Sorry this took so long *G*


CJ emerged from the bedroom area a short 15 minutes later clean and fresh and smelling like rain and fresh cut grass. His hair was still damp and droplets of water clung to his moustache. In short, Lou thought he looked delicious. She stood next to a shelve of books in the living room area, thumbing though an old copy of Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
"This is one of my favorite books." Lou turned to look at him as he came in the room. He had slipped a pair of clean jeans on and an old flannel shirt. The kind of jeans and shirt every man has in the back of his closet. Old and worn and washed till they were thread bare in some very important areas but soft like a baby blanket. Lou thought back to when stone washed jeans were popular, this must have been their true inspiration. The jeans and shirt were so soft looking she longed to touch them. The man inside them looked warm and fresh and just as touchable. Lou knew that if she wanted to escape this 'hole in the ground" with her own dignity and self respect in tact, she'd have to escape soon.
"Thoreau! Yes, he's one of my favorites too. He had the right idea. The whole less is more idea. Here.." C.J. gently lifted the book from Lou's hands. He was standing very close to her. The heat from his body radiated across her neck, and face. She flushed and inhaled deeply, breathing in his moist sweetness.
C.J. opened the book and thumbed to the end. He nodded his head and smiled.
"listen to this. 'I learned this, at least, by my experiment;
that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams,
and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined,
he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.'"
C.J. looked up. Lou had been watching him read. His crystal blue eyes scanned the pages and his lips twitched, hinting at a smile when he crossed over a passage he liked. Lou was lucky she was fairly familiar with Thoreau because she hadn't really been listening to a thing he'd said. She was much too busy with watching a small bead of moisture slip down the side of his face, down his neck, linger a moment at his nape and slowly ease down his bared chest. She couldn't help but feel envious of that little drop of water, wanting to take that same tour herself.
"Uh, yes. One of my favorite passages." Lou smiled at him. She could only hope that all her feelings were not being displayed on her face. C.J. had an odd look on his face, then smiled.
"Do you read a lot?" He was standing very close and she could feel his breath on her face as he spoke. Lou looked up into his eyes.
"Not as much as I'd like to." It was almost a whisper but she had no doubt he could hear her. He slipped an arm around and behind her shoulder and replaced the book on the shelf. Lou froze still. He was poised just over her face. He smiled. "Excuse me." Lou smiled back and stepped to one side. She knew she had to step away from this man or make the next move and she barely knew him. She turned and looked once more at the books. She fingered the bindings as she walked the length of the book case.
"So, are goats a good business?" She'd changed the subject and she was trying to change the mood. He watched her unblinking. A small smirk across his lips.
"They can be." C.J. moved towards the kitchen and busied himself there. Lou exhaled a deep breath. That had been too close.
"what about your goats? Do you make a good living from goats milk?" Lou stayed in the living area and raised her voice slightly.
"Not just from the goats milk. I also sell their fleece and manure." C.J. emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of wine and some fruits, cheeses and crackers on an earthen-ware dish. He placed the wine on a round pedestal table on the other end of the living space. He walked to a cabinet built into the wall and pulled out two long stemmed wine glasses.
"You sell the manure? Who would buy such a thing? I mean we have no shortage of cows around here. Is goat manure better then cow manure?" Lou was teasing and there was a grin in her voice.
C.J. Laughed. "I wouldn't know that. I know goat manure smells much worse. Does that make a difference? I guess every form of refuse has it's price."
He pulled out a chair and motioned for Lou to join him. When she hesitated he smiled innocently. "Please. I know it's early, but we'll think of it as brunch and I really would like you to try my wine. I'm quite proud of it."
Lou smiled. How could she say no to him? He was so sincere and gentle. She walked across the room and sat at the table at his proffered chair. C.J. picked up the lableless bottle and plunged the corkscrew into the cork, twisted and popped it out.
"No label?" Lou looked up inquisitively at him. He smiled back down at her.
"I figured why bother? I know what they are and when they were bottled. If anyone else was going to drink this stuff, I might add a label." He grinned down at her. Did she sense some sort of promise in his face?
"This is a white. I guess you might call it a Chablis, but I used a real mixture of grapes. It's a little too dry around here for Chablis grapes so I improvised. You will have to tell me what you think."
He poured a half of a glass for Lou and sniffed it before he handed it to her. "I always check when I open a new bottle. You never know for sure. I've opened many a bottle of fine vinegar! Makes great salad dressing, not so great to drink." C.J. grinned and poured himself a large glass. "This one smells good."
Lou held the glass up to her nose and inhaled the moist essence hanging above the pale amberish liquid in her glass. It was fresh and tangy with a little sweetness, kind of like fresh mown grass. Kind of like C.J. himself.
Lou sipped the wine. It was almost effervescent, it sparkled on her tongue. It was tangy and sweet and cool and warm all at once. Lou closed her eyes and let the wine slip down her throat. She must have smiled or made some approving sound or something.
"So you like it then?"
She opened her eyes and C.J. was watching her intently. Lou blinked, a little surprised. She'd nearly forgotten where she was.
"OH yes. It's wonderful!"
C.J. grinned and sat at the table. His actions were very animated.
"I think it's the water here. Like I said before, I have to use a real conglomeration of different types of grapes. I grow a few out back, but the soil and the weather isn't too conducive to vineyards here." He was talking quickly and spreading cheese on a cracker. He handed the cracker to Lou. She took it and thanked him. She looked at the cheese on the cracker.
"Is this yours as well?" She touched a finger tip to the cheese and tasted it. She didn't know a lot about wine, but cheese she knew. It was smooth and tangy but had a store bought flavor to it. No, this was that funny cow stuff. The one sold in little triangles in a card board box. C.J. laughed.
