Chapter 3. Happiness In A Stable
The stables called for Leah to wake up early in the morning, far earlier than her usual noon-time alarm clock that was Mrs. Hendrickson. Grumbling, she just slipped on her sneakers and a jacket, walking over to the Gordon stable in her pajamas. The dewy grass made the bottoms of her pajamas wet, and she shivered as she entered the stable, ready to feed the horses.
It was almost eerie how silent the stables were when Leah entered. The only sound being Leah's feet hitting the soft dirt of the stables and the crunch of straw made her uneasy. When a horse would suddenly shudder as she passed, blowing air from its nostrils, Leah would jump, afraid to find a stall slam open as a horse charged at her.
Approaching the last stall, Leah shielded her eyes from the sun that had begun to shine through. The horse in its stall snorted, and she heard its hooves pounding on the ground, as startled by her sudden movement than she was of its.
"It's alright," Leah stared into deep black eyes of a white horse that had a caramel colored spot on its right cheek and, if she were not afraid of reaching out and frightening the horse more, she would touch it. "I'm just giving you something to chow on for awhile. Food is always good to have."
When she opened its stall, the horse hurried to the end of the stall. Leah gaped at how large this stall was over all the others she had seen and she hurried to pour in the food so she would leave and the horse's fearful gaze at her would dissipate. Closing the door, she looked in, watching to see if the horse would calm down.
Its head shook back and forth and she smiled, now noticing its mane was the same color as the mark on its cheek. Sunlight from cracks in the stall made light flicker in its black eyes, and the horse slowly walked over, its head close enough to the opening for Leah to reach out a few inches and stroke it.
"I don't want to frighten you," Leah told the horse. "That is the last thing I would want to do."
Slowly holding out her hand, she laughed at how she was the one to flinch at her fingers brushing the horse's head and the horse stood still nonchalantly. She was surprised at the velvety feeling of the horse's coat. Touching the mark with one finger, Leah grinned, feeling as if she should do something in return for this pleasure the horse had provided her.
"How about tomorrow I bring you an apple?" Leah suggested and nodded her head when the horse stared at her and blinked its eyes. "I will take that as a yes. So it is a deal then."
Returning from the stables, Leah felt rejuvenated. Ready to tackle the world, she got ready, actually spending time to look decent and put on more make-up than the usual puff of powder here and there. Slipping into a white flowered sundress that hugged her waist and then flowed down mid-thigh, she felt is if she were capable of doing anything she had a hankering to do.
When Mrs. Hendrickson announced a visitor, Leah skipped down the steps, smiling at how her dress flowed out with each step and she knew how excited Jay would be to see her.
Instead of the usual visitor for the past two days, Leah saw Will's willing smile. He waved timidly, as if not expecting how she might react to his presence in her home with Mrs. Hendrickson. Walking over, she could see the surprise in Will's eyes at seeing her in an outfit that she would have been wearing were she still in college. Before she had begun to close herself in.
"Do you like?" Leah twirled around and laughed as her skirt flew about as well. "Don't you think this dress is great? I love how it flies out like that. It makes me feel fun."
"I thought I might steal you for the day," Will requested, raising his eyebrows. "Do you think you're up to it?"
"I'm always up for some fun," Leah jumped back upstairs to grab a purse and slip into some sandals.
"How have you been?" Will asked, looking over for a moment while he was driving. "You were a wreck the last time we chatted. Feeling better?"
"I guess," Leah reached into her purse and proceeded to applying lipstick. "Mrs. Hendrickson has me helping out at the Gordon's stables until I find a job. Although I wasn't so reluctant at first, I am actually enjoying it."
"That's great," Will grinned. "I'm glad to see you're at it again, Leah. I was worried for awhile that you wouldn't feel any better."
"Everyone has their ups and downs," Leah laughed.
I just hope this happiness lasts for awhile…
"Yeah," Will nodded. "Any idea where you want to go?"
"You have nothing planned?"
"I like being spontaneous," Will innocently defended. "It makes life more interesting and exciting for everyone that way."
"I suppose."
"What's this?" Will chuckled. "Leah Lewis-Hall, the woman who didn't know what she would do with her life a few days ago, or how she might feel the following day, is now suddenly doubting the life of spontaneity?"
"You know me, Will." Leah shrugged playfully. "Always coming out of the blue to do something no one would have expected. That's me."
"I would believe it," Will laughed. "You did that all through college."
"Can you believe we've been out of college for more than one year," Leah threw back her head in laughter at her mistake. "Two for you, of course."
"I don't think I've seen you like this for awhile, Leah." Will reached over and patted her shoulders. "Welcome back."
"Glad to be back in my skin again as well," Leah suddenly felt a pit in her stomach, as uncertainty on how long this would last settled in for digestion. "Well, you know what I think?"
"Do I want to know?"
"I think you would."
"Alright. Then what do you think?"
"I think we should go to the park."
"The park."
"Yes, the park." Leah nodded her head. "It would be fun. You and me, exploring the sidewalks and scenery. We could have fun with it."
"If that's what you want."
"Yes, it is."
"Then the park it is."
The closest park was fifteen minutes away. Fifteen minutes that Leah and Will sang along to oldies songs on the radio in Will's BMW. Her hands strumming the ceiling of Will's car, Leah banged her head to the music, not caring how high school she looked, being juvenile and puerile once more.
