An hour later after Eric felt like he had met half the town, Eric and Taylor were finally pulling back into the farm gates as the sky was getting dark and green. Taylor could see Eric looking at the clouds with a look of awe and confusion.
"Means there's a big storm coming in. Good thing about living in the middle of nowhere you can see the storm come in miles away. That won't hit us for atleast another hour," she said as they unloaded the "groceries" they had gotten for tonight as the grooms unloaded the feed in the back of the truck.
"I've never heard of green storm clouds before," he said as they walked into the house and to the kitchen.
"When it's green and not just dark it usually means hail or tornado. And with it being spring in Oklahoma it's most likely both," when she said this she saw fear flash across his face before he could control it. "But no need to worry much, the farm itself has already been hit, around 70 years ago. Tornado's rarely follow the same track twice, just like lightning doesn't strike the same place twice."
"Wait you're telling me this place has been hit by a tornado?" Eric asked shocked and confused since he didn't see any damage.
"Yeah like Tay said it was 72 years ago yesterday actually a tornado tore through the land. We didn't have the big fancy barns like we do know. They all resembled the one her truck is in. All of them were demolished except for that one. They were finding pieces of barn and fence in the next county for a month after. That's when they built the barns you see today," Ryan said as he, Tara, Micheal, Jamie, and Jarod joined them in the kitchen.
"There is no way the tin on the outside of those barns are 70 years old," Eric said as he remembered how shiny the tin was on the barn and knowing they would be very muched sunbleached after 70 years.
"Oh heavens no. Most of that tin is a year or so old. We still get a lot of wind damage every year. Most pieces don't last longer than 3 years," Jamie said laughing "Chicago has nothing on the plains of Oklahoma," she said as everyone else laughed at the old joke.
"Yeah a week ago it was 60 mph wind all day long and only got worse that night. There's 3 pieces missing at the back of the stud barn," Ryan said.
"So what do you do with the horses when it storms like that?" Eric asked wondering if they just let the multi thousand dollar horses stay out in the weather.
"About 30 years ago dad and grandpa got tired of losing a couple horses a year and paying crazy vet bills for others so they built a shelter for all the horses under all the barns. Did Tay not show you?" Ryan asked looking at his sister like she was crazy.
"No she didn't," Eric said glancing at the lady in question then back to her brother.
"We got distracted," was all she said shrugging her shoulders and Eric knew what "distraction" she was talking about.
"Mhmm yeah Charlie told us all about your distractions. Well come on they should be moving the horses down into the shelters now," Ryan said looking at his sister and smirking before turning to a slightly blushing Eric.
"I'm going to kill Charlie," Taylor mumbled before following the Ryan and Eric outside to help with the horses.
"I knew it would come eventually just didn't think it would be from you," Charlie said walking up behind them. "Now come help me get that damn paint horse with the weanlings."
"Is he being an asshole to catch again?" Ryan asked as they walked back to the back of the barn to where the paddock with Batman and the babies were.
While the babies were all by the gate with grooms leading them out the gate one by one into their stalls, Batman was standing at the back of the pasture with his head never lifting from the grass until a groom approaches and he takes off running for about 20 ft and putting his head back to the green earth again. Taylor laughs and crinkles a peppermint wrapper. Batman's head instantly shoots into the air and he lets whinny as he comes running across the pasture leaving the groom that was trying to catch him to walk back to the barn empty handed and cussing the old paint gelding. As he approached the gate the last of the weanlings were being taken out so he just followed them out and trotted up to the barn where the 4 were standing. Taylor laughs more and walks toward his stall and he follows right behind and goes straight in and turns and nudges Taylor.
"What? You want this peppermint?" she asks. Batman nods his head and Taylor feeds him as the men walked up behind her.
"I still don't get this damn horse. Every time I try that i get completely ignored," Charlie said as Taylor slips his halter on and starts leading him to the ramp that leads to the underground shelters.
"Well maybe if you didn't call him damn horse he'd like you a lil more," Ryan said as he helped fill the hay feeders for the night.
"Yeah he never did like you much," Taylor said as she slipped off his halter and he pinned his ears back at Charlie before going to eat his dinner.
"Guys. He doesn't like guys period," Ryan said as they walked back up the ramp and saw the others pulling in the drive at the house. As Jamie and Micheal got out of their truck two dogs jumped out behind them and took off with the three dogs that Eric remembered from earlier. Jade pulled in shortly behind them followed by a silver jeep that Eric was sure he could pick out of a line up of other silver jeeps. Another dog jumped out of the jeep and took off running towards them.