"No, I'm afraid my talent ends with the wine. I may raise the goats, but as for their produce, well, I leave that up to much more talented folks like yourself." C.J. grinned sheepishly and looked down at the cheese and crackers. "This is good for cleansing the palate though. take a small bite after you take a drink and the wine will have more flavor with your next sip."
Lou grinned back at him and sipped at her wine again. She closed her eyes. She couldn't help it. There was something about the wine that almost transported her to a dreamlike state.
"Mmmmm... it's almost mystic." She hadn't meant to say that out loud.
C.J. grinned. "That would be a good name for it. Mystic White"
Lou nodded her head and agreed.
The two sat at the table drinking the wine and talking about goats and cheese and wine and other things for a long time. At one point C.J. picked up the bottle of wine and his glass and ushered her to the sofa in the living area. The chairs had become hard and uncomfortable. He continued to fill and refill her glass till the wine bottle was empty. Lou looked at the bottle a little surprised.
"Wow. I had no idea we'd drank that much. I really should go." She began to stand and felt her legs wobble a little.
"whoa there." C.J. stood quickly and helped steady her as she sat heavily back on the sofa.
"Oh my! I guess I'd had more then I realized! I'm feeling a little light headed." She leaned her head on her hands.
"Let me get us some coffee. I think you could use it." C.J. was seemingly unaffected by wine. He jumped up and trotted into the kitchen. Lou listened to the rattle and bang in the kitchen area.
"I have to apologize. I'm used to drinking a lot of wine since I make it. I forget sometimes that others may have a lower tolerance then I do." He reappeared in the kitchen doorway with two steaming mugs and grinned at her."I really didn't mean to get you drunk, and I promise I wont take advantage."
Lou grinned back. "I'm afraid I cant make the same promise." Drinking always made her bolder then she would be normally.
C.J. raised his eye brows at her. She grinned mischievously back.
"You'd better drink this before we both get ourselves into trouble." That familiar smirk was back as he handed her the mug of hot coffee. "Do you take cream or sugar?"
"I think I'd better just take it black." The impact of her previous statement was beginning to sink in and she was blushing furiously. Fortunately she could blame it on the wine. Lou knew she had to sober up quickly or she would definitely do something to embarrass herself. She sipped at the hot steaming brew. She examined the mug. It was very unusual. Earthenware that matched the plate the cheese and crackers had been on. They were hand made, that much was plane to see, reddish brown in hue with a muted blue green stripe outlined with a yellowish gold thin lines. The colors weren't garish although they all contrasted. The effect was beautiful.
"These dishes are really something. Did you get them locally?"
C.J. grinned and looked down at the mug in his own hands. "Yeah, in fact, very locally. Out of my shed in the back yard. I made them."
Lou stared at him and blinked.
"So, besides cheese. Is there anything you cant do?"
C.J. laughed quietly. "Yeah, a lot! I'm not so good at cooking or cleaning."
Lou looked around curiously. The house, at least the living area, was spotless. C.J. noticed her looking around and followed her eyes.
"Oh yeah, it looks great now! I have someone who comes in a couple of times a week. She's amazing! She'll clean the whole place in a few seconds!"
Lou grinned at him. "Must be Shirley."
"Oh! you know her?" C.J. put his coffee mug down on the table and turned towards Lou.
Lou smiled. "Yeah, I know her. All the locals around here kind of know each other."
He looked down. "I used to be a local. My brothers have lived around here nearly their whole lives. I took off when I was pretty young."
Lou sipped her coffee. She'd heard about Don and Almanzo's little brother. His exploits were more legend then truth she was sure, but sitting here looking at him, his face had gone suddenly serious, maybe the stories were true. Some of those stories hadn't been so nice. She suddenly felt a pang of sorrow and regret for this handsome man sitting next to her. Maybe it was the wine, maybe the sadness in his eyes. She reached out and brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. He looked up at her. She smiled at him. He took her hand and pulled her near. He leaned forward and placed a light kiss on her lips. He pulled away a little.
"I'm.. I'm sorry. I don't know what..."
She reached behind his head and pulled him to her. She kissed him a little stronger and longer this time. His arms slipped around her waist and pulled her to him. They were pressed and locked together on the sofa. He pulled his mouth away from hers. His forehead pressed against hers keeping their lips apart.
"I.. this.. the wine and .." He smiled and swallowed hard. His breathing was short and rapid. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, sat back and looked at her.
"I want to get to know you better. I really like you, Lou and I want more then friendship, but I need to go a little slower, for both of us."
Lou caressed his face and smiled. She knew he was right but everything he said, every thing he did every look he gave her made her want him that much more. She looked at him and nodded. He ran a finger across her lips.
"This isn't going to be easy, going slow I mean." He grinned. She blushed and grinned back. That was exactly what she'd been thinking.
He walked her out to her truck. She was surprised to see it was dark out. It'd still been morning when she'd arrived. She looked at her watch. It was 6:30! She'd spent the last 8 hours with this man drinking wine and talking. The evening air helped clear her head. He opened the door for her and she stood in the open door looking up at him. He cradled her face in his hand and kissed her softly, pausing just long enough for their breath to mingle. He pulled away and cleared his throat.
"I'll call you."
She smiled and traced his lips with her finger tips.
"Yeah, please do." She grinned at him, got in her truck and drove down the long dirt drive as she looked in her rearview mirror. He was watching her truck drive away with that same sideways smirk and he gave her a little wave.
Her mind reeled as she turned onto the road. He was too good to be true, and still there were all those stories about him. Everything was such a contrast. His crystal blue eyes, the wine, the goats... She slammed on her breaks and stared out the windshield. She'd spent 8 hours with the man and had forgotten to talk about the goats and the milk. Lou leaned her head on the steering wheel. This wasn't going to be easy at all.