Ginger

Art transcends cultural boundaries – Thomas Kinkade

"Where are you headed?" Drake asked as Ginger tried, rather unsuccessfully, to sneak out the back door. Her father was sitting at the kitchen table, leafing through the newspaper, but he looked up as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

She had been heading out to Bailey's for her second riding lesson with Jay Dawson but her parents couldn't know that. Especially since they were each likely to accidentally let slip to their friends that she was instructing an actor on how to ride a horse. Her parents were great but they were also gossips – especially her father who, once he got going in a conversation, was difficult to stop. So either of them learning that she was teaching a celebrity to ride a horse was a sure-fire way to ruin Jay's quiet little vacation in Tishomingo.

Ginger propped a hip against the kitchen counter. "Out with Travis."

Not a complete lie. They were meeting later in the afternoon after she'd finished her lesson with Jay but that was hours away. She didn't feel the need to clarify that with her father, though.

"Oh? What are you two kids doing?"

I'm twenty-two years old, Ginger thought. Not a kid.

Instead, she said, "We were talking about going to the movies. There's a new comedy out that's supposed to be pretty good. Probably going to be a later showing. We'll grab dinner first or something. No need to wait up."

But he hummed in a way that let her know that he or her mother probably would anyway.

"Need anything from the grocery store?" Drake asked then. "Your mother and I are going to go once she finally gets out of the shower. I swear she's been in there for forty-five minutes. By the time I get to it, there probably won't be any hot water left."

"I ate the last of the cherry yogurt this morning."

"You mean the cherry yogurt I bought for myself last week and didn't get to eat because you and your mother stole it all?" He peered at her over the top of the newspaper.

Ginger grinned. "That's the one."

Drake muttered something about the women in this household ruining his life and then added, "I meant to tell you last night but your mother has a message for you from that Mr. Kaufman. He says he's available to meet you any night this week to talk about his accounting firm if you'd like. Just let your mom know when you work and when you're free and she'll confirm the date with him."

"Right. Thanks," Ginger said. Even if the smile twisting her lips felt a little more forced now. "I'll look at my schedule and let her know."

"Okay. Have fun with Travis. Ask him to swing around for dinner sometime soon, yeah? We can do a pot roast or something."

"Sure, I'll ask him. I'll see you later."

"Bye, kiddo." He waved and went back to his paper as Ginger ducked out the door.

*~*

"You're sure this is safe?" Jay asked. He was sitting stiffly on Gypsy in the round pen staring towards where Ginger was leading Fawkes out of the barn.

"It'll be fine," she assured him, trying to keep her tone light and breezy as she opened the round pen gate for Jay and then hoisted herself onto Fawkes' back. Her buckskin quarter horse mount was Bailey's but Ginger was borrowing him for the day as she pushed Jay's riding ability to new heights.

"Gypsy seems to be comfortable with you and you've mastered the art of going around in circles. We'll still be in a controlled area – it's just a big larger."

"A bit?" Jay quirked an eyebrow at her. "You said you want us to go for a ride into that super huge field over there."

"Yes. The paddock is all fenced in and it's really not that big. We need more space to work with and that'll do nicely for today. Now, come on. Follow me."

Without looking, Ginger prompted Fawkes into a walk. He moved easily, hardly a nudge required as if he knew instinctively where to go with little command. Bailey had trained him well.

Jay caught up with her after a few paces but kept his head turned straight ahead, not evening sparing her a glance. In fact, he'd barely looked at her at all in the two hours they'd been working together. Ginger supposed it was easy enough for him to avoid her gaze as she'd spent a chunk of their time showing Jay how to muck out a stall and tack a horse up properly. She was a big believer in understanding the animal and wanted to make sure that Jay realized, completely, that if he wanted the horse to work with him, he needed to do the dirty work too.

Yet even after she'd gotten him on Gypsy and put him in the round pen, the actor's eyes had stayed averted and the air between them was tense. The tension was her fault, of course, for snapping at him the other day. He'd been nothing but kind to her and she'd been curt. Rude. A total asshole when all he had done was ask her a rather simple question.

Why New York? Jay had wondered.

Because even though she'd never been there, even if she'd never stood within those bright city lights, the idea of New York felt like home.

