11. Glitter and Pumpkins
Glitter and Pumpkins
“So.” I stepped back and gave myself a once-over in Jaelyne’s floor-length mirror. “What do you think?”
Jaelyne studied me. “You need more glitter.”
“What?” I laughed. “You’ve put glitter on every square inch of me. Next you’re going to want to glitter my horse!”
“Oh, I already did that.” Jaelyne flipped her hair. “I put a lot of glitter in her mane.”
Normally, I would have reminded Jaelyne to be careful when doing things to the horses.
She wasn’t always as aware around horses as I wished she would be.
But I was in too good of a mood to lecture her tonight, and the glitter wouldn’t hurt Nevada at all.
In fact, my mother had used it for her own horse back when she’d ridden in the parade.
“Do you like the new outfit?” I asked, straightening my shirt.
“Oh, it’s perfect!” Jaelyne jumped up and down and clapped her hands. “How did you find it so fast?”
I grinned. “Never doubt a woman on a shopping mission.”
It really was perfect. I’d gone with a teal long-sleeved silky button-up shirt with silver filigree and silver buttons all up the front.
It was far more fitted than my usual riding clothes, but that was typical of American show outfits for women.
Instead of the usual matching riding pants, however, which were often made of leather or jeans, I’d chosen a flared jean skirt with matching teal rhinestones that made it sparkle in the light.
My earrings–an old pair of my mother’s–and my necklace sparkled as well. I’d even shined up my boots.
My horse, Nevada, was similarly adorned. She was wearing her mane in braids, each tied with a little teal ribbon.
“How are you going to ride the horse in a skirt?” Jaelyne asked, surveying my skirt with sudden skepticism.
I laughed. “I’ll be riding sidesaddle, my lady!”
Jaelyne’s eyes grew large. “You can do that?”
I winked at her. “Just because I’ve taught you everything you know doesn’t mean I’ve taught you everything I know.”
Jaelyne rolled her eyes. It was common knowledge that no matter who tried to teach Jaelyne to ride, she just couldn’t quite get the hang of it. Or rather, she didn’t want to get the hang of it. But she’d learned more of her incomplete knowledge from me than anyone else, so I’d taken it as a win.
“I’m going to go get Nevada in the trailer now,” I said, grabbing my bag. “I’ll meet you all there at the end of the parade.”
“I wish I could go with you,” Jaelyne whined.
“I do too,” I said with a sad smile. “But your mom is in charge when it comes to your whereabouts, so just make sure I hear you cheering when I ride past wherever you’re sitting.”
Jaelyne didn’t love this, but as she was a minor and Casey’s daughter, there was little I could do.
If she’d been my daughter, I’d have changed plenty of things about her life.
Things like not allowing her to have a smartphone for several more years and not giving in whenever she threw a fit about something that didn’t go her way.
But for all her flaws, I’d met Jaelyne when she was only four, and as spoiled as she was, she had loved me when no one else from her family had.
And she was the closest thing to a real sister that I’d ever had.
When I got to the parade prepping zone, I felt myself relax in a way I hadn’t all week. People smiled and waved as I found my place and unloaded Nevada from the trailer, and even more called out greetings as I brushed her down.
“Look at you, lady!”
I turned around to find Belle hurrying toward me, a steaming cup of coffee in her hands.
“Hey!” I called. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, getting Margaret’s coffee as we wait for the parade to start.
She’s closer to the front this year.” Belle glanced at my outfit.
“You look adorable, but aren’t you going to be freezing cold in that by the time the parade starts?
It’s already been delayed by an hour, so it’s going to be dark by the time we begin. ”
“Oh.” In my rush to enjoy one of the few things Casey hadn’t yet taken from me, I’d completely forgotten about the temperature. It was now the third week in September, which meant that once the sun went down, the temperature sank too.
And it sank fast.
“I’ll be pressed up against Nevada,” I said, turning and running my hand down her beautiful reddish-brown coat. “She’ll keep us both warm.”
Belle sent another doubtful look at my bare calves between the bottom of the skirt and above my boots, but she didn’t say anything else. Only told me to have fun before hurrying off in the direction of Margaret’s float.
As she ran down the road, I watched her go.
Margaret’s float was always fascinating.
For as long as I could remember, she had a little flat trailer bed that she covered in little bookshelves.
Each bookshelf was loaded with books, and somehow–though no one actually knew her secret–she made the air around her portable “shop” glitter.
Floating with the glitter were open books suspended in the air above the tiny shop, along with several colorful teacups and saucers.
Now that I knew more about Margaret, I wished very much that I had the time to go and poke around her little bookshop trailer.
But I knew better than to leave my place in line.
And knowing Margaret, no matter what I found on or above it, she would just laugh and say that it took lots of concentration or some other silly nonsense like that.
Although, knowing what I did now… I wondered how much of it was nonsense after all. I mean, if she had really given me a book that wrote itself according to the events of my life, what other surprises was she capable of?
As we waited for the parade to begin, I chatted with those who waited around me.
There was Tim, who owned his own woodworking shop.
He was riding an adult-sized toy rocking horse with motorized wheels on the bottom.
And behind me was Francine with her granddaughter.
They were going to be riding in the back of her husband’s pickup truck along with a dozen baskets of fruit from their pick-your-own farm’s harvest. I’d known both families for my entire life, so conversation was easy and light–a far cry from my usual conversations at home.
