Chapter 6
Naomi chuckled to herself,happy that she had finished the paperwork before the allotted time she gave herself. Since today was the day before Thanksgiving, she had gone in to make sure the paperwork was up to speed, then she was going home to make a dish for the dinner the next day. It wasn’t much, but it was something her grandmother used to make for the holiday, and she missed tasting it. She filed the papers where they belonged, then in her haste, she backed her wheelchair up, and swung around to head toward the door. She cried out, when her knee made contact with the desk, and moved it a good three inches. She didn’t know what shocked her more. The fact that she thought she felt the impact, the sound it made, or that she moved the desk. She shook her head, made sure she had cleared the desk, then went out to the main part of the barn. The first person she saw was Denver.
“Hey!” She called out and wheeled up to the gate to the arena. The man had been about to mount Daisy. She waited until he walked over, bringing the horse with him.
“Hey. I thought you’d left already.”
“No, I was finishing up paperwork. I’m good until I come back on Friday. What are you doing? Other than about to exercise Daisy. You know you don’t have to do that every day, right?”
“Right, but it calms me. Not that I have a lot of shit to think about, not since Opal and I ironed everything out, but I enjoy it.”
“Yeah, I hear you. Not only do I miss the ability to walk, but I also miss the ability to hop on a horse whenever I want, without all the fuss and muss.”
“I totally understand that, but don’t forget that the fuss and muss is to keep you safe. You don’t need to be dropped on your head.”
“Yeah, I know.” Naomi shook her head and chuckled. “I totally understand. I’m going home now, you’ll make sure all the lights are off?”
“Yes, Pru’s down one of the aisles, I forget which one. Perry and Lloyd are down another. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but we’re going to try something. Now that it’s just the three of us here, oh, and Pru.”
“What are you going to do?” Naomi froze at his words. “Is it dangerous?”
“We hope not.”
“Explain!”
“Strawberry wants to see if he can’t ride Maxine. We thought that with me on Daisy, and Perry on Peaches, we can be on either side of her, to guide her.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but you might want to bring her crew with her. Two things might happen if you don’t.”
“Which is? And by her crew, are you saying Celine, Lydia, and Misty, the donkeys and mule?”
“Yes, her crew. The two things I mentioned is that one, she might not move without them. Two, she might buck, dump Lloyd off, and take off, possibly doing further damage to herself. We all know that Tom says that she’s not completely blind, but she might not take to Daisy and Peaches crowding her, especially when she’s not used to them being by her side all the time.”
“Oh, we didn’t think of that.” Denver shook his head in concern. “I’ll go tell them to bring the others. While I got you here, can I ask a favor of you?”
“Sure, what’s on your mind?”
“Is there any way you can schedule Opal and I off for Christmas?” He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head. “I know it’s a lot to ask, but I’d like for us to have two weeks off, and return after the New Year.”
“Wow, that’s a long time, can I ask what you’re going to do?”
Denver looked over both shoulders, then leaned closer to her. He even put his head and shoulders between the rungs in the metal fence to get closer to her. “I want to take her home to see her father. She said she hasn’t been home in almost three years, maybe four.” He backed away, and straightened. Again, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you know her story?”
“No.”
“Okay, then I won’t get into details. All I will tell you is that they are still very close. What happened to her never affected her relationship with him. She left because of other things. You’ll understand when you hear the story. I want to give her seeing her father as a Christmas gift. If we get approval for time off, then I’ll contact him to let him know we’re coming. However,” he paused and grinned at her. “I’m keeping the trip a secret from her. Oh, and I want to drive. I don’t want to mess with the airports at the holidays. Also, when I contact him, and he says he won’t be available, then I’ll let you know and we won’t take the time off.
“I don’t blame you. As I see it right now, I don’t see a problem with it. However, can I get back to you on Friday when I look deeper into any time off requests?”
“Absolutely, and thank you, Naomi. Now, I’m going to do something you hate, and escort you to your truck.” Denver tied off the reins to Daisy, climbed the fence, and hopped down, he stood beside her and held out his arm, non-verbally telling her to lead the way.
