Chapter 65

Doug just smiled at her as she left. This wasn't fair to her and he knew it. After walking through the upstairs a little more he had a pretty good idea of the things he was going to box up and take back. His godmother was going to live in the house and would use most of the things here but the sentimental things were his. He slowly walked back downstairs. The house had cleared out a little after the food had gone. It wouldn't be long until he would be all alone to clean up the mess. He didn't see Anna and didn't want to make a true effort to find her. He made some more small talk before heading into the backyard. They had a small basketball court that he had made one summer and Doug was surprised to find it in fairly good condition. 'The local kids must play on it.' he thought. Doug found a ball in the grass and took off his jacket before dribbling it onto the court. He shot from the top of the key and grinned as he made it in. "starting at point guard, central Lexington's # 20...Doug roses!" Doug said out loud to himself as he dodged imaginary opponents. "He tries to drive up the lane but sees the pick and sends it back...he gets the opening and..." Doug went to shoot the ball and missed. "He misses but steals it back. No ones guarding him and..." Doug bit his lip as he jumped for a dunk. He barely got it but slammed the ball through hanging onto the rim for a second before landing on his feet. Doug got the ball and walked it back up to the key rolling up his shirt sleeves. "The games all tied up...fifteen seconds to make history..." Doug said as he got ready for the shot. He used to love doing this when he was young. "He shoots as the buzzer sounds!" Doug said as he jumped for the shot. He threw his hands up as he made it. "It's good! Ahhh" he softly yelled as he jumped into the air.

Anna walked back into the house, things were wrapping up. She took off her jacket and set it on the back of the chair, as she started to slowly clean up after people. She picked up glasses, plates and odds and ends into the kitchen. They tried a couple of times to shoo her out, but she stood her ground. "It's okay," she said prying free of one of the women, "I need something to do." She stood at the kitchen sink as she rolled up her sleeves and dug in. She tuned out the gossip. As she smiled watching Doug playing on the basketball court. Boys will be boys. She didn't want to believe half the stuff that she was hearing. When spoken to she just nodded her head, acknowledging who ever it was but kept going. After about a half hour she realized that the house was now empty and she was standing there with up to her elbows in dishwater. She slid her hand around the bottom of the sink not paying attention as she watched him having what looked like fun on the court, felt a knife dig into her hand.

Doug was heating up. 'I'm not that out of practice' he said to himself. He took off his button up shirt so that he was playing in slacks and his white undershirt. He grabbed the ball again and ran towards the basket and dunked it again. "Not bad for a 5'11 point guard." he said with a laugh. He looked around the court. He could remember playing out here and smelling his mom making dinner. He was always going to be sad that Anna never got to meet her. She was the best part of him. He would also feel bad his mom would never know what a great person he had in his life now. He quickly pushed the memories away as he went for another shot.

"Damn it." She said as she put her hand under the cold water. She let the water run over her hand as she watched him continue to play. Boy was she smitten with the man out there on the court. She watched him for a few more minutes before finishing up what dishes she had left in the sink. It stung but she'd live. She grabbed a paper towel from the by the sink, pressing it against her hand and walked out of the house towards the back yard. "Hey there hot shot." She called, "are we winning?"

Doug turned around. He should have known she might be watching him. "Only by a little." he said holding his hand up to block the sun so he could see her. He set the ball down and wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt as he walked over to her. "Everybody gone?" he asked before he reached her. He saw she was holding her hand and he reached out to touch it. "You alright?" he asked looking at the cut on her hand. He pulled her hand put and kissed the incision. "About everything." he asked squinting into the sun. "It must have a pretty crappy day for you."

"Yeah I'm okay. I just had a run in with a knife, hazards of kitchen work." She said looking at him, "It was okay..." She stopped herself from going on. "I got the kitchen cleaned up for you, you looked like you were having so much fun out here, and I didn't want you to have to worry about it."

Doug grinned at her. "I appreciate that..." he took a good look at her. She really didn't look very happy even now. He wanted to do something to cheer them both up. "You know what?" he said looking at his watch. "I am making an executive decision...have you ever been horseback riding?"

"An executive decision..." She laughed, "Horseback riding yeah right country boy. I'm a city girl, big city girl remember."

