by Ashlee Price
“So it’s my fault? You seem to be still sane.”
“Just barely.”
Chapter 6
“Well you hide your madness underneath quite well.”
“Do I?”
“Yes.”
“So why have you turned down so many offers? Were none of them to your liking?”
“I guess the right person just hasn’t asked yet.”
“Is that an offer?”
Foster shook her head. “No, just a comment. Where is your bathroom so I can wash my hands?”
He pointed towards the door at the end of the hall. It was hard to hold in his feelings, she was beautiful and held something inside that he wanted to fix. She didn’t even realize what she did to him and the lack of guile made him want her even more.
Ladling out some stew into the bowls, it was several minutes until she came out and he could tell she had washed some of the dirt off of her face. “Ah, that is so much better. Starting to feel a little more human now. It smells good.”
She didn’t say much while they ate. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of her, but Foster ignored the looks. It was hard to, the man was gorgeous, but she knew she had to. Then it had been so long since anyone had said anything, that the sound was strange in the air. “So about that offer...”
Foster rolled her eyes, “There wasn’t one. I’m not looking to get involved in anything right now Trent. If I was, you would be the first to know it.”
“Is that a promise?”
“As close to one as you are going to get. Keep cooking for me and I will have to change that.”
“You like my cooking?”
She did, but more importantly, they needed something else to talk about. She wanted him, but Foster was not ready to worry about men again, even handsome ones that could cook.
“I do. Not many men where I am from cook, so it is kind of special.”
“I have many talents.”
She smiled and looked down. Foster was sure that he did. The dinner was quickly becoming something else and she was once again, more worried about keeping her cool than anything else. She would have to see him again in a professional atmosphere, so it was best not to get too close. “I am sure you do Trent, but I am not looking for those kinds of talents right now.”
“Everyone needs those kinds of talents Foster. It takes our minds away from everyday life.” Trent stood up and took her bowl. He asked if she wanted anymore, but she couldn’t. Their hands touched ever so gently as she handed him the dish. It was impossible not to feel the jolt with the connection.
“You seem to have a good life, not much to take your mind away from.”
“I do now. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here on the ranch.”
“So what do you need to take your mind away from?”
“Not much, but I can think of the perks.”
Foster smiled back at him. He must have known he was pushing too much because he backed away. “But I have no problem waiting either. Some things are worth the wait.”
Trent turned his back to put the dishes in the sink. Foster needed a moment without him looking at her. He had a way of looking through her that was hard to handle. He asked her about horseback riding lessons and Foster still wanted to. “Whenever you have time, just let me know.”
“I have some time this weekend, if you are up for it.”
Foster said that she was and asked if he could give her a ride home. She was getting tired and his words were getting to her. What she needed she wasn’t ready for, but the temptation was still there. She followed him to his truck and he helped her in. When he got around and got in on the other side, Foster found it hard to get something off of her mind. “Do they really talk about me up at the diner?”
He smiled and then nodded. “Yea, quite a bit, but can you blame them?”
In a way she knew that she was interesting to them because she was new in town, but she never would have guessed they wondered about her sexual orientation because she had said no to a couple of dates. It was strange to think of people she didn’t know talking about her.
“I guess not, it’s just kind of weird I guess. Like I said, I am still trying to get used to the small town life. Everyone knows everyone here.”
“Yet you are still a mystery.”
She didn’t respond, but told him where she was living. “Isn’t that a vacation home?”
“It is, but I fell in love with it and I have been trying to get the owners to sell it to me.”
“I know Bill and Carrie. They use that for their income.”
“Yeah with the rent as high as it is, I would think so.”
“Then why do you stay?”
“It links me to someone I loss I guess and besides, have you seen the views?”
“I haven’t, but maybe you will invite me over one day.”
“Maybe one day.”
It was as good as it was going to get and he knew that. He wanted her to invite him in and show him more than just the sights that very night, but something was holding her back and he didn’t want to lose it trying to push for more.
Foster didn’t invite him up though. Instead she just thanked him with a small smile on her face. “Thanks for a meal and company. I needed that and didn’t even realize it.”
Trent wanted to tell her there were even more things that she needed as well, but he knew that it was for another time. Trent was patient and with her, it looked like he was going to need to be.
***
“So what happened with you and Trent last night Foster?”
She gave her boss a look. “Thanks for leaving me hanging by the way.”
Karen chuckled a little. “So it went well?”
Foster couldn’t tell her that it didn’t, because she reflected on it as a really good night. The smile was hard to conceal. “It was alright, but that is not the point. You really left me hanging there.”
“You two are perfect for each other and I know you have your reasons for not wanting to date, but when you are ready for a good guy, you will know that he is perfect for you. And poor Trent, he needs a good woman and a little good luck.”
