New chap. Not much to say…
The truck rumbled along the gravel driveway, rain spattering down onto the windshield.
"Alright. We're finally home. Now we have to do the horses. They haven't been fed last night, and they are all probably soaked. Plus, it's going to rain some more this week." Cole sighed. They had taken the long way home after the bridge collapsing. It had taken a few hours, but they were finally home.
The five trudged down the hill, with Zane leading Casey behind him.
"Lloyd is probably in bed." jay whined. "He probably just left them."
Nya elbowed him. "He's only 7! You expect him to put up 7 horses? Really?!"
Jay smiled cheekily and cole opened the barn door.
The radio was playing music, and all the horses were dry and warm in their stalls, with their blankets on them. Slinky nickered.
Lloyd was leaned up against the wall, sitting on a hay bale and fast asleep. Jess was sitting next to him with her head in his lap.
"He did all this?!" jay yelled.
Cole hit him to shut him up. He then looked around.
"He got the hay from the loft, put their blankets on… I can't believe it!" he turned to the others. "We REALLY underestimated him. I actually feel really bad."
Kai laughed and swung his arms out. "He even swept!"
Lloyd stirred and sat up. "whazza- I fell asleep?" he looked at the others. "Oh! You slackers are finally back!" he crossed his arms. "I had to do it with jess."
Cole leaned down in front of Lloyd.
"Buddy, we underestimated you and that was wrong of us. Since you were able to do all of this, I want to give you something." Cole smiled and gestured to the tack room.
Lloyd smiled and skipped over to the room and jumped inside. Cole entered as well, and the others followed.
Cole pulled a dusty saddle down from the rack. He wiped some of the dust off and pointed to the saddle. Lloyd walked up to it and ran his hands across it.
"A saddle? But it looks really old!" he said and turned to cole.
"Nothing that a good cleaning can't fix!" cole picked up the leather polish.
"But why are you giving me an old saddle?" Lloyd asked.
Cole smiled sadly.
"Before your uncle died from that riding accident, he told me to give this saddle to you when you were ready. Oh, how I wanted this saddle, but wu said that it belonged to you. You see, your dad was a champion bull rider. He also was a team roper with your uncle. This was his saddle. Unfortunately, a final bull ride finished him, but wu said for you to have it when you are ready, and I think that now you are."
Lloyd hugged cole. "Thank you." He whispered.
Cole smiled. Lloyd turned back to the saddle. "But this is too big for Luigi?"
Cole picked up Lloyd and sat him on the saddle.
"Well then, you need a big horse!"
Lloyd's eyes widened. "You don't mean-"
"Yes," cole chuckled. "Miss Poco left twist out there is now yours. And you are going to help me train her."
Lloyd let out a shout of delight and ran out of the tack room and hugged Poco's neck.
Nya turned to cole. "That was sweet of you. But he is kind of young-"
"nonsense." Cole interrupted. "He has proved himself worthy, don't you think?"
Nya sighed.
In their white clapboard house up on the hill facing the barn, nya and kai sat, sipping sweet tea.
"Well, today has been eventful." Kai laughed.
Nya stared at the rain pattering against the window.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
"Do you think that Lloyd is too young to be helping cole train Poco?"
Kai shrugged. "No. I think that it was nice to not have to take care of those dumb beasts every once in a while…"
Nya rolled her eyes.
Lloyd was bouncing around Zane, talking nonstop as Zane tacked up Casey.
"And Poco is now all mine! Isn't it great!?" Lloyd finished breathlessly.
Zane smiled and heaved himself up on Casey.
"Yes, it is a happy accident. Now I need to practice for my next dressage competition."
Lloyd stuck out a thumbs up. "you got it!" he ran over to jay and kept talking.
Zane laughed and shook his head. He took casey at a trot to the small arena where nya normally barrel raced. He made casey do a small circle and was lost in thought.
He wasn't ready yet for jumping, what after titanium's accident.
He cringed as he thought of the name.
I do miss him… but I have to move on.
He patted casey and sighed.
Lloyd was talking nonstop to jay as he rubbed his new saddle with polish. His rubbing slowed as a thought came to his head.
"jay, did you know my uncle, and my- my dad?" he said quietly.
Jay looked up, alarmed. "um, I knew your uncle, but I only met your dad once, on the night… before… the, um, accident."
"can you tell me about my uncle?"
Jay put the sponge with saddle soap down and looked lloyd in the eye.
"you were 2 when he left, so I'm not surprised that you don't remember, but he taught all of us how to ride and how to rodeo. If we fell off, he threw us back on the horse. He was a kind man, but he couldn't bull ride. All he could do was every other event. But the event he was best at was team roping. Your dad taught cole to ride bulls and broncs. It was the night of the rodeo when the accident happened when cole came to join us, what with his mentor not living anymore. Wu took care of all of us, and I miss him a lot. But he always told us, 'if you fall out of the saddle, don't cry about it. just get back on.'" Jay smiled and went back to scrubbing his saddle.
Lloyd glanced down at the small, gleaming patch of leather amidst all of the dusty spots.
"soooo… cole knew my dad?"
Jay shrugged. "I guess."
Lloyd jumped up.
"thanks!" he ran out of the tack room door.
He quickly found cole, who was sweeping the barn.
He tapped cole lightly on the shoulder.
"hey cole, can you tell me about dad?"
TA-DA! A chapter that I slaved over for y'all. Enjoy…