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Chapter Three – November 6

After I read Mason a bedtime story and he drifted off to sleep, I made my way back outside to the porch. I was still incredibly angry. I couldn’t believe the audacity of that woman. I had honestly believed she was a doctor; she was wearing a lab coat, for pete’s sake. I had let her perform an actual medical task on my son.

My faith in women had hit rock bottom.

I watched as the shadow of a raccoon scurried across the yard. He made the turn to go around the corner of the house. I listened astutely as the sound of a paw hit the metal trash can. The poor thing would be awfully disappointed; I had made sure to secure the lid just this morning. A few minutes later I saw him again, this time he headed towards the lake. Someone less attuned to nature might have missed it, but I could hear the slight slap of the paw as it tested the water. Winter was close, but it wasn’t here yet.

As the silence surrounded me on all sides, I stared up at the sky. I found the constellation Orion, the hunter. It was Kristin’s favorite constellation. I could recall lying out in our backyard on a blanket as I wove a tale of mythical proportions around Orion’s need to protect the both of us from anything bad.

Orion had failed miserably.

After another hour, I drifted back inside. Mason was fast asleep. I settled onto the couch and picked up The Odyssey. There was nothing like a large, never-ending book to whittle away restless hours. I was just at the part where Odysseus and crew visited the Lotus-Eaters and were captured by the Cyclops. It was my favorite part. I sprawled out on the couch, my feet dangling over the edge, and began to read.

Somewhere in the course of the adventure I must have fallen asleep. I dreamt that I was walking through a forest. I was looking for something; either that or I was lost. It was mid-day; the sun was directly overhead casting shadows through the foliage. I could smell a peculiar sweetness in the air, it was the type of sweetness that smelled like the most exotic perfume – a combination of flowers and good old-fashioned dirt.

As I pushed a large branch out of the way, I heard the distinct sound of horse hooves coming towards me. I stumbled over a large root sticking out of the forest floor just as a beautiful chestnut horse came into view. The woman riding him was even more beautiful.

She was wearing nothing more than a little white see through dress. The curve of her breasts was distinct. As she came closer to me, the sweet smell from before increased ten-fold. As she knelt beside me, I felt her fingers slide through my hair. Her hair was almost the same shade as her horse and her eyes were the most incredible amber. My eyes watched in pure fixation as she slid the straps of her dress off her bare shoulders.

She lowered her face to mine and we were but a hair’s breath away from kissing. My heart sped up in anticipation of sexual contact. It had been so long…

I was awakened by what sounded like a stampede happening outside. My body was still tingling from the lasting effects of the dream. Whoever the warrior princess was, I certainly hoped she would visit again. I was extremely irritated; it was the first time I had been in a warm, comfortable sleep in awhile. Someone was going to pay.

I didn’t stop to see if Mason was awake; as the noise seemed to grow closer and closer, the few items on the mantle actually shook. I threw open the back door of the cabin and stepped out into the huge field to see what was invading private land.

Three horses ran wild in the late fall field grasses. They seemed to be performing some kind of synchronized dance; they chased each other in a perfect circle, their hooves hitting the earth with precision and force. Of course, they were not acting alone. A very unwelcomed sight was leading the show.

Addy Selinski was on the back of a dappled white and grey. She had a cowboy hat slung low over her eyes, but there was no doubt it was her. She was wearing brown riding crops and a matching jacket. Her bottom bounced in perfect time as she leaned into the next turn. She shouted out to the other horses. As they once again came close to the house, I could see she was smiling happily.

At least she was until she saw me.

“WOAH!” she called out loudly. I saw her pull up on the reins of the dappled. “WOAH!” The other two horses stopped where they were, snorting a little impatiently. A beautiful chestnut stopped and scooped up some grass.

“What are you doing?” I said a little harshly as I walked up to her horse. He stomped his foot a little impatiently, pawing at the ground.

“Good morning to you too, Mr. Richardson,” she said.

“This is a private field,” I said, motioning to the land around the cabin. She looked around.

“I’ve never seen any “Get Out” signs before,” she said. "I use these fields in the fall and spring to exercise my horses.”

“Well, I think you’re going to have to find a new practice arena,” I said. Her gaze went to the house.

“Did I wake Mason?”

“You woke me,” I said grumpily. She took off her hat and set it in front of her.

“I’m sorry,” she said simply. “I won’t come out here this early again. But maybe I could come in the afternoon. I’d be happy to show Mason…”

I shook my head. “He doesn’t like horses.”

She cocked her head. “He doesn’t? What kid doesn’t like horses?”

In truth Mason loved horses. If he was awake right now, I’d have a huge problem on my hands.

“They’re big. He’s little.”

“I’m little,” she said, throwing her arms wide. I averted my gaze, the last thing I wanted to do was check the fraud doctor out.

“Don’t you have another place to practice?” I asked. I saw her arms fall back down to the saddle; I looked back at her. She was smiling wryly.

“I suppose I could run them up and down Main Street,” she said. “Or we could do laps around their barn.”

“All good ideas,” I said. I knew I sounded like a jerk; but I couldn’t help it. Even though she seemed fairly mature (albeit lippy), at the moment she was more annoying than Nick ever was. And that was saying a lot.

I watched as she put her hat back on and turned her horse. With a little click of her tongue, the horse began to trot. The other two followed suit.

“Sorry to bother you, Mr. Richardson!” she called out. “Try to keep little round objects away from Mason today!”

Before I could respond, she broke her horse into a fast gallop. The other two streaked behind her.

I headed back to the cabin; my thoughts were mixed with the anger of yet another go around with that girl and the eroticism of the forest girl in my dreams.

Luckily the racquet outside did nothing to wake Mason. I was able to take a shower and start breakfast before he scrambled out of bed and walked into the kitchen clad in his footed Toy Story pajamas.

“To infinity and scwambled eggs!” he cried as he wrapped his arms around my left leg. After the eggs were to the perfect fluffy consistency, I sat him in a booster seat and served him some eggs and toast. I stood at the counter to eat; my eyes went to the empty field. I bit down on my fork harder than I had intended. Muffling a cuss word; I felt myself grow angry.

It was all her fault.