by Zoe Chant
This was the guy who'd agreed to help out the aunt of a friend's fiancé on a moment's notice, who'd been endlessly patient with her total ignorance about anything farm-related, who'd been thoughtful enough to stock the fridge for a stranger… Even if he didn't want anything more from her, he'd be nice about it. He seemed like the kind of guy who'd make her breakfast before he let her down gently.
She was on her way back from the bathroom when she noticed the light shining from under the living room door. Alan was sitting on the couch in nothing but his jeans, a blanket wrapped around his bare shoulders. He had Squeak cradled in his lap. She was nursing drowsily at the pipette, her eyes half closed, purring like a tiny engine.
"Aww," Jessica said.
Alan looked up. His entire face lit up with a smile at the sight of her. "Hey! I'm sorry, did we wake you? She still gets hungry at least once in the middle of the night." He yawned, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. "Can't remember the last time I got a full eight hours of sleep, to tell you the truth." He was smiling as he said it, though, good-natured and unbothered.
Jessica thought, unbidden, of her parents, who'd hired a nanny to feed her at night when she'd been a baby. After all, Ruth had had to get up early for her meetings, and she hadn't wanted to miss out on her sleep. A man who didn't mind waking up to feed a kitten wouldn't mind getting up for his own kid, either, she couldn't help but think.
She could see it easily, actually, Alan cradling a baby in his big hands…
Knock it off, she told herself sharply. What is it with you lately? You know you don't have time for a kid. You've got to think of your career! You can have a family once you've made something of yourself.
For the first time, she noticed how much that sharp inner voice sounded like her mother's.
Alan, thankfully, was looking down at Squeak, and didn't seem to have noticed her moment of inner turmoil. Jessica sat down on the couch and got under the blanket with him, curling up against his side. Alan shifted until she could fit comfortably against his shoulder. Jessica closed her eyes and let Alan's warmth chase the thoughts from her mind, lulled into a comfortable doze by Squeak's sleepy purring.
She came half awake to Alan gently rubbing her shoulder. "Come on, time to get back into bed," he said. She let him steer her back under the covers and fell asleep the minute her cheek touched the pillow.
***
Jessica woke up with sunlight spilling warmly across her naked shoulders. She sat up with a gasp. Oh God, she'd overslept. What time was it? It was bright enough it had to be past ten at the very least, she was going to be so incredibly late to work—
It was the sight of the sunny yellow curtains, swaying gently in a faint breeze from the open window, that finally brought her back to herself. Right. She was at Aunt Sally's. She was on vacation. She could sleep in if she wanted to.
Jessica closed her eyes, shifting a little until she could feel the sunlight warm on her face. She could hear the birds singing outside the open window. The air carried the scent of pine and flowers. Now this was something to wake up to.
They'd gone to bed early. Even with the interruption in the middle of the night, she must have slept almost twelve hours. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this rested.
When she turned her head, she could still smell Alan's scent on the sheets. Had all that really happened last night? Already it felt almost as if it must have happened to some other woman. The heated way Alan had looked at her, the sheer mind-blowing intensity of the sex they'd had… was that really her life?
The bed was empty again, although at this point she wasn't worried that Alan would have pulled a disappearing act on her. Whether he still wanted her or not, at the very least he'd honor the promise he'd made to spend some more time helping her learn how to take care of the bees today.
When she came out of the bathroom the house was filled with the scent of coffee and the sounds of something sizzling in a pan. Jessica smiled. So she'd been right, Alan was the breakfast-cooking type.
She followed her nose to the kitchen. Alan was standing by the oven, barefoot, in a t-shirt that strained tight over his muscular arms. He flipped a pancake with the casual ease of someone who knew what he was doing. Jessica's mouth started to water.
"That smells fantastic," she said.
Alan turned to her with a smile. "Good morning! I hope you don't mind that I left you all alone in bed, but I'm kind of an early riser and you looked like you really needed the sleep."