Doug smiled at her. He hoped his idea would make her happy and not blow up in his face. "Well come on then..." he said taking her hand."Let's get you changed." Doug was glad he had brought some blue jeans for them after all.

"Okay... okay." She said, "as long as you realize that I am totally clueless about this."

"That's a good thing." Doug said as they went inside the house. He tossed her, her jeans. "You can go upstairs and change." Doug went into the bathroom that was in the hall. It took him about thirty seconds. He was glad he still had his friend who worked at the derby. Since it wasn't derby season Doug knew there were bound to be some warm up horses just hanging around that they could take out. He sat outside on the porch swing and waited for her to come out.

Anna threw on her jeans and walked outside the house. She sat down on the swing next to him, "okay cowboy, let's do this."

Doug smiled at her "ha-ha, I'm not exactly a cowboy. But you can't come to Kentucky and not ride...a horse." he said blushing. It was his one lame attempt at a joke. "Come on then." he said taking her hand and leading her to the jeep. He left the window down as he pulled onto the road. Doug was glad when a song came on the radio he knew. He sang along to 'jack and Diane' to make Anna laugh. "Little ditty about Jack and Diane
Two American kids growing up in the heartland Jacky's gonna be a football star Diane debutante backseat of Jacky's car." he drummed on the steering wheel and looked over at her. He wanted to have a good time as much as he wanted her to be happy with him. They both needed it. "The..." Doug didn't want to give it away. "Place is only a little further" he said changing lanes. The sun was coming down and Doug could picture it now. It was going to be beautiful.

Anna ran her hand thru her hair as she giggled. "Well then I would hate on missing out on riding..."she paused..."a horse." It felt good to be laughing as she put her hand on his knee. "Can I be your Diane there Jacky, there's plenty of room here."

Doug was almost crying he was laughing so hard. He looked over at her. "Ohhh it's going to be a long night." he said finally getting his laughter under control. He pulled down a dirt road; he was going to take the back way to surprise her. "Ok" he said parking the car. He stepped out and could smell the clean air. His timing was going to be perfect. He took her hand and walked her through the back of the barn so that they would come out in the front of the derby ring with the sun out in front.

She held onto her hand not knowing what to expect. "You know how to pick activities, this is wonderful." She said to him as she put her arm around him. She was nervous as all get out. She had never been on a horse let alone ever near one. "I'm glad you know what you're doing."

Doug smiled at her. He waved at his friend on the field. He turned Anna back around and walked her though the barn. "Don't be scared. I wouldn't let anything happen to you." he walked her over to the warm up horses and found a beautiful brown one that wasn't overly big. "These are warm up horses. They aren't good enough to run in the derby so they run along side the real ones to get them loose." he took her hand and brought it through the bars of the stall. "Come here boy." he said calling the horse. He put Anna's hand on his nose trying to show her there wasn't anything to be scared of. "Here you pet him while i find a saddle." he said walking down the hall. He came back with two saddles and set them down. Doug opened the stall door and led the horse out so he could put a saddle on him. "Is this one ok with you?" he asked. "Just keep petting him...he's a good boy aren't you?" he asked the horse kissing his mane.

Anna smiled. "Pet the horse Anna." She said to herself as she watched Doug, "nice horsie." She said trying to stay calm and relaxed.

Doug tried to keep the smile off his face. As he set the saddle on the horses back the horse jumped a little. "Its ok boy." Doug said strapping it down. He fixed the bridle for Anna and handed the reins for her to hold. "I'm going to get mine. Can you hold him for a second?" Doug didn't want to push her too fast but he thought learning something new would be good. She would have to trust him on this, like he did with her.

Anna's hands shook a little now. "Yeah," she squeaked. She trusted him, but this was unfamiliar ground for her. She continued to run her hand over the horse's mane while keeping her eyes glued on Doug. 'Trust Anna, Doug isn't going to get you killed.' she said to herself, "It's a horse, you're just a big pony."

Doug walked down a pulled out another horse. His was a little bigger but it would work. He saddled the horse and got the bridle set on his. He brought his horse out in front of Anna's. "Ok Anna, yours is just going to follow mine ok? Just hold the reins and walk a little bit behind me until we reach the track." riding on the track was good because if the horse took off Doug wouldn't have to chase her down a pasture to save her. He slowly led his horse though the barn keeping a good eye on Anna. "You're doing good Anna. See it's not that hard."

