Disclaimer: Although Montrose, Colorado and Brownsville, Kentucky are real towns, the people and addresses in this story are fictional and any one or place that may be similar is coincidental. This story contains seems of two women in sexual scenes.
CHAPTER TEN
Kelly was surprised by how long the week seemed to be taking to go by. She had worked eight hours a day each day for Rick then went back to the motel and worked another two or three hours for Marge. Kelly had grown very fond of Marge and she felt that Marge liked her a lot too. It was kind of like having another mother except this one didn't criticize everything she did.
Marge knew that Kelly was going on a sight seeing tour with Pat. She had not said anything to indicate that she thought it was a bad thing or that Pat might behave inappropriately as Timmy had said. Kelly wondered if Marge knew that Pat was gay. It was hard to say by Marge's reactions to Kelly's questions. Really all that she had said was that Pat was a good person like her brother Rick and that Marge liked both of them and their family a lot.
Rick had not said anything about working Saturday. He also had not said anything about Kelly going to Telluride with Pat even though Kelly was certain that Timmy had told Rick that Pat had said she would take her on the sight seeing tour.
Friday came and Kelly had decided that Timmy was just messing with her about Pat based on everyone else's reactions the fact that she was going on this sight seeing tour with her. Everyone knew she was going but no one had said anything about Pat hitting on her or anything like it. In fact, all of them had encouraged her to get Pat to take her to Silverton instead of going to Telluride.
Kelly was working with Timmy on a job in town in Montrose. They had torn out some old ratty cabinets in a house a young couple was remodeling and replaced them with new cabinets. They had just about finished when Pat walked in to the room they were working on.
"How's it going?" She asked as she took her sun glasses off and put them on top of her head.
"Almost done," Timmy said with a smile.
Pat smiled at Kelly, "Can I borrow your helper for a minute?"
"As long as you bring her back in working condition," Timmy said with a wink.
Pat gave him a hateful glare that he just laughed at, "I need you to help me unload some paint I special ordered for Rob and Tammy."
Rob and Tammy Spearman were the couple that had bought this house and were remodeling it. "Did you sell this house to them?" Kelly asked as they walked outside.
"Yeah," Pat said as she walked ahead of Kelly to her jeep that was topless. Pat picked up two cans of paint and handed them to Kelly. "I went to school with Rob's dad. He wanted to give the kids a good starter home when they got married so I helped them find this place. Rob's mom and dad live about three blocks from here and Rob was really happy about that. He's very close to his parents." Pat picked up two more cans of paint and they headed back into the house.
"How does Tammy feel about living so close to his parents?" Kelly asked, knowing that she had hated living in the same town with her family and her in-laws.
Pat led Kelly into the dining room which was just off of the kitchen. "Tammy didn't come from a very good home life and Rob's family has been very good to her. His parents are two of the sweetest people you could ever meet. They have made Tammy feel like she is a part of their family so she's real happy about being this close to them too."
"That's wonderful." Kelly said as she set down the paint. "It's not that often that a young couple can have that good of a relationship with their family. I'm sorry for Tammy's problems with her own family. I know where she's coming from with that."
Pat studied Kelly who would only meet her eyes briefly but she didn't miss the set jaw as Kelly turned away. Kelly had only made a few references to her family but never anything specific. It made Pat even more curious about this mysterious woman. "Are you ready for you sight seeing tour tomorrow?"
"Yes ma'am. What time are we going to get started?"
Pat smiled at Kelly calling her ma'am with her slight southern drawl. She realized that she didn't even know what state Kelly had come from. Maybe she would be able to get Kelly to tell her more tomorrow. "I'll be by to get you around seven-thirty."
They were back in the kitchen with Timmy who was grinning at Kelly and winked at her. Now, she knew he was just messing with her about Pat. For all she knew Pat might not even be gay. Timmy just loved to tease her when he thought it would embarrass her. She gave him a hateful look. "You know, Pat. All the guys think you should take me to Silverton instead of Telluride."
"Silverton?!" Pat looked at Timmy, "Are you wanting me to scare the shit out of her the first time she goes into the mountains?"
Timmy started laughing. "Aw, it'll be an adventure."
Pat looked at Kelly, "Are you afraid of cliffs?"
Kelly's eyes got wide, "Cliffs?"
Timmy was rolling now, "You're going to scare her before you even get her out there Pat."
