Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
CJ
It was nearly the end of lunchtime on Monday by the time CJ bumped into Master Derek. Standing in line in the cafeteria, she was pushing her tray along, choosing from the many delicious-looking options offered at just one of the numerous dining locations at the Ranch. Over her first weekend as a guest at Rawhide Ranch, she had tried the Mexican and Italian restaurants for dinner, loving the options at both places. Today, though, she was ready for something lighter. Her tray was overflowing with a selection of expertly crafted salads that had no worldly decency looking as fresh as they did at this time of year and her mouth watered as she took one last look at the afternoon’s offerings.
“Ah, Calliope Jane Winters! I was wondering when I would have a chance to finally meet you face-to-face.” Derek’s tone was warm as he approached, a hand outstretched in her direction. Sneaking a glance at her tray, he nodded approvingly at the leafy greens and crisp piles of vegetables.
Taking his offered hand, she met him with a firm handshake of her own. “Thank you, Sir. And please, call me CJ.” Thinking back, she couldn’t remember the last time someone called her Calliope. It was a name given to her at birth by her mother and father, though she always felt that CJ suited her better. Calliope was flowery and feminine while CJ had always felt more angular and tomboyish, much like she felt herself.
The Ranch owner looked over CJ as if taking her in for the first time. It wasn’t in a way that made her uncomfortable, though she wasn’t sure what the man was trying to find with his gaze. “I hear from Sebastian Waters at Styx that you’re quite the photographer.”
CJ’s eyebrows raised, surprised to find out that Derek had called around to ask about her. Then again, Rawhide Ranch was as exclusive as it got and it shouldn’t have shocked her to discover the man was serious about the security of his Ranch with the type of clientele who frequented his establishment.
Styx, much like Rawhide Ranch, was the name of the lifestyle club CJ frequented in Florida. Owned by an openly queer ex-military man in a polyamorous relationship with his wife and their male partner, the place was accepting of all types of relationships.
Knowing Master Derek was at least on speaking terms with her previous club’s owner put her more at ease about the Ranch. Sure, she knew from friends who had visited over the years that it was open and inclusive. But there was something to be said in knowing that level of inclusivity ran all the way to the top of Rawhide Ranch’s ownership.
Still, it made her desperately long for Styx.
It was CJ’s home away from home.
The place she felt loved.
Until suddenly, she found herself unsure of her home and her future.
Until she was unsure of herself.
Shaking the thoughts of her past from her head, she tried to focus on the man in front of her. Besides, she was here to relax for a few weeks while she figured out her next move, not to look for love when all it had brought her was pain in the past. When what had once been sweet and pure turned rancid and hurtful.
No, she certainly wasn’t here to look for a Little of her own. Those days were long gone.
Instead, CJ was here to focus on herself. She had special spa treatments booked and was even beginning to look forward to time in the Dungeon. When she checked in on Friday, the woman at the front desk told her of trail rides and bonfires, of movie nights and craft parties. The Ranch was designed to be a destination haven of sorts, and CJ could have easily seen herself getting lost in the magic of Rawhide Ranch at one point in her life. Now, she would just be happy if she made it through her time without the all-encompassing grief the end of her last relationship had left overwhelming her senses as it had seemed prone to do at the most unlikely of times.
And even if a small part of her felt incomplete without the love of a partner in her life—especially as she looked around at all the smiling faces in the cafeteria that seemed beyond happy—she was determined to learn to relax and to make herself a priority for once in her life.
“Thank you for the compliment, Sir. I was fortunate enough to work with Sebastian and his wife Maeve on a few occasions for some events at Styx and at Maeve’s bookstore back in Florida.”
As she finished her sentence, an adorable young brunette bounded up to where the pair stood, sliding under Derek’s arm without a care in the world. “Did you say something about photography?”
Derek schooled his features. “Sadie Marie Hawkins, what have I told you about interrupting me when I’m having conversations with our guests?”
Dressed in a pair of bright pink leggings and an oversized black sweater, she looked up at Derek with wide eyes CJ knew came from only the most well-practiced Littles. “Not to do it?”
“Is that a statement or a question, young lady?”
CJ couldn’t help but feel like she was invading a private moment. Yet at the same time, she couldn’t turn away, the pang in her chest returning as she watched the Ranch owner slip into Caregiver mode with an ease that came with years of practice dealing with the doe-eyed Little.
Finally breaking away from the moment, CJ picked up her tray and turned, trying to give the pair a moment alone.
Only for her tray to be knocked from her hands.
Lettuce rained down on her like the heavy snow that had continued to pile up outside the main building since she’d arrived just a few days earlier. Chickpeas pelted Master Derek, Sadie, and CJ like tiny balls of hail, and the delicious-smelling vinaigrette dressing once on her salad now coated her hair, cheeks, shirt, and pants as well as the wide-green-eyed woman who came to a sudden stop in front of the stunned-silent trio.
The newcomer looked horrified, her skin paling as she stood with her mouth in a perfect O shape that resembled one of those large-mouth basses that hung in the frat houses of every late nineties and early 2000s college campus across America. Several times, she opened and closed her mouth—each time as if trying to string together any words—all which had seemed to leave her brain as the lettuce, bean, and quinoa salads left CJ’s lunch tray.
And then, before anyone could say a word, she started to cry before turning on her heels and running from the room at a speed often reserved for Olympic-caliber athletes.
As if taking a moment to collect himself, Derek looked to the ceiling. “Angel.” He turned to the woman he had addressed as Sadie Marie Hawkins and it dawned on CJ that this must be the Ranch owner’s wife. “We’ll talk about the consequences of you interrupting me later. For now, would you please go retrieve Ms. Miller for me and bring her to my office?”
Without another word, the young woman scurried out of the cafeteria to find the mystery woman who had all but upended CJ’s afternoon.
Picking a piece of lettuce from his shoulder, Derek spoke with a calm, even voice as if incidents including airborne produce and raining salad dressing were the norm.
Then again, with a group of rambunctious Littles on the loose, CJ wouldn’t have been surprised if this wasn’t the first outburst of the kind. And though she hadn’t seen the instigator of the flying caper catastrophe sitting with the other Littles in the cafeteria, CJ would have sworn there was a Little inside the woman just waiting to come out.
“Would you please accept my apology, Ms. Winters? I assure you this is not the type of activity we want our Ranch guests to experience. Would you consider a quick change in the privacy of your room then a trip to my office? If you’ll bring your soiled clothes with you, I’ll have them cleaned and returned to you. I also have a proposition I hope might pique your interest.”
Surveying the mess around them that had already begun to be mopped up, CJ couldn’t think of a thing the Ranch owner had to offer other than the quiet solitude she had desperately been seeking when she’d booked her extended stay at Rawhide Ranch. Still, the barest hint of intrigue was there.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she nodded, a stray julienned carrot falling from her short yet extremely thick, dark brown hair. “Give me a half hour?”
“Absolutely,” he replied. “And, CJ…” She had already started to leave but turned around at the sound of Derek’s deep voice. “Try to keep an open mind.”