Jerry shrugged. “Okay-I have to agree with you there. I’m actually sorry I ever said anything in the first place!”
Ann didn’t want the afternoon to be ruined over a petty argument. “I’m sorry too, Jerry. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that. I realize now what you were saying… I think.”
She forced a smile, turned and looked out the window again. She realized now that it wasn’t so much what Jerry had said but the way in which he said it that had irked her. Almost godlike. Something about that troubled her for some reason-it just didn’t seem like something Jerry Rankin would say…
She felt his hand touch her arm and she turned to face him.
“I truly am sorry, Ann. Will you forgive me?”
His eyes were pleading with her. Ann smiled and replied, “I forgive you Jerry. It’s no big deal!”
“Thanks. How about some music?”
Ann nodded and began skimming through the CD’s in the console. She saw a half-dozen titles-all ‘60s classics. She selected The Mamas and Papa’s Greatest Hits and handed it to Jerry.
“I really like them,” she said.
“Me, too,” Jerry said, inserting the disk into the player.
As California Dreaming oozed out of the speakers, Ann sat back and stared out the window, enjoying the autumnal scenery of southeastern Ohio. She noted that the terrain had become hillier and when they entered Hocking County, the highway wound up and down the foothills. The leaves on the trees were at their peak of color and it reminded her a lot of the hills surrounding Smithtown. Hocking county was in fact mid-distance between Columbus and Smithtown but further to the east and she wondered if perhaps these hills were part of the same range that made up the State forest in Smithtown.
Before long, Jerry pulled onto a blacktop road that entered the forest region. The scenery along the road was truly spectacular as they meandered through the foothills. The woods were thick with oak, maple and elm trees, their leaves strikingly rich in color as the slanting shafts of afternoon sun radiated through the branches here and there, showcasing their delicate beauty. Ann and Jerry spoke very little, both content to sit back and enjoy the serene majesty of the wilderness. They had been in the forest for nearly fifteen minutes when Jerry slowed down as they approached an unmarked dirt road that forked off to the left. He pulled onto the road and drove a little way until they came up on a heavy gate blocking the road. Jerry threw the gearshift into park and got out.
“Is this your driveway?” Ann asked.
He glanced over and smiled. “Guess you could say that. I own this road as well as much of the land beyond.”
But I thought that this was state property.”
“Not anymore. We just passed the forest boundary line a quarter mile or so back.”
Ann watched as Jerry stepped over to the gate, took a key from his pocked and unlocked the padlock. He swung the gate open and returned to the car.
“I’m impressed already!” Ann exclaimed as Jerry threw the car into gear and drove a few yards past the gate.
“You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” he grinned slyly before he got out again and locked the gate.
“How long have you owned this?”
“About six months. There are advantages to being in real estate-I got this place for a steal!”
They pulled away and drove along the road for a couple of minutes until they approached a clearing. When they emerged from the tree lined road, Ann gasped.
The first thing she saw was an enormous field of recently mowed grass. The field was flanked by lush stands of timber and near the center and to the right was a huge pond, complete with lily pads and a working fountain. Beyond the pond stood a good-sized A-frame house in the distance on top of a knoll.
“My Lord! This is wonderful, Jerry!”
“Thank you. I thought you’d be impressed.”
Ann stared out the window in awe as they drove toward the house, unable to believe the beauty and remoteness of Jerry Rankin’s country estate. When he had first mentioned it to her, he never let on that it was any way near as enchanting and expansive as this and Ann suddenly had the feeling he’d done this on purpose-just to ensure that she would be absolutely floored once she actually saw it. His ploy had worked like a charm.
Driving along the pond, Jerry said, “It’s fully stocked with bass, catfish and blue gill. I don’t suppose you like to fish, do you?”
Ann grinned. “I used to love fishing when I was a little girl! I sort of grew out of it though, I guess.”
“Maybe you’d like to try it again and see if you still enjoy it,” he suggested, eying her expectantly.
Ann flashed back to the times when she used to go fishing with her father as a child and a warm wave of nostalgia swept over her.
“I just may want to do that,” she replied with a smile.
In another minute they rounded a curve in the road and pulled up beside the house.
“Here we are,” he proclaimed.
Ann stepped out and stood for a moment, surveying the surroundings. The A-frame house looked even larger than she’d imagined it to be.
“I never dreamt it would be so gorgeous. You’ve created you own little island here!”
“I’m glad you like it. Well, let’s go inside and I’ll show you around.”
Ann followed him onto the deck and through the front door. The first thing that caught her eye was the sunken living room that nearly took up the entire east side of the first floor. Straight ahead from her was a large kitchen and to the right the dining area as well as sliding glass doors opening to a solarium, complete with a Jacuzzi. To her immediate right was raw space with the exception of a couple of oil paintings hanging on the wall and a spiral staircase leading upstairs. There wasn’t a single wall separating any of the interior rooms and that feature lent a light and airy atmosphere to the space.
‘Well, what do you think so far?” Jerry asked.
“Awesome,” was all Ann could say.
“C’mon,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading the way into the solarium. After showing her the hot tub, he led her to the staircase. Ann stopped and paused to look at the paintings, surprised to see that they were signed by Jerry Rankin.
“You didn’t tell me that you were an artist!” she exclaimed as she studied one of the paintings.
“I’ve dabbled a bit,” he replied modestly.
“Dabbled? These are really good, Jerry!”
“Thank you. I’m still trying to develop my own style-believe me it isn’t easy. My instructors all thought hat I was a little too fond of Picasso.”
“Who cares? How long have you been painting?”
“I took it up while I was in Europe. I used to sketch all the time when I was a kid and my parents were anything but encouraging-so I decided to take it more seriously and studied for a few years in Paris.”
He started moving toward the staircase and Ann followed behind.
“Let me show you the upstairs.”
Jerry waited until Ann reached the landing and said. “This used to be just like the first floor-void of any walls dividing up the rooms. But I decided to break it up into separate rooms to make it a bit more functional.”
Ann nodded and followed him down the hall to the first door on the left, which was the master bedroom. It was good sized, tastefully furnished and offered a nice panorama of the hills through the enormous plate glass window. Off to the side was a full bath that was shared with the adjacent room. Jerry led her through the bathroom into the next room, which was smaller and totally empty.
“One of the two spare bedrooms” he explained as they walked back out into the hallway.
They crossed the hall to another room. Jerry opened the door and Ann let out a gasp. Inside was a miniature equivalent to a fully equipped gym with every kind of exercise machine and weight lifting apparatus imaginable.
“I like to keep fit,” Jerry smiled.