Author's Note: This is long, complex, and different; be patient and let the story play out.
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Jeff Winters was excited and couldn't wait to get home. He had been told by a guy at work about a life changing place to go for vacation. Jeff and his wife had skipped a summer vacation this year because his project at work was behind schedule and she was taking classes at the university during the summer. Jeff was twenty eight and his beautiful wife Joanie was twenty four. They had met when he was a senior and she was a freshman. By the end of the school year, he had graduated and gotten a job in a nearby city. She continued in school but on a reduced schedule because they got married that summer soon after Jeff started his job. Their honeymoon had been a long weekend at a local resort hotel and they promised each other that they would go on a real honeymoon when his new job and her college career settled down.
Now five years later, the honeymoon was still a future event. Jeff had settled into his job and was doing well as a marketing specialist for a hardware products manufacturer. He made a decent living and they had bought a small house. Joanie settled into the role of housewife and part time student. She didn't mind since her mother had lived a similar life and Joanie was used to the lifestyle. Her father had been a great father, but had definitely been the decision maker in their family. As a result, she naturally allowed Jeff to make most of the decisions in their lives. He was a good and attentive husband, but was definitely following in her father's role. If Joanie had any regrets about marrying so young, they usually surfaced after meeting with her freshman roommate Melissa who was still single and living what seemed like an exotic life as a theatrical agent who frequently traveled throughout the country arranging and negotiating for traveling theater productions in a variety of locations.
She and her former roommate got together for lunch whenever Melissa was in town which was usually every month or six weeks. At each of these get-togethers, her friend would regale her with tales of the different cities she had been to and often the brief affairs with actors, directors, or local people that she came in contact with. Joanie listened with excitement, but on the whole felt satisfied with her sex life with Jeff. What she missed was the freedom of getting out and doing new and different things. She occasionally regretted not being able to participate in some of the parties she heard about at school, but she knew that she needed to be home to take care of her husband. When she was young, she always enjoyed going fishing and camping with her father. She loved being outdoors and feeling the freedom of being in the countryside.
Jeff on the other hand wasn't a hunter, camper or fisherman. Instead he was somewhat of an adventure freak. He liked to go white water rafting and ride off-road motorcycles. She realized that he had a risk taking need that she didn't share. But it seldom came between them. If he wanted to go rafting, she would go and maintain the camp and enjoy the area around the campground. She had met a number of people who shared her preference while their spouses were racing over hill and dale on motorcycles or getting soaked on a raft going down a series of rapids. Jeff always came back exhilarated while she always relaxed. That night, they would often make passionate love with Jeff spouting his excess energy inside her. She always felt well loved after these testosterone filled bouts of sex. Once back home, sex was more sedate; and while satisfying, it wasn't quite as thrilling.
So she wasn't surprised when Jeff burst through the front door thoroughly excited. She expected that very soon, he would be trying to convince her to go to another cycling or rafting weekend. She knew that she would agree and that she would enjoy the weekend. But once, he had opened a beer and poured her a glass of wine, he excitedly asked her if she wanted to take a late vacation for two weeks and that it could be their honeymoon. Her eyes widened in surprise and she started stumbling over her words.
"What...how...I don't know... school...and work...and..."
"Slow down and let me explain." Jeff took a deep breath and began. "One of the guys at work told me about this place he and his family went to this summer. It is a guest ranch or something like that. Anyway, in the summer they cater to families and do cattle drives and trail rides and things like that. Everything is guided and supervised by working cowboys and girls. But once school starts in the fall, they cut back and are open for couples only. For this, they tailor the activities to fit individual desires. One of the things they offer is a rock climbing course and you know how much I want to do that. But they also do the cattle drive and trail drives which seem to be things that you would like. The great thing is that in the fall, the price is half what it is in the summer. The guy said that dealing with smaller groups, they don't need to hire as many people to work so the price comes down."
Joanie could feel herself getting excited at the thought of a trail ride and maybe a campout in the wilderness. "Tell me more. How can we do this with our work and my school?"
