15. Sara

Chapter fifteen

Sara

I'm free today. Are you going to the sanctuary?

I read the text, feeling the butterflies in my stomach. A smile follows. Bianca giggles behind me, and I whip my head around.

"What's so funny?"

"You, Sara. You look at your phone like you discovered the Holy Grail," she replies.

I look down to put it away and smile. "I guess I do."

I'll answer Robert on my break. I've got fifteen until I can go on it and then another two hours till I'm done here. I plan on spending the evening at the sanctuary and riding Clover, my horse.

"Is it the guy who came in?"

"Yeah, it is," I reply confidently.

"So, it's going well, right?"

"I want to believe so. I don't really know how to gauge this type of thing." I say honestly.

"Oh my gosh, you're so new to this, Sara," she replies.

"Hey, I can't help it. I never thought that things would go this way," I reply.

It's the truth. I thought Robert would've been tired of me by now, but after the Bermuda trip, he's tried to at least be a little more open with me. Between the flowers at work and a couple of little surprise visits, we've been able to connect with each other.

His business, however, has been holding him hostage most of the time. He gets in to work first thing in the morning and gets out late at night. It's been hard to see him, and I wish that he would get a little more time off.

He says soon, and I hope so.

"Anyway Bianca, I'm going to leave right at two and then go to the sanctuary."

"Sounds good. And you can go on break now. Tell your little boyfriend you'll be free."

I roll my eyes but then grab my phone and head to the break room. I type out a message, telling Robert that it's fine and we can meet there. He says he's bringing his horse, Orchid, whom I'm interested in meeting.

I never expected Robert to be so curious and understanding of my dreams. I'm so used to being put down or not taken seriously that this feels nice.

I have a snack and then head to the front register to finish my shift. At two on the dot I clock out, practically sprinting to my car to head to the sanctuary. As I reach the entrance, I spot a white trailer attached to a huge black truck. I don't recognize it, but I assume it's Robert's. I park next to it and walk inside, hearing May talking animatedly.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find our facilities great for riding."

"Of course," Robert purrs. "I can't wait to check them out."

I approach the counter and May smiles. Her wrinkled face is even more full of life than usual, which brings a smile to my own face.

"Sara! There you are. Is this your man?"

I turn to Robert and nod.

"Yeah, I suppose you could call him that," I chuckle.

"Well, he's been talking to me about all sorts of things. Apparently, you two are going to ride horses here?"

"Yeah, we were thinking it."

"Actually, I couldn't bring Orchid today," he explains, "but I still want to see the sanctuary."

"Oh. I thought you wanted to ride," I reason.

"Next time. Orchid actually had a small fever this morning, so I've got my vet taking care of him."

"That's fine. We can always come back again. Besides, you can still meet Clover, my senior horse."

"Sounds like a plan," he replies.

May winks and heads to the back. I follow her for a second.

"This is fine, right May? I don't want to intrude—"

She turns around and presses her hand to my shoulder. She cocks her head slightly as her dark brown eyes stare at me.

"Sara, stop worrying so much."

"I'm not trying to worry. I'm just—"

"I've got it. The animals are good. I'll do the rounds. You just go spend time with Robert. And you know you can come here anytime to ride or just walk around and talk to your animal friends," she says with eyes crinkled.

She's an absolute saint. I thank her, heading out. Robert leans against one of the walls, reading the brochures.

"Ready to go?" I ask.

"For sure. Tell me where we're going, Sara."

"Out here."

We head out the door, and I gesture to the pathway on my left, my hand brushing against the fence as we walk.

"We have a fence here to make sure none of them get out into the parking lot and also to prevent them from hurting one another. But otherwise, it's an open sanctuary full of many different animals."

"Interesting."

We walk to the gate and I open it. Immediately, Ramby the Schnauzer trots on over, bumping into my leg.

"Hey there, Ramby. How are you, boy?"

I touch his head, and he presses against me. I gesture to the dog as it sniffs Robert's leg.

"He's friendly, just old and blind."

"I see."

Robert puts his hand down, and the dog sniffs it, brushing his cold, wet nose against his fingertips. He pets his head and pushes the mop of hair from his eyes.

"What a cute dog."

"Yeah, he belongs to May. He's the first she rescued. He's fourteen years young and still full of life. We just don't want to bring him to a shelter or anything since we don't think anyone would adopt him." "Plus," I say with a grin, "I believe it was love at first sight for May when he came here and that was that!"

"So, he gets to live his days out here. Honestly, he's got it made, a great place to live and with May who loves him." Robert hits that one on the head.

"For sure," I giggle.

As we walk, we reach an area where some goats stand around. They bleat toward us, and I walk over. "These are all senior goats. They can't make milk, but we don't want anyone hurting them, so they get to live here. There are lots more younger goats out in the pastures too. We receive a goat or two every few weeks. I guess they are cute when they're little but not so cute when they have eaten all of the mother's plants and jump on the antique car in the garage." And I can't stop from laughing just thinking of all the trouble they get into.

"Interesting," he replies, touching one, who nibbles on his hand with her gums.

"She's got no teeth," Robert gasps.

"Yeah, that's another thing. Ginger there does love others and would be great as a farm goat, but she doesn't have her teeth. She has a rare dental disease, so we have to feed her a liquid diet. But she does love some gummy finger kisses."