"I did," Jessica admitted. "I'm usually up at dawn myself, but I guess I had some catching up to do."
"Here, sit down, I'll be done in a minute," Alan said, pulling out a chair for her. It should've felt like an old-fashioned chivalrous gesture, maybe, but Alan did it so casually that it felt entirely natural, all of one piece with Alan's general kindness and good manners.
"Coffee?" Alan asked.
"Please." Jessica sat down, and Alan placed a large, steaming mug in front of her. Jessica inhaled the steam with her eyes closed. "That smells amazing." So much better than what she was used to. The sludge that came out of the coffee machine at work really hardly deserved the name, but since it was all that stood between her and falling asleep at her desk most days, Jessica had gotten used to it. She took a sip and closed her eyes in pleasure. She'd almost forgotten what real coffee was supposed to taste like.
Squeak was stirring in her basket beside the table. Jessica picked her up and put her in her lap. Squeak started energetically kneading her thigh with sharp little claws. Jessica stroked her fuzzy head until she purred and curled up into a contented ball.
Alan set a plate of pancakes down in front of her. Blueberry pancakes, big and fluffy and perfectly golden-brown, drizzled with honey—Aunt Sally's honey, Jessica realized, looking at the homemade label on the jar. Squeak meeped sleepily without quite waking up when Jessica set her back in her basket.
She took her first bite and had to suppress a moan. It felt like all her senses were waking up from hibernation, luxuriating in the beauty of this place, the good smells, the home-made food. There'd been nothing but work in her life for so long, she hadn't even realized how much she'd dulled herself down. She'd been sleepwalking through life, keeping her head down, just trying to get through day after day.
"We could try harvesting some more honey after breakfast, and then I should go check on my own farm for a while," Alan said. "Would you like to come? I could show you around a little."
"I'd love to," Jessica said. The last dark cloud darkening her otherwise perfect day disappeared: she wouldn't have to say goodbye to Alan yet.
***
Knowing Alan was a billionaire, Jessica had subconsciously expected something like her stepfather's McMansion out in Colorado, which was a cold, sterile palace, large enough to get lost in. Alan's house, on the other hand, was a comfortable stone-walled villa. Just large enough to raise a family, Jessica couldn't help thinking.
Next to the house was a large barn with several paddocks next to it, holding an eclectic collection of animals: a small flock of goats was clustered at the far end of one paddock. Three horses and a mule shared another, and a third held what she'd first thought were sheep, from a distance.
Coming closer, she realized that they weren't sheep at all. "Are those llamas?"
"Alpacas," Alan said. "Smaller, fluffier, less likely to spit in your face."
He walked up to the paddock holding the horses. Two of them immediately crowded close, whickering, while the third one hung back, half hiding behind the mule. Alan vaulted easily over the fence and let the horses crowd up to him. The big black horse nuzzled hopefully at Alan's pockets.
"Didn't bring a treat today, sorry," Alan said, reaching up to scratch behind its ears. "This is Arrow," he told Jessica, who came closer a little hesitantly. The horse seemed enormous up close. When she hesitantly reached out to pet his shoulder, he nudged his nose against her arm with surprising gentleness.
"I got him from a racetrack,"
Alan said. "His sire was Alabaster—this isn't going to mean anything to you if you don't follow horseracing, but he set a record in the Triple Crown that still hasn't been broken, and the foals he sired usually went on to become champions themselves. So they had pretty high hopes for Arrow." He reached up and scratched Arrow behind the ears. The horse leaned its big head against his chest, cuddling up close as much as an enormous animal like that could.
"But something went wrong?" Jessica guessed. It must have, for a champion racing horse to end up on a rescue farm. Arrow didn't look old enough to be retired.
