Under the Big Montana Sky

            After stretching against one of the trees in front of the main house under the friendly gaze of several cats and a large sandy colored dog lying under the swing on the porch, Sarah started off down the long road that led to the highway.  After some thought she had decided that she would jog down to the highway and back every morning as her route, figuring that the gentle rolls of the land would give her more of a workout then the flat roads of Houston.  After reaching the highway she turned and began back up the road.  Consciously keeping her breath in rhythm with her steps, she felt her muscles work in concert.  Sarah loved the exhilaration of running and ran every morning no matter what the conditions.  She was almost back to the house when she heard the sound of a vehicle approaching her from behind.

            Suddenly a loud horn was honking and a vehicle roared by, running her off of the road onto the narrow gravel shoulder.  She regained her composure and kept her pace even though her heart felt like it would pound out of her chest.  As she watched the back of the large black Dodge dually truck with a huge chrome bumper cow guard that had tried to run her down fly up and park in front of the main house.  “How rude” she thought to herself “It’s not like I was in the middle of the road, he had lots of room.”  She continued watching to see, who the jerk getting out of that truck would be.  “Probably some short guy with a lot to prove.” she thought with grim amusement.  Much to Sarah’s surprise, a tall, lean woman wearing old blue jeans that molded to her powerful legs, a white, tucked in T-shirt and a straw cowboy hat stepped out of the truck. Her tan, work hardened arms hung loosely at her sides ending in heavy work gloves that concealed her hands completely.  The strength of her broad shoulders became apparent as she casually grabbed a large bag of feed and slung it over one shoulder.  Then balancing the feed lightly, she turned and looked at Sarah.  The steady gaze of her dark eyes missed nothing as it traveled unhurriedly down and then up Sarah’s slender body, pausing briefly to watch her breasts moving against the fabric of her shirt as Sarah continued to jog.  Sarah suddenly felt naked and as their eyes finally made contact the fifty yards between them evaporated.  The impact of those smoldering eyes left Sarah breathless as she unconsciously slowed to a walk and then stopped.  Silently the two of them regarded each other across the distance for what felt to Sarah like an eternity before the driver abruptly turned and walked off toward the stables.  As if released from a spell, Sarah shook her head, and wondered aloud “Who was that woman?” already knowing the answer.  That had to be Jo.  Realizing that she was standing in the road, Sarah began walking towards the porch and the swing, her mind whirling from the encounter.  Abruptly Sarah decided not to mention the incident to Alice “She seems to have so much on her mind already” she reasoned with herself.  So she stretched her muscles again and carefully stepping over the dog that hadn’t noticeably moved, sat down on the porch swing.  Only after she was seated and had been swinging quietly for a while did she realize that her heart was still pounding as if she had just run a marathon instead of just down to the mail box and back, a trip of no more then a mile.