Blind Squirrel Finds Nut

"The curse of being cute, right?" Melanie said to Aspen who smiled back knowing exactly what he meant. It wasn't fair, but it was true. The pretty girls and cute boys were treated differently by other children. "Okay, class? Let's get back to business here. Emily? It's your turn to read so let Jenny share your book with you for now, okay? All right, let's settle down and see how this story ends so we can discuss the main idea."

Aspen smiled and waved goodbye to Jenny then found Alma in the office waiting impatiently for her.

"Okay, now let's put you to work," Alma said when the got back to the Diamond D. She called out to Josh who was working with the new horse he brought back from Virginia. He tied off the reins and walked over.

"She's all yours." She turned to Aspen and said, "You're welcome to stay as long as you need to, honey. I went through this many years ago myself, and I still get angry as hell every time I think about it."

By the time Aspen saw the school bus dropping Jenny off, every muscle in her body ached. She'd mucked stalls, moved bales of hay around to feed the horses, and helped Josh mend a wooden fence which meant holding the rails in place for him until he nailed them together.

"Mom!" she heard Jenny call from the path leading to the ranch.

She waved back and said, "Come tell me about your first day of school!"

Jenny ran all the way to her and hugged her tight. "I had SO much fun!" she said. "All the girls want to be my friend and Mrs. Corbin is so nice!"

"She seems very nice," Aspen said.

"And all the boys think she's really hot!" She looked over at Josh then said, "So is Josh." Jenny giggled when her mom made a face that said, "I can't believe you just said that." She was right, of course. It just wasn't like Jenny to say something along those lines. She saw Josh smiling at them both. He tipped his ball cap and said, "Why thank you, young lady."

Jenny smiled back then said, "Mom? Can I go get something to eat now? Oh, and I have homework." Jenny made a face of her own and Josh, who'd been watching, told Aspen to go on in and get Jenny settled.

"But don't be too long. We've got plenty more work to do today!"

"Slave driver," she teased while smiling at him. "I'll be right back."

Jenny found a pack of snack crackers and Aspen poured her a glass of milk. "Okay, what kind of homework do you have?" her mom asked.

"We have to read this story and explain the idea then list three things that happened in correct sequence."

"Ah, okay. You finish your snack then go brush your teeth. When you're done, read the story then we'll go over the main idea together when I'm finished working. If I'm still alive," she added.

"You're all dirty, Mom," Jenny said looking at her mother who had dirt on her shirt and manure on her shoes.

"Oh, my goodness. Alma...Mrs. Sutherland, is going to kill me!" She grabbed some paper towels and picked up any trace of evidence and threw it in the trash before washing her hands. "Thanks, Kiddo. You may have just saved my life!"

It was so good to hear her daughter laugh. Then again, it had felt so good to do so herself. And she had to admit Josh was a bit of a hottie. A very young hottie, but still very cute nonetheless.

"Aspen?" she heard Josh calling from just outside. "The horses can't water themselves. Let's get a move on in there, okay?"

"Slave driver!" she called out again playfully. "Be right there!"

She gave Jenny a small hug and a kiss on the cheek. "See you in a bit, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun, Mom," she said not knowing that when it came to fun, her mom hadn't had any. Aspen just smiled and headed back outside.

It was almost dark when Josh told her they were done for the day. "Already?" Aspen asked barely able to lift her arms.

She knew tomorrow would be hell when all the lactic acid that was building up in her muscles made its presence known. She just didn't know how bad it would be until she woke up.

She helped Jenny with her homework, ate dinner, took a long, hot bath, and went straight to bed—in the guesthouse across from Josh's room in the house. It hadn't been lived in in years and it needed a lot of work. But it was safe, dry and warm and for now, that was good enough.

Aspen didn't set her alarm, but as it turned out, it wasn't necessary. She had no idea where she was when she woke up or what the noise was, but she felt like someone had beat her with a sledgehammer from head to toe. Then she remembered. "Old Red." He was loud, proud, and relentless.

"Oh, my God," she said to herself. "You have to be kidding me!" There was no going back to sleep. As she went to lift off the beautiful quilt covering her, her entire arm felt like it was on fire. "Ohhhh," she cried. The pain was unbearable. She slid out from under it, but sitting up and then standing hurt just as much. Everything...hurt. It felt like even her hair hurt. Every step and every movement was torture.

