Indigo Road (6 page)

“Fort Wayne, Indiana. I’ll probably miss the
snow too, but I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of the
country.”

“
I thought I
recognized the accent. We have visitors from all over the world
come here and I like listening to the way they speak. You have a
nice voice, Josh.”

“Thanks.”

After I
had
put
my gear
in my room, Josie set me up with some uniforms. They consisted of
navy blue polo shirts with the ranch’s emblem over the breast
pocket, boots,
navy heavy-duty
pants, and a hat. Once I
stowed
those, Josie took me to
the stables and showed me where everything was, then gave me my
instructions for the morning.

Josie
constantly smiled and waved to the guests and staff alike. She was
kind and didn’t look at me like I was an idiot when I asked stupid
questions. Her permanent smile was easy to reciprocate.

“
Come on,”
Josie said as she led me from the corral after watching some kids
horseback riding. “It’s almost
supper
time. Let’s get in there before the rush.”

Josie led me
to the staff dining room, which was set out like a buffet. There
was a serving line to my left with hot food steaming away in
stainless steel and glass enclosures and four long wooden tables
with chairs. I looked around for Alex but didn’t see him. I had
seen him intermittently during the day but had only been able to
wave from a distance as Sally May led him around, seemingly from
cabin to cabin.

“
We’ll start
you off with something easy,” Josie said, placing her tray next to
mine and taking her seat. My inexperience with horses must have
been obvious. “Have you ridden before?”

“Not since I was a kid, and it was only a
handful of lessons,” I replied before digging into my dinner.

“
That’s okay,
we won’t have you working the trails or anything. We’ll get you to
muck out the stalls, put away the tack, and maybe lead the ponies
around the arena for the younger children. Sound good?”

“Yeah, sounds easy enough.”

MY BACK hurt.
My arms, shoulders, and legs followed suit. I had blisters on my
hands and feet. I smelled like sweat and horse shit, and not for
the first time, I wondered what sweet hell Alex had signed us up
for. I should’ve kept my mouth shut. Mucking stables
was
not
easy. It was hard freaking
work and I realized how out of shape I’d become since being on the
road.

I
hadn’t seen Alex the previous night so I assumed
he’d had a late dinner. Josie had said we were early, so I stayed
up watching TV in the common room and talking to some of the other
staff as I waited for him to finish for the day, but I never saw
him.

The bed
wasn’t as comfortable as Josie had said it was, and I
tossed and turned most of the night. Something
was missing, but I couldn’t figure out what.

I saw Alex
briefly the following morning at breakfast, but we didn’t have time
to chat. Apparently mucking out stalls waited for no
man.

I had
shoveled so much crap, I was sure the horses came back into the
barn just to shit. Once each stall had been mucked out, I put down
fresh hay as instructed, then moved on to the next one. I
discovered that hay isn’t light. It might look light, but once you
got a load on the end of the pitchfork for the hundredth time, it
felt like lead. I hadn’t known horses shit so much.

Just as I
finished throwing hay in yet another stall, Josie popped her head
over the top. “You want to take your lunch break now,
Josh?”

“God yes.” I straightened up and stretched,
reaching my hands toward the ceiling, trying to get the kinks out
of my back.

“
You’re doing
a good job, by the way. Keep it up. I’ve got a trail ride in
fifteen minutes so I’ll catch up with you at
supper, but one of the other hands will check on you a
little later.” Josie waved as she hurried away.

I stretched
once more before trudging up the small rise to wash up before
heading to the staff dining room. Grabbing a tray, I looked around
the room and saw Alex sitting next to Sally May, their heads close
together in conversation. Their table was full so I took my tray to
a spot in the corner near the window. Alex didn’t look up or notice
me, too engrossed in Sally May. My chest felt tight and I took a
sip of soda, hoping to ease the pressure.

I
DIDN’T
see Alex again that night. He
wasn’t at dinner and I stayed up late, waiting in the common room
again, but he didn’t show. Was he avoiding me? Why would he? We’d
barely seen each other since arriving, so I knew I hadn’t done
anything to upset him. I tried to put it out of my mind as I
worked. I’d talk to him tonight at the dinner and wagon ride.
Hopefully.

“Hello.”

I was brought
out of my musings by a little blonde girl, about four years old
with big blue eyes and pin-straight hair. She looked up at me
eagerly.

“Hello.”

“Is it my turn?” she asked.

“
I’m pretty
sure it is.” It was my job today to lead the ponies around the
corral for the smaller children. We’d had a constant stream of kids
all day, but there was never a long wait for a ride as there were
three of us walking the ponies. Although I was out of the stable,
it was boring walking in a circle all day. “Would you like me to
help you up?” I asked her.

“Yes, please.”

I helped the
little girl into the saddle and made sure she was seated properly,
as I had been shown, and set off
around
the well-worn track at an
easy pace.

“My name’s Elizabeth. What’s yours?” she
asked in her squeaky little-girl voice.

I turned my
head and smiled. “I’m Josh. Pleased to meet you.” I couldn’t meet
her gaze for long since I was leading the pony and had to look
where I was going. Some of these animals had a mind of their own
and I’d already fallen on my ass once, to the delight of a dozen
small children laughing at me. Not my finest moment.

“
I’m going to
be five in twenty-seven more days,” Elizabeth said
proudly.

“
Wow, that’s
half
way to ten.”

“
I know!” Her
high-pitched squeal pierced my eardrum. I resisted the urge to
stick my finger in my ear just to make sure it was okay.

After a few minutes of silence, Elizabeth
said, “I have two mommies. What’s this pony’s name?”

Talk about
changing gears. I answered the question, choosing to ignore her
first statement. “This one is named Apples. I’ve been told she’ll
do almost anything for one. I think that’s why she’s got such a
round belly because she eats so many of them.”

