing.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

"I will if the stew, rolls and butter in the kitchen are passed to me so I may help myself Charlene.
"That way it won't be a problem as they're slid my way and everyone can continue eating," he says in a even tone of voice.

Then thinks to himself, 'I should have let her fucking sue if it she plans on countering every thing I say she disagrees with or dislikes, but it's my damned place and not hers. I'm the boss, she's the employee and she'd better get that straight damned fast.'

 

[McKenna]

"Here ya go boss," one of the cowhands was quick to offer the basket of rolls. Another handed down the butter dish while the rest ducked their heads and ate as if nothing but their bowl of stew existed.

Charlie very calmly lay down her spoon and very calmly stood. She hefted the stockpot of stew with as much grace as she could manage and walked round the table to Ian. "Excuse me," she said politely, and began serving him stew with the dipper while he leaned to the side. She then returned the pot to the table and took her seat.

Dinner progressed without further incident, but by the time Charlie was elbow-deep in dish water she wanted nothing more than to have a good cry. Why did the man insist on treating her so badly? Perhaps she would have been wise to take his pittance of an offer and look for greener pastures. Hell, it wasn't like she was making good money here; her three-month salary was still quite lower than the money she was used to making in Seattle. But it was more than money she was looking for, it was peace of mind, freedom of spirit, all the things she associated with Montana and her childhood. Charlie sighed and finished wiping down the counters.

At eight o'clock she put coffee on and grabbed a pad and pen to begin her shopping list. When the coffee finished brewing, she took a mug and poured it full. She placed the mug together with a small sugar bowl and a pitcher of cream on a tray; it only took a moment of rummaging to find a cookie or two from the pantry to add to the tray. She then took the tray out of the kitchen in search of her temperamental boss.

She found him not in the front room as she had expected, but further down the hall in a room he used as an office. She cleared her throat to catch his attention, as he seemed to be intently occupied with his work. "Ian?" she asked softly, and wondered if her voice sounded tired -or defeated. "I've brought you coffee before I head on up to bed," she said, and waited for his acknowledgement.

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

He allowed Charlene to serve him, although all he'd wanted as it passed down to him.

The meal was a quiet one, the tension between he and Charlene blanketed the normal joking and banter.

He had seconds of the delicious stew and two more of her homemade rolls and sat back and loosened his belt as he smiled down the table at her and said, "Charlene Raoul never cooked a stew that good or made rolls that good either.
"Thank you for a very good meal."

"Boys, I'll see you in the morning. Charlene's gonna make up a shopping list and we'll be doing the first stocking with provisions of the line shacks in a couple of days.
"Tomorrow we'll move some of the cattle to the winter areas to get things ready.
"I'll order the rest of the feed from the store in a couple of days and we can transport it out when it gets here."

"See you later," and he gets up, pushes his chair in and leaves as they all sit sipping their coffee after saying their good nights to him.

Later in the evening, as he was compiling the last list for the feed and grain store, Ian looked up when he heard someone clearing their throat and found Charlene in the doorway with a tray in her hands.

When she said she'd brought him some coffee Ian was very surprised at her thoughfulness after how things had transpired between them so far and it was a damned far cry from how she'd every acted once they'd married.

"Thank you Charlene, I appreciate that," he said softly. "If there are two cups on that tray would you care to join me?"

 

[McKenna]

Charlie was surprised by the invitation, just as she was surprised by his words of praise about the meal she had made. If he keeps this up, I'm going to seriously rethink my first impression of the man, Charlie thought as she flashed him a tired smile.

"I only brought one mug, but I'll go grab another. Maybe we can go over the list I've made concerning supplies?" Charlie saw Ian nod as she hurried out the door.

Seconds later she returned with a mug full of coffee and sat down across from Ian. She took a moment to study him while he seemed preoccupied with his work. She noticed the lines around the eyes, the weather-beaten skin, the way his hair hung over his collar like it needed cut six weeks ago. He needs a woman to look after him.

Where did that thought come from?! Charlie was shocked at her line of thinking. Having a woman around wouldn't solve Ian's problems; it was a chauvinistic thought -albeit female chauvinism- and Charlie was a bit ashamed at it. She disliked chauvinism in either gender.

