8. Smelling of Spices
Smelling of Spices
The rest of the week was full to bursting.
Not only did we get new riders, but we got new boarding horses too–even more than Casey had warned me were coming.
Harper, of course, used her community college classes as an excuse not to do any work.
Jaelyne… tried. As usual, though, she was never at a single task for more than ten minutes before something else became far more important than finishing whatever she was doing.
Which meant that if Derrick and Brianna hadn’t shown up for their part-time hours, I would have been all on my own.
But for some reason, in spite of all the work I rushed around to complete, time dragged by.
And rather than feeling accomplished, every time I finished one item on my to-do list, three more seemed to pop up.
It might have also seemed slow because Asher wasn’t texting as much as he had that first day.
He had some important work briefing he had to prepare for, apparently, which meant he could text first thing in the morning and last thing at night.
They were always simple texts, telling me good morning or asking me how my day had been, but nothing deep.
And though I tried to play it cool, I found quickly that I was hanging on his every word.
Which made it all the more aggravating when instead of his words, I would open my phone to find a new text from Casey telling me what to do and where to be.
And I found myself wishing more than ever that he were nearby, where we could really talk about each day together.
I hated to admit it, but I was in exceptional danger of falling for this guy. And if I had any semblance of sense, I would hold my horses and slow down. Jumping into an emotional relationship–even if it was only one by phone with a few text messages a day–was the last thing I needed to rush into.
“But why?” my cousin asked when I met her in the coffee shop that Saturday.
Casey was off at another equine conference in California, which meant I finally got lunch to myself.
So I’d called up my cousin, Amanda, and invited her to lunch at a local coffee shop.
We got our hot drinks and bowls of pumpkin soup and made our way to the outside dining area, where we could enjoy the mid-September breeze while feeling cozy in our sweaters.
“Amanda, I’ve only known him for two weeks, and I’ve seen him all of two times in person,” I pointed out.
“Hardly the ideal time to be falling head over heels.” I took a sip of my latte, letting out a long sigh of contentment as the warm cinnamon milk slid down my throat and warmed me from the inside. It really did feel like fall.
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Ella, he’s a man with a successful career who is obviously interested in you. You’re an adult. He’s an adult. It’s not like Casey gets a say in this.”
“Ew,” I gagged. “I never implied that she did.”
But Amanda ignored me and went on. “Besides, if what you’re telling me is true, Margaret adores him. And I’d say she’s a pretty good judge of character.” She gave me a challenging look as she took a sip from her own cup.
“I know,” I sighed. “I just… I don’t want to make a bad decision because I’m lonely.”
Amanda shrugged. “Well, at least you’re admitting that you’re lonely.”
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
Amanda rolled her eyes. “Look, I want to tell you all about the insanity that was my day, so before we run out of time, I will say this once, and I want you to listen to me carefully.”
I let out a huff, but knew better than to interrupt her. She would never shut up if I did.
“You hardly ever date because you’re always at the ranch. The ranch will survive now and then without you.”
“But–” I said, but she kept going.
“It’s not a sin to respond when a man makes his interest known. And this man is definitely making his interest known. As far as we’re aware, he’s not into anything illicit. He’s a nice churchgoing man, and he’s not turned off by your obsession with taking care of your stepmother’s horses for her.”
“They were my horses first,” I grumbled, glaring down at my soup.
“Now that we’ve established that,” Amanda said, sitting back and grinning at me, “I need to tell you what happened in the office today!”
When I got home that afternoon, I found Jaelyne staring out the front window with a frown.
“What’s up, babe?” I asked her. “What are you looking at?”
“It’s that man again,” she said. “The one you don’t like. He says he’s here for his lesson, but I didn’t tell him when you’d be back.”
I hurried to the window to look at the man she was staring at on the porch. And immediately whipped out my phone and dialed Casey’s number.
No answer.
Annoyed, I called her back again.
Casey answered on my third call.
“I’m at a business luncheon!” she hissed. “What is wrong?”
“I want to know what Ron Kostman is doing on our back porch,” I snapped. “Because after our last lesson, I told you that I wasn’t going to do any more sessions with him!”
