The Light That Leads You Home 2

Kylo drove to the main house. A dark skinned man came out drying his hands on a towel. Taking a deep breath he got out of the truck. The man seemed to take stock of him from where he was standing on the porch. He felt like he was being weighed for his worth to stand there before him. He had to give the guy props for his audacity because most people couldn't keep his gaze. They took one look at his scar and turned their head away.

"You lost?"

"No I'm not lost."

"You must be Kylo Ren then."

He cocked his head to the side. "The names Finn. Rey said you might stop by sometime."

For a moment he felt totally weirded out that she knew he was coming. "Don't worry she figured curiosity would get you here sometime or another."

"Ben told me something along those lines."

"They're twins they kinda thought a like. She's out back at the training corral. That stud of hers is feeling frisky. You can let the dog out too."

Finn went back inside. Kylo went to let Aries out. The black Shepard was only a couple steps behind him as he headed towards where Finn sent him. The smell of the horses and the farm brought him memories of his time when he was a kid growing up. He found where Rey was working with Imperial Rebel. The big stallion was prancing like a show horse. His ears were swiveled in his direction as he trotted around his owner. Leaning against the fence he watched the duo. Aries plopped down beside him by the fence and panted softly.

"I'll be with you in a moment."

He tilted his head to the side watching her wondering how she knew he was there. Of course she was paying attention to the stallion and he'd seen him come up. With a few clicks of her tongue the stallion started high stepping. If he hadn't known the stallion was a race horse he would've assumed he was some kind of show horse. There was the power and grace in his steps as he moved. The Arabian blood in him was clear in the arch of his neck and the points of his ears. His tail was unfurled like his own banner as he trotted around his owner.

"You here for the open position?"

"The what…"

"We need help with some of the chores around here."

"That's not…"

She finally turned her head enough to see who she was talking to. Rey seemed to freeze seeing him. He tried to smirk but it came out like a nervous smile. A loud shout of excitement escaped her as she dropped the lead and made a beeline for him. Imperial Rebel snorted and pawed at the ground at her shout. Had there not been a fence between them he was sure she would've tackled him to the ground. She stood on the other side of the fence for a moment before ducking between the boards and enveloped him in a bear hug.

"You finally made it, but I did figure you'd come someday."

She pulled back to look him over. He didn't know what to say to her now that they were face to face, but he admitted to himself that she was even more breathtaking in real life than she was in her picture. He felt like an idiot teenager with his first crush trying to ask her out.

"It's nice to finally meet you Rey. I just got back from my tour a couple days ago."

"You didn't even go home for awhile?"

"My mother insisted I come see you."

"Where are you staying?"

"I hadn't gotten that far ahead of myself yet."

"You'll stay here as my guest. The loft above the stables is free if you want to stay there or I can get Finn to get one of the guest rooms ready."

"The loft is fine."

"I figured you'd say that. Ben stayed up there a lot during the summer he liked to be near the horses even though I was the horse trainer."

"That's very kind of you Rey."

"You're staying for a least a couple days right?"

"Of course I am. I don't have anything pressing to do."

"It's not much but it's yours for as long as you want to stay."

"Thank you Rey."

She smiled softly at him.

"Come on I'll show you to the loft."

A loud commotion from the barn made the smile drop from her face. A shiver of unease washed through him at the look on her face.

"Rey…"

A man with flaming red hair stomped out of the barn towards him. His eyes landed on him and the urge to step between Rey and this man made itself known. He took a step towards her. The red head stopped right in front of Kylo and glared at him. Aries started growling in warning at the red head but with a soft gesture with his hand Aries stopped and laid down.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Get lost Hux!" Rey growled.

"Don't think to order me around Rey."

"You're not welcome here Hux! This is my property and I don't want you here anymore."

The red heads eye flash with rage as he went to hit Rey. Instinct kicked in and he caught Hux's wrist. Kylo had this feeling that if this guy got his ass handed to him by someone bigger than him things might go a bit smoother.

"I suggest you go before you do something you regret."

"Let him go Kylo he's not even worth the effort."

"Why you…"

Kylo stepped in front of Rey defensively. Aries growled again but didn't move from his spot where his handler left him. His lips were curled showing off his fangs as if daring the red head to make a move. Kylo knew it would be his biggest mistake if he did go against the big Shepard.

"Like I said you should walk away."

"You must be the solider friend of her brothers," Hux sneered. "The one responsible for Ben's death."

Kylo fought the urge to flinch at the comment even though he knew it wasn't his fault that Ben died. He castes a glance over at Rey and her eyes were narrowed and blazing with anger.

