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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 8:00 pm
There was a part of her that was both disappointed and relieved to have been sent away so soon after setting foot on Dallas' ranch for all of thirty seconds. She had taken an Uber out there, since it was far, and was immediately struck by a nearly crippling sense of nostalgia at the sights, sounds and smells of the ranch. Upon locating the cowboy, who had been very busy, he already had an errand for her. That was to immediately turn around and go pick up one Ms. Jules and bring her out to the ranch.
That's where Knot found herself now. Once again behind the wheel of Dallas' beloved Mustang, and cruising through the suburban neighborhood of the nurse. Currently alone with her thoughts as to why her short time at the ranch left her reeling. They were thoughts she shelved for the time being as she pulled the Mustang right up into Jules' driveway, and got out of the car. She came around the vehicle, walked along the path, and hopped up to the front door, where she rang the bell and then waited.
Knot heaved a silent sigh, pushing her aviator sunglasses to rest on the top of her head, nestled against the messy top bun she had thrown her hair in earlier.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:41 pm
It was once again time for the bi-weekly Cleaning Day, the one day every other week where books and fun were set aside and Jules deep cleaned things around the house to keep her conscience figuratively clean on top of her tiny abode. There was no way she could sit in her little nook and read, knowing there was dust collecting on the bookshelves or that the toilet had gone an entire week without being scrubbed to a shine. The bathroom had been polished, the bedroom had been fussed with and she'd conquered the kitchen technically the night or so before (mostly because of a particularly bloody man who'd tromped his way in and gotten his cooties all over the place). She'd settled in to her dusting duty when the doorbell rang, which was a surprise in itself. Aurora usually texted before she visited. Dallas and Andrew tended to be boisterous and announce their presence with a doorslam or a yell (or in cases of Drew, barreling his way inside be it through the door or by teleporting). The doorbell was reserved for packages and strangers, neither of which Jules was expecting. Dust rag abandoned on the book shelf, she instinctively wiped her hands on the sides of her denim capris before making her way to the door. A quick glimpse in the peephole had her delighted, the door opening shortly after as messy bun was met with an equally messy bun atop of the older woman's own head. "Knot! What a surprise!" The Mustang caught the corner of her eye, which drew an eyebrow up. Still, no ambling, rambling cowboy was making a rowdy mess of her front yard, so.... Knot had come alone?
"What can I help you with?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 6:54 pm
Knot beamed as the door was answered by one Jules. It was a good thing she was home. She wasn't sure what she'd do otherwise. "Ms. Payne~" The woman greeted cheerfully. "Glad to see you up and moving." You know, after Dallas plowed her not too long ago. "I'm not one to beat around the bush, so I'll cut to the chase." She smiled still, and bent to give the older woman a knightly bow. Much like the one Beringia had given her the other night, except not as stiff. "Your presence is demanded right now by one rogue named Dallas at his ranch outside of the city. I'm your carriage for the day, milady." Knot tilted her head up to look at the woman, grinning lightly. "And considering I'm still in the learning phase, failure of me to produce the goods will result in termination, and that isn't acceptable. So please make yourself ready to go, or this will turn into a kidnapping, ma'am." She beamed.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 9:58 pm
The bow was unexpected but so was Knot's general presence on her front porch. The girl seemed just as cheerful, if not moreso, than she'd been when the older woman had unceremoniously made her acquaintance over some bourbon and a wounded mutual. "I see." The terminology used by the younger woman had her smirking, the mentioning of a particular rogue finally making sense to Jules as to why Knot was in possession of the cowboy's steed while the cowboy himself failed to appear. Arms folded themselves across her chest as she debated her options. She did still have a fair amount of cleaning to do...but she'd also found herself idly thinking about what being on a ranch would be like. Born and raised into city life, idyllic scenes of ranches, pastures and the wild west had her daydreaming back to segments from some of her favorite paperbacks. Maybe... maybe an hour or two couldn't hurt, right? And with Knot around, it wasn't as if the scoundrel would try to distract her all night (at least, Jules hoped he was gentlemanly enough not to try in front of the sweet child). Knot's smile was infectious, Jules' attempt at keeping the smirk in place breaking into a grin of her own. " Well, we wouldn't want a kidnapping on our hands now, would we? I'd better go grab my purse." Precisely two minutes and one purse later, Jules was stepping out onto the porch herself. Sunscreen and keys were tucked away alongside her wallet in the handbag slung over her shoulder, her buttoned up blouse and denim capris remaining unchanged. She was already dressed to get dirty in her house - no sense cleaning up if she was about to step foot on a ranch, right? "Lead the way, ma'am, we wouldn't want you getting in trouble for not producing the goods."
