Ashley was now sitting in the saddle and she shared what she thought was an intense look with Sara. The brunette broke their eye contact and got back to business.
“Make sure that you have a hold of the reins at all times. Let her know that you are the one in control,” Sara said, leading them out into the field beside the barn.
“Okay.”
“If you think that she's going too fast for you pull back on the reins just slightly and she will know that she needs to slow down,” Sara continued on.
Once Ashley was comfortable and had done a lap around the small field she decided to bring up the book. “So could you tell me a little bit about what happened to Zach?”
Ignoring her, Sara led them out of the fenced in field and brought them to a trail that led them into the woods.
“What about you? You can't tell me a little bit about yourself at least?” Ashley wasn't going to give up.
Once again Sara pretended that she didn't hear her and continued on with the lesson.
They headed back to the stables when the sun was setting in the sky. Ashley was happy that she got through the lesson without any problems and she was enjoying spending time with Sara.
Ashley gave up on her book for the moment and they spoke easily about other topics. Even though Sara had lied to her she still couldn't get over how gorgeous she was and that Sara was willing to spend time with her even if she did ignore her questions.
“I better get back to the hotel soon,” Ashley told her as they returned to the barn.
“So do you think that you’ll come back and get more riding lessons?” Sara asked her, helping her off the horse, keeping her hand on Ashley's waist a little longer than she had to. Ashley moved in closer to her touch to let her silently know that it was okay.
“You know, I just might.” Ashley cleared her throat, anxious because of how close they were before Sara stepped away to put Daisy back in her stall. “I really enjoyed today.”
“You’re a natural but I will let you know that if you’re only looking for an interview then you’re wasting your time,” Sara told her sternly, letting her know once again that she was not going to talk about her past.
Chapter 5
Leaning back in her chair at the office, Ashley was day dreaming again, thinking about the time that she had spent with Sara.
Jason walked into her office the second he found out that she was back from Colorado. He wanted to know how it went and if she got any kind of information out of Sara.
“So?” he asked, walking up to her desk.
“So what?” she asked him, looking up from her computer and saving the progress she had made on her latest article.
“You met Sara this time. What happened?”
“I did and I actually had my first horse riding experience. It's so nice out there and peaceful…”
Jason cut her off. “You know that's not what I meant.”
“I’ve made a decision. I know you’re not going to like it but I'm not going to include any quotes from Sara in the book. She doesn’t want to talk to me and I’m respecting that,” Ashley explained.
“Really?” Jason asked.
“You should have seen her face. It was like she was begging me not to bring up the past. She went out there to start a new life and she loves what she's doing. I think that I'm doing the right thing. I could've pushed her further if I wanted to but I didn't,” she told him.
“Okay. I get it.”
“Good. At least that's one person who will be on my side. Now I just have to break the news to my publisher.” She sighed heavily.
“If Sara won’t talk then they’ll just have to understand,” Jason pointed out.
Chapter 6
1 Month Later
Ashley was glad that the book was almost done. She was having a hard time finishing. She was a perfectionist and she didn’t want to send it to her publisher until she was happy with it. She was saving her progress when Jason came into her office in a rush with a tabloid in his hands, waving it around in the air.
“What is it?” she asked him. She couldn’t tell if it was good or bad news the way he was acting.
Before he could answer, her office phone rang. “Hello, Ashley speaking,” she answered in a professional voice hoping she could get off the phone quickly so she could hear Jason's news.
“It's me, Sara.”
“Hi. How are you?” Ashley asked, wondering what brought on this phone call. She hadn't heard from Sara since she left Colorado.
“I want to talk about what happened with Zach Ellis. How soon can you get here?” Sara asked her.
“I could be there tonight, but I would have to leave work early. Why the sudden change, Sara?” she asked.
She looked over at Jason who was practically jumping up and down, pointing to the newspaper in his hands.
“I take it that you haven't picked up the tabloids in Chicago yet?” Sara asked.
“No, I don't pay attention to them. I prefer serious news stories.”
“My ex-girlfriend Kathy killed me in the tabloids. She gave an interview about everything: my career, Zach, our relationship. I’m not letting this go. I need to get my side of the story out there,” she explained in a rush.
“Your ex-girlfriend?” Ashley's eyes grew wide. Maybe I misheard her. Jason turned the tabloid around so that she could see what Sara was talking about.
“Yes, I’m into women Ashley,” she said, growing frustrated because she felt like Ashley was missing the point. Her name was in the papers again and all she wanted to know was if she was gay.
