The Time of Aspen Falls Read online

  “What do you mean?” Aspen asked. Was her shirt unbuttoned or something? The real man stranger was closing fast. Aspen glanced down to the front of her shirt. She shouldn’t have worn it! It seemed this particular shirt was always popping a button open. Still, all the buttons seemed fastened.

  “N-now just remain calm,” Gina was saying. “He’ll be past you in a minute, and then I’ll—”

  Aspen drew in deep breath. There was only one reason Gina would be telling her to remain calm—telling her to remain calm and staring at her shoulder. Aspen gasped and clamped a hand over her mouth in an effort to remain calm. Yet the fear—the terror—was rising in her faster than she could even attempt to control it. She leapt to her feet, suddenly unaware of anything else.

  “Get it off me!” she choked. “Gina! Get it off me!”

  “Just hold still a moment longer, Aspen,” Gina said. She stood, still staring at the large spider on Aspen’s shoulder. Gina hated spiders as much as the average Jane, but Aspen was terrified of them.

  Gina glanced past Aspen. The real-man stranger was almost to them. One more moment—if Aspen could just hold on one more…

  “Gina!” Aspen screeched. “Get it off me! Get it off me!”

  “But Aspen, that guy is almost—”

  “Get it off me!” Aspen cried as she began to hop around in a circle—entirely panicked!

  Aspen’s mind was overtaken—overtaken with fear and panic! Where was it? She didn’t know! Her shoulder—Gina had been looking at her shoulder. It would be in her hair next! Aspen screamed and shouted, “Get it off me! Get it off me!”

  “What’s wrong?” the real-man stranger asked Gina as he jogged to a halt in front of them.

  Gina could only point at Aspen, astounded that the real-man stranger had spoken to her. “Spider,” she told him. “On her shoulder. They freak her out.”

  “Apparently,” he mumbled. His strong brow puckered into a frown as he turned to Aspen.

  Aspen managed to stop her spider dance long enough to see the real-man stranger reach toward her shoulder. She held her breath as she saw him take hold of one of the spider’s legs with his bare fingers.

  “It’s all right, miss,” he said. “It’s just a big garden spider.” He held the spider by its leg—held it up for her to see.

  “Don’t show it to her like that!” Gina exclaimed. “It freaks her out worse!”

  Aspen couldn’t breathe—she felt sick, dizzy.

  Gina gasped as Aspen swayed.

  “Breathe! You’ll pass out! You’ll pass out right here in the park!”

  Gina’s eyes widened as the stranger squished the spider between his thumb and forefinger, wiping the guts and goo on the front of his shirt, just in time to catch a fainting Aspen in his arms.

  He looked to Gina, an expression of What do I do now? on his handsome face.

  Gina could only shake her head. Aspen had never fainted all the way before. Usually Gina would just sweep the spider away; Aspen would continue the panicked spider dance for a few more moments and then begin to settle down. Still, the spider’s body had been at least the size of a nickel. That, coupled with the fact the real-man stranger had picked it off her shoulder like a piece of lint and then shown it to her—it had been too much.

  The real-man stranger shifted Aspen’s weight to one arm and began lightly patting her face with his free hand.

  “Miss? Hey, lady?” he said.

  The thought traveled through Gina’s mind she ought to pull the camera out of her purse and take a photo. Aspen would want to see proof that the real-man stranger had held her in his arms—being she was unconscious and would never remember the reality of it.

  Slowly Aspen began to become vaguely aware. She could hear Gina’s voice—someone else’s voice as well. The feel of someone roughly patting her cheek caused her eyes to open to narrow slits. It was then she knew she was dreaming. She had to be—for it was the handsome face of the real-man stranger she thought she saw.

  “Hey,” he said. “You okay?”

  Like a flash of horrible reality, realization and memory flooded her mind. The spider! A quick vision of the stranger holding a giant spider in front of her face flickered through her brain. Instantly, she began to quiver with wild, uncontrollable trembling—the second phase of her spider fear.