She managed to wash up and get dressed, one slow, painful movement at a time before waking Jenny up and getting her ready for breakfast.

"Why are you limping, Mom?" Jenny asked as they walked toward the house.

"I'm just happy to be walking, honey," she told her. "Your mother isn't used to working for a living. That's all."

"But you used to work. Remember? You were a teacher, just like Mrs. Corbin."

"Uh-huh. Yep, I work...just like her," she said knowing her daughter wouldn't catch the sarcasm.

After a typical farmer's breakfast Jenny was ready for school and Aspen was ready for...a hospital bed. Alma saw Aspen wincing with every move and said, "You got the full treatment, didn't you? No one will ever accuse my son of being lazy, that's for dead sure."

Aspen started to laugh then stopped abruptly. "Oh! Even that hurts!" she said.

"Tell you what. I have to run into town for supplies and you need groceries so you'll ride with me."

"Josh isn't gonna like that," Aspen said.

"Josh works for me, honey. Never forget that." Aspen thought she actually saw Alma smile. She wasn't sure but she may very well have done just that.

On the way into town she explained how Aspen would be paid. "You get free room and board. I'll pay for all your necessities like Jenny's school supplies for instance. Oh, and both of you are going to need some clothes. You can't send your daughter off wearing the same thing the rest of the year. And you can pick up something a little nicer for yourself if you like. I'll pay for anything reasonable, okay? As far as cash, I'll advance you a hundred dollars. If you need more, let me know."

Alma drove Aspen to a town called Middleburg and then to a clothing store called Country Classics. She picked up three cute, inexpensive outfits for Jenny and three sets of work clothes for herself along with a sweatshirt.

"You're gonna need some boots, too, so go ahead and try on a few different pair. If you need socks and underwear, we'll grab them at Target on the way home. Oh, and you should pick yourself up something nice. Maybe a dress like that one over there."

"It's very pretty but it's way too expensive."

"They've got some sale items on that table over there," Alma said.

After looking through everything, Aspen settled on a warm but dressy looking long sleeved, light-gray sweater that was on sale for $27 which was half off the regular price.

"That's it?" Alma asked.

"I don't exactly have a social life so comfort and function over form seems smart."

"I like a girl who thinks straight," Alma told her almost smiling again.

An hour later, Aspen had her first pair of cowboy boots and Alma had her supplies. They stopped by Target for other...necessities, and then the grocery store before heading home where they got things put away.

After lunch Alma said, "I'm afraid that's all the cover I can run for you so you're Josh's for the rest of the day."

Aspen had taken some Advil with lunch and now only hurt badly rather than terribly. Josh knew she was dying and made sure to give her things to do that wouldn't cause too much pain and Aspen thanked him later on.

"I like to think I'm a pretty reasonable guy," he told her with a smile. "I just believe in a full day's work for a day's pay. And you're doin' fine so far, by the way."

"You seem very reasonable," she told him. "And I really, really want to thank you for...everything."

"I'm just glad I was at the right place at the right time," he told her. "It's nice to have someone so..." He was clearly looking at her the way guys looked at girls when they thought they were attractive, and Aspen suddenly found herself wishing he'd finish his sentence. When he did, she was surprised at how bad the let down felt.

"So...hard working."

Aspen thanked him then excused herself as she got ready to go check on Jenny's progress, take a bath, and eat dinner before falling asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Her only thoughts before falling into a deep sleep were how she couldn't ever remember a day without television, music, or all of the things she thought she couldn't live without. And yet she'd enjoyed her short time her more than any day in the last several months. No, make that...years.

The next morning, Aspen's eyes opened like a shot when Old Red commenced to crowin'. This time, she didn't get angry. She even smiled when she saw him struttin' around on the wood pile like he was the cock of the walk. Oh, right. He was.

After breakfast, she got Jenny on the bus then came back to the house and saw Josh working with a horse inside the corral. She stood by Alma then said quietly, "He's really having trouble with his half-pass, isn't he?"

Alma turned toward her and pulled her head back. "Do you know dressage?"

"I used to ride a lot. I even won a few competitions."

"Josh told me you used to ride...but...dressage? Get out of here!" Alma said. "Can you teach?"

"I suppose so. I haven't ridden in what...15 years or so? But I still remember all of the moves. I'd just need to have a little refresher training or spend some time on a horse."

