I'll tell you true, I truly missed this place; even if I did have to wake up at the crack of dawn.
I woke up to the rooster crowing and I crawled out of bed, knowing if I didn't wake up on time, I wouldn't get breakfast: rule number one when it came to Jack Bartlett. Pulling on my t-shirt, I climbed down the stairs, and started on the morning feeds.
Last night things had gone somewhat smooth; Jack, Lisa, Lou, and Peter welcomed me warmly. Mallory practically chatted my ear off asking me about what I'd been doing for the past five years, still the same chatter-box as ever. Amy . . . remained quiet.
Not to say that she didn't contribute to the conversation, but she didn't talk about anything in particular.
"You're up early," said Mallory's voice as I followed the instructions on Snow White's morning ration.
I chuckled. "Yeah, I never did give up that habit," I replied putting the pail on the side and began on Mystery's feed. "So when did you take up Dressage?"
She shrugged. "Well Amy started training and competing horses to sell them and . . . I was sick of just trail riding all the time and wanted to try something new," she explained getting her mare's morning feed. "So I signed up for riding lessons at Briar Ridge and found my love for Dressage. I've been competing for three years."
"Cool, so what do you plan to do with it?" I asked.
"I want to compete in all of the major competitions if I can," she replied. "But, I'm happy to go as far as I can."
"What about Copper?" I asked, remembering the cute gelding she had loved for so long.
She froze and I instantly knew something had happened.
"Mal?" I asked.
"He was stolen four years ago," she whispered, her voice cracking.
"Oh Mal, I'm sorry I-I didn't know . . ." I began wishing I hadn't mentioned it.
She swallowed. "I'll be okay, I just . . .miss him is all," she said.
I nodded. "It'll get better," I said.
"Yeah, I got Sapphire so it helps," she replied finished with Sapphire's feed and grabbed another pail to help me with the other horses. "So, how are you and Amy?"
I shrugged. "Don't know, it's gonna take us awhile to gain each others trust," I replied.
She nodded, but didn't say anything.
Amy joined us soon after and we mainly focused on doing the morning chores.
Around ten o'clock Amy left for school, while Mallory got Sapphire ready for the trailer ride to Briar Ridge.
"You need a ride?" I asked.
"No, I'm good. I'll be back around one o'clock, and that will give me plenty of time to get Storm ready," she replied.
"Alright, I'll take care of Sapphire while you get him ready for you this way you're not in a hurry," I offered.
She smiled as she got into her truck. "Thanks, see you later," she said and drove off.
The rest of the morning passed by without incident. Some of the riders came with their trainers to train for whatever discipline they were in, while others just came to ride on the trails; however, I noticed that the owners of Snow White, Lightning, and Mystery hadn't arrived yet.
They're probably running late I thought. Better go check with Lou before I let them out into the pasture.
As I approached the office, I heard Lou talking on the phone, and knocked.
"Hold on a sec, come in!" she called. "Alright, so how long will you be gone?" she adds to whomever she was talking to, as I came in. "A week? Um . . . okay, I'm sure we can either find a rider who is small enough to ride her, or we can lounge her for you. Okay . . . have a nice vacation . . . you too . . . bye." She hung up the phone. "Ugh, I can't handle anymore bad news."
"Okay, what's going on?" I asked.
"Well apparently Lulu Sanders, Pam Crandal, and Kaitlin Byler are all going on vacation with their families somewhere, and they'll be gone for a certain length of time," she explained. "So . . . in the meantime, we've got two ponies and a horse that needs exercise."
"Well I'm around so I can help," I replied.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean it's not part of your job requirements."
"And thanks to Mallory I learned the basics; not only that but I took up lessons so I know how to properly ride and lounge a horse, so I'm pretty sure I can lounge Snow White and Lightning, and ride Mystery around the ring until we get to know each other," I replied. "Have a little faith in me."
She smiled. "Thanks Ty, you need help finding Snow White and Lightning's equipment?" she asked.
"No, Amy showed me where it was yesterday, but I'll holler if I need help," I replied.
"Okay, thank you," she said.
I nodded and left the office, heading toward the Tack Room to grab Snow White's lounging equipment. I'd already groomed the mare and, since she's only been in her stall, I only grabbed the body brush and the hoof pick to make her a little more comfortable.
As I reached her stall, the little pony poked her head over the stall door to see what was going on. "Hey little girl," I called to her. "You're owner couldn't make it, so how about we do some lounging today?"
She snorted and bobbed her head up and down.
I hung the lounging bridle and reins over the stall door, grabbed the mare's halter and lead rope, and entered the stall to halter her. After securing her with the halter and clipping the lead rope to it, I led her over to a pair of cross-ties and tied her to them, before I grabbed the hoof pick and picking out her hooves.
