A Life Like This (Life #1) (11 page)

The sun shining through my bedroom window wakes me up early this Wednesday morning. I pull back the blankets and walk to the window. The ranch looks stunning at this hour. The grass is covered in dense dew and the sky is a pale pink as the sun is starting to make its rise. The smell of coffee snaps me out of my moment. Roger is panting next to me, obviously ready to head out and play in all the acres out there. Together, we head down the stairs. I can hear Betty in the kitchen starting her breakfast routine. There was never cereal in this house, something some people would find odd, but I loved it. Betty makes breakfast every morning. It was a little gesture I cherished since cereal was my daily breakfast back at home. It seemed more personal to have someone wake up early to make you a nice homemade breakfast. I walk in and find my grandfather reading the morning paper in his normal seat at the breakfast bar.

“Morning, Granddad. Morning, Betty,” I greet them both.

“Morning, darlin’,” my grandfather responds with a smile.

“Sweet girl, I hope all my banging around in the kitchen didn’t wake you up this early. It’s only five am. You should be sleeping in and enjoying your vacation!” Betty exclaims and rushes me with a warm hug.

“I’m an early riser. I can’t sleep in if my life depended on it.” I hug her back then make my way to the coffee pot. “After I have some of this here coffee in me, I’ll be ready to start my day.” I walk Roger to the back door and let him out to handle his business.

“Hmm, just like your granddad, aren’t you? He won’t do a darn thing ‘til he has got that coffee in his system.” She walks to the refrigerator and hands me my favorite French vanilla creamer, always thoughtful.

“My God, Betty, you’re an angel.” Shit! I realize what I did as soon as I said it. I slap my free hand over my mouth. “Sorry! Sorry! It won’t happen again.” She tsks at me then gets back to her cooking. My grandfather winks and smiles at me. I sit at the bar next to him while Betty cooks a feast and Granddad reads his paper. I love the normalcy of this. I hope to one day have something similar. One Day.

Roger barks once from outside the door, his sign he’s done, and I walk over to let him in. He makes a beeline to his food bowl and digs in. Again, it is full and ready for him. I head back to my seat at the bar, grab my phone out of my shirt pocket, and start going through my texts and emails. Again, there isn’t much. But there is one email sent twenty minutes ago.

Pleasant Sleep

Angelica,

I hope you had a pleasant night’s sleep. I slept well thanks to your email. I wish you relaxation and fun in Texas. I hope your trip helps to clear your mind and perhaps you see things in a different light when you get back. Perhaps you can tell me all about your trip over froyo. ;) I am about to head into an early morning meeting. Have a good day. Think of me, and know I will be thinking of you.

-Blake

I smile at his thoughtfulness. Men like him exist only in movies. He already fucked me, so what’s in it for him? Maybe he just wants me until he finds someone better. Until he gets bored. Perhaps I’m making him out to be some vulgar asshole that he isn’t. God, why do I make everything so complicated? Would it be so bad if he just wanted to fuck me for a while? He’s a god in the bedroom. Can’t say I wouldn’t mind a few more rounds of that action. I just won’t get attached. Pfft, that won’t be hard to do. JoJo always tells me I’m cold as ice and never show emotion toward men. It’s just what I do.

Restful Night’s Sleep

Blake,

Thank you for your kind words. I did in fact have a very pleasant night’s sleep. I’m glad to hear I was able to help you have a good night’s sleep as well. Hmm, who knows, maybe Texas will help to change my perspective on a few things. Only time will tell. You know the best place for frozen yogurt is in Texas, right? Where do you think my obsession started? At a wonderful place in the city. It’s worth the drive. My grandfather would take me there every summer I visited him. We’d spend hours just walking around, talking, and eating our frozen treat. Sometimes we would even refill our cups mid-walk. Anyway, I hope your meeting goes well. Have a great day, Blake.

-Angie

I smile at my phone as I hit send.

“So that’s the Blake I’ve heard about?” Betty says to me. I snap my head up and look at her with my head tilted to the side. “Honey, don’t act like you didn’t think your Granddad would tell me about that boy. Sounds to me like you’re smitten over him. Looks that way too. Your smile’s almost as big as Texas.” I blush at her observation and stare back down at my phone.” You were just smiling into that phone of yours for five minutes.” She grins then turns back to serving up breakfast. I look over at my grandfather and shake my head.

“What?” he asks me. “She asked me how everything went. I had to tell her the details; you know how she is. She would have gotten it out of me sooner or later.” He’s right; after all, Betty is persistent.

“Darn right I would have gotten it out of him,” Betty remarks. She brings our plates to us at the bar and sets them down in front of us. “Now you both eat up. Y’all know breakfast ain’t good when it’s cold.” She smiles at us then heads into the living room.

“Betty, you’re not eating with us?” I ask.

“Honey, you are late risers. I ate an hour ago. Now enjoy your food. Go on, girl, eat up.” There is no need to tell me twice. I dig into my plate of sausage, bacon, two eggs over medium and homemade biscuits and gravy, of course. I’m going to be running a lot while on this vacation. Betty leaves me and my grandfather to eat in blissful silence.

After practically licking my plate clean, I wash it and then head up to my room to change for the day. Roger is lying on his bed next to Granddad in the living room, so I leave him be. I walk into my room and notice it’s spotless. Betty made my bed and tidied up my stuff. God, I miss this. I feel like a kid again. I plop on my bed and grab my phone. I have an email. I must have not heard it downstairs. I smile before I even click the icon. I know who it is from.

A Challenge?

