Thoroughly Loving Nina

THE STORY SO FAR: Twice divorced, unemployed computer technician Victor Haig is searching for a real soul mate when he rescues Nina Raymond from two louts who mistook her for a hooker – or an easy opportunity. The previous night Nina was thrown out of home by her mentally unbalanced and recently widowed father. Nina (20) admits to 37-year old Vic she's sexually inexperienced. He learns the young woman has been abused sexually by the few men in her life including her father. They leave town, taking to the road in Nina's SUV with no destination in mind. The next morning Nina decides to go back and check on her father and doesn't return. Vic is without her phone number so assumes she'd abandoned him. He thumbs a ride and is picked up by ranchers who end up offering him a job looking after their 'Ranch Guest' bookings and managing that side of their twin commercial operation. After her father's funeral Nina returns to find the campsite abandoned so goes on television broadcasting an appeal for Vic or anyone coming across him to call her. The co-owner of the ranch spots the ad and Vic ends up calling Nina. They reunite and she is offered Vic's job now that the computer systems are sorted and he's about to be promoted operations manager at the ranch.

* * *

Vic awoke to find his dawn erection already filling Nina's mouth. He considered it amazing that a novice like her could become so great as deep-throating simply by watching a tutorial on TV.

"You're early on the job," he grinned, stroking Nina's hair affectionately. Presumably she considered it rude to answer with a full mouth; she settled for widening her eyes and then winking. That erotic almost caused Vic to lose it and pump a prelude to breakfast into her, but he was glad he visualized being gored in the bullring which allowed him to switch off that ejaculation because the sexy fireball would no doubt have further action in mind.

She did. She pulled away from his dick with a soft 'plop!' Sweeping her hair back into place and panting slightly she commanded, "Fuck me between the tits if you're up to it."

Vic knew what she was on about. The previous afternoon she's went head to head with him in their resumption to sex and finally had him stretched out, exhausted – in fact legless

Already she'd generated a slight coating of sweat between her breasts through the exertion of deep-throating and now she spat on her palm and added that to the valley.

"Waste of time," Vic grinned, thrusting three fingers into her nicely lubed pussy, causing her eyes to widen and mouth to drop. He explained, "Pussy juice is what we need; remember that." He walked on his knees over Nina and slicking the valley with his three fingers he added a smear around his dick and began thrusting away, watching her staring at him with wide eyes.

"God, I could fuck like this all day," he said with bravado.

An egoistical lie of course. A few minutes later he was sucking in extra air as she instrinctively squeezed her tits against his thickening dick.

"Want to swallow?" he grunted.

She nodded and opened wide. Without losing too much momentum Vic cupped her neck to lift her head up and closer; the upward thrust was now practically touching her lips. His eyes fixed on those full lips and gleaming, very even white teeth. Then she pushed her tongue out flatly; sighting that sexy organ emerge was too much – he exploded. Vic watched in awe as part of him squirted into her mouth, some of the discharge falling away from her lips, her tongue chasing after dribbles of the lumpy white fluid. Somehow she even managed to make the house-cleaning part of that action seem sexy.

"Ooh, you haven't deflated," she said with the evidence in her hand. "What should we do now?"

"Clean up and go to cowboy time breakfast then I begin teaching you about guest management systems. You'll learn most of it within a day, being you, but I have been given three days to do it."

He was pleased, thinking she'd realize his confidence in her being a quick learner would be appreciated. His mouth fell when she said airily, "Three days you say – that must be Hannah assuming we'd spend at least half each day fucking."

Vic was appalled. "How on earth could you think Hannah..." He stopped, catching the teasing look on her face.

As they walked through to breakfast Nina saw a lean tall guy in checked shirt, very tight jeans, boots and carrying his Stetson walk from Joe's office. "Oh look," she whispered, "A real live cowboy, how exiting."

"They're call wranglers and I bet he's just been bawled out and put on warning for fighting, judging by the swelling under that right eye."

"Oh, that's my piece of romanticism shot to pieces."

"The fight was probably over a woman."

"Oh really, how exciting. One of the cooks or a room service maid, I guess."

"Or a female wrangler."

"What, this dude ranch has cowgirls?"

"Yes, they prefer the name wrangler. There are three of them, hard as nails and look as if they chew concrete."

"You're kidding me."

