Country Heaven Read online

  Contents

  Country Heaven

  Dedication

  Country Heaven

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  A Taste Of Country

  About the Author

  Country Heaven

  Vicki Green

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Vicki Green Copyright 2014©

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form with authorization of the Author Vicki Green©

  Editor: Kathy Krick @K2 Editing:

  https://www.facebook.com/K2Editing

  Cover Design by Cover to Cover Designs:

  https://www.facebook.com/CoverToCoverDesigns

  Formatting:

  http://e-and-f.webs.com/

  Justin Keeton (on cover):

  https://www.facebook.com/justinkeetonfitnessmodel

  Furiousfotog Photography (Justin’s picture):

  https://www.facebook.com/FuriousFotog

  *Due to strong language and sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18+.

  Dedication

  My family. Words cannot express my love for you. You are everything. Dean, Charles (C.J.), and Cole. You are my life.

  Kathy, my amazing Editor. You’re always there for me, not only as my Editor but as my friend. Thank you for that and I Love you!

  Kari, the bond we’ve formed can’t be broken and I’m so thankful for you, not only being a design genius but for your friendship. Love you!

  Golden, you have a magnificent talent. But, you’re so much more than a talented photographer and artist, you’re my friend. I respect you like no other. Love you!

  Justin, not only are you my friend, but, I respect you so much as a person, father, your service in the army, and your dedication to all things. You make me laugh, even when sometimes I feel I can’t. I’ll always be there for you! Much love!

  For those of you who read this story, there really is beauty in the lands. In God’s eyes and hands you can be strong, overcome your weaknesses, and truly find happiness,

  And live again.

  Country Heaven

  Heaven is in the eyes of the beholder,

  To help others see that beauty,

  Makes the heavens open its loving arms

  Memphis Johnson loves his Montana ranch. It is something he has worked hard for all his life. When his Pa died, he swore he would give back by helping others see the beauty in the land, as Pa did for him. But with that can come trouble and even heartache. One misfortunate girl begins a different kind of hard work for Memphis. He tries to help her learn the ropes and tame her wild ways. His heart opens too wide for her, and he finds he has to change tactics fast or lose her.

  Sadie Tisdale is your typical ‘city girl’, with the latest fashions and a wealthy father who gives her anything she asks for. She loves to party, hang out with the wrong people and doesn’t have a care in the world until one night… After being arrested, again, her father has had enough of her wild ways and decides to teach her a lesson. A lesson which could cost her the love of her father and the money she is supposed to receive on her twenty first birthday if she doesn’t comply.

  Spoiled city girls don’t mix with country. Will Sadie learn there is more to life than staying out all night and having sex with a different guy each time? Can she calm her wild ways or will she run?

  Prologue

  Standin’ out in the pasture, leanin’ against my favorite tree, I ponder about my life. Pa brought me up the best he could after Ma died from cancer when I was eight. He worked me hard, so hard sometimes I cursed him under my breath, but I know now that I’m a better man for it. When Pa passed away two years ago, I found myself lost. How could I ever keep this place going by myself? Our horses alone take up a ton of time, not to mention keeping their coats clean. Then there are the cows, the chickens, and baling hay. In addition to all of that, there’s keepin’ the house and the other house we have next to ours for the hired help clean. Then an idea struck me, or maybe it was Pa talkin’ to me in his way from heaven. I’ll help others more misfortunate than myself, give them a place to sleep, eat and they can help me out in return. “Pa, you’re a genius as always.” I smile, seein’ his face in my mind. “I’ll make you proud.”

  I couldn’t wait to tell Mable, our cook and family friend who lives in a house Pa built for her on our land a little ways from our place. Secretly, I think he had a thing for her, more than friendship. It showed in the way he looked at her and how she grieved after he passed. Now, she just cooks for the two of us and cleans up around the house while I do all the outside chores. Of course, she loved the idea of helping others, so she set out to clean up the other house, getting it ready. It’s never used anymore, and I’m sure it is full of dirt and grime. The fifty acres we have spreads out, and the barn sets back a little behind our house. The other house is beside mine. It’s not real close, a little ways away, but all the houses on the land are within walking distance. Pa really planned out everything when I was young, tellin’ me how this would all be mine someday. I’m bettin’ he never thought he’d be leavin’ me two days before my twenty-third birthday.

  Since then, I’ve worked harder than ever before. Clancy, Pa’s horse, is grievin’ him as much as me, causin’ me all kinds of problems. He wouldn’t eat, wouldn’t drink, and finally I had to call Doc Winn out here to take a look at him. But I knew how he felt ‘cos I was grievin’ right along with him. Doc got him to start eating again, and I rode him out by our pond, his favorite place he used to go ridin’ with Pa. He seemed to like that.

