Weekends Required (Danvers #1)(8)
Claire headed to the door and found Jason waiting in the hall for her. She noticed him looking at her hair and she hoped a stray piece wasn’t sticking up. He said, “You should always wear your hair down; you look like a different person.”
Startled because Jason never made comments of the personal nature, Claire could feel her cheeks starting to burn. Another misfortune as far as Claire was concerned was not only that she was prone to a lot of ‘mishaps’, but she also still blushed like a teenager.
Claire quickly looked away from his intense gaze feeling like she’d somehow let him down by putting her hair up. “I’m not sure where the patio is located so lead the way.” Thankfully taking the hint Jason turned and headed down the hall and to the stairway.
They walked through a comfortable living area and then through an ultra-modern kitchen. Claire caught a glimpse of Liz and Harold sitting at a large wrought-iron table through the glass patio doors. Jason opened the door and stood back to allow Claire to walk out ahead of him. After the dim light of the house it took several moments for Claire’s eyes to adjust to the glare of the bright sun. Standing up from the table, Harold approached Claire and in a quiet voice said, “Claire, I’m Harold; I’m so pleased to meet you.”
Harold was tall and thin with sandy blond hair that was beginning to thin on the top. Claire could imagine that he was probably all legs when he was growing up. A pair of gold-rimmed glasses framed green eyes that could easily be his best feature.
She took the offered hand and said, “It’s a pleasure Harold; I really appreciate the hospitality of Liz and yourself.”
“No problem at all Claire, I know that you and Jason have work to do this weekend, but I also hope you will have time to look around the ranch, and maybe we can all go for a horseback ride tomorrow morning before you leave.”
Jason pulled a seat out for her at the table beside Liz and replied wryly, “I don’t know about that Harold; Claire has a bit of a problem with mishaps so it might be healthier for her to remain on her own two feet.”
Claire could feel the curious gaze of Harold and Liz as Jason took the seat on her other side. Liz reached over to pat Claire’s shoulder and said, “I’m sure we can find something you’d enjoy doing while you’re here Claire. If you’d rather not ride, maybe you could take a nice walk around the ranch with Wolf; it’s really beautiful this time of the year.”
“I’m sure you will both be too busy tomorrow with the wedding for anything else, but thank you very much for the offer,” said Claire.
Claire felt the urge to kick Jason under the table for his previous comment. She settled for shooting him a dirty look to which she received a knowing smirk in return.
“I hope you like chili Claire; it’s one of the few dishes that I can actually make,” laughed Liz, “and we’ve some fresh fruit for dessert.”
“Chili sounds great Liz.” She took a bite of the fragrant chili and looked around the ranch. In the distance, she could see a huge building with a corral in the front and several men leading horses in it. Harold explained those horses were being trained for specific buyers. One buyer was purchasing a horse for his daughter who had been an avid rider but tragically blinded in an accident last year. His daughter wanted to continue to ride, and they were working on a method of training for the disabled. Liz enthusiastically picked up the conversation as Harold paused for a moment to enjoy his lunch.
“This is a project that Harold and I started last year, and it’s been so successful. Training horses for a person with a specific handicap is challenging and often a long process but when we saw the tears of the first young lady we trained a horse for her that had lost a leg in an auto accident; we both knew this was our calling. Harold’s parents mainly dealt in raising cattle. Training and selling race horses was really a hobby for them. This new area is our labor of love, and although it has taken an enormous amount of time and training, we feel so blessed to be able to give someone back their dream.”
“Wow, that's amazing; you must both be so proud of what you’re doing,” exclaimed Claire.
Jason laughed, “Harold and Liz are about the only two selfless people I’ve ever met and to prove that point, look at that mongrel of theirs that they lavish all their love on.” Claire looked in the direction that Jason was pointing and saw Wolf running around in a circle chasing his tail and finally falling over as though the effort had cost him greatly. With everyone laughing, the meal continued in companionable conversation over the local area and stories of other horses they’d trained.
Claire was surprised to find this to be the most enjoyable meal she’d shared with anyone in a long time. Most of her meals with her mother and Louise were spent in constant trepidation of her mother moving into an agitated state when her memory lapsed. Meals with Suzy seemed to revolve around Claire getting out more and getting a social life or, at the very least, just getting laid. So this lunch seemed to be remarkably pressure free. Even Jason who normally was so intense to be around appeared to be relaxed as he pointed out areas of interest around the ranch or told stories from their college days. It was nice to feel like a part of their group, and even though she was Jason’s secretary and here in an official capacity, she still felt relaxed and carefree; a rare occasion for her.
Claire insisted on helping Liz clear the table. They walked in the kitchen and loaded the dishwasher together. “I know this is none of my business, and Harold says that never stops me, but how long have you and Jason been seeing each other?” asked Liz.