"That is the great thing; they only take a few people at a time in the fall and it is for two weeks. If we book now, we can get in the first week after public schools start which is almost two weeks before your school starts. My project should be done by then and my boss has already told us to plan our delayed vacations before Thanksgiving because we will be starting a new one after the holiday."
"Wow. That would be great. So where is this place and how much would it cost?"
"I'm not sure of the details. But I have a website to look at. Do you want to look now or after dinner?"
"Let's look now; dinner won't be ready for another forty five minutes and we can talk about it more over dinner."
Jeff eagerly got his laptop out and booted it up on the living room sofa. Joanie poured them each another drink and went to sit by her husband whose excitement had not abated any. The fact that Joanie had shown interest in it inflamed his interest even more.
As the website opened they were greeted with a scenic picture of a range of mountains over what seemed to be a rolling hills and prairie. Jeff hit the video introduction button and for the next fifteen minutes they both sat transfixed as scene after beautiful scene of grasslands, hills, mountains, streams, and mountain lakes passed before their eyes. Some of the video showed people riding horses, swimming in the lakes, or cooking over an open fire; other scenes were scenic ones that often showed a group of people in the distance.
Everything they showed was almost idyllic. Jeff's excitement soared as did Joanie's, but for different reasons. When the video was over, Jeff eagerly clicked on the tab that said "Fall Program." Together they read that the ranch was a working one that in the summer featured many activities, but all were tailored to families and those with limited outdoor experience. The fall program was for adults only and often featured more advanced things that fit in with the ranch's needs. Then it listed a variety of classes and programs all of which fitted into two basic programs; a trail ride or a cattle drive. The exception was the rock climbing class which was an individually taught event and required special permission and consideration. That tempered Jeff's enthusiasm, but did nothing to temper Joanie's.
When they clicked on the price and reservation page, they were surprised to find that the fall was indeed half the price of the summer program. However, the rock climbing course was extra because of the individual instruction. In total however, the cost for the two weeks was $2500 which was certainly less than a resort hotel anywhere. The timer on the oven went off and Jeff closed down the connection while they ate and talked about it.
The talk over dinner was brief and to the point; they both wanted to do it. Dinner ended quickly and Joanie had the dishes cleaned off and in the dishwasher in less than ten minutes while Jeff rebooted the computer to the reservation page. When Joanie joined him, they looked at each other and smiled broadly as Jeff entered their name, address, and phone number. There was also a place to put a day and time within the next week that they would both be together for a teleconference call. They looked at each other and then he wrote "any evening after seven P.M. Central Time". Then there was a list of activities desired with two columns; one for the husband and one for the wife. Jeff clicked on the rock climbing one as his first choice. Then he put the trail ride as his second choice. Joanie had the trail ride as her first choice and the cattle drive as her second. Jeff hit enter after entering his credit card number. The screen went blank for a moment and then came back with a message that said, "Please be available for a teleconference tomorrow night at seven P.M. Central time. Both parties must be present. Thank you."
Jeff logged off and looked at Joanie, "So are you ready for this adventure?"
"I can't believe how excited I am. You know, they didn't give any instructions on how to get there or what to bring. I wonder if they will send that out later."
"Probably. Now, how would you like to go take a shower together?"
Joanie knew that Jeff was as excited as when he rode his motorcycle and that she would be getting a really good fucking tonight. She pulled him up and led him to the bathroom.
The next night, Jeff was running a little late and didn't get home until six thirty. He quickly changed clothes and got out his computer and logged in. Joanie brought him a beer and a glass of wine for herself. When he logged in, he immediately received a message telling him to open a video conference software or to download it from a certain site. It only took him a minute to download it. He was familiar with this type of software from work, but this one seemed a little simpler to use. He quickly had it open and ready to use.
Promptly at seven, the screen changed and a moment later, the camera showed the top of a desk with no one visible. A moment later, a very attractive young woman sat down with a glass of either wine or water in her hand. She turned to the camera after picking up a sheet of paper. "Is this Jeff and Joanie Winters?"
They both thought she had a very pleasant voice and replied simultaneously, "Yes."
