First Love

By Ina Bareither

Being a fiercely determined young lady who has always taken care of herself, Billie Jo was extremely surprised to find herself the victim of target practice for this insanely arrogant, completely revolting individual, who is obviously somewhat removed from reality if his current actions are any indication.

Never in a million years would she have believed she would have let her guard down long enough to find herself here in this place with this person, fighting for her life, but unable to speak at all due to the duct tape and the gag he’d stuffed into her mouth.

He’d already kicked her so hard, so many times, she was sure she’d lost the baby. Alex would never forgive her for allowing this man to kill their child. She prayed he would finish the job and end her suffering, but she knew in her heart that he wanted her to suffer further. After all, she hadn’t chosen him. In fact, she was completely repelled by him, always had been.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Apr 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781638299721

Book preview

Chapter 1

Walking through the Christmas tree lot as she did every year, she hummed along with the holiday music playing over the outdoor speaker as she admired the twinkling lights overhead and enjoyed the wonderful smell of pine with a contented smile on her heavily dirt-streaked face.

Her workday was finally over and now it was time to relax for the evening, even if only for a few short hours.

Christmas was one of her favorite times of the year. Most people around decorated their homes and there were decorations everywhere downtown and in the store fronts. Nearly everyone in town was in a jolly mood for close to a month and the gift-wrapping had begun, which was another of her favorite activities, not that she had a ton of experience in that area, but still she enjoyed it immensely. So much so that she volunteered last weekend down at the old folks’ home to help with their gift-wrapping tasks, just as she had done every December for many years now.

Once again, like every year, here she was walking through the lot trying to decide if she wanted to purchase one of these scrawny trees to help the local economy or if she wanted to take the time to search for and chop down her own Christmas tree, killing a baby tree in the process.

Of course, she already knew the answer to that question; just looking at this selection of straggly little trees was enough to make anyone decide against the purchase. And the prices on some of them were astronomical to say the least.

There were plenty of trees growing high up on her property, behind her house. Finding the time to make it happen this year was another story altogether, but if this was the best they had this year, she really did not have much choice if she wanted a tree put up and decorated before Christmas Day arrived.

Hey Clyde! How much for this one over here?

He glanced over to see which one she was asking about while he was helping another customer load a huge tree into the back of his pickup truck.

Fifty bucks!

"Fifty bucks! That is highway robbery! Way too much hard-earned money for a beat-up old tree!"

"My trees are not beat up old trees, thank you very much, young lady!"

Yeah, yeah, so you say.

Oh! She’s here! She’s here! My girl is finally here! I knew she’d come; she always comes. I must get over there to say hello before she leaves.

With any luck, she’ll have the answer that I’m looking for this Christmas.

God knows I’ve asked enough times; she must know I want her for myself by now. She can’t possibly be totally ignorant, can she? If so, I think I can teach her how to love me as much as I love her.

To get her to be mine and only mine, I am willing to take the time to teach her the ropes.

The moment he glanced over and spotted her as she pulled up at the lot and jumped out of that mud-covered pickup truck, he said to himself, Man! Would you just look at that smile!

She might be filthy from head to toe, but she is beautiful underneath all that dirt. That smile could light up the darkest of nights.

She moved along the rows examining the trees for sale, singing softly along with the music as she walked. Unconcerned if anyone could hear her.

With that cute little Stetson sitting tipped back on her head and those tiny little cowboy boots, what a sight! Oh, I have got to meet this girl. I simply must!

Concentrating on her search, she walked on down the row, not paying too much attention to where she was headed.

She didn’t have a heck of a lot of money that she was willing to part with for a tree or a heck of a lot of space in her little house, so she was concentrating on finding a nice, full, round tree as she scanned the merchandise available.

She wanted one that would fit nicely in the corner of her living room, next to the TV table slash bookcase. Not that she had a lot of decorations to decorate it with, but that was just details. Of course, she would come up with something, she always does. She was so caught up in her search for the perfect tree that she walked smack dab into the widest, firmest chest she’d ever seen in her life.

Looking upward slowly, her mind first registered a light blue button-up dress shirt, his big bright smile, then she registered his bluish-gray smiling eyes, short dark hair…a little on the long side, could use a trim.

Then she took note of his thick wide shoulders. He looked as if he could hold up the entire world with those shoulders. Allowing her eyes to travel back down his arms, she noticed they were about as muscular as you could get, very well developed indeed. Big hands, long thick fingers. No ring.

