Champagne Romance (Romance Novel) by Suellen Smith Page B

pillows in turquoise and brown striped woven wool. An
original massive antique pine dresser faced the bed. A large pine
antique mirror hung over it. An armoire stood at an angle in the
corner.
    As Slater slid between the soft cotton
sheets, he was soon lulled asleep by the serenading coyotes hiding
in the surrounding canyons. Their tune was the same tune that they
had sung to other Dons for over 200 hundred years as they howled
the inhabitants into a deep slumber on this particular ranch. As
deep darkness descended, the wild critters took cover for the night
and birds found their perch on nearby trees while night creatures
began to stir. The only one that seemed effected and restless by
the enveloping sounds was Caesar. His ears twitched with the call
of the wild from his undomesticated ancestors as they beckoned for
him to join them in the serene and mystic hills.
    Cattle were raised on Slater’s ranch. They
were taken care of by the foreman, Jacob, who lived in a small
house near the old main hacienda. He was an old and trusted friend
of Mexican descent. Slater had met him many years ago when he was
fifteen and worked a cattle ranch with him near San Diego. He was
his mentor and sometimes advisor when he was very young. His wife,
Juanita, had been a mother hen to him when he needed it most. They
made his young adult years a little more tolerable. They were
Slater’s family and he would do anything for them.
    Jacob was given over one hundred head of
Angus cattle by Slater to raise and earn a living. For that job, he
was to keep an eye on the main hacienda, keep Slater’s freezer
stocked with steak, and provide his wife as a cook and housekeeper
whenever Slater was at the ranch. It made Jacob proud to be the
owner and foreman of this small dynasty of cattle that he could
call his own. It was a comfortable, but simple life. It was an
arrangement that suited all concerned. The only problem Jacob faced
was the occasional cougar that wondered down from the hills looking
for cattle, upon which to prey for their evening meal. Tracking
them and eliminating them was an easy task for an old hunter like
Jacob. It wasn’t long before they became a rug in front of his
fireplace.
     

CHAPTER 24
     
    Swan awoke to a cool ocean breeze blowing in
from the balcony doors. She could almost taste the salty sea air.
Seagulls squawked in the distance as they skimmed over the water
looking for fish. Roller blades could be heard nearby as young
yuppies rolled out their daily routine of exercise. They were all
reassuring and familiar sounds that surrounded her. She lay there
for a while listening and hoping that this would be the day that
she would see them with her very own turquoise eyes, but it was not
to be. She choked back the nausea as she lay still waiting for her
stomach to settle. Reaching for a saltine, she munched on the
cracker that she kept on the nearby table beside her bed. So far,
she had had an easy pregnancy. If she would continue to work with
her personal trainer and walk daily, she would probably have a
normal easy delivery. She was young and healthy, which would
certainly tip the scales in her favor.
    Swan was now four months pregnant and after
some adjustment, she was excited about becoming a mother. Today,
she could feel the slight tickle like butterfly wings in her tummy
that signified life. Running her hand over her little mound, she
smiled. She would have a baby boy in early fall. She could not help
, but wonder if he would look like his father or her own neither of
which she had ever seen. It didn’t matter. She would love him
fiercely and he would be her very own.
    If Swan had known how to contact Ace, she
would have done so. The privacy act kept most people from invading
the files of Americans and so it left her at a dead end;
especially, when she did not even have his real name. It seemed to
be an impossible dream. Perhaps, someday fate would intervene and
he would be part of her life and their son. She knew that