Long chapter… A big opportunity turns up for Claire. will she take it, even if it means leave Drovers?
Chapter 11
Alex was growing up with a father who was never satisfied with him and a mother who was more interested in the surface of things. On one hand he wished his Dad could be proud of him, at least once in his life, on the other hand he was sick of the heavy atmosphere they breathed at home, so he had wanted to escape for years. Two different schools had kicked him out in the year after Nick's accident.
Even the accident itself was a consequence of this. He and his little brother had gone to a rodeo unbeknownst to their parents, they wanted to be free, if only for a day, but then it all went wrong, and after that things had gotten even worse.
His friendship with Claire McLeod had finally made him feel good with someone. He didn't have to prove anything to her, he didn't have to be up to anything, and, for the first time since Nick's accident, he didn't want to run away. It was a weird feeling.
He had needed eight months of separation to understand this and realized he couldn't lose what they had shared, not now. Unfortunately, he didn't know what Claire thought about him at the moment, so he didn't know what to do either. Eventually he was comforted only with the thought that they had time. He had time to solve the mess he had created from the start.
This thought kept Alex company for a long time that evening, as he tossed and turned under the sheets for what seemed hours to him. He blamed the awful bed, but deep inside he knew this was not the truth. When he finally had fallen asleep, it was very late.
Luckily he day after the rodeo Harry had some work to do, so they weren't supposed to pack and leave until after lunch, so it didn't matter if Alex was oversleeping.
Claire however, woke up early and had decided to wander about the city.
After a while she noticed a wonderful black stallion in a shed, probably one of the temporary shed built for the previous day's auction.
She approached and started to gently talk to him and stroke his neck.
She had seen lots of horses, but this one was special.
Suddenly a voice arrived from behind and almost scared her to death. "Wow! Usually he's not so friendly towards strangers! You must have a thing for horses…"
Claire turned around and saw a middle aged man staring at her from the other side of the shed. It had to be the lucky owner of this wonderful horse. Claire blushed a bit, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar, but the man smiled at her kindly, like an old uncle watching his niece or nephew playing with a new toy.
"He's perfect. Just perfect. What's his name?" she asked still stroking the back of the horse.
"Tornado. He's very temperamental, and so far nobody has been able to wholly tame him," The man answered walking towards Claire and the horse. He was curious to listen to what Claire was whispering to him.
"So you're a bad boy, are you? You're just too full of life to let someone keep your spirit down…"
The horse neighed slightly and shook within his muzzle, it was like he was assenting to Claire's words.
"He's listening!" the man said.
Claire turned around slightly to face the man, never stopping her stroking. "Of course he is, he's smart and proud. He listens, when someone is kind to him…"
The man stood there silently for a while. An idea was forming in his mind, "Have you ever tamed a horse?" He would have liked to have someone so good with horses. He had just started an activity, and someone capable to train horses would be handy…
Claire nodded tightly, answering proudly "Yup! I started 3 years ago."
"How old are you? You seem so young…"
"I'm sixteen, going on seventeen"
"And your parents let you do this?" He had a farm, but for him animals were still a mystery, so sometimes they still scared him, and he could have never let his own daughter do something like that.
"The first time I did it my Dad was with me all the time, now I can work alone, he trusts me" she answered proudly, never stopping to stroke the neck of the horse.
"How about earning some money?" Claire looked at him like he was crazy. "I have a farm and I need horses. I still don't have a trainer, so I thought maybe you could try and help me. I can test you for a while, obviously with your father's permission, then we'll see."
Claire was facing the horse, so the man couldn't see the grin she had on her face. But they say all the time that things are not ever as easy as it seems, so she kept herself grounded.
"By the way I'm George, George Wigham. My land is near Morgan. You don't have to answer me yet, I'd like to talk to your father before, and if you're interested we can meet for lunch or something…"
After a while with a handshake they agreed on lunch in the same pub Alex had taken her and Stevie the evening before and she left the shed.
Wandering a bit more Claire ran into Stevie. With Claire still grinning uncontrollably, the other girl couldn't help but start hassling her, wanting to know why she was grinning like this. After a short time, Stevie learned who Claire had met and what he had offered.