She mumbled under her breath, nearly inaudibly, Damn.

The man had to be six foot seven inches tall if he was an inch. The top button of his dress shirt was open. Brand new, clean, blue jeans…He was clearly comfortable in his own skin.

Glancing downward, she frowned a little as she noticed the clean boots…This guy was obviously not a hard worker. Probably a lazy man.

Too bad. With that build, he could do anything.

Slightly disappointed, she cleared her throat, sighed deeply, shook her head and started to walk around him. They sure as hell didn’t build them like that around here. If they did, she would never get any work done on the ranch. What a piece of eye candy!

Looking down into the biggest, brightest, dark blue eyes he’d ever seen, he smiled at this tiny, dirt-covered little long-haired beauty. His fingers twitched with the urge to wipe that smudge of dirt off her right cheek, but he dared not.

The long thick dark-colored braid hanging down her back from the base of her tiny cowboy hat to just above her backside had caught his attention as soon as she’d gotten out of her truck. That is, until he noticed just how filthy she was. She was wearing old faded worn jeans and a sweatshirt, both covered in what looked to be dried mud.

What woman in this world walked around looking like this in these days and times? Especially in public? Did she have no self-respect?

No woman that he was acquainted with would ever be caught dead looking like that. Yet this woman didn’t seem to give it a second thought. As if it were an everyday occurrence. Perhaps it was for her. He’d heard stories about women who worked at more than simple housework and shopping, but he’d never met one other than his mother. He’d thought perhaps God didn’t make them anymore.

Admiring her thick dark lashes, he spoke in a deep rich voice, Excuse me, ma’am, my apologies, and tipped his hat at her politely.

Sir. She nodded as if to apologize as well and stepped around him with a frown.

Looking up from the job of wrapping a tree for one of his father’s customers, he saw her talking to a tall stranger. No! No! No! He could not allow that. Not today or any other day. He had to get over there and put a stop to this now!

Looking back as she moved away from him, on down the row of Christmas trees, she took in every inch of him. From his wide shoulders to his slim waistline to his tight little backside. Now that was a man! Nothing at all like the fella’s around here. And his deep southern accented voice, sexy as hell!

Then she spun around to continue her search; he was after all just another cowboy. He may be the most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on, but…he was just another man, nevertheless.

Just then she spotted Buddy headed straight toward her, approaching quickly. Sighing deeply, she mumbled under her breath, Oh crap, as she moved on over to the next row to examine those trees.

She truly didn’t like hurting his feelings, but this was getting extremely irritating. Every time she saw him, no matter where that happened to be, he asked again. Perhaps he alone was a perfect reason to start shopping elsewhere.

Why couldn’t it be someone like the fella she’d just ran into instead of this guy?

Oh, he may very well be alright, for some other girl. But no way in hell was he right for her. Why couldn’t he see that?

He closed in on her quickly, Hi.

Buddy.

Have you decided?

"I have told you a thousand times, at least. I. Am. Not. Interested! Why can’t you get that through your head? Do yourself a favor and find someone else, you’re wasting your time and mine."

She kept examining the trees, not paying any attention at all to the young man who was begging for her affection.

"I don’t want anyone else, Billie Jo! I want you! Always have, always will. Come on, marry me. What can it hurt?"

Don’t you understand English?! I said, No! How many more ways can I say it!?

Oh, come on. You’ll learn to love me, just as I love you.

With that said, she stopped in her tracks and turned to look him in the eye, giving him her full attention for once, which apparently embarrassed him to no end, as he turned bright red and turned to look away.

She has had just about enough of this. "That’s a crock of malarkey and you know it! You don’t love me. You just think you do. Hell, you don’t even know me, not really."

Yes, I do.

Oh? Alright then…let me ask you this, what was my mother’s first name?

Um.

Uh hum. Answer this one, what is my favorite color?

I don’t know.

Right! What is my favorite time of the year? My favorite season?

Um. I don’t know that either.

Exactly! You know absolutely nothing about me. I could be a control freak! A manipulative shrew. Or a serial killer, an ax murderer, for all you know.

She then turned and moved on down the aisle, leaving him standing there tremendously unhappy.

It was nearly Christmas after all, and this was not the Christmas he had envisioned for himself. Why couldn’t she just love him? It can’t be that hard after all. He wasn’t that bad looking. And he was only a year or two older than her.

