The Stable Boy Read Online Free PDF

used to doing this by myself.”
    “It’ s okay. I understand,” he said with a smile.
    “Do you need any thing down this isle?”
    “No, most of the things I need are down the spices isle.”
    “Okay, let’s head there next. I need a few things there, too.”
    “Lead the way,” he said. We walked two isles over to the spices. Alison was in the isle shopping.
    “Hey you two,” she said with a big smile.
    “Hi,” I said. “Getting stuff for Saturday?”
    “Oh yes,” she said. “I am going to guess that is what you two are up to.”
    “Yes, it is Mrs. Everett.”
    “Now, Joshua, I have told you many times to call me Alison. Are you having this problem with him, too?” she turned to me to ask.
    “I was, but I think he is coming around. At least, I hope he is.”
    Josh’s face reddened.
    “I know you were brought up right and have the proper manners in place, but the misses and ma’am has to stop. When we tell you to call us by our name, we mean for you to do it.”
    “Okay, I promise that on Saturday, I will call you by your first name.”
    “Great, I look forward to it. Call me later, Claire. I need to get this shopping done and head back home before Bob wonders if I got lost and if he is going to starve for the night.”
    “Okay, I will,” I laughed. “Give Bob my love.”
    “I will do that. You have a good day, Joshua.”
    “You, too, Mrs., I mean Alison.”
    “Oh my God, he did it. Stumbled with it, but did it,” she laughed as she walked away.
    “Alison can be a lot of fun,” I said.
    “She was always really nice to me. Mr. Everett is a great person, too.”
    “Yes, he is. He and John were best friends.”
    “Oh, really?” he said.
    “Yes, they would help each other out all the time. When they had a chance, they would go fishing or hunting together. They would even hit up the local bar for some drinks once in a while, a boy’s night out away from the women. Alison and I would get together while they were gone and go to the next town over to see a movie. We would have to swing by the bar on our way home to pick them up,” I laughed at the memory.
    “Do you think your husband would have liked me?”
    “You know, I believe he would. He would have seen a lot of himself in you. He would have taken the time to nurture you and help you grow as an individual. I am pretty sure that is why Bob sent you to me.”
    “Maybe, we will have to ask him on Saturday.”
    “Maybe we will, but first we need to finish shopping so we can have something to bring.”
    “Let’s do it,” he said. “The faster we get it done, the more time the pickles have to set up.”
    “Great,” I said. “I just need a few more things and then we can be out of here.”
    We finished our shopping in 15 minutes. We headed home. After putting the groceries in the house, we both headed to the garden to get what we needed. He picked the cucumbers. I picked some tomatoes, peppers, and onions. He looked at me with curiosity.
                  “What?” I asked. “This is what I need for my pasta salad.”
                  “I never thought those things went in a pasta salad. I always thought it was pasta, mayonnaise, tuna fish and onions.”
                  “No, that is a macaroni salad. A pasta salad has fresh vegetables, pasta, and a salad dressing. I prefer to make my own dressing, which makes it a little bit better.”
                  “Ah,” he said, nodding his head. “The things you can learn hanging around different groups of people.”
                  I smiled. I was glad he was learning something new. We went back inside. I put three pots of water on the stove; two were five quart pots. I needed one for my pasta. He needed one for the canning jars. The other was a small pot he needed to make the pickling liquid. I grabbed a cutting board for myself with a chef’s knife. He came up behind me. He reached around me, his abs and left hand resting on