Ashley wasn’t sure what to say. Should she out herself ?
“Are you still there?” Sara asked.
“Yeah, sorry. I have to get a rental car and check into that hotel. I’ll be there tonight but it’ll probably be late.”
“Just come straight here from the airport. You can stay here,” Sara offered.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll book a flight for tonight,” Ashley told her. “You’re lucky that you called today because I was going to turn in the book to my editor later this week.”
“Good, thank you so much for being willing to come here on such short notice. See you tonight,” Sara told her and quickly hung up the phone after Ashley said goodbye.
Getting off the phone with Sara, Ashley had a smile on her face. So Sara’s a lesbian. Maybe I do have gaydar.
****
Ashley was exhausted by the time she got to Sara’s. She had butterflies in her stomach as she pulled up in front of the barn. She got out of the car and walked around to Sara’s cabin.
Sara opened the door before Ashley had a chance to knock.
“Hi, thanks for coming,” Sara greeted her.
“Thanks for letting me stay,” Ashley said as she follow Sara into the living and then down the hall.
“This room is yours. I often have people who want to spend the night, sometimes even a few weeks, while they’re getting lessons,” Sara explained. She left Ashley to freshen up.
Once Ashley had unpacked she went into the open plan living room/kitchen area. Sara was in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine.
“Would you like a glass of wine?” Sara asked, filling one glass.
“I would love some,” Ashley said sitting down on the couch. Sara’s laptop was open on the pine coffee table. The article she had called her about earlier was open.
“I appreciate you taking the time to do this for me,” Sara said as she sat down beside her.
“No problem. So how are you handling this so far?” Ashley asked.
“I'm dealing with it alright I think. I thought my days of making the headlines were over,” Sara said, taking a sip from her glass. “I’m not impressed with my ex-girlfriend though. I thought we had left on good terms.” She sighed heavily. “I really thought I was moving on with my life.
“I’m really sorry you have to go through all of this again but I’m going to do my best to make it right. If it’s okay with you I’m going to write a
n article for the paper. Your story will still be in the book too but it won't be out for a few more months and we want to get your side of the story out there as soon as possible,” Ashley said softly.
“That sounds like a plan. When I called you this morning you were probably surprised that I asked you to come out here; like it was just a small car drive away.”
“It's alright.” Ashley gave her a small smile and took a sip of her wine.
“How did you know where I was when you came here the first time?” Sara asked.
“Your friend Carol told me that she thought you were out here. She also told me that she wanted you to know that she does miss you and she didn't betray you. She couldn't afford to lose her job,” she told Sara, almost forgetting about Carol. She would've if Sara hadn't asked her.
“We used to be really good friends,” Sara whispered, thinking about the good old days. “That seems like a lifetime ago.”
“You are still good friends. All you have to do is call her,” Ashley said, remembering what Carol had told her.
“Maybe I will. Do you mind if I go to bed? The stress has worn me out.”
“Of course not,” Ashley answered.
“I’ll be up at six to feed the horses but don’t feel like you need to be up that early,” Sara told her, getting up from the couch.
“See you in the morning.” Ashley watched Sara disappear into her bedroom down the hall.
Shortly after Sara went to bed Ashley decided she should go to sleep too. She turned out the light out and laid there in the dark. She found it hard to fall asleep. Thinking about Sara the month before when she was getting a little too close she thought she had seen lust in Sara's eyes but she had never really been good at reading other people.
Ashley never needed to guess if a woman was gay or not. She wasn't publicly open about her sexual orientation and she didn't want to take the chance that she would be wrong if she came onto another woman. The only time that she talked to other lesbians was when she was on Internet dating sites or on the rare night when she ventured out to a gay bar.
It didn’t matter anyway. She wanted to keep things professional between her and Sara.
Chapter 7
On Saturday morning at around six-thirty the sun was shining into her room. Ashley hadn't thought about pulling the shade down. Sighing heavily she tried to pull the pillows up over her head so that it was dark once again. Not only had the sun woken her up but she heard a rooster crowing loudly.
Getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a long sleeve shirt she went to go fix her hair and get ready for the day.
When she was ready, Ashley went out to the barn looking for Sara. She found her scrubbing down a black horse.
“Good morning.” Ashley said, startling Sara.
“Sorry. Good morning. I wasn't expecting you to be up so early,” she said, turning around to face Ashley.
“The sun woke me. The rooster too,” Ashley admitted.
“Sorry about that. Did you sleep okay?” Sara asked.
“I slept really well actually.”