Once she reached the end of the row, she called, Hey Clyde! See Ya!

Aren’t you going to choose a tree?

No, I’ll cut my own this year. Ciao!

Tight wad!

Tell it to my boss!

She yanked open the door and jumped into her pickup that sat at the end of the row. With Christmas music blasting, she quickly pulled out into what little holiday traffic they had and was gone in the blink of an eye.

Alex stood there in the middle of the Christmas tree lot grinning like an idiot.

Clyde mumbled in a muffled voice, Damn that boy! He is costing me a bloody fortune! How many times have I told him? She ain’t never going to care much for him. Never has, never will!

He then yelled across the lot, Buddy! Go over there and help that customer! And be careful with what you’re doing!

Watching her interact with the local town folk, he had to wonder if he would be lucky enough to run into her again while he was in town. Truth be told he wasn’t sure himself how much longer he would be in town.

He still, after two solid weeks, hadn’t decided if he wanted to hang around or move on down the line. After all, his brand-new house was just sitting there waiting for him to move into. Why he felt it was necessary to look after his grandfather’s old home here was beyond him. No…that wasn’t entirely true.

He knew he needed this time away. For himself. For his sanity. For his family’s sanity.

Her brother had invited her to dinner at his place, promising that she would be the only guest tonight, so she stopped to pick up a pizza just in case and headed on over. Ray was not the best cook on the planet either, so the pizza was a backup, just in case.

She prayed silently that he hadn’t planned another ambush. Yet another surprise blind date. He was good for inviting his friends over in the hopes of a match made in heaven. In fact, it was getting damned ridiculous to say the least.

She didn’t care one whit what she looked like tonight. The last thing she needed was another fella tagging along behind her like some love-starved puppy.

Hell, Buddy was bad enough, and she hadn’t been able to shake him for years, no matter how hard she tried. And the worst part was, she’d never dated Buddy. Never given him the slightest encouragement whatsoever.

When she arrived at her brother’s home just a few minutes later, his vehicle was the only one parked in the driveway, so she went ahead and pulled in behind his Toyota, grabbed the pizza and jumped out.

Her brother heard her pull in and walked out onto the front porch drying his hands on a dish towel.

Hey girlie. Glad you made it.

Hi. I brought us some pizza just in case your chili is too hot to eat, like the last pot you whipped up.

It won’t be. I remembered that you won’t eat it if it’s too hot. I didn’t use as many peppers this time.

Playfully she said, Good. I’d hate to leave just because I was starving to death.

He kissed her on her forehead as she walked up on the porch, and they walked on into the house.

You didn’t invite any of your so-called friends tonight…did you?

No, no friends tonight.

Thank God!

He couldn’t lie straight to her face, so he went on to tell her, I invited a fella I met a couple of weeks ago. He’s new in town and hasn’t met too many people. You may like him, you never know.

Sighing deeply, she walked on into the kitchen alongside him. How did I know it. You know, I’m going to stop accepting your invitations if you keep this up. You’ll just have to learn to eat alone.

As he stirred his concoction on the stove and she slid the pizza into the microwave to keep it warm, they got caught up on things around town and he told her a little more about his other guest.

He’s the fella who took over the old Murphy place up on the hill, just past your place.

So, he’s now my next-door neighbor.

Right.

Taking a seat at the bar she asked, How do you know him?

"Ran into him one night, we started talking and I invited him over for dinner. You never know Sis; this could very well be your…Mr. Right."

She rolled her eyes heavenward. "Yeah right. Like Buddy Robbins has a shot in hell. NOT!"

You could have at least gone home first to clean up a little.

Sarcastically, she asked, Now how in the world did I know what you were up too?

As if you’d give a damn.

Exactly. The very last thing I need is another man sniffing around me, like some old bloodhound in heat. At least this way, maybe he will give up before he gets started, and leave me the hell alone. I am sick to death of being hit on by every Tom, Dick and Harry from here to Timbuktu!

She got up, walked over, poured herself a cup of coffee then sat back down at the bar to watch him work.

Ray, I know you’re still trying to look after me, to get me squared away, like I’m some job that needs to be completed before you can move on, but seriously Bro…I’m fine. Really. Your job is done. I may be on the short side of life, but I am in fact, a grown woman and I can take care of myself just fine.