Unlike most ponies, who can be pretty stubborn, the mare actually stayed calm, and followed each of my commands to pick up her hoof and didn't put up a fuss when I brushed her. Which is good and I could definitely see why she and her owner have had a good year in competitions. When I slipped the lounging bridle over her head she accepted the bit and stood still while I buckled each part, and followed me obediently.
I chose the outdoor arena since it was so nice outside, and asked her to walk away from me. "Alright girl, let's see what you're made of," I said.
Thankfully Professor Bailey was more than understanding about my situation, since Grandpa and Lou forgot to mention that they didn't tell either my Program Adviser nor my teacher about why I didn't show up for class yesterday. But the good news is he accepted my essay and gave me a full grade on it.
All the while in class, I kept glancing at the clock to see how much time I had left before Mr. Forest would arrive to check out Storm.
Calm down, Fleming, you need to pay attention I scolded myself returning my attention, once again, to Professor Bailey's lecture. Usually it was easy to focus and take notes, but today, I found it hard to focus.
And I doubt it's just because of what's happening today said a voice in my mind.
It's not because of anything else; I'm just excited because it could mean a whole lot of good things if he buys Storm I said, but . . . I knew I was lying to myself. Okay, it might have to do with not just Ty being back, but . . . what Caleb said yesterday. What was his problem? Lou wasn't even going to fire him in the first place, she was just going to warn him to next time call in if he couldn't show up for work.
I sighed. Half of the time, nothing made sense anymore; as the years passed by, I'd often wonder why life couldn't be more straightforward, with each person finding his or her own path the easy way instead of going haphazardly all over the place.
But life is never easy, even for those of us who just want to live a simple life Professor Bailey had told me once in class. The reason for obstacles is so this way when you reach your goal, the reward is all the more worthwhile at the end.
But . . . is trusting someone, or learning to trust someone again . . . a part of my path?
That question, will be answered all in due time said common sense as the bell ringing for the end of class sounded.
"Homework tonight is to read chapters eight and nine for Friday, please do the vocabulary, the notes, and do each of the study questions to be handed in," he said. "Ms. Fleming, your next class with me is Thursday."
I nodded. "Okay, thanks Professor Bailey for allowing me to attend a make-up class," I replied packing my book and binder into my messenger bag.
"No problem, each of us needs a little extra help every now and again," he said. "And if you ever need someone to talk to, please do not hesitate to ask."
I nodded and smiled. "Thanks, see you Thursday," I replied and left the classroom. While Professor Bailey was a good person to talk to about Philosophy, I doubt he'd be able to help when it came to helping me and Ty with our trust issues.
Glancing at my watch, I smiled as I realized that I had two hours before Mr. Forest arrived. I can at least stop by Maggie's to grab something to go before heading home I thought, opening the door to my truck and sliding in, placing my bag on the seat next to me.
Turning on the engine, I slowly maneuvered my way through the college campus and drove into town.
"Amy . . . hi!" said Ashley getting out of her car, once I had arrived at Maggie's Diner and cut the engine.
"Hey Ashley what's up?" I asked getting out of my truck.
"Not much, can't wait for the bonfire in two weeks," she said.
"Oh man, I totally forgot to ask my Grandpa about that," I said.
"Don't sweat it, just ask him tonight," she replied as we walked into the diner. Soraya was at the counter taking a customer's order. "Soraya's coming too and . . . I thought you could ask Ty to come."
"Ty? Why would he want to come?" I asked sitting down in one of the stools.
"Well you two can come as a date," she replied sitting down.
I scoffed and shook my head. "Ashley how did you even know he was back? He's only been working not even six hours," I said.
"Soraya told me," she replied.
I looked to Soraya and my suspicions were only confirmed that she knew about Ty's sudden appearance by the look on her face. "You knew?" I asked.
"Now Amy please don't get mad at me, but . . . he asked me not to tell you," she said.
I growled. "Great," I said and stood up to leave.
"Amy . . ." she began but I had already walked out the door.
On the way home, I knew I shouldn't have snapped at Soraya like that, cause obviously it wasn't her fault that Ty had asked her not to tell me that he was back.
Or . . . maybe you're mad because you still love him and you were the last person to know about it said that annoying voice.
I sighed. I do not love him, I'm over him, and . . . besides, I don't need anything else in my life I said to myself turning my truck onto the driveway that led up to Heartland. I parked in my usual spot, grabbed my bag, and got out of the truck, walking up to the main house.
"Hey how was school?" asked Lou from where she was typing on her laptop.
I shrugged, placing my bag on the back of one of the chairs. "It was alright, all I gotta do is read two chapters, do the vocabulary, the notes, and the study questions," I replied heading to the fridge to make myself a sandwich. "By the way, Ashley is holding a bonfire in a couple of weeks and she wants to know if I can come," I add grabbing the meat, cheese, and veggies before walking over to the counter.
