The Horse Farm - Chapter 2-26

"So what if my car was there?" Terri asked defiantly.

"Not just that it was there," Jo explained. "It had been parked for a while."

"What are you talking about?"

"I felt the hood. It was cool to the touch. The engine hadn't been run in hours."

"Why were you touching my car?"

"I asked Steve to take a picture of me while I leaned against it."

"Oh, brother!" Louise groaned.

"Don't worry," Jo reassured Terri. "I didn't tell Steve whose car it was. I just said that it was cute and I wanted a picture with it."

"Thanks ... I think!" Terri muttered.

"But the fact remains that you were there for hours, maybe days," Jo continued. "I knew that you weren't there to ride the horses, so I figured that maybe you were riding something else."

"Oh, gross!" Louise cringed.

"Hey, I did ride a horse!" Terri declared emphatically.

"You mean a stud?"

"No, a real, live horse! His name was Charlie, or something like that."

Louise chuckled. "She doesn't even remember his name! How typical!"

"Shut up!" Terri protested with a grin. She appreciated the humor of the remark even though she realized that it was a veiled insult.

"Okay, so I'll take back my riding comment," Jo said. "But you were still off of the RADAR for a few days. Louise couldn't reach you all weekend. Do you still want us to believe that you weren't camping out with Francisco?"

Terri put her face into her hands. "Okay, well, apparently my big announcement wasn't news to anyone!"

"It was news to me," Louise admitted with a comforting tone.

"So, why didn't you say something?" Terri asked, snapping a glance toward Jo.

"This is your thing, none of my business. To tell you the truth, I was happy for you. I figured that you would tell us when you were ready, when you felt sure about things."

"Thanks," Terri said as she softened her tone and her posture.

"So, you are sure?" Jo demanded, smiling.

"Uh, pretty sure!" Terri said with a smile.

"Ooh, I love it!" Louise exclaimed. She and Jo were sitting at the edges of their seats now.

"You're not concerned that he's a player?" Jo prodded.

"That's what I thought at first," Terri explained, "and I wasn't too happy about it. But he's confided in me with some really heavy stuff."

"Like what?" Louise asked.

Terri debated whether to disclose the details that Francisco had shared with her about the investigation. "I'm not sure that I should say."

Louise's face suddenly expressed concern. "Oh my god, Terri! What's going on?"

"Okay, well, this is kind of serious, so please don't say anything to anyone."

"We won't!" Jo assured her.

Louise placed her hand gently on Terri's forearm. "It's okay."

"Well, he's not sure, but there's a possibility that the government might be investigating him."

"Francisco?" Louise asked.

"Yeah."

"No way!"

Jo asked, "What do you mean by 'he's not sure'?"

"They haven't approached him directly, but apparently some of his assets have been frozen."

"Holy shit!" Louise shrieked as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Terri, that's really serious!" Jo said.

"I know."

"They do that kind of stuff for mobsters," Jo said. "Organized crime."

"Yeah, I know that, too," Terri said soberly. "But this is something else."

"What do you think it is?" Louise asked.

"I think it's Douglas trying to get even."

"What?" Jo exclaimed.

"Oh my goodness!" Louise gasped.

"It makes sense," Terri reasoned. "I just started seeing Frank, and Douglas calls me out of the blue. What are the odds?"

"Astronomical!" Louise postulated.

"That little snake!" Jo exclaimed.

"Anyway, after Frank told me about what was happening, I called Douglas..."

"Wait! You called him?" Louise asked.

Jo added: "I'd be terrified."

"Yeah, I'm not sure that it was a good move," Terri confessed.

"Yeah!?" Louise exclaimed.

"Anyway, he all but admitted it over the phone."

"Get out!" Louise exclaimed with a throaty gasp.

"Yep!"

"Oh my God, that is so creepy!" Jo said.

"Well, that's what we've come to expect from dear old Douglas," Louise observed.

"Did you tell Francisco," Jo asked. "I mean about Douglas?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, my God! Was he mad?" Louise asked.

"He's surprisingly calm," Terri noted, "even when the shit is totally hitting the fan."

"That's amazing!" Jo said.

"So, what is he going to do?" Louise asked. 

"He has his accountant and lawyer working on it," Terri explained. "They're making sure that he has enough cash to keep his business running. Stuff like that."

"Oh my God, Terri!" Jo said. "This must be so tough on you!"

"It's pretty shocking!" Terri said. "I didn't think that even Douglas would stoop to something like this."

"Really!" Louise exclaimed.

"Guess I was wrong!" Terri admitted.

"Is there anything that we can do for you?" Jo asked.

"Is Douglas bothering you?" Louise demanded.

"I haven't seen him," Terri asked. "He hasn't called. That's not to say that he couldn't just show up sometime."

"Oh, my God! Terri!" Louise cried. "Call us if you even think that he's going to cause trouble."

"Thanks! I will!"

"I'm so sorry, Terri!" Jo said.

"It's okay," Terri said. "It's all going to be okay. We just have to weather the storm and get things straightened out."

"It's so sad," Jo said. "You meet this great guy, and your past comes back to haunt you."

"I guess I should have seen this coming."

"On the other hand," Louise offered, "you ARE dating again!"

"Yeah!" Jo concurred. "And he's RICH!"

"And HOT!" Louise offered.

"And under federal investigation," Terri said, her voice dripping with irony.

"For bullshit reasons!" Jo argued. "You know that!"

"Yeah, seriously!" Louise agreed. "I am going to kill that twerp Douglas. If he spoils this wedding..."

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!" Terri shouted. "NOBODY is talking wedding here!"

"Oh, sorry!" Louise said. "I got ahead of myself."

"Jesus, Lou!" Terri scolded.

"I'm sorry."

"I mean, you and Walter have been together for a while. Why don't you plan a wedding?"
"Okay, I see your point," Louise admitted. "Let's just let that one drop."

"But you are dating a great guy," Jo chimed in. "And he has a Ferrari and a beautiful country house. It's good, right?"

"Yeah, it's good!" Terri agree. "It's very good."

"I just have one question," Jo said.

"What?"

"Have you guys done it in the barn yet?"

"What?"

"Oh, my God, Jo!" Louise shrieked. "Shut up!"

Terri attempted to address the question directly. "I am not going to have sex on hay bales, if that's what you're asking."

"Well, maybe you should," Jo said. "It might be nice."

"I don't think so."

"It was nice when Steve and I did it."

"Nooo!" shrieked Louise.

"Oh, my God!" Terri cursed. "You did NOT just tell me that!"

"Jo, you can't be serious," Louise said laughing. "Oh, wait! It's you! You are serious!"

"I thought you liked this Steve guy," Terri said.

"I do."

"Then why are you showing him your wild side?"

"I guess he has to see it sooner or later, right?"

"Oh, maybe just take it a little easy there, Jo!" Louise suggested. "He's from Iowa, remember."

"Indiana."

"Not much better!"

"Steve is cool," Jo cooed. "And he's nice. He took me shopping the other day."

"Shopping for what?" Louise asked.

"Clothes."

"Well, that's good, right?" Terri said.

"Wait a minute," Louise said. "You didn't do that thing in the dressing room, did you?"

"Maybe!"

"Okay, I think we've all had just about enough to drink!" Louise said.

Terri made eye contact with the waiter, who was already staring at her, and made a hand gesture in the air to imitate a writing motion.

  

'The Horse Farm'

Copyright © 2015 Daniel R. South

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