“How long have you known him?”
“Most of his life I suppose. I knew his parents.”
“Knew?”
“Yeah, he lost them both when he was a teenager. And then he got married and lost his wife as well. That man has the warmest heart and the worst luck of anyone I have ever known.”
Karen had once again shocked her with information that she just gave away without a moment’s thought. “Wow, I would have never known that. He seems pretty upbeat for all of that to be going on.”
“You would never know it, but he was raised a couple of years in a foster home out of town. When he was old enough to leave, he came back and bought his father’s ranch back. He has been there ever since and is one of my best clients. But sometimes, I will see him looking off to the horizon with the saddest face that you could imagine. He needs to find love to make him smile again.”
“And you think that is me?”
“You have the same look sometimes and I know that pain is something that is shared. You both have a lot in common is all. There is opportunity to for you both to be happy again.”
It was her third week into her job and it seemed like her boss knew her better than she knew herself. There was sadness in Foster. It was hard for their not to be one, but she spent most of her day trying to hide it. She tried to think of the next day and the future, but the past could be haunting at times unable to be forgotten.
“I don’t know if I am ready to be happy again. Not in that way anyways. I have never really been in love. I like the idea of it, but never felt the way you are supposed to. I see the way you look at your husband and I wish for that sometimes. But it is harder to find nowadays Karen.”
The older woman smiled with that faraway look she got when she thought of her husband. “Do you know that he is my third husband?”
That surprised
Foster. The two acted like they had been together a lifetime and she had always thought that they were high school sweethearts or something of the kind. “No I didn’t know that.”
“It just proves that it is never too late. My first two husbands were not the right one for me, but they were right at the time. Trent could be your Lawrence.”
Foster was quiet for a time, thinking about what Karen had said. The older woman talked most of the morning, leaving Foster to listen and deal with her own thoughts. She liked the idea of thinking someone was out there to complete her, but she found herself thinking more about what she had told her about Trent. She had not caught the sadness in his eyes. Especially when he was too busy trying to get in her knickers.
“I just lost mom a couple of months ago. I can’t even process that. She was the last of my family except a distant cousin. I just don’t know what to do and while I will not deny that Trent has a certain appeal to him, my mind is not even on that.”
“Yeah that is what I used to say about Lawrence, but then he was there and it just happened. I think you always find what you need when you stop looking. I don’t know what I would have done without Lawrence but I never had to find out.”
Foster knew that there was something to what she said, but she didn’t think she was ready for anything else. Her days were filled with work and her evenings were filled with long walks in the woods before the sun went down. It was only the late at night times that she felt s alone. It was then that she wanted everything to be different.
“It’s okay to be afraid of something different, but I am telling you that I see something between you two. Just wait and see.”
She seemed so sure and it planted the seed in her head. Maybe she was ready for something new. Foster wasn’t sure if Trent was the one, her Lawrence, but he was someone that she wanted to see again.
Chapter 7
“Hey, Trent?”
He smiled to himself and then sat back in the chair he was sitting in. “Foster. How are you?”
“Good. I was just wondering if you were still up for the riding lesson today?”
Trent had thought she would back out and never call him. Now his day had changed and he was going to be with her. The smile got wider and he nodded his head to no one in particular. “Of course. Do you want me to come get you?”
“No, I will be down there in a while. I was just calling to ask you what time you would want me to come by if you’re not too busy today.”
“Not at all. Come whenever you want, I will be here all day.”
“Okay, see you soon.”
She was gone then, leaving him almost shaking inside with anticipation. His day had certainly improved dramatically. Being with Foster sounded much better than anything else that he had planned for the day.
He looked down at himself, deciding he needed to jump in the shower first before she got there. Trent hadn’t felt excited like that in a long time. He told himself that he had to slow down, give her more time. Trent had known that he was coming on too strong the time before, but it was hard not to. She had looked so inviting and he must have seen something in her eyes that spurred him on, but it was clear to him that she wasn’t ready for that yet.
Trent would just have to slow down, even though all he wanted to do was have her. It wasn’t long after he got out of the shower that she was knocking on his door. Trent hadn’t gotten dressed all the way, his button up shirt still open as he answered the door. Foster’s face faltered for a minute when she seen him, that same look was back and his body was telling his mind that he was wrong, she was ready.
“Come in Foster. I was just getting ready. Would you like some coffee?”
She shook her head that she would, trying to deny herself the man’s body in front of her. He was looking good in his jeans. They were not tight, but molded to his frame and the soft black curls on his chest made her want to run her fingers through it to see if it was as soft as it looked. “Coffee would be good.”
