“Diva XIII”

Alfred Baynor wasn’t the boy next door. He was the stranger down the road, a ranch hand at The Poplars whom Ellie met when she dropped by to watch the horses graze. She was so crazy in love with the animals that she hardly noticed the fella noticing her until a shadow moved in the corner of her eye.

“Do you ride?” he asked, sauntering over to where she perched on the paddock fence.

She glanced briefly at him, caught the twinkle in his eye, and promptly lost her confidence. “No,” she mumbled, shyly. “I just like to watch them.”

“You don’t belong here, do you?”

She shook her head. “My aunt owns the farm up the way. My name’s Ellie.”

He smiled and the summer day got brighter. “I’m Alfred,” he said, sticking out a hand. “Pleased to meet you, Ellie.”

She tentatively took it, unsure what to expect since she’d never shaken a boy’s hand before. She reckoned on a tight grip, but the yielding skin surprised her. He gave her fingers a friendly squeeze, then let go.

“Have you got a favourite?”

Ellie was intrigued by the ghost of his hand around hers and didn’t answer right away. Alfred pretended not to notice and pointed at a piebald paint set apart from the other horses.

“She’s mine,” he said.

“Your horse?”

“My favourite. I don’t have a horse.”

“You don’t live here?”

“I live here, but I don’t have a horse. These all belong to the Rudds. You know the Rudds, right?” he asked when she looked puzzled. “They own the ranch.”

“I’ve only been with Auntie for a few weeks,” she confessed.

“School vacation?”

“No,” she replied before she thought the wiser. “You?”

His eyes were grey and sparkling. “What?”

“You on school vacation?”

“No, no. I graduated in June.”

Ellie’s heart sank. That meant he was at least seventeen. She couldn’t imagine Auntie permitting her to see a boy so much older than she was, particularly one so easy and charming. And handsome—too handsome, she thought, like one of those travelling charlatans who came by the farm to try and sell them things they didn’t need. Auntie had nothing good to say about any of those fellas and she’d likely not approve of her niece talking with this one, especially as he was out of school and Ellie was only starting junior high.

She hopped off the fence. “I have to go.”

“There’s a dance at the church hall on Saturday night,” Alfred said. “Maybe I’ll see you there?”

Ellie looked up at him. Oh, boy. He was taller than she thought, and lean and lightly tanned, and probably blond under his cowboy hat because his eyes were so pale. She hadn’t a clue how to dance and she didn’t think the church was the same one Auntie attended, so the chances were pretty slim she would be there, but ... “Is that an invitation?” she asked.

He stuck his thumbs into his belt and rocked a little on his heels. “It wouldn’t be proper to ask without meeting your aunt first. I just figure if you happen to be there and I happen to see you ...” His smile rose higher on one side, at once mischievous and hopeful, and Ellie felt a funny tug in her chest.

After that, going down to watch the horses was just an excuse.