The Stable Boy (20 page)

“Climb on up,” he said. I climbed the step ladder to the driver’s seat. He went around to the other side. He climbed up. “Ready to begin?”

“Yes, I am,” I said with child like enthusiasm.

“Put your foot on the brake and turn the key,” he said. I did as he instructed. “Now, move the shifter to the left and forward, easing your foot off the brake.”

“Okay,” I said, doing what he said. I felt the tractor jerk into gear.

“Place your foot on the gas and press gently,” he said. The tractor jerked forward and started to roll. “Good, now push down a little harder.”

“Okay,” I said. The tractor picked up speed.

“Good, now push down on the clutch and ease off the gas. Move the shifter straight back.”

“Okay,” I said. The gears made a grinding noise. I winced.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You just need to push the clutch in further before you shift.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Now, push back down on the gas and get it going as fast as you can.”

“Okay,” I said. I pushed the gas pedal down, bringing the tractor up to speed.

“Push the clutch in as far as it will go while you ease off the gas. Push the shifter to the right and forward.”

“Okay,” I said waiting for the grinding noise to take place again. This time it did not make a noise when it shifted into gear. We were coming up on the fence line quickly. I turned the wheel. Josh almost fell out. He gripped the overhang tighter. The tractor slowed down, but quickly regained speed.

“You are doing great,” he said.

“Thank you,” I said. “Are you okay? I thought for sure I was going to lose you.”

“It is okay,” he said. “I have fallen out of tractors before.”

“What?” I asked.

“Yeah, I was a teenager goofing off with my friends. I ended up with two broken ribs and a broken arm.”

“Trying to impress a girl?”

“Yes,” he said smiling.

“Was it Vanessa?”

“No, she was like my big sister. She laughed at me when I told her what happened. She said that is what I get for trying to impress Wendy. She would never go out with me. I was two years younger than her and her boyfriend was on the football team. He would probably kill me if he found out that I was crushing on her.”

“Is she the one you always go to for advice on relationships?”

“She is, but I have yet to go to her about us,” he said.

“What about Doc Russell?”

“Please, he is just as clueless as I am,” he laughed.

“That is so mean,” I laughed. “I think he did pretty good with Angelica.”

“I am sure he asked Vanessa’s advice,” Josh said.

“You know, now that I think about, he probably did.”

“I would not doubt it,” Josh said with a smile.

“Will you go to Vanessa?”

“I may,” he said. “When you are ready to allow me to tell people about us. I know the bet is squashed now that I am going to be at Alison’s while you guys are out.”

“Those card games don’t last past nine,” I said. “You could be a lot earlier than you think. You could still win the bet.”

“I will win it,” he said.

“I don’t even know if I am going to come home that night. I may spend it at Vanessa’s. She wants to drive and let me drink for once.”

“That could be dangerous,” he said. “You may let the cat out of the bag.”

“I may, but I am pretty good at holding my liquor. We will have to see what takes place.”

“If I get weird looks from her before I go to tell her, then I will know you told her.”

“Yes, I may not remember telling her.”

“All the girls you are going with may look at me a little funny next time they see me,” he said laughing.

“That is true. You never know what is going to come out of my mouth when I get drunk.”

“Oh jeez,” he said. “Are you guys just going to drink and hang out?”

“No, there is a concert going on,” I said. “We all like Christian Kane and he is going to be there. I need to call Alison later so we can figure out what time we are leaving. The amount of promotion that is taking place over there for it, we had better get there early or we may not get in.”

“Oh wow,” he said. “Yeah, you had better call her. I think your lesson is done for the day. You did wonderful. Next week we will have you drive the tiller. It is a bit more difficult, but you will get it with some practice.”

“Thank you,” I said smiling as I came to a stop and turned off the tractor. “You were a wonderful teacher. It was a lot easier than I thought.”

“I am glad that you thought so,” he said.

“I did. I am going to give Alison a call. I’ll see you in a little bit.”

“Okay,” he said leaning down to give me a kiss. I returned the kiss and climbed off of the tractor. I walked back to the house. I was on the porch before I heard the engine start up again. He watched me walk the fifty feet to the front door. I went inside and picked up the receiver. It rang before I could dial out.

“Hello,” I said.

“I have been trying to call you,” I heard Alison say.

“Sorry, I was just about to call you. I was out on the tractor with Josh.”

“Oh really,” she said.

“Yes, he was giving me a driving lesson.”

“Sure he was,” she said with a laugh.

“You are such a pervert,” I said, laughing. “He was. I asked him to teach me to use the equipment in case I end up alone again.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that.”

“I know, but it is a cautionary measure.”

“I can understand that, considering you never thought you would end up alone the first time.”

“Exactly,” I said. “So what’s up?”

“Well, I was calling to set up a time.”

“I am thinking we need to leave here about seven in order to get there with a little time to spare. You know that line is going to be long.”

“That is what I was thinking,” she said. “I am texting Vanessa now.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Do you think we should get a hold of Angelica, Susie and Stacie and let them know?”

“Yes, we don’t want them to be left out,” I said.

“We don’t have to tell them,” she said. “Vanessa said she will be ready and they are in the diner. She told them and they will be ready and meet us at Vanessa’s house so we can all go together.”

“Great,” I said. “At least we will not have to search for each other.”

“Exactly,” she said. “We go as a group, we leave as a group.”