"Kylo isn't responsible for Ben's death," Rey snarled in his defense.

"You don't even know him Rey!" Hux protested.

"Ben did and I trust my brothers judgement," she shot back. "I trust my twins judgement because we thought alike."

"He's dead Rey because of this guy."

Before he could even defend himself, even though he really didn't have to because this guy wasn't there for the incident, Rey shot forward and slammed her fist into Hux's cheek sending him off balance. He looked at Rey shaking her hand with a dangerous expression on her face. She looked like she was daring him to come at her again so she could hit him again. There was a story there and he had the feeling it wasn't a good story.

"Kylo is my guest in this house so you need to take a walk Hux you're not welcomed here. Do I have to call the sheriff again? I'm sure Sheriff Ackbar will appreciate being dragged out of whatever he's doing to come get your ass again, or better yet get Mayor Holdo to come reprimand your ass again."

"You use your connections way too much Rey and one day they won't help you."

"They will if you keep coming here even though you were specifically told not to come here after you tried to rape…"

"I didn't…"

"Oh really what do you call you feeling me up when you're drunk then and then trying to take off my clothes?"

Kylo felt something dark stir inside of him at the words Rey spoke. It made him want to be this idiot to death or strangle him. The red head flushed in embarrassment or anger, Kylo couldn't tell. Kylo knew if hux went for her again this time he would totally beat him down. Hux must've decided to cut his losses and stomped away in a huff.

"Rey…"

"It was a long time ago but Ben found us before he could get very far."

Kylo stored that away for if he ever got the chance he'd kick Hux's ass. Then he decided to change the subject.

"Sheriff Ackbar?" Kylo asked in amusement.

The guys name sounded like some character from a sci-fi movie. Rey just shrugged her shoulders there was a small smile on her face.

"He served in the war with my father and they were good friends until my dad died. There was something about a promise to look after my brother and I. Well just me now."

"Has the hot head gone after you again?"

The thought made him edgy as hell. The smirk on her face then made that feeling go away. Whatever she did must've been a little on the malicious side. He wondered why Ben hasn't mentioned the red headed asshole to him. There was no doubt Ben would've warned him to protect her against him or beat the shit out of him at first glance. He would've told him to beat him down.

"He's tried but it didn't end well for him those couple times," she said with a smirk in her voice.

"Do I want to know?"

"You'll probably cringe and laugh at the same time. Ben kicked his ass twice, Rebel did once and I did once too."

"The whole third times a charm thing doesn't work on him huh?"

"He's just that dense. Trust me on that one."

"What did that stud of yours do?"

"Broke some fingers and broke his arm. All eleven hundred pounds of him came crashing down."

She was right he did cringe and chuckle a bit. Kylo watched her for a moment. Imperial Rebel neighed in annoyance. He was standing there tossing his head and pawing at the ground.

"Imperious brat. Feel free to look around Kylo," she said with a smile. "I have to work this imperious stallion for a little bit longer. Once you get settled in we can go for a ride if you're up for it."

Rey entered the ring the same way she came out. She grabbed up the lead and clicked her tongue to get the stallion moving again. Kylo leaned against the fence watching her work quietly. Her movements were fluid as she worked the stallion in his paces. The stallion tossed his head as he trotted. They were a pair that was for sure. The way she worked the stallion was flawless almost like a dance. He tried to take the lead a couple times but she wouldn't let him.

"Do you just train race horses?"

"Mainly but I have trained a few barrel racers and a jumping horse before. There's more money in training racing horses in the long run but occasionally I take on something different. This stud takes up a lot of my time anymore."

"Is that why you need help around here?"

"That and we just need help."

"I'll help."

She looked at him over her shoulder with a sidelong glance. She seemed not sure what to say to his offer.

"You don't have to help around here Kylo. You're my guest."

"I don't mind besides what else can I do around here besides sit on my ass."

"Okay if you wanna help Poe will get you a list of things to get done and you can start tomorrow."

He nodded his head. Once that was settled he turned his eyes back to the prancing stallion.

"So how did this stud get his name?"

She looked at the stud with fondness in her eyes as she worked him in circles.

"His momma was Rebel Princess and his father was Imperial Blue so I worked off that name."

Once she called a halt with a click of her tongue she started wrapping the extra lead into a nice coil and started moving him towards the barn. Kylo followed her easily and watched as she hooked the stallion up and started grooming him. The way she did things seemed almost sensuous. Shaking his head of that particular thought, he waited for her to finish. Once she walked the stallion to his stall she turned to him with a smile.

"Ready for a ride?"