Alan nodded. "Day before his first race, he suddenly starts limping. No one could find a cause. The vet told them he might get better with a lot of physiotherapy, but he'd probably never win a race again. His owner didn't feel like investing money in a horse that wasn't going to make him rich. I got him in trade for one of the goats. Took me a year of work to get him walking properly again, but—well, look at him now." He gave Arrow's shoulder a nudge towards the far end of the paddock. "Come on, go!"
Arrow gave a low snort and sprang into motion, cantering off towards the end of the paddock. His coat shone in the sun like black silk, glossy black tail streaming behind him; he seemed to almost fly over the grass.
"He's gorgeous," Jessica said.
Alan smiled at Arrow, who'd turned around at the far end of the paddock and was trotting back towards him. "Isn't he? Fast as hell, too. If they'd had a little more patience with him, he'd probably have been the record breaker they were hoping for."
"Well, he seems pretty happy here with you," Jessica said. Arrow was nuzzling lovingly at Alan's hair.
"Yeah," Alan said. "I try to make sure they've got it good with me."
He nudged Arrow's nose out of the way and nodded towards the grey horse that was still hanging back at the end of the paddock, hiding behind the mule. "That's Glimmer. I only got her a month ago. She's been through some things, and she's only just starting to get used to us. She's made friends with Bucket, though—the mule—so that's a good sign, at least. Sometimes, if a horse has too many bad experiences, they become really withdrawn. But Glimmer's a friendly one, just shy."
The stocky grey horse on his other side crowded in closer to be petted. Alan laughed. "Yeah, I haven't forgotten about you, don't worry. This is Grace. I got her from a fair. She spent fifteen years carting children around a track. I figure she'd earned her retirement."
"Hey, Grace," Jessica said. Grace only came up to her shoulder, which made her a lot less intimidating than the towering Arrow.
As a kid she'd used to devour books about ponies and horses, and there'd been a couple months where she'd hounded her mom for riding lessons constantly. But they'd lived in New York City, and her mother hadn't thought it was suitable hobby, anyway; too time-consuming, and, Jessica figured in retrospect, probably involving too much dirt and too many smells for her mother's tastes.
When had she turned into such a city girl that she'd gotten nervous around horses? Jessica held one hand out, palm up the way she'd seen Alan do it, to let Grace sniff her. Grace nudged into her hand until Jessica petted her nose. Her pelt was very fine and velvet-soft.
"She's beautiful," Jessica said.
"Would you like to go for a ride?" Alan asked.
"I'd have no idea what I'm doing."
Alan shrugged. "Don't worry. Grace has carried little kids and beginners around all her life. She's not going to let you fall."
Grace leaned her nose on Jessica's shoulder, snuffling gently. Jessica did badly want to go for a ride. "All right," she said.
The door to the stable swung open just as they arrived. A young woman came out with a bridle in her hand. She was maybe eighteen or nineteen at a guess. Her hair was dyed a streaky, fading blue color, and she had three separate piercings in her nose.
"Hey, Alan!" she said cheerfully.
Alan returned the greeting with a wave. "Jessica, this is Nina. She's spending the summer in Mountainville, helping me out with the animals. Nina, Jessica."
"Hi!" Jessica said. "Nice to meet you."
"You too!" Nina said. "Were you going for a ride? You can leave Squeak with me if you want, I was just going to take Glimmer around the track on the line a couple times."
"Yeah, that'd be great," Alan said, handing over the basket with the sleeping kitten.
Alan and Nina spent a few minutes discussing some problem they apparently had with their horse food supplier, something technical about grains that Jessica didn't quite follow. She was happy to see the easy, respectful way Alan talked to her, though. In the world of big law firms, she spent way too much time around guys who tended to talk down to their young female employees.
Alan watched Nina walk away with a smile. "She's a good kid," he said, in a low voice. "I wasn't sure it was gonna work out at first, but she's great with the horses. I think she had some trouble back home. Mountainville's a good place if you need to get away from everything for a while, you know?"
Jessica looked around at the rolling green meadows and the peaceful little villa and had no trouble believing that.