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 10:25 pm
"Well, I'm not against giving a kidnapping a try." Knot shot back with a grin, but alas, it was an adventure saved for another day since Jules had agreed. For those two minutes and one purse later, the woman had straightened and was idly looking about Jules' front lawn from the door. The last time she'd been here, it'd been night, and well, it was a lot different during the day. Cute, even. Being in a neighborhood like this was a new experience for her. She'd only ever been in the city proper since she woke up. Knot turned to the woman when she returned, and smiled. "You're a life saver. Again." She replied, and at the prompting, pulled the keys for the Mustang back out. She spun them by the ring on her finger as she made her way back to the car, but paused on her way to the driver's side to open the passenger side door for the woman. "Because I actually have manners." Unlike Dallas. After Jules was in, Knot closed the door, and then made her way back to the driver's side--- by Dukes of Hazarding across the hood of the Mustang. Luckily she was wearing jeans today (or else she'd wouldn't be sliding, period), and slid across the polished surface with ease. She landed on the other side, and then got into the car. She started it up, and grinned over at the woman. "You can go ahead and tell him what I did. I ain't scared." With that, they were on their way. Knot was relatively quiet during the drive, unless prompted with a question. It wasn't that she was anti-social, just that she focused on the route to get back to the ranch. While it was something of a drive it was better, actually, since Jules was outside of the city, and the ranch just a bit further instead of a lot further. The woman did speed, too, so soon enough the Mustang was pulling into the long gravel drive of the ranch. Knot drove the Mustang until she reached the spot Dallas had left it when she took it, and then the beast of a car was turned off. Knot looked over at Jules with another grin. "Ta da." She said, and got out of the car. She came around the car to open the door for Jules, and looked about. "Even though we're here ...I'm not sure where Dallas is, now." She mused. "I was only here for all of ten seconds earlier before he sent me to get you." Worst case...she'd try to call him.
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Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2018 11:12 pm
She watched the other woman slide across the hood of the car with flawless expertise. Whether or not it got scratched, she couldn't tell... but also, she wouldn't. "Dallas doesn't have to know everything, dear." The sun visor was flipped down and Jules immediately began to inspect her face for any potential wayward dust particles. She'd already taken a quick glance in passing at the bathroom mirror before leaving but now that she was on the road, she wanted to ensure at the last moment that she didn't look as raggedy as she somewhat felt. Knot, like her mentor, seemed to have picked up a knack for arriving when least expected. Jules had a feeling she'd be keeping herself better prepared for unexpected company from thereon out. Idle chatter went back and forth, mostly casual inquiries about how mornings had gone and how the weather was behaving. Jules didn't have much to divulge as far as personal life went (as her life was relatively boring, aside from being an agent of the Negaverse, of course), so she kept mum and left the conversation open in case Knot felt like offering any of her own personal information. When they arrived the ranch was... just as she'd expected, maybe a little underwhelming with the lack of animal sounds. It was actually peacefully serene, which was a lovely difference than the hustle and bustle of city life noises. As the younger woman opened the door and explained the situation, a cheerful Jules stepped out of the vehicle and made her way a few yards in front of the car. One hand gestured for Knot to be on stand-by, her grin still as charming as ever. "Please, allow me." Clearing her throat, she cupped her hands over her mouth and tilted her head up, oh so slightly, before bellowing out: " HELLOOOOOOOOOO, COWBOY!"
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:23 pm
Dallas had a plentiful morning doing work that wasn't the mercenary sort. The ranch was thriving more now that he had the cattle and horses in, and he had a couple of ranch hands. Young kids that wanted cheap work or free board. He offered both, worked with their school schedules and put them up in the barns in small apartments. His own ranch house wasn't large, but probably for a single man, it seemed so. the 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house wasn't the diamond of the whole thing.
