Author's Note: I would like to thank each and every reader of this series. There was a long gap in there and I apologize. Regular life sometimes interferes with a hobby writing career unfortunately. @GoDucks1 provided me with a lot of great ideas for this ending chapter. I won't say final as there may come a time when I revisit this one or there may not. Anyway, thank you all again.
Spring 1992
The grind of work and school continued the rest of that spring. I'd insisted that Janie go with Candy on a Spring Break trip to Florida. They had a great time and Janie came back convinced we needed a beach house.
Our drilling could not have been any better. It seemed every well we spudded was a monster. Randy started with us the first week of March. He'd been practically a life-long friend of Dad and Rick, but I hardly knew him as he'd worked overseas most of my life. Mom and Dad's funeral was the first time I'd seen him since I was probably 8 or 9 years old. He was so similar to Rick and my Dad, as they shared a lot of the same mannerisms.
Randy quickly earned the respect of Steve, Rachel and me as he jumped right in. We were in a unique situation in that we'd found a tremendous amount of oil, but there were no pipelines to speak of in the area. They would have to be built, and in the meantime, all of that money was just going to have to sit in the ground. Randy was the right guy to handle those aspects and he quickly put together a team of "old-timers" as he called them. They were guys that had been around the block a few times and knew how to get things done Randy said. I often wondered what he thought about the youngsters he was suddenly working with.
A few days after he started, Randy came into my office.
"You got a minute, bub," he asked.
"Sure, what's up," I replied.
"I was looking at the proposed pad locations for those two new Wilcox wells," he said.
"Yeah, what about them," I replied, not knowing where this was headed.
"Is there any reason we can't move them off that ridge," he asked.
"No, I don't think so. Do you think there's something wrong with the locations," I asked. I was thinking I might have missed something obvious.
"Naw, it's just that's the prettiest ridge in this part of the state and I'd hate to see a damned ol' drilling rig up there," he said. "Besides, I can probably save us a hundred grand by not having to cut all that rock for a pipeline."
"Okay, you've got me on both points," I laughed.
"Your Daddy always said you was a smart kid," Randy laughed before he walked out the door.
---
Rick got a call from Bill Sheridan in mid-March exploring the possibility of Anstar stepping in and taking over for us. Rick flatly told him no, which infuriated Bill. I heard about the conversation the next day from Roxanne.
"Baby, we were on the speaker phone with him and Bill says, 'Goddamn it Rick, you're as stubborn as your Daddy ever was'," Roxanne laughed.
"What did Rick say to that," I asked.
"He called Bill a cocksucker and hung up on him," she laughed.
"I bet that got him even hotter," I laughed.
"I'm sure it did. Oh well. He's fucked us more than once over the years. It's nice being the pretty girl everyone wants to ask out," Roxanne added. "We'll get a better offer if we wait."
"I'm sure we will," I agreed.
"Oh, Rick just walked in. Hang on, baby," she said. "He was wondering if you had time to talk about leasing the Brady ranch?"
"Not right now. I have chemistry lab in 15 minutes," I said.
"Okay, baby. Go to class. I'll try to keep him in the office for at least a couple hours today," she laughed.
"I'll call you when I get back. Bye," I said.
"Bye baby," Roxanne replied.
March turned to April and school was rapidly coming to an end. Janie was busy with her schoolwork, helping us at the office and planning our European adventure. I could see her excitement building every day. We were in the office by ourselves one Friday afternoon working and we were talking about her plans. Steve and Rachel had taken a weekend trip and left after lunch.
"So, we're going to Paris first, then to London. Daddy thinks you'll love London," she smiled. "I wanted to go to Italy too, but with you only giving me a month, I had to settle."
"I'm really cramping your style, aren't I," I asked.
"A little bit. I'll drag you to Italy soon though. You can bet on it," she laughed. "That reminds me. I need to give the travel agent a check for the balance. I paid the deposit."
"What is this going to cost," I asked.
"Do you want me to ask you what it costs every time you drill a new hole in the ground," she asked.
"Those are different. They make money," I replied.
"That one last week didn't," she replied smugly. We'd finally hit the edge of the play to south. We'd been expecting it, but in absence of seismic data, we'd taken the risk. It was a dry hole and we probably wouldn't even be able to use it for an injection well.
"That was a rare instance on this one," I insisted.
"Uh huh. But I could probably see a lot more of the world for what it cost," Janie smiled devilishly.
"How much are you spending," I asked.
"You don't need to know. You're buying my continued happiness and positive attitude," she laughed. I walked over and took her in my arms.
"I'd like to think I provide a little happiness," I suggested.
"You do. But this is something I've always wanted," she said.
"I know baby," I smiled before I kissed her.
"So, are you going to give me your checkbook or not," Janie asked.
"I don't know," I replied.
"Oh, no," she asked pulling away from me. She had her hands on her hips and was looking at me very defiantly. She was wearing a short, denim skirt with a tank top and looked irresistible.
"I mean, I think I need to know what it's going to cost," I said.
"No, you don't," Janie insisted. She walked over to me and put her arms around my neck, pulling me down to kiss her. When we parted she led me to my office and pushed me back into my office chair. She pulled off her tank top and unfastened her bra, before she knelt in front of me. Her hands reached for my zipper and quickly pulled it down.
"You think this is going to work," I asked.
"It has so far," she smiled. I shook my head at her and she smiled once more as my shorts and boxers were pulled to the floor. "Mmmm, there's the only part of you that will listen to reason."
Her hands grabbed me and swiftly worked me to erection. She rubbed her big, soft breasts against the insides of my thighs knowing how much that excited me before she leaned forward and took me in her warm mouth. I leaned back in the chair to enjoy it. Her mouth worked quickly and efficiently bringing me to the edge rapidly. She paused and her big green eyes looked up into mine.
