“Yes, the bed is very comfortable. It is definitely a change from my truck or the barn floor.”
“I don’t know how you could sleep in either of those two places.”
“You get used to it. I have been doing it for the past eight years.”
“I am sorry to hear that.”
“It is okay. It is the life I chose to live.”
“We do some strange things for the life we want to live.”
“Yes, we do. I don’t want to upset you again, but I would like to know more about you.”
“Well, if we are going to be house mates, I think you deserve to ask any questions you would like to have answers to.”
“Okay,” he said, shaking his head yes. “How old were you when you met your husband?”
“I was 11 and he was 13. We went to school together in Montana.”
“Wow,” he responded with wide eyes. “Did you begin dating then?”
“No, we became fast friends. We did not begin dating until two years later. We dated through junior high and high school. Right after high school we got married, packed up and moved here. We got jobs and saved up enough money to put a down payment on this farm. We have lived here since I was 23.”
“I know this is not a polite thing to ask, but how old are you now?”
“It’s okay. I just turned 40 a week ago.”
“I would have never guessed that. You look like you are still in your 20s.”
“Thank you,” I said casting my eyes down to attempt to save myself from blushing. “How old are you?”
“As of three months ago, I am 28.”
“Wow,” I said. “You lost everyone at such a young age.”
“Yes, I did, but I know that they taught me all they could before they passed away.”
“Where your parents and grandparents from this area,” I asked like I already did not know.
“My grandparents lived here their entire lives. I was born in New York. My parents met while my mother was attending college in New York. My father was New York born and raised. My mother went to medical school at Cornell University. They met when my mother went to see a band play in the meat packing district. Dad was in that band. They fell head over heals for each other and were married right after mom graduated. I was born two years later. My dad’s parents had both pasted away before I was born. Mom’s parents took me in and raised me from the time I was eight. My grandfather taught me how to do everything there was on the farm. He used to sell homemade pickles down at the general store.”
“That was your grandfather? I loved those pickles.”
“I know the recipe by heart. I see that you have cucumbers in your garden, I can show you the recipe.”
“That will be great. I can already taste them. We were invited to the Everett’s for a cook out on Saturday, if you are interested in going.”
“Yeah, that sounds good. Maybe we can bring them some pickles.”
“I think that would shock them. Alison asked me to bring my famous pasta salad.”
“Famous pasta salad, I can’t wait to taste it,” he said with a wink.
I suddenly felt hot. I knew my face was flushed by the smirk on his face. “It is Alison’s favorite thing I make,” I said trying to save myself.
“Really?” he said still grinning. “Will you show me how to make it?”
“Yes, while you are showing me how to make the pickles, I will show you how I make my pasta salad.”
“Sounds like a plan. How about I see if those cucumbers are ready enough for me to pick this afternoon, then I will go to the store for the ingredients later. Before we go to bed, I can show you how to make the pickles.”
“Sounds like a plan, because I am going to need the ingredients to make the pasta salad and it is always better if it sits for a day or two.”
“Great, now I need to get back to work. I may need your assistance again later if I find more places in the fences that need fixing.”
“Okay, just let me know. I will be in here working on some things. Do you have any laundry that needs washing? I will be doing mine.”
“No, not at the moment, Mrs. Everett did mine yesterday.”
“Okay.”
He pushed his chair back and walked his dishes to the sink. I followed. He left the house, returning to the colt. I stood at the sink rinsing the dishes, staring at him. Why did he make me blush so much? Was I that lonely? Or was it that he was that good looking. This 28 year old kid with the ice blue eyes, light, brown hair, muscles, and tight jeans was going to get me in trouble. I could see it.
A few hours later he came in for lunch. I was in my office working on transcribing the local doctor’s notes. Our town doctor wrote everything by hand. He was very old school. His son, who also worked for him, had taken up his practices. Eight years ago, I began working from home for them. Once a week, I would go into town and get the notes they had taken and type them up for each patient’s files. When I was finished, I would return them and pick up the new set. It did not pay much, but it was something I could really wrap my head around. I offered to do it in the office, but they agreed that taking my time and doing them at home was a better idea. He came up the stairs and peeked in the first door on the right. I was so engrossed in my work that he startled me. He had forgotten to put either shirt on this time.
“Hey,” he said. “Are you ready for lunch?”
“Um,” I said looking up. “Yeah, I’ll be down in a minute, just let me finish this last sentence.”
“Okay,” he said, turning to leave.
I sat back, fanning myself with a stack of papers. I pushed my office chair back and went down stairs. He had begun to heat up the chicken from last night.
“Boy is it hot out there,” he said as I approached.
“Are you sure that you want that chicken? I do have sandwich meat if you prefer something cold to eat.”
“I really like that chicken, thank you though.”
“You’re welcome. Have a seat. Do you want sweet tea, water, or soda?”
“Sweet tea, please,” he responded.
