Dreaming of Forever (3 page)

Chapter 4

Ashley tried to control her anger as she got closer to Pueblo. She was driving her rental car at a racing speed.
She could've said that she wasn't interested instead of lying about being away in Europe.

Ashley turned off the main road, not caring about the bumps and pot holes as she drove quickly down the winding road. She parked the car in front of the barn.

Sara was still fixing the fence, although she’d moved down a few yards from where she was the last time Ashley was there. Sara stopped hammering and looked up to smile at her, not knowing that Ashley knew who she was this time.

“You must've changed your mind about the horse riding lessons,” she called out as Ashley walked up closer to the fence.

“I came all the way out here from Chicago just for you to lie to me Sara. Why didn’t you just tell me to get lost?” Ashley asked her trying to keep her anger in check.

“Look, I’m not going to talk about what happened to Zach. I'm not going to lie to you again but you’re wasting your time,” Sara said with her arms folded across her chest.

“You could've just been honest with me.”

“This place is a new start for me. Hardly anyone knows where I am. I don't even know how you found me.” She was blunt with Ashley but there was nothing else to say about it.

“Fine,” Ashley told her, more determined than ever to talk to her.

“Good.” Sara gave her a small smile and nodded her head.

“Would you turn me away if I told you that I wanted horse riding lessons?” Ashley asked her, thinking quickly so that she wouldn't have to walk away.

“It wouldn't really be all that great for business if I refused,” Sara admitted.

“Okay then,” Ashley said trying not to get her hopes up. “I’ll come back later today. I need to find a place to stay. I’ll probably just go back to the hotel I stayed at the last time I was here to see you. Make sure you don't drop everything and run to Europe,” Ashley joked, showing Sara that she was slowly forgiving her.

****

Ashley parked in front of the familiar hotel.

“You couldn't resist coming back huh?” the receptionist asked her.

“I guess not.” She paid and put her things in her room before heading back to see Sara.

She parked her car in front of the barn again and saw that Sara was still at the fence, looking over her work.

“Fence all fixed?” Ashley asked her.

“No, I was just taking a small break.”

“Just out of curiosity how did you know that I wasn't here for riding lessons the first time?” Ashley asked her.

“What do you mean?” Sara gave her an odd look.

“I don’t know. You kind of looked confused when you asked if I was here to take lessons,” she said refreshing Sara's memory.

“Oh, well for starters the dead giveaway was your clothes. You looked a reporter.”

Ashley raised her eyebrows. “Really?”

Sara nodded. “I have lots of experience, remember? When you went back to your car for the notebook and pen that clenched it,” Sara explained.

“I was that easy to spot, huh?” Ashley blushed a little.

“Very easy. Speaking of clothing you can't ride a horse in that.” Sara looked her over. She had on a nice pair of gray slacks that hugged her body and a matching jacket.

“I didn't bring any clothing with me to ride a horse. I came here on a whim to talk to you and give you a piece of my mind. I didn't think about clothing,” Ashley confessed to her.

“That's alright. We are about the same size I'm sure. I'm just a little taller. I have some riding clothes you can borrow and then we can get started on your first lesson,” Sara told her.

Sara headed away from the fence going towards the barn and Ashley quickly followed behind her. Heading to the left of the barn Ashley saw that there was a house hidden in the back. She assumed that it was Sara's home and thought how lucky she was to be so close to her business.

Ashley got changed in the spare bedroom and put on the jeans and an old t-shirt that Sara gave her.

When Ashley was ready, Sara brought her out to the stables. “This is Daisy. She’s a great horse for beginners,” Sara said, looking over her shoulder and she led out a gray horse.

“Is it bad that I’m feeling pretty nervous?” Ashley asked her seriously.

“Not at all. But I’ll be walking along side you so there’s nothing to worry about,” Sara stated, trying to comfort her a little bit.

Sara grabbed the horse’s saddle off a hook in the stall and put it on the horse, making sure it was strapped tight to the horse’s body. “Alright, what you’re going to want to do is put one foot in the stirrups and bring the other leg over to the other stirrup.”

“Okay.”

“Daisy’s very gentle and she knows that you’re a beginner,” Sara explained. She let go of the reins knowing that Daisy wasn't going anywhere and helped Ashley put her foot into the stirrup.

