When Coach Chisolm sent me the address to his house, he informed me I had an hour drive on a single lane road once I left the interstate. He’d even attached a map because the satellite navigation never could “get it quite right.”

I peered down at the map as I crossed paths with another road and checked the directions to confirm I was still headed in the right direction. Out of the corner of my eye something black caught my attention and I slammed on the brakes, thankful I had been driving well below the speed limit on the tiny, unfamiliar road.

My shoulders rose to my ears as the truck screeched to a stop before it collided with a herd of cattle. My hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly that the whites of my knuckles showed through the skin appearing as if they were ready to pop through the covering. My breath came out in heavy pants at the same rate as my racing heart.

“Fucking hell,” I heaved.

Taking a moment, I let myself calm down, using the breathing techniques that the team therapist taught us on how to control our anger. This time I used it to knock back the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

When I was finally able to pry my fingers from the steering wheel, the noise causing my body to cringe, I popped open the door and jumped down from the truck. I needed to catch my breath. My body hunched over itself. My hands firmly gripped my knees as I hauled in tremendous pulls of air to fill my lungs. Closing my eyes, I removed myself from the moment and settled back into my body.

“Are you okay there, son?” a gravelly voice filled with concern called out from the distance.

I glanced up, not sure what I’d find, but a man sitting on the back of a brown and white horse wasn’t even in the realm of possibilities.

When I didn’t give a response, the man added, “I’m sure these here gave you quite a fright. It’s not every day you see a hundred cows hanging out on the asphalt.”

The horse trotted closer, bringing the man within a few feet from where I stood.

“Yeah, I definitely wasn’t expecting it. That’s for sure.”

“Best things in life are unexpected,” he added cryptically.

Standing to my full height, the adrenaline slowly dissipated from my veins and my body immediately grew tired. Something I was going to have to fight through the rest of the trip. I always felt the same after every game except this time I didn’t have a bus or airplane to doze in.

“What are they all doing out here?” I asked as the stallion drew next to me, its curious eyes taking me in. The large animal whinnied as its rider stroked his neck.

“Well, see, this here road runs between my land. I was moving them to the field across the way. Bet ya scared them just as much as they scared you.”

Making eyes back at the large black heifer that was staring at me, I grunted. I’m pretty sure if she could laugh, she would.

“Doesn’t seem that way to me.”

The man had the decency to stifle his chuckle, but his chest moved all the same.

“I’ll get these girls moving so you can be on your way.”

“Thanks,” I said as I moved to get back in my truck, but a thought glued me in place. “Hey, I don’t suppose you know how much longer it is until I reach Ashfield, do you?”

“Well, now, I do. I thought I recognized you.”

Immediately, my hackles rose. I was famous in the sports world, but I spent most of my days covered in twenty-five pounds of gear and a helmet. My chances of being recognized prior to my retirement were slim, but with the news outlets having me on for sports interviews, my face had been front and center.

The last thing I wanted was to be recognized here.

“Oh. If you could. . .” I began trying to barter with the man to keep my identity a secret, at least for now. Once I left, he could blab all he wanted. I’d buy this man five more of those stallions if he’d keep quiet.

“Good ole coach said he was expecting someone.”

“Coach?” I asked, perplexed. My head tilted as if that would help me understand the man better. It didn’t.

“Yes, sir. Coach Chisolm. Those kids at the high school love him. Damn good coach. You know he took our hockey kids to the state championships this year? Man, it was something. Anyway. We don’t get people here quite your height. I figured you must have been that hockey player he was going on about at the market this morning. Had the town in a frenzy.”

Ah, so it seemed Brett had been telling people I was coming.

“Yes, sir. That’s me, but if you could keep my arrival quiet, I think that would be best for everyone. I don’t want any press knowing my whereabouts. If you know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I heard something about your injury and nasty breakup. Don’t you worry, son. We ain’t got no reason to bring those camera people round here. Got enough to worry about ourselves, if ya know what I mean.”

I didn’t, but I nodded and smiled just the same. I’m pretty sure he didn’t have nudes of himself doctored and made to look like I was in bed with a well-known female escort and those images plastered across every tabloid in the nation.

Maybe they didn’t even get those glossy magazines here. Wouldn’t that be something? This town was sounding better and better the more I thought about it.

“I’m headed in the right direction?” I asked as I began moving again and stepped inside my truck.

“Yes, sir. You’ve got about another fifteen-minute drive down this road, then you’ll hit the town square. It’s about another twenty minutes from there. Can’t miss it.”

I was pretty certain I could, indeed, miss it.

“Thank you, sir,” I called out after I slammed my truck door and rolled down the window.

“Give me just a few minutes and I’ll get these here cattle out of your way.”

“Thank you. It was nice to meet you.”

“You too, son.”

Son. That must be a southern thing, I thought to myself. It was as unfamiliar to me as an I love you. But it was nice to hear, even if it wasn’t more than a term of endearment.

It took the man exactly five minutes to get all of the cows across the street. The one that had eyed me earlier had been the last to leave the path and I could tell she was angry about it. I had the sneaking suspicion that she was up to no good and was planning her vengeance just as I sped past.

And just as he said, fifteen minutes passed when I came across a sign for the town of Ashfield. I slowed as I approached and took in the grandeur of the picturesque town nestled in the valley between the rolling hills. The Smoky Mountains set the perfect background for the town. I could see why Brett found it so charming and made it his home.

A horn sounded from behind me and I was stunned to see a fairly new BMW in my rearview mirror. My instinct wanted me to throw up a single finger at the driver for honking at me and interrupting the moment of silence as I took in the land before me, but I was in a different place now and needed to remember that. I tended to do things first and then think about the consequences later.

Pressing the accelerator, I brought the truck back up to speed and made my way to the town center, wondering in my head where the car had come from. I hadn’t seen any roads since the interstate, but I hadn’t been paying a lot of attention either.

The streets were full once I got closer. People milling about, cars lining the roads, and canopies on every free surface of the sidewalk. A banner hung high in the air, draped between two buildings on either side of the road.

FARMERS MARKET

EVERY SATURDAY

8AM-12PM

Well, that at least explained the dispersing crowd.

Glancing at the dash, I noted that the time was around three in the afternoon, so the farmers market was long over. I wanted to get something for Lily, Brett’s wife, as a thanks for allowing me to stay with them for a short time. The market would have been a great place, now I’d have to find something, and fast.