  “Is she okay?” the real-man stranger asked Gina.

  “Yeah,” Gina said. “She always shivers for a while after being startled by a you-know-what.”

  “A sp-spider, Gina,” Aspen stammered breathlessly.

  “But it’s cool now, okay?” the real-man stranger said. “It’s gone. You’re all good.”

  Aspen tried to support her own weight, but she couldn’t quite stabilize herself, and the man wrapped both arms around her to keep her from falling. She wasn’t sure if it was residual weakness from being frightened by the spider or residual delight at being so close to the real-man stranger.

  In that one lingering moment, however brief, she saw his eyes were the darkest brown she had ever seen—so brown it was difficult to discern his pupil. Waves of goose bumps raced over her body as she realized he supported her in his arms.

  “I-I’m sorry,” she stammered. “They freak me out.” She tried to push herself from his embrace.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “I kind of hate snakes.” He grinned at her, a friendly, reassuring grin.

  Aspen couldn’t help but smile at him.

  “Here,” he said. “Sit down until you feel better.” He gently deposited her on the bench, hunkering down before her and asking, “You sure you’re okay?”

  “Yeah,” Aspen said. “Just embarrassed and humiliated beyond explanation.” She felt the fire of embarrassment’s heated blush rising to her cheeks. She thought she felt something crawling in her hair and quickly ran her fingers through it.

  “Thank you,” Gina said to the real-man stranger as he stood.

  “Will she be okay?” Aspen heard him ask. She wouldn’t look up at him. She couldn’t. She wanted to cry! How could this have happened? How embarrassing! He must think she was a total idiot.

  “Yeah,” Gina answered. “She gets over it pretty quick…usually.”

  “Cool,” the real-man stranger said. “You girls have a nice day.” He meant to leave. Aspen knew she should thank him. Forcing herself to look up at him, she felt her heart flutter when she saw he was looking at her somewhat expectantly.

  “Thank you,” she said. She frowned and shook her head, adding, “And I’m so sorry. I’m…I’m so sorry.”

  “For what?” he asked. He smiled a moment before he turned and jogged away, and his smile left Aspen’s mouth agape. His smile was utterly gorgeous!

  “You should’ve just kicked a shoe off yesterday like I suggested in the first place,” Gina said. She plopped down on the bench beside Aspen.

  Aspen was sure she felt something crawling on her neck and wriggled as she brushed at the place. There was nothing there, of course—only residual panic.

  “Well, hindsight is everything,” Aspen grumbled.

  “Still,” Gina began, smiling, “at least you met him.”

  Aspen frowned and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I didn’t meet him! I made a fool of myself in front of him!”

  Gina shrugged. “So you’re scared of spiders. Well…now he knows one of your most intimate secrets. Look at it that way: you’ve already been on intimate terms with him.”

  Aspen rolled her eyes, irritated with Gina and still disgusted with herself.

  “And anyway…look at the bright side!”

  “The bright side? How can there be a bright side? He thinks I’m an idiot!”

  “Maybe. But I bet he says hi tomorrow when he jogs by.”

  Aspen looked to her friend and frowned. “You think I’m going to be sitting here tomorrow when he comes by? Do you really think I’m going to be sitting here so he can jog by and think, ‘Oh, there’s that weird girl who freaked out yesterday because of a spider’? No way!”<
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  “Aspen Falls!” Gina scolded. “You cannot give up now! My parents met when my dad was a volunteer firefighter and my mom’s roommates got her stuck in the laundry chute of their apartment complex.”

  “That is not the same thing, Gina, and you know it!”

  “Exactly. My mom was naked! And don’t try to tell me this was more embarrassing than that.”

  Aspen shrugged. “You’re right. Nothing is more embarrassing than that.”

  “Exactly! So buck up, show up here tomorrow for lunch, and see if he says hi to you.”

