Chapter 1
After 40 minutes of sitting soaking up the sun and worrying about the coming summer, -with no ideas how I'm going to do this- I tack Bramble back up and head back to the yard.
When I arrive there, Gale is bringing in some of the horses from the fields.
"Where the hell have you been, Catnip? Deserting me to do bring in all the horses and sort the muck heap myself?" he shouts at me.
"Piss off Gale! I fed, mucked and turned out all 30 of our freaking horses since you got too drunk with your flavour of the month last night and slept it out, AND didn't let on to Haymitch I was alone. So suck it up," I retort back at him as I untack and brush Bram down.
"Jesus, who pissed in your cornflakes this morning Catnip?" Gale asks while locking the stable bolts.
"No-one, just pissed I had to do everything alone again this morning. Next time you leave me alone in the morning, I'll wake you up with a wheelbarrow of manure to the face."
Gale is an old family friend, our dads were best friends and we grew up together. Our dads both died in the same car wreck. They were on their way back from a showjumping competition when a drunk driver plowed into the horse trailer, causing the car to jack-knife, flip and then roll a few times before finally coming to a stop 100 feet away. They both died instantly; broken necks, so at least they didn't suffer.
He lives in the old converted barn our dads finished just before they passed. It has 4 little apartments upstairs; meant for the working students, a large common room for the pony camps, a kitchenette and a bathroom. Gale lives in one since he works here full time as yard staff and instructor. Plus he can keep an eye on the students at night and make sure they don't do anything stupid.
Gale sheepishly looks at me as we both walk out to the fields "Sorry, Katniss, I just had so much fun last night with Madge I completely lost track of time an-,"
I stop in my tracks. "Madge? As in my best friend, Madge Undersee? Are you fucking kidding me, Gale?"
"Katniss, I'm not gonna fuck this up. I really like her. She's the polar opposite of me and really mellows me out. I'm not the womaniser I was after you turned me down. I realised you were right; we're more like brother and sister. So, I stopped jumping from girl to girl. And then, Madge came over for the private lesson she normally has with you, but you were sick-,"
"Gale you don't need to explain everything you do to me. Just don't hurt her is all I'll ask, ok?" I sigh, just wanting him to shut up. We work better together in silence.
At 11.55 I tell Gale I'm going to have to leave him to get the rest of the horses in. I walk up to the main barn where my 2 horses are; Bramble and Mockingjay.
Bram is dozing in her stall after our hack in the woods, Jay on the other hand nickered at me, so I go over to my 17 hand stallion to give him his morning scratches.
I'm in a world of my own, scratching Jay and absent-mindedly checking him over, when Haymitch comes up to me with Peeta in tow about 15 minutes later.
"And this is the unofficial yard manager; my niece, Katniss, and, Katniss, this is our new working student, Peeta," Haymitch introduces us as if I hadn't been complaining about having to show him the ropes around here 2 hours ago.
"No need for introductions, Mr Abernathy, I know Katniss from school," Peeta says confidently. to Haymitch.
He remembers me, I muse. Why, though? There's nothing special about me.
"Please, Boy, no need to be formal. Call me Haymitch. Katniss here will show you how we run around here and teach you anything you need to know. Sweetheart, show the boy where he'll be staying. Oh, and Peeta, if she's being a surly bitch, just come to me and I'll put her back in her place."
I scowl at my uncle, flipping him the bird then turn to Peeta. Why is he staying here; he lives 20 minutes away?
"Come on, your digs are in the old barn. This way," I say as I close Jay's stable door.
Peeta shifts his duffel bag on his shoulder while he follows me out.
"Thanks for giving me the opportunity to work here for the summer, Katniss, I really appreciate it," Peeta says to me as we're walking.
"What do you mean? I didn't have anything to do with the hiring process, Haymitch does it all. I'm just the one who runs the yard," I state as we walk into the barn.
"The bedrooms are upstairs; Gale lives in number 1 so choose which room you'd like. The keys are in the door, and there is only the one copy so try not lose it please. There's ensuites in every room and a kettle. Main meals are over in the main house with us, but if you'd prefer to stay here, you're welcome to use the kitchenette downstairs."
I turn to leave him alone to make his decision when he calls to me. As I turn around and meet his gaze, all the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and a shiver runs through me.
"Katniss… thanks... for this… I, uh..." he stammers gesturing around the building. Unable to keep my gaze, he stares down at his feet as he trails off.
Mr Eloquent struggling for words? He's still looking at his feet, and just under his ashy blonde hair, I can see the tips of his ears have turned the colour of a cherry tomato.
"Ehm, it's ok," I mumble. "I'll leave you to get settled in. Come to the yard at 1 o'clock, and I'll start showing you around properly," I continue in a stronger voice.
When he meets my gaze again, the look in his eyes is so intense I can't hold it. I turn on my heel and nearly run out of the barn.
When I'm far enough away, I stop to take a breath. I've never been in such close proximity to Peeta before; well alone at least, there was always other people in the room with us, and he was never focused on me. When he turned to me in the barn and looked at me, I felt like my whole body was about to combust. Every nerve in my body stood to attention.
I've never felt like that before; let alone from just a look. There was barely a spark with my ex Darius, and when we split up neither of us were hurt over it. Yet the reaction my body had to a look from Peeta, was more than bewildering.