Charlie leaned on the desk and addressed Ian, "I've got a list here of supplies. I've estimated everything to the best of my ability -it's hard to know how much the hands eat on a regular basis." She had Ian's full attention now, and as she glanced up she was arrested by the depth of his gray eyes. "Uhm," she was momentarily sidetracked by his direct gaze, "Right, well I'll let you have a look at the list. I'm sure you know how much to estimate better than me." Again she was disturbed by his proximity and the feelings of confusion it generated inside. She leaned back abruptly and raked a nervous hand through her hair. "Is there anything else you need tonight? I think I'll head up if you're done with me."

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

He set down his pen when she returned and stood right in front of the desk then bent forward and over it to hand him her shopping list for the coming months.

As he listened to her and looked into her eyes, his periphial vison let him see down the front of her blouse a bit since the top two buttons were open. It was just because of her posture as she leaned on the desk, otherwise it would have been a modest look at the top of her chest. Now however he could see the top swells of her bra encased, and generous, breasts down to the top of her bra cups.

Ian may have a hearty dislike for women, but he also had a healty libido and a male's appreciation for a lovely woman with a firm, fit and attractive body... he just never acted on it as a choice is all. The results of the time he had were deeply etched and would be damned hard to erase.

"I can understand that Charlene," he says when she speaks again and snaps him out of his reverie.

"Why not give me a couple of minutes to read over the list, we can talk about changes and additions to it before you go up to bed.
"Have a seat," he says waving his hand to include any chair she wants to sit in. Then he starts to read her list, pen back in his hand.

 

[McKenna]

While Ian studied the list, Charlie tried to calm the rapid beating of her heart. True, it had been a while since her last relationship -two years- but she was an adult, far past the years of teenage hormones taking over her body. But if she were honest with herself, Ian McLeod was having an affect on her, and Charlie didn't know what to think of it.

Her eyes fell to his hands as he held the list while reading it. They were large hands, tanned, with long fingers. She noticed he wore no wedding band -which wasn't really a surprise given the venom in his voice when he spoke of his ex-wife. He was evidently hurt by her actions, and it was possibly unfair of Charlie to judge him over something that had affected him so deeply and negatively. Only time would reveal the true character of the man.

Charlie covered a yawn with the back of her hand. "Everything look good?"

 

[PhoenixPrime01]

Ian McLeod:

He looked over the list and as he was doing so says to Charlene, "It looks good for a normal winter Charlene, but even the weatherman agrees with the animals that this year may be a rough one so why not add extra to the imperishibles and condiments just in case.
"They won't go to waste if both the critters and the weatherman are wrong. We'll keep eating it into the Spring is all.
"I'd add more for desserts and sweet stuff too. It helps to pass a cold winter night if you can enjoy pie or cake and hot coffee.
"Now that you'll be here in the big house with me so we'll have to have two as the boys still here would like some in the bunkhouse too," he says with a small smile as he looks up and catchs her yawning.

"You're tired. Must have been a long day for you.
"Go ahead and go to bed. We can finish this in the morning since we won't be going to town for a day or two anyway.
"Good night Charlene and thanks for the coffee, that was thoughtful of you."

 

[McKenna]

Charlie Hansen

Charlie walked up the stairs slowly, weighed down with fatigue. It has been a draining day both physically as well as emotionally. She felt like she were in some strange kind of tug-o-war with Ian; first he treated her with disdain, and then he treated her with respect. It was a lot to take in less than twenty four hours, but she supposed if she were the first woman on the ranch since his wife left, it was a lot for Ian to take, too.

She was tempted by the sight of the claw-footed tub in her bathroom, but was just too tired to draw a bath. Instead, she rummaged through her gear for a nightie and went straight to bed.

The alarm awoke her at 5:00 am. Charlie couldn't remember the last time she had been awake so early. Working in a restaurant, her hours were usually late, so she slept late, too. She decided a shower would wake her up, and in no time she was downstairs in the kitchen getting breakfast ready.

By 6:30 the first of the hands came in through the kitchen door. Charlie looked up from the griddle where she was frying pancakes.

"Uh, uh boys. Wipe those boots please."

Ty, one of the younger hands, immediately looked chagrinned. "Sorry Miss," he mumbled apologetically and swiped his hat from his head.

Charlie grinned and waved him over to the coffee pot.