{"id":10140,"date":"2014-05-03T09:11:42","date_gmt":"2014-05-03T13:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10140"},"modified":"2025-08-01T13:29:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T17:29:16","slug":"lauras-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/?p=10140","title":{"rendered":"Laura\u2019s Decision (by BluewindFarm)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 <\/strong>A Missing Scene reflecting on events from The Pressure Game and The Triangle.\u00a0 Inspired by a Seedling challenge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 T (685 words)<\/span><\/p>\n

Author’s Note<\/strong>:\u00a0 This was the original short story written, but a reader in the Forums made a comment concerning the opening paragraphs…\u00a0 And so I wrote, The Vision<\/a>.\u00a0 Featuring another woman, another man, and another night that led to something wonderfully special.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

LAURA’S DECISION
\n<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The second floor room glowed in the soft light provided by the two, low-wicked lamps that sat on either side of her dressing table. The drapes floated from the rods as they trapped the gentle breeze that blew through the partially open window. The covers to the large bed placed along the opposite wall were turned down in anticipation of welcoming a body succumbing to the draw of slumber. She sat on the needlepoint cushioned bench in front of her dressing table and mirror; bottles of perfume and jars of various potpourris were properly positioned within her reach, as well as the powders that brought color to her cheeks and the paints that lightly highlighted her lips and eyes.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She had slipped from the robe and draped it across the foot of the bed before turning down the covers. As she sat there, the satin dressing gown she wore shimmered as the flames danced, accentuating her curves, the low collar revealed soft mounds as the fabric hugged her breasts and slightly pushed them up. Only once, on a very special occasion had she ever considered wearing a dress out in public almost as revealing as the gown she wore in the privacy of her own room; however, she wished he was there\u2026now… waiting to take her into his arms. Slowly she brushed her hair in long\u2026 gentle\u2026 strokes, and dreamed of his hands stroking\u2026 her eyes closed in eager anticipation as her body reacted to her thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It had been such a long time since she had felt anything other than\u2026 How had she felt? She\u2019d always had someone to take care of her, seen to her needs, provided for her\u2026 until that day when Adam Cartwright had brought news of her husband\u2019s accidental death. But that was months ago\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOooooooh!\u201d she had growled. \u201cHow could he?! He\u2019s just like Frank.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her thoughts ranted, \u2018Telling me what to do, falling asleep after supper, refusing to set a date\u2026 He was the one who proposed.<\/em>\u2019 She gritted her teeth. \u2018And Peggy\u2026 Peggy\u2019s becoming the center of his attention, just like Frank. Oh\u2026 I wish I could trap him like I did Frank, only he\u2019s too honorable. Doesn\u2019t wish to tarnish my reputation. I\u2019m not a soiled dove, but I am a woman!<\/em>\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She was so happy the day that Adam arrived under the guise of helping out; thinking the world was hers again. \u2018But now, its\u2026 oooooh, he\u2019s just so frustrating, he\u2019s courting me, but that ranch is more important than me! Maybe, just maybe\u2026 Aunt Lil was right; make him jealous<\/em>.\u2019 Curiously she considered, \u2018Who<\/em>?\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Ben? No, I don\u2019t need a father figure, I need a man.\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Again she ran the brush through her golden waves of hair.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Hoss? No, Adam would never believe that.\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Setting her brush down, she thought of others.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Joe? Ugh, he\u2019s too young and he certainly wouldn\u2019t know how to please a woman, saloon girls, maybe, but not me.\u2019 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Knowing Adam wouldn\u2019t believe any of his family would conspire against him to woo away his fianc\u00e9e, she thought of others who would keep her in the way she wanted to be kept. Money for what she wanted, clothes, travel, jewels\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Banker Weems? He\u2019s a worse prospect than Ben.\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Well\u2026 we\u2019ll\u2026 Will\u2026 Hmmmm.\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*****<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t mean to\u2026 It was all supposed to be so innocent\u2026 She just wanted to make Adam jealous, make it so he\u2019d set a date for their wedding. Who would have thought that someone could set her heart to flutter so wildly? Certainly not Frank, Adam came close, but Will\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She would have to tell Adam the truth,\u00a0 so their engagement could be broken.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Closing her eyes, she dreamed of that day she and Will had picnicked together, pressed against his firm chest, his arms around her, his lips feather like and then\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The passion contained within that kiss\u2026 He took her breath away.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u2018Yes,\u2019 she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue, \u2018I have had my vision.\u2019<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

~The End<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Author’s note:\u00a0 Was Laura really as dim-witted as she appeared?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Story Tags: jealousy, <\/span>Laura Dayton<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This story was inspired The Pressure Game \/ The Triangle, credit give to their respective authors.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary:\u00a0 A Missing Scene reflecting on events from The Pressure Game and The Triangle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rating:\u00a0 T (685 words)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":14540,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"template-full-width-post.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[23,61,40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drama","category-missing-scene","category-challenges","wpcat-23-id","wpcat-61-id","wpcat-40-id"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/laura.png?fit=649%2C489&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bonanzabrand.info\/library\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}