"Well you know me, I'm always getting after you to hang out with your friends," she said. "As long as you're home by eleven o'clock, you can stay out."
"Thanks, and I actually do agree with you about getting away for a bit," I replied cutting the bread and placing the turkey, ham, cheese, and lettuce, tomato, pickles, and onions on the bread.
"Good, oh by the way, Kaitlin, Lulu, and Pam called saying that they're each going on vacation," said Lou. "Kaitlin will be gone for three weeks, Lulu will be gone for a week, while Pam will be gone for two weeks."
I shrugged as I spread mayonnaise on the bread. "Okay, well Mallory's still small enough to ride Lightning, Snow White, we can lounge her for exercise until we find a small enough rider, and one of us can ride Mystery," I said.
"Well Ty's already exercised Snow White this morning, he's out riding Mystery in the ring now," replied Lou.
"Ty is riding a horse?" I asked, finding it a little hard to believe.
"Yeah, wherever he went, he was able to continue riding lessons so . . . I told him it would really help us out," she said.
I shrugged as I ate my sandwich and glanced at my watch: 1:00p.m. Another hour and Mr. Forest will be arriving. "Alright, well I don't need to get Storm ready until 1:45 to give him a grooming, so I'm gonna go start on my schoolwork at least," I said, grabbing my bag and walked up to my room.
Even though I only had forty-five minutes, I managed to do all of the required vocabulary work, and start on the overview before I had to hurry down to the barn. As I entered the barn, I saw Ty leading Mystery into the barn.
"Hey how'd he go?" I asked trying to be polite.
"He went good, we were mainly trying to get used to each other so I didn't push it with a trail ride," he replied tying Mystery to a pair of cross-ties.
"And how'd that go?" I asked.
He shrugged. "He listened to me which is all I was asking for, he didn't pull any stunts, I'm gonna ride him in the ring tomorrow before checking to see if he'll go good for me out on the trails Thursday," he explained unsaddling the gelding and setting the tack on the stall door.
"That's good," I said and walked toward the Tack Room to get Storm's grooming kit so I could give him a quick brushing before Mr. Forest arrived.
Fifteen minutes later, Storm was groomed and in a pair of cross-ties, while Ty had led Mystery out into the paddock. The sound of a truck pulling up made me come out of the barn to see Mr. Forest driving his truck with a young rider beside him.
"Hello Amy," said Mr. Forest stepping out of the truck as soon as he parked it in a spot and cut the engine.
"Hello Mr. Forest," I replied.
"This is one of my young riders, Stephanie Pike," he said gesturing to the young rider who had also stepped out of the truck. "Stephanie is one of our upcoming Show Jumping riders."
"Nice to meet you," I said to her.
"Hi, I've heard nothing but good things from Mr. Forest and everyone else," she said. "You helped cure Caesar?"
I nodded. "It's nothing really, you just need to be able to gain the horse's trust is all," I replied.
"Well shall we take a look at him?" asked Mr. Forest.
"Right this way," I said walking with with them into the barn.
"Oh wow, he's gorgeous," said Stephanie as soon as she saw the gelding.
Storm whickered and held out his muzzle to her; she complied and patted him on the nose.
Looking at the pair, I knew they were starting to form a bond, but the real test would come when she actually got into the saddle.
Mr. Forest, as practical as ever, cast a critical eye over Storm now that he was actually free of the tack and gear he always wore. "Well he looks sound," he said walking over to Storm and feeling each of Storm's legs and making sure they were correct and even. "When was his last check-up?"
I pulled out Scott's record. "It was last week before the show, Scott gave him a clean Bill of Health," I replied handing the papers to him.
Mr. Forest accepted the papers and looked through them. "Up to date on his shots, no blemishes or past injuries, bones look good as well as the muscles and tendons," he said. "He's just had new shoes recently?" he adds looking at the farrier's report.
"Yep, and everything is legal as far as the correct owner and Bill of Sale," I said.
He nodded.
I knew a man like Mr. Forest would not only be worried about Storm's physical health, but also whether or not the purchase was actually legit; if Storm had been bought illegally and Mr. Forest had bought him, even without intentionally knowing about it, it could have serious consequences, not only on his part but on mine as well.
"Good, good," he said. "Well everything seems in order, let's begin shall we? Let's see how he moves in the ring, and then we'll try him in the saddle."
"Of course," I said, grabbing the lead rope, and securing the rope to Storm's halter before untying him from the cross-ties.
We walked toward the indoor arena, since Ty was working Lightning in the outdoor arena; all the while Stephanie was asking me questions about the gelding as though she truly wanted to bond with him. Taking a look at her, I could definitely see why she was an upcoming Show Jumping rider; she had the build and looked like she spent more hours in the saddle then she did on the ground.