A ludicrous notion, of course. How could a place she'd never been to feel like home to her? It was so preposterous that Ginger could hardly even fathom it.

The idea of admitting that feeling to someone, much less someone she hardly knew and was a celebrity to boot, had scared Ginger. Scared her to the point that she'd snapped, like a cornered, wounded animal in a trap.

And Jay had borne the brunt of that fear.

So much so that she'd accused him of being a shallow and manipulative person looking only for his next story to laugh to his famous friends about. Ginger had been worried of being the brunt of a joke amongst his peers – the stupid redneck chick who dreamed of living in the big city – that she hadn't even really considered that there was a person behind the celebrity. The moment she had was the moment that Jay had called her out on it.

The guilt had been immediate and despite Ginger's admission to Jay about her New York aspirations, it had lingered since they'd parted after that first riding lesson. Tension bloomed between them and Ginger didn't have the faintest clue on how to go about diffusing it. Still, it was hard to deny that things were awkward and it was making instructing him difficult as he hardly even looked her way.

Still, she was his teacher and so Ginger watched him with a careful eye as Jay led Gypsy into the paddock. She paused to pull the gate shut and then she urged Fawkes into a trot to catch up to where Jay was.

"Nice form. You're a quick study," she complimented and it wasn't a lie.

He looked good. Not quite natural but it looked as if thought he'd had more than one outing on a horse in his life which she knew was untrue. Usually, it took longer for her students to grow used to being atop a horse. That, more than anything, left people looking awkward and skittish as they stared at the far drop to the ground.

"Thanks."

"Must be an actor thing, right? Watching and learning from studying others?"

"Must be."

"Were you very stiff after our first lesson?"

"I was fine." The tone was the slightest bit curt.

Ginger bit her lip and said nothing else for an entire lap around the paddock. When they passed the gate entrance again, she said, "I'm sorry about the other day."

She saw Jay's eyes flit to her. There and gone again in a matter of seconds. "Sorry about what?"

God, he was going to make her work for it, wasn't he?

"Snapping at you. I made an assumption about the type of person you are because you're a celebrity and I really shouldn't have."

For a moment, he was quiet. Mouth twisted into a frown, brows low over the eyes as he stared straight ahead, still not looking at her.

And then he turned and smiled.

It wasn't a movie star smile. Didn't feel rehearsed or practiced the way a red-carpet smile might look. There was nothing coy or mysterious in that look. It was just a smile. Kind and real and true.

"It's okay," Jay said as they reached a corner in the fence and began to turn the reins of their mounts to head in a new direction. "I get it. Not the first time I've been judged for who I am. Won't be the last either."

"That doesn't make it right," Ginger insisted. "Anyway, I just wanted you to know I'm sorry and that I swear I won't do it again...Unless you turn out to be a total asshat in which case, I most definitely will do it again."

Ginger wondered if the teasing was out of line but Jay only laughed. When he looked at her, there was something a little less guarded in his expression. More open, honest. The ice was thawing between them. "I'll try my best not to become an asshat, then."

"Good."

"So why did you snap at me?" he asked. "To be honest, I tried puzzling it out but didn't see where exactly I'd gone wrong. Just so I can avoid the topic for future conversations."

"It wasn't you," Ginger said. "I just...I haven't really told anyone except my best friend that I want to get out of this place and pursue photography. Even my parents don't know. I mean, it's no secret to anyone that I want to leave Tishomingo and travel but I don't think they really know that when I say that I want to go, I mean to go and never come back. When you asked me about it the other day, it just threw me for a loop."

He raised a brow but mostly kept his gaze forward. Concentrating on where he was going. "Why does it have to be a big secret? Why can't you just...go?"

She squinted into the sun, letting the heat wash over her. "It's not that simple."

Jay only said, "Seems pretty simple to me. You want to go – so go."

"Going costs money, especially if New York is where I want to go. That's why I'm working at the diner. To try and save up enough."

"There's more to the story. You're hedging."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

They both knew that she was lying and only delaying the inevitable. Jay was even smiling a little, a small little grin on the corner of his lips. Whether it was the conversation keeping his mind busy or his own increasing skill atop the horse, he was looking more and more comfortable atop Gypsy as the minutes wore on.

