myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
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A Job
Apr 10, 2007 20:00:58 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 10, 2007 20:00:58 GMT -5
Robin savored the crunching sound of the wheels against gravel as she drove her truck into the driveway and parked it, turning off the ignition. She glanced around at her surroundings, slightly apprehensively, and shoved her thumbs into the pockets of her jeans. Beyond the barn were green pastures with assorted horses inhabiting them. A bay caught her eye, his lean muscle, his detailed slightly dished head. His muscles quivered and he seemed to stare at her with the same critical interest that overtook her when she first stepped out of the truck. Beyond the bay and his pasture mates, the land of the farm rolled into hills, and forest behind the farm.
She shifted her eye to the barn. Large and airy it was pristine, a model equine facility. She intook the sheer size of the barn, before stepping forward with large purposeful strides, wondering what awaited her, what twists and turns her life would throw now. Once inside the barn, it was only more impressive. It was pristine. No bits of hay flew around. There was a place for everything and everything was in its place, she thought to herself with a small smile. She paced around, staring at the architecture around her, gazing at the horses, all pleasantly alert in their stalls.
Then she inhaled deeply, and although this barn was like no other she had ever seen, she closed her eyes and could imagine the little barn she had learned to ride at. The smells wafting around, the smell of leather, the smell of sweaty horses and good rides. All of it was the same. Even the pungent smell of manure brought so much happiness to her conscience. Finally she opened her eyes, still marveling at everything around each turn and strode off on a quest to find some one to speak to about employment.
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A Job
Apr 11, 2007 7:46:29 GMT -5
Post by imagine on Apr 11, 2007 7:46:29 GMT -5
Ty found himself buried with paperwork in the office despite the fact that he only had two horses on his large farm. Both of the horses were his. There was Miles, an eight-year-old retired gelding; and then there was Sara, a five-year-old race mare. Miles had a somewhat successful racing career over in the States. He raced in the States are two years before Ty decided to retire him. He'd been out to pasture for a year now; Ty was going to start riding him again soon and undoing to racehorse training. He was either going to keep him for a pony-horse or use him in jumping.
Sara was a beautiful chestnut mare, who had been bred in Australia, but started racing in the States. She'd been more successful than Miles had been, earning a little over $500,000 to this day. It wasn't really much for 3 years of racing, but Ty was happy. In fact, he was looking to enter her in another race. That's what the paperwork required - and the fact that it was spring, so the horses needed their shots.
Sighing, Ty pushed back his rolling chair and got up. He stretched and then walked toward the office door. It was open, as were both sliding barn doors at either end. It was a nice, sunny day out, so Ty had kept everything open to get the chilly winter air out. He walked down the long barn aisle, passing each stall with grace. Someday, he hoped, the barn would be filled with racehorses. He could hardly wait until that day. He reached the end of the barn and stood in the doorway, letting the sun rain down on him. He closed his eyes for a breif moment and let the sun seep into his bones and warm his stale, winter bones.
"Looks like spring is finally here," he said to himself, smiling a little.
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myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
|
A Job
Apr 11, 2007 17:30:13 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 11, 2007 17:30:13 GMT -5
A wide grin split Robin's face, when she recognized Ty's dirty blond hair, now coated with a light dusting of sawdust and other horsey materials. He looked slightly overwhelmed, and she surpressed an understanding grin at the sudden workload that had suddenly been placed upon him. "Hey Ty!" she called, her voice echoing slightly off the walls of the large barn.
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A Job
Apr 11, 2007 18:41:18 GMT -5
Post by imagine on Apr 11, 2007 18:41:18 GMT -5
Ty heard his name being called and spun around. He instantly recgonized Robin's face and a smile lit up his face. The wind blew in his face, tousling his hair around his head. He ignored it and stepped toward Robin, still smiling.
"'Ello, there," he said happily, feeling the stress seep from his body. It was nice to have a friendly face around the lonely barns during such a pressing period. The wind finally died down and Ty felt his hair shaggy hair fall back into place. "What 're you doin' 'ere?" His brown eyes searched Robin's face, trying to find an answer.
