The Stable Boy (10 page)

             
“Will do,” I said. “What about a fresh beer?”

             
“Sounds good to me,” he said. “Thanks.”

             
“No problem,” I said, walking away with our plates. Already knowing what he liked on his burger, I made it up for him and added the side items. I did the same with my plate and placed his next to Bob. I sat across the table in between Angelica and Stacie. Angelica just gave me a side glance and smile. I smiled back and took a big bite of my burger, knowing she saw what took place. Josh sat next to Bob.

             
“Josh, tell me about you,” said Angelica. “I have heard Vanessa and Richard mention you before, but don’t really know much.”

             
“There really isn’t much to know,” he said. “I was born in New York, but moved in with my grandparents when I was eight. They raised me and I have never left this town. I like it here. The people are nice and there is plenty of work. I love farming and taking care of farm animals. It has always been in my blood. What about you Angelica?”

             
“Me?” she asked.

             
“Yes, you are marrying my friend and I don’t know a thing about you. I would like to know something.”

             
“Okay,” she said. “I was also born in New York. I never really thought I would ever leave. I met Richard while waitressing at a diner two blocks from Cornell University. I was also attending college at NYU. New York was my home, but I fell madly in love with Richard and when he said he wanted to come back home to practice. I thought why not. It will be a new adventure. I have to say it is the best decision we ever made. At first, I was a little apprehensive when I saw how small the town was, but have grown to love it. I have made some great friends. The longer I am here the more friends I make.”

             
“Okay,” said Josh. “When is the wedding and will it be here or in New York?”

             
“It will be here. Stacie said we can have it on her farm.”

             
“How many guests are you going to have?”

             
“That we are unsure of. We have a lot of friends and family and we want to invite everyone. It is sure to be a big wedding.”

             
“There is plenty of room for you to have thousands of guests,” Stacie piped in.

             
“Yes, there is, but I don’t think that we will have that many,” Angelica laughed.

             
“It sounds like it will be a good time.”

             
“We are hoping so,” said Richard. “We want all of you to attend. It is important to me that all of you be there. I have known most of you since I can remember and having you at my wedding would be great.”

             
“I am sure that we will all be delighted to be there,” I said.

             
“Thank you, Claire,” said Richard.

             
“You’re welcome, Richard,” I said. We all finished eating our dinners. I got up from the table and went inside. I dug through the refrigerator for the fruit we were going to use for the fruit bowls. Angelica came in.

             
“Let me help you with that,” she said.

             
“Sure, if you want to. I think there is an extra melon baller in the second drawer there.”

             
“Yes, there is,” she said, grabbing the red handle. “So, I saw what happened between you and the stud.”

             
“Oh,” I said.

             
“Yeah, is that why he brought you in here before?”

             
“Um, no,” I said, slightly embarrassed.

             
“You liar,” she said, laughing.

             
“Shh,” I said.

             
“Does Alison know?”

             
“Yeah, she has known for a couple of days. She is the one who pushed for it to happen. She thinks I need to move on with my life.”

             
“Richard told me about what happened with your husband. I am sorry that it took place, but Alison is right. You do need to move on. I am sure with him it will be lots of fun,” she said, grinning.

             
“You have no idea how much you and Alison are alike. You two really need to hang out more.”

             
“Well, we will on Saturday. I can’t wait.”

             
“Me either,” I said. “I have wanted to see Christian in concert for quite some time.”

             
“I know, his music is great and he is some nice eye candy.”

             
“Angelica,” I said, laughing. “You are definitely Alison’s twin.”

             
“Oh man, next weekend is going to be so much fun.”

             
“Yes, it is,” I said, as we walked back out to the party with bowls of fruit. We placed them on the tables. I went back in the house to grab the chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows. Bob started the bonfire. We all gathered around it. Sitting on chairs, we each grabbed a stick and roasted our marshmallows in the fire. Some of them got a little more roasted than others, but we each ate our s’mores with joy. We hung out for a little while longer. The party was dying down. I helped Alison clean up. Josh helped Bob put their yard back to normal.

             
“Angelica saw Josh lean in when I brought him a plate,” I said.

             
“Oh no, what did she say?”

             
“She just asked about it and I told her nothing. She called me a lair. She knows better. She is so your twin. She called Christian Kane nice eye candy.”

             
“That is awesome. Next weekend should be great.”

             
“You know it is going to be,” I said, as the guys walked in the door.

             
“Ready to go?” I asked Josh.

             
“Yes, I am. Are you?” he asked.

             
“Yes, I’ll call you tomorrow.”

             
“Okay,” said Alison. “Thanks for all your help today, both of you.”

             
“You’re welcome,” I said, hugging her.

             
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

             
“Good night, Bob,” I said, hugging him.

             
“Good night, Claire,” he said, returning my hug and kissing the top of my head. “Good night, Josh.”

             
“Good night, Bob,” he said, shaking his hand.

             
“Angelica saw you lean in for a kiss,” I said when we got in the truck.

             
“Shit, sorry about that.”

             
“It’s okay. I tried to make an excuse, but she saw right through it.”

