CHAPTER 2
The next morning started slowly. It was 9am before Santana even bothered to get up, although that did mean she missed breakfast. Note to self: get food supplies from whatever shopping centre exists in this out-of-the-way place. Stumbling into casual wear and opening the curtains, her eyes were dazzled by a bright morning sun. She made herself a piping mug of coffee from the complimentary supplies in her kitchenette and sat on the front step of her unit to take in the world. Mercedes waved at her as she bustled past on an errand, a gesture Santana willingly reciprocated. She could see small groups of film crew wandering around and chatting, pointing out things of interest. Ranch workers moved with more purpose and did not remain in sight for long. It was busy, but there was still a sense of calm permeating the whole scene, as if all was right with the world. All except Santana's own thoughts.
She had slept deeply the night before, but once awake could not help but return to the mystery blonde she had seen at dinner. Who was she? Why had she seemed so interested in Santana but had not bothered to come over and introduce herself? And why, when Santana returned her gaze, had her stomach clenched painfully, a physical reaction she'd never experienced before?
"Shit," she muttered in frustration. Hurling the dregs of her coffee into a nearby shrub, she made her way over to Tina's front door and banged on it with her fist. Tina appeared and pulled her into an excited hug. Santana could not resist smiling at her in return.
"I can't wait to get started, can you?" Tina chattered as they walked arm-in-arm toward the centre of the ranch complex. "It's so beautiful here."
Santana had to agree. Everywhere she looked she saw color and life, all of it warmed by the sun that shone overhead. Cabin browns blended with rainbows of flowerbeds and the darker greens of trees. The grass was a lush golden-green and carpeted the ground in tidy lines. Gravel rivers swam through the landscape, crunching satisfyingly under their feet as it led them to one location or another. Before they knew it they had wasted two hours just becoming acquainted with the place and making friends. They'd spent a good while chatting to Mike Chang and Rachel Berry, two of the other cast members who they knew well. A decision was made to eat together at lunch. Santana was nervous again. Lunch…dining hall…blonde woman. Would she see her again? How would they both react? Damn it, how was it possible that a complete stranger had the power to throw her confidence so wildly off balance?
Despite her inner turmoil, lunch that day was uneventful. There was no sign of the woman, or even of Jack, who she might have asked a few questions of. Rather, Santana relaxed as far as she was able and joined in with the conversation flowing around her. As 1pm approached, all four put their plates and cutlery away for washing and walked over to the stables, where they were to start their orientation program.
Before long, a group of about thirty people, cast and crew, had gathered. They were one of about ten different groups who would go through the process at staggered intervals. Santana, glancing around at the various faces, noticed Jack Winslow and a collection of ranch workers approach. And her heart began to beat in double-time as she saw that the blonde woman was among them.
"Hi everyone, would you gather round please?" Jack called above the murmur of conversation. He was quickly obeyed. "Okay, welcome! We're excited to have you all here and to be a part of the film project. I thought we'd start with a tour of the stables because, well, it's an important part of everything we'll be doing. Today it's just a look-see but I'll let each of you know who your point of contact is and they'll be responsible for introducing you to your principal mounts tomorrow." He looked around with a broad grin. "Cool, so this block is called the Ranger Stables and…"
Santana allowed Jack's voice to drain away into her subconscious as she gazed at the only person she was really interested in. At this distance she could see the crystal blue gaze and impassive features of the blonde pretty well, but at no point were they turned in her direction. A strange sense of disappointment swept over the Latina. Did she even know the smaller woman was there? Did she know and not care? Growling under her breath at her own growing obsession, she forced her attention back to Jack, who was rounding out his short speech.
"So if there are no further questions I'll split you all up and introduce you to the people who are responsible for helping you out with stable and horse work."
The Latina drew in a sharp breath. It would be just her luck if she got put in a group with Blue Eyes. She just knew she'd turn into a stammering mess and make a fool of herself. As she stressed, groups of five were directed toward each stable hand and they wandered toward the stables as they all got acquainted. Tina and Santana, to the latter's relief, were in the last group that was led by Jack himself. Santana was somewhat surprised to see that the blonde woman was not given a group at all, nor was she introduced to anyone. Instead, as soon as Jack had finished his chat, she had turned and made her way back to the stables alone.