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myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
|
A Job
Apr 11, 2007 18:50:14 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 11, 2007 18:50:14 GMT -5
"I was thinking I would take you up on that job offer. Could I excercise horses for you?" she curtsied with a sarcastically prissy expression on her face. "If you don't accept I might just have to throw a hissy fit all over your barn," she said, shaking her head slightly at her own sarcasm. "Or rather my horse will..." she said, darkly looking in Al's direction. He whinied loudly, head bobbing up and down as he called. She grinned again, feeling more laid back then she had in a while. Maybe she had finally settled in around here, she thought, inwardly shrugging.
She glanced at the few horses assorted around the U-shaped barn, and a bay colt of 16 hands caught seemed to call to her. She walked over, running a skilled eye over the young horse. "He's pretty," she said, realizing how inept she sounded. She held up her hands letting him sniff them. "Can I ride him?"
ooc: if your wondering, i'm refering to flora's racehorse xD
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A Job
Apr 11, 2007 19:02:59 GMT -5
Post by imagine on Apr 11, 2007 19:02:59 GMT -5
Ty laughed at Robin and her anecdotes. He grinned at her and shook his head, his hair waving around his face.
"You could exercise them for me, sure," he replied. "Afterall, I did offer you a job and it would be rude of me to go back on that." He winked and then leaned against the opposite wall. He folded his arms in front of his chest and watched her as she fiddled around with his new boarder. "I might have another girl be riding for me. She wants to jockey, but I believe she needs a job now. So I might have her be a groom or an exercise rider."
Ty watched the interaction between Robin and Flora's horse. He smiled smally and then looked down the barn aisle. He then looked back at Robin when she spoke to him again.
"It's up to Flora if you want to ride him," he told her. "I could call her and ask. She hasn't given me any paperwork or said she wants us to train the horse for her."
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myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
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A Job
Apr 11, 2007 19:12:31 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 11, 2007 19:12:31 GMT -5
Robin shrugged. "Whatever," she said, trying to hide her eagerness to ride racing Thoroughbreds. She glanced downward, feeling a cloud, sticky with awkward feelings decending over her head. She bit her lip, and fidgeted with a lock of dark hair, having difficulty voicing her thoughts. "Hey Ty," she said, starting strong, but knowing that her voice would begin to fade as she went on. "I was wondering if maybe you wanted to grab a coffee, but I'll understand if you don't-want-to-because-I'm-sure-you-have-so-many-other-things-to-do,-and-I-don't-even-know-why-I-asked-but--" she stopped, shaking her head, horribly aware of the slurred jumble of words she had just spit out. "Anyway, I'm sure you get what I'm asking?" she said, almost hopefully.
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A Job
Apr 11, 2007 19:29:18 GMT -5
Post by imagine on Apr 11, 2007 19:29:18 GMT -5
Ty smiled and shook his head at her "whatever". She had a certain way of saying it. She wasn't being mean, but then she wasn't being nice. He shrugged to himself.
"I've got two horses that'll need riding," he told her. "One is a mare I've known since she was a baby. And the other is a colt who's coming in either tonight or tomorrow morning." He smiled, hoping that she would say yes. Or, if she only wanted to ride Flora's horse, that was fine too.
"I'd love to go out for coffee," he replied. "As long as you promise not to faint on me due to lack of oxygen." He grinned.
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myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
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A Job
Apr 11, 2007 19:39:42 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 11, 2007 19:39:42 GMT -5
She pretended to look insulted. "Me? Lack of oxygen? Never! And I'd love to ride whatever you throw at me. I like a challenge, but I love working with well-schooled horses too." She looked marginally happier than when she had first arrived and it seemed that her awe bordering on apprehension of the sheer expanse of the barn had passed. She chattered away like a happy twelve year old, revealing a more outgoing side of her. She wasn't overly bubbly, nor was she the guarded quiet girl that she had been when the two had first met.
The walk to the coffee shop was pleasant, as instead of the usual greenish overcast, the sky had opened up to reveal glorious fair weather cumulus, that rose up into the heavens, layer upon layer of white puffy clouds. The sun warmed the wet pavement, and it was unseasonably warm out, but not scalding. Robin felt herself warming to Ty, with his outgoing personality, and Australian swagger that was big enough to be charming, but not overly big-headed. She found herself laughing at many of the things he said, and was still chuckling when the coffee shop came into view.