  “I can’t,” Aspen sighed.

  “Why not?”

  “Tomorrow’s Saturday, and we’re both off.” Aspen smiled and giggled as realization rinsed over her friend.

  “Okay, Monday then,” Gina giggled.

  “I’ll think about it,” Aspen said, still smiling.

  Gina studied Aspen for a moment. “It was great, wasn’t it? He’s got arms like tree trunks, and you were wrapped in them for a moment. It’s sinking in now…and it was great, wasn’t it?”

  Goose bumps rippled over Aspen’s arms at the memory. In that moment she could even remember how he smelled—like cologne and cinnamon gum. Like perspiration too—the hot, sunshine kind, not the stinky kind.

  “It was great!” Aspen admitted.

  Gina laughed. “See? It was worth a spider dance and fainting!” She reached into her purse and withdrew a peach. “I wonder what his name is. Probably something like Matt or Michael or something.”

  “I can’t even begin to guess,” Aspen sighed. She reached into the brown paper bag next to her and pulled out a bagel, packaged in a sandwich baggy.

  “Mmm!” Gina said, nodding at the bagel. “Cream cheese?”

  “And green chili,” Aspen said.

  Gina nodded her approval and took a bite of her peach. “I suppose this will entirely spoil the rodeo for you tomorrow.”

  Aspen shook her head. “What’s gonna entirely spoil the rodeo for me tomorrow is the fact I’m going with Brad Spencer. I can’t believe you talked me into going with him.”

  “But you love the rodeo!” Gina reminded.

  “I love the rodeo. But Brad…I don’t know, there’s something that just weirds me out about him.”

  “Well, how do you think I feel? I’m not that big on Jimmy Jensen either. But you and I…we need to have some fun. I think we spend too much time—”

  “I know, I know,” Aspen interrupted. “You’re right.”

  Aspen and Gina had decided months before that they spent too much time looking for the perfect match for each of them. They figured maybe they’d missed the real precious stones for being distracted by the flash of obvious good looks and personality. Thus, they’d agreed on a double-date night to the rodeo with Brad Spencer and his friend Jimmy Jensen.

  “Maybe Jimmy will turn out to be a really nice guy. Brad too,” Gina suggested.

  “Maybe,” Aspen said. She was determined to be positive. Still, the feel of the real-man stranger’s arms around her—the scent of his cologne and cinnamon gum—it would be a lot to forget.

  “Do you have any of those little sugar packets left?” Gina asked.

  Aspen glanced up to see Gina staring at the peach in her hand.

  “Just one,” Aspen said. “Why?”

  “This peach is a little lacking in sweetness.”

  Aspen shook her head, smiling as she dug through her purse for the sugar packet she knew was in there somewhere.

  “Ever notice it seems we do nothing but eat when we’re together?” she asked, handing the packet to Gina.

  Gina shrugged. “Good friends and good food—it’s the spice of life!”

  Aspen giggled as she watched Gina tear a corner off the sugar packet. As Gina sprinkled the contents onto her peach, Aspen looked up the path—looked to where the real-man stranger had disappeared around the corner. If she never saw him again—if she never found the courage to return to the park at lunchtime—at least they’d touched. He touched her—held her, in fact. It was something, and something was always better than nothing.

  

  “Here ya go,” Brad said, holding a cup of cold root beer toward Aspen.

  “Thank you,” Aspen said. She smiled and accepted the drink.

  “What did I miss?” he asked.

  “The team branding is all,” Jimmy answered.

  As Brad sat down next to her, Aspen sipped her root beer and smiled. Brad seemed to be a really nice guy. He and Jimmy had been prompt in picking her and Gina up, and they’d been polite too.

  “My Aunt Jenny used to barrel race,” Gina said. “We have a videotape of her horse taking a fall and rolling right over her.”

  “Was she hurt?” Jimmy asked.

  “Nope. And neither was the horse. But you wouldn’t know it by the video.”