Naomi shook her head and wheeled herself forward, when they got to the door, Denver opened it for her, and she jerked back. “Damn, that’s bright.” She fumbled in the small bag strapped to the side of her chair and withdrew a pair of sunglasses. Once they were on, she breathed easier. “Better.” She hated it, but twenty feet before they got to her truck, Denver had to push her because of the mud from the melting snow. He wheeled her right up to the driver’s door, opened it, then wheeled her closer. He held onto the chair as she gripped the door, and a handle by the back of the seat. In seconds she was in, and turned to reach for her chair. She was grateful Denver hadn’t folded it for her, and in two minutes, she was behind the wheel and the truck was running.
“Thank you, I never would have made it through that mud.”
“When will you be back to work?”
“Regular time Friday morning.”
“Okay, I’ll make sure there are some boards put down.”
“They’re in the room behind the quarantine pen.” Naomi grinned as she informed him. “Before she leaves, talk to Pru, she knows where they are. I’m not being snarky, but in the past, we’ve laid them down for me to get in, picked them up, and laid them down at night, and picked them up after I left.”
“Let me guess, it prevents them from getting messy with mud and snow?”
“Correct. It was something Pru and Opal did for me.”
“Got it. I’ll go talk to Strawberry and Perry, then I’ll go seek Pru out. Drive carefully. When I came in, the road was muddy, but this snow is melting fast. Will you be okay at home?”
“Yes, I shoveled and salted the ramp on my way down it today. The morning and afternoon sun should have it nice and clear.”
“Great, text me if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll see you tomorrow at the main house.” He stepped back as she shut the door, then turned and left.
Naomi put her truck in gear, and because she always backed into her parking spot, she was able to pull right out. Ten minutes later she made the loop in her driveway and made sure the driver’s door of her truck was even with the base of the ramp. It took five minutes to get the chair and herself out, but she made it, and grateful the ramp was clear, she wheeled herself to her front door. Once inside, she removed her jacket, then made her way to the kitchen. Because she knew what she wanted to make, she got the ingredients out, and while the water was boiling for the rice, she made a pot of coffee.
An hour later, Naomi backed away from the refrigerator and laughed at herself. “Done, now, lunch, shower, living room with a good book.” She looked at the clock and scowled. “Forget lunch.” She grabbed an apple and started munching on it. “I’ll shower and wait for a couple of hours, then have dinner.” Sometimes, to keep herself sane, she would speak her thoughts out loud. Nine times out of ten, it was just to hear another person talk. She ate her apple, then wheeled herself into her bedroom. When she found herself humming a song she’d heard on the radio on the way home, she accessed her music app on her phone, and tuned into a station. She set the phone on the table next to the door to the bathroom, cranked up the volume, gathered her clothes, and rolled into the bathroom. After making sure she had all her items where they belonged in the shower, she grabbed the extra towels and tossed them on the closed seat of the toilet. She wheeled herself right up to the walk-in shower, but instead of taking her chair into the shower, which there was plenty of room to do, she preferred not to, she moved herself from her chair to the bench already set up in the shower. Satisfied with how easily she’d made the move, she grinned as she turned on the water, gave a little yelp as it warmed up, but then took her shower. She took longer to spend a few extra minutes on washing her hair, and doing a deep conditioner on it. As she did, she smiled when she was able to hear the music, and began humming along with it. While washing her legs, she cocked her head to the side and saw a gigantic black bruise on the outside of her left knee, confused as to how she’d gotten it, then remembered not moving away from the desk far enough as she’d slammed her knee into the desk. Shrugging, she continued to wash, actually dancing in place as the song changed to one that she used to line dance to all the time.
When she was finally ready to get out, she turned off the water, reached out and grabbed a towel, then dried her hair, wrapped that around her head, and when she reached for the next towel, she placed it over the seat of her wheelchair. Dancing along with the music, she gripped the chair, hefted herself up and started to swing her body toward it. She gave a yelp when the chair slipped out from under her and the last thing she knew was her head hit the front of the toilet as she saw the chair skid across the bathroom. She actually called out in pain, but that was impossible, because she hadn’t been able to feel her legs for five years or more. The next thing she knew, her world went black.