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A Job
Apr 12, 2007 6:43:48 GMT -5
Post by imagine on Apr 12, 2007 6:43:48 GMT -5
Ty found it nice walking to the coffee shop. Normally he would have taken his truck since it was somewhat far away, but he always found that if he was with someone, walking just seemed so much better. Plus, they really couldn't beat this weather. It looked like after all the weather was taking a dramatic turn.
Ty smiled at what Robin had to say, glad that she had asked him out for coffee. They reached town with it's long strip of stores on both sides of the street. Ty loved just coming down and walking the streets. There were lots of people in the town today, most of them carrying bags and bags of goodies. Ty and Robin headed toward the coffee house. Ty was actually dying for an iced coffee. When they reached the coffee shop, Ty grabbed the door handle and held it open for Robin. He smiled at her.
"Ladies first," he explained, his charming smile wide.
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myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
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A Job
Apr 12, 2007 7:01:06 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 12, 2007 7:01:06 GMT -5
Robin couldn't help smiling. "EH, you could hardly call me a lady," she said, but bowed under his arm and through the doorway. She lead the way towards the counter and ordered a bagel and an iced coffee, then moved back, waiting for Ty to order. Her eyes adjusted to the shady light of the coffee shop, and she cocked her head, studying Ty with perceptive blue eyes.
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A Job
Apr 12, 2007 8:00:48 GMT -5
Post by imagine on Apr 12, 2007 8:00:48 GMT -5
Ty followed Robin into the coffee house, the door closing slowly behind him. He got behind Robin in line and then stepped forward when she moved out the way. The salesman behind the counter asked him what he wanted and he ordered the same thing as Robin did. He then stepped aside and looked around the coffee shop. It wasn't too packed and Ty assumed that was because it was mid-day. Few people drank coffee during the middle of the day.
One of the workers behind the counter called out Robin's order & Ty's order. Ty stepped forward to pay for them both. He grabbed both bags and coffees, handing Robin one of each.
"Would you like to go outside or stay in 'ere?" he asked her, looking down at her.
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myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
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A Job
Apr 12, 2007 17:01:11 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 12, 2007 17:01:11 GMT -5
"It's quite nice out," she said, glancing outside again. "Maybe we could sit outside?"
She sipped her iced coffee, feeling a strange sort of happiness that she had felt only a few times before. She knew everything was not well. She and her father continued to have finance issues, as they struggled to pay for Al and saved for Robin's education. Robin still had to do any work she possibly could. But right now, right here, all was content, and for once, it seemed maybe things would take a turn upward, ending the downward spiral that seemed to have taken a hold of her life since her mother's death.
Thinking of her mother, caused a sudden spurt of emotion, which threatened to puncture the bubble of happiness building up in her chest. She pushed the thought away, smiling slightly to herself. Before she would've felt guilty, pushing feelings for her mother away like that. But she realized her mother's death was yet another reason, the Hiddle's had to live life to the fullest, even if good fortune didn't always come their way.
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A Job
Apr 12, 2007 20:03:02 GMT -5
Post by imagine on Apr 12, 2007 20:03:02 GMT -5
"Sure," he agreed. "Sitting outside would be nice." They found and empty tabel right outside of the coffee house and sat down. Ty took a large sip of his coffee through the straw, the cold drink sliding smoothly down this throat. He placed the cup down the table and then grabbed his bagel. Breaking off a piece, Ty popped it into his mouth and chewed throughly, looking around the town.
Once he was finished chewing, he glanced over at Robin. She seemed somewhat far away, withdrawn into herself.
"You okay, mate?" Ty asked her, leaning slightly forward over the table. "You look a little far off."
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myhorsejax
Junior Member
[M:49200]
i see the light!
Posts: 67
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A Job
Apr 12, 2007 20:09:41 GMT -5
Post by myhorsejax on Apr 12, 2007 20:09:41 GMT -5
Robin started. "Yea, just thinking about mo- nevermind," she said, smiling again, still determined to cover up her remaining sadness. She took a chunk out of her bagel, chewing it slowly, gazing at him with wide blue eyes.
She stared at him for a moment longer, and took his hand atop the table. "Thanks Ty," she said, her eyes blazing with sincerity. "I mean, for everything. If it weren't for you, not only would I probably be working at Burger King, but settling in here would be even worse," she said, a small sad smile splitting her face.
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