Glancing down, she realized how filthy she was. Her clothes were covered in dried mud from wiping her hands on them all day while digging post holes for the new fencing.

Shoot. Is my face as dirty as the rest of me?

Yep.

Sorry, Bro. I’ll go wash my face and hands, be right back. She got up and started down the hall toward the bathroom, singing with the Christmas music being played on the radio.

With as much sarcasm as she could get into words, she repeated her brother’s words over her shoulder, "After all, this could be my Mr. Right."

While Ray was buttering the French bread to toss into the toaster oven, he heard a knock on the front door and looked around the corner to see who was at the door.

Ah, you’re here. Come on in. Close the door behind you, would you?

As the man walked inside, he could hear a woman singing somewhere inside the house. He closed the door behind him then made his way into the kitchen where Ray was cooking up his favorite chili.

Hey. Glad you made it. You like chili?

Sure. Smells good. He sat the bottle of wine down on the bar. I brought you a bottle of wine. I hope you like it.

Thanks. Grab a seat. It isn’t quite ready yet. It won’t be too long now. Want a cup of coffee or a glass of wine?

He answered as he took a stool at the bar, A cup of coffee sounds pretty good. It’s getting quite cold outside.

Yeah, it usually starts cooling off here around the end of October. This year it has be exceptionally warm up to now for the most part.

Ray poured the big man a cup and passed it across the bar to him as he asked, Did you have any luck getting the old place squared away?

He glanced around as he answered, A little, yes. I still have a heck of a long way to go though. The house is so full of spider webs and dust it’s ridiculous. I think I need to address the lack of heat before too much longer. It would sure make it a lot easier to go through everything that has been left in the house over the years if I weren’t half frozen most of the time. That fireplace works wonders, but it isn’t nearly as efficient as one would need it to be to heat a house that size. And don’t even get me started on those ancient bathrooms or the kitchen. Although I have had pretty good luck going through all the boxes in the attic. Like you said, it has been warm, especially up there in the attic. So, I took the opportunity to go through some of those boxes and to get rid of some things and donate others. I think I may be singlehandedly stocking the secondhand shop here in town with all the old coats, blankets and other things I’ve found in the house that I know I will never use. At least this way, someone else will get some use out of them.

The truck in the driveway looked an awful lot like the one he’d seen in town earlier. Although it was hard to tell now that it was fully dark outside. Curiosity was getting the better of him. He glanced around once again, sipping his coffee with anticipation.

It’s no wonder. I don’t think anyone has been up there in years.

Probably not from the look of the place.

Like I said the other night, if you need any help just give me a call. I think I might know someone who would be willing to help you out for the right price.

"I may before it’s over. It wasn’t this cold up there when I first arrived. When I got up there two weeks ago, I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t been there since I was a very small boy. The first thing I did was take a little time to do some bass fishing. If you’d ever like to go, just give me a ring and we can make a trip of it. That lake is well stocked from what I can tell.

"Hindsight, I probably should have addressed the heating issue up there right away. But truth be told, I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying so…Thank God that I took some canned foods with me. The range doesn’t work, so cooking is out, except for the microwave. I have no idea why. Age probably.

I am usually pretty good at fixing things but, that thing… He shook his head. And no one will deliver up there. What is it about the place that puts people off?

There are rumors of the place being haunted.

Well, if it is, I haven’t seen anything to indicate that that’s true.

His sister walked back into the kitchen bent over. She’d taken her hair out of the braid and was now brushing her long wavy hair down in front of her, trying to get some of the dried mud out of it. You know, Buddy made me curse tonight, and in public too!

Get your butt out of here with that hairbrush before you get your filthy hair in my chili! You know the rules!

It has a lid on it, don’t it?

Yes. But that is beside the point!

She turned to go. "Nag, nag, nag. I swear Ray, it’s a miracle you have any friends at all the way you nag at…every…little…thing. Jeez!"

With a hair flip, she straightened and began to brush her hair back from her face, to once again hang down her back.

He sipped his coffee as he watched these two people interact. The girl sounded like the one he’d bumped into earlier, but he couldn’t be entirely sure with her bent over like that. And all that hair! Beautiful as it was.

Although this one appeared to be just about as dirty as the other one.

Once she was gone, back down the hallway, he asked, Who was that? Your girl?

Ray started laughing, Ha! Hell no! That was my baby sister. Her name is Billie Jo. But she goes by Billie, Bill, or B.J., you name it.

