Stand Tall

Now the family of four she thought she had was made up of three people, and she swore she'd do anything to protect her boys from their father, and for now that meant going home and back to the ranch.

"Live and learn," she said to herself as they loaded up the car the next morning and got ready to make the drive back to her old Kentucky home.

*****

Two-and-a-Half Days Later

"You looked pretty good out there a couple of days ago, Lance."

"Thanks, Miguel. I didn't realize you were watching," he said to Peg's only remaining groomer who also doubled as a trainer.

"My job depends on how well that horse runs, so yeah, I kinda of keep on eye on him whenever you take him out. How did he feel to you?"

"Like riding the wind," Lance told him.

"Great. I'm glad to hear that. I've been treating him like he's made of solid gold, you know? Deep muscle massages plus all the standard stuff."

"It all adds up, right, Miguel?"

"I hope so. Oh, speaking of hope, looks like there's hope for Miss Olivia."

"Olivia?" Lance said.

"Sorry, I forgot you never met her. She's Ms. Winfield's daughter."

"Oh, right. No, I've never met her. I've heard Peg talk about her, but she doesn't say a whole lot. Then again, it's none of my business. I kind of got the impression there was some sort of legal issue out in Washington State, but I don't even know if that's true."

"Oh, it's true, alright. Her dumbass husband got himself arrested—big time."

"For?" Lance asked.

"They went out there to sell pot. Weed. Grass. Whatever kids call it these days. They bought a store right after it was legalized."

"So what happened? Did he rob a bank or something?" Lance joked.

"No. I guess he was cooking meth. Making money at it, too. The store wasn't doing so well so he found...alternative ways to earn some cash. Tax free. Turns out he was cooking and selling when they lived here, too."

"Damn. Yeah, the government doesn't seem to care how you make your money as long as it gets his cut," Lance said still laughing and joking.

"I hear you. But it's not so funny for Miss Olivia or the boys, though. I guess the old man is goin' to jail for a good long time and she's divorcing his sorry ass and coming back here."

"Wow. I didn't mean to be a smart ass. That does sound pretty rough."

"She's a really nice woman, Lance. Beautiful, too. Long blonde hair, great body. She modeled for a while before she met up with Jughead."

"Is that your nickname for her husband by any chance?" Lance asked.

"That's the most polite nickname. I've got a bunch of others, and when I run out, Ms. Winfield has more," Miguel said with a chuckle. "She never liked him, but he was one of those smooth talkers, you know. Tall, handsome, great smile. She fell pretty hard for him. Anyway, she's supposed to be home sometime today. She got me this job, you know."

"No. I didn't know that. So how long have you been here?"

"Twenty years next week. She'd just turned 20 and a friend of a friend introduced us and she asked me to come out and meet her mom. I've been here ever since. I started out mucking stalls and feeding the horses then learned how to groom and even got pretty good at training them. This is the only thing I've ever really done, so that's why I'm being so careful with Window Dressing."

"Well, I'm gonna take him for the ride of his life. I promise you that."

"No, he's gonna take you for the ride of your life, Lance. You just need to hold on until he gets across the finish line!" Miguel said. "Speaking of our favorite horse, I gotta go take care of him right now and I'll have him ready for his workout in an hour, okay?"

"Perfect. I'm sure Peg'll be out there holding that stopwatch."

"That thing's as old as you are, mi amigo," Miguel said with a big smile.

He was more than twice Lance's age and only being friendly, but Lance thought it was probably the truth. The silver timepiece looked—and sounded—just like the famous stopwatch on the TV show 60 Minutes.

It was already warm so getting this workout done early was important. Kentucky wasn't as hot and humid as Miami, Florida, but it could get pretty nasty during the summer. Lance had grown up not too far from Seattle himself so he'd never experienced real humidity for more than a few days in the summer until he started riding. He still didn't like it, but he was able to tolerate it now. His shirt was already sticky and he'd only been outside a few minutes whereas back home he could stay outside all day and never break a sweat unless he was working.

Peg was smiling again when Lance saw her a few minutes later.

"Mornin' hotrod!" she said.

"Ma'am," he replied with a smile. "Miguel tells me you've got reason to be smiling."

"Good news travels fast around here," Peg said. "Yeah, my baby's comin' home and bringing her two babies with her. And Numb-nuts isn't coming with her!"

Lance laughed and told her about Miguel calling him 'Jughead'.