"No more than you already have." Pat said in almost a growl.
Timmy put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. I was just kidding with you all. Telluride would be a better trip anyway. You might get to see someone famous."
Kelly looked from Timmy to Pat and back to Timmy. She had obviously heard about Timmy saying that they were going on a date and she was not happy about it. Timmy looked like a whipped pup as he turned back to putting the finishing trim along the floor. Kelly really had to wonder now if Pat was upset because she wasn't gay and didn't think it was a funny joke or if she was gay and didn't want her to know yet.
Pat looked at Kelly and put on a slight smile. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Okay," Kelly said as she watched Pat walk out the door. She turned back to Timmy, "I don't think she thought your little joke was funny."
Timmy shrugged. "I probably shouldn't have been teasing you guys so soon. You really don't know each other very well and now I've told you something about her that might offend you and keep you from letting her be your friend."
Kelly studied Timmy realizing that he was really sorry. He hadn't meant to hurt Pat. He had just been playing but if Kelly had been a different kind of person he was right that it might have stopped her from being friends with Pat. In fact, her mother and sister would have treated her like she had the plague if they were told that Pat was gay. "I don't care if she's gay." Kelly stated, "I like her. She seems to be a good person and I hope we become good friends."
Timmy smiled at her, relieved. "I bet you will."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Kelly waited nervously by her window. She had been up since five and despite telling herself that this was not a date or anything like it, she had taken special care with the way she looked. She was intentionally letting her natural color of auburn hair grow back in because Pat had said that she liked it better that way. She had let her hair grow back down to her collar and had spent a good deal of time washing and styling it. There was not a lot she could do with her natural wave but she parted her hair down the middle and brushed it back so it would lay in soft layers down the sides of her head.
She had never been one to wear much makeup but she had put on eye shadow, a small amount of blush and lip gloss this morning. She had hunted down her favorite perfume at Wal-Mart and had sprayed herself liberally with it. She was wearing a new pair of jeans that emphasized the fact that she had lost six pounds since she had been in Colorado. She had on a new, dark green, t-shirt that said "Montrose Colorado" on it and she was taking a zip up sweat shirt that had the logo for the Colorado University Buffaloes on the back of it.
She kept looking at her watch and looking out the window. She didn't want Pat to see her looking out the window but she wanted to see if Pat was pulling in yet. She finally made herself turn on the Weather Channel and watch to see how cold it would be today. This time of the year back home it would already be warm enough to wear shorts but it wasn't here in town and the Weather Channel said it wasn't going to even get up to sixty degrees in Telluride today. The weather was so different here. She couldn't get over the fact that there was not hardly any humidity.
Distracting herself had made time go by and she jumped when she heard the knock at her door. She stood up and straightened her shirt that was neatly tucked into her jeans. She opened the door to see Pat standing there with her sun glasses on.
Pat was glad she had left her sunglasses on because she was able to run her eyes over Kelly's shapely body without Kelly realizing that was what she was doing. She had to make her eyes come back past Kelly's full breasts pushing against the front of her t-shirt before she took her sunglasses off. She smiled at down at Kelly who was probably four inches shorter than her. "Ready?"
Kelly smiled back at Pat who looked gorgeous in her jeans and blue jean button up shirt. The shirt was tucked in and the two shades of blue that almost matched perfectly were separated by a brown woven leather belt. "Ready."
Pat looked down at Kelly's tennis shoes. "I hope those have some decent tread on them. We might be doing a little hiking."
Kelly braced herself against the door frame and looked at the bottom of her shoes that were new. "Looks okay to me."
Pat leaned close to inspect Kelly's shoe and caught the scent of her perfume. "Yeah, they'll do and you smell good."
Kelly blushed to her roots at the compliment. "Thanks."
Pat couldn't help but grin at Kelly's adorable expression. Resisting this woman was going to be hard. In fact, Pat was sure that she had lost resistance that first day when she saw her at Wal-Mart or she would not have followed her all the way back here to the motel. "Let's get going. It's a long drive just to get there."
They climbed into Pat's Jeep. Pat backed up and turned around so she could pull out onto the highway that divided the town. They headed south towards the mountains. "Have you eaten yet?" Pat asked.
"No, I'm not much of a breakfast person. I have to have my coffee first thing but I don't usually eat until about ten." Kelly looked over at Pat and tried not to be too obvious about studying her profile.
