Letters of Love (Green Division Series Book #3) (6 page)

CHAPTER EIGHT
 

Aubrey heard a vehicle pull into her yard.
 Her lesson had arrived.
“Look at the horses!”  A little redhead bounded from a pickup truck toward the fence at full speed.
Aubrey skipped down the steps.  A man stood at the fence with the little girl.
“Hi.”  Aubrey reached them.  They both turned around.
“Hi, I’m Tiffy.”  The girl looked up at Aubrey beaming.  
“I’m Aubrey.”
“You have pretty horses.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re pretty too.”  She smiled at her.
“I like you already.  You’re a little cutie.”
Aubrey looked up at the man with her.  He was smiling brightly at the little girl.  His hands were in his pockets, his sweaters sleeves pushed up his arms.  He was...
“This is my Uncle Ben.”
“We’ve met before.” Asshole put his hand atop of Tiffy’s head.
“Did you arrest her?” Tiffy leaned over and whispered to Ben.
“Not yet,” Asshole whispered back.
Aubrey squinted her eyes giving him a dirty look.
“I’m joking.”  Asshole smiled.  “She’s one of the good ones Tiffy.”
One of the good ones?
“She seems good.”  Tiffy flipped her curly hair off her shoulders.  Tiffy wore light brown riding pants matched with a fluorescent pink jacket.  She was short for her age, about as tall as a seven year old.  Aubrey’s horses were slightly bigger than she’d prefer for a little girl of her size.
“I didn’t know one of her parents wouldn’t be bringing her.  I have a legal release I need them to sign.”
Asshole put his hands in his pockets.  
“I can sign it.”
“You’re not her legal guardian.”
“Does this mean I can’t ride?”  Tiffy looked crushed.  
Aubrey couldn’t say no to her pouty face.  “I’ll be riding in the saddle with you today so I think we’ll be okay.”  She looked up at Asshole.  “I’ll send a form home with As—”  Aubrey caught herself.
“I’ll send a form home with your uncle.”
“Okay.”  She smiled brightly.
“Well, let’s get you guys introduced to Trixie and Gunny.”  Aubrey led them over to a circular pen.
“The solid black one there, his name is Gunny.  The brown and white one, her name is Trixie.  We’ll be riding her today.”
For the next hour Aubrey went over the basics of riding, a lot of information in a short amount of time.
“Do I get to ride today?”  Tiffy asked as she yawned, tired from the verbal instructions.  
“I know this stuff is kinda boring.”
“Kinda.”
“But it’s part of learning.”
“Okay.”  She stretched her arms out.  
Aubrey knelt down to her level.
“I’ll get her saddled up and we’ll take her for a ride around the ring.”
“Ye-aye!”  Tiffy pumped her fists into the air.
Aubrey saddled Trixie and mounted her.
“Your uncle will help you up.”  She pointed to a set of stairs.  Asshole obliged and helped lift Tiffy up onto Trixie.
“You can call me Ben.  You don’t have to refer to me as her uncle.”
Aubrey didn’t answer.  It felt odd to call him Ben.  Asshole fit so much better.  It rolled off the tongue so easily, thankfully she’d saved herself from uttering it to his face.  Aubrey and Tiffy rode together around the ring, then into the pasture.  Asshole watched from behind the fence vigilantly.
“How was that?”  Aubrey asked as she helped Tiffy dismount into Asshole’s arms.
“That was lots of fun!  I can’t wait to do it again!  And maybe ride all by myself!”
 