Ashley felt Sara's hand touch her backside briefly as she helped her onto the horse. She jumped at her touch but she was too busy getting her other leg up and over to the other stirrup to dwell on it.

Ashley was now sitting in the saddle and she shared what she thought was an intense look with Sara. The brunette broke their eye contact and got back to business.

“Make sure that you have a hold of the reins at all times. Let her know that you are the one in control,” Sara said, leading them out into the field beside the barn.

“Okay.”

“If you think that she's going too fast for you pull back on the reins just slightly and she will know that she needs to slow down,” Sara continued on.

Once Ashley was comfortable and had done a lap around the small field she decided to bring up the book. “So could you tell me a little bit about what happened to Zach?”

Ignoring her, Sara led them out of the fenced in field and brought them to a trail that led them into the woods.

“What about you? You can't tell me a little bit about yourself at least?” Ashley wasn't going to give up.

Once again Sara pretended that she didn't hear her and continued on with the lesson.

They headed back to the stables when the sun was setting in the sky. Ashley was happy that she got through the lesson without any problems and she was enjoying spending time with Sara.

Ashley gave up on her book for the moment and they spoke easily about other topics. Even though Sara had lied to her she still couldn't get over how gorgeous she was and that Sara was willing to spend time with her even if she did ignore her questions.

“I better get back to the hotel soon,” Ashley told her as they returned to the barn.

“So do you think that you’ll come back and get more riding lessons?” Sara asked her, helping her off the horse, keeping her hand on Ashley's waist a little longer than she had to. Ashley moved in closer to her touch to let her silently know that it was okay.

“You know, I just might.” Ashley cleared her throat, anxious because of how close they were before Sara stepped away to put Daisy back in her stall. “I really enjoyed today.”

“You’re a natural but I will let you know that if you’re only looking for an interview then you’re wasting your time,” Sara told her sternly, letting her know once again that she was not going to talk about her past.

Chapter 5

Leaning back in her chair at the office, Ashley was day dreaming again, thinking about the time that she had spent with Sara.

Jason walked into her office the second he found out that she was back from Colorado. He wanted to know how it went and if she got any kind of information out of Sara.

“So?” he asked, walking up to her desk.

“So what?” she asked him, looking up from her computer and saving the progress she had made on her latest article.

“You met Sara this time. What happened?”             

“I did and I actually had my first horse riding experience. It's so nice out there and peaceful…”

Jason cut her off. “You know that's not what I meant.”

“I’ve made a decision. I know you’re not going to like it but I'm not going to include any quotes from Sara in the book. She doesn’t want to talk to me and I’m respecting that,” Ashley explained.

“Really?” Jason asked.

“You should have seen her face. It was like she was begging me not to bring up the past. She went out there to start a new life and she loves what she's doing. I think that I'm doing the right thing. I could've pushed her further if I wanted to but I didn't,” she told him.

“Okay. I get it.”

“Good. At least that's one person who will be on my side. Now I just have to break the news to my publisher.” She sighed heavily.

“If Sara won’t talk then they’ll just have to understand,” Jason pointed out.

Chapter 6

1 Month Later

Ashley was glad that the book was almost done. She was having a hard time finishing. She was a perfectionist and she didn’t want to send it to her publisher until she was happy with it. She was saving her progress when Jason came into her office in a rush with a tabloid in his hands, waving it around in the air.

“What is it?” she asked him. She couldn’t tell if it was good or bad news the way he was acting.

Before he could answer, her office phone rang. “Hello, Ashley speaking,” she answered in a professional voice hoping she could get off the phone quickly so she could hear Jason's news.

“It's me, Sara.”

“Hi. How are you?” Ashley asked, wondering what brought on this phone call. She hadn't heard from Sara since she left Colorado.

“I want to talk about what happened with Zach Ellis. How soon can you get here?” Sara asked her.

“I could be there tonight, but I would have to leave work early. Why the sudden change, Sara?” she asked.

She looked over at Jason who was practically jumping up and down, pointing to the newspaper in his hands.

“I take it that you haven't picked up the tabloids in Chicago yet?” Sara asked.

“No, I don't pay attention to them. I prefer serious news stories.”