"I'd lecture you on the importance of breakfast but I'm just as bad. If I'm busy I might go all day without eating anything until I get home that night."
Kelly gave Pat's tall, lanky body a looking over, "So that's how you stay so skinny."
Pat laughed, "I'm not skinny, trust me but long and lean runs in my family. My father is six foot, two inches and my mom is five, eight."
"Wow," Kelly looked down at Pat's long legs that ended in her worn hiking books. "How tall are you?"
"Five, eight, same as my mom."
Kelly smiled, "Well, shortness runs in my family. My dad was only five, nine and my mother is just barely five foot. I managed to land somewhere in between there at five, four."
Pat smiled. She had sized her up about right. She liked the women she dated to be slightly shorter than her. She looked away from Kelly's beautiful blue eyes and mentally shook herself. This woman was still married and they didn't know each other. She could not be thinking about her romantically and yet she couldn't see to stop herself either. "Tell me something else about your family." Pat queried and knew right away it was a mistake by the dark expression that came over Kelly's face. Great, they hadn't even gotten out of Montrose and she had already upset her. "Maybe not then."
Kelly let go of a tight smile. "They are not my favorite subject. Let's just say that I've not had the love and support from my family that you and Rick seemed to share and leave it at that."
Pat let out a slight sigh, "Okay."
Neither said anything for a little while. Kelly stared out her window and watched the changing landscape as they moved into higher elevations. Pat stared at the road and gripped the steering wheel tightly. Somehow they had to get back to talking or it was going to be a long trip.
Kelly sensed Pat's tension. "I'm sorry." She said looking at Pat.
"No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Pat said glancing at Kelly who had turned back to look at her.
"I know. One of these days I'll tell you about my family. It's not a happy topic for me and I want this to be a fun day for both of us." Kelly said with a smile.
"Me too. How about we talk about where we are going?"
Kelly let out a sigh of relief. She was not ready to confide in Pat about her past the way she had with Marge. Not everyone was going to understand why she had left the way she did and she wasn't ready to explain herself to someone who she didn't think would understand what it was like to have a family like hers. "Yes, tell me the history of this place."
They drove on as Pat gave Kelly a history of Ridgway and Telluride. When they went through Ridgway Pat pointed out her office which was on the main road in town. Pat told Kelly that they might stop at the Adobe Inn for dinner on their way back through if they didn't decide to eat dinner in Telluride. "It'll just depend on how late we are running when we are coming back."
Kelly's mouth hung open for the most of the rest of the ride. She had seen some of the views on the way up to Last Dollar Road where the Aspens' leaves were still yellow on the verge of becoming green but she was unprepared for climbing the mountains and looking down on incredible valleys below them. At one point on the road to Telluride, Kelly leaned closer to Pat and gripped Pat's seat as they wound up the narrow road with no guard rails and shear cliffs.
Pat laughed, "Don't worry. I've driven up this road a thousand times and in horrible weather. We won't be going over any cliffs today."
Kelly smiled nervously but did not taken her eyes off the steep drop off the road that seemed just inches from the jeep.
They arrived in Telluride safely as Pat predicted and Kelly stared in awe at the buildings that looked new, yet the same that they had in the cowboy days. People walked up and down the streets and they walked across the street right in front of Pat's Jeep. "Pedestrians have the right of way here in town." Pat informed her.
"I can't get over these buildings," Kelly said looking all around them, "They look like we just pulled onto a movie set."
Pat smiled, "The city has strict codes about the outside of the buildings. They have to remain true to the original look of the building in order for the town to keep its historic look." Pat pulled into a parking spot in front of a building that looked like an old saloon. "Let me really shock you with the way the buildings look on the inside."
They went inside the building. There were offices and a restaurant. There were also a couple of small shops that sold clothes. It was very modern, yet very Western in its style on the inside. Kelly stood just inside the entrance and looked around. "Wow."
Pat smiled at Kelly's child like expression of awe. "I hope you don't mind but I need to take care of a little bit of business before we head out again."
Kelly brought her eyes to Pat's, "No. That's fine. You do what ever you need to but I do need to use the restroom."
"Yeah, that will be a good idea because after we tour this town we're going to go out further into the mountains where there won't be bathrooms for a little while." Pat led Kelly to the women's bathroom that was much deeper in the building.