Frowning, Santana introduced herself to the rest of her team of five and Jack. The stables were a confusing series of stalls interspersed with offices. It smelled of horse and hay, a strong but not altogether unpleasant aroma. The air was musky, the filtered light streaming in thin ribbons to the floorboards and highlighting the motes of dust drifting all around them. It felt dream-like, a place where anything could happen.
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"Guys, I'll see you all back here at 10am tomorrow. If you have any questions at any point during filming I'm normally around here, or you can ask any other ranch worker if you can't find me."
By the time the tour was over, it was time for dinner. Santana had barely noticed in her fascination at what she was seeing. The stables were gigantic and truly impressive. The outside training areas were bigger than the stable buildings and she had particularly enjoyed watching horses being put through their paces by obviously skilled ranch hands.
Dinner was a delicious roast with all the side vegetables one could ever want, and a tasty fruit pie and cream for dessert.
"So what do you think, will we enjoy this?" a cast member called Finn Hudson asked, leaning across Santana's front as he addressed the table.
"I'm a little concerned about the riding required," Rachel replied, picking at a piece of roast potato. "I haven't done any before. What if I fall off, or get a mean horse?"
"You don't have to worry about that." A blonde woman, not THE blonde Santana was interested in, but still a beauty, sat down in an empty chair. "Jack has experts who pair rider with horse. They aren't often wrong and they're always on hand to give help if it's needed." Smiling at the faces relaxing all around her, she introduced herself. "I'm Quinn, Jack's partner. I run the place while he's running around having fun."
Everyone laughed. Santana did too, liking the slightly raspy tone of Quinn's voice and the sparkle in her lively eyes. After Quinn's arrival she became the centre of attention, answering the questions fired at her with grace and humor. Santana sat back in her chair with a contented sigh, the warm food filling her stomach and making her sleepy. In that state, she was startled by Tina nudging her in the ribs with an elbow.
"Hmm?"
"We're planning a trip into town for Friday night. Drinks, dancing. You in?"
Santana glanced around the table. All eyes were on her.
"Yeah, why not? I can't wait to see what the nearest hick town will offer."
Quinn laughed. "Robinsville is a little bigger than you might expect. Don't worry, it has everything you could ever want."
Santana returned her smile, pleased that her off-hand comment hadn't caused offense.
"Right!" Tina slammed her hands on the table. "I'm off for a wander. Gotta walk off the extra pounds I got from this meal or my horse won't thank me tomorrow. Anyone want to join me?"
Several people, including Quinn, agreed and they left en masse. Santana rose more slowly and exited the hall, scanning the faces she passed to see if any blue eyes caught her gaze. None did. Making her way back to her cabin, she stretched out in an armchair and spent an hour reading a book called "The Price of Salt" by Patricia Highsmith. When her neck began to cramp she decided she'd take a small walk of her own.
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The sun had begun to set, much as it had done on the day she'd arrived. The same warm orange glow made everything look as though she was seeing things through tinted glasses. I could get used to this, Santana thought. Almost unconsciously her steps took her in the direction of the stables, the last place she had laid eyes on the mysterious blonde. And as though her thoughts had called the woman into being, there she was. Looking down from a small rise, Santana saw the tall figure riding a jet-black horse around an oval training field, varying speed and direction at irregular intervals. The pair moved as a single unit, smooth and sure. Santana was transfixed. The blonde's skill, the power of the horse and the orange glow that penetrated everything made the Latina feel like she was in the middle of a dream, much as she had done earlier in the day.
"Quite a sight, huh?"
The comment, quietly amused, came from Santana's right shoulder. She turned to find dark blue eyes set in a strong face looking at her.
"Jack! You startled me." Turning back to the view in front of her, Santana nodded carefully. "Sure is."
As they stood in appreciative silence, an excited cry broke the still air. From the left, and on a level with the training ground, a small girl of about six years old ran to the fence and climbed the first few rungs, calling excitedly to the rider. A woman who Santana immediately took for the child's mother trailed behind her, a slight smile on her face. The blonde woman had turned at the cry and trotted the horse over to the fence. She dismounted in one fluid motion and tied the reins to a wooden post before stretching her long arms over the fence, grasped the child below the shoulders and lifted her into an enthusiastic hug.