Peg laughed then said, "He must be feelin' pretty charitable then."

Lance 'got it' and laughed, too.

She got serious then said, "How fast do you think he can run the mile and a quarter?"

"We won't know until we let him go for broke, but I can see him getting close to 2:05."

"The world record is 2:05.10," Peg said as though Lance wasn't very well aware of that.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm not saying he'll break it. I'm just saying I think he can get close."

"Do you think he can hold that pace?"

"I do. Again, we won't know until race day, but he's definitely got the potential."

"All right. Well, we're doing the full 1 1/4 today so see if you can bring him in under 2:15."

"I can assure you that won't be a problem," Lance told her knowing that would be fairly close to a near-maximum effort. The problem was he wouldn't have nine other horses around him all jockeying for position. But even so, it would be a good indication of what he had whenever Lance did let him pull out all the stops.

"Then I'll see you at the track at 10 o'clock," she told him.

Lance suited up and did a comm check with Peg.

"I got you 5 x 5," she said. "Let me know when you're ready."

Miguel led the gelding into the paddock and closed the doors behind him.

"Good luck, Lance!" he called out as Lance let Peg know they were ready.

"Stand by," she said. "Three, two, one..."

The bell sounded and the gates opened and Window Dressing shot out like he had a bottle of nitro attached to him.

Lance didn't stand up for more than a few seconds out of the gate. He wanted to see what the gelding had in him and let him run.

When they hit the mile marker at 1:45 he heard Peg say, "Holy shit!"

When they crossed the finish line Lance didn't hear anything, and that was because Peg was wondering if her trusted stopwatch had failed her. When he came back around, she handed him the watch without saying a word.

Lance looked down and saw the time: 2:08.2.

"Holy shit is right," he told her as he handed the watch back to her. "I knew he was flying, but...holy shit!"

That didn't mean he could do that during the race, but that was an unbelievable time.

"Did you hold anything back?" she asked knowing this would be his last hard run before the race.

"Not much," he told her.

"Any sign of him hurting?"

"No. None."

"Okay. Let Miguel work his magic then take the rest of the day off," she told him.

Lance wanted to get to the gym in town a few miles away so he walked Window Dressing over to Miguel who'd heard the time.

"Dang, vato!" he said with a smile.

"It's all him," Lance said.

"Not all," the older man reminded him. "You two were made for each other."

"Let's hope the chemistry lasts."

Lance didn't shower knowing he'd need another one an hour later. He just changed into some workout clothes and headed into town.

As focused as he was on this race, he was very aware it had been several weeks since he'd 'enjoyed the company of a woman' and today he thought he just might take a little filly who'd been flirting with him for a spin. She was maybe 19 and couldn't be more than 5'2", and if she was a hundred pounds, he was 6'5".

Lance had never given any serious thought to settling down. He was still young and just getting started establishing himself, and he really loved riding. He wasn't wild about being on the road so much, and he wasn't sure many women would understand. Maybe one day he'd meet one who did, but she'd also have to be able to well, overlook, his relative lack of stature, as well. The thought of finding a woman who was okay with both seemed like a long shot of a different kind. So for now, this cute, ditzy, air-headed girl would do just fine.

Of course, the one day he was in the mood to let off a little steam, his 'dream teen' was nowhere to be found. The only other woman he'd met that he found both attractive and interested was also married and that was a 'no-no' from the get-go. He saw her and they talked briefly, but otherwise it was nothing but weights and machines until he was worn out.

He showered, changed into some shorts and a tee-shirt he'd brought with him, and headed back to the ranch only slightly less frustrated than he'd left.

"Maybe next time," he told himself as he pulled into his parking spot next to the barn.

He got out and headed toward the house when he saw what looked like an older, silver, Chrysler Pacifica in the driveway. It was loaded to the gills and Lance was pretty sure it had to be Olivia's. As he got closer to the car, two boys came flying out of the garage.

"Mom said we have to unload the car first!" one of them said to the other.

"We can go check on Window Dressing and then do that. It'll only take us a minute. Come on!" the other one said.

They blew right by him and when he said hello they did say, "Hey," in return but that was it.

He laughed as they raced to the barn. When he turned around he nearly bumped into a very attractive...and very tall...blonde woman.

He stopped...short...and looked up at her.

She smiled at him and said, "Hi! You must be Lance. My mom talks about you every time I call. I'm Olivia."

