Free Two Spirit Ranch by Jaime Stryker Page A

a morning person.  So, make it eight-thirty.”
    He chuckled and said, “You got it, ma'am.”
    Jake started to head back to the Jeep with a little spring in his step and even he knew his face was still beaming.

    Terri closed the door behind after Jake left, and even though it had turned into night, she felt like she was floating on sunshine.  She let out a little gleeful cry. She was going out with Jake!
    She headed into the kitchen, took out some ingredients to make a small salad, and then went searching through the kitchen drawers looking for a corkscrew to open a bottle of Merlot.  She came upon a small photo album with ragged edges in the back of what appeared to be Uncle Bud's all purpose junk catch-all drawer filled with matchbooks, screwdrivers, old newspaper items, etc. 
    She felt a rush of sadness.  Uncle Bud.  Why didn't she take more time to spend with him these last few years?  She knew why. Her career.   Before Tom and after her transition, she had made her career everything.  She mistook having a career for having a life.
    Terri opened the photo album and saw a snapshot of Uncle Bud and Sally on what appeared to be a mountain top somewhere.  She found it curious that he never mentioned her.  What else hadn't she known?  Even those we know the best can still surprise us, she thought.
    She turned the page, and she immediately sucked in a breath.  It was a picture of her.  Actually, it was a picture of him or who people knew to be Terrence.  Fifteen years old, arms and legs too long for the body, a pimply face, sitting on a park bench but an actual genuine smile.  She then remembered it was taken on a trip to Vermont with Uncle Bud. Despite the awkward growing pains, it was one of the few happy moments from her teenage years.
    Terri felt a quick sense of dread.  Doubt and fear crept into the back of her mind. What was she doing going out with Jake tomorrow on what was obviously a date to him? They were from two completely different worlds. Should she be upfront with him now?  She pondered the thought of having to have the talk , explaining her transition from Terrence to Terri. But all she really wanted to be tomorrow was a girl on a date with a nice guy.  Hell, she needed it.  Why complicate things? What was the harm in a simple date?  Her therapist had always told her to enjoy the present. After all, there could never be a future with Jake. Could there?

    Jake dragged a large tree branch to the back of the diner while Sally followed him, excitedly yakking the whole time about that day's weather excitement.
    “Swear to you, Jake, I thought I was going to have to bend over and kiss my own ass goodbye when I heard it coming from yonder.  Mindy dove under the counter, but then the sound drifted off,” she said, one hand on her hip and smacking gum in her mouth.  “I'm glad to hear Terri was okay.  I tried calling her back.  I was so worried about that poor girl all out there by herself.”
    “She's fine and so’s the ranch.  I just checked on her again, too,” Jake replied.
    He picked up the huge branch with his husky arms, like it was a piece of paper and tossed it in the dumpster.
    “Ya did, did ya?” Sally said, cocking her head.
    Jake felt his face redden.  He gave away embarrassment way too easily.  He knew now the barrage of questions would begin.  If Sally sensed a new piece of gossip, she could be like a hound dog with a meaty bone.  She wasn't going to let up on that for anything until she was satisfied.
    “Just wanted to make sure she was okay,” he said.  He flipped the top back over the dumpster.
    “And…?” Sally said, digging deeper.  “What's going on there with you two?”
    “We just met!” Jake protested.
    “So, what's that got to do with the price of potatoes in Idaho?  I can tell when two people have some...tension, and I mean the good kind between them.”
    Jake relented.  She would find out sooner or later once he was spotted at the fair with