When they both had finished Pat led Kelly to an office with Mountain Springs Builders on the door. Pat held the door for Kelly. Kelly brushed against her as she moved past her. Pat was wearing a very subtle perfume that Kelly recognized but couldn't think of the name but it suited Pat.
Inside the office was an empty receptionist desk and a man's deep voice could be heard from an office down the hall. Pat walked to the doorway of the office and gave the door a slight knock. An older man who was probably in his early sixties motioned for the two women to come in and sit down. He was on the phone giving orders to a masonry contractor about problems they were having with a job. He was very curt with the man but not hateful. He quickly got off the phone and smiled warmly at Pat. "Patricia, how nice of you to stop by."
Pat grimaced at the use of her full first name, "How are you Teddy?"
"I'm good. How've you been? I haven't seen you in ages."
"I'm good." Pat motioned to Kelly, "I'm getting ready to take a newcomer out to Rico and to a short jeep trail that's not too treacherous."
Teddy looked at Kelly, "Sounds like she's getting ready to scare the shit out of you."
Kelly laughed. "It takes a little bit to scare me so we'll see if I want to go anywhere with her again after today."
Pat grinned, "Teddy, this is my friend Kelly. She's working for Rick. She's quite a carpenter."
"Really?" Teddy asked with raised eyebrows. When Kelly nodded shyly, he went on, "We need more good carpenters around here for sure." He turned to Pat, "It sounds like you have a nice day planned so what brings you by here?"
"I have a bid for you on that house that you have for sale in Ouray. A friend of mine is very interested in it and I told him I would drop off this bid for his since I was going to be out this way today."
"That was nice of you." Teddy said with a nod. "Let's have a look at it."
Pat pulled an envelop out of her back pocket and handed it to Teddy. He opened it and looked at it. "No bad. Let me talk to the owner. Is this your friend's number?"
"Yep."
"I'll give him a call after I talk to the owner."
"Thanks Teddy," Pat said and stood up. "You take care of yourself."
"I will. Tell your old man to call me."
"I'll do that. Maybe next time I'm in Telluride you can take me out to lunch," Pat said with a wink towards Kelly.
"I might think about that," Teddy grinned, "Now you two young ladies get out of here and go enjoy this beautiful day."
Pat and Kelly went back out to Pat's jeep. After Pat left her parking spot, Kelly said, "That guy looks so familiar but I can't think of where I've seen him before."
Pat laughed, "He should look familiar. Rick looks just like him."
Kelly thought about it. Rick did look like a younger version of Teddy but he had mentioned Pat's father so surely he wasn't Rick's father. "I take it that he's some sort of kin to you."
Pat's grin deepened at Kelly's southern drawl, "He's my uncle. My dad's younger brother."
Kelly studied Pat. She and Rick looked like they were sister and brother but Pat's eyes were darker and her hair blonder. "So do you look like your mother more than your father."
Pat thought about it for a minute. "Yes, I suppose so. I'll have to take you by to meet them sometime. They're great people."
Kelly smiled. She was happy for Pat that she was so fond of her parents. It must be nice to have that closeness and affection for one another.
They spent the next hour driving around Telluride with Pat pointing out the places of interest. They stopped at the Village Market and got sandwiches and drinks. They sat down at the picnic tables outside the store to eat their food. Kelly could not get over her roast beef sandwich. It was amazingly good.
Pat watched as Kelly savored her sandwich. "This place is famous for their sandwiches. Every once in a while I'll drive up here just to get a sandwich."
"I can believe it. These things are amazing." Kelly said as she wiped her mouth with her napkin. "So where are we headed next?"
"I'm going to take you to a little town named Rico and we're going to go hiking for a little while then I'm going to take you on a jeep trail and show you an amazing view. By then it will be time to start heading back to take you home."
Kelly set her sandwich down and looked at Pat. "I really appreciate you doing this today."
Pat smiled at Kelly. "It's my pleasure. I think everyone should get to see some of the things that are off the beaten path."
They finished their sandwiches and loaded back up in Pat's Jeep. Rico was almost another hour down the road. There were a few places where Kelly leaned close to Pat again when the road seemed treacherous. Pat would just laugh and pat Kelly's leg. Pat told Kelly some more about the history of the area and about some of the new things that were going on now.
