Thank you to everyone who is reading and reviewing this story (and if you are just reading, please review). I know nothing about horses so if I get anything wrong please tell me and I will attempt to rectify it.
As usual, I do not own any of it.
Chapter 3
The next few days turned out to be a steep learning curve for Danny. He knew he had gotten this job over much more qualified men and that it had been due to Mac's influence so he had to prove to Mr Monroe and the other labourers that he deserved to be there and was pulling his weight.
And it hurt.
He was used to long hours, God knows Mac had expected his team in New York to be prepared to stay at the office until the job was done and come in early if they were needed. This job though made him ache in muscles he didn't even know he had. He kept his mouth shut though and dug in deeper to the work.
This job was different to what he was used to in another sense as well though. The sheer mindlessness and monotony of the work meant that he did not really have to think about what he was doing, merely carry out repetitive actions. He found he had time to think about his life.
Waking up on his second morning in Montana, he found he regretted what he had said to Lindsay to night before. There seemed to be no opportunity to talk to her that day though, he suspected she might be avoiding him. He didn't want to try to apologise to her in the field in front of everyone else, that would really help his reputation amongst the other men, and anyway there seemed to be some sort of ill will between Lindsay and the labourers in her father's crew. Danny could not work out why this was though. She did not seem to do anything that was annoying; she kept her head down and worked as hard, if not harder, than the biggest man in the team, Frank. Actually Frank seemed quite fond of her. He was an African-American man in his late 40s who, Danny had learnt on his first day, had migrated north a few years ago with his children. He was a very cheerful man, built like a bear, who had gladly taken Danny under his wing on his first day and shown him the ropes.
"You just follow what I do and if you have any questions just ask me. I don't mind at all". He had said.
"Thanks, I really appreciate you helping me. I don't know much about farming".
"Times like these, man has to get any work he can to support himself." He grinned at Danny showing a row of big white teeth.
During the morning break when Mrs Monroe brought out Lemonade for them all to drink, Lindsay and Frank often chatted about someone called Rosie and how she was doing at school.
The other men though seemed to continue to have some sort of problem with her.
It was Saturday before Danny managed to get her on her own.
"Lindsay!" he called across the yard as he saw her disappear through the door into the barn. The sun was just going down and they had a few minutes before dinner so he followed her inside and found her in the stall of a beautiful grey horse. As he approached he heard her speaking softly to the animal and he paused to listen behind the wooden boards separating the stalls. She was softly crooning, telling the horse how beautiful it was, telling it all about her day. He stepped out from behind the fence and saw her gently brushing him down with hay, her eyes closed and a smile on her face.
"Hi", he said softly, not wanting to startle her. She opened here eyes and turned towards his voice, but the smile did not leave her face. She didn't say anything, seeming to expect him to say something more. He cleared his throat and looked down at his feet, shuffling them a little.
"Look, I just wanted to say sorry", he said looking at her again. This was not easy for him but he had felt bad about it all week, and worse when he saw how the other men seemed to reject her from their jokes and camaraderie. "I shouldn't have gotten mad at you for trying to help when I first got here".
"It's ok", she said softly, still smiling, but turning back to the horse and continuing on with brushing it.
"Do you, ah, need any help?" Danny asked gesturing to the horse, trying to find some way to make up for his attitude before.
"Sure", she said handing him a clump of straw from the floor and beckoning him over to stand next to him. "Long strokes along the body", she explained. "It soothes the horse".
They worked together in silence for a few minutes before Danny spoke again.
"He's a beautiful animal", he commented, "what his name?"
"She", Lindsay said pointedly, "is called Violet. I named her myself."
"Violet like the flower?" he asked. She didn't seem like the sort of girl who was into flowers.
"Violet like Violetta: the heroine from La Traviata". She stated, her expression challenging him to make fun of her. Danny held up his hands in mock surrender before going back to brushing down the horse.
"She's yours?" he asked.
"Yeah. My grandmother used to be in charge of the stables, but she died a few years ago. My father doesn't really want to keep the stables running now we're mostly mechanised but I persuaded him to keep the few horses we have left. Do you ride?"
"No, never tried". He chuckled, "Not much chance when you live in the city. Maybe you could show me some time?"
"I'd like that" she answered grinning.
They went back to grooming the horse in silence but were soon interrupted by a call for dinner.
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