Byrd's Desire Read Free Page B

immediately.  “Hey, you must be Miss Lecompte,” he said in a voice rough as a gravel road and with the bass sound she associated with bullfrogs. “I’m Chuck.”
    “Hi, Chuck,” she said and came to her feet. “Please, call me Celia.  Angie said you’d be delivering her keys.”
    “Yeah, I got ‘em right here.” He mounted the steps and handed them to her. “You need anything else?”
    Celia opened her lips to say “no,” then hesitated when she caught sight of her car.  “Well, not tonight, but is there any way I could get some gasoline for my car? It was almost empty when I pulled into the ranch.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, sure there is. We’ve got a gas pump behind the main barn for ranch vehicles.  I’ll come get it tomorrow morning and fill it up for you, no problem.”
    A year to stay in the beautiful, large house, utilities paid, all the food she could eat, plus a salary and gas for her car.  Damned if she hadn’t dropped into the middle of an enchanted fairy tale.  “That’d be great, thanks,” she said. “Alright,” he said. “Now if you need me, you should have my number up at the bunkhouse.  I can be down here in a jiffy if anything goes wrong.”
    “I appreciate it, Chuck.”
    She headed inside but watched as he drove back down the circular driveway and then off in another direction.  Celia jingled the keys. They were heavy in her hand and she noted each one had been color coded as well as tagged.  She fingered the one marked “front door” and sorted through the bunch.  Unwilling to misplace them, she tucked them into her purse. Then she locked the door and headed for the master bedroom.  Her basic discount store luggage didn’t fit the luxurious décor but she unzipped one of the bags to retrieve a nightgown and clean panties.  Celia shucked off her clothing onto the floor and headed for the bathroom.  She ran the water as hot as she could stand and drew a full bath, adding some scented bath oils to the water before she climbed into the tub.
    Instant bliss surrounded her as the heated, fragrant water eased her weary body.  The long day would end soon, a day beginning with a final farewell to the apartment she’d called home and a long road trip.  Celia reflected on the beauty of the night sky and for the first time thought she might’ve made the right choice coming here.  About the time she adjusted, though, the year would end and she’d have to start over somewhere new, but Angie, her cousin and fairy godmother, had gifted her with time to figure it out.   And she would…somehow.
    Her skin tingled with anticipation and hope, something she’d lost .  Now it crept back.  Tomorrow she would unpack her suitcases and touch base with her mother about the things she’d stored there.  She needed to withdraw her applications and resumes for now, unless she found something close to the ranch.  In the morning, she’d head over to Sallisaw and familiarize herself with the layout of the small town.  Celia’s mind brimmed with mental lists and plans.
    When she crawled beneath the covers of the king -sized bed, drowsiness hit with the force of a windstorm and for the first time in several months, Celia slept.   If she dreamed, she remembered nothing but when she woke it was with a renewed sense of purpose and faint stirrings of contentment.  She lazed in bed awhile longer, savoring the fact that she didn’t need to hurry to do anything.  The comfortable mattress kept her prone and she might’ve lingered until midday if her cell phone, still inside her purse on the dresser, hadn’t rung and roused her with the familiar notes of the Hank Williams classic, “Jambalaya . ”
    “Hey, Mama,” she said as she kicked the sheet back and sat up. “What’s goin’ on?”
    “I wanted to make sure my girl made it up there to Oklahoma,” her mother replied. Her voice resonated across the miles, sweeter than corn syrup, thicker than spring mud, and flavored with the