Rico was a quaint little town. It was very quiet and very beautiful. Pat parked her Jeep at then end of a drive way and left a note telling the land's owner who she was and what she was doing. "This is an old friend's property and she said I could hike out here anytime I want. She has the most amazing view and a little ways back off the road is a nice waterfalls."
"Cool." Kelly smiled as she pulled her jacket out of the Jeep. "I love water falls."
They made their way through a thick pine trees with a few aspens mixed in. Kelly took her jacket off and wrapped the sleeves around her waist. It was still cool out but the hiking was warming her up. They began climbing up a hill that was littered with rocks. Pat was climbing ahead of Kelly and would stop occasionally to take Kelly's hand and pull her over the boulders. Kelly tried not to notice the soft texture of Pat's hands or the jolt of sensation she felt every time Pat touched her.
They finally reached the top of the hill. Pat took Kelly's hand again and pulled her to the right where there was a bigger opening in the trees. The view opened up to a valley that laid at the bottom of a steep decline. It was dotted with small ponds and a stream. "Come on," Pat said after they had spent a few minutes absorbing the view.
They hiked for what seemed like forever to Kelly who had not done any serious hiking since high school. Kelly finally had to ask Pat to stop for a minute so she could catch her breath. Pat pulled a water bottle out of a pocket of the light jacket she had wrapped around her waist and took a drink of it. She offered it to Kelly who gladly took a long drink of it too. "You okay?" Pat asked as Kelly took in deep breaths.
"I guess I'm still not acclimated to this altitude." Kelly said as her heavy breathing began to steady.
"We are pretty high up. I should have taken that into account and not pushed you so hard." Pat reached over and stroked Kelly's arm. Kelly looked up at her and met her eyes briefly. Pat wasn't sure what emotion she saw there. It seemed to border on confusion and attraction. Pat moved away and said, "Are you ready? We're almost to the water falls."
"Yeah, let's get going." Kelly thought she could hear the water but she wasn't sure. They climbed for another fifteen minutes and finally reached the falls. Kelly was surprised because she was used to larger waterfalls. This one was high and pretty but it didn't compare to falls back home.
"What do you think?" Pat asked, barely winded by the hike.
"It's pretty." Kelly said as she tried to catch her breath.
Pat looked at her, "You don't sound all that impressed."
Kelly looked around at the large open valley and down at the bottom of the falls where the water landed in the creek that flowed past where they had first looked out over the valley. "It's pretty and it's tall but back home there are waterfalls that are much wider and have a heavier water flow."
"And where would back home be?" Pat asked, determined to get a state out of Kelly.
Kelly studied Pat's face and knew Pat was going to persist with the questioning if she didn't get some kind of answer out of her, "Tennessee," she lied, sort of. She lived close enough to the Tennessee state line to say she was from Tennessee.
"Wow, you're an awful long way from home."
Kelly looked off into the distant mountains beyond the valley, "No, this is home now. Tennessee was a different lifetime."
Pat studied the sad and dark expression on Kelly's face. What on Earth could have happened that was so bad that made her want to leave everything behind her? Pat wanted to question her more but decided that it would have to wait until another time. She looked at her watch and it was already four-thirty. "Wow, I can't believe how fast this day has gone. We better start heading back so we will be able to go on the jeep trail."
They made their way back to Telluride with a light conversation about the types of trees that grew in the mountains. They drove through Telluride and took the main road going out of town. Pat turned off the main road and took Kelly out on a side road that wound around trees and boulders. It was a rough ride but very pretty. Suddenly there was a clearing and they were driving next the side of the mountain, sheer up and sheer down.
"Oh my God!" Kelly cried and leaned closer to Pat.
Pat took her hand. "Don't panic. We are perfectly safe and we'll be on the other side of this part in no time." Pat had chosen a trail that she knew only have a few sheer drop offs. She didn't want to scare Kelly so badly that she wouldn't come out here with her again.
Kelly tightened her grip on Pat's hand when they hit a rock at the end of the cliff that bounced the jeep hard.
Pat tried not to wince or laugh because she knew that Kelly was terrified. In fact, it had scared her just a little. Now that they were on a road surrounded by trees and rocks again, Kelly let loose of Pat's hand. "Are you okay?"
Kelly let out a long breath, "Yeah but I really don't want to do that again."
Pat smiled and patted Kelly's thigh, "Okay. I promise I won't take you out on any more scary jeep trails."