Casey huffed. “Ella, it’s one hour–”
“No.” I looked up at the ceiling and let out my own huff. “He’s rude, doesn’t listen, and he has a dirty mouth. We discussed this, and you promised that if he signed up for any more lessons, you would give them to him!”
“And I will!” she said, her voice sounding slightly more shrill. “But if you haven’t noticed, I’m not available to give any lessons at the moment. If you just take this one–”
“No.” I shook my head, fully aware that my younger stepsister was watching me with wide, curious eyes. “I’ll tell him that there was some confusion with the scheduling, and that you’ll be here next week to teach him.” And before she could respond, I hung up.
“Wow!” Jaelyne breathed, her eyes sparkling. “Mom’s going to be mad when she gets back!”
I raised my eyebrows at her. “Why? Do you think I should go out there and teach him?”
“Ugh! No, he’s gross.” She made a face. “I just hope I get to see Mom’s face when she gets home!
” And with that, she scampered off to her room, already typing something out a million miles a minute on her phone, no doubt sharing the drama on her newest social media app, which she was way too young to be enjoying.
With a long sigh and a prayer, I went outside, wishing very much that Derrick had been scheduled for that day.
He wouldn’t have had any issues sending Ron on his way.
But he wasn’t on duty, and I certainly wasn’t sending Jaelyne or even Harper to talk to him.
Which meant it was up to me to get rid of him.
“It’s about time,” Ron called as soon as I stepped outside.
“I’ve been waiting ten minutes for my lesson to begin.
” His words were impatient, but the way his eyes gleamed as he spoke told me everything I needed to know about his intentions.
He wanted to ruffle me. He liked playing those kinds of games, which was one of the reasons I’d refused to ever teach him again.
Now I forced a smile. “Sorry, Ron. Casey made a mistake with the scheduling today. But I just called her, and she says she can reschedule you for next week when she’s free.”
His smile disappeared. “I thought you were going to be my teacher.”
Ron Kostman wasn’t what I would call an athlete, but he wasn’t a small man either. He was taller and stronger than I was–a fact he seemed to be emphasizing as he took a few steps toward me, his chest puffed out as he did.
“I don’t see why you can’t just give me my lesson now,” he said, taking another step. “I already paid.”
“I think,” said a blessedly familiar masculine voice, “that she told you you need to wait until next week.”
Asher appeared around the corner. He was wearing blue jeans, boots, and a button-up flannel–the perfect uniform for riding horses. But his face was like stone as he stared the other man down.
Ron gave him a long, assessing look, and from what I could tell, he was not pleased.
“I paid for this time slot,” he said, turning back to me. “And if you’re going to keep this business alive, you’re going to have to–”
In three long strides, Asher was at my side, standing slightly in front of me so he was between us. “She will do nothing she doesn’t want to do,” he said in a low voice. “So I suggest you go home and get your lesson rebooked.”
The two men stared at one another for what felt like forever. But just as I was about to slip into the house to phone the sheriff, who happened to be one of our neighbors, Ron scoffed before stomping back to his car, muttering to himself as he went.
As soon as he’d pulled out of the parking lot and back onto the road, I let myself lean back against the house and let out a long, slow sigh. “Thank you,” I breathed. “I didn’t know how I was going to get rid of him.”
“Why does your stepmother let men like that onto the property at all?” Asher asked, still frowning deeply in the direction Ron’s car had gone.
I gave him a wry smile. “Because my stepmother’s spending habits far outpace the income this place brings in.”
He turned and looked down at me. “It’s that bad?”
I gave a humorless chuckle. “It didn’t use to be.
” Then I stood and began gathering a rope someone had left out.
“But my stepmother loves to travel, and there are far too many equine conferences calling her name for her to miss out.” Then I shook my head to clear it.
“But… you’re here!” And this time, I couldn’t help smiling. “I didn’t know you were coming!”
He smiled too. “I… might have kept my identity a secret so your stepmother couldn’t try to spoil it.”
I blinked at him. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
He nodded at the week’s riding roster, which was hung on a nail beside the sliding glass door. “I’m actually your next student, but I used my middle name and my mother’s maiden name so your stepmother wouldn’t know.”
I stared at him for a moment before laughing. “That was brilliant! Knowing her, she probably would have tried giving you the lesson just to spite me.”
“She doesn’t give many lessons then, I take it?” he asked.