(Untitled)

[wildcolumbine]

THE OUTLAND

Genre: AU
Rating: NC-17 (for entire story)
Feedback: Any and all is welcome
Disclaimer: These are Annie Proulx's brilliant original characters and her story, and I have treated it and them (and her) with as much respect as I can muster.
This story is for Canstandit, and this chapter maybe should be subtitled "Ranch Life".

THE OUTLAND, CHAPTER

Comments

[big_heart_june]

Omg, you made my day with Ennis calling Jack baby...I LOVE that so much *sigh*

Jack loved to lie awake and listen to his dear one snuffling away beside him

AWWW!
LOVED the lovebite! And I loved reading about the calving and all the other chores and work around the ranch. :) Also love how proud Jack is of Ennis and how he loves to watch him work. And Jack being so fit and being able to work again and ride!! is just so wonderful. I love it.

Hmmmm, I think all of us can guess who that caller was...

Lovely writing, as always, I was so happy to see this when I woke up this morning. :) Thank you! :)

[wildcolumbine]

The mention of "baby" was a bit of a button-pusher, I admit, but I enjoyed catching Ennis off-guard.

[eandj]

I hope this isn't too good to be true. Looks like Alma wants to cause trouble.
Very good chapter once more, the love they share is palpable, they're looking out for each other
"Usually Jack got up and went with him, just for the pleasure of watching him work. It moved him to see the way his man could be gentle and hard, tender and strong in turn."
and this
"Ennis made sure there was always a less stressful job to be done of an afternoon, like repairing the old canvas dams and making new ones ready for the crop of hay, and if Jack nodded off over his work now and then, his father didn't need to know."
I love this story
thanks for sharing
Paula

[wildcolumbine]

Too good to be true? I still haven't mastered the art of just plain happy writing, I'm afraid. ;)

Thank you for commenting, Paula.

The Outland 9

[cwby30]

Mornin'.

Well, nice look into their daily lives, the hard work during winter isolation, OMT allowing them to take over the harder tasks, sometimes too hard to do anything at the end of the day but fall into bed and sleep, the guys finding themselves falling deeper into their relationship.

And then there's Alma. Bill had it right, none of her concern. But she won't let go, won't stop until she can destroy Ennis at least in the eyes and hearts of his children, and Jack along the way, the man that in her eyes took Ennis from her. Had to be her calling and hanging up. Hope she is unpleasantly surprised in the long run.

Question is, how will Rob take it when he really figures things out for himself, or is confronted by an outside force [Alma] and forced to address it.

Liked "A Sweet Life." Like this one even more.

Thanks again.

Re: The Outland 9

[wildcolumbine]

Thank you so much! Sometimes I feel the echoes of A Sweeter Life in this one. I guess it can't be helped. They are a pleasure to write after my usual gloomy fare.

[mariez65]

You've got to be made of tough stuff to be a rancher - and they both are.

If he held his hand just so, he found he could block out his father's figure way up ahead and imagine that the cattle were a thousand ewes and their lambs, that the collies were blue heelers, that Ennis was in charge of pack mules, that the whole procession was flowing like a stream out above the treeline and across great flowery meadows, that the world was in the morning of its life, crystal pure and waiting to embrace them.

Not only breathtaking prose, but I can totally picture Jack doing that! I do love the "baby" and "darlin'" talk - as always, the grittiness of their lives is tempered by the tenderness in their hearts. I suppose it was inevitable that Alma would find out, but what she does with the knowledge remains to be seen. This story is special in countless ways.

Thanks,
Marie

[wildcolumbine]

Marie, I so enjoyed writing the passage about Jack remembering Brokeback. Jack's romantic heart just makes me sigh sometimes.

[tmn1966]

I think your story is so wonderfully crafted. I really enjoyed reading about their work on the ranch. It's so interesting to me. My dad grew up in a very small town, but his family worked two farms (one was his maternal grandparents) and I do love to hear how he would get up to do the chores every day at one or the others. It brings a sort of peacefulness to me, this life my dad had, even though it couldn't have been easy at times. This chapter reminded me of that. Thank you.

Lots of other things were good about this update. I'm wondering what Alma may be up to, if anything. Is she just trying to figure out if Ennis is with "that" Jack or is she interested in causing trouble. And when Jack was reading the letter from Lureen, I could picture that entire scene in my head as if it were being played out right in front of me.

Thank you for a lovely update. (And I'm with Antonella, if I knew how to add those little hearts, I would do so.)

Teri

[wildcolumbine]

teri, thank you for that comment. I've never lived the farm life so I'm hoping it all sounds about right.