             
“Alison said that you are a terrible liar.”

             
“I am. Anyone can tell when I am doing it.”

             
“It’s okay,” he said. “If everyone finds out, then let them. I am not shy about it. I will tell them.”

             
“I know you will,” I said. We arrived home. He unlocked the door, but did not open the door. This time when he leaned in, I welcomed the kiss. We went inside. “I think I am headed to bed. I am beat.”

             
“Okay,” he said. “I will see you in the morning, beautiful.”

             
“Good night, Josh.”

             
“Good night, Claire.”

             
I went up stairs and took shower. I had to figure out what was going on in my head and heart before I made love to him again. I did not want to lead him on if I did not think I could continue on with whatever kind of relationship this was turning into. I liked him, but I was not sure if I could ever love him like I did my husband. My heart was telling me it was possible, but my head was fighting the urge to give into it. I needed to sleep on it. Maybe things would be better in the morning.

6
his special place

             
I was awake before sun rose above the horizon. I could not sleep. There was so much weighing on my mind. I got up, dressed and went to feed the animals. I put the coffee on. I was getting ready to cook when I felt his arms wrap around me and his lips kiss my shoulder.

             
“Good morning,” he said.

             
“Good morning,” I said, cracking an egg into the frying pan.

             
“Did you sleep okay?”

             
“Yeah, fine. How did you sleep?”

             
“Good, but I missed you,” he said. I smiled. “What’s wrong, Claire?”

             
“Nothing,” I said, as he let me go.

             
“Claire, I can tell there is something bothering you. Please, talk to me. “

             
“It’s nothing. I just need to get my head on straight.”

             
“Okay,” he said, walking away. That was the first time I turned around to look at him. He had come out to say good morning in just his boxer briefs. My entire body burned for his touch. I quickly turned back around. I finished making breakfast. He came back out of the bedroom fully dressed in a pair of tight blue jeans and a white t-shirt. He ate is breakfast in silence. He went out to do the morning chores without saying a word. I felt bad. It was breaking my heart to push him away. My heart wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him that I was falling for him. My head would not let it happen. It did not want to give up the memories of the love I had with my husband. It kept telling me it was just lust. Love or lust, he made me weak in the knees.  He came in a few hours later. I was in my office working on some files when I heard the knock at my door. I jumped, not expecting it.

             
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

             
“It’s okay,” I said. “I just wasn’t expecting you.”

             
“I have a favor to ask of you.”

             
“Okay,” I said, curiously. “What is it?”

             
“Come take a ride with me.”

             
“To where?” I asked.

             
“It’s a surprise.”

             
“Okay,” I said. “Just let me shut this down.”

             
“Okay,” he said, waiting for me. I followed him down the stairs and out the door to his truck. We climbed in. That is when I noticed the picnic basket.

             
“Are we going on a picnic?” I asked.

             
“Yes,” he said.

             
“Where at?” I asked.

             
“You’ll see,” he said. “It is one of my favorite spots. I used to go here a lot when I needed to clear my head.”

             
“So you think it will work for me?” I asked.

             
“It is worth a shot.”

             
“Okay, I will trust you on this.”

             
“Good,” he said as he began driving up the mountain side. We parked part way up the mountain. “We have to walk the rest of the way.”

             
“Okay,” I said, getting out of the truck. We walked for another 15 minutes before coming to a flat section. It was gorgeous. It looked over the entire town. You could see for miles. The sun shined over the town, lighting up the roof tops to all the buildings. You could see part of the Mississippi River. The sunlight glimmered off of the water. The fresh air was helping me to relax. I turned around to see that he laid the blanket out for the picnic. “Thank you for thinking of this.”

             
“You’re welcome. I know where you are. I have needed to clear my head plenty of times over the years. This place seems to let me think. My grandfather used to bring me here when he saw I was not in a good place. We would sit up here for hours talking or not saying a word, just looking out over the town. When he passed away, this was the first place I came to.”

             
“I can see why he brought you here. It is beautiful.”

             
“It is,” he said, taking my hand. I sat down on the blanket. He sat next to me. “We can either talk things out or not say a word. I will leave it up to you.”

             
“Thank you for being so patient. I feel like I keep pushing you away once you begin to get so close. I don’t want to keep leading you on if I don’t think I can love you the way you are meant to be loved.”

             
“Love is not meant to be thought about, just felt,” Josh said.

             
“I wish that were true,” I said. “My heart and head are playing tug-o-war.”

             
“Which did you follow with your husband?”

             
“My heart, but I was young then. I didn’t know any better.”

             
“What is stopping you from doing the same thing with me?”

             
“My head,” I said. “I don’t want to stop loving my husband or forgetting the love we shared. The memories we made were meant to last a lifetime. With him gone, I feel like I will lose them if I fall for you.”

             
“They will never fade away. What you and your husband had was special. You fell in love and stayed in love until he was taken from you. If he was still alive, you would still be together and never met me.”

             
“I don’t know if I would have never met you. I am sure that our paths would have crossed somewhere, but not to the magnitude it is at now.”

             
“Even if you were still married and our paths had crossed, I would still think that you are beautiful and want to get to know you.”