Santana was entranced by the change in the woman. Rather than adopting the carefully indifferent expression she had seen previously, the pale skin was transformed with delight, a broad grin spreading across her face and her eyes crinkled with laughter. The life and vitality Santana was sure the blonde was concealing had broken to the surface, and its appearance was breathtaking.
"Her name is Brittany Pierce, my second in command at the stables. The little girl is Maya Rivera." Jack was weighing in again, providing a commentary as the scene played out. Santana watched the other woman reach the fence and her heart squeezed painfully as she laid a soft hand on the blonde's arm, the blonde's lips simultaneously grazing her cheek in a delicate greeting.
"Maya's mother, Maria."
A swift rush of jealousy caused Santana to shift uncomfortably. Obviously the women were close, and the Latina didn't even know Blue Eyes. How in the hell was this reaction reasonable? But she was quickly discovering that reason tended not to play a part when she thought about the blonde. Something other than her head was driving her responses and for the life of her, she couldn't make sense of it at all. The duo on the rise watched as Brittany lifted Maya with her onto the dark stallion and began to trot slowly around the field. The little girl was chatting happily and the woman laughing in response.
"An interesting story, those two."
"Oh yeah?"
Jack nodded. "We had a huge downpour here about a year ago. All the rivers were flooded, much of the land too. Clean up at the ranch cost us thousands. We were all down by one of the bridges over the largest river in these parts, the Leith. Over that way." He pointed over to the left and Santana took in the dark line of trees spreading to the horizon.
"I'd never seen the river so high. It was moving so fast. My team and me were trying to decide whether we should recommend an evacuation of Robinsville until the water level came down. Maria was there with her daughter because her husband was part of my team." Jack frowned, distressed at the memory he was recalling.
"None of us knew how it happened," he admitted softly. "Maya must have climbed on the railing and was over the edge before we could even move. A splash and she was gone."
Santana covered her mouth in horror.
"We all froze. We knew as soon as she fell in that there was no chance she would survive. Maria was screaming and my team was wondering whether they could risk the water to try and find her. Others ran off along the bank. But none of us could do anything. Then she jumped in…my god, she just dove straight in after her."
Jack shook his head in wonder. Santana did not have to ask whom he meant.
"It was suicide but Brittany jumped in and was gone, just as Maya was."
"How…how are they alive then?"
Jack shook his head again. "To this day, I have no idea. It was over an hour before I heard someone yell and we saw them come through the trees. Brittany had Maya in her arms, drenched but very much alive. We got closer and…" his voice grew quieter, "…and I could see that Maya was completely unharmed. Like, I swear she did not have a scratch or a bruise on her. Her mother will tell you the same thing. If she hadn't drowned she should at least have had some pretty serious injuries. There were all sorts of rocks and logs being hurled through that water. But nothing."
Santana felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Brittany looked like she'd taken all the knocks. She was covered in cuts, blood all over the place, and one of her shoulders was dislocated. But she was alive, they both were."
The Latina stared at him, then at Brittany and Maya in the gathering dusk.
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know, but I swear to you I'm telling the truth. Twenty other people will tell you the same thing. And ever since then, those two have been inseparable. Maya comes to visit most days and Brittany's always the happiest I've ever seen her when she's here."
"I can imagine an experience like that would change them both, bond them together."
"Exactly," Jack agreed. "I know her well, have done for five years now. I'm one of her closest friends. But much of her is still a mystery to me. But maybe if you asked that little girl she'd show she knows Brittany better than I ever did."
All Santana could do was watch in fascination, a million different questions swirling in every part of her.
"So…she's special."
"She's very special." Jack sighed and pulled at her elbow. "Come on. We should be getting to bed. Big day tomorrow. I've got a horse to introduce you to."
Santana smiled in response and obediently moved away. She could barely see the trio now anyway. But the image of Brittany, the horse, Maya, was persistent, even when she drifted into sleep that night.