Ginger sighed and knotted her fingers into Fawkes' mane. His hair was soft and she used it as an anchor, a distraction to keep her hands busy as she said, "Fine, I am. My parents don't know that I want to be a photographer."

"You haven't told them?"

"No." She shook her head and sighed, "I fell into it in high school and loved it immediately. There was just something about it. Whenever I look through my camera lens, it's like the world is just...different. A whole new place that only I can see."

Jay was staring at her. Just watching and waiting without interrupting. Letting her decide how much she wanted to admit.

Ginger added, "And then when I tried to tell my parents how much I loved photography, my mom told me that it was a nice hobby to have. She's been trying to convince me for years to go to school for something sensible."

A beat of silence broken up only by the sound of the horses' hooves against the ground and their quiet exhale of breath.

"What does she consider to be a sensible career?" Jay wanted to know.

"Well, her most recent venture is trying to have me go to school for accounting so that I can take over the business of an accountant in town who is looking to retire soon."

"Yikes," Jay said, grimacing. "I hate math."

She smiled a little. "Is that so?"

He nodded vehemently, dark hair shifting slightly. "I was much better with the subjects that didn't have any numbers. Why do you think I became an actor?"

"The money?"

"Hardly, though it is nice to have," he admitted. "A lot of actors struggle to make ends meet."

Ginger looked at him pointedly.  "But not you."

"No, not me," Jay agreed, his cheeks flushing pink.

"Still," Ginger said with a start.  "The whole starving artist thing.  Now you know why my parents wouldn't approve of the photography dream."

Jay only shrugged. "Would you rather be a starving artist working a job or two to make ends meet but super happy or working a job you hated that pays well and be miserable?"

An impossible question really since life required money but...the thought of spending her life sequestered behind a little desk really did make her unhappy even now.

"That seems like an easy question to ask when you're a famous multi-million dollar movie star," Ginger commented. "But it's a lot more difficult to answer when you're only a waitress at a diner in a small town."

"You're right," he said plainly and for a second, Ginger was taken aback by that honesty. She'd almost expected him to argue his point but he only added, "Still, I think you should do everything you can to be happy whether it's here or in a place like New York."

Now he was the one who was right.

"You may have a point."

Jay laughed, the sound echoing across the field. Beneath him, Gypsy snorted once. "Thanks. Anyway, I guess all I'm saying is that it really shouldn't matter what your parents want you to do. Find what you want and everything else will sort itself out. It seems like a lot of things have fallen into place for you. I'm sure this will too."

Ginger turned her head, raising a brow. "What things?"

He gestured to the countryside around them. "You live in a beautiful place – even if it isn't New York – and you get to hang out with these guys which is pretty cool." Jay indicated the two horses between them and patted Gypsy's neck affectionately. "And then you have Travis who seems like a good guy from the short amount of time I've spent with him."

"He is a good guy," Ginger agreed and fell silent.

Jay's head whipped towards her and for half a second it seemed as if he lost his balance in the saddle. He leaned forward a little too much, nearly losing his grip on the saddlehorn as he started to slide – but then he found his centre of gravity and began to shift back into place.

"It seems like there's a 'but' there," Jay said once he'd righted himself.

She didn't know why she was talking about this with a celebrity when even Cassie didn't know what Ginger was about to confess yet the words began to form before she'd even given them permission to pass through her lips. "But we've only been together six months and we've never really defined what it is that we're doing. We never even had the exclusivity talk. I mean, I don't think that he's seeing anyone other than me but for all I know, he's hooking up with a buckle bunny every time he's on the road."

Mild confusion flitted across Jay's face. It resulted in his nose crinkling, those jewel-like eyes glittering in the afternoon sun. "What's a buckle bunny?"

"Usually women who follow the rodeo circuit trying to shack up with whatever guys are winning the buckles."

"Ah."

"So yeah, Travis is great but I don't know if what we have will last until the end of the week or the rest of our lives. Which is more than fine. I'm only twenty-two and, as I said, we've only been together six months. I'm not looking for a ring or anything but there's stuff that he and I just don't talk about. Can't decide if that's a bad sign or not."

"But he knows about your New York photography aspirations?"