“My ex-girlfriend Kathy killed me in the tabloids. She gave an interview about everything: my career, Zach, our relationship. I’m not letting this go. I need to get my side of the story out there,” she explained in a rush.

“Your ex-girlfriend?” Ashley's eyes grew wide.
Maybe I misheard her
. Jason turned the tabloid around so that she could see what Sara was talking about.

“Yes, I’m into women Ashley,” she said, growing frustrated because she felt like Ashley was missing the point. Her name was in the papers again and all she wanted to know was if she was gay.

Ashley wasn’t sure what to say. Should she out herself ?

“Are you still there?” Sara asked.

“Yeah, sorry. I have to get a rental car and check into that hotel. I’ll be there tonight but it’ll probably be late.”

“Just come straight here from the airport. You can stay here,” Sara offered.

“Okay, thanks. I’ll book a flight for tonight,” Ashley told her. “You’re lucky that you called today because I was going to turn in the book to my editor later this week.”

“Good, thank you so much for being willing to come here on such short notice. See you tonight,” Sara told her and quickly hung up the phone after Ashley said goodbye.

Getting off the phone with Sara, Ashley had a smile on her face.
So Sara’s a lesbian. Maybe I do have gaydar.

****

Ashley was exhausted by the time she got to Sara’s. She had butterflies in her stomach as she pulled up in front of the barn. She got out of the car and walked around to Sara’s cabin.

Sara opened the door before Ashley had a chance to knock.

“Hi, thanks for coming,” Sara greeted her.

“Thanks for letting me stay,” Ashley said as she follow Sara into the living and then down the hall.

“This room is yours. I often have people who want to spend the night, sometimes even a few weeks, while they’re getting lessons,” Sara explained. She left Ashley to freshen up.

Once Ashley had unpacked she went into the open plan living room/kitchen area. Sara was in the kitchen opening a bottle of wine.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” Sara asked, filling one glass.

“I would love some,” Ashley said sitting down on the couch. Sara’s laptop was open on the pine coffee table. The article she had called her about earlier was open.

“I appreciate you taking the time to do this for me,” Sara said as she sat down beside her.

“No problem. So how are you handling this so far?” Ashley asked.

“I'm dealing with it alright I think. I thought my days of making the headlines were over,” Sara said, taking a sip from her glass. “I’m not impressed with my ex-girlfriend though. I thought we had left on good terms.” She sighed heavily. “I really thought I was moving on with my life.

“I’m really sorry you have to go through all of this again but I’m going to do my best to make it right. If it’s okay with you I’m going to write an article for the paper. Your story will still be in the book too but it won't be out for a few more months and we want to get your side of the story out there as soon as possible,” Ashley said softly.

“That sounds like a plan. When I called you this morning you were probably surprised that I asked you to come out here; like it was just a small car drive away.”

“It's alright.” Ashley gave her a small smile and took a sip of her wine.

“How did you know where I was when you came here the first time?” Sara asked.

“Your friend Carol told me that she thought you were out here. She also told me that she wanted you to know that she does miss you and she didn't betray you. She couldn't afford to lose her job,” she told Sara, almost forgetting about Carol. She would've if Sara hadn't asked her.

“We used to be really good friends,” Sara whispered, thinking about the good old days. “That seems like a lifetime ago.”

“You are still good friends. All you have to do is call her,” Ashley said, remembering what Carol had told her.

“Maybe I will. Do you mind if I go to bed? The stress has worn me out.”

“Of course not,” Ashley answered.

“I’ll be up at six to feed the horses but don’t feel like you need to be up that early,” Sara told her, getting up from the couch.

“See you in the morning.” Ashley watched Sara disappear into her bedroom down the hall.

Shortly after Sara went to bed Ashley decided she should go to sleep too. She turned out the light out and laid there in the dark. She found it hard to fall asleep. Thinking about Sara the month before when she was getting a little too close she thought she had seen lust in Sara's eyes but she had never really been good at reading other people.

Ashley never needed to guess if a woman was gay or not. She wasn't publicly open about her sexual orientation and she didn't want to take the chance that she would be wrong if she came onto another woman. The only time that she talked to other lesbians was when she was on Internet dating sites or on the rare night when she ventured out to a gay bar.

It didn’t matter anyway. She wanted to keep things professional between her and Sara.