The red-haired girl was so excited for her friend that she almost jumped for joy. Claire was amused by her behaviour, but she also knew her father was not likely to agree to let her go somewhere else alone. He trusted her, but he was still her father, and he was worried that something bad could happen to his little girl, it was his duty after all…
Claire still had to talk to her father about the offer, and Stevie wasn't going to leave her alone until that, so the two girls went to the sheep auction, where Claire knew she could find Jack, but instead of him they found Alex.
"Hey Alex, you know what? Claire has just received a job offer!!!" Stevie shouted happily before Claire could even say a word. Alex glanced at Claire, waiting for an explanation, smiling slightly. Claire shook her head with an 'it was nothing' face.
"Don't act as if nothing happened Claire!! You're only 16 and someone has just asked you to train his horses after only seeing you with one of them!! You impressed him!"
Alex now was even more confused. How could someone make an offer of training horses to a teen without her even proving herself? Maybe there was something wrong, maybe he had bad intentions… His mind was reeling…
"What is she on about?" Alex finally asked.
Claire thought her best option was tell him the whole story; this would prevent Stevie from painting things bigger and better than they actually were. "I was in a horse shed and I noticed the most beautiful horse I've ever seen. When I was… stroking him the owner saw me and a minute later he was offering me a job with the horses he needs trained out near Morgan. Probably it was some kind of joke, it isn't worth so much attention…"
Before Alex could take in what she had just said Jack joined the young people and Claire, with Stevie's 'help', repeated the same story she had just told Alex.
From her father's face Claire knew he was proud of her, but it didn't have any effects on his decision, whatever it would be. Anyway he agreed on having lunch with this Mr Wigham; this was a big step for him and Claire knew that.
For the rest of the morning Claire had really nothing important to do, so she simply took a look around with Stevie. Alex was with them too, but he was oddly quiet. The red girl was doing a good job keeping Claire's mood up, enthusiastically congratulating her for her skill, asking for confirmation to what she was saying from Alex every now and then, at which he responded only nodding and smiling.
When Stevie left them to make a phone call Claire observed he had barely said a word in the whole morning.
"Alex, what are ya thinking about? You seem to be lost in thoughts…is something bothering you?" she asked a bit concerned.
"Yes, you leaving!" he thought. Claire's eyes suddenly widened in shock. Watching her reaction he realized that he had really said that out loud.
"What?!?" she asked in disbelief. Alex was as shocked as she was. He couldn't believe he had actually said that. And she was clearly not pleased with him.
"Alex Ryan, what are you saying? That I can't leave… when you just spent the last eight months far away without a word?" Not only she was not pleased at all, but also she was pretty pissed off.
"That is not what I meant Claire…" He tried to defend himself, but he knew that nothing he could say would calm Claire down right now, she was only getting angrier and angrier. "This man barely saw you and he thinks you are good enough to train his horses! There might be something behind…"
"I could think you're jealous Ryan" she interrupted.
"Claire, why you have to always take things in the wrong way?" he sighed.
"Maybe because you say things in the wrong way…" Her voice was getting even colder, she sounded almost cruel now.
Once again Stevie saved them from saying or doing anything they would have regretted. She had returned shattered, so Claire asked her what the problem was. Alex was not calm enough to be helpful, so he left them alone.
Claire looked up, observing Alex' body becoming smaller in the distance, and felt a strange pain in her heart, something she couldn't name, then she shook her head and turned her attention to Stevie.
"What's bothering you? Something happened at home?"
"No… It's just…"
"Just what? You know you can talk to me. We only met yesterday but you can trust me…"
"It's just… there's no home for me…" Stevie started.
"What do you mean?"
"I'm staying at my sister's place right now, I had problems with my parents… I know she loves me and I love her and I love little Rosie and I like her husband too but… but sometimes… I just feel I'm out of place… But I haven't really any other place to go now…"
Claire didn't know what to say… She could understand it was hard to live with newlyweds with a little baby, she could feel like she was a fifth wheel, but she couldn't offer her a solution then and there. She simply sat beside her for a while, punching her shoulder every now and then, and waiting for her to calm down. And it was working. Stevie was not really shattered, she was just a bit down, but she knew this was not the biggest problem she could have (and had).