Vic looked out the window and saw two wranglers riding by. "Come with me." Nina followed him out the door. Vic stuck two fingers in both sides of his mouth and emitted a piercing whistle. The riders turned round.

"Betsy – over her for a minute will you."

The smaller of the two riders kneed her mount, turned and the horse trotted over.

"Hi Betsy, I'd like you to meet Nina."

"Hi dude," Betsy said, spitting out gum than landed near Nina's feet. "Is he having it off with you?"

"I beg you pardon," Nina flared.

"Suit yourself. If you don't want to converse I'm off to bring in the horses for you dudes. Horses are friendlier."

"Betsy, Nina is taking over as guest services manager and next week I become one of your two bosses."

"That's fine, at least you are cool."

Vic stared Betsy down. "So is Nina cool – she's a city girl and is probably very nervous about your horse being so close to her. And yes I was having my way with her before I arrived at this ranch. She's just buried her father."

"Oh God, I'm sorry Nina," Betsy said, removing her Stetson and holding it against her chest. Would you like to join me and the girls for a drink around 6:00? We have our own bunkhouse with a veranda that overhangs the lake. We'd be honored to have you in your grief."

"Thank you. That is very kind of you and I accept."

Betsy said nothing to her horse, left the reins slack as she put on her Stetson. The horse turned and trotted off to join the waiting male wrangler.

"How did she do that?"

"Shifted her weight and pushed with one knee."

"You indicated they were tough cookies. She was nice as pie."

Vic didn't grin. "Only three things frighten those women – falling and breaking their back so they can't ride their horses, becoming pregnant and death. You caught her with the last one and scared the crap out of her."

"Don't be disgusting. If she's scared of some things then she's not as tough as she looks."

"Then you admit she looks tough?"

"No, whatever gave you that idea?"

Vic shook his head and sighed. "Well, Bella will scare the crap out of you."

He didn't answer when Nina asked him what was so special about Bella.

Late that night Vic was called to the females' bunkhouse to take Nina back to her room in a golf cart. She was as drunk as a skunk, almost unconscious.

Scarred-faced Bella lifted Nina up effortlessly and placed her into the cart before Vic could dart around to assist. "You have a lively one there, Vic. She has guts. She stood to allow me to throw my knifes at her, neither moving nor whimpering and scarcely blinking. One knife went a bit astray and almost entered her waterworks. I think that was the time she blinked. Then she drank the other two under the table, but not me of course. She's welcome to bunk down here whenever she wishes."

"Gawd Bella, don't allow anyone else to hear you say that as it could ruin your reputation."

Bella grinned, swaying unsteadily and slapped him on the shoulder. "You're okay Vic. Joe told me this morning he's promoting you to operations manager which places you over me and Jake – I like being with my horses and looking after the land rather than being in the office doing the paperwork and other duties; Jake feels the same way with his cattle. We're glad to have the paperwork dumped on you and know you'll be keen to have any improvement in bottom-line profit attributed to you. We also know another revamp heads our way when Margo returns in a year's time with her husband in tow. It's sweet Vic and this is not the liquor talking. Good luck to you."

Vic ferried Nina back to their room, whistling as he went. He, too, was scared of 190-pound Bella. When in her twenties, almost twenty years ago, she did two years in the pen for killing a guy with her bare hands in a barroom brawl after he ripped her face open with the end of broken whisky bottle. Most of the guest services female workers who shared the bunkhouse were terrified of her although she never touched them. Nina only played around with and occasionally walloped the other tough wrangler, Roxanne.

The months fly by. Nina excelled at her job because she had front-on personality to deal people, was patient with them and their complaints and worked and thought efficiently. She was pro-active whenever confronted by a problem. Vic taught her to ride a cross country bike and Bella became unbelievable sensitive in teaching Nina to connect to horses so they eyed her without fear. Eventually under Bella's training Nina was in the saddle of the more friskier horses not offered to ranch guests and they treated her with reasonable obedience.

There was one harrowing moment when Nina, bolstered with the feeling she was invincible with horses, walked into the enclosure holding out a carrot to the beautiful black stallion, unaware of Broris's tyrannical reputation. Joe the rancher, Bella and Vic came out of the stables and spotted Nina's unwitting encounter with death. Boris had his ears back, pawing the ground with his right foot.