"That horse is named Toro and we can get him to do a leg-yield, but he will not do a half-pass. You want to give it a try?"

"Um...sure. I'd be happy to," she said.

"Josh? Bring Toro over here for me. This young lady's gonna see if she can get him straightened out."

She didn't need the help, but she allowed Josh to assist her getting into the saddle. She looked down from above then said, "So he can leg-yield. Can her travers? If not, we'll start there then work on haunches out."

"You know your stuff! I'm impressed," Alma said. "FYI, we're having a local competition in three weeks. There's a $5,000 first-prize at stake. If you can get Toro ready for it and win it, the money's all yours as that will qualify him for a state-level competition. So...give it your best shot."

After watching Aspen for less than 30 minutes, she said to Josh who was watching with her, "You just lost your ranch hand!"

"I'll be damned!" he said. "She's good, Mom. She's really good. You can't even see her using her legs to give Toro commands. Not bad. Oh, and she's pretty damn pretty, too."

"She's married, Josh," his mother said with no hint of humor. She did one of her quasi-smiles then added, "Besides, she's got ten years on you."

"Ten? No way. Seven maybe but not ten."

His mother just glared at him. "Seven, ten, it doesn't matter. I know there's trouble at home, but as long as that big old ring is on her finger, she's off limits." She knew her son knew that, but she felt compelled to say it anyway.

Alma pointed to Aspen then said, "You can see she's rusty, but all the fundamentals are there. Look how she's picking up his impulsion. That's amazing. I bet she can increase his degree of collection, too."

"I bet she can," Josh agreed. He turned slightly toward his mom and said, "Who'dda thunk? Blind squirrel finds acorn! News at 11."

Alma ignored his explanation for the apparent dumb luck of having found Aspen by well...sheer luck. All that mattered was that she was here and that she was good. Really good.

Toro still couldn't quite do a decent half-pass, but there had been solid improvement in just a couple of hours. Alma was thoroughly impressed and wanted to know more about her past. "You can restrict your comments to riding if you like. I'm not trying to be nosy. I'm mostly lookin' to find out how much you know about horses in general and dressage in specific."

Aspen told her when she'd first started riding, how she'd taken formal lessons for several years then competed in numerous dressage events until the year before she graduated from high school. "I never got back on a horse after that last win," Aspen told her. "Until today. Oh. Speaking of horses, I need a few things. Tack stuff."

"Well, now that you're my new trainer, you can set your own hours. If you'd like, you can drop Jenny off at school then go pick up what you need. I'm sure some mother-daughter time would be good for the both of you."

"I agree," Aspen told her. "Thank you very much, Mrs. Sutherland. I believe I'll do just that."

"Dear? You can call me Alma from now on, too." She looked down at Aspen's hand then said, "Oh, and one of these days I need to know whether this husband of yours you never talk about is any of my concern. You know, from the standpoint of you working here."

Aspen still wore her ring and until then had never seriously thought about taking it off—even after she left. But later that night, as she lay there thinking about her marriage—or what little was left of it—she realized she'd never go back to a man who'd hit her. She never expected to see him again, but even if she did, her mind was made up. She fought off tears of sadness as she quietly removed both rings and set them in a drawer in the little nightstand by her bed.

"Count your blessings," she told herself. "You have a wonderful daughter, a new job, and you're doing the one other thing you love and are good at besides teaching. Everything else will fall in place in its own due time." She took one last look at the rings then closed the door, and along with it, that chapter of her life.

"Come on, Jenny Wenny! Up and at 'em!" her mom said the next morning.

"Mom, I'm still tired," Jenny said.

"I was too, when that noisy rooster started crowing. I've been up for an hour and you've gotta get to school. I'm driving you today so...chop chop!"

Aspen dropped Jenny off and headed back to Middleburg to pick up the items she needed. Toro was having a terrible time with lateral work. Whether it was renvers, travers, or haunches in/out, he just wasn't getting it. Jenny needed some poles to establish left and right limits. From there, and more importantly, she would need Toro to understand the concept of bend. Bend and lateral work were deeply intertwined and until he 'got' bend, lateral work was a waste of time.

Aspen spent hours each day teaching Toro what to do and then establishing a connection with subtle but firm leg commands; commands no one should ever readily see. It was a long, slow, often frustrating process, but he was a smart horse and well worth the money Alma had spent by going all the way to Virginia to get him.