He was sure of it now. That was the name the kid had used at the lot when he was talking to her, trying to persuade her to marry him. Maybe the evening was going to be a little more exciting than he had anticipated.

She walked back in with a clean face and without the brush this time and with her long dark hair hanging in thick waves down the length of her back. Gorgeous! Just gorgeous!

She picked up her coffee cup off the bar beside him, walked over and poured herself some more coffee, to freshen her cup.

Yes! This is the same girl. Simply beautiful. She’d apparently washed her face because it wasn’t nearly as dirty as it had been earlier. Now he was able to see just how beautiful she truly is. For some reason, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her.

Ray tried to introduce them, Billie Jo, with is Alex Murphy. Alex, my sister, Billie Jo.

She didn’t even glance in his direction, You need any help in here?

Not right now.

"I’ll be in the living room, that is, if it ever gets done. I’m starving!" She spun on her heel and walked away from them.

You wouldn’t be so hungry if you’d allow us to stop for lunch occasionally.

She threw over her shoulder, Don’t be a whine ass, Raymond. It’s not at all attractive.

Believe it or not, she may be my little sister but she’s also my boss. Funny how the tables can turn on a dime. Ray looked heavenward, rolling his eyes.

Alex could see her every move from the bar where he sat talking with her brother. She’d turned on the television and flopped down on the sofa.

You will have to overlook my rude sister. Apparently, she doesn’t have any manners this evening. I guess she’s in one of her moods.

Jokingly and with a chuckle in his voice, he asked, How many moods does she have?

Just one, Bossy.

She clicked the radio off and started clicking through the stations, when she could get the remote to work at all, until she found a music video channel.

Then she cranked it up and threw her booted feet over the back of the sofa where her feet and arms began moving to the beat of the music.

Alex said, She’s cute.

She’s a major pain in the ass! A real ball buster, if you know what I mean. Wait until you get to know her. Sometimes she makes me want to strangle the life right out of her.

Is she dating anyone?

No. Billie doesn’t date. He waved the question off as he went back toward the stove. Something about all men being pigs, only after one thing. If you want to know more than that, you’ll just have to ask her yourself.

As he stirred the pot of chili, he asked, Are you dating anyone?

No. Not right now. I was engaged a while back. I thought that relationship would be forever, turns out she had other plans. She dumped me for her personal trainer.

Ouch! You’re kiddin’ me! A guy like you? If you got dumped, what kind of chance do the rest of us have?

It happened about two years ago.

Damn! Is she still with him?

Yes. At least she was the last time I saw her. That was a couple months ago. How about you? Got yourself a girl?

Yep. Been seeing Carol for almost three years now. You’ll like her. She’s a nice girl. Headstrong but nice.

Will she be coming by tonight?

No. She went to her parents this year for the holidays.

He went back to stirring his pot of chili.

Billie! It’s ready!

Alex watched as she got up off the sofa and slowly danced her way across the room to turn off the television.

You need to get a new clicker, Ray. This one is fried.

Yeah. I know. It isn’t goin’ to kill you to get off your ass and turn it off.

She walked into the kitchen, sat her coffee cup down on the table then passed Alex and went straight to the stove.

Lifting the lid and looking down into the pot, she asked, You seriously didn’t put in too many hot peppers, did you?

How many is too many?

Taking a bowl from the cabinet, she said, Ha, ha, ha, as she scooped out a ladle full to fill her bowl. Sitting her bowl down on the table, she asked, Got any crackers?

Ray was busy dishing up two more bowls, one for himself and one for his guest. In the cabinet. But I made garlic bread to go with it. It will be out of the toaster oven in just a minute.

Opening the nearest cabinet, she said, Ah, here we go, as she took out a pack of ritz crackers, turned and sat down at the table. Opening the package, she asked, So…Ray. Has Carol Ann dumped your sorry ass or what?

Sitting the hot bowls of chili down on the table, he answered, No! She didn’t dump my sorry ass. She is spending the holidays with her parents. You would know that if you could deem it necessary to be sociable, for once.

Oh please. You know damn well that I am not at all interested in meeting any of you so called buddies. She muttered Pigs! under her breath.

After taking a seat at the table across from her, Alex spoke up in his deep southern voice, Speaking of buddies. Did you accept his proposal?

That voice! Her head snapped up and she stared at him for a moment.

She’d started