Okay, here she was following Doug with a horse. "We can do this right there my new horsie friend." Doug was in front of her and she was walking slow but following him. "Uh Doug does my uhm new friend here have a name other than nice horsie?"

"Ha-ha" Doug laughed at her. He could tell she was really nervous. "Yeah his name is Magic. The one i have is Copper." he said patting his horse on the back. Doug led them down onto the track. "Thanks again Dave!" he called to his friend. Doug stopped and turned around. He set his horses reins on the fence and went to go help Anna. Doug stopped her horse and turned to her. "Ok...moment of truth." he said taking the reins from her. He wanted her to get on before she hanged her mind or got too scared. "Stand on his left side and stick your foot in the stirrup. He's not going to go anywhere ok? All you have to do is grab some of his mane and pull yourself up." Doug stuck his foot in the other stirrup so when she got up the saddle wouldn't slide, and so she could feel like she was doing it on her own. "Let me know if you need some help. I'm right here."

Anna took a deep breath, "Okay magic here we go." Anna brought her foot up putting it into the stirrup just like Doug had told her to as she attempted to get up on the horse; she made it about halfway and couldn't get any further. She tried to pull herself the rest of the way up but wasn't getting anywhere; she didn't have the upper body strength yet. "I'm stuck," She softly called out, oh god he was going to laugh at her.

"It's ok" Doug said standing up in the stirrup. 'Oh please god don't let this horse take off' he thought to himself. He took her hand and leaned backwards to help her up. He grabbed her right leg and gently pulled it over the horses back. He jumped back down on the ground and put her foot in the stirrup for her. "You did it Anna!" he said smiling. "I knew you could." Doug walked over to his horse and pulled himself on. He could have gotten on with little effort but he made himself work a little harder not to show up Anna. Once he was on he walked his horse next to hers. "Ok, you ready? We are just going to walk around the track. Hold your reins like this." he said leaning over to show her. "Just squeeze with your legs and he'll go." Doug moved his horse slowly knowing hers would follow. He smiled at her as they started to walk. He was quiet for a little, just taking the time to watch her. After they got halfway down the track he spoke up. "This ok? Having fun?"

Anna laughed, "Yeah I am. This isn't that scary." She said hopefully the color would return to her fingers here soon. She had her fingers so tightly clenched that her knuckles had turned white, but she was relaxed and enjoying herself now.

Doug nodded prodding his horse to go just a little faster. He thought if he sped them up slowly she would never know until they hit a trot. He looked around at the setting sun and his beautiful girlfriend. He moved over a little closer to her so he could pull her hair back behind her ear. He wanted to use any excuse to touch her. It was strange how they had turned such an awful day for him into something better. The quiet gave him time to think which made him sad but he tried not to show it. Instead he looked back at Anna who looked happier now. "I love you." he said with a pause. "I really do."

"I love you too." She said to him smiling softly. She couldn't have asked for a better place to spend time with him than here at sunset. She felt so at peace right now. "I always will."

Doug kept his eyes locked with hers making his horse really move. They were getting pretty close to a trot and Doug was proud that Anna was doing so well. Any other person he would have done this for might have freaked out. It made him feel good that she trusted him. Finally Doug got the horse to go into a slow trot. It was getting dark and he knew that their day would be over soon so he wanted to make the most out of it. "Hold on with you're legs" he said softly to her. "You're doing really well."

Anna listened to him. She relaxed and just went with it. After all it was the same horse just moving faster and Doug was right there. "Yeah," she sighed. After all she was riding a horse now wasn't she? She felt the last bit of fear fade from her body. She could honestly say that she was truly enjoying herself and their time together. She knew in her heart now that this was the one person who she was going to be spending the rest of her life with.

"You ready for the derby then?" Doug asked joking. "We can hit this last lap in the next gear if you're ready." Doug knew if she agreed she would have a blast. He loved really moving on a horse. He was a speed junkie anyway. "A canter is smoother anyway...you ready?"

"Ready." She nodded at him. "Let's do it."

