Once and Always (Women of Character) (18 page)

"Do you want me to stick
around?"

For moral support, Anna thought,
grateful. "Don't be silly. I can handle it." She could handle
whatever life threw her way. So why then did her legs feel shaky?

"Maybe we can get together
this afternoon and go over some plans for the open house. I'm thinking about
starting to put the word out."

Anna looked at him in surprise.
"So you are serious about it?"

"I wouldn't have suggested it
otherwise. I'm taking out some ads in the papers and I've approached some of
them about doing a feature. I want to pull this together in the next few
weeks."

Anna swallowed, staring at the
ground. "That's awful quick."

"Yes."

As they passed several piles of
carefully stacked lumber, Anna deliberately directed her attention to the large
shed the construction crew had finished erecting only yesterday. She stopped in
her tracks and drew a fortifying breath. "It's so strange to see something
in that clearing when it's been empty for the last two years," she
murmured thoughtfully, her feelings mixed that he'd chosen to erect the
structure in the same location where the cottage had stood. The cottage where
Tyler and his father had lived. The cottage where they'd made love that last
night.

"Come over and take a
look," he invited, holding his hand out to her. "Come on."

Anna hung back, shading her eyes
against the sun. "That's okay, I can see it from here."

Tyler walked over to the two men
applying stain to the shed's exterior and spoke with them for several moments.
When he returned to her side, he held out several sprays of lilac from the
bushes that had survived the fire two years ago. Touched, Anna stared at his
offering, then slowly accepted the flowers. "Thank you." Tentatively,
she inhaled their scent.

"It will house tools and
small equipment like push mowers, rakes and shovels."

Anna lifted her head and gave the
building her careful consideration. "It'll save time running back to the
barn for tools," she said. "We always had a storage problem."

"The best part is in the
winter there's room on the back side to stockpile sand when the roads are iced
over."

"You're thinking ahead."
She turned on her heel and directed her attention to the barns just ahead.
"And that gray stain on the buildings looks so elegant. It really makes
them stand out."

He lifted a brow inquiringly.
"Then I take it you approve of the changes?"

"Yes, though I admit at first
I was resistant. It was hard to imagine the buildings anything other than that
weathered brown color they've been since I came here. I'm amazed how a little
stain can make such a big difference. The place already looks so much happier."
She laughed at his grimace. "Well, it looks better than three weeks
ago."

"And what about the open
house?" he asked. "Can I count on your help?"

Anna still hesitated. She knew an
open house would mean a lot of people and a lot of planning. "I'll help
out on the sidelines."

"What do you think about
giving a riding demonstration?"

She shook her head.
"No."

"Think about it," he
urged.

"Boss." Tony Hastings,
the new barn manager called out as they drew closer to the paddock and barns.

Anna moved several paces away from
Tyler and turned to greet Tony.

"Good morning Anna."
Tony had an easy smile on his weathered face. He turned to Tyler, pushing his
dark blond hair back in an exasperated gesture. "There's a guy looking for
work."

"We've hired everyone we need
for now," Tyler said.

"I know, but he says he's got
to talk to you. His name is Mario and he's waiting in the office."

Tyler glanced at her. "This
will only take a few minutes."

She shrugged. "I'll get
started on the barn chores."

Together, they walked into the
barn and she immediately noticed a short, stocky man standing in the aisle
outside the office. He looked to be somewhere in his late fifties, his dark
clothes worn white in places and his face very thin. He looked hard-pressed to
say the least and she couldn't help but wonder what his story might be. Tyler
shook hands with the man and she heard him explain they weren't hiring right
now.

"I hear you're
expanding," the man said quickly, with a faint accent. "Everybody in
town is talking about it. Don't you have some work for me?"

Anna pulled a wheelbarrow out of
its cubby, then gathered her rake and pitchfork as she surreptitiously kept an
eye on the two men.

"Thanks for enquiring, Mario,
but I can't help you," Tyler said firmly.

The man's shoulders slumped.
"Can I leave my name in case something opens up? I'm staying at the
"Y" in town, and my family is at the shelter. The woman there, she
said to come and see you about work," Mario added.