On Friday afternoon, Alma stopped to watch. After just a few minutes she said, "Is that same horse you were working with on Monday?"

Aspen smiled and said, "He's a natural! Watch this."

Toro began by performing a leg-yield. His long side was at a perfect angle of 30 degrees to the imaginary wall. From there, he went directly into a half-pass that caused Alma to smile—a real smile—for the first time since Aspen met her.

"Oh...my...heavens!" she called out. "That is incredible!!"

Aspen stopped in right in front of Alma and said, "He's SO smart! All he needed was boundaries. I'm not sure how far we can get before the competition, but we're going to give this everything we've got."

Josh drove up and stopped just as Aspen was getting off. "Oh, wait! Show Josh," Alma said.

"Show me what?"

Aspen got back on and took Toro through both movements again.

"Holy cow!"

"No, holy horse!" Alma said.

"How about...Holy Aspen." He hollered out, "Dang, girl. That ain't half bad! Your half pass, I mean."

She was smiling from ear to ear when she came back over. "It isn't me. It's Toro." She patted his neck and said, "You're such a smart boy, aren't you?" He neighed and swung his tail and everyone laughed.

"This calls for a celebration!" Josh said. "Come on down and let's talk!"

He pitched his idea and Aspen said, "Oh, no. I can't. I can't leave Jenny here by herself and besides, I don't have anything to wear."

"Nonsense!" Alma said. "I'm happy to spend an evening with her and you should've bought that dress I showed you. That sweater you bought'll be nice enough for where Josh is taking you, though. You kids go on and have some fun. Jenny will be just fine."

"Well, if you're sure," Aspen said. She hadn't been out in...she didn't know. Probably around the last time she'd had any fun.

"We're sure," Josh said.

"Okay, then. Let's do it!"

While Aspen went to get ready, Josh couldn't help but say something. "Mom? Did you notice she's not wearing her ring anymore?"

"You just now saw that? It's been off for a few days. She's still married, mind you, but...well...I didn't tell you this." Alma told her son what Aspen had shared about the drinking and having been hit by her husband.

"What a son of a bitch," Josh said. "Now it all makes sense. Don't worry, Mom. Tonight is just havin' a little fun."

When Aspen came out of the bathroom in the main house, Jenny saw her first.

"Wow! You look so beautiful, Mom!"

"Thank you, honey. It's just jeans, but that's very sweet."

She did look amazing. Her hair was soft and silky and fell to her shoulders. For the first time since she'd arrived at the Diamond D, it wasn't pulled back in a ponytail or a bun. Her beautiful face was covered with some light foundation which made her seem to almost glow and her eyes had a touch of gray eye shadow with just a bit of eye liner and mascara. Everything blended perfectly with the one and only decent thing she owned and it definitely caught someone else's eye.

Aspen heard a soft, almost-polite wolf whistle as she and Jenny went into the kitchen. "Dang, girl! You clean up right nice!" Josh said in an exaggerated southern drawl. "I told you see was purdy, right, Maw?" he said keeping it up.

Aspen was smiling so big her mouth hurt. She rarely smiled or laughed or had fun. Right now, she was doing all three.

"She's as beautiful as she is talented with horses," Alma said showing that almost smile again.

They all had something to eat before Josh and Aspen headed out knowing they would be drinking. Nothing too much, but drinking on empty stomach was just plain foolish.

"We won't be too late, Mom," Josh said as he pecked his mother's cheek.

"You be good, okay?" Aspen told Jenny.

"Mom! When I have ever not been good?" she said authoritatively.

"Okay. Good point," she said knowing her daughter was right.

"Have a good time," Jenny said. She smiled at her mom then said, "But don't you be too good, okay?"

Everyone laughed including Aspen. "Just have some fun, Mom," she told her as they hugged goodbye. "You deserve it."

"Thank you, honey." Aspen felt like she might cry and she didn't want to have to redo her makeup. She took a deep breath then let go of her daughter.

"Okay. I'm ready!" she said looking at Josh.

He'd replaced his ball cap with a Stetson and looked even more handsome than usual. He extended his elbow. Aspen nodded and said, "Oh. Well...thank you," and followed him out as they all called out, "Bye! See you later."

Josh opened the door of the F-250 and helped Aspen get in. She thanked him then Josh went around and got in and fired it up.