"My kinda girl." Doug said nudging his horse to get him into a slow canter. He knew once they rounded the corner the horses would automatically speed up. "If you get scared just hold onto his mane." Doug got both horses into a smooth and steady canter up the straight away. Sure enough, once they rounded the turn both sped up. Doug kept a good eye on Anna to make sure she was doing ok. He leaned down next to the horse and closed his eyes feeling the wind go by him. This night was great. He had finally found his match. Anna was the perfect combination of things that were just like him, and totally opposite. He sat up straight with his eyes still closed and tried not to look into their future. He was having too much fun living with her one day at a time. He breathed in deeply and tried to capture every second. He didn't want this moment to end.

Anna felt the wind blowing thru hair. She actually felt free from everything right now. He seemed so happy right now and she was too. She let her mind drift, her thoughts free as she felt at that moment in time. She was unsure of where they were going but she planned on enjoying the ride. Slowly over time she knew she would completely let him into her life. Right now she couldn't picture life with out him there with her.

Doug sighed as the horses came to a stop where they started. "Ahhh damn" he said looking up into the night. It was dark now and Doug knew they needed to get back. He still had a lot of work to do tomorrow. He hopped off his horse and stretched his back. It had been awhile since he had been riding and he could feel the stiffness setting in. "ok baby." he said walking over to the side of her. "Throw you're leg over and jump down." Doug grabbed her waist and helped to lift her down. He touched the sides of her arms. They felt cold, so he ran his hands down her arms to try and heat her skin up. He was about to say something when his friend came down. "Hey Doug." he said sticking out his hand from the other side of the fence. Doug walked over and shook his hand. "Thanks Dave...we're even now." he said smiling. Dave leaned in to whisper to Doug. "She must be pretty special for you to use your IOU like this." he said with a wink. Doug just smiled as he walked back. "Yeah she is." he said taking Anna's hand. "Dave's going to take the boys back up to the barn.' he said to Anna. Doug walked over and patted both of the horses. "Thanks guys for taking care of my girl." he wrapped his arm around her and walked with her out of the arena.

She smiled, as she reached up and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

Doug grinned as they reached the car. "Don't mention it." he said getting in. "I thought we could use a little fun today. I'm glad you had a good time. "Doug had to roll up the windows. It was cold outside and they were both in tee-shirts. "Too bad there aren't any nice hotels around i can afford." he said keeping his eyes on the road. "I hate to bring you back to such a crappy motel."

"It's okay," She said sitting back against the seat as she ran her hands up and down her arms. She hadn't noticed the cold until they had stopped moving. "As long as you are there that's all I need." She looked at the floor for a minute, as she took in a deep breath. She was going to say more but decided that it was too soon to say anything. "I did have a really good time though. I'm just happy that you didn't laugh at me." She shifted her weight in the seat and started to play with her hair. "Look if you're not too macho of a man to accept, I know how guys are with these kinds of things. Let me splurge on my vacation and get us one. I got the settlement on my Beemer and well I was leaning towards getting something a little more solid."

"Solid would be better. I would worry about you less." Doug thought about her offer for a minute. He would pay for it but he really didn't have the money. "Vacation might not be the right word...but if you want to i won't say no." Doug said whacking the heater in the car. "A place with heat might be nice." he pulled up to their motel. "I'll get our stuff...if you're sure you don't mind."

"No I don't mind. And yeah you're picking out the car. I'm leaning toward something a little less sporty and more SUV anyway." She said smiling at him. "Hurry up, go get our stuff. I am freezing here out here." She watched him get out of the car and head up to the motel room. She leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes. It's not like she had anyone that was depending on her to support them now. Her shifts at County would more than pay the rent and bills. Now that she wouldn't have to worry about Max drinking or drugging her paychecks down the drain or if she was going to lose the house over her head and have to live out of her car. She didn't have to worry about having medical bills to pay because she had to go to some clinic in the middle of the night to get stitches, or make sure that she hadn't broken anything, where no one knew her or hadn't seen her before. Be strong Anna, be strong don't break down now...don't break down now, you can't break down now, there's too much riding on this. The best thing in your life just went up to get your stuff and you are not going to be shedding any tears when he gets down here. She bit down on her lip to keep the feelings at bay.