Chapter 16
Issac
When we arrived at Sunlit Acres, I brought the girls into the main house. “Hallie, why don’t you take Amy up to your room? You guys can put your stuff away, and then I’ll meet you on the deck.” Hallie smiled and began to lead Amy upstairs.
“You can borrow some shorts from me so we can play and not worry about messing up your tights,” I heard her call as they disappeared.
I went into the kitchen and began rummaging through the fridge, grabbing the items I’d need to grill burgers.
I had just started making the patties when I heard them rushing down the stairs.
“Daddy, can we have some lemonade?” Hallie smiled as she opened the fridge, not really waiting for an answer.
She poured two glasses, and then handed one to Amy.
“Come on.” She motioned as she rushed over to the slider, opened it, and went outside.
I watched the two girls sit down on one of the loungers outside and begin chatting away.
It made me happy to see this. I was worried when we moved here that Hallie would have a hard time finding friends with it being summer and school not being in session.
We were kind of isolated where we were and I was constantly traveling for work.
If this sale went through today, it should provide me with time at home for a while.
I was hoping that the rest of the summer would be filled with training days and vet visits for Lucky Star.
“You girls hungry?” I called as I came out with a plate full of burgers. I set them down while I lit the grill.
“Starving.” Amy rubbed her stomach.
“So, what’s your mom painting today?” I placed the burgers on the grill. “She said she had an afternoon of painting planned.”
“A wall in town.” Amy rolled her eyes. “She’s been working on it for two weeks and it’s just a big white square.”
“A wall?” I was confused. I thought she worked at the flower shop.
“Yeah, my Aunt Carrie bought this wall to put a billboard on and she wants Mom to paint it and design it.”
“Oh, like an advertisement?” I flipped the burgers over as they sizzled.
“Kinda. My mom does PR work for local businesses, or at least she used to. She does all kinds of stuff now. She says she’ll do whatever she needs to do to pay the bills.” She pulled her legs up in front of her and wrapped her arms around them. “My mom works hard.” She placed her chin on her knees.
I didn’t want to pry, but I couldn’t help myself. Kids were usually very honest, and most of them were quite in tune with what was going on around them despite the adults in their lives trying to hide it. “Doesn’t your dad help?”
“My dad likes his whiskey more than me.” She looked off into the distance as the words fell from her lips. She started to get quiet, but then continued, “We left him. He used to yell at Mom a lot.”
My heart squeezed as anger boiled in my gut. “I’m sorry. Sometimes adults don’t think about how their words hurt kids.”
“Maybe.” Amy shrugged. “My mom says she can love me enough for both of them. I just feel bad because sometimes I think she needs someone to love her back. I mean, I love it here, but it’s not the same, ya know?” She looked up at me and then shook her head as if she were pushing the thoughts away.
“You girls ready to eat?” I scooped the burgers up and placed them on plates.
“We’re starving, Daddy.” Hallie jumped up and took a seat at the table.
“I’m going to run inside and get the fruit we cut up yesterday.
You girls go ahead and start.” I set the plates on the table, turned off the grill, and went inside to grab the fruit bowl.
I needed to take a minute to digest what Amy divulged.
I was angry, but I had no right to put myself in the middle of their lives.
Lou hadn’t shared any of this, and I needed to remember that.
I couldn’t act on my feelings until she shared her story with me.
I grabbed the fruit bowl and headed back outside. When I reached the table, the girls were chattering away and laughing. They had both almost finished their burgers, and Hallie was excitedly telling Amy about Lucky Star. “Daddy, can we go down to the barn after and see the horses?”
“Daddy has a meeting to talk about buying another Thoroughbred, but after I’m finished we can.” I scooped some fruit onto my plate and then passed the bowl to the girls.
“Can Craig show us then, please Daddy? I want to show Amy all the horses. She’s never ridden before. Do you think we could teach her?” Hallie was already up and cleaning her spot at the table.
“We need to talk to her mom about the riding first, and Craig might be busy.”
“I texted him. He’s not.” She grinned. My daughter was definitely persistent. She got that trait from her mother. Every day I watched Hallie, I could see bits and pieces of my late wife, June, in her.
“If Craig said he could, then you can go to the barn, but no riding today.” I wagged my finger at her and gave her a stern look. “I mean it, Hallie. No riding. For someone who doesn’t have any experience, that’s a way that they could really get hurt.”
“Ok, Daddy.” She clapped her hands and bounced on her feet. “Hurry up, Amy, and we can go see Lucky Star. She’s going to have a baby.” Amy shoved the last bite of food in her mouth and grabbed her plate, rushing after Hallie and leaving me to finish by myself on the deck.
Moments later, I could hear the laughter as the two girls ran through the yard heading for the barn, their ponytails swinging behind them. As I watched them run through the fields, I smiled at the thought that Hallie had found another little girl to be friends with.
Ooooooooo
Louisiana
I’d been sitting in the grass staring at this blank brick wall for an hour.
I brought my sketchbook thinking that maybe I’d get some inspiration, but so far all I’ve drawn is the Life in Bloom logo.
Carrie told me that I could do whatever I wanted.
I had a few drawings that I’d put together when she first asked me to do this, but the more I looked at them, the more I didn’t like them.