It was the land around that was, and he had gotten lucky buying it for a decent price. Gloved hands came to wipe sweat away. He hadn't thought to take Knot out today and teach her more things, no sometimes....Sometimes good lessons came from working in the good ol' mother dirt and hay.
After shovelling out stalls with his workers, in the blistering heat, Dallas had been feeling like inviting Jules for a nice dinner and had a couple of roast smoking in the back yard. He almost didn't hear her call, and responded only when one of the kids knocked the other saying two hot women were outside. "Get back to work ya mongrels." Dallas grinned at him, "Have the steers in by 5, Hay's set. Make sure to check in on Deliah, she's close to delivering and we gotta make sure the vet is around for it." One of the mares he invested in earlier the year had come with a small surprise in the form of a foal growing in her belly. Dallas didn't have a problem with that, since the Stallion and Other mare did just fine.
As he exited out, a large fluffy tabby meowed at him and shoo'd it away. "Go catch something for once you fat fluff of whole lotta nothing. Get outta here Barn." He grinned at Jules, as he came closer. A whole lotta of sweaty even more bronzed man sweeping her up to give her a deep kiss. Did he care about making her gross? Not really.
Once he was done, he looked over at Knot. "We got some work to do." To Jules, "There's some boots in the shed. We got some stalls to muck." And then he was sauntering off.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:49 pm
Knot golf clapped for Jules' pipes, because that was impressive. It did the trick, too! The woman turned towards Dallas as he approached, and quirked a brow at the directions given. Oh. She knew she was getting put to work, but...Jules was too? As Dallas sauntered off, Knot looked over at Jules with something of an apologetic grin. "I didn't know that was his purpose for you, ma'am. Maybe if you distract him by bending over a fence---" Knot took a moment to lean on the hood on the Mustang, posing for Jules, in the position she imagined the cowboy would have the nurse. "He'll put you to a different kind of work." The woman laughed, and pulled her aviators off of her head to slip back back over her eyes. Today she was dressed for work herself. Jeans and boots. The woman moved to trot after the cowboy, catching up to him. "Could you use another hand to work this place?" She asked Dallas, trying to push down the sudden feelings of nostalgia popping up again now that she was back.
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 9:13 pm
The cowboy appeared, looking as dusty and sweaty as ever. Jules expected him to stop in his tracks when he arrived at where they were standing but it was clear that the Southern gentleman had a different sort of greeting that he wanted to give her. She had enough time to splay one hand out against his chest in startled surprise, his mouth descending on hers and silencing the short, confused noise with his sudden kiss. She looked mildly dazed when he released her, the confusion spreading to her expression as he barked orders to Knot, then.... to her? Wait. What?"You fetched me all the way out here... to work?" The young woman at her side was no help either, soon offering a suggestive pose as an alternative of getting her out of barn work. Fingers drew up to pinch her nose as she took in a deep breath. 1...2....3...."I knew I should have asked more questions." Shaking her head, she marched her way over to where she assumed the shed was located and was already yanking her purse from off of her shoulder. She could certainly call for an Uber to get the heck out of Dodge but she was already there and things obviously needed to get done. Next time, though, she'd take her chance with the kidnapping threat.
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 12:11 am
He smiled at her, all southern tanned lines. Since Knot didn't really have a choice, and because they both needed some good ol' southern home work, Dallas just laughed at Jules comment.
"You work for food around here. And since I got some nice roast on for both of you ladies...." He shrugged, "Deliah, thats one of the mares, about to pop a foal out, probably later tonight. Need to get the stalls cleaned for her so its a safe...." He looked at his watch, "I got boots and gloves for both of you, might be a little big though."
At Knot's question, he reached over and tipped chin up. "I could always use help on the Ranch. The two boys are okay but come winter, we gonna need a couple more hands to help." he called out to Jules next, "Come on blondie, Stalls need attention."
It's too bad he had a no smoking policy around the hay and barn. "Watch out for Barn, soon as we get some hay moving, he's gonna be after the mice."