"Oh God," Joe breathed. The tension in that utterance alerting Vic to the fact something was wrong, terribly wrong.

"Don't move," Bella whispered emphatically. "This is between him and her; we're too far away to intervene and anyway we'd need a big bore rifle to stop him.

"Jesus," Vic gasped, seized by the enormity of the moment.

"Stallions sometimes act differently when confronted by women. If she ovulating?"

"How the fuck would I know that," Vic whispered frantically, bringing a wry smile to Bellas's scarred face.

"Let's hope for your sake and hopefully for Nina she's not in that state."

They watched tensely, Vic clutching at Bella and she holding his hand.

The magnificently formed stallion swooped up to Nina who stood her ground, unafraid. Boris covered her lower body with dust as he slid to a halt, a couple of feet from her. He stretched out and took the carrot. Nina attempted to pat the star on his forehead but he snorted and drew his head to the side, away from her.

Nina turned her back on him and walked to the gate. Boris snorted and trotted away to stop under the shade of an overhanging tree, looking back at her.

The three witnesses to a potentially terrible drama that Nina had defused flew to her side.

"Boris a killer? You guys are are out of your tree. Boris is such a pet," Nina insisted.

The months rolled by. Vic and Nina learned a raft of new business skills and became accomplished at dealing with people, taking orders and giving orders. They also rode horses and cross country bikes, became reaonsably proficient at fly fishing and target shooting, learned river kayaking and white-water rafting and learned to read maps and weather conditions when distant tramping.

Vic and Nina became quite deeply attached and were living as lovers prepared to take the opportunities begging and at other times to back away when the other partner showed signs of needing space.

Nina is the best woman I've ever been with, by a long shot, Vic told himself and an an appropriate moment told Nina that innermost thought. She stoked his hair, leaning against him and not saying anything while Vic could see she was weeping. That made him feel very humble.

But what was their future together? he thought, then decidied to continue taking one day at the time. After all, she'd indicated at the outset she was searching for a man to spend the rest of her life with. He found difficulty seeing himself as that man.

Choose me Nina, he sighed fancifully. The age gap between them was ten years, not insurmountable as many other couples had made the commitment with age gaps far greater than ten years. But sadly for him, Nina knew her own mind and would act accordingly when the time came. He sniffed and changed to think about something ele.

Finally it came time to go. Nina and Vic had discussed with Joe and Hannah when should they finish up. Joe accepted Vic's suggestion that they should just fade away to allow his daughter Margo and son-in-law to come in and to start afresh without having two 'temps' standing in their way.

"Okay, that makes sense," Joe said with a catch in his throat. You two guys sure took a load off me and that means a loan off Hannah. We'll never forget you. As my daughter and her husband arrive on Monday, why don't you two finish up on Saturday? I'll pay your off at 6:00."

Hannah whispered at quite some length to Joe. "You guys come to us at 8:00 and we'll then leave for late dinner. You can leave the next morning when your heads clear."

Vic shook Joe's hand and hugged Hannah. "That sounds lovely. We look forward to your hospitality.:

Instead of leaving the ranch just short of 9:00 for a restaurant, Joe drove Hannah, Nina and Vic to the main bunkhouse. The lights were on but it appeared strangely quiet inside. They entered to find the beds had been pushed back and the tables were laden with food and drink. Behind the tables were the entire autumn staff, not as large as the summer team and the only person who appeared missing was Bella.

The gathering cheered, whooped and whistled as the Joe led in his party.

"Bella's missing," Vic said and equally disappointed Nina said, "Oh, how sad."

"Bella never comes to turnouts," Hannah confided. "When involved in a crowd she looses her confidence because of her scars."

After dinner when the tables were removed, a three-piece band that had been setting up – the lead, a singer with a fiddle, a keyboard player and drummer – began playing dance music.

"Will our special guests Nina Raymond and Victor Haig please take to the floor," Joe announced.

"Can you dance?" Vic asked nervously.

"Yes."

"Me too," he confessed, sounding relieved.

They danced, looking very good, and after three laps the music stopped.

"This means we pick new partners – you grab Hannah and I'll snare Joe."

And so the night continue serenely until midnight when the double doors at the end of the room burst open and in walked Bella to the bar where she shouted, "Whisky!"

The crowd left the dance floor when the band finished that number; Bella walked up to the band leader, watched by everyone.