I put some ice in a glass, pouring the tea over it. “You should really take a jug of water or tea with you while you are out working. I have one that has a spout on it.”
“That would be great, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I said as the microwave beeped. “Did you get a chance to check on the cucumbers?”
“Yes, they are perfect. When were you thinking of going to the store?”
“As soon as I finish that small stack of papers I will want to go. This way I can pick up more work while I am there.”
“Okay, sounds good to me.”
“Great, I should be done in about two hours,” I said sitting down across the table.
“Okay, the rest of the fence where the colt was seems in pretty good shape. I would like to put him back in there and work with him, if you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind. If you feel you can work with him better in his own paddock, then please do so.”
“Great, I will do it when we are done here. Now, the barbed wire around the cow pasture has seen better days. While we are in town, can we stop and pick more up or would you rather me change it to wood, since there is quite a bit stacked in the barn. I can use the same posts that are there.”
“Which do you feel would be better for the cows in the long run?”
“Definitely the wood,” he said.
“Okay, then feel free to change it out.”
“I will do that.”
We finished our lunches. He got up and left the house. I emptied the dishwasher and put our lunch and breakfast dishes in. Going back upstairs to finish my work, I decided that a cold shower was necessary after staring at him shirtless for the past half an hour. I finished my work. I went down stairs. I heard the shower running at the back of the house. Looking down the hallway, I could see the bathroom door open. The shower turned off. I went halfway up the stairs. He came out of the bathroom
in just a towel.
“I will be right out,” he said.
“Okay, I will be on the porch.”
Five minutes later he came out on the porch. “Sorry about that,” he said. “I thought you were still going to be a few minutes.”
“That is okay. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” he said. He opened the driver side door of my truck. I climbed in, placing the stack of papers between us.
“What is it that you do with these papers?”
“I transcribe them for the two doctors in town. You know Doctor Russell and his son?”
“Yes, he was or still is my doctor if I need one.”
“Mine, too, he has been since we moved here. He is a wonderful person.”
“I agree,” he said. “I can’t believe you can actually read his handwriting, though.”
“Yes,” I laughed. “I think all doctor’s have to have horrible handwriting just to pass medical school.”
“He wrote me a prescription one time for an ear infection and poor Mr. Talbot, down at the pharmacy, had to call him in order to figure it out what it was, because it was written so bad.”
“Oh my God, that is pretty bad. He must have been in a rush or having a bad day that day.”
“I don’t know, but that was definitely the highlight of my day that day.”
I giggled as we pulled up to the office. “I will be right out.”
“Okay,” he said.
I went into the office with my files in hand. Doctor Russell was looking out the window.
“Hi, doc,” I said. “Here is last week’s work. I have come to get the ones for this week.”
“Hi, Claire,” he said. “How are you this afternoon?”
“I am good,” I said.
“Good to hear,” he said. “Is that Joshua in your truck?”
“Yes, it is. He is now working for me as of yesterday.”
“I thought he was working for the Everett’s.”
“He was, but Bob did not have enough for him to do, so he sent him to my farm, because he knew I no longer had any help.”
“Well that is good then. He is a hard worker and will have your farm in tip top shape in no time.”
“I can tell it is what he loves to do.”
“Yes, it is,” he said handing me the new set of files. “Here is this week’s work and here is your pay.”
“Thank you. I will see you next week. Have a wonderful week.”
“Thank you, Claire. You do so as well and tell Joshua I said hello.”
“I will do that.” I left the office and climbed back in the truck. “Doctor Russell says hello.”
Joshua smile and waved at the doctor, who was still looking out the window. The doctor waved back. We drove to the general store. Getting out of the truck, we were being stared at. I went to town once a week for a supply of groceries, but was never stared at before. Josh opted to push the cart while I put things in it. We first went to the pasta isle, where I grabbed two boxes of elbow pasta. Putting them in the cart, I placed my hand on the edge of the cart and started to pull it, forgetting that Josh was pushing it.
“Sorry,” I said looking back at him. “I have gotten so used to doing this by myself.”
“It’s okay. I understand,” he said with a smile.
“Do you need any thing down this isle?”
“No, most of the things I need are down the spices isle.”
“Okay, let’s head there next. I need a few things there, too.”
“Lead the way,” he said. We walked two isles over to the spices. Alison was in the isle shopping.
“Hey you two,” she said with a big smile.
“Hi,” I said. “Getting stuff for Saturday?”
“Oh yes,” she said. “I am going to guess that is what you two are up to.”
“Yes, it is Mrs. Everett.”
“Now, Joshua, I have told you many times to call me Alison. Are you having this problem with him, too?” she turned to me to ask.
“I was, but I think he is coming around. At least, I hope he is.”
Josh’s face reddened.
“I know you were brought up right and have the proper manners in place, but the misses and ma’am has to stop. When we tell you to call us by our name, we mean for you to do it.”