"SNOWMAN!" Taylor said crouching down to catch the border collie running full speed at her.
"Pretty sure I was just replaced as his favorite person," Jarod said when he finally reached the rest of the group.
"Oh please, he always loved me more," Taylor said putting the dog down and he just sat at her feet staring up at her waiting for her to do something.
"Yeah if I got out of bed before you he'd stay with you but if you got up he'd follow you everywhere and not give a rats ass about me in bed freezing cause I lost two sources of heat. Hell pretty sure you cuddled with him more than me," Jarod said as they all made their way inside the main house.
"He's cuter," Taylor said as she made her way to the liquor cabinet to put what they needed into a bag to take to the cabin.
"Well I wouldn't be so sure about that," a voice from behind them spoke making Taylor freeze as everyone else turned to look at the owner of the new voice. They all stared at the blonde with her roots showing that was came to stand beside Jarod as Taylor slowly turned around to face her high school "best friend". The true blonde and the fake blonde stared at each other one smiling the other with a deadly look on her face. Seeing the look on her face Eric slowly stepped towards her so if she were to lunge at the new person in the room he could stop her before she killed the poor girl.
"Megan...what are you doin' here?" Jade was the first one to break the silence that had settled over the group.
"Oh I invited her," Jarod spoke, "I figured since we were adding a new person to the group we could add an old member."
At his voice Taylor's gaze shifted from the woman to the man next to her and Eric was sure she was ready to pounce. He walked up directly beside her and laid a hand on her shoulder. Taylor winced slightly at the touch that went unnoticed by everyone but Ryan and Jarod. Once Taylor realized it was Eric beside her she relaxed a little and took a deep breath before speaking to the waiting group.
"Well then what are we waiting on? Ryan go get the guitar, if we're gonna do this we're gonna do it right," she said before going walking around the island in the kitchen and grabbing a YETI tumbler out of the cabinet and making herself a drink as the others made their way back outside and Ryan ran up to his room to grab his guitar. Once it was just Taylor and Eric left in the kitchen Taylor reached back into the liquor cabinet and pulled out two shot glasses and a bottle of Macallan No. 6 Whiskey and after filling both glasses offered Eric one. When he shook his head no she downed both.
"What the hell are you doing Earhardt?" Eric asked taking the $5,000 bottle of whiskey out of her hand before she could pour another shot or two.
"Getting drunk Myers. What does it look like?" she said reaching for the bottle that he held out of her reach. "So give me the damn bottle."
"If you wanna get drunk do it with the cheap stuff. Dad'll have your hide if you drink all his Macallan in one sitting," Ryan said as he nodded at Eric to put the whiskey back in the cabinet.
"What the hell brought this life ending drinking binge on anyways?" Eric asked as he brought over a bottle of Jack Daniels instead knowing that if he didn't bring her something she'd just go for the good stuff again.
"That bitch is in my house, in my range and I can't do anything about it," she said after downing two more shots. Eric looked to Ryan for a little clarification.
"Megan is the person Taylor caught with Jarod in a um compromising position," Ryan said after clearing his throat. Taylor took another shot before scoffing and correcting her brother.
"There was nothing compromising about it. They were fucking," Taylor said before pouring another shot. Ryan walked over to her and grabbed the bottle out of her hand before she could pour another. The look she gave him made Eric fear for the younger blondes life.
"That's enough Tay. And they weren't fucking. They were making out without her clothes on. And his pants undone. But they were not fucking," Ryan said handing Taylor a glass of water that she glared at but chugged anyways.
"Let me guess they were found in a place that everyone knows you go to often?" Eric asked as he remembers the conversation he and Jarod had earlier in the day in the observation tower.
"The tack room on top of the desk to be exact. Now come on don't want to keep the slut and manwhore waiting. Let's go be all hunky dory around the campfire," she said as she grabbed her tumbler and walked out the door to the others waiting at their vehicles.
"What took yall so long?" Jarod asked when he saw the three of them make their way towards them.
"Pregame," was all Ryan said before he handed Eric a set of keys and pointed at an older truck that was sitting on the other side of the one that they had taken into town earlier as he and Jade climbed into that one.
"Well this should be an interesting night," Jarod said as he and Megan climbed into his jeep and followed the other vehicles to the old cabin at the back of the property by the river.
A.N.: Hey guys sorry it took me so long to update and when I finally did my computer decides to go haywire and reupload a previous chapter. but i'm in the process of two more chapters and one will defiantly be up tonight and hoping to have the other up by morning. Again thank you for being patient with me as you wait for the next update.