Her voice almost broke and she felt her face getting red with her thoughts. She was thankful that he didn’t ask her if she was okay. Foster was sure that he knew why she was so nervous around him. It was not so hard to figure out and she tried to make her face relax, pushing the dirty thoughts out of her mind. She was there for a lesson, nothing more. The only problem was that Karen’s words were echoing in her mind. What if he was the one?
“How was your week Foster?”
“Pretty good. Tiring. I don’t know how Karen does it. Animals are a lot of work.”
“All things that are worth it are.”
He meant more than he was saying and she avoided the real answer in his eyes. “I have heard that before.”
Trent brought her a cup and sat down next to her. It was like before and she remembered the kiss and the way he had felt touching her. “So have you ever gone for a ride before?”
“A ride?”
“On a horse.”
She blushed, “Oh, no I haven’t. Is that okay?”
He nodded, loving the way her face showed how she really felt. The look in her eyes made him want to kiss her again, but instead he stood up to give them a little space. “It’s fine. I like the idea of being your first.
Foster shot him a look, trying not to show how his words really affected her. She finished the coffee and stood up to go with him out towards the stables. She had been there enough that she knew her way around, getting familiar with his ranch her first week with Karen. What she couldn’t get familiar with was the way she felt when he was near. Foster didn’t think she could ever get used to such a feeling.
The barn was darker and she could hear the horses making noise in greeting. “How is that grey horse that we saw Monday?”
“Ashes is doing good.”
“Ashes?”
“Yes that is what the owner named her. She was the only one that survived a barn fire.”
“Wow.”
“It was quite a sight. The folly was still young and covered in ashes when she walked out after the fire burned out. No one is quite sure how she made it, but she did.”
“That is quite a story.”
“Nothing is how it appears. She turned out to be a great horse, but now they want to use her for their children, so I am trying to calm her down a bit and get used to a saddle again. After all of that happened, they have left her to stay unbridled for the last year.”
“You do seem to have a way with them.”
She watched his hand slowly stroke the horse’s head. Foster was still nervous around the large animals, but with Trent there she knew it would be okay. He moved her hand to where his was. “You have to say hello before you jump on the back of her. It’s only polite.”
His body touched her in several places ever so gently and then moved away. Trent got the saddle ready before taking the horse’s reins and pulling her out into the early morning sunlight. “I don’t know if I am ready to ride one by myself.”
“You’re not. I was thinking we could ride together. It will help you get a feel for it anyways and maybe help you relax. If you are nervous, the horse will be nervous.”
She gulped, trying to dislodge the knot that had suddenly formed in her throat. They were going to be close, touching even and as she looked from him to the horse, Foster was starting to have doubts about horse riding all together.
“Um, yeah, okay.”
“You don’t seem so sure.”
“I’m not, but that’s okay. I guess I just worry about falling off.”
“I’ll hold on tight enough that you won’t have to worry about that.”
She nodded, still not so sure, but she smiled and tried to hide her apprehensions.
***
His hold was tight enough that moments later she was not thinking about falling off, but falling for the man that held her tight against his chest. The ride was too much and after a few minutes her breath had quickened and her eyes had closed as she leaned back into his warmth. “Are you nervous?”
“Yes.”
Trent slowed down, thinking it was because of the ride, but it had nothing to do with that. She wasn’t even paying attention, though she knew she should have. Foster was more worried about the feel of him behind her and the strength of the arms encircling her. How could she worry about anything else?
“Do you want to stop for a while?”
She nodded, opening her eyes finally. They were farther off than she had thought they would be, knowing that the walk back would help cool her ardor so she didn’t do something that she may regret later. “If you don’t mind. Maybe we could walk back for a bit. I need to feel the ground underneath me.”
Trent brought the horse to a slow stop and she was thankful for the break of contact when he got off behind her. She slid her leg over and moved to his waiting arms to help her down. She got to feel the front of him with her descent and the need that had been stirred by the ride. Foster was thankful that she was not the only one having a hard time of it. She smiled up at him, thanking him.
“We can get back on when you are ready. For now we can just walk though. It feels different the longer you ride too. Sometimes the ground will feel unsolid for the first few minutes.”
“Good, I was thinking my legs were going to go out.”
“Well that could happen too.”
He moved to help her steady herself and she pulled away after a moment. “I got it.”
Trent pulled away almost reluctantly. They walked back to his house and found themselves falling in step with each other. Trent tried to break the silence, talking about the beautiful sky, but neither one of them was really thinking about the weather.
When they got back to the training grounds, he helped her back on and let her walk around the ring by herself. Foster wasn’t the only one that needed a break from the contact between them and she seemed to be a lot more comfortable on her own. It was well past noon before she got off of the horse and her knees did almost buckle. She stopped herself with a hand on his shoulder.
“Why don’t we take a break? I haven’t seen someone pick up riding as fast as you have.”
“I’m a pretty quick learner.”
“I see that.”