Will, glancing over between his own soft singing, would smile happily to see Leah so completely lost in her own happiness. Her own world. It was what he had loved about her in college and yet it was what had kept him away from her as well.
Though he had always cared for Leah, he was afraid this part of her would make her lost to all other aspects of life. Life wasn't always filled with days of sugar-coated fun, and that was what he believed Leah thought of life until she had graduated. To see her take this sudden turn for seriousness, he realized there was more to the party girl that had been just as boisterous and gregarious in college as Jay.
"I want to float on water," Leah remarked when they walked past the small lake of the park, large to most people, but nothing compared to other lakes around the world. "To slide across it on my toes as if I were ice-skating. Don't you think that would be fun, Will?"
"Anything for you, Leah." Will stuffed his hands into his pockets, knowing Leah was not in the mood for anything intimate and such thoughts were probably not even on her mind.
"I've never been to the park here before, honestly." Leah shook her head at how pathetic she sounded saying that. "I always knew it was here, but the idea of just walking around didn't really appeal to me. But now it does. Does that make sense?"
"It makes perfect sense."
"You know what I think?"
"Not this again," Will groaned teasingly.
"Fine," Leah crossed her arms. "I think that you are just agreeing to everything I say. What do you think about that?"
"I think you look gorgeous today."
There, he had said it.
Leah froze in her tracks and she felt her happiness fading like cotton candy on her tongue. Stiffening, she knew there was no way she could continue acting like this the rest of the day. For another minute. Who was she kidding, the fact that she was out and about, trying to have a good time, did not alter her present situation. Frowning, she dropped flat onto the ground.
"Damn," Will sat down, facing her. "I didn't mean to ruin your day, Leah."
"You didn't," Leah shook her head. "I did."
"Leah…" Will set a hand on her knees. "I hate seeing you like this."
As soon as he had said the words, he saw the toll they paid on her. Her eyebrows knitted together and a new sadness passed over her eyes and he suddenly felt guilty for causing her such anguish by his candid talk.
"You're magnificent," Will's grip on her knee tightened as he moved his head closer to the ground to look into her lowered face. "You do know that, right?"
"If not, I have you to remind me." she smiled, but he could see no joy crept to the corners of my mouth, or lit up her eyes.
"Is it alright if I hold you?" Will asked, feeling awkward for asking the question as soon as it was said. "I mean, I hadn't meant to sound…"
"If you want to."
Smiling despite himself, Will got up again and sat down behind her. Wrapping his arms around her, Leah suddenly felt warm and secure, closing her eyes and leaning back, molding her body against his. Her actions caught Will off guard and he only relaxed when he felt Leah sigh, resting her head back against his shoulder.
"So this is the place?" Will looked at the stables and wiped his forehead, already started to perspire from the late afternoon heat. "Not the cleanest place in the world…"
"It's a stable," Leah reminded when she came out of a stall, smiling brightly at him.
"So happy now, I see." Will laughed when Leah batted her eyes, skipping on her toes to the last stall in the far back of the stables.
It was amazing the effect being here had on Leah. Her face glowed with excitement at the fierce eyes that stared at her in caution and she seemed more like her old self than ever, prancing about in this humid stable. When Will approached Leah, he saw her stroking a horse's head, her head against the horses while her fingers lightly skimmed over the coat of a white horse. The horse was chewing in contentment, not minding Leah's contact as she hummed it a song.
"I'm assuming this one is your favorite?"
"Yes," Leah looked up and nodded. "You assumed right."
"You're gorgeous," and he watched her already flushed face turn crimson. "Really, Leah, I don't know how it surprises you. You are a spectacular girl. You make even standing in a dirty, scorching hot stable seem glamorous and great."
"You don't mean that," Leah's eyes lost its light as they became fierce like the horse she stroked.
"I mean every word."
"I'm sorry," Will apologized, afraid she might take off as swift and graceful as the horses she tended. "God Leah, I can't help how you make me feel. To me, you are just… amazing. I cannot help that I think you are the greatest person I have ever met and that I…"
"Please," Leah interrupted, looking more like a stricken animal than anything else. "I can't."
"I'm not asking you about anything," Will moved to her and looked into her eyes, feeling his stomach clench with desire. "I'm not asking for anything. I just want you, Leah. But you're calling the shots."
Releasing hold of the horse, Leah turned to completely face him. He saw the dirt on her cheek, wanting to brush it away, but knowing better than to push his luck. She was so sensitive nowadays, and he did not want to cause her pain or heartache. To his reluctant face, Leah only lowered her gaze, making Will turn weak, staring at her thick eyelashes and wanting to kiss her closed eyes.
"Leah…" he could barely speak the word, he was so lost in her.
"You can… you may hold me… if you really want." she said it in a murmur, and he almost believed he had heard it in his head until she looked up now, her lips trembling. "If you don't want to hold me, I understand."
"No," Will didn't waste another moment to have her in his arms, compressed against his chest as he lowered his forehead against her head. "This is all I need, Leah."
AN: Going to post two chapters today for you all just because you are awesome like that. Don't forget toreview!Thanks to I-Got-You, kistinmilly, and luthien telemnarfor your reviews.