She extended her hand and Lance took it.

"I am. And it's very nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise," she said pleasantly. "Did you happen to see two boys by any chance?"

"Oh, yes. They were racing each other to the barn to see our new star horse. I heard them briefly discussing their need to unload the car, but it seems that meeting Window Dressing won out."

Olivia laughed and said, "I can't blame them. They've been cooped up in this car for the better part of three days. They did pretty good without a lot of arguing so I guess I can cut them some slack."

"What can I get for you?" Lance asked with a smile as he nodded at the carful of stuff.

"You know, I haven't been down to the horse stables in a really long time. Would you mind showing me the fastest thing on four hooves?" she asked while smiling back at him.

"I think I could arrange that," he said. "Follow me!"

Even though it was obvious she'd been in a car all day, he understood what Miguel had said. She was very nice looking. Blonde hair, pretty face, slender figure. She also had a nice butt and great boobs. But the one thing he hadn't mentioned was that she was tall. Very tall.

Lance knew that models who were 5'9" to about 5'11" were very much sought after, and he could see Olivia was at least five inches taller than him and she was wearing flats. In heels she'd be WNBA material. Not that she'd ever played basketball, of course.

She was also somewhere between 10-15 years older than him based on Miguel's comments. For some reason, it was the age that made him feel better knowing that she was clearly out of his league for the same reason he was out of most attractive women's league. It still irked him, but he was doing a lot better as far as not letting it eat at him.

Oh, yeah. And technically anyway, she was still a married woman although he noticed she wasn't wearing a ring.

"I gotta get laid," he said to himself as they walked toward the stables that most people colloquially called 'the barn' even though there was a also a real barn on the ranch.

"I bet I know where my boys are without even looking," Olivia said as they got to the entrance. "Do they still stack hay on the far end?"

"Oh, yeah. And plenty of it. Why?"

"If you'll follow me now, I'll show you," she said.

Sure enough, the boys were crawling through tunnels in the bales of hay. They heard them laughing before they got to the double stall filled with hay.

"Oh, boys!" Olivia called out. "Did our bags get moved down here somehow?"

"Uh-oh!" one of them said.

"Is that Mom?" the other asked.

"Um, yes. This is your mother," she said trying not to laugh.

"I told you to be quiet!" the first voice said.

"You were the one laughing!" the other replied.

"Come on, boys. Let's go see the horse then I believe I asked you to do something, right?"

The boys kind of squirmed a little then said, "Yes."

"Oh. This is Mr. ...?"

"Palmer. But I prefer Lance if that's okay."

"Lance it is. This is Grandma's new jockey, Lance Palmer. Can you say 'hello'?"

There were two shy, quiet 'hellos' and Lance said 'hello' back to them.

They walked back to the other end where Miguel was still tending to Window Dressing and they all stopped to watch.

"Miss Olivia!" he called out.

"Hi, Miguel! How have you been?"

"Oh, hanging in there. You know. But it sure is good to see you back home!"

He looked at the boys then said, "And who are these two grown men?"

They both smiled until Gavin said, "The short one is Connor."

His brother reacted immediately and said, "I'm not short! I just haven't hit my growth spurt yet!"

Lance immediately felt for the boy but didn't say anything.

"All right. That's enough," their mother said without raising her voice.

"So what do you think? Can he win?" Olivia asked.

"Oh, yeah. There are no guarantees, of course, but he's definitely got the right stuff. Right, Lance?"

"That's true. He runs like a rocket."

Olivia turned to her boys and said, "Do you want to pet him?"

"Can we?" they asked excitedly.

"Sure!" Miguel said, opening the gate for them.

"Cool!" Connor said as he reached up and petted Window Dressing's neck.

"Can we get on?" Gavin asked.

"No. Sorry. That's not a good idea," Miguel said answering for their mom.

"Ahhh!" Gavin complained.

"Gavin?" Olivia said checking his behavior.

"Okay. We have a job to do, right, boys?" she said.

"I guess," Connor said with a bit of a pout as Miguel let them out.

"I'll give you guys a hand," Lance said as they walked out.

Olivia caught up with him and said, "Oh, you don't need to do that. We can get it."

"I'm here and I'm willing so unless you're using this to teach the boys something, I'm happy to to lend a hand," Lance told her with a smile.

"Well, if you could get the bag on driver's side, I'll get the one over here."