Kelly reached down and squeezed Pat's hand, "Thank you."
A half an hour later they were coming out at Dallas Divide and heading back to Ridgway. The ride back to Ridgway was filled with conversations about Pat's family and Kelly's comments about how beautiful the mountains looked as the sun began to set. Kelly was quite impressed with the details Pat knew about her ancestors. Kelly just barely knew when her grandparents had died and didn't even know the names of her great-grandparents.
Pat's family had come to Colorado in the late eighteen hundreds and settled in the Ridgway area as ranchers, Pat told her. None them had gotten the gold fever and went searching for their fortune. They already knew that their fortune was in cattle and real estate. During the first and second World Wars the family lost several of the young men so many daughters inherited the property which took it out of the Bryant name and into the family names of the daughters' husbands.
During the depression the family had managed to hang onto all of the land but lost a lot o their livestock. After that they started selling some of the land as more people moved to Colorado. Pat's grandfather had been a cattle rancher and her father became one too but he also got into building houses and selling home/land package deals.
Pat concluded her story just as they arrived in Ridgway, "When Rick and I got old enough Dad gave us choices of working on the jobsites or in the office. Rick took the job sites and I took the office so when Dad retired a few years ago I took over the real estate part of the family business and Rick took over the construction part."
"What about the cattle ranch?"
"Dad still runs that with the help of one of our cousins. Rick and I've never had any interest in the ranch. More than likely, Dad will leave it to our cousin, Henry, who helps him run it. Here we are." Pat said as she turned off the main rode and pulled into the parking lot of a small adobe building that said "Adobe Inn" on a sign on the side of the building. Pat led Kelly into the building.
"Pat!" A small Hispanic woman, who was the hostess, smiled at Pat, "It's so good to see you."
"Thank you Padilla. Can you sit us at a table where we will have a good view of the mountains?" Pat asked sweetly.
"Of course," the woman smiled at Pat and Kelly, "Follow me." She led them to a table for just two right next to the window with the most spectacular view of the mountains that were becoming dark shadows. There was a red glass candle holder with a lit candle inside sitting in the middle of the table. Kelly and Pat sat opposite of each other and Padilla put the menus down in front of them. "Can I get you senoritas something to drink?"
"I'll have a margarita on ice. Kelly?" Pat said giving Kelly a questioning look.
"That will be nice." Kelly smiled up at the hostess.
"Your server will be right out with your drinks." Padilla reached over and put her hand on Pat's shoulder. "It's been too long since you've been here with a friend. I'm glad to see you have someone to enjoy your meal with."
Pat patted Padilla's hand on her shoulder, "Thank you."
Pat looked over at Kelly who was giving her a questioning look. "I don't bring very many people here to eat."
"Well, then I am honored that you brought me." Kelly said with a bright smile.
Pat smiled too. She really liked Kelly. She knew that she had learned very little about her today but she still liked her. She was beautiful and seemed to be a simple and kind person. Pat really hoped so. She would love to have a new friend. There was something about Kelly that said that she really needed a friend as well. Pat was also attracted to her physically but that was something that she would keep to herself. The last thing she needed was to get involved with yet another married woman. "I wanted to share this with you because I knew you would appreciate it."
Kelly looked out at the mountains and saw that the stars were staring to become visible. "This is amazing. I've never seen anything like this place. The mountains back home are beautiful but these are just amazing."
Pat beamed. She was glad she had invited Kelly out today. She had hoped to get to the bottom of her mystery but, too, she had just wanted to spend time with this beautiful stranger.
A young Hispanic man in his early twenties came up to their table with two huge margaritas. "Good evening senoritas. I am Miguel and I'll be your server tonight. Are you ready to order or do you need more time?"
Kelly hadn't even opened her menu. "I have no idea what to get."
"Do you trust me to order something for you?" Pat asked bring Kelly's amazing blue eyes to hers.
"Sure."
Pat grinned and looked up at the waiter, "Two chimichanga meals but give us salads instead of the refried beans."
The young man nodded. "I'll be right back with your chips and salsa."
After he was gone Kelly asked, "What is a chimichanga?"
"It's a deep friend tortilla filled with beef and covered in cheese and salsa verde sauce. Don't you guys have Mexican restaurants?" Pat said taking a sip of her margarita and moaning in delight.
