Knight In Faded Flannel

Knight In Faded Flannel Part 1

The muscles under Ashley's checked shirt strained with each dig, lift, and toss she gave with the pitchfork she was using to muck out her horse's stalls inside the barn that late afternoon. As she finished up with the last stall, she stopped to admire the setting sun through the open double barn doors. A smile crossed her face at the picturesque scene as she watched her few horses grazing the grass with the myriad of colours in the sky as their background. Ashley considered herself lucky for the quiet and peaceful life she led with just her and her four-legged companions. And just like clockwork, whenever she got lost in her happy thoughts, a reminder of what she had lost cloaked her, and that feeling of guilt wormed its way inside.

Forcing herself away from her thoughts, she finished up her chore by putting things away and calling in her horses for the night. Four Canadien horses, all dark in colour, varying in shades of browns, walked inside the barn and into their own stalls. She always spent extra time with one horse in particular; Sammy. She always talked to him longer, giving him extra pats and scratches. Once they were all tucked in for the night, Ashley said goodnight and closed up the barn before she turned and made her way over to her farmhouse. It was a moderately sized two-storey white house with blue shutters and a massive wrap-around porch. It was Ashley's second pride and joy. Ashley had bought the property fifteen-years ago and has since been maintaining both barn and house with tender loving care.

As she ascended the front steps to the front door, Ashley let out a sigh of longing before entering her home. That familiar yet nagging thought of what if? entered her mind. At the age of 43, Ashley wondered if she was going to die alone with her horses. Many moons ago, she and her wife were blissfully happy until tragedy struck that took Ashley's wife away from her. She spent years in mourning as she struggled to move on. In some semblance, Ashley had moved on, but she still ached for her wife on occasion. Over the years since her wife's passing, she'd tried to make love happen again, but the women she sought out weren't interested in a farmgirl who'd rather spend her Saturday nights at home instead of out on the town surrounded by hyper energy. She got enough hyper energy when one of her horses started throwing a temper tantrum.

She quickly stepped off to the side into a small mudroom and removed her boots and clothes, tossing them into the hamper next to the washing machine. Leaning against the dryer, clad only in her boy shorts, she glanced down at her body and thought she didn't look too bad for a woman who was pushing her mid-forties. Ashley never needed a gym to build and maintain her strong body—farm work did that for her.

Ashley pushed off the dryer and padded barefoot through the house and to the bathroom to start a shower. The advantages of living alone and way out in the country with no neighbours, allowed Ashley to prance around stark naked if she wanted without the fear of getting caught. Standing under the hot spray, letting the water soak her thick, dark mane and sluice down her small breasts and toned body, Ashley allowed her mind to wander to the pretty barista who started working at her favourite café two weeks ago. Straight, midnight black hair, piercing, pale blue eyes and rosy cheeks filled Ashley's mind, she smiled when she pictured the young woman smiling up at her every time she ordered her coffee. Their friendly interactions always bordered on flirtatious which had Ashley tempted to ask the woman out every time, but a punch to the gut reminded Ashley that the girl was most likely straight, given that she had witnessed the woman flirting with every cute guy who came in, effectively turned her thoughts sour. Ashley always walked away telling herself that she was simply being friendly as part of the job. Another negative working against her was that Ashley was certain this young woman was much too young for her.

"Wouldn't work. I don't need a babysitting job; I need a companion."

She turned the water off and climbed out of the shower. She pulled a towel off the rack and quickly patted her skin dry before squeezing the water out of her hair using the towel. As much as she wanted to dress and scrounge up some dinner for herself, she knew she couldn't leave her hair to dry naturally, otherwise she'd be dealing with a lion's mane. After applying product to her wet locks, she went to pick up her hairdryer but stopped and looked at herself in the mirror. She slowly turned her head side-to-side examining her hair, thinking about how she always wore it behind her ears, or held back in a tie, or under a ballcap, and wondered what she'd look like if she set her hair free.

"Screw it." She shrugged her shoulders and turned to leave the bathroom switching the light off as she went.