  “A lot of people don’t like rodeo anymore,” Brad said. “They think it’s inhumane.”

  “That’s because nobody farms and ranches anymore. They don’t understand the history of it all.”

  Aspen looked to Gina. They both smiled, and Aspen knew exactly what her friend was thinking. Gina and Aspen both loved rodeo. There was something nostalgic and real about it, for Aspen especially. It seemed to speak to her, the rodeo. All of it spoke to her soul. Sitting there, that very moment, she felt almost more at home than she had anywhere else in months. The smell of the dirt and the horse and cow manure was oddly soothing to her senses. The sound of the announcer, the roar of the crowd—all of it pleased her.

  Aspen had been going to the rodeos in Albuquerque ever since she could remember, especially in September. She could still remember her father carrying her in from the car after a late night spent at Tingley Coliseum when she was no more than three or four. She loved it!

  “Mutton busting is my favorite!” Gina said as the announcement was made that the mutton busting would begin shortly.

  “Totally!” Aspen giggled.

  “I just have to say it,” Jimmy began, smiling at Gina. “There aren’t too many girls I know who enjoy rodeo.”

  “I love it!” Gina told him. She smiled at him, and Aspen was glad Gina was having fun. They’d both worried so much. After all, Gina had worked with Brad and Jimmy at the urgent care. Neither girl really knew a whole lot about either man. It was kind of a risk, going out with men they weren’t comfortably familiar with. Still, Aspen and Gina had figured it would be safe enough, if they went on a double date.

  The crowd cheered and then roared with applause and laughter as the first sheep carrying a small, helmeted child was released into the arena.

  “He’s hanging in there! Look at him,” Brad laughed.

  Aspen felt her eyes fill with tears—tears of delight—as she watched the five- or six-year-old boy hold onto the sheep for dear life. She knew every bull and bronc rider in the coliseum probably started out with mutton busting, and it was so fun to cheer for the kids whose rodeo dreams were just beginning.

  The little boy finally fell off the sheep’s back, and the crowd cheered louder, applauding his efforts. Aspen giggled as the little boy got up and kicked the dirt with disappointment.

  “Mickey Chavez, ladies and gentlemen!” the announcer called over the loud speaker. “What a ride, Mickey! We’ll see you out of the chute on a spinner in a few years.”

  The crowd applauded, cheered, and whistled. Little Mickey Chavez paused in the center of the arena, flashed a toothless smile, and waved to the audience.

  “He is adorable!” Aspen said. She couldn’t understand why her emotions were so close to the surface—just sentimental feelings welling up, she guessed.

  Gina leaned over and whispered into Aspen’s ear, “And so is he!”

  “Who?” Aspen asked. It wasn’t like Gina to be rude and check out other guys when she was on a date.

  “Look five rows down…to the left.”

  Aspen followed Gina’s instructions, gasping when she saw the real-man-stranger jogger from the park. The gorgeo
us park jogger cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted something toward the arena a moment before applauding.

  Aspen’s eyes widened as she looked to Gina.

  “What the heck?” Aspen breathed.

  Gina’s eyes widened as well as she continued to applaud.

  “What are the odds of that?” Gina whispered as the crowd settled down.

  Another mutton buster was out of the chute, and Aspen’s eyebrows rose as the handsome real-man-stranger jogger fairly leapt to his feet, over the row in front of him, and against the bars that ran the perimeter of the arena.

  “And it’s Cole Todd, girls and boys. Look at that ride!” the announcer exclaimed.

  Aspen watched, awed as the handsome real-man stranger applauded and shouted as the little boy rode the sheep past the middle of the arena. The small boy sauntered back across the arena, and the handsome real-man-stranger shouted something to him.

  Aspen and Gina watched as the real-man stranger climbed back into his seat and said something to the guy sitting next to him. His smile was divine—resplendent—dazzling! Aspen was mesmerized by it—by him—by his presence at the rodeo.