- Rita
- grew
- into
- womanhood
- during
- the
- great
- depression
- years
- when
- times
- were
- hard
- with
- few
- clothes
- and
- frequently
- empty
- stomachs.
- Following
- the
- death
- of
- her
- mother,
- Rita
- filled
- the
- role
- of
- surrogate
- mother
- of
- two
- younger
- brothers
- and
- family
- housekeeper.
Shortly
- before
- high
- school
- graduation,
- Rita
- applied
- for
- a
- civil
- service
- job
- at
- the
- nearby
- Army
- Air
- Corp
- base.
- The
- weekend
- following
- graduation
- Rita's
- father
- came
- home
- Sunday
- afternoon
- with
- a
- new
- bride,
- he
- obviously
- picked
- up
- at
- a
- low
- class
- bar.
- The
- following
- day's
- mail
- brought
- Rita
- a
- notice
- to
- report
- for
- work
- at
- the
- air
- base.
During
- her
- career,
- Rita
- suffered
- the
- indignities
- and
- humiliations
- from
- macho
- skirt
- chasing
- co-workers
- and
- bosses.
- By
- the
- time
- her
- retirement
- rolled
- around
- she
- was
- ready
- to
- loose
- her
- pent
- up
- anger
- at
- men
- in
- general
- and
- in
- particular
- any
- man
- who
- ticked
- her
- off.
Arriving
- in
- Cactus
- Junction,
- along
- with
- her
- old
- friend
- Julie,
- she
- found
- a
- target
- to
- unload
- her
- indignation
- upon,
- a
- snowbird
- cowboy
- named
- Buck.
Buck
- had
- spent
- his
- life
- alone
- driving
- a
- tractor,
- riding
- a
- horse
- or
- talking
- to
- cows.
- Ignorance
- coupled
- with
- an
- overgrown
- ego
- led
- him
- to
- believe
- the
- female
- population
- was
- waiting
- to
- capitulate
- the
- moment
- he
- ambled
- on
- scene.
To
- Buck's
- ever
- lasting
- remorse,
- the
- belief
- he
- held
- for
- himself
- as
- be
- the
- cure
- for
- female
- menopause
- tripped
- Rita's
- trigger
- and
- he
- became
- the
- target
- of
- a
- real
- estate
- sting,
- of
- her
- concoction,
- which
- deflated
- Buck's
- ego
- and
- made
- her
- a
- rich woman.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