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 12:54 am
"Oh wow. You really think she's going to have it tonight?" She wanted to see that. Knot quirked a brow when the man lifted her chin, and was half expecting another pass that involved her thighs, so color her pleasantly surprised when it didn't happen. She smiled. "You got me in the winter, but I can officially start now too, yeah?" She asked, just to clarify. The thought of working here...even if it was just part time, was very appealing to her. It felt comforting and familiar. The woman glanced for their other companion to make sure she was still with them and not lost. Her gaze shifted back to Dallas, as he spoke about Barn, and when he ended the statement, she was able to put two and two together. "... You named your cat Barn?"
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 6:57 am
The mess of blonde on her head had been pulled back, smoothed out into a proper ponytail when Jules reappeared from within the shed. She walked out with her chin held high, old boots now covering her feet and the top of her legs, oversized as they were.
Wrinkling her brows, she shook her head. The nurse had seen the miracle of birth and had no desire to see it involving a thousand pound animal. She planned on being snuggled up under massive amounts of blankets and pillows that evening, not stooping down in the hay staring at a horse’s a**.
…..and she wasn't referring to Dallas.
“Was probably born in a barn, just like everything else around this place.”
Her eyes were pointed directly at the cowboy as she spoke to Knot, moving to stand beside the younger woman. One last defiant look at the ranch owner and her hand was sliding down to rest on her hip.
"What makes you think this dinner of yours will be worth the manual labor, cowboy? You haven't tried my roast yet, y'know."
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 10:09 am
Sandy blonde hair popped out of the stalls and looked at Jules. "Barn was from the shelter, was on the list to be put down. Had half a tail so they thought he was useless." Said cat came trotting through, looking at both the women, and gave a deep half meow as he watched for mice to pop out.
"Yeah his name is barn. He's as ******** as big as one."
There was a deep laugh, scratching and hay moved around. From the stalls was Dallas's rich voice singing some country song.
"Six lanes tail lights Red ants marchin' into the night They disappear to the left and right again Another supper From a sack A ninety nine cent heart attack I got a poundin' head and an achin' back And the camels buried in a big straw stack"
"Pitchforks in the shed too darlin's." He stopped whistle for a bit and then grinned, "I bet you make a mighty fine roast Jules." He waited, "But nothing beats a slow cooked smoked meat." Ghouliboo You can skip some time too
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Posted: Fri Aug 03, 2018 11:45 am
"Or maybe you're just not creative with names." Knot said under her breath, but was smiling none the less. She kind of hated that it was a good name, especially for the large orange tabby that just sauntered by. ... She wondered who he learned to saunter from. With a task ahead of her now though, the woman was focused, and once told where to retrieve the tools, Knot headed that way. She couldn't shake off the feeling that settled over like a blanket. Not smothering but...all over and she wasn't getting out from under it. It all felt so familiar. The sights, the smells, the sounds, and the cherry on top was Dallas' singing. So... She got to work, and even along the way found a wheelbarrow and placed her tools in there as she mucked stalls. Hm...was muscle memory a thing for someone in the amnesiac situation like her's?
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 4:52 pm
She had no earthly idea what "mucking" involved and Jules quickly learned she wished she hadn't known what mucking involved. Nevertheless, she put forth the effort into helping get the stables prepared for the mother-to-be and the soon expected little one. Barn wasn't much help, though he made for a decent break when she needed to take a moment to herself and relax her sore hands with a little bit of chin scritching and back scratching. By the time the dirty job got done, she'd learned two things: One, Dallas had a shamefully handsome singing voice. The drawl was soothing, a timber rumble as it only broke from the occasional turn as he shoveled around in the stalls. Secondly, she was not made for manual labor of such level. Her poor palms and fingers were feeling raw and sore, no doubt the beginnings of some ruthless looking blisters. Unless a miracle were to happen, she'd probably have to end up calling in for work the following night - there was no way to keep her fingers pinched or her wrists steady with the way the soft skin was aching. Ah, well. Some people were born for the role - Jules would simply stick to her own vocation and leave Knot to assisting the ridiculous cowboy in his ranch endeavors. One arm rose up to wipe the sweat from her brow, the other leaning her weight against the pitchfork, the head scraping against the ground. Blue eyes looked over their hard work, the woman personally satisfied with how things had evolved. "If your mare has an issue with how her home looks now, she's going to have to finish sprucing it up herself."
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