"Yeah sure."

She gestured for him to follow her. They went to the end of the barn. On this end of the barn was western style saddles and a few horses that didn't look like racers. There was a dapple gray, a palomino, a paint and a couple quarter horses. There weren't any plaques that had their names on it.

"What are their names?"

"The dapple is Pale Rider."

Kylo chuckled at the name. "The palomino is Handful of Aces but we just call her Aces. Quarter with the long white nose marking is Riding with the Duke and we call him Duke."

"Riding with the Duke?"

She shrugged her shoulders. The way she looked at those horses told him that she loved them with everything she was.

"I happen to like old westerns. The short marked quarter horse is Tombstone."

Kylo laughed softly and shook his head. "Tombstone was my dads doing."

"Then last but not least the paint is Gambit's Rogue. Call her Rogue and let's just say Ben had an obsession."

Both laughed softly at the X-Men reference. The mare had had a dual colored forelock one half white and the other half was a reddish brown color.

"I think I'll try out Pale Rider."

She smiled softly at him and went into the stall with the lead that was hanging on the outside wall. She hooked him up and brought him out. Hooking the lead to a ring on the wall she brought out her brushes and started grooming him.

"His bridle and saddle blanket have his name on it, and you can pick whichever saddle you want."

He watched her groom the stallion efficiently and quickly for a few more minutes before going to grab what he needed. She just finished the clean up and tossed the stuff in a bucket. She left him do saddle him while she went to get Duke out and start grooming him. Once he was done saddling the stallion he watched her work with Duke. He knew he might find someplace to belong.

"What?" she asked in confusion as she saw him watching her.

"It's nothing."

He turned around to pretend to straighten the straps on the saddle to try and get his blushes under control. He was a Marine he shouldn't be blushing like a little with the girl he liked.

"Come on Kylo I'll show you around."

With the grace and ease of someone who'd ridden horses all her life she hauled herself up into the saddle and took the reigns in hand. He followed her example and waited for her to lead on. They were stopped halfway down the trail by a man riding a draft horse of some sort. The horse was the color of butterscotch with a pale mane and tail. The look on the guys face wasn't encouraging.

"Easy Kylo he won't bite much."

"Rey who the hell is this? And Finn said Hux made an appearance."

"Calm down Poe before you give yourself a stroke. Hux was sent packing and this is Kylo Ren. He was Ben's friend."

"That Marine guy you were talking about?"

"One and the same. He's come to give us a hand for awhile."

"You touch her and I'll kill you," Poe growled.

Kylo saw Rey turn bright red as she groaned in embarrassment.

"Really Poe I'm not a little kid anymore I don't need you to protect me all the time."

"I don't trust anyone when it comes to you even someone Ben vouches for. No offense to you."

"None taken."

Rey kicked Duke into a small trot and swung at him. His horse shied away from her swing.

"BB knows your tricks Rey."

"That maybe but I'm still going to get you back later. Kylo is a guest here so treat him as such. Besides can't you trust my judgement for once?"

"Your judgement yes but a guys judgment not so much."

Rey snorted and turned to continue down the trail. Kylo followed her after a couple minutes he decided to try and make conversation.

"So is BB short for something?"

"Butterscotch Brandy."

Kylo tried not to laugh at the name.

"It's okay to laugh out loud. That's why Poe calls her BB so he doesn't have to say her gay ass name aloud. His words not mine."

"Who named her?"

"His mother. She named her a couple years back and about a year later she died from cancer."

"What kind is she?"

"A Belgian Horse. I don't know why she got a draft horse since we don't do a lot of farming here. Well Poe does a little bit to keep the old girl in shape."

"Wouldn't think it'd be an every day riding horse though. He normally doesn't ride a horse but he must've been stretching her legs out of course Finn probably told him Hux was here."

Kylo frowned at her words. Knowing that someone had tried to harm Rey made something inside of him twist. Shaking it off he watched the landscape around him. There were old stone fences lining the road and a newer white fence on the inside of the stone fence. There weren't a lot of horses out in the pastures.

"It's racing season," she said as if reading his mind. "A lot of horses are out running races. I also run a stable to house horses that aren't mine."

A loud neigh drew their gaze to a horse tossing its head around. It was an Appaloosa.

"That angry girl is Phasma. She belongs to a neighbor that couldn't get her trained to calm down. Eventually I'll get to her sometime soon."

"Is it safe to train her?"

"The last two guys found out the hard way not but I think she needs a different approach."

Kylo just smiled as she continued her tour of the grounds. He knew he'd fit in here easily as she watched Rey in her element.