January 9th 2022

Chapter 9
Our Leap Into Legacy

If not for the fact that traveling with the triplets was still new enough to them that it was a whole complicated ordeal, Lucas may have been made to pose for his 'boot shoot' over at Sullivan Stables instead of out behind the house. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by the activity, far from it, but he could just imagine the jokes he would get from his co-workers if they witnessed Photographer Maya leading her model of a husband in posing how she wanted him to pose. With it being just the two of them, they got to have a whole lot more fun without his feeling awkward at any time.

After the shoot was completed, following his nap, they had lunch, and then it was time for him to head to work. He took the time to go over to the bassinet, to say goodbye to the girls even as they slept. He kissed Maya goodbye, too, just as she handed him the box.

"I'll put them on when I get there," he assured her.

"Yeah," she nodded, her eyes showing how she understood his reasoning. He needed to be there first. It would mean more to him that way.

There was never a day where, being out at the ranch or even driving on his way there, he didn't have his grandparents somewhere in his mind. Even if he wasn't actively thinking about them, he knew they were there, faint but visible. There were important days though, days where they were the opposite of faint. They were right there at the forefront of his mind. Simon and Marianne Sullivan, Jax Murphy…

They had shaped his life in so many ways… He only wished they could have lived to see it reach this point, to see him take his place and carry on the work they'd done into a new generation of their family. He may not have worn the Sullivan name, and neither did his little Marianne, but they were of that line, both of them. He was here now, and maybe someday… maybe another Marianne would lead Sullivan Stables, her or any one of her sisters… It would always only ever be up to them.

After driving through the arch, he headed into the parking lot and pulled into his spot. With his keys back in his pocket, he turned his head to the box sitting on the passenger seat. Maya had written his name on the front, all titles – unofficial or otherwise – included, topped off with a cowboy hat tilted on the end of the F on Friar. As he'd guessed and Maya had later confirmed, Marianne had seen her do all this, so she'd insisted on making her own drawing on the box, and that was how he'd ended up with a crude but relatively neat little pumpkin, drawn on, next to the hat. Once this had happened, Marianne had gone hunting for her big sister and brought her to their parents' room, getting her to add her own piece. Ella had drawn a lily of the valley, his flower, just as she had it in the circle at her wrist. Someday, he'd have to see about getting the triplets to add their mark, but for today…

His shoes were left at the foot of the passenger seat. He opened the box, peeled back the paper and, for the second time that day, slipped on the boots. He remembered how it had struck him, every time he'd had them on his feet, just how perfectly they fit him. He could have ascribed so much meaning to that fact, but he was just happy to be wearing them. It was the first time he'd wear them and walk with them within the grounds of Sullivan Stables, and if they had already made him feel like his grandparents walked with him back at the house, here…

Truly, it made him thankful, not just for them, his maternal grandparents, but for his paternal ones as well. From the former he had been put in line to end up here, to have his place in life and to know how much it meant to him. And from the latter he had gained his home, the place where he and Maya would raise their family together, giving them all… the best kind of life they could hope to give. He remembered a time when he'd had no idea what he was supposed to make of his life, but now he knew. He wanted to honor the past, live the present to the fullest, and set the future in motion, and all this began and ended with family.

Caught up in his thoughts as he was, he was brought back to reality with the telltale snap of a camera. As he blinked, he spotted Juliet a few feet away, lowering her old camera from her face. The thing was – according to just about anyone who saw it – ancient, but Juliet insisted that for as long as it went on working, they'd get no complaint out of her. Just now, she had a grin on her which left Lucas to wonder…

"Did Maya put you up to this?" he chuckled.

"I wouldn't say 'put up,' but she may have let me know ahead of time that you would be wearing something special today," Juliet explained.

"Well, coming from you, I'll allow it," Lucas nodded. She had been his grandmother's very best friend after all, and he knew from those days when they'd been about to open the archive how many fond memories she would recall, just by seeing his grandmother's old boots. He had a feeling she was getting more of those today, seeing his new boots. "Anything new?" he asked her, his way of confirming whether or not they had any business to discuss before he continued on to start his rounds.

"No, no," Juliet told him, ready to wave him off, only to pause. "Oh, actually. I was thinking we might have a watch party, for the premiere?"