  Two weeks ago, I posted flyers around town and took an ad out in our local paper. I also posted an ad on a paper online so more folks beyond Brewton, Montana would see it. With our small population of 1,417, I felt like I would never get enough folks to answer if I only posted it here. My internet service out here is sketchy at best, but if you time it right, you can use it for about an hour or so at a time. That’s normally when I email my best buddy, Dale, who took him a wife a few years ago. They moved to a big city in Boston. He teaches law out there, but when he and his wife, Maggie, and their two kids had come to visit a while back, I noticed he hadn’t forgotten the country ways. I guess some things are born in ya.

  It took about a month to get a couple of replies. An older man, Mac Ford, from the next county over, answered sayin’ he’d love to have a place to live and would work for a little money but mostly shelter and food. He’s about fifty something, I’d guess, but he’s a nice feller. Said he’s worked with horses for about twenty years, so I asked him to come over and we’d talk. Now, he’s living in the other house, which is where the employees will live. He was right about his workin’ with horses. Clancy took to him pretty fast.

  A man in his forties, Dallis Gott, answered the ad and said he could fix or build just about anything. He had to drive from Kansas to get here, and I�
�m sure glad he did ‘cos he was right. He’s been fixing up the barn, replacing old dilapidated boards and making it look like new, and he’s adding on the much needed extension on the side. It will be great when it’s done.

  Then I got an email that changed everything. I didn’t know what to think at first. Seems like this little lady, Sadie, who’s been in some kind of trouble, needs some help figurin’ out there’s a beautiful world out there, a better way. So, against my better judgment, I told her dad ‘yes’, and she’ll be here by train in about two hours. I told Mac to give her the big bedroom upstairs, the one that has a private bathroom and a lock on the door. She’s kinda young, not yet twenty one. I’m not beyond tryin’ to help someone, but Lord help me.

  Chapter One

  Memphis

  It’s late. The train should have been here by now. I’ve been standing at the train depot in town for over an hour. How can a train be late? I did ask the front office and Buck said there were some mechanical difficulties on the way. Shit. I don’t want this girl’s Pa to be upset at me before she even gets here. I have to admit, he’s paid a little more than what I had asked for her to come here and I aim not to disappoint him. She may be a little upset and traumatized when she gets here, so I’m expectin’ that too. Finally, I hear the train whistle off in the distance. I look up at the sky. Thank you, Jesus. I watch the train slow down to a crawl and then stop.

  “I don’t give a shit what happened. Keeping me on this fucking train for that long, ugh!” My head whips to my left when I hear the shrill of a woman’s voice. “It jolted me right on out of my sleeping birth and I hit my head. I’ll sue, I tell ya!” Long brown hair masks her face as she steps off the train. She seems to be quite a bit shorter than me, well-built but slim, almost too slim. “Where’s this…. Ah, hell.” She pulls up her purse, digging like she can’t find something and looks exasperated. Pulling out a piece of paper, her eyes squint. “Memphis Johnson. Who in the hell names their child after a fucking city?”

  I lower my head, chuckling to myself, and walk over to her, my boots loud on the wooden floor. When I stand before her, I raise the tip of my hat and give her a smile. “That’d be me.” Her eyes move up my body slowly, then into my eyes, and I swear I heard her gasp.

  She changes her stance, folding her arms across her more than ample breasts, and huffs. Her eyes roam my body, down, then up, but it doesn’t bother me. I was blessed to have Pa’s build and working on the farm has kept me in shape. People always said I’m the spittin’ image of him ‘cept he had blue eyes and mine are brown, just like Ma’s. “I’m in need of a shower and a bed.” What in the hell do they feed these city folk?

  I raise my arm, looking at my watch and then back at her. “Deal. Supper will be ready by the time we get back so shower first, eat and then bed.”

  Her mouth opens but nothing comes out. A gentleman brings three suitcases and sets them down beside her and tips his hat. She looks at him, scowls, and then looks back at me. “I ate on the train.” He looks at me and shakes his head.

  I give her a smirk, look down at her luggage, and pick up two of the suitcases. I start to walk to my truck, looking back over my shoulder. “You’ll eat. Truck’s this way.”

  She looks at her lonely luggage and back up at me. I turn my head forward and keep walking. “I’m not carrying that!” I chuckle again and pretty soon I hear her footsteps behind me, the luggage being dragged across the floor and the sounds of her huffing and puffing. I get to my truck, throw her suitcases in the back and turn to watch her struggling with the one she has. She gives me a mean look when she reaches the back of the truck. I lean down, grab the suitcase, toss it in with the others and head around to the driver’s side. “They cost a lot of money just to be throwing them around like that,” she huffs again, stoppin’ me halfway into the truck. I stand up on the running board, look over the top of my truck, and have to hold in my laughter at the look on her pretty face. She’s annoyed, totally out of her element and by the look of her, tired. She’s actually cute, in a bitchy kind of way.

  “’Round here, ain’t got time to be gentle with things.” I lean against the top of the truck and pull the rim of my hat lower, looking into her eyes. “Hard work is the only thing you’ll find ‘round here, Missy, and the sooner you come to know that, the better. Now, get in.” I’m not a mean kind of guy, but she’s gonna have to toughen up, or she’s in for a rude awakenin’. I watch her mouth close tight. She huffs as she turns and walks to the passenger side and gets in. Slowly, I climb into the seat, startin’ her up, and look over my shoulder as I back out. I get her in gear as I turn her around and start to head home.