Standing in the middle of the ring with Mr. Forest and Stephanie on the side of the ring, I signaled Storm to walk; as though he wanted to impress Mr. Forest, Storm sprung into a free-flowing walk looking almost like an Arabian instead of a Trakehner. I smiled and concentrated on him. Twenty minutes later, he had walked, trotted, and cantered around the ring in both directions, showing not only his obedience, but his training as well.
As I led Storm over to Mr. Forest, I saw that he was smiling, which is a good thing.
"Well?" I asked stopping in front of them, Storm halting and squaring up, keeping his head by my side.
"Well if Stephanie would like to try him out, I don't see any problems with him," he replied. "He's obedient but with a lively step; you've come far with him."
"Thanks," I replied. "Are you ready, Stephanie?"
"Oh am I," she said.
"Okay," I said, watching as Mallory came into the arena with Storm's tack. "This is Mallory, she boards her horse here and also helps out."
"Hi," she replied placing the tack on the fence.
"Hey," said Stephanie.
"Would you like me to tack him up or . . ." began Mallory, but Stephanie cut in.
"Would it be alright if I saddled him? I'm a working student and, while I help with the chores, if we're to be partners, I'd like to know if he pulls any of the usual tricks," she said.
"Sure, I'll hold him while you saddle up," I replied, watching with a critical eye as Stephanie picked up the saddle and saddlepad, and placed them on Storm's back near his withers, before sliding them both in the correct position.
While she worked, she kept a calm and steady pace, never buckling each strap all the way at first, but . . . gradually so Storm wouldn't feel like he was being rushed and would pull any of the stunts normal horses made with new riders.
When Storm was all set, she took the reins, slipped them over his head, and led him over to the mounting block in the center; stepping onto the block, she slipped one foot into the stirrup and hopped into the saddle, settling gently into the correct seat.
She began speaking quietly to him, patting him on the neck.
"She does that all the time with every horse we've put her on, it helps the horse to go better for her," explained Mr. Forest.
I smiled, relieved that Stephanie wasn't like most riders who thought horses didn't care about who was riding them; as they began to do some flat-work, I saw that she rode with a light but confident hand. Storm went willingly for her, not putting up a fuss about anything, even when she asked for the wrong lead and asked him to perform a counter-canter, he followed her aids.
As she took him over the course of jumps, if her smile got any bigger, you'd have thought she had won the lottery; after cooling him out, she rode back over to us and dismounted.
"He's wonderful, I can't wait to see how he goes on the trails back home," she said patting his neck.
"Yes, he did look good from the ground, but I would like to ask if you would be willing to put him on loan to us," said Mr. Forest.
"Not a problem, I was going to suggest that," I replied remembering that I had done the same with Champion. "How long would you like to keep him for?"
Mr. Forest looked at Storm. "Well, I would like to keep him on loan for at least two weeks, this way our vet can also take a look at him and see how he does at our barn," he replied. "I'm also willing to pay a quarter of the price you're asking for the trial."
"Sounds fair enough, I'll ask Lou to draw up the contract this way it's legal, and if he doesn't work out, I'll take him back for a full refund," I said.
He nodded. "Good, we'll pick him up tomorrow and we'll be seeing you two weeks from tomorrow with the answer," he replied holding his hand out for me to shake.
I accepted his hand and walked with both he and Stephanie, with Stephanie leading Storm, back to the barn.
Once we entered the barn, Stephanie led him over to the same cross-ties he was in earlier, and tied him to the cross-ties so she could unsaddle and unbridle the gelding.
"The office is this way Mr. Forest," I said walking toward the office. The door was closed so I knocked to see if Lou was in there.
"Come in!" said Lou's voice through the door.
I opened the door and entered with Mr. Forest behind me.
"Ah hello Mr. Forest," she said standing up and holding her hand out for him to shake.
"Hello Lou, we've just seen the gelding in action, and, while I like him and so does Stephanie, I would like to take him out as a loan for right now for a couple of weeks," explained Mr. Forest accepting her handshake.
"Oh of course, just let me get the application for you," she said walking over to the filing cabinet. She opened the top drawer, looked through the folders she kept in there, and took out one of the applications, before closing the drawer, and coming back to us. "If you will please fill this out . . ." she said handing him a pen.
"Of course," he replied accepting both the application and the pen. "We will be picking him up tomorrow around ten o'clock if that's okay with you?"
"I don't have anything planned around that time, Fiona isn't arriving until eleven," I replied.
"Alright, oh uh Amy can you go get Ty? He's up in the loft, Grandpa needs help with one of the fences," said Lou.
"Okay," I replied and walked out of the office, toward the stairs that led into the loft. As I reached the loft, I noticed the door open, and the sound of someone moving around inside. Taking a look through the slot, I saw Ty taking his shirt off, looking ready to change it.
But when he turned around, I saw something I've never seen on a human being.
Scars from a bull-whip.