"Play 'The Last Waltz', twice Nigel."

"No."

"Nigel, I'm asking nicely only once more."

"No, I'm running this show. We'll play 'The Last Waltz' as our last number."

Bella stuck two hands under the rotund band leader's belt and lifted him well clear of the floor; her mouth turned into a very toothy scowl. "What's it to be, Nigel?"

"A short version of 'The Last Waltz' played twice."

"Good boy Nigel," said Bella, patting his cheek once, a slap heard throughout the bunkhouse that almost sent Nigel reeling.

The bank played The Last Waltz and Bella went up to Nina and held out her hand, which Nina accepted. Bella took the lead and they danced very well.

As the music ended, Bella returned Nina to Hannah's side, kissing her delicately. "Never forsake him, little darling," Bella said loudly, and turning to Vic offered her hand which was accepted and the music resumed.

Big Bella became graceful and light-footed and she and Vic danced as if they'd long danced together. The assembly clapped appreciatively and Nigel called, "Everyone to the floor."

Bella remained on the floor embracing Vic, tears running down her cheek. Finally she said, "Never forsake her, my darling." She choked, released Vic and made her exit the way she'd arrived. Everyone stood stunned until Hannah said loudly, "Well that was a surprise revelation. I wasn't aware I had competition."

Vic walked from the floor looking pole-axed – that is until he saw the look in Nina's eyes; he'd never seen that look before and thought how adorable she was.

Supper was announced and during that break the staff presented Vic with a pair of handsomely tooled leather wrangler boots and Nina with the feminine version.

Vic nodded to Betsy and she came forward carrying a brass weather vane.

"Thanks guys for making our stay here so rewarding and memorable," Vic said. "Nina and I present this small gift to all of you and suggest it's placed on top of the stables, focal point of any ranch dedicated to cattle herding tradition."

Vic and Nina drove off quietly next morning but not before Hannah presented Nina with a bouquet of flowers, at the centre of which hung a beautiful dress ring. Joe hugged Vic tightly and gave a little speech, saying they'd always be welcomed back at the ranch, even as visitors. He gave Vic an envelope saying, Hannah and he agreed Vic's salary as a greenhorn manager had been set a little short.

"Tell me what's in the envelope you're holding," Vic requested, as they hit the main highway and turned north.

"Holy cow – it's a cheque for $24,000. Nothing like the extra revenue you have squeezed out of the operation with your fine-tunings. But it's still a generous gesture - you're very much worth it, darling."

"My attitude is it makes me feel more financially secure – me who was a bum only one year ago."

After that emotional statement Vic wiped the corner of his eye.

Nina sighed and asked, "What now?"

"We drive. Someone will find they need us."

* * *

Nina didn't question Vic's comment because she shared that view – there was no hurry as they had no dependants or other commitments and neither were short of money. Indeed, only hours before receiving his termination payment and the unexpected check from Joe, Vic had told her his current bank balance was the biggest he'd possessed in his life – by far. She felt very pleased for him which forced her to acknowledge to herself they had become a couple, almost without realizing it.

But Hannah had realized it, bringing it to Nina's attention over coffee one morning – Hannah liked to socialize and when the female guests were out riding for three or four hours she tended to attach herself to Nina for company over coffee, even a private lunch just for the two of them. Hannah's comment 'You two are now acting more relaxed' had surprised her so she merely agreed with the observation but analysed it later. It was true – there had been this undertone of tension between them. She'd attributed that to her depressing time as her father breathed towards his final demise. It had been terrible for her, being alone apart from acquaintances, mostly hospital staff. She now realized that had partly created the undertow between them: the other reasons, only now being identified, was Vic's resentment arising from his mistaken belief she'd run out on him and perhaps even a residual feat she'd do it to him again.

Nina had sighed her usual refrain, 'Oh God' – an expression inherited from her mom who'd picked it up from her mom. There was little she could do about this as time rather than words would be the healer.

As they drove Nina's thoughts between outbursts of conversation turned up a third factor: Vic's two failed marriages. No matter who was to blame for the break-ups that would have been hurtful and demeaning for him, lowering his confidence in women. Nina decided she must take care and not build up to gradually being everything to him. Best she should pitch her position halfway between a casual girlfriend and a lover; he ought to be able to handle that comfortably. After all, one didn't usually fuck their casual girlfriends. Or did they?