“Yup, we may be a very drunk group, but we will still be together.”

“Yes, we will,” she said. “How did your lesson go?”

“It went well. The tractor is not as hard to drive as I thought.”

“Really? Well, that is good to know. If I ever need a lesson, I will come to you.”

“I’ll just send Josh over,” I said with a laugh.

“Oh Lord, don’t do that to me,” she laughed. “Thank you for coming over last night. I know how tired you were and Josh looked a little worse for wear.”

“Yeah, we came home and went right to sleep. I don’t think we would have made it much longer.”

“I was waiting for the two of you to fall asleep during the movie.”

“Thankfully, there was enough action to keep us both awake.”

“I don’t know how I would have explained it to Bob if you both passed out.”

“Yeah, that would have been a bit difficult.”

“Yes, it would have. Bob is happy that Josh is coming over. He really likes him.”

“Josh is happy for the invite. I told him that the games generally end early.”

“Yes, they do. These men can’t hang like their women can.”

“I know. They have no stamina.”

“I am sure Josh has plenty for them all.”

“That he does.”

“Uh-huh, that was obvious yesterday,” she laughed. I laughed with her. “I will let you go. I will see you tomorrow. I can’t wait.”

“Me either,” I said as Josh walked through the door. “Talk to you later.”

“Alison?” asked Josh.

“Yes, we have decided that we are leaving at seven tomorrow night. She also said that Bob is happy that you accepted his invitation to the game.”

“Good, I am glad he is. I am happy to participate. I cannot wait to see you in that little red dress.”

“Alison and Vanessa are both wearing black dresses. I dared to be different.”

“You are different than the both of them. You have your own unique way about you. That is why I like you so much, Claire.”

“Thank you,” I said, blushing.

“Why are you blushing? Every time I compliment you, you blush.”

“I can’t help it. I have never been one to be good at accepting compliments. It is just my bodies way of reacting.”

“Yeah, well I like the way your body reacts to me,” he said with a sly smile as he walked over to me, pinning me against the counter. His lips brushed mine. A shiver ran down my spine. Our eyes locked. The look in his ice blue eyes set my stomach on fire. I smiled. His lips enveloped my bottom lip. He gently sucked on it. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He ran his hands up my sides. He slowly moved them back down placing them under my pink t-shirt before moving them back up again. His slow caresses on my tingling skin make my knees weak. I did not know how much longer I would be able to stand upright. He sensed the slow downward motion of my body and wrapped his arms around my waist, picking me up and sitting me on the counter, never breaking his kiss once. I wrapped my legs around him, pulling him in closer. He moaned into my mouth. I felt it in the pit of my stomach. He caressed my breast, rubbing his thumbs over my rock hard nipples. It was my turn to let out a moan. I could feel my panties becoming wet. His ever present bulge was straining against his tight jeans. We both heard it at the same time.

A car pulled into the driveway. He pulled away. We look at the window to see Angelica and Richard. Josh stepped back and I got off the counter. He kissed my cheek.

“I will be right back,” he whispered in my ear. He disappeared down the hall and into the bathroom. I smiled as I made my way to the door. I open it as Richard was about to knock.

“Hi Doctor Russell and Angelica,” I said with a smile. Angelica grinned from ear to ear.

“Hey, Claire, is Josh here?”

“Yes, I believe he is in the bathroom at the moment. Come on in. Can I get you two something to drink?”

“Sure, I will have a glass of sweet tea, if you have any,” he said.

“What about you, Angelica?”

“I’ll have the same.”

“Okay, have a seat,” I said, walking over to the kitchen cabinet to get all of us some glasses. Angelica followed.

“Did we interrupt something?” she whispered.

“No, why would you say that?”

“You look a little flushed and it is not hot outside or in here.”

“I, um, was cleaning, that is all,” I said.

“Lair.”

“Shhhh,” I laughed. Josh reappeared from the back of the house.

“Hey, Rich, how are you?” he said extending his hand. “Hi Angelica.”

“Hey Josh,” said Rich, shaking Josh’s hand.

“Hi Josh,” Angelica said.

“Josh, can I talk to you about something?”

“Sure, Rich, what’s up?”

“Let’s go out on the porch?”

“Alright,” said Josh with a shrug. They both grabbed a glass of sweet tea and went out on the porch.

“Everything okay?” I asked Angelica.

“Everything is great,” she whispered. “He wants Josh to be his best man.”

“Oh, I am sure he would be thrilled to do it.”

“Rich is hoping so. So, tell me what is going on between the two of you?”

“There is nothing going on.”

“You are such a liar. I could tell at the party there was something there and when we arrived here I know we interrupted something, so spill the beans.”

“Seriously, there is nothing there,” I said. She gives me a knowing look. “Okay, maybe there is a little something.”

“There is more than a little something on his end. I can tell by the way he looks at you, Claire. He is head over heels for you.”

“I know, but I am not of him. At least, not yet.”

“What do you feel for him?”

“I am not sure. I like him. He is sweet, but I can’t give myself completely to him.”

“You are still mourning, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“If he loves you as much as I can see he does, he will be waiting when you have healed. Rich thinks the world of him. He says he has never met another person like him.”

“Alison and Vanessa feel the same.”

“What is stopping you?”

“My head. My heart says go full speed ahead. My head says put the brakes on, you don’t want to be hurt again.”

“Are you afraid he will run?”