Alan saddled the horses for them. He had to help Jessica into the saddle, which should have been embarrassing; Jessica felt sharply aware of the fact that she was a big woman, and also not exactly the most graceful person in the world. But Alan lifted her up as if she weighed nothing.
"There's a strap at the front of the saddle. If you feel nervous just hang on to that, okay? You can let Grace worry about everything else. She'll take good care of you."
He swung himself easily up onto Arrow's back. They made one hell of a picture together, the huge powerful stallion and Alan with his broad shoulders and easy, confident posture. They could have been a statue come to life, a general and his horse ready to ride into battle together.
Jessica shook off the fanciful thought with a smile. Arrow was prancing in place with impatience.
"Ready?" Alan asked.
"Let's go."
Alan nudged his horse into motion. He'd been right, this wasn't hard. Grace's gait was so smooth she had no problem getting used to the motion.
Alan steered them down a shaded path into the woods. A cool breeze carried the scent of pines and flowers to her nose. Jessica took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"This is wonderful. Thank you."
***
It was a good thing Arrow didn't need Alan to guide him on the familiar path, otherwise he would've gotten them lost in the woods for sure. He couldn't seem to keep his eyes off Jessica. She was looking around the old pine forest, a smile on her face. Seeing it through her eyes, Alan was struck all over again by the beauty of the place. The trees bent over them like a sheltering dome, sunlight filtering golden through the leaves. Tiny white flowers covered the forest floor in a dense carpet. The air was heavy with the scent of the pines.
Jessica's eyes were wide with awe, taking it all in. The bear inside Alan rumbled with warm pride. His mate liked his territory.
Jessica rode with one hand holding on tight to the saddle strap. It was obvious that she'd never been on a horse before. She was doing well for a beginner, though. She had good natural balance, and a feel for Grace's movements. Alan thought wistfully of what a pleasure it would be to teach her how to ride properly. She had the talent for it. In a few months, she could be very good. If he could convince her to stick around…
Alan's chest felt light with hope. He'd been so close to giving up on ever finding his mate. And now she was there beside him, and she was happy.
There was a long straight stretch of sandy path coming up ahead, rising gently up a flat hill. The best galloping track in these woods. Alan took a considering look at Jessica, who'd finally gotten comfortable enough in the saddle to let go of the safety strap, and was moving easily with Grace's motions.
"How do you feel about a little gallop?" he asked.
Jessica tilted her head skeptically. "I don't know! You don't think I'm going to fall off?"
"Grace isn
't going to let you fall, don't worry. All you have to do is hang on and trust her. She's been carrying beginners around all her life," Alan said.
"I'd love to try it," Jessica said.
She gripped the strap with both hands and sat up straighter in the saddle, squaring her shoulders. Alan's heart swelled, looking at her. She was damn brave, his mate.
Not that there was really anything to worry about. Alan urged Arrow into an easy canter, Grace keeping pace beside him. Grace's slow, steady canter was as comfortable as sitting on a rocking horse.
Jessica relaxed as she realized that nothing scary was going to happen. She bent forward a little in the saddle, laughing, the wind blowing the hair back from her face.
"Can we go any faster?" she asked.
"We sure can!" Alan said. Arrow was coiled like a spring beneath him, pure energy just waiting for a release. All it took was easing up on the reins a little, and the stallion picked up his pace. Alan still had to rein him in, of course—going full speed, Arrow would've left Grace in the dust in seconds—but Jessica whooped with glee at their sudden speed.
Arrow snorted, tossing his head. Alan gathered the reins a little tighter. Arrow wanted to run, but he was going to have to hold back today. As exhilarating as it was to let the racehorse stretch to his full speed, it couldn't compare to this, flying down the path with his mate beside him, looking over to see the exhilarated grin on her face.
The horses slowed to a halt by themselves at the top of the hill, knowing as well as Alan did that the path down the other side was rocky and steep.