"You know what, I can ask Dad if you can stay at Drovers with us for a while… sort of holiday I mean… He's always got jobs to do and I'm sure he won't mind to have you with us…"
"Thanks Claire, but I can't… I have to earn something…I can't be maintained my whole life by my older sister… must find a job…"
"If you don't mind you can work at Drovers… Dad said he needed another hand just yesterday…"
Stevie looked up at her new friend. She guessed it was an excuse, and she was grateful for this, but she couldn't accept. She couldn't stand to be a burden for anyone; she was way too stubborn for that.
Claire read her thoughts. It was easy. She probably could have thought and felt the same in her situation.
"Stevie, I know you think I'm inventing it, but it's true, you can ask Dad right now, before I talk to him. Come on, you'll see. You can stay as long as you want it and then leave when you're ready. You'll be paid and you'll learn something… Not to mention you'll always have a mate beside you…"
"Yeah, bossing me around…" Stevie said, finally smiling again.
"I see you hit the point…" Claire joked back. They both laughed and then they noticed it was almost lunchtime, so the two girls went to the pub were Claire had to meet her Dad and the other man.
The meeting went well, but when Jack asked to talk to Claire alone she knew for sure his answer was no, and she was right.
She was a bit sorry, but it was not a big deal. She loved Drovers Run and her Dad, so she didn't mind if she was stuck with them for now.
Jack felt sorry for Claire, so he asked her if there was something else she wanted. He wasn't really one to spoil his daughter, but she was almost a woman now, and he knew that, sooner or later, she should need something other than just him, but he was trying his best to postpone this moment.
Claire was about to say there was nothing she needed when she remembered Stevie. She was quite sure Jack couldn't say no to her suggestion before, but he sure as a hell he wouldn't say no now, and he didn't.
While Claire was running in search of Stevie she almost bumped into Alex for the second time in two days. Only a moment before she had been happy, but seeing him now, she felt again that pain in her stomach and got angry. She didn't know if she was angry with him or with herself for getting angry without a real reason, but she was definitely angry.
"Dad said no, so there's nothing for you to roar about Alex!" she exclaimed before he could even say a word.
"I'm not roaring!"
"But you did! You attacked me! Mates are supposed to support you, not to judge you!" she yelled at him, still pretty mad.
Alex sighed. "I was not judging you… really Claire… I was just a bit worried I guess…" The truth was he had panicked hearing the word 'Morgan'… He didn't even know where this place was… So it couldn't be close… He only wanted to keep her from leaving… He needed time to have things like they were before… But now he knew he had been selfish and felt guilty.
Alex' eyes were pleading with her to forgive him, and truthfully, it was just impossible for Claire to be mad at him anymore. She simply rolled her eyes. "I already have Dad. I don't need anyone else breathing down my neck."
"Ok, right. I'll do my best about it from this moment forward, I promise" Alex said with a smirk, lifting his left hand on his chest. "I'm also sorry about the job." he said serious again. "I can talk to Jack if you want, maybe I can convince him… I can be very persuasive when I want to…"
He knew that right now the most important thing was that Claire trust him, he couldn't stand it if she didn't.
Claire smiled, tilting her head. She couldn't even guess how hard was for him to make this offer, but she knew he was really trying his best to play the perfect supporting friend, and appreciated it.
"No need for that."
"But… Claire…"
"I'm not so desperate Alex. I knew Dad would not let me go, and I don't know if I wanted to go away either."
Alex glared at her with a questioning look. "I mean that I'm young, there are still so many things I can learn at Drovers… And I don't know if I'm ready to leave Dad alone just yet. He's still the only family I know…"
A sparkle crossed Alex' eyes remembering the talk he had once had with her about her sister. But now was not the right moment to pop out questions about Tess, so he shrugged his shoulders.
He was also a bit sad because secretly he had hoped that he would have been one of the reasons for her not minding the staying. He knew he couldn't expect her to say something like that with the way things were at the moment between them, but hope never dies, right?
"Anyway thanks for the offer…" She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek, then she walked away.
Alex stayed where he was, grinning. He was not grinning because she'd just kissed him (even if he didn't mind that at all), more because she had just thanked him with a warm smile on her face.
Suddenly he had seen again the Claire he knew, the same Claire who could express her feelings with no words, who only needed her beautiful blue eyes. The same Claire he had missed so much.