Read With the Wind | A Short Novel for Free Online

Daniel?” Porter asked.  “How old are you?”
                  “Twenty.”
                  “Is there a girl back home waiting patiently for you to return with lots of dollars in your pocket?”
                  “Ah, no girl.  I am a single man.”
                  “There has to be someone after you.  You can tell us.  What’s her name?”
                  “Well, maybe one woman.  But she is unavailable.”
                  “Now were getting somewhere,” Porter continued.  “What’s her name?”
                  “Hard to translate into English.  In Russian her name means “ancient” or “heiress”.”
                  “She’s a Russian?”
                  “In spirit.”
                  “Is she married or something?”
                  “Yes, she is married.  I am afraid that I wait too long, how you say?, to make my move.”
                  “Not good with women, Daniel?  Maybe a tad on the shy side?”  John said.
                  “Yes, shy.  Women are difficult to understand.”
                  “Daniel,” Wilson said, as he stood and stretched.  “Let me help you.  Women are not difficult to understand.  They are actually very simple creatures, much like your horses.”
                  “Women are like horses?”
                  “Yes.  A horse responds to your commands, does he not?”
                  “Ah.  A horse will do what he is trained to do.”
                  “Exactly.  Women are the same.  First you must train them properly and then they will respond to your commands.”
                  “Genius Wilson, pure genius.”  Porter laughed.  “Complete horse manure, but pure genius.”
                  “All women want to be adored and protected.  They want a prince, a knight in shining armor, to sweep them up and carry them away to the castle,” Wilson bragged.
                  “You are such a knight?” Daniel asked.
                  “I am.  Misty is a lovely girl, simply the best.  She wants the dream, to be married to someone of stature, with money and upbringing, someone she can be proud of, her prince.”
                  “If you are her prince, then she will obey you, like a horse?”
                  “That’s it.  Now you understand women.”
                  “Wilson, that was the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard, but it was very entertaining.”       
                  “I don’t see your name on the social register yet, Cliff.  Still searching for the right girl?”
                  “So Misty is a prize?  A conquest?”
                  “My fiancé is a beautiful young woman who will make an excellent wife.  She also happens to be the only daughter, the only child, of the owner of the Buffett Winery.  Marriage is a union, a lifetime commitment.  You went to Stanford, Cliff.  Surely you learned something while you were there.”
                  “What is life without love?” Daniel asked.  “Money is not love.”
                  “First rule, my naïve Russian friend.  Without money, you have no love.” Wilson’s friends all laughed at his remark.
                  “I’m afraid that Wilson is finally speaking the truth, Daniel.  A man without money has nothing to offer a woman,” Porter opined.
                  “He has his dreams.  He has his heart.  He has devotion.”
                  “Sounds nice, very romantic.  But if you’re looking for more than just sex, a woman of quality will demand to examine your bank balance,” Wilson said.
                  “I see,” Daniel said.  “If you give woman