Ginger flushed and brushed her fingers through her hair self-consciously. "No. The only people who know that I want to be a photographer are my best friend, Cassie, and you. Travis knows about my blog, which my parents have no clue about, but that's the extent of it. I'm pretty sure he thinks it's a hobby too."

Jay said, "Maybe you should tell him that it's not. Never hurts to have one more person in your corner. Besides, if you don't tell him what you want in life, you could end up miserable, heartbroken, and alone like me."

Her eyes flared wide and incredulity pulsed through her veins even as she thanked the universe for this miraculous shift of attention away from herself.  "Seriously? The great Jay Dawson is still a bachelor despite so many women vying for his attention?"

A distant look entered Jay's eyes as they rounded another corner. "Probably because none of them really know me. They see who I am in the media and think that's who I am. Seems like it's an easy assumption to make." He gave her a knowing look at that and though she cringed, he laughed to show her that he was kidding. "Don't worry about it. Very few people actually take the opportunity to learn about who I am away from the lights and the cameras."

"That's horrible," she said and meant it. "And lonely. Sorry that I added to that."

He only shrugged but his mouth was a little bit tighter than it had been when he was smiling. "Don't worry about it, Ginger. Water under the bridge and all that."

"So there's never been anyone who's tried to get to know the real you?"

Jay stared at her, assessing, and then he leaned deeper into the saddle. The sun hit his face, illuminating the contours of his nose and cheeks. For a moment, she caught herself staring. Almost feeling as if she were in the middle of a rom-com scene watching the handsome male lead.

But this was real life, not a movie – and though there was light on his face, there were shadows and darkness lingering in his expression too.

"Two," he said at last. "There were two."

"Will you tell me about them?"

Ginger was curious about who had gotten to know him and how they had let him go. Curious about how someone could meet this kind, funny soul and walk away.

"Only if you promise to tell me who's broken your heart too."

"Oh, that's easy. But I've only got one tally in that column. Not two."

"We'll find a way to settle the score some other way, I'm sure," Jay said with a grin that vanished as quickly as it appeared. "The first was the one who never gave me a chance and the second was the one who broke my heart."

Her eyes tracked the column of his throat as he took a breath like he was preparing himself to tell these stories. For a moment, she wondered if she was prying too much. After all, they didn't know each other that well and yet...After the dinner and the training sessions they'd shared, it almost felt like he was someone she could know, if they dared to take that step.

"The one who never gave me a chance," Jay said, "is the one who gave me a dose of reality that I really needed. When I met her I was arrogant, egotistical, self-centred...I hadn't thought that I'd let Hollywood and fame get to my head but I had. I treated her like crap because I was used to people fawning all over me and she never did. Not once. And by the time I actually smartened up and realized what a jerk I was being, I'd lost my shot."

"What happened to her?"

"She's a musician now. A pretty famous one too. You might know her. Her name is Lennon McCormick. She's from this group called Imagine Reality. The guy she got with is in the band with her."

"Yeah, I've heard of her," Ginger said. She even had a couple of Imagine Reality's albums downloaded on her phone.

"Well, Lennon is still with Spencer but if it hadn't been for her, I never would have met Claire."

"Claire?"

Jay nodded solemnly, his eyes narrowing as he looked away from her and glanced towards the sun. "The one who broke my heart. Lennon called it too. After she shot me down, she told me that she hoped that I would fall in love and have my heart broken. At the time, I didn't really get why but I think she meant it in a good way. A way to force personal growth or something. I don't know. Maybe she just wanted me to feel hurt."

"And did you?" Ginger wondered. "Feel hurt?"

"From Claire, yeah." Jay rubbed his jaw thoughtfully and Ginger was happy and impressed by how comfortable he seemed atop the horse. Confident enough to hold the reins with only one hand in any case.

He added, "Claire wasn't famous. We met in Central Park after I literally ran into her and caused her to spill her coffee all over her shirt. Some fans had been following me as I'd left work and I should have let my assistant drive me but I'd insisted on walking which is when I ran into Claire. God, I felt like such a dick and I only made it worse by offering to pay to keep her from screaming to the world who I was. She only asked for two dollars to buy a new coffee."

Ginger tried to imagine how she'd react in that situation. If she'd freak or stay calm and collected.