"Yeah but I hadn't been up to trying one. I stuck to Taco Bell." Kelly took a sip of her margarita and moaned too. "Oh my God! That is so good."
"Yeah, they have the best margaritas anywhere and Taco Bell doesn't even compare to what you are getting ready to have." Pat said and sipped hers again.
Miguel came back with warm tortilla chips and spicy salsa. "Your dinners will be out shortly." He said with a smile and disappeared.
"So are you going to be able to drive after drinking that?" Kelly asked nodding towards Pat's margarita.
Pat laughed, "It will take more than one margarita to keep me from being able to drive. Besides, this will be my only one and we'll be here long enough for the effects of it to wear off."
Kelly was glad to hear that their time together was not going to end anytime soon. She was really enjoying Pat's company. It had been a long time since she had felt this comfortable with another person. Kelly looked out the window and noticed that the moon had risen up over the mountains and was shining it's silvery light over the mountains and valley. "Wow, that is so beautiful."
Pat looked out too and smiled. "Yeah, I was hoping the moon could be seen tonight. It does amazing things to this valley."
Kelly looked over at Pat and their eyes met. Kelly was drawn into the soft way Pat was looking at her. Kelly's heart fluttered and her throat went dry. She licked her lips and watched as Pat's eyes followed her tongue.
The spell was broken by Miguel showing up with their dinners. Both women sat up and smiled at Miguel but avoided each others eyes for the rest of the meal and talked mostly about the food and other things of little consequence.
Pat was chastising herself for letting Kelly catch her staring at her luscious lips but Pat hadn't been able to stop herself when Kelly's pink tongue had come out to wet those beautiful lips.
Kelly was wondering what was coming over her. No other woman had never made her so nervous. She could feel herself being drawn to Pat like a moth to a flame. No one had ever made her feel this way and she wasn't sure what it meant or what to do about it. She did know that had really enjoyed Pat's company today and would love for them to do something like this again.
True to her word, Pat was completely sober when they left Ridgway for Montrose almost an hour later. The mood had lightened up between them after the eye contact incident and they were more relaxed with each other again.
Kelly was just a little giddy from her drink and feeling a little more like opening up to Pat but not too much. Plus she wanted to ask Pat about what Timmy had said about her being gay and didn't feel it would be fair if she asked Pat something so personal and didn't share something in return. Kelly turned in her seat towards Pat and said, "I'll make a deal with you. I'll tell you something personal about my past if you'll answer a personal question for me."
Pat glanced her at her and then back at the road. "Okay." She said hesitantly.
"Okay," Kelly took a deep breath and let it out. "The only reason I got married was because I was pregnant and our parents made us get married."
Pat looked over at her. "That's awful. How old were you?"
"I was nineteen and he was twenty. We come from a small hick town and back in that day, in our families, you got married if you got pregnant." Kelly explained.
"Wow," Pat said trying to roll that around in her head. If she had gotten pregnant back when she was still dating men, her parents would not have made her get married if she didn't want to. "So you didn't love the guy?"
"No," Kelly confessed quietly and looked at the road ahead. "I never did." She was saddened by the realization but it was true. She had never loved her husband even though she had lived with him for almost twenty years. In fact, she had never liked him as a person. She had only stayed because of the kids and because she thought that was what she was supposed to do.
Pat was incredibly sad for Kelly. She couldn't image marrying someone she didn't love and continuing to live with them. "Why didn't you leave?"
"That's just something you don't do, especially when you have kids, or at least that's what I've always believed. Also, I had watched a lot of families go through ugly divorces and I didn't want to put my kids through that."
Pat nodded with a sigh. She had almost been the cause of a few divorces that would have been very nasty. "I understand. That's very good of you to think of your kids first."
Kelly just nodded. Yeah, it was very good considering what horrible monsters her kids had turned out to be, she thought to herself. She shook off her thoughts and turned to Pat, "Okay, can I ask you something now?"
"Okay." Pat agreed nervously.
"You seemed very upset with Timmy yesterday. Was it because of what he said about the date thing or because he told me you were gay?"
Pat let out a slow breath. She had been afraid that this was the question Kelly wanted to ask. "Both. I didn't really care all that much that he told you I was gay but he made it sound like I was going to attack you or something."
"I knew he was just teasing." Kelly said with a grin.