“Okay, I promise that on Saturday, I will call you by your first name.”
“Great, I look forward to it. Call me later, Claire. I need to get this shopping done and head back home before Bob wonders if I got lost and if he is going to starve for the night.”
“Okay, I will,” I laughed. “Give Bob my love.”
“I will do that. You have a good day, Joshua.”
“You, too, Mrs., I mean Alison.”
“Oh my God, he did it. Stumbled with it, but did it,” she laughed as she walked away.
“Alison can be a lot of fun,” I said.
“She was always really nice to me. Mr. Everett is a great person, too.”
“Yes, he is. He and John were best friends.”
“Oh, really?” he said.
“Yes, they would help each other out all the time. When they had a chance, they would go fishing or hunting together. They would even hit up the local bar for some drinks once in a while, a boy’s night out away from the women. Alison and I would get together while they were gone and go to the next town over to see a movie. We would have to swing by the bar on our way home to pick them up,” I laughed at the memory.
“Do you think your husband would have liked me?”
“You know, I believe he would. He would have seen a lot of himself in you. He would have taken the time to nurture you and help you grow as an individual. I am pretty sure that is why Bob sent you to me.”
“Maybe, we will have to ask him on Saturday.”
“Maybe we will, but first we need to finish shopping so we can have something to bring.”
“Let’s do it,” he said. “The faster we get it done, the more time the pickles have to set up.”
“Great,” I said. “I just need a few more things and then we can be out of here.”
We finished our shopping in 15 minutes. We headed home. After putting the groceries in the house, we both headed to the garden to get what we needed. He picked the cucumbers. I picked some tomatoes, peppers, and onions. He looked at me with curiosity.
“What?” I asked. “This is what I need for my pasta salad.”
“I never thought those things went in a pasta salad. I always thought it was pasta, mayonnaise, tuna fish and onions.”
“No, that is a macaroni salad. A pasta salad has fresh vegetables, pasta, and a salad dressing. I prefer to make my own dressing, which makes it a little bit better.”
“Ah,” he said, nodding his head. “The things you can learn hanging around different groups of people.”
I smiled. I was glad he was learning something new. We went back inside. I put three pots of water on the stove; two were five quart pots. I needed one for my pasta. He needed one for the canning jars. The other was a small pot he needed to make the pickling liquid. I grabbed a cutting board for myself with a chef’s knife. He came up behind me. He reached around me, his abs and left hand resting on the small of my back. He reached for another cutting board.
“Excuse me,” he said with a smile.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I should have asked if you needed one.”
“It’s okay. It is like you said. You have gotten used to do things by yourself.”
“Yes, I have. It is going to take some getting used to having someone else in the house with me, again.”
“I can be noisier if you need me to be,” he laughed.
“That’s okay,” I laughed. “I prefer your church mouse quietness.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Nothing,” I said with my own smile.
“Uh-huh, I see how you are.”
“What?
Grabbing the Mandolin he went to the other counter to begin slicing
the cucumbers for part of the canning process while he left some of them whole. I diced up my vegetables and placed them in a large storage bowl. Adding the pasta to the water, I stirred it, bumping into Josh as he was preparing his pickling liquid.
“Hey, watch were you are going there young lady.”
“Oops, sorry, your quietness threw me for a loop,” I laughed.
“That’s it. There will be no sleeping for you tonight. I’m going to make as much noise as I can. I’m going to keep you up all night. Running up and down the stairs, banging on your bedroom door, I’ll even put the TV up loud.”
“You already kept me up last night. I barely slept.”
“Seriously? I am sorry. I told you I could have slept in the barn. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable with me here.”
“I’m not now. I am feeling more comfortable every minute we spend together.”
“Great, that makes me happy, because I do not plan on leaving.”
I turned my head away from him and smiled. I didn’t want him to leave. “Good,” I said.
It was his turn to smile. He leaned over and kissed my cheek. It startled me. “What was that for?”
“You deserve it. Your husband would be proud that you kept the farm running without him and very little help.”
My eyes stung with tears. “Thank you,” I said, leaning over to kiss his cheek, but he turned and my lips landed on his soft, full lips. I pulled away quickly. “I’m so sorry,” I said, the heat escalating in my face.
He smiled. “It’s okay. It was an accident. I didn’t know you were leaning over. No worries, there is no need to apologize.”
“I’ll be right back,” I said and ran up the stairs. Closing the door to my bedroom, I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I could not believe that took place. I was so embarrassed. How was I going to go back down there? I just kissed someone who is virtually a stranger and twelve years my junior. My husband would never approve. Poor John. He was probably rolling over in his grave. Tears began to roll down my face. I just committed the ultimate crime in a marriage. I kissed someone else. I have no idea how long I sat there, but there was a sudden knock on my door.
“Hey, I think your pasta is done,” he called through the door.
“Okay, thanks, I’ll be down in a minute.”
The Stable Boy Page 3