Then, she realized that she'd already been in that situation the other day when Jay had entered Annie's and she'd hidden him in the kitchen to keep his identity from being found out.  It hadn't really occurred to her to demand money in exchange for hiding him.  Truly, she'd only hoped to avoid the headache of crowd control she would have had to manage if the world had realized who he was.

"She was different, you know?" Jay continued, drawing her attention back. "Down to earth. Funny. Never cared that I was famous. We were friends until I blew by it by assuming that she felt like I did. When I told her that I loved her, she didn't feel the same way. There was another guy. A best friend she didn't realize that she was in love with until she heard me say the words and realized that they were coming from the wrong guy. She left me for him."

"Are they still together?"

"Yup." Jay popped the 'p' sound, smacking his lips together. There was no bitterness in his voice. Only sorrow. Like he still wasn't quite over her.

It must be hard, Ginger thought. To love and get your heart broken like that. To throw it all out on the line for nothing.

"What about you? Who was your heartbreaker?"

They reached the paddock gate once more. Ginger reached down and unlatched the lock. They'd done a few circles and she was sure that he must be getting stiff, even if he were too nice and determined to say so.

She let Jay pass through it first, following behind and closing the gate as she went as she said, "Michael Landucci. We were in the eighth grade together. I asked him to the Sandy Hawkins dance and he shot me down."

"Wow. That makes my experiences look so trivial."

Ginger laughed as they turned back towards the barn. "Right?"

They walked in companionable silence for a moment before Jay asked, "When is our next lesson?"

"I have the opening shift all week at work starting tomorrow so I can do any day after two in the afternoon but I was thinking that I might take you out on the trail one of these days if you're feeling up for it. You look good, confident, so I think you're ready for it. Just text me whenever you want to meet up again and we'll pick up where we left off."

Jay grinned and gave her a short dip of his chin. "Okay."

They disembarked their mounts and got them untacked, brushed, and watered. Ginger watched Jay's work carefully but he'd remembered everything she'd told him about how to care for a horse after riding and she was more than a little impressed. A quick study, indeed.

"How'd it go?" a deep male voice asked from the entrance of the barn. Ginger turned and saw Noah Hartley walking in, leading his horse, Rafiki, behind him. "You a genuine cowboy yet, Jay?"

There was an easy smile on Noah's face, a quirk to the lips to give them a slightly crooked appearance. He was dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and boots. Hiding his brown hair was a buckskin-coloured cowboy hat.

Ginger still remembered the first time she'd laid eyes on Noah Hartley. He'd walked into the diner while she'd been waiting tables and there had just been a heavy air of exhaustion pouring out of him. She hadn't known it at the time but that had been his first day in town after moving from Texas. He and Caroline had stopped in at the diner on their way to the very ranch where they were currently standing.

Like many girls in Tishomingo, Ginger had thought that he was attractive immediately. Noah had a sort of ruggedness about him – entirely different from the sort of clean-cut Hollywood looks that Jay had or Travis' boy-next-door appearance. She'd tried flirting with him once or twice but had learned quickly that Noah hadn't been interested in dating her or anyone else in town.

In fact, she didn't think that he'd gone out with a single girl in Tishomingo until Bailey had come home. Of course, she wasn't privy to Noah's every move but for years, she had been a witness to the rumour mill that was Annie's Diner. If Noah so much as offered up his phone number to someone, Ginger was certain that she would have known about it.

It almost seemed as if Noah, on some level, had waited for Bailey – even if neither of them knew it at the time. Travis had told Ginger once that he was sure Bailey and Noah were destined for each other, the same way that he was sure Jake and Piper were meant to be, or how Rob and Maryse were made to be together.

Travis had never talked about her that way. Had never once indicated that he thought they were anything like the other couples in his family.

Maybe that was why they didn't talk about anything in the future. Why things other than the immediate were seemingly off-limits. Perhaps they just didn't...click like the others did.

God, I'm just overanalyzing everything today, aren't I? Ginger thought.  Stupid movie stars asking stupid probing questions. Making me think about my relationship and aspirations like it's so easy to have everything I want in life.

Ginger realized she'd lost focus and tuned back into the conversation where Jay and Noah were discussing the upcoming Tishomingo Rodeo Classic which was set for the following weekend. Travis was sure to be participating and it seemed, from the conversation, that Noah was too.

