Forever Country (12 page)

“
Here, we got you a little
something for Christmas.”

He takes the small box, wrapped in Santa
paper, gives me a faint smile, and says, “Savannah Mae, I’m
sorry.”

“
Please don’t.” I raise my
hand and shake my hand. “Just don’t.” I lower my head and stare at
my boots. I can’t look at him. I’m not sure why I feel like this. I
knew he saw Heather Sue while we were married, so why does him
seein’ her now bother me? My eyes burn and I know tears are comin’.
I had always hoped maybe it was a one-time incident, although I
knew it wasn’t.
Savannah Mae, you are so
stupid!

“
You got Daddy a gift?” I
look up and he is talkin’ to Sawyer Jackson. Sawyer Jackson nods
his head so hard his hat begins to fall into his eyes.

Reaching up, I readjust the hat on his small
head. “Get him in the house, it’s cold out here.” I look my son,
but I’m talkin’ to Ethan.

“
Mommy loves you, pretty
boy.” I can feel my smile when I see my son. I gently touch my
boy’s rosy cheek.

“
I love you, too,
Mommy.”

I drive home and quickly
pick up the house and run the sweeper. I stack Sawyer Jackson’s
clothes and toys neatly back under the tree. Although Christmas is
over, my family always put the opened gifts back under the tree
once they were unwrapped. I think it’s to not rush the holidays. I
admire the gifts and I am reminded of the wonderful morning Sawyer
Jackson and I had together. I will always do what’s right for my
son. I was raised to never do anything to embarrass my mother. I
laugh at that. Even as an adult, I still use that one sayin’ as a
guideline of the do’s and dont’s of life.
If it embarrasses Momma, don’t do it.
I’ll never do anything to embarrass my son, either.

After showering, I put on a
pair of jeans and a red sweater, and pull my hair into a ponytail.
A little mascara and lip-gloss, and I am now looking okay, not
great, but okay. I’ll take it. I still have a small twinge of pain
in my heart from seein’ Heather Sue in Ethan’s apartment.
I am such a fool.

Abel Lee should be comin’
soon. I light a few candles and make myself a cup of hot herbal
tea. Admirin’ my house, I suddenly realize it looks like I am
tryin’ to set a romantic mood. I quickly blow out the candles and
fan the smoke away with my hand.
What am I
doin’? I never should have asked Abel Lee to come over.

I grab the quilt and head out to the front
porch instead. Fresh air will help. Takin’ some deep breaths, I
exhale slowly. The sun is already settin’ when I hear a cluckin’
noise comin’ from down the street. Blinkin’, I try to focus in on
the cowboy ridin’ the horse. He waves and I smile. It can’t be. I
stand and wrap the quilt tighter around me, walkin’ towards the
steps of the porch. Omigod, it’s Abel Lee Kennedy.

The horse doesn’t gallop but walks at a
leisurely pace. Anticipation builds as I watch Abel Lee make his
way towards me. He removes his cowboy hat and stops in front of my
house and says, “Howdy.”

I can feel the smile spread across my face
and I remind myself to tone it down. “Howdy,” I reply, closin’ my
mouth and tryin’ to hide my bright smile. He looks so good on top
of that horse, I don’t think I’m able to say anything else.

The horse moves and he steadies it. “I
thought we could go for a ride.”

“
Is that Colonel?” I know
Bud and Nelly have only two horses, and I know what Colonel did to
Levi not too long ago. Bucked ‘im off and almost trampled
‘im.

“
The one and only.” The
horse moves and he tries to steady it again.

“
Where’s Bluebelle?”
I want Bluebelle.

“
She’s home. Colonel and I
had a long talk and he promised to be good.”

I laugh. “I ain’t ridin’ on him,” I say,
pointin’ my finger at the massive solid black stallion.

“
C’mon. He’s just
misunderstood.”

I have been up to Nelly and Bud’s a few times
and I do like Colonel. He’s beautiful, black, and massive in size.
I’ve been ridin’ horses since I was in diapers, even took lessons
growin’ up. I know a lot about horses, probably more than most
people. I often thought that Colonel was misunderstood because of
his size. I also know that if you feed him, he listens a lot
better. “Okay, give me a minute.”

“
Yeah, you’ll
come?”

