Page 1 of More Than A Boss

1

Waiting for her coffee to finish brewing, Allie looked dejectedly outside. Rain, rain, and more rain, she thought. Another dreary fall day. She unconsciously raked her fingers through her thick blond hair and let out an exasperated sigh as she saw any hope for a trail ride dashed. Not for the first time this morning, she said to herself, “If this damn rain doesn’t stop soon, I am going to lose it! Why is the weather always bad on my weekends off?” Thinking of her weekend, a flash of her handsome boss, Zane Dunn, popped up and she quickly squelched it.

It was Saturday morning and Allie was comfortably dressed in old faded jeans and a red plaid flannel shirt, prepared to do battle with her budget before heading to the barn. She sat at her kitchen island with the pencil and calculator close at hand. She knew that no matter how many times she punched in the figures it wouldn’t change the outcome, but she always remained hopeful. She was surprised the calculator still had visible numbers on the keypad after all the abuse it took. She sometimes got obsessive with crunching numbers. Probably because it made her feel like she had some control over her finances. She only knew that, even when the budget looked good on paper, it never seemed to translate to real life.

The coffee maker beeped, signaling her wait was over. Still in her fuzzy slippers, Allie padded over to the pot and poured the black, steaming liquid into an extra-large mug that her Aunt Nancy had given her for her birthday. The painting of the horse looked a lot like her own horse, Mel, which was why it was her favorite coffee cup. She seldom got to see her aunt, who lived in New Mexico, and she thought of her every time she reached for her mug. She grabbed the half-and-half out of the fridge, poured in a large amount, and stirred.

Walking over to her stool, she sat and took her first sip of the morning. She closed her eyes savoring the moment. Coffee was one of her favorite transgressions. She had tried to give it up several times, but, in the end, decided that the good outweighed any negative repercussions she might suffer.

Allie was fortunate to have inherited the best possible features from both her mom and dad. At 5’7”, with a thin but curvy build, her thick wavy hair and dimples came from her mom’s gene pool, and her large brown eyes framed with thick, dark lashes from her dad’s. Not that she gave it much thought. If she were asked, she would admit to being averagely attractive, but she wasn’t overly concerned about her appearance and was unaware of her natural beauty.

“Well, what do you think, my friend? Aren’t you glad you’re in this safe, warm house instead of that cold, soggy weather?” The big white-and-calico fluffball just looked at her and yawned.

Allie felt an ache, remembering her friend Monica, who had recently lost her long-fought battle with breast cancer. She had been a partner in crime in the rescue of Kit Kat on one of their many walks in the woods. Life just wasn’t fair, she thought. Monica should be here, enjoying all the fall colors in their showy display. The fall foliage was spectacularly vibrant this year, the shimmering golds and almost-iridescent oranges of the maple trees the most flamboyant in Allie’s memory. Soon the trees would be bare and there would be snow on the ground, she mused.

Shaking off her nostalgia, she reached for her steaming coffee cup, careful to make sure it didn’t slosh out of the full mug.

“Kit, too bad you can’t drink coffee, you have no idea what you’re missing!” Her feline friend’s tail twitched as she stretched and responded with another yawn and then rolled onto her back, baring her round belly for a rub. Allie reached down and gently stroked her for a moment before being swatted away with claws retracted.

Laughing, Allie stuck out her tongue and said, “You are a brat! Don’t be mean to your Mama! I’m the nice one who rescued you, remember?”

Kit Kat always lightened Allie’s mood with her sassy attitude and loving companionship. Not only was she a link to her dear friend Monica, but she was also much-needed company on the many lonely nights since Allie’s divorce. She sighed and, scooping Kit into her arms, buried her nose in the soft fur as the bundle purred with contentment. When Kat had had enough snuggling, Allie released her, and she scampered just out of reach and began grooming herself.

It was late September and the weather had been unusually cold, wet, and rainy, however, sunshine and warmer temperatures were in the forecast for the coming week. Yes, please, Allie thought.