“Have you seen the big van that’s parked in
the back parking lot?”

Another gear change. “Which van would that
be?”

“
The big
indigo one. It
looks
like my Barbie camper, except mine’s crimson.” Not pink.
Seemed Elizabeth was a color connoisseur.

“You mean the purple one?”

“
No, it’s
indigo,” she stated matter-of-factly, and I wondered if she’d been
talking to Alex.

I chose not
to argue. “Yes, I’ve seen it.” I slowed my pace, turned my head,
and stage-whispered dramatically, “I even know who owns
it.”

Elizabeth
squealed again and almost came out of the saddle. “You
do?”

I stopped
Apples and made sure Elizabeth was seated properly again before
resuming the walk. “Yes,” I told her, as I headed to the second
corner. “My friend Alex and I own it. We’re traveling around the
country in it together.”

“
Is that Alex
over there?” She pointed toward the main gate where the adults were
talking, waiting for their children to finish with the ponies. Alex
stood there, dressed in his uniform, one foot on the bottom rail
and his arms resting on the top. I smiled as I saw him. My chest
felt light and I wanted to run to him and talk about all the things
I’d done over the last two days. Alex smiled and waved as our eyes
met, and I waved back, my grin getting wider.

“
He’s been
watching you the whole time,” Elizabeth whispered to
me
like she was
telling me a secret.

He has?

“Are you two married?” she asked, just as
quiet as before.

“Um, no. We’re just friends,” I whispered in
return.

My chest got
a bit lighter and my head spun a little at her statement. I tried
to concentrate on leading the damn pony and not letting my mind
wander; I didn’t want to fall on my ass again. But before I could
analyze the unfamiliar feeling, it dropped away as I saw Sally May
coming down the small hill, beckoning to Alex. Alex turned and saw
her, then looked back to me, his smile gone. He walked up the hill
to her, then turned and looked at me for a long second before
trudging after Sally May.

THAT AFTERNOON
, I saw
Alex briefly and he promised to save me a seat on the wagon.
Tonight the ranch was putting on a ride along the trails, ending at
a clearing near the lake where they had a cookout for the visitors.
Alex and I were invited to go along as guests since neither of us
had to work that evening.

After a quick
shower, I made my way to the beginning of the trail where about
half a dozen open wagons stood waiting. They were hitched up to two
horses each and people were starting to climb aboard.

I saw Alex
immediately, sitting in the rear of one of the wagons by himself.
When our eyes met, he smiled and waved for me to hurry up. He’d had
to work late that afternoon so he was still in his uniform pants,
but he’d changed his shirt so he could blend in with the other
guests.

I climbed
onto the wagon and sat next to Alex, my smile wide.

“Hey.”

“Horse.” Alex’s answering smile and the
warmth in his eyes made my heart skip.

“
Where have
you been
lately
? I haven’t seen you around the dorm at all,” I asked him,
still a little miffed.

“Sorry, Sally May has me working in the
kitchen after dinner for cleanup as well as housekeeping, but I’ve
missed you. How’s it going with the horses?”

I grunted remembering the first day and how
sore my entire body was after mucking out the stalls. I still
hadn’t fully recovered. Alex laughed and nudged my shoulder with
his. “C’mon, it can’t be that bad.”

“Remind me to kill you when I have the
strength.”

“Like you would.” Alex smiled at me, his
light blue eyes filled with humor.

The wagon
started with a jerk, throwing the passengers forward
slightly
, and Alex grabbed hold of the
bench seat between us, his fingers brushing mine. The tiny
touch
tingled,
but I didn’t move my hand as our pinky fingers jostled next
to each other with the movement of the wagon.

The ride was
slow and steady as Alex and I caught up with each other. We talked
like we always did, and I sensed he’d missed me as much as I’d
missed him. Sure, we’d spent time apart before, during family
vacations and such, but we’d always spoken on the phone. Since
being on the
road,
something had changed, though. The last couple of days
apart felt like a lifetime—for both of us, I think.

We talked and
laughed, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with the guests on
the wagon. As we made our way slowly over the trail and through the
pastures, our fingers touched the entire time. When one of the
wagon wheels hit a rock that had us bouncing violently in our seat,
I grabbed hold of Alex’s hand. I can’t say why, but it was an
automatic reaction, not one I thought about. His eyes went wide
before quickly softening, a small smile playing on his lips. I let
go of his hand and placed mine back on the seat between us.
Immediately, his hand was next to mine again, our fingers
brushing.

My chest felt
light
with
the
touch, and I wanted more. I
wanted
to hold his
hand
but didn’t know
why. Would Alex let me? Elizabeth’s whispered words from earlier in
the day floated through my mind. Did he really look at me like…
that? I didn’t want to think too hard
on
it, but I knew I wanted more.
Not knowing how much Alex would allow, I lifted my pinky and placed
it over his.

Alex looked
at me with
a confused expression, but
when I started to move my finger away, he wrapped his pinky around
mine, entwining them. I smiled slightly, and Alex’s answering grin
was small but held a ton of warmth, and it hit me in the
chest.

We arrived at
the clearing near the lake and there were numerous tables and
chairs spread out around the large grill, as well as a few picnic
blankets dotting the outskirts.

“You hungry yet?” Alex asked.

“No, you?”

“
Nope. Let’s
go over there. I want to hear more about the horses.” Alex led me
toward one of the blankets, away from the crowd. We sat close
together; not touching, each of us aware of the other’s personal
space. But not
too
aware. Alex’s fingers brushed mine when he sat
and I wrapped my pinky around his once again. His smile told me the
touch was welcome.