Chloe

Chapter 12 - In love with Bear

It was between the state of awake and sleep that I loved to prolong. The warmth of the bed, the relaxed state of my muscles, and my romantic dreams of Edwin were a combination I never wanted to wake up from. –Chloe’s Diary

Chapter 12

In love with Bear

When Aunt busted into her room with all her energy, Chloe groaned pulling the blankets over her head, “Go away.”

Aunt shook her, “Get up, get up!” 

“The house better be on fire,” Chloe grumbled as she peeked one eye out from underneath the duvet.

“I have the most wonderful present in the world for you!” her aunt shouted. A present? That was cool but did she have to be so loud about it? Chloe uncovered the rest of her head and glared at her, “What for?”

Aunt looked surprised by the question, as if she was going to say does it matter? 

Instead she answered, “Let’s just say it is a belated birthday present for like the last 17 years.” 

Chloe was getting more curious but before she could ask what it was her aunt left the room apparently satisfied she was awake.  Her aunt’s departing words were “Wear jeans.” That really got her moving.

Five minutes later she was still trying to work the sleep out of her eyes when they piled into her little red zippy car. Evidently her aunt wasn’t satisfied she was moving fast enough because she waved her hand for her to hurry up. If she kept up this cheerfulness Chloe might be forced to drink the brown sludge her aunt calls coffee. 

“I didn’t realize we were actually going anywhere today,” Chloe said grumpily. 

“Not far,” Aunt answered. Gee, she hoped not. She had not prepared herself to leave the community.

Thankfully, it wasn’t far. After a couple of turns within the community her aunt zipped into a parking lot of what appeared to be a small horse stable. A sign said, “Horse rentals.”

Chloe stared. She had no idea this was here. How fun to be able to ride a horse on the beach, in the water. The possibilities were endless eliciting a grin from her tired cheeks.

Her aunt, who was positively ecstatic, jumped out of the car heading the direction of the stables not even waiting for Chloe to follow. When Chloe was finally able to reach her, her aunt grabbed her hand and pulled her through the office of the stables. She was impressed that her little aunt could walk so fast, especially since Chloe towered a good six inches over her and her legs were at least twice as long.

   An older lady behind the counter waved at Aunt saying, “I see you couldn’t wait, Claire!” 

“No I couldn’t!” Aunt answered. Then if it was at all possible she picked up speed as they went through another door that led into a very long, very well kept stable. 

Beautiful horses lined the stalls and the smell of fresh hay and horse filled Chloe’s nostrils. It was like coming home to Texas and  a comfort level she hadn’t felt since her grandfather died engulfed her.

All of sudden, in the middle of a stride and thought, her aunt made an abrupt stop in front of a stall marked “Bear” and said, “Surprise!” 

Chloe was still trying to regain her balance from the sudden stop, grabbing hold of the half door leading into one of the stalls, when a red bow drew her attention to where her aunt stood. Chloe turned to peer inside the stall to see a stunning black gelding. The horse was instantly curious of her and stuck his soft velvet nose out the opening. He took in a giant sniff of her hair. Oh, it was heaven. She laughed.

Chloe turned toward to her aunt, “I don’t understand.” Her aunt patted her on her arm and said, “He’s yours.” Chloe blinked not comprehending. 

“I have this client and her daughter is a bit spoiled,” Aunt rolled her eyes then continued, “He had bought her this horse but she lost interest within an hour or so. He needed to find him a home and well I knew your love for horses.”

   Oh my… Chloe had no words. Tears overfilled her eyes and she let them. Her aunt had a heart the size of Texas. A sob nearly broke through as she flung her arms around her aunt and hugged her with all her might. She didn’t know what to say and every time she tried more tears came rushing down.

   “He came with tack too so you don’t have to worry about anything,” her aunt choked out, tears making her words soggy. After a few more moments of tears and silent sobs, her aunt dislodged from Chloe, “Well I’m going to head back to the cottage. You can have the office call me when you are ready to come home.” It was then that Chloe realized her aunt wasn’t comfortable with emotions, always wanting to run away. It was okay. She understood keeping emotions under control to protect oneself.

Chloe spent the morning brushing and talking to Bear. He was a very good listener and very well mannered. After a while she peeled herself from the stables and made her way back home by foot. It wasn’t until halfway home that she realized it was lunchtime and she hadn’t made lunch for Edwin. She picked up her speed, nearly jogging the rest of the way.

Disappointingly when she arrived at the cottage, Edwin had come and gone. Her aunt had explained to him that Chloe had another obligation. With nothing else to do, she showered and lay down for a nap, when she woke it was dusk. Sitting up, she rushed to the bathroom to do something with her wild hair. She settled for pulling it back, dashing out her door to the back deck right as Edwin walked up. Before he made it to the top step she apologized, “I’m so sorry about lunch…”

He held his hand up silencing her, “I understand, it’s hard to compete against a horse named Bear. At least his name isn’t Edwin.”

She laughed, “Don’t worry Edwin, you’re my favorite lunch companion.” His smile grew brighter as he lead her down the stairs, onto the soft sand, and down the dangerous path she feared was obsession.

   They danced again that night. She was getting pretty good, or at least not terrible. Edwin would swing her around laughing in delight. She took turns with all the guys, as did all the girls, but Edwin was her favorite. She tried not to show her favoritism, but sometimes it was difficult, especially when he held her in his arms listening to his rich laughter.

 Sometimes she felt like she was going to burst if he didn’t kiss her. It was absurd how she craved a kiss she had never even tasted, but she did.

When the sun was about to break through the horizon, Edwin walked her back to the cottage. The wind gusted giving her a slight chill. He shrugged out of his hoodie and put it over her shoulders. His scent and residue warmth surrounded her. It was the closest thing to an embrace she would have from him. She sighed. They were quiet for most of the walk, as he seemed deep in thought. She watched him, loving his beautiful profile, comfortable with the quietness, comfortable with him. Maybe she should kiss him, she thought, but quickly squashed the idea, she was too afraid to ruin their relationship. When almost at the cottage, Edwin broke the silence to ask if she would be available for lunch tomorrow. She readily agreed, then made a mental note to wait until the afternoon to go to the stables. Anytime with Edwin was worth the sacrifice away from Bear. As usual Edwin watched her until she disappeared into her room.