At that time, the ranch was valued at over $2,000,000 I had to pay over $200,000 in taxes. I had enough in my 401K to cover it but the only way I could use that money was to borrow from the account, and that's what I did. To keep my payments low, I spread them over 20 years which would take me almost till retirement to repay the loan. The monthly payment really taxed our meager income.
The next few years passed quickly but were lean years. The ranch had not been properly maintained and became a significant drain on our resources. Ann and I spent most of our free time working at the ranch. We had a huge meadow which had been planted with coastal Bermuda so we fertilized it heavily and after a wet spring we had excess hay to sell. We had various equipment that came with the ranch which included two hay balers and several tractors in different states of disrepair. We worked on that equipment for a month then Ann, and I cut the entire meadow, raked it, and baled the hay. We both drove tractors and put in long days before we finished. I immediately sold half of the hay which produced enough money for us to operate the ranch for a year. We lucked out with the weather and had summer rain, so we had summer hay to bail. That, plus hay remaining from the first cut was sold in January to big ranches in Montana and Wyoming. I didn't have to deal with transportation as the ranches were so desperate they sent tractor trailers for the hay. We already had enough money to operate the ranch for a year so the second lot of money from the hay we used to improve it. Ann was right there with me all the way, she never feared of jumping right in and doing her share of the work.
We both loved working at the ranch and shared a dream of building a lovely home overlooking the big lake. We had to scrimp and save to live, but neither of us ever complained. We both wanted to wait until the kids had finished college before moving to the ranch full time, then we would be able to retire and just work the ranch. Looking back these were the happiest years of our marriage.
After that year, everything got a lot easier, for many reasons. I had written two agriculture books for the college level and they were accepted nationwide by all colleges that had an ag program. With the revenue from the books, we purchased a lovely house in Plano and used the remainder on the ranch. I would also receive a yearly royalty on the books.
We were also receiving revenue from a large petroleum company that took out an oil lease on the ranch and the income from that was six figures. There would be additional royalties if they ever drilled and had oil producing wells.
Ann got promotion after promotion at the bank, and I was still teaching high school when I received an offer from one of the big Dallas area colleges to be a professor but still teaching agriculture. The deal maker with the pay raise was that I only had to work a four-day week, Monday thru Thursday. Besides keeping office hours, I had to only teach a couple of classes each day. I filled those days by working on my doctorate which took two years then I became Dr. Jones.
The ranch had started to pay its way but I desperately needed help. We had a one-man yard service maintaining our large lawn and the man was a Mexican immigrant who was just barely earning enough to get by and in the winter, didn't have any work. I became friendly with him and because I needed help on the ranch I offered him a full-time job. I bought two repossessed double wide homes and had Miguel's family move into one near a small range of trees overlooking one of the many lakes on the ranch. The other was used by Ann and I when we stayed overnight at the ranch.
The immigrant's name was Miguel and together with his wife, Maria, came to work full time for us. They were completely trustworthy, and I depended on them to take care of things when I wasn't at the ranch. Both became faithful, loyal, and fast friends to both Ann and myself.
They now had a home that was much better than what they had been living in, and now also had the additional benefits of growing their own food in a large vegetable garden and they were also able to raise their own meat for the freezer.
In Texas, there is an open season on wild hogs, which are a huge menace to farmers and ranchers and can destroy hay fields in just a few days. Miguel and I often trapped (we donated the meat to the homeless in Dallas) them but occasionally he kept one for eating and always had pork in the refrigerator and freezer.
Each year got easier and easier. Both kids had gotten their college degrees and were now married and starting their own family. Ann and I had spent a fortune, both in time and money on the ranch, but it was now paying huge dividends. We were very comfortable, and I was ready to retire and spend all of my time on the ranch but Ann wanted to continue working. This was a continued source of arguments, one of the few times in our marriage that I could remember disagreeing. We had agreed early in our marriage that we would retire in our 50's, build a house on the ranch, and live there permanently.
Ann, had, two years ago, received a promotion to executive vice president and all the trappings that came with the position. In addition to her bank duties, she was also responsible for helping to arrange and attend the various charities around Dallas. Her salary almost tripled. She was often late coming home, especially on Friday night after having to attend various social events. She always looked like a million dollars. Her dress, hair, makeup, and nails were all immaculate. I lusted after her but often she wasn't interested. Before her promotion, we had sex three or four times a week. Now if I was lucky, and I mean lucky, to get sex three times a month, usually on Sunday and even then, she seemed disinterested. I tried to talk to Ann, but she just blew me off.
About six months ago, I left school early to surprise my wife and take her out to lunch, however, when I entered the bank my wife was talking to an older man in the lobby. I approached her and immediately saw her hard nipples straining to break through her blouse. She was acting funny too, almost girlish, then I realized she was flirting shamelessly with the man. I walked up to them and introduced myself and my wife asked me what brought me to the bank. I told her I thought I would surprise her and take her out to lunch. She wouldn't look me in the eye but just replied she couldn't today as she had other arrangements. I asked if they could be broken or rescheduled and her reply was no. With that, I said I was sorry to interrupt you and your plans. She couldn't stand still and was very fidgety. As I left, I thought to myself that I had never seen her acting like that, even with me. It was very apparent she was turned on, and I bet her panties were soaking.
I moved my truck across the square to a place I could observe the doors of the bank without being noticed and about twenty minutes later Ann and her friend left the bank together and got into a late model Lexus. I texted her and asked, "what the fuck is going on?"
I didn't expect a reply, but a second later she responded, "I don't know what you are talking about."
I replied "you wouldn't go out to lunch with your husband, but you find time to go out with your boyfriend. I saw how sexually aroused you were in the bank, your nipples were practically popping through your blouse, and I bet you are wet as a fish and your panties are most likely soaked as well."
A minute later she replied, "I'm sorry, but this is a business lunch."
"I hope you enjoy the sex, especially since I'm not getting any from you. Maybe you would rather live with your lover boy than me. Maybe you shouldn't come home." She didn't reply.
Ann returned home that night and all my attempts to talk to her about the lunch date were met with not now, or later. Of course, there was never a "later." I became icy around her. I wanted her to feel my pain, but she never reacted. I started answering her questions abruptly and often in an angry tone. She was so involved in her world to take offense or even notice and respond. She just acted as if everything was normal.
I would get up on Friday morning and go to the ranch and not return till Sunday evening. I always asked Ann if she would go with me and she always had an excuse not to go, even if there was no charity event scheduled.
A little over a month ago, I officially retired from my teaching job. My university arranged a big retirement party for me and I pleaded for Ann to go with me but she said she was obligated to a charity event the same night. I was very hurt and told her so but again she didn't react. I was really upset with Ann and told her that her fuck buddy was more important than me. I was ready to walk away then and on hindsight maybe I should have. After that, I became even colder.
I am not a good house husband, not that Ann cared because she was never home. Finally, I told her I was moving to the ranch permanently, and we agreed that she would come on the weekends. Of course, there was always a text message on Friday explaining why she couldn't make the journey. I decided I would return to Plano on the weekend if she couldn't come to me. This made her angry, but she was rarely home on Saturday. Finally, I asked, "Ann, do you want a divorce because I don't think we have much of a marriage left?" After saying that I handed her divorce paperwork, needing only signatures.