Sara, Anna thought, wondering how
Tyler would feel about Sara telling people Tyler might hire them on.

"Have you asked around town
about work?" Tyler asked.

"Yes," the older man
said with quiet dignity. "I'm trying to take care of my family, but I'm
only out of prison two months and people don't want to hire me. I thought you'd
be different," he muttered.

Anna swallowed quickly, her glance
glued to Tyler. Even if Tyler chose to ignore it, she recognized the
desperation in the man's voice.

"Why would I be
different?" There was no mistaking the ice in Tyler's voice.

"I hear talk," Mario
said. With a sharp nod, he turned away.

Tyler frowned as Mario left the
barn, then he looked up and caught Anna watching him. Anna looked away, staring
at the faint pink scar on her arm.  She had forgotten to put a band aid on the
healing scar. Tyler had insisted on taking her back to the doctor's office
yesterday and he'd again shown concern while her stitches were removed. Why
couldn't he show the same concern for this man who obviously needed work?

Anna turned away, disappointment
causing her to jab her pitchfork into the straw. Sifting the bedding, she
wondered where the man would go. She pushed back a sour taste of frustration.
Tyler was a businessman. He had to draw the line somewhere between profit and
compassion. Maybe it wasn't realistic of her to wish he'd take his eye off the
bottom dollar and just hire the man because he could.

Ω

Anna held her breath as the small
group approached her―a woman somewhere in her thirties, a teenage girl
and a young boy who zigzagged up the path as he ran ahead. The woman was
elegantly dressed in a dark red pantsuit while the young girl wore jeans, a
baseball cap and an oversize lime green T-shirt. Black-haired and slender, she
dragged the toes of her sneakers in the dirt. Anna stifled a groan. The young
girl looked bored, as if she'd rather be anywhere but here.

The boy, who looked to be about
five, jumped on the paddock fence rail when he reached Anna and hung there by
his hands, head tilted back as he stared at her with wide eyes. Her throat
closed with tension as she realized she and Tyler could have had a child this
age by now. Quickly, she told herself to breathe and relax.

"I win!" declared the
young boy.

Anna couldn't help but laugh at
his triumphant grin. "What have you won?"

"The race. I reached you
first so I win." He said it in a matter of fact way, as if she should
understand what he meant. Anna had to smile, but didn't mention that no one
else seemed to be in the race.

He jumped down and raced back
toward his mother.

"Hello," Anna said as
the other two drew nearer.

The older woman smiled and held
out her hand. "You must be Anna. I'm Angela and this is my daughter Carol.
The one running on adrenaline is my son Justin."

"I'm happy to meet all of
you," Anna said pleasantly. She turned to Carol. "You're interested
in riding lessons?"

The young girl shrugged in an
offhand manner. "I already know how to ride." She flipped her hair
over her shoulder.

Angela touched her daughter's arm
and said quietly, "Carol's been riding at a local stable for the last two
summers. We bought her a horse last fall and she's begun to enter competition,
but I think she should have some formal training. Mr. Stanton thought maybe you
could help us."

"What do you think about
that, Carol?" Anna wanted to gauge Carol's interest.

"I don't need lessons."

Anna looked at her and considered
her. "Let me ask you this. What kind of competition are you
entering?"

She shrugged. "Barrels, some
games."

"How does your horse do in
these competitions?"

"We haven't won anything, if
that's what you mean."

Anna smiled at her. "No, what
I mean is does she complete the course? Do you ever have problems getting her
to listen?"

"She doesn't always do what I
tell her," Carol admitted reluctantly.

"Hmm. Maybe your horse needs
lessons. I'd be happy to evaluate her for a few days and then we can decide how
to proceed."

"Do you have a horse?"
Carol asked suddenly, and Anna noticed her staring across the pasture at the
grazing horses.

"Of course." She pointed
to the spot where Spirit grazed way up on the hill. "That gray mare up
there is my horse."

"What has she won?"

"She's never been placed in
competition," Anna said quietly. "It's a long story, but I don't
compete anymore. Having said that, I do have several barrel racing
championships to my credit. I have an idea. Let's go out to the pasture and
bring my mare into the ring for a demonstration."