I mean, yeah I've admired him from afar, every girl in our school has once he hit puberty. What's not to like? An ashy blonde mop of hair, the brightest and kindest blue eyes I have ever seen and broad muscular chest and back thanks to working in his father's bakery and being the best wrestler in our school once his brothers graduated. He also has the personality to match the looks. He was kind, would do anything for anyone if you asked. He was a people person and always managed to put anyone at ease with the way he spoke to you.
But I started noticed him a long time before he hit puberty.
When myself and Prim went back to school after Daddy died, people left us alone; at least for the first couple of months. When someone tried to bully me, I retaliated by breaking the pig's nose. No-one came near me after that. But once our daddy's insurance money ran out our clothes became looser as mother sank further into the depression that had claimed her after the funeral.
With the little food I managed to gather in the woods I gave most of it to Prim and mother. I started to get thinner and thinner, but I did my best to hide it from our teachers.
One day after school as I went around to Prim's side of the building to collect her, I heard what sounded like a fight. As I turned the corner, I saw a scuffle of 2 boys -one looked older than the other. As I moved to continue on to Prim, a bundle of blue and blonde pigtails behind the fighting boys caught my eye.
It was Prim on the floor crying, trying to make herself as small as possible. I ran over to her at the same time the teachers rushed out of the classrooms to break up the fight. It was only then I noticed that one of the boys was Peeta. I shepherded Prim away from the commotion and made our way to the school buses.
Prim wouldn't speak for a couple of hours or tell me how she ended up caught behind the fight, so I left her alone to calm down and come to me in her own time. After her bath after dinner while I was brushing her hair she told me what happened.
Marvel Jones, a boy in my class, was calling her names because of our dad and her jeans had patches in them when Peeta stepped in and stood up for her; us really. When Marvel started spewing more insults about not only Prim but me also, Peeta apparently snapped and started fighting.
Peeta wasn't in school for the rest of the week, rumour has it he was suspended, but when he arrived back to school the following Monday, he had a nasty dark purple bruise on his left cheekbone. Yet the black eye he got from Marvel was turning yellow, so the bruise on his cheekbone was fresher.
It was after that I knew I had to ring uncle Haymitch, my dad's brother, to help save Prim and myself from foster care. He arrived and helped us come back from the brink. He sold most of the horses and only kept my Bramble, Prim's pony, Peanut, and Mockingjay's mother.
Fast forward back to now and I have never thanked him for sticking up for Prim. I had spent the time he was "suspended" flicking between anger from him thinking I needed defending and extremely thankful he stood up for Prim like he did.
As my mind was going through memory lane, Prim had come down our porch steps and walked up to me as I was leaning on the fence watching some of the horses play.
"Hey sis, what needs doing in the yard?" she asks.
"I wouldn't know, ask Gale," I grumble turning back towards the stables.
"Oooookay… What has your head in the clouds?" she enquires. "It's not like you to not know what needs doing in there. So what gives?"
"Nothing," I retort, "I just had to settle the first working student in is all. So I don't know what needs to be done."
"Oh! Who is the new guy? Uncle 'Mitch wouldn't tell me anything just that it was a guy! Who is he? How old is he? Is he cute? Does he know what he's doing? We don't want another Cato around here again. Does he drive? Can he ride?" rambles Prim excitedly, as only a 14-year-old can.
I chuckle; I'm glad Haymitch isn't around to hear her call him by the name she's always had for him. Internally I sigh. No point in keeping it from her, she'll only find out in about 5 minutes when he comes back to the yard.
"It's Peeta Mellark."
"WHAT?!" she squeals, startling a few of the horses.
"Keep your voice down, Primrose! You know you're not to scream in the yard!" I scold her.
She looks at me her eyes full of remorse and walks over to one of the ponies to calm her down.
"It's Peeta? What… How… Huh?" She looks at me with her blue eyes as wide a saucers.
As if summoned by us talking about him; I hear loud footsteps I've never heard here before and can only assume it's him.
"Katniss?" He calls out from the main door.
I turn to walk towards him only to find him scratching Prim's cat, Buttercup. I hate that cat, but can honestly say he's an amazing hunter and does his job of keeping the mice and rats away from the feed room. Behind me, I hear Prim "awh"-ing at the sight before us.
"Hey, Peeta. You ready for your tour of this place?" I ask him, trying to keep my voice even.
"Eh, yea I guess," he stammers. "Lead the way; unofficial yard manager," earning a giggle from Prim.
His sarcasm irks me, so I respond in kind.
"Ah, I hope you keep that enthusiasm. Because after the tour you will be getting your first proper riding lesson! You won't be able to help lead the little kids of pony camp if you don't know how to do it yourself. So, saddle up cowboy!"
His face drains of some colour, and his blue eyes go wide in what seems to be trepidation, while Prim looks at me in shock. I've never spoken to anyone like that except our uncle. I don't know what came over me; I just didn't want to be made a fool of in my own territory.
These next few months are going one hell of a rodeo. And we don't even ride western here!
A/N. Thanks for all the follows and comments! Means a lot! I'll try to update weekly but with a 2 year old and Christmas on the way life might get in the way. To any American readers I hope you had a good Thanksgiving! Major thank to javistg for being my amazing beta! Until next time!