“We’ll get you riding alone eventually.”  Aubrey dismounted.
“We have to get you home kiddo, you have soccer practice after dinner.”
“I’d rather ride some more.”
“Aubrey probably has plans for the night.  It was nice of her to take the time out of her day to give you a lesson.”
“Yeah.”  She looked up at Aubrey.  Her gapped toothed smile made Aubrey chuckle.
“I’ll talk to your parents later and we’ll set up a time for next week.”
“Perfect!”  
“How much do we owe you?”  Asshole pulled out his wallet.
“Nothing.  I don’t do it for the money.”  Aubrey went about unsaddling Trixie.
“You don’t charge for lessons?”
“No, but I do take help carrying my gear back to the barn.”
“You aren’t what I pegged you to be.”   Asshole took the saddle from her arms.  “It’s very nice of you.”
Aubrey didn’t know what to take that statement.  
“I’ll carry something.”  Tiffy volunteered.
“Aren’t you helpful.”  Aubrey passed her the saddle blanket.  “Thank you.”
“No prob Bob.”
They walked back to the barn and unloaded the gear.
“I’ll see you next week!”  Tiffy waved and took off to Asshole’s truck.
“See you Tiffy.”
“Thank you.”  Ben extended his hand to her in a friendly gesture.
“Um, I’m doing it for her, don’t take this out of context.”  Aubrey got vibes she didn’t like from Asshole.
“I know, don’t worry.”  He released her hand.  “Have a nice night.”  He turned and walked away.

*****

“Bye Uncle Ben, see you ‘morrow.”  Tiffy said.
“You certainly will.”  Ben hugged her, then Tiffy took off on a tear after Miley.
“She had a good time,” Jack said.
“That’s an understatement.”
“So how do you know this woman?”
“I um—”  Ben ran his hand over his head nervously.  “I pulled her over.”
“What?”  Jack’s mouth dropped.  “You asked some random woman to give my daughter riding lessons?”
“She’s a pediatric nurse, she’s not a criminal.”
“Oh.”
“I’d like to take Tiffy to her lessons every week.  Something we can do together.”
“Hmmm.”  Jack eyed Ben suspiciously.
“Hmmm, what?”
“Nothing.”  Jack’s mouth hitched upwards.  “That’s no problem, you’re welcome to take her.”
“Sign this form and I’ll pick it up tomorrow.  I have to get going, but I’ll talk to you later.”
“Night.”
Ben left without further ado and headed for home.  He’d gotten out of work an hour early so he could bring Tiffy to her lesson.  No big deal.  He’d already put in fifty hours and it was only his third day on shift.
When he got home, his house was empty.  No Kip.  However, Kip had left it a mess.  He’d popped in for dinner and successfully dirtied every dish in the house.  Muddy footprints covered the floors.  Kip was like having a kid.
“He’s moving.”  Ben put his shoes back on in the mud room to keep his white socks clean.  As he went about cleaning, his mind went back to Tiffy and the lesson.  Aubrey had been so good with her.  All Tiffy did was smile and giggle the entire time.
Toad was growing on him little by little.  She was still a toad, but his desire to arrest her had subsided.  Ben understood why she worked in the pediatric unit of a hospital.  She clicked with kids.  She certainly clicked with Tiffy.
The front door to the house opened and Kip walked through, not bothering to remove his muddy boots.
"You are a pig.  No, pigs are cleaner than you."  Ben passed Kip the mop.  "We need to lay some ground rules."  
"I'm just grabbing some gear, man.  I didn't want to undress."
"These are carpeted floors, Kip.  I know you're not stupid.  This fucking rug now has to be steam cleaned."
"Oh."  Kip looked over at the white carpeting in the adjacent room.  "I'll take care of it."
"Take your boots off at the door.  If you dirty dishes, wash them.  You're an adult.  I'm not Hanna, I'm not going to clean up after your ass."