As they left the others in the
barn area, Carol looked at her doubtfully. "Don't you want to bring some
grain or something?"

"Well, with some horses I'd
have to do that, but I've raised Spirit from a foal and I'm very familiar to
her. She's never been harmed and there's no reason for her to run away. She
likes our rides together."

Carol jogged beside her. "I
have to bribe Lady to catch her. She does like our trail rides, though,"
she added hastily.

Anna shrugged. "Maybe her
previous owner soured her in the ring. Training in the form of play time is
something we can work on with her." Anna took the lead rope and halter
from Carol's hands and draped it over her own shoulder. "Be careful not to
wave this around or you could scare the horses. What I usually do is let the
halter and lead rest on my shoulder until I'm right up close to the
horse."

Anna stood by the gateway and
called her horse, then whistled. Spirit lifted her head and then slowly made
her way toward them. Carol followed her as she moved to meet Spirit. Anna spoke
to the mare as she draped the lead line over the horse's neck and then snapped
the halter in place. Turning, she gave Carol the lead line.

"There you go. You can take
her into the barn." Anna felt the faint tremor in Carol's hands.
"She's a pretty quiet mare," she said casually. "Let's get her
saddled." They walked back to the barn and after a quick brush down led
the mare to the arena. Once inside the ring Anna mounted, then sat still,
conscious of several pairs of eyes watching her. She suffered from a momentary
case of nerves, but then she settled down. If she acted nervous, Spirit would
pick up on it and act accordingly.

"I'm going to warm my mare up
with some walking, trotting and circles, then I'll give you a short
demonstration on barrels. We have three barrels set up in the ring, and this
will give you an idea of what to expect."

Anna concentrated on Spirit,
pouring her energy into her mare's movements. After the warm up, she cantered
down one side of the ring, sat deeply for a rollback on the haunches, and then
sprinted back to her point of beginning. Standing still a moment, she waited
for the dust to settle, then urged Spirit forward into the barrel course.

She clung to her mare around each
tight turn, then looked ahead to the next barrel, until finally they raced
toward the finish. When they stood still and she rubbed Spirit's withers, Anna
swallowed several times as emotion choked her. Spirit had just given her one of
her best rides ever, she knew it without having to look at a stop watch. After
a moment, she looked up to speak to Carol, and was surprised to see others had
come to stand around the perimeter of the ring. She scanned the faces. Tony,
Danny, Gill Dakins, two stable workers and Tyler. The big grin on Tyler's face
made her stomach do a flip-flop. He gave her the thumbs-up sign and slowly
turned away, speaking to Gill.

Bemused, Anna looked at Carol,
whose face had been transformed by an expression of awe. "I want to learn
to ride like that," the teenager said as she climbed through the fence to
stand at Spirit's shoulder. "Will you teach me?"

The sparkle in Carol's eyes
created a thrill of excitement in Anna at the prospect of teaching again.
"That's why you're here," she said. "We can begin any
time."

"I can't wait to get
started," Carol said, and Anna marveled at the change in her from when
she'd arrived only a short time ago.

Ω

Several hours later Anna saddled a
bay gelding by the name of Dealer for an exercise session. As she led the horse
into the riding ring, she saw Tyler's truck pull into the parking area beside
the barn. Anna latched the gate, watching Tyler exit the truck carrying a small
cardboard box. He waved at her and strode in her direction. Running a hand down
Dealer's satiny neck, Anna eyed the box curiously.

When Tyler stopped outside the
paddock Anna heard a curious mewling sound and realized it came from the box.
He tipped the box slightly so she could see the three kittens curled together
inside, one gray and two striped orange balls of fur. As Dealer stretched his
nose inquiringly toward the box, Anna exclaimed, "Where did you find them?
They're so small."

"Somebody dumped them on the
road. I figured they'd get hit if I didn't pick them up. The pet store in town
really didn't want them since they've already got too many, so. . .." With
a sheepish grin, he shrugged. "I thought they'd make good mousers in the
barn when they're old enough."