He laughs and then pulls his fingers away.

We walk down the rest of the pastures, from the horses, where they hang out in both the barn and the open area, to a small herd of cows.

"All of the animals are given a second chance. We even have a bunch of barn cats running around."

A meow echoes to my right as Torrence, the blackest cat on the sanctuary property, scurries past us.

"He's probably trying to catch mice or something," I reason.

"You've got quite the team living here already," Robert reasons.

"Of course. It's just nice, seeing all the animals move around and get another chance at a happy life."

That's what brings me here every chance I get. We walk down, seeing more animals, including a fenced in area with a couple of foxes that aren't able to go back into the wild and one a coyote that's also at risk of being hurt if she goes out. After we finish the tour, I head back over toward the barn area.

"Clover's over here."

I walk through the barn to another part of the building. An enthusiastic whinny echoes through the hall as I get near to her.

"There she is!"

I speed up, and I hear Robert's footsteps following me. We get there, and I see Clover raising her head with approval. She can always tell when I'm nearby.

"There you are!" I clamor, reaching for her mane to give it a gentle pet and a hug. Clover raises her head, meeting my motions. As Robert approaches, his hand grabs the stall.

"This is Clover, then," he asks.

"Yep. She's my pride and joy: a senior horse who still loves to go out riding. We're thinking of having her compete at some point in the elder rodeo games."

"That would be one heck of a show. I've never heard of such a thing."

"It is. I've gone to one about fifty miles from here and it's quite a show," I reply. "Do you want to pet her? She's very gentle and loves attention."

"Sure."

I open the gate, and Clover steps out. He touches her, and Clover whinnies her approval. I stand there, smiling at the sight. He's so gentle with the animals and genuinely seems to care.

"She likes you."

"I'm glad she does. I like her too."

My heart flutters upon hearing that. I grab the brush to begin to brush her. A minute later, I feel a presence behind me and Robert's hot breath against my ears.

"Allow me."

I step back, crimson red, as I watch Robert brush my horse. The black shirt that he wears does little to hide his muscular arms. The muscles move as he brushes the horse up and down. The jeans he wears, high-quality work jeans from Dickies, cling to his body. He does know how to dress the part right down to some rather worn cowboy boots, despite being a rich guy who spends most of his time in his office.

"Good job," I praise, finally reeling my thoughts in. I probably shouldn't be spending the entire afternoon ogling Robert like that. But ogle I do.

We finish with Clover and as we walk back to the entrance, the sky is on fire with the beautiful setting sun. Oranges, reds and even some pinks compete to be the most beautiful hue before the inevitable sinking into the horizon.

"Darn, it's getting late."

"Yeah, kind of stinks. I had a great time today, Sara. This place is wonderful. You work here the days when you're not at the café, right?"

"Yes," I reply, leaning against the fence. "If May could pay more, I would love to work here all the time. But between the costs of the upkeep and animals, she can only use me a few hours at a time."

He leans on the fence next to me and nods. "I get that. It's quite the place."

"Yeah. It's a little nerve-wracking for me, however, being out here with you."

He turns his head, curious about my words. "Why? This is something you like, right?"

"Yeah, well, not everyone's interested in that. I've been told my dreams are a little embarrassing and—"

His hand reaches for my chin and cups it. His lips are mere inches away, and I feel my face on fire. I want to close the distance, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, or if he is, for that matter.

I mean, he'd be the first person I've kissed in who knows how long. Still, his plush lips sit there as if asking me to move forward and close the distance.

"Don't feel embarrassed."

I finally snap back to reality and blink, smiling a little bit.

"I'll try not to be."

As soon as it happens, he slips his hand back. When he touches me, I feel the desire grow and the fire in my heart.

"I like hearing about it. Really, it's nice."

"Thanks, Robert. It's nice to talk about it with someone who isn't just May. She's a total peach, but she's heard this countless times."

"And I'm sure it breaks her heart knowing that she can't just drop everything and help you too."

"Well, yeah, I think so," I admit. May doesn't show it, but I can see that she wants to give me this place. However, she doesn't really know how to, nor do I have the money to run it anyway. It's a nice dream, but I can't go that way yet.

"I do like it here and the next time I visit, we'll go riding for real. Hopefully, Orchid will be fine to come."

"I'm surprised you drove that truck and trailer out here."

"I wanted to bring him, but when I got to the farm, I had hitched up the trailer before I found out he was sick. Since time was ticking, I figured I'd just get on the road. It upset me to come without him because I'm sure you would've liked him," he explains.

I grab his hand, holding it in my own. "Next time. We can go riding, and then maybe I can show you a few other places here. It's about twenty acres of land, and some of the animals prefer to be a little farther out."

He smiles and squeezes my hand.

"I would love to come out here with you again. Just say when, and I'll make it happen."

"Of course. Sooner than later, right."

"Yep. Sooner than later."

We walk back to the entrance and say our goodbyes. I watch Robert drive down the hill in the dark and stand there, thinking about what I did today.

I showed him a part of me I've kept hidden for so long. A dream that I've always pushed away because people tell me it's silly. I close my eyes, and a contented smile falls over my face.

Maybe my dreams aren't so silly after all.