"Alright, alright."
 Kip passed the mop back to him and grabbed his gear.  "I'll take care of it when I get off in a couple hours.  Relax."
Ben's face reddened.  
Relax
.  In the meantime, Kip continued to walk throughout the house with his muddy boots on.  Ben would have liked to kick Kip in the ass.
"Hey, how'd that lesson go?"
"Alright."  
"That girl, Aubrey right?  You need to work on that.  That's one fucking fine piece of ass.  The kinda of ass you just want to grab firmly and pull against—"
Ben cut him off.  "I'm not interested.  If you want her, go for it."
"Maybe the next time you guys have a lesson I'll tag along."
"She wouldn't give you the time of day."
"I smell another bet."
"You already lost a 12-pack.  What do you want to lose now?"
"Fifty bucks."
"I'm not making a bet."
"Oahh, are you afraid of a little competition?"
"Competition for what?"
"To get in her pants."
"There is no competition.  I don't want her and you have Hanna."
"I won't do anything.  Hanna talked to me today, I'm not screwing that up by fucking around. I just want to make the point that I can have her, if I want to.  You, on the other hand, the only attention she'll give you is a bitch slap across the face.  And you want her.  More than I do."
"You cockhead."  Ben pushed his shoulder.  "I don't want her.  And you're not as suave as you'd like to think."
"You're right.  I don't have your way with the ladies.  The Ben knows how to piss them all off way.” Ben shook his head and didn't answer.  He did have a way of pissing off most women.
"You know, if you get a pair of lifts for your shoes, you'd have women fawning all over you.  
The reason you have such a hard time is because you're a little man, women look down on that."  Cheap shot.
"There isn't anything little about me.  I have references to verify that."  Be came back quickly.  "You on the other hand—"
"Hey, don't play that game."
"I don't have to.  I win."  Ben grinned widely.
"Fucker."  Kip flipped him off.  "We'll see next week who wins this little bet.  Later sweetie."
"It's not a bet."  Ben took the mop and went about cleaning his kitchen floor.

*****

“The trooper came over?”  Jill sipped on her coffee.  “Why didn’t one of her parents come?”
“I don’t know.  I didn’t ask.  When I talked to them on the phone they never mentioned he’d be bringing her.”
“Hmmm.”
“What?”
“It’s just odd.”
“I know.”
“What do you think of him?”
“You know what I think about him.  He’s an asshole.  
Trooper Asshole.
 I feel bad for Tiffy and her family, she’s a great little girl, but that doesn’t change how I feel about him.”
Jill nodded, but didn’t look convinced.
“I didn’t want to talk to you about him, I wanted to talk to you about my bakery.  I’ve decided I’m going to rebuild.”
“You did!  That’s great!  I knew you would.”
Aubrey smiled.  “It’s scary trying to start from the ground up.”
“You’re literally building?  You’re not buying a building somewhere else?”
“I’m rebuilding where my bakery was.  I have some sketches and ideas I’m throwing around.”
“Where are they!?”
“On my kitchen counter.”
“Our next girls night calls for wine and bakery plans.”
“That’s one boring girls nite.”
“Any night with my girls is fun.”
Aubrey took a sip off her coffee.  “I have this weekend off.”
“I have plans.”
“The fiance.”  Aubrey wasn’t jealous...nope.
“We’re going to his parent’s house in Vermont.  Believe me, I’m not excited.  What are your plans?”
“Work on the bakery and play with the horses.”
“You need some new hobbies girl.”
“Someday.”
 