Still, I couldn’t feel at ease the way I usually did. And though I hated to admit it, I knew exactly why. Something was missing.
Or rather… someone.
Was it ridiculous that I was wishing desperately for a certain officer to be there?
It absolutely was. I’d only known the man for two and a half weeks, and he lived in another state.
After seeing him two weekends in a row, it wasn’t realistic for me to hope that he would appear again this weekend.
His base was just over six hours away. Coming to Colorado three weekends in a row was a great way to put some serious miles on his car.
And yet… I still wished he were there.
Why is that? I wondered as we were herded to the middle of the street.
Was it because I was starved for friendship?
Outside of my sporadic coffee dates with my cousin, I didn’t have much interaction with friends.
I didn’t have time. Did I only wish he were here because he provided the chance to talk?
Or was it because he was the one I loved talking to?
I didn’t have time to answer myself because the parade director began to call for everyone to get ready to begin. The parade had begun, and our group was up to walk next.
The rhinestones on my outfit glittered under the streetlights above.
I did my best to smile and wave, although I was really beginning to regret the sassy jean skirt I’d chosen over jeans.
It was long by jean skirt standards, its hem below my knees, and it was flowy enough that it allowed for a wide range of motion.
But the cold had begun to creep in and around my legs, and mounting Nevada while wearing the skirt in a ladylike manner was a true feat of acrobatic talent.
Besides, he wasn’t going to be here after all. What was the point?
“Ella! Ella, we’re here!”
I turned at the sound of Jaelyne’s voice, smiling in spite of myself.
Jaelyne had loved the skirt when I’d put it on, and the smile on her face now was really what mattered.
Especially considering the sour look on Casey’s face and the look of boredom on Harper’s. I waved down at her and blew a kiss.
“Ella! Ella Verre!”
No. It couldn’t be.
I froze momentarily before turning and looking all around for whoever had called my name. It took me a few seconds of searching before I found them. And sure enough, my ears had not deceived me. Asher and his father were standing on the other side of the street, both of them waving and smiling.
A stupid girlish giddiness shot through me as I beamed and smiled back.
He’d come.
The rest of the parade was like floating through a dream. Everyone was smiling. People waved, and I waved back. And the whole time, I was counting the steps to the end of the parade route, knowing that Asher had come.
Unfortunately, he was not the one to find me first after I’d finished the route. I was removing Nevada’s saddle and telling her what a good girl she had been when Casey appeared beside me.
“What was that?” she demanded in a low voice. She was looking at my show costume with disgust. “Where is our company T-shirt?”
“Everyone knows who we are.” I gave her a wry smile. “I thought I’d make us look a little flashy tonight.”
“You look ridiculous!” Casey pinched the fabric of my sleeve between her fingers and gave it a shake.
I gave her a look. “And you didn’t? Back when you rode the competitive circuit?”
“I wasn’t representing someone else’s business! Ella, look at me!”
I’d been looking past her shoulder in an attempt to ignore her, but at this, I reluctantly made eye contact with her.
“What, Casey?”
Casey’s eyes blazed. “If you think you can just run my business into the–”
Asher appeared behind her, a big grin on his face.
“Asher!” I exclaimed, both for his sake and for Casey’s. “What are you doing here?”
Casey gave me one more warning look before pasting a saccharine smile on her face. “How nice of you to visit again so soon,” she said. “Your dad must be so excited.”
“I’m happy to have him whenever he shows up,” his dad said with an affectionate grin as he clapped his son on the back. “I’m getting a bit spoiled now that he’s within driving distance.”
“That’s so sweet,” Casey said. Then she turned back to me. “I’ve moved the trailer up there. Let’s get Nevada loaded so we can go find our stall at the fairgrounds.”
And there she went. The rest of my night, according to Casey, should be filled with work. I’d had my fun, and now it was time for the rest of the family to have theirs.
“Actually,” Asher said, stepping forward, “I was planning on getting something to eat, and I thought Ella could show me where the best food truck might be.”
“You’re so sweet,” Casey said with her practiced laugh. “But I’m afraid I need Ella to load up her horse and then unload her again at our stall. It’s a big night for us to try to get new clients.” She paused, then her eyes lit up. “But Harper could show you the best food trucks.”
Harper stared at her mother in surprise before looking up at Asher, and smiling. “Sure.” I didn’t miss the way she touched her hair and batted her eyelashes at him, and it took everything in me not to roll my eyes and gag.
I turned to give Asher an apologetic look, but he was already stepping toward me, his arm outstretched.
Taking my hand, he gave my stepmother a kind but firm smile.
“Unfortunately, I’m not here for very long.
I’ve got to head back tomorrow, so I think I’m going to steal her away for a bit.
” And with that, he led me away from my stepmother and toward the fairgrounds where the crowd from the parade had begun to migrate.
“That was quite impressive,” I laughed as he tucked my arm into his.
He shrugged. “I do have to go back tomorrow. And I’ve got priorities. Which means I don’t have the time for her to waste.” His eyes glinted, and his mouth twitched.
I felt my face flush with pleasure as the warmth from his arm spread to my hand and up my own arm. At the risk of sounding cliché, my Prince Charming had come.