“
Let me get a coat
on.”
And some snacks to feed Colonel while
we’re gone.

Once I am dressed properly for the cold, I
head outside. Abel Lee is still sittin’ on top of Colonel. He
smiles when he sees me. I walk up to the horse and pet him before I
do anything else. I talk nicely and tell him to be nice, before
feedin’ him some carrots I stashed in my pockets just for him. “Be
nice, Colonel, Abel Lee’s a newbie.” I give him one last pet before
movin’ away. “Ready?” I ask Abel Lee.

“
Do you need
help?”

For a minute, I wonder if I should act
clueless and defenseless. I quickly decide against it. I don’t want
to mislead him. “No, I think I got it.”

He scoots up in the saddle and offers me his
hand. I put one foot in the stirrup and hoist myself up in one try,
using his hand for support. Colonel moves, but he doesn’t buck.
“Easy, boy,” Abel Lee says as he steadies the stallion. “Ready?” he
asks over his shoulder.

As I’ll ever be.
“Yep,” I say instead.

I wrap my arms around Abel Lee and Colonel
walks us down the road. It’s been a while since I’ve been on a
horse and I soon realize that I miss it. The horse behaves himself,
and I’m grateful. Abel Lee and I don’t talk but just enjoy the
silence of the evening.

He stops by the creek and says, “Let’s take a
break.”

I climb off Colonel and feed him some more
carrots while Abel Lee climbs down from the saddle. Abel Lee comes
up and also offers him an apple. “A bribe?” I ask, teasingly.

He chuckles. “As long as it works.” He
strokes him between his eyes and down his long nose. “He does like
his apples.”

“
And carrots,” I add,
pulling out more carrots from my coat pocket.

“
Smart girl,” he says. He
ties Colonel up to a tree and takes me by my hand, leadin’ me to
the stream of runnin’ water. “I used to come here as a boy.” He
leans against a tree and looks around the dark wooded
area.

I sit down at the base of the tree trunk near
his feet. He lowers himself and joins me. “It’s beautiful here.” I
watch as he stretches out his long legs. “I can’t wait till Sawyer
Jackson gets old enough so I can teach him to catch crawdads.”

He looks over at me. “You hunt crawdads?”

“
Favorite pastime
ever.”

“
You fish, too?

I laugh. “You’re looking at the recipient of
the blue ribbon award of the Perry County Catch and Release
Tournament three years in a row.”

Now he laughs. “No.”

“
Yes. I would never lie
about something like that. That’s a big deal in these parts.” I try
to hide the hint of a smile I feel on my lips.

“
Now, Savannah Mae, that is
very impressive.” He looks from one eye to the other, and I quickly
look away.

I pick up a twig and break it in half. “Thank
you. What about you? You hold any significant titles or anything I
should know about?”

He pauses for a moment and looks beyond the
creek. “No, nothing as impressive as yours.” He looks at me and
gives me another faint smile.

There’s an awkward silence. “Mia tells me
you’re just here visitin’. You got plans of leavin’ soon?”

“
I should be leaving
tomorrow. But I’ll be staying through New Year’s.”

I look over at him. “You’ll be goin’ to the
big New Year’s Eve party then.”

“
Excuse me?”

“
The American Legion in
Roseville. They always put on a big party, complete with square
dancin’ and everything. Your Momma and Pops never miss
it.”

He watches me with crinkled eyes. “Square
dancing, huh.”

“
And line dancin’, too.
It’s a big deal, you should go.”

“
Will you be
there?”

“
Not this year.” I remember
it’s my first New Year’s Eve since my divorce. I don’t want to be
out on New Year’s Eve as a single woman. “Sawyer Jackson and I have
a date with each other that night. I’ll be home bringin’ it in with
my son.” He nods. I suddenly feel sad thinkin’ that he isn’t here
to stay. Although I don’t know him very well, I like what I know of
him.

“
Sounds like you have big
plans that night.”

“
We do. I bought some hats,
noisemakers, and some sparklin’ cider. We’ll play some board games
and watch a few movies. We’ll both be asleep by midnight,” I say,
laughing.

He smiles. “It sounds like fun.” He skips a
rock or two and says, “I should probably get you home.”