"Yeah…" Lucas smiled. That was coming up soon, wasn't it? "Let me know if I can help, okay?"

"Will do. Oh, I almost forgot, how did it go this morning? Preschool?"

"For the preschooler, best day ever," Lucas shared. "For the parents, well…" he sighed, smiling at the understanding look on her face. "I'll bring the pictures when we have them."

There was a bit less activity than they'd become used to in recent times, now that Katy's series was on hiatus, waiting to see whether they'd get to continue filming or not. As much as everyone felt really good about the episodes they'd put together thus far, their opinion didn't count nearly as much as that of the network's, not in this case. Lucas had to be honest and say that he missed having the crew out here, the cast… It definitely livened things up in a way he'd come to appreciate, which was not to say that things felt dead now, far from it. They were back to the old rhythm again. Parts of it were expected, others less so. They had the occasional event, the regular riding lessons, visitors to the archive… They were also about to host a competition, much smaller than the Grand, a lot less stress for all involved, and then there was the next push for their camp.

They'd done two summers of it now, but there had always been this idea, this possibility for them to expand, if they found that it was something they could and should do. With their clientele generally being middle and high school-aged kids, they couldn't very well hold camp through the school year, not if the kids had to come out here and miss class. They wanted to have a shorter stint over the holiday break, not unlike the Stage Ready camp did, but they were also exploring the possibility of compensating for the class situation.

One possibility they were looking into was to open up an after-school program, for Austin kids, going as young as elementary schools. That one had been Lucas' brainchild, in seeing his own actual child and this interest she already had, at not quite four years of age, and he felt very strongly about implementing it. Juliet was a hundred percent on board with him. The other possibility, which would demand much more planning to get off the ground, would come off halfway like an exchange program. The kids, middle and high school only this time, would get to come over in the middle of their ongoing school year, for an as yet undetermined length of time, but they would have to be able to carry on their studies, whether that meant hiring tutors, on site at the ranch, or getting them into class at their local schools. Lucas had a very strong 'in' with the high school, between Maya, Dylan, and Mr. Matthews, and as far as the middle school, well… those three and he himself had a solid background there, enough that they could make it work. They were still in the early stages, so there was no telling if that would ever get off the ground. Maybe Maya would be back at work by the time it did… if it did.

Other than the regular events and the projects in development, they had their new residents, the four horses they had taken in a month prior, while he'd still been in the hospital with Maya and the girls. In the past few weeks, both before and after he'd met them and started to become involved in their care and recuperation, they had been finding their way in their new home. Now, after being with them for some time, Lucas was starting to know them better and discover their personalities, and their potential.

He knew that Polka wore her name well. She'd been the first one to really start to bounce back, to adjust, and though she still showed effects of her previous condition and home, on the whole she was easily the most active, moving around, especially when Marianne would be there, like she was trying to dance. They could easily see her being matched to one of their riders, possibly being introduced to the film crew if they got to return. On the opposite end of the spectrum, their quietest one also wore his name well. Turtle was not that old, but to look at him, having been the worst off among the quartet, it was hard to think that they'd ever see him run. Depending on how things shaped up, it might be that they'd see about bringing him to Sanderson Farm. He could have a good long life there, at his own pace.

Then they had Caramel, and other than how it called back to the color of her coat and mane, it did not feel in line with her temperament by far. She was the most combative of the four when they first brought her to the ranch and although she had calmed down since then, especially as they'd seen her with the little girls, there would be other times still where just approaching her required a deep breath, uncertain of how she'd react. And Thunder… Thunder was their youngest, barely more than a foal, it felt. His attitude matched Caramel in such a way that, though she was not his mother, he seemed to look at her as though she was, just as Caramel treated him like her own. They'd found that keeping them together or apart, depending on what they were trying to do, would make all the difference as to whether or not they would behave.

"No pumpkin today, I'm sorry," Lucas smiled, seeing the way Turtle approached him, almost searching. Even after only a few visits with her, he had associated the father with the daughter, and he very much liked the daughter, his small new friend. "Don't worry, she'll be back. She can't wait to see you either."

TO BE CONTINUED


See you tomorrow! - mooners