CHAPTER NINE
Ben and Tiffy arrived precisely at 4:30pm Saturday.  Toad called and said if they wanted to push their lesson up to the weekend, she was available.  Jack and Joanne had to run to town to pick up a few things for Tiffy as a surprise, so it worked perfected.
Toad was saddling Trixie when the pulled into the yard.
“Aubrey!”  Tiffy ran full speed into Toad’s thighs.
“Well hello.”  Aubrey hugged her back.
“I’m ready.”  She grinned, her little green eyes glinted in the sunlight.
“You look it.  New boots, huh.”
“Uncle Bennie got them for me.”  She picked her foot up and showed Toad.  
“That was nice of Uncle Bennie.”  
Ben detected her smartass tone when she said
Uncle Bennie
and he shot her an unimpressed glare.  
Toad wore a pair of tan riding pants, black boots, and a long sleeved purple shirt.  The pants though, Jesus....Kip’s assessment of her backside...
BEN STOP IT THINKING ABOUT HER THAT WAY.  NO.  NO TO TOAD.
“What we’re going to do today is put you up on Trixie and get you used to sitting on her alone.  I don’t want you to kick or squeeze her unless I tell you to do so, okay.  You just sit still on her.”
“I can do that,” Tiffy said obediently.
“Let’s get you up there.”
Ben helped Tiffy onto the horse and stayed in the ring while Toad lead her around.
“How are you feeling?”  Toad asked.
“Real good.  Good, good, good!  I think I could ride by myself.”
“We’re getting there.”
Ben leaned his back against the fence and watched intently.
“Who is that?”  Toad looked to the driveway.
That little fucker.  
“It’s Kip.”  Ben opened the fence and went to intercept the interloper.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Proving a point.”  Kip smoothed his uniform shirt’s collar.
“That you’re a dick?”
“We’ll see.”  Kip continued walking toward the fence.  “Hi Aubrey, its good seeing you again.”
“Hi,” Toad said, but paid no attention to him, going about her instruction.
“It’s a nice day for a ride, huh.”
Toad politely nodded.
“What are you doin’ here Kip?  Tiffy asked.
“Tell her why you’re here.”  Ben smiled.
“Is this where all my tax dollars go?”  Toad looked at Kip.  “I’ll at least give Uncle Bennie credit for not coming to my house on the taxpayers’ dime.”
“Ouch,” Ben mumbled so only Kip could hear.
“I just cleared a hot call down the street and I saw Ben’s truck here.”
“What was the hot call?”  Ben smiled.
“What would you have for a hot call on my street?”  Toad stopped the horse curious to his answer.
“I can’t discuss it.  Confidentiality.”
“Uh huh.”  Toad didn’t sound sold.
“Was it fifty?”  Ben whispered.  “That’s what you wanted to bet?”
Kip kicked him in the back of the knee buckling his leg.  Ben grabbed the fence for support.
Toad went back to her lesson.
“Give me time.”  Kip stood next to Ben.
“I’m here because of Tiffy, not her.”  Ben waved to Tiffy.  “If you want to pick her up, fine, but don’t come here to do so it during Tiffy’s time, this is
her
time.”
Kip took a minute to reply.  “I’ll see you back at the house.”
Ben didn’t take his eyes off Tiffy and Toad.  He nodded subtly and Kip retreated.
“Down you go.”  Toad reached up and helped Tiffy down.  
“So next time I get to go around all by myself without you leading me?”
“That’s what we’re going to try for.”
“Woo-hoo!”  She jumped up and down.  “So when can I enter my first competition?”
“I’ll have to talk to your parents and we’ll go from there.”
“I hope it’s soon.”  Tiffy hopped around holding onto the fence as she went.  “Can I use your bathroom?”
“Go right into the house.  It’s down the hall and on your left.”
“I’ll take her.”
“I’m a big girl,” Tiffy said defensively.  “You help her with the saddle n’ stuff.”
“Yes, boss.”  Ben saluted to her.  Tiffy took off toward the house.   Ben reached for the saddle.
“Don’t worry about the saddle, I’ll get it.”
“It’s no problem.”  Ben picked it up.  
“No, it’s okay.  I’m going to ride the both of them later.  They need to run.”
“Ah, okay.”  He put the saddle back on the fence.  “If all you charge for a lesson is help carrying your gear, how am I supposed to pay you for your services today?”
“I guess you’re getting a free pass trooper.”
Ben sighed.  He hated people calling him that when he wasn’t in uniform.  He was more than a uniform, more than a trooper.
“Please call me Ben.”  Ben made firm eye contact with her.  “I am a trooper, it’s what I do.  But I still am a person behind the blue.”
“Behind the blue.”  Toad laughed.
That wasn’t supposed to be funny.  
“Listen, miscreant, there is more to a man than his job.”
“Miscreant?”  Toad’s mouth gaped.
“If we are going by titles and not names.”
“Then it would be nurse, and yours would be Assh—”  Toad covered her mouth..
“Asshole,” Ben finished her thought.  “You aren't the first to call me that and won’t be the last.”
“I’m sorry!” Toad immediately showed remorse.  “I didn’t mean to say that.”
“Yeah, you did.”  
“No!”
“Yes.”   It didn’t surprise Ben she would use such terms.  She’d likely said worse behind closed doors.
“Uncle Ben!”  Tiffy’s voice reached from a hundred yards away.
“Well, thank you for the lesson.  We’ll see you next week.”
“Sorry!”   
“It’s alright.”
“Bye Aubrey!  Thank you!”  Tiffy yelled from the driveway.
“Bye!”  Toad yelled back.