They just didn’t seem good enough and as doubt began to fill my head, so did the words that Charlie used to echo.
He never came right out and said it, but he made me feel like I wasn’t good at my job.
I think he would have kept me home my entire life if he hadn’t lost his job.
Him getting laid off was the only reason he had been ok with me going back to work.
Frustration came next. I put pencil to paper and began drawing flowers and bouquets.
Roses, daises, daffodils, and peonies. I started putting arrows and labeling colors.
The longer I sketched, the more I liked what I saw.
This was it, the moment that I remembered why I was doing this.
I tossed the sketch pad to the side and opened a can of paint.
A beautiful pink gleamed back at me. I grabbed my brush and carried the can over to the wall.
As I dipped the brush in the paint and then made the first stroke on the wall, part of me grinned with pride.
This was a commissioned job. It was my sister, but still it was a paid job and everyone in town would see my work as they drove down Main Street.
I worked feverishly, painting flower after flower and connecting all the stems with a large ribbon.
When the sun started to set, I stepped back to admire my progress.
I would still need several more days before it would be finished, but, I was happy with what I was able to accomplish on this first day.
I sealed the cans and began placing them back in my trunk.
I wrapped plastic around the brushes so they wouldn’t dry out before I washed them, and then I climbed in to drive back to the shop.
I’d store everything there and wash the brushes before heading to the Henderson’s farm to pick up Amy.
When I was leaving Life in Bloom, I texted Amy to let her know I was on the way.
She responded back asking if she could stay longer, but I assured her we could set up another day for her to hang out with Hallie.
They had become fast friends, and I was happy for her.
She loved hanging out with her cousin, Jack, but like she said… he was a boy.
I turned down the highway and headed toward the Henderson’s farm. I knew exactly where it was because my father had sold them corn when they had cows. I wasn’t sure what Issac was doing with all the fields, but I soon saw when I turned into the long driveway.
The place looked nothing like I remembered as a child.
The grass pasture in the front was now mowed short and there was a dirt track around the outside.
A white wooden fence replaced the barbed wire one, and there was what looked like a makeshift starting gate off to the side.
I’m guessing this is where they were training now.
The driveway that was once lined with trees was now open and about halfway up it split with one side leading to the house and the other going to the barn.
The barn had been painted white and there was a gentleman out front pushing a wheelbarrow full of what looked like barn matter.
I’m guessing he was stable boy and had been mucking out stalls.
I had that job as a kid and wouldn’t wish it on anyone, especially in the summer.
You think horse poop smells bad, you should be in a dirty barn in the summer with the heat just baking the smell into the air.
I swear I used to wash my hair twice in the summer just to get the smell out.
I went to the right, heading up to the house.
The giant farmhouse commanded your attention when you pulled up in front of it.
It was white with dark green shutters. There was a circular drive in the front and Issac’s truck sparkled in the sun.
Perfectly manicure flower beds framed the house on each side, and you could see parts of the back deck between the trees.
The Hendersons never flaunted their money and by looking at their farm, you’d never think they were wealthy.
Looking at what Issac’s done to the place, I can only imagine how many zeros are in his bank account.
I parked behind his truck and climbed out.
I had smudges of paint on my clothes, and I’m sure it was in my hair as well.
I made my way up the front walk and rang the bell.
A woman answered the door and smiled. “You must be Miss Amy’s mom.
” She stepped back and held the door so I could enter.
“I’m Annabelle, Mr. Mathis’ housekeeper.
” She motioned for me to move farther inside.
“The girls were playing out back. Let me go fetch them.” She rushed off and I slowly stepped inside.
I felt so out of place. The house was decorated in dark wood and rich colors: deep reds and dark browns.
The furniture was stately and looked like a total man’s house.
While it was nice, it seemed to lack a woman’s touch.
“Mama!” Amy came bursting through the door. “They have a horse that’s gonna have a baby, and Hallie said she could teach me to ride if it’s ok with you, and we wanna have a sleepover soon!” She was talking so fast I could hardly keep up. Within moments, Issac came walking around the corner.
“I hope she wasn’t any trouble,” I brushed a stray hair out of my face, “and that she behaved herself.”
“She was fine. The girls had a fun day, and we’d love to have her back any time.” He smiled.
“See, Mama. I can come back, right?” She bounced on her toes.
“We’ll talk about it when we get home. Thank you for having her. It helped me out a lot.” I started walking toward the door.
“It’s no problem, really. Hallie doesn’t really have many friends yet.” Issac followed us and paused at the threshold. “If you need help in the future, just let me know. We don’t mind.” He tucked one hand into the pocket of his jeans as he used the other arm to lean against the doorway.
“Thanks.” I almost tripped walking back to the car.
“Mama? Are you ok?” Amy paused and looked at me in concern.
“I’m fine. Get in the car.” I pointed as I smiled in Issac’s direction once more.
I felt like such a fool. Here I was looking like I just got in a paintball fight and the guy looked as if he just stepped out of a magazine spread on rich and famous horse owners.
What was he thinking as he looked at me?
I gave a quick wave and climbed in. As I backed up and took off down the driveway, I glanced in my rearview mirror to see him watching me as I drove away.