“It's so quiet out here. That probably helped,” Sara said.
“So how many horses do you have here?” Ashley asked as Sara was finishing up with the black horse.
“I started out with three of them and I’ve bought a new horse every year since. I have seven so far,” Sara said with a smile.
“You must need a lot of help with them every day.” Seven horses had to be a lot to keep up with and take care of.
“I have two college students that come out on the weekends. They’re a big help.”
“That’s good,” Ashley said, walking out of the barn alongside Sara.
“Are you hungry? I was going to make some eggs.”
“I'm starving,” Ashley told her. “You do a good job taking care of them,” motioning towards the horses.
“Thank you. I have to do it all again tonight. Well, I’ll have some help. You wouldn't believe how much a horse can eat in one day,” Sara said walking into the kitchen. She took some eggs and bacon out of the fridge.
“You have a really nice home here Sara,” Ashley said, looking around her and noticing certain details for the first time. “I love log cabins and I think this is the first one I’ve seen that doesn't have deer or moose heads hanging on the walls. Or antlers hanging from the ceiling.
“Well, I don't like hunting,” Sara said looking up from her frying pan.
“Did you build the cabin yourself?” Ashley asked.
Sara brought two heaped plates over to the breakfast bar. “No, not the cabin. I actually found it online and had to come take a look at it. I fell in love with the cabin as soon as I got here.”
“So the barn and the stables weren't here?” Ashley asked her.
“It was just the cabin but it had the potential for the big dreams that I had to turn this place into a riding school,” Sara explained.
“Thanks for breakfast. That was delicious.”
“No problem. So are you ready for another riding lesson today?” Sara asked.
“Sure.”
****
After a long day on the trails, Ashley was tired but content.
“Do you want to eat out for dinner tonight?” Sara asked.
“Yeah, I’d love to.”
“Good, I’ll take you to one of my favorite restaurants,” Sara said, smiling at her.
“I’ll just have a shower. I won’t be long.”
An hour later, they were pulling up in front of an Italian restaurant in Pueblo.
“Why haven't you been asking me questions all day?” Sara asked, picking up a slice of garlic bread.
“You’ve had a rough couple of days. You’ll tell me when the time is right. After all, you’re the one who came to me this time.”
“Okay, how about you start out with a few easy questions. That way I can ease myself into it,” Sara suggested.
“Alright, do you want to start right now or after dinner?” Ashley didn't want to disturb their meal.
“Let’s start right now,” Sara said her with a small smile, trying to reassure her.
“Okay. How about starting with your family?” Ashley asked. “Do they support your new life as a horse riding instructor?”
“They’re happy knowing that I can support myself and that I have something to fall back on since the hospital. The one thing that they really don't like is that I live so far now and they don't get to see me as much as they use to.” Sara knew that was a pretty easy question but she found it easy to talk to Ashley.
“What about your personal life? How did they react to you having a girlfriend?” Ashley asked.
“They were really supportive. They told me that they would love me no matter. They were my rock during the trial. They’re the reason why I have so much confidence in myself. From a young age they always told me that I could be anything that I wanted to be.” Sara smiled, thinking about how lucky she was to have such an extraordinary family.
“Is there anything else you wanted to be when you were growing up or did you always want to be a surgeon?” Ashley found herself genuinely wanting to know who Sara was.
“I wanted to be a vet when I was a kid. I’ve always loved animals and I guess it just evolved into wanting to help people,” Sara explained.
“Okay. This is going to be a more difficult question,” Ashley warned her. “How did you meet Zach Ellis?” She wasn't sure that Sara would answer her.
“You know, people always forget about the good things you’ve accomplished. Before I met Zach Ellis I was doing surgery on players from almost every sport. I had a great reputation. That's why Zach's parents came to me about his shoulder. My work was flawless.” Sara paused for a moment, trying to collect her thoughts again. “Anyway, the Ellis family wanted the best for their son and they knew I had great success getting athletes back out on the field.” Sara had tears in her eyes, she wiped them away before she let them fall.
“Alright I think that’s enough for o
ne day,” Ashley said, cutting their informal interview short. “We can pick up again tomorrow.” Ashley could see that talking about Zach was difficult for Sara.
“So have you always wanted to become a journalist?” Sara asked her, trying to take her mind off of the past.
“Always. I went to school for journalism. I first started out with reporting the local news which wasn’t what I really wanted to do. My heart was set on the sports section. I love sports but if it wasn't for my friend, Jason, I wouldn't have landed the job I have now.”
Dreaming of Forever Page 3