Pat looked over at her and grinned too. "I'm glad but some people wouldn't have and I was afraid that his saying that would make you change your mind about coming out with me today or make you real jumpy while we were out today."
Kelly reached over and patted Pat's leg. "I'm really glad that I didn't let it scare me from coming out with you today. I had the best time I've ever had with anyone."
"Really?" Pat looked over at Kelly.
"Yes, really." Kelly said with a smile and looked up to see the lights of Montrose coming into view. "Wow, I can't believe we're already back."
"Yeah, it seemed like a quick trip, didn't it?" She was disappointed that the night was about to end. It had been a long time since she had spent the day with someone whose company she had enjoyed as much as she had Kelly's.
They were both quiet as they drove through town to the motel. Pat pulled in to a spot in front of Kelly's unit. "Would you mind if I use your bathroom before I head back?"
"Not at all," Kelly was glad for the excuse for the evening to not end quite yet.
They got out of the Jeep and Kelly unlocked her door and let Pat slip past her. Pat slightly brushed against her as she moved past her in the door. The light contact caused a rush of sensation in Kelly. She felt flushed and turned away so that Pat wouldn't see it.
Pat stopped just inside the door and looked around the room. "Wow! You've really turned this place into a home." Pat said as she took in the houseplants sitting around, pictures of flowers on the walls and the other personal touches that Kelly had put on her room.
"Well, I'm planning on being here awhile so I wanted it be nice." Kelly said looking around proudly.
Pat looked directly at her. "You did a great job."
"Thanks," Kelly said and dropped Pat's gaze with a blush. Lord, this woman was making her has the wildest feelings.
Kelly's blush and sudden shyness wasn't lost on Pat. She grinned and said, "I'll just be going into the bathroom now."
Kelly set her jacket and purse on the bed and fidgeted nervously while she waited for Pat to come out of the bathroom. When Pat did come out Kelly smiled nervously at her. "Can I get you something to drink?"
"No," Pat smiled, "I've really got to be getting on the road. The trip home will seem a lot longer without my good company with me."
Kelly blushed and walked with Pat to the door. When they stood a the door Kelly put her hand on the knob to open it for Pat. She looked up at Pat. "So if this would have been a date, what would happen now?"
Pat looked down into Kelly's indigo eyes, "I'd kiss you goodnight and then I'd have to make myself leave since this would be our first date."
Kelly blushed and dropped Pat's gaze. "Why would you have to make yourself leave?"
Pat gently cupped Kelly's chin and Kelly looked back up at her, "Because you are a beautiful woman and I would have to make myself not throw you down on the bed and have my way with you."
Kelly swallowed hard. Her heart was racing as she read the sincerity in Pat's soft brown eyes. She was also feeling hot sensations running from where Pat was touching her to her breasts and womanhood. "Oh," was all she could manage to say.
Pat studied those incredibly beautiful blue eyes for a moment longer and leaned a little closer. She knew Kelly would not stop her from kissing her but she also knew that once she kissed this beautiful woman, she would not be able to stop herself from falling in love with her. Pat stepped back and gently released Kelly's chin. "Goodnight."
Kelly let go of the breath she had been holding and turned the door knob. "Will you call me when you get home so I know you made it okay?"
Pat smiled. Kelly's concern for her making her war with herself again over kissing her. "What's your extension?" Pat asked as she leaned close to Kelly again.
"Two oh three." Kelly said quietly as the scent of Pat's musk perfume assailed her nose for the hundredth time today causing the weak knee sensations that Kelly had been trying to ignore all day.
"Okay. I'll call you when I get home." Pat stepped away from Kelly and out the door.
Kelly watched as Pat started her Jeep and turned around. Pat waved to Kelly as she pulled away. Kelly waved back, then closed her door with her back pressed against it. She touched her fingers to her lips where Pat's eyes had lingered for so long. She had wanted Pat to kiss her. It was the wildest feeling. She had never wanted anyone to kiss her as much as she had wanted Pat to just then. Lord, what was happening to her. She must be losing her mind. Not that kissing a woman was a strange notion. The thought had crossed her mind in the past but she didn't need any complications in her life now that she was finally starting to get it straightened out.
Kelly locked her door and turned out the light. She undressed and climbed into bed. She closed her eyes and the vision of what Pat had said she wanted to do to her flashed behind her eye lids. Kelly smiled and let herself drift off to sleep knowing that Pat's call would wake her later.