Angelica,

Sounds like you had some wonderful summers with your grandfather. Thank you for sharing that with me. Although I do have to ask, are you insinuating Frozen Dessert’s is subpar to this frozen yogurt place you speak of in Texas? I highly doubt that.

-Blake

Ha! I laugh to myself. I forgot how much fun banter was with him.

A Champion

Blake,

There is no challenge. It is the best. There is nothing else to discuss. I guess you’ll just have to take my word for it.

-Ang

An immediate ding indicates his response.

Research

Angelica,

Being a business man, I feel as though I would need to conduct my own research in order to properly take your word on such a delectable frozen yogurt eatery. Perhaps I’ll have to take a field trip to said establishment.

Hmm, I’ve never been to Texas. It now has more of an appeal to me.

-Blake

Do the Work

Blake,

I wonder why...? Have a good day, Mr. Harper.

-Ang

I leave our fun banter at that and get dressed. I find my worn jeans, an old shirt, and a Texas Longhorn sweatshirt and throw it on. I head into the bathroom and pull my hair into a messy ponytail. I put on my old boots and head downstairs. The house is quiet. As I walk to the back door, I see my grandfather playing fetch with Roger. I head out back to join them.

“Hey, so where do we start? I’m ready to get to work,” I call over to him. Roger runs up to me and jumps on his hind legs. I rub his back like he likes.

“Well, if you’re ready to get your hands dirty, then let’s get to it. The horses need tending too first; let’s go,” he tells me as we start to walk in the direction of the big red barn.

My grandfather has raised Arabian horses for over twenty years. He breeds, trains, and then sells them. The selling has slowed down over the past decade. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stopped selling them all together. He only has four left, and he handles them like the master he is. I used to be scared of the horses; they were so big. Their raven black hair always made them seem scarier than they were. I always wondered why he only chose to raise black horses, but I never did figure it out. The only horse we ever had that was not black was my Clydesdale, Betsy. As we get closer to the barn, I can hear the horses’ hooves on the ground. They are ready and waiting for my grandfather. Roger stops dead in his tracks, clearly scared of what is behind the large barn doors.

“Don’t worry, big guy. Nothing is going to happen to you. Come on.” I pat my thighs and Roger returns to my side. We reach the doors and my grandfather unlatches the huge latch. He takes the left door and I open the right.

Inside the large barn, the four horses are all sticking their heads out of their stalls, staring in our direction. Roger just sits at my side staring at the horses. I kneel beside him and rub his back while my grandfather walks to the other end of the barn and opens the back doors. Roger doesn’t budge so I leave him to sit there while I walk over to help.

“Hey, Granddad?” I ask him the question I never dared ask before for some reason. “Why do you only ever have black horses?” He stops what he’s doing and looks at me sadly.
Shit, what did I do?
I knew he had a reason for only raising black Arabians, but I never thought much into it. Until now. “I’m sorry if it’s personal. I didn’t mean to intrude. I was just curious. Forget I mentioned it.”

“No, darlin’, it’s not private; it’s just not something that comes up often.” He walks over to the stable with the name Cash written on the front and pets the horse’s mane. “When your grandmother passed of cancer, I had a very rough patch. I was depressed and wanted to just quit and be with her.” He shakes his head as if remembering the moment vividly. I’m saddened to know he would ever think to end his life. I knew he loved my grandmother dearly, but I couldn’t imagine my life without him in it.” Obviously, that wasn’t an option. I had you and your mother to live for.” He looks over and smiles at me. “After she passed, I happened upon a black Arabian and thought how perfect the horse was. It was dark yet beautiful. It reflected my mood. I was in a dark place, yet your grandmother left her beauty with you and your mother. I could never leave that. That’s how it started and it just stuck after that. No other horse every caught my attention.” As if knowing he is talking about him, Cash rubs his head deeper into my grandfather’s touch. I smile at the beauty of his words. These horses are his connection to my grandmother, such a somber thought. I walk to the horse closest to me; the stable says Abel. I pet his big head that he offers to me over the stable door. These horses are big and so beautiful. Knowing what they represent makes me want to ride that much more.

“Can we ride them now?”

“Of course, darlin’. You wanna take Abel out first? He’s our speed demon. I want you to be careful on him.”

“Always, Granddad, let’s go!” I enthusiastically rub my hands together and go to let Abel out. My grandfather laughs at me as he lets Cash out. We saddle them up then grab helmets out of the cabinet. We never ride without helmets. I give Roger a kiss then send him back to the house. I can tell he does not like the horses. Betty is on the back patio waiting for him, always a step ahead that woman. I wave at her then turn to get on Abel. It’s been years since I have ridden a horse, yet once I hop up, it feels like only yesterday I was riding all over the ranch on Betsy. I settle myself in and then go to follow my grandfather.

“Every morning I take each one around the ranch once. It helps them stretch their legs and it helps me to make sure everything is in order. You ready?”

“I was born ready, Granddad, you know that.” I smile at him as he laughs.

“Let’s go then, honey.”

Just like that, we’re off. I fall into an easy stride behind him as we go to the perimeter of the ranch. Once we reach the fence, we follow it. Abel is a lot more cautious than I was expecting. I move to ride next to my grandfather instead of behind him, and just like that, we travel around the ranch. It’s so peaceful. Immediately, I wonder why I waited so long to come down here. It is so serene. It’s just what I needed. We ride in silence the whole time, never slowing, going at an even pace all the way around. The ranch this time of year is stunning. I guess fall everywhere is stunning. The air is crisp and the birds are chirping; it’s like a scene in an old movie. The view while riding is so breath taking.