"—but you won't be riding any bulls?" Jay was asking. He leaned against the stall door, absently running his hand across Gypsy's forehead.

Ginger couldn't help but smile as she watched that easy, comfortable movement. Already the movie star seemed so much more comfortable with the animal despite the fact that he'd only had two lessons. It wouldn't take him long to look completely natural on one.

Noah shook his head at Jay and said, "No. I gave that up. Tired of being sore and aching all the time. It's a hard sport."

"I watched some videos online after your dinner party the other day. Being on top of one of those animals seems equivalent to some of the things my stunt team does for me on film sets."

"It definitely takes a certain sort of person to commit to it, that's for sure. My only goal after the end of each ride was to walk out of it. Buckles are nice to win but I've seen some guys get really banged up on the circuit. In the end, that side of the job isn't worth it to me anymore."

"So what events are you competing in, then?" Ginger cut in.

Noah patted Rafiki on the neck. The pure black quarter horse nickered softly at his owner. "Me and this guy here entered the team roping event with Travis. We just finished a practice session over at his place, actually."

"Feeling confident?"

"Confident enough. We've practiced a bunch and have done a couple of events together now. No need to stress about it. Anyway, I've gotta run. Work won't do itself. You two good here?"

Ginger nodded. "We're just finishing up."

Noah smiled. "Great." To Jay, he added, "Nice seeing you again."

"You too," Jay replied as Noah passed him by and headed for the exit. When he was out of earshot, Jay looked back at Ginger. "I take it you're going to the rodeo too?"

"Probably not."

Jay raised a brow. "Really? Why not?"

"Pretty sure Annie has me scheduled to work on Saturday morning. By the time I'd get there, it would be insane and all of the good seats would be taken. I might just go for a hike or something in the afternoon. Somewhere quiet without all of the crowds."

"With the camera?" Jay guessed with a wry grin. It was as if he'd read the words she hadn't even formed. He turned away from Gypsy to stare Ginger in the face fully.

Ginger flushed, her cheeks burning red. "Probably."

"Mind if I tag along?"

She started, surprised by the question. For some reason, she hadn't even considered the fact that Jay would still be here next weekend when the rodeo was taking place. Truth be told, Ginger had thought that he and Brock would be ready to high-tail it out of Tishomingo after just a couple of days.

"You'll still be here?" Ginger asked.

"I don't see why not. Brock and Bailey haven't recorded anything yet and I'm off work until I get called back to set which hasn't happened yet. Besides, I kind of like this place."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Those gem-green eyes bored into hers, bright and intense. Slightly narrowed, his brows low as he looked at her.

It was a look she'd seen before. Not directed at her but on those movie posters she saw at the cinema or on-screen during his films. The kind of look he might give a leading lady

Ginger's mouth went a little bit dry. She had to swallow a couple of times and push her fingers through her hair before she managed to shake off that look. "It won't be a very exciting day, though. I'll most likely just get out into nature. You'd probably have more fun at the rode."

Jay shrugged and his fingers knotted together as he fidgeted a little. "Or I would just get hounded for photos and autographs the entire time. I'd rather spend time with you away from it all."

"If you're sure..."

"I am but if you don't want the company, I won't be offended."

"No – it's fine. I don't mind having company."

"Great," he said, smiling again. A relaxed and almost boyish expression settled across Jay's face as he spun on his heel, turning for the barn exit. "Just let me know where to meet you and we can hang out."

"Okay." Ginger followed after him, heading for her car where she'd parked it near his. She climbed into her car, watching as Jay followed suit in his rental.

He looked so out of place in that slightly rusted rental. So removed from the Hollywood persona. Jay could have been any guy in the world at that moment. Not famous. Not a celebrity. Just a guy.

"I'll see you soon," he said.

Ginger raised her hand in a wave. "Bye."

Before she had the chance to do much else, he was peeling out of there, but it felt like a better parting than they'd had the last time. There was no anger-fueled tension in any case. But at least for her, there was a different kind of tension. One that she was trying very hard to dispel.

"Shake it off," she murmured to herself. "Shake it off."

But even as she followed Jay's car away from the Hartley ranch and turned towards Travis' place, she knew it wouldn't be nearly that easy.