  We’re twenty minutes into our journey, when I notice Sadie slide down in her seat and place her shoes on my dashboard. I turn her way and see she’s lookin’ out her window. Her arms folded across her waist. Her long hair falls down around her shoulders, over her arms. I look back out the front window and sigh. “Please remove your feet from my dash. You’ll scuff up Betsy. I don’t take kindly to that.”

  From the corner of my eye, I see her feet lower and try not to smile. “Betsy? Seriously? What the hell kind of name is that for a truck?”

  I keep looking forward, trying not to get my dander up, but she’s making it pretty tough. “Look. While you’re stayin’ with me, it’d be real nice if you’d behave. I’d hate to have to pull the ‘call your daddy card’, but I aim to keep my end of our bargain.” I look over at her and see her smirking at me, and then she turns her head to look out her window again. “Works gonna be hard, not gonna lie, but the country is beautiful. It will pull you in. I don’t know you and won’t pretend to, and don’t think you know me either, so let’s just take one step at a time. Okay?” No answer, the silence is deafening. I lean over and turn up the radio, and one of my favorite country songs comes out the speakers. I shift my eyes over to her and watch her chest heave up and down with her sigh and can only imagine how she’s rolling her eyes. I chuckle to myself again and start hummin’ along with the song.

  Another twenty minutes, I turn onto the dirt road and feel my pride kick in driving underneath the wooden ‘Johnson Homestead’ sign. I look around, seein’ all the breathtaking green grass, the trees, and the cows and horses out in their pastures. She sits up in her seat, and I know she has to be wondering what in the hell she’s gotten herself into. I park in the drive in front of the house, get out, and head to the back of my truck and grab a couple of suitcases. I watch her slowly climbing from the cab, her head turning and most likely takin’ in everythin’. Must be weird for her. People who don’t know the country find it a little hard at the beginning. I start to walk past her and tilt my head at the truck. “Your other bag is in the back.” Her eyes snap to mine, and she rolls them as she walks to the back of the truck. I chuckle, which I can’t seem to help around her and head towards the employee’s house.

  It’s quiet inside, but it’s also supper time so it doesn’t surprise me. I walk through the living area, up the steps and through the open door. Mable did a great job sprucin’ up her room. I hope she likes it ‘cos she’s gonna be here awhile. I set down her luggage in the corner of the large room and turn around. She’s fortunate that she gets the big bedroom with the attached bathroom, only ‘cos she’s the only other woman on the farm, but that could also be a huge hindrance. Right now with only Mac and Dallis here, I’m not so concerned, but if we end up getting any younger men here and with all the hard work on top of that, I may have to take precautions. For now, it’ll be fine. At least this room has a lock on the door. Good thing. The room also has a small deck attached. It looks out at the barn behind. Over to the left you can see the deck off my room at the main house.

  I chuckle low and deep when I hear the banging of her bag coming up the steps and then watch her draggin’ it into the room. How she’s survived all these years without doing anything herself is beyond me. She stops, dropping the bag, and then blows out a breath causing her long hair to fly out in front of her. “Supp
er’s probably ready so if you want to clean up your bathroom is over there.” I point to the door. “When you’re done you can just come over to the main house next door and just walk in.” She looks up at me from under long lashes and scrunches up her face. I walk past her, shaking my head but turn and look over my shoulder. “You’ll eat. Trust me. You’ll need all your strength tomorrow.” With that, I leave her and close the door behind me.

  When I walk over to the house, I shiver at the coolness of the early evening. Being late August, it’s only in the upper 40s at this time of day. At least it’s still in the high 80s during the day but before long that will change. My house is full of noise when I walk in. Mac and Dallis are already sitting at the table in the dining area eating and chatting. I remove my hat, putting it on one of the pegs hanging on the wall, head into the kitchen, and smile when I see Mable taking a peach pie from the oven. The aroma hits me hard, and my stomach growls. “She here?” Mable asks, and I give her a nod. “Good. It’s supper time and I don’t want it getting cold.” She sets the pan down on a trivet on the round table and removes the oven mitts from her hands. “Where is she?”

  I walk over to the table, picking up a small chunk of the pie between my thumb and finger, and she smacks my hand. I laugh as I put the small piece of heaven into my mouth. “She’s cleaning up. Kind of an ornery girl. Had it too good. Kind of a spitfire.”

  She nods and sighs. “I had a feelin’. Whelp, she’s in for a big awakenin’ come tomorrow.” No shit.

  Shaking my head, I walk into the dining area and sit down at the head of the table and start loading my plate. I could eat a horse. Okay, that’s in bad taste, but ya know what I mean. Fried chicken, mashed taters, green beans and homemade rolls. Doesn’t get better than this. I set my fork down and bow my head, sayin’ grace quietly then start chowin’ down.