Some folks hated the fall simply because winter followed, but autumn was her favorite time of year. Always had been. She thought that might be a throwback to her early childhood anticipation of new beginnings each school year. Picking out lunch boxes, pencils, notebooks, shoes, clothing, an open book not yet written. Endless possibilities. New friends, old friends, boys, teachers, full of hopes and dreams. Crisp cold air, seeing your own breath, everything in sharper focus were all things Allie loved about this season.

It was also the best season for trail riding on her quarter horse, Mel. The absence of horseflies combined with no humidity made for a more pleasurable experience for both horse and rider. She was lucky to board him for free just down the road at the Johnstons’ farm. There were lots of places to trail ride around the farm without having to load up and travel. It was equally beneficial for Laura and Jake Johnston to have Mel boarded there because they lost their old mare, Mabel, and their one remaining horse, Jeb, was lonely. The horses became BFFs at first sight and were inseparable in no time.

Having grown up on a farm, Allie was riding almost before she could walk. After the death of her father several years ago, her mom was forced to sell the family farm, and, subsequently, Allie had to find other accommodations for Mel. Finally, she felt he was parked in the perfect spot.

Financially it was a stretch, even with free board. It was the unexpected medical expenses that could really throw your best budget intentions out the door. In early summer, Mel turned up lame and, after several vet visits, they finally discovered a deep hoof abscess. His shoes needed to be removed temporarily, so she ended up with extra vet and farrier bills. Allie wasn’t complaining. Mel was worth every penny of it and then some! He kept her sane when she was going through her contentious divorce and the death of her friend. She and Mel had been together for twenty years. Allie would live in a tent before she would give him up. She had started him as a young, two-year-old colt when she was still in high school. He was family; however, that didn’t mean it was always easy.

Fortunately, for now and the foreseeable future, a tent wasn’t going to be her place of residence. With a stroke of luck, she found out about the old tenant farmhouse before it went on the market. Allie contacted the owners, inspected the property, fell in love with the house, and signed a contract! She was now living there and leasing with the option to purchase when her lease expired in two years. She felt optimistic that, if she could just keep her nose to the grindstone for the next couple of years, her life would be in a much different place.

The phone rang. Allie, seeing that it was her best friend, Casey, picked up. “Hello, stranger.”

“Hey friend, what’s up? Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?” Casey inquired.

“Heading over to the barn this morning. I’ve got to clean the stalls, and I’m hoping to be able to hop on Mel for a quick ride in the indoor arena. How about you? Anything earth-shattering happening today?”

“No, I keep telling you how boring my life is. I have to live vicariously through you and your mom.”

“Sometimes boring is good.” She laughed at her friend’s comment, knowing that Casey was the happiest that Allie had ever seen her.

“Anything new with that demanding boss of yours?” Casey prodded.

“I told you he isn’t so bad. Yes, he expects a lot, but nothing more than he is willing to give. He has actually really grown on me,” she added.

“Ah, am I detecting a slight bit of protectiveness toward the boss? Maybe the sex appeal is winning out over the arrogance,” Casey teased.

“He’s not really arrogant, he’s just confident and knows what he wants. That isn’t arrogance.” Allie was completely unaware that she was once again coming to Zane’s defense.

“Well, since I’ve yet to meet the man, I don’t have any business making assumptions. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. I really haven’t heard you complaining about him recently, come to think about it.”

“Well, don’t read anything more into it. We just happened to find our working rhythm together and are immersed in a big case. I actually look forward to going into the office.”

Allie stood up to stretch, working out the kinks from sitting. She hadn’t found the time lately to stick with a regular yoga practice and her body had stiffened up as a result. Since winter was just around the corner, she planned on joining the gym so she could work out and take a yoga class on her lunch break. In the winter months, she had to find something to replace the lunchtime power walks she took with her friend and fellow paralegal Annika. Gyms generally bored her to tears, but Michigan winters could be brutal, which made exercising outdoors with any consistency difficult.

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