He stands and offers me his hand. Before
leavin’, we both offer Colonel some love and snacks. I laugh,
“Nothin’ like bribin’ a horse to get us home safely.”

“
Whatever
works.”

He gets on, then I climb on after him. I hold
on tightly and rest my chin on his shoulder. “I had a good time,
thank you.”

He keeps a hold of the reins but leans back
into me. “I did, too, thank you.”

“
What made you decide on a
pony ride tonight?” I giggle because Colonel is anything but a
pony.

I can see his eyes crinkle from the street
light and I know it’s from a smile. “It’s Christmas, I couldn’t
just show up empty handed.”

“
You put a lot of thought
into this.”

“
I spent the last three
hours trying to break him in.”

That explains why the
massive stallion hasn’t bucked us off yet. “Thank you. It’s
probably the most memorable date I’ve ever been on.”
Date? Did I say “date”? I didn’t mean to say
“date.”
I hang my head and pray he didn’t
catch me calling tonight a date. I feel his hand touch my lower leg
as we ride the rest of the way home in silence.

“
Home, safe, and
sound,”
he says, soundin’
surprised.

Thank God.
“Thank you.”

I hold onto him as I slide off the massive
animal. Once my feet hit the ground, I get my balance and look up
at him. “I had a great time.”

“
Me, too. I would walk you
to the door…”

I interrupt, “It’s okay, I can manage.”

“
Before I forget, I have
something for Sawyer Jackson.”

He unzips his coat and hands me a small
wrapped gift. “It isn’t much, just a small something I thought he
would like.”

I take the gift and look at it. It feels like
a box and it’s wrapped in snowman wrappin’ paper. “Abel Lee, you
didn’t have to do that. Thank you.”

“
You may want to hold off
on the gratitude. Later, you might wish I never gave him such a
present.”

I roll my eyes. “I doubt that, I’m sure he’ll
love it. Thank you.”

“
I’ll watch you from
here.”

I roll my eyes. I walk into my house every
night without someone watchin’ over me. “Let me feed Colonel before
you take off.”

“
I think he’ll be okay.
Goodnight, Savannah Mae.”

He’s livin’ on the edge. I like that. “Good
night, Abel Lee.” I walk towards the front porch before turnin’
back around. He’s watchin’ me as he sits on top of the massive
beast. “Should I wait and see if he bucks you off? Maybe you’ll be
in need of help.”

“
Are you insinuating I
can’t handle Colonel?”

I want to smile, but I need to maintain a
straight face. “I’m just sayin’ I know what he’s capable of.”

Colonel turns around into a complete circle
before Abel Lee gets him under control. “No, I think I can handle a
little pony.”

Now, I am bearin’ a show-all-my-teeth smile.
I walk the rest of the way to the porch and open the door. “Suit
yourself. Have a good night,” I say, closing the door behind
me.

As soon as I hear Colonel take off down the
street, I open the door. I watch as Abel Lee rides Colonel with
expertise. The black stallion and his master. I lock up and take
another shower before bed.

CHAPTER THREE

Abel Lee

When I hear Savannah Mae lock the door, I hit
Colonel on his butt and let him do what he does best. He gallops
fast and hard down the street. Once we get to the farm, I feed and
brush him before putting him up for the night. “I’ll see you in the
morning, boy.” He walks up to me and takes the few sugar cubes from
my hands. “Good boy.”

I look over, and Bluebelle is standing at the
stall. “Did you miss me, girl?” I feed and brush her, just as I did
Colonel. She is very receptive to being groomed. I offer her a few
sugar cubes and she graciously takes them. “You really are a sweet
girl.” I pat her one last time before closing the barn doors.

Standing on the front porch, I see snow
flurries falling from the heavens. It’s just before midnight; it’s
still Christmas day. It’s cold and I can see the fog from my
breath. I didn’t notice the chill earlier.

I down some water, place a
few logs on the fire, and head to bed. I dream of returning
home
to New York, leaving Savannah Mae, and
leaving my family. I also dream of Mia, Levi, and the
baby.

I wake up before the alarm and lying awake in
bed, I reflect on the past month. When I arrived here a month ago,
I wanted to stay only through Christmas. I should be heading back
home today, but I haven’t even checked on airline flights.