             
“Stop,” I said, face reddening.

             
“It’s the truth,” he said. “Claire, you are a beautiful woman. Any guy would be lucky to have you even look in his direction.”

             
“John used to ask why I chose to stay with him, even when we were teenagers. He said I could have anyone I wanted, but chose him. He didn’t understand it.”

             
“What do you tell him?”

             
“The heart wants what it wants. There was no stopping it.”

             
“What does your heart want now?”

             
“You,” I said.

             
“Then let it have me. Open your heart to me. Our love will be different than what you had with your husband. I am not looking to replace him in your life. I just want to live in the now with you by my side.”

             
“I am trying,” I said.

             
“Stop listening to your head and start listening to your heart.”

             
“It is going to be hard to do.”

             
“I know, but I am here. I will help you. If I need to, I will slow things down. I don’t want you to rush into things and then regret it.”

             
“Thank you.”

             
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Are you hungry?”

             
“Yeah,” I said.

             
“Let’s eat and watch the town,” he said. He took what he packed out of the picnic basket. There were items in there that I know where not in my kitchen. He had to of left without me knowing. We ate in silence just looking out over the town. For a Sunday, it was quite busy. The diner and grocery store were packed. We could see a boat floating down the river. I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. The mountain air felt good in my lungs. Letting it out, I felt his lips brush my cheek. I opened my eyes. “Are you feeling better?”

             
“Yes, thank you. Sitting here has really helped. Your grandfather definitely knew what he was doing when he brought you here. This place puts everything in perspective. Seeing the town from this spot makes my problems seem so small in the big picture of things.”

             
“Yes, it does,” Josh said. “I think that is why grandpa used to take me up here. He wanted me to see the world waiting for me and not for me to focus on just my problems.”

             
“Your grandfather was a smart man.”

             
“Yes, he was,” he said, looking away. I laced my fingers in between his. He squeezed my hand. We sat there looking over the town for a little while longer. The sun was beginning to descend over the river. The orange hue it let off in the sky was beautiful. His skin was glowing in the light. He pulled me close to him. Wrapping his arms around me, we watched the sunset. I leaned up and kissed him as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. He welcomed the kiss and responded with one of his own. He pulled away first. “We need to leave before it gets so dark we can’t find our way back to the truck.”

             
“Okay,” I said, standing up. We picked up our stuff and put it back in the picnic basket, folded the blanket and headed back down the trail. With every step, the sky grew darker and darker. We made it to the truck with the moon high in the sky. The cloudless night allowed for it to light our way. We climbed in. We drove back down the mountain. Driving through town, we stopped at the diner for dinner. It was getting to late to cook something at home.

             
“Hey you two,” said Vanessa.

             
“Hey, Vanessa,” I said.

             
“Hey, ‘Nessa,” said Josh.

             
“How has your day been going?” she asked us.

             
“Good, yours?” I asked.

             
“We have been very busy today,” she said. “This is the first time I have been able to breathe since we opened.”

             
“That is a good thing,” said Josh. “Keeps you on your toes.”

             
“You shut it, Joshy,” she said, laughing. I smiled at the banter between them. They were like brother and sister.

             
“It is a good thing in a way. Makes for good drinking money next weekend, right, Claire?”

             
“Yes, it does,” I said.

             
“Uh-oh, what is going on next weekend?” asked Josh.

             
“Girls night out,” I said.

             
“Just make sure Alison doesn’t drink too much tequila,” he said, laughing. Vanessa and I laughed.

             
“Keeping Alison separated from her beloved tequila is a chore and a half,” said Vanessa.

             
“Yes, it is,” I said.

             
“We will have to assign one of the others tequila duty,” Vanessa said.

             
“I can’t see Angelica, Stacie or Susie trying to keep her from drinking too much.”

             
“No, Angelica will just encourage it. We probably need to keep those two separated.”

             
“Oh man, I am sorry I am going to miss this,” Josh said. “One of you will have to tell me what happens.”

             
“I noticed yesterday just how much those two are alike,” I said.

             
“I know,” said Vanessa. “It is crazy. They have the same warped sense of humor.”

             
“Oh my God, there is two of Alison. That can’t be good,” said Josh, shaking his head. We laughed.

             
“No, it can’t. Saturday is going to be trouble. I am sure we will be pouring one or more of them into the car. Hopefully, fully clothed,” said Vanessa. “What can I get you two to eat?”

             
“I’ll have the pork chop dinner with potatoes and corn,” said Josh.

             
“I’ll have the lasagna,” I said.

             
“Okay, I will be back with your sweet teas,” she said with a smile as she walked away. Josh reached across the table, placing his hand on mine. His thumb caressing my hand, he picked it up and kissed it. He let go when he saw Vanessa turning the corner with our drinks. “Here you two are.”

             
“Thank you,” he said.

             
“No problem. Do you want me to pick you and Alison up on Saturday?” Vanessa asked me.

             
“I don’t know. Let me talk to her about it. I think it would be easier if I picked Alison up and then you, though. There is no point in you driving all the way out to us when you are on our way to the venue.”