"Sure," Lance told her as she opened the rear hatch for the boys.

"Connor? Gavin? Please grab everything in the back. And before you ask, yes, that means everything. So two or three trips if necessary. Got it?"

"Okay," they both said as their mom raised the rear hatch. "Then can we go back and see Miguel?"

Their mom gave them the eye then said, "Okay, but just for a few minutes. He's here working, remember?"

The boys suddenly got happy and happiness brought energy.

"Come on. Let's go as fast as we can!" Gavin said.

"Be careful!" their mom said as they whizzed on by dragging suitcases behind them.

Lance waited for her to grab the bag on her side then walked in with her.

"Gavin barely remembers Miguel, but Connor couldn't wait to see him again," Olivia told Lance as they headed for the door through the garage.

"He's a great guy. And a superb trainer and groomer."

"Yes, he is. I was really glad my mom hired him."

"Oh, right. He mentioned that. He's still grateful, by the way."

Olivia smiled and said, "That's Miguel. I can't imagine what he'll do if we don't win this race."

She realized who she was talking to then quickly said, "Sorry. I didn't mean that like it sounded, Lance."

"I understood what you meant. In some sense, everything is well, riding, on this race."

Olivia laughed as they walked inside.

Not sure if it was okay, Lance said what he was thinking anyway.

"Miguel also told me you were a model at one time. If you don't mind my saying, it shows."

Olivia made a kind of snorting noise and said, "Oh, that's so kind of you. I'm afraid that was about a million years ago when I was much younger and possibly even still somewhat attractive."

Lance dropped her bag outside her room, turned to face her then smiled and said, "You're still very attractive, Olivia, and it couldn't have been that many years ago."

"I'm trying to embrace the fact that I turned 40 in April, but I still find it difficult to admit that let alone say it out loud. So thank you for making me feel young-er, again, even if it was just for a moment."

"Can I help with anything else?" he asked happy to let the age issue go.

"No, thank you. You've been more than helpful. I very much appreciate it. I'm sure you have a lot of work to do, too, so I won't keep you."

"All right. Well, if I can ever help out in any way, just let me know, okay?"

"I will, Lance, and it was a real pleasure meeting you. Oh, and good luck!"

"Thanks, Olivia, and the pleasure was all mine. Take care."

"You, too," she said as she grabbed the bags to put on her bed; the bed she'd slept in growing up, and also for the years she and her soon-to-be ex-husband had slept in while they mooched off her parents and later just her mom.

They weren't actually mooching, per se, it was more that Jess wanted to be able to live rent-free which Peg had offered out of kindness expecting him to insist on paying something. But he never offered her a dime. Not for rent, not for utilities, and only a couple hundred dollars a month for food. That had been a major source of contention for as long as they lived there, and it put a lot of unnecessary, added stress on their marriage.

It was both sad and liberating for Olivia to realize she didn't miss Jess at all. In fact, while she felt terrible for her children, she was actually very relieved to be away from him and his endless scheming and get-rich-quick ideas. Yes, he had provided for them and even put away some money, most of which she felt belonged to her mom for room and board, but Jess didn't have a lot of initiative, and his access to legal, 'free' pot every day had only made things worse.

"Live and learn," she said again to herself as she started putting things away.

Lance went back to the 'barn' and less than two minutes later, both of the boys were back wanting to hang out.

"Sorry, boys. I'm too busy," Miguel told them. "And Window Dressing isn't a play thing. If you're bored I've got all kinds of work for you."

"No. That's okay," Connor said.

"What? You don't want to muck stalls?" Miguel asked trying not to laugh.

"Not really," Gavin told him.

Seconds later they were on their way back to the house.

Miguel went back to work and said to Lance, "I feel really bad for those kids. Their old man was a shit, but he was still their father, you know?"

"Yeah, I can't imagine life without my dad," Lance told him. "Maybe Olivia will find someone else before too many years go by."

"If I wasn't so old and ugly..." the trainer said with a smile. "But you're not old. Or ugly. Maybe you could ask her out."

"Me? Um, do you see how tall I am and I know you know how tall she is? Talk about a mismatch."

"If she was still 21, I'd agree. But people change as they get older, Lance. Stuff that mattered a lot stops mattering. You'll never know if you don't ask. Then again, she does come with two boys, and you might not want that kind of challenge, so maybe..."