Taking it Easy [Open]

[Jared Martins]

It was too nice a day to pass up and stay inside no matter what he’d been ordered to do by the doctors and Markus. Jared needed some fresh air, if he had to flip through the channels one more time only to find a whole lot of nothing someone was going to wind up with a broken arm. Getting off his butt, he changed out of his sweat pants and into jeans, a grey t-shirt, and his every day boots. The boots were scuffed and clearly broken in but he’d had them for so long that they were contoured to his feet and could walk around in them all day. Strapping his lasso to his belt, his boots stormed down the wood floors of the house until he picked up his house keys and cell phone at the bowl by the door.

Knowing just what he wanted to do; Jared locked the cabin door and headed out toward the stables. Storm was in need of a long ride around the trails to make up for the lack of attention the past few days. It wasn’t his fault the hospital had held him there for a couple of nights without a release until the other day, but then he’d been forced to stay home by orders of Markus. One day, Jared was going to get this son back for ordering him around so much the past few days. It might have been for his health that Markus was looking out for, but to him it felt like he was just sitting on his ass being lazy. It was unnatural for Jared to sit around doing nothing. He was always up and running around at Willow Brooke between taking care of students, paperwork, meetings at the courthouse. It was a wonder he found time to eat! If it wasn’t for Markus bringing him food, some nights Jared wouldn’t after working so many hours in the office most of the time he just crashed when he got home.

Walking along the pathways, it was a short walk before Jared entered the stables. Most of the horses looked up at the sound of footsteps and neighed happily seeing the owner. “I’ve missed you all.” Reaching out, his hand brushed the nearest nose to his hand which happened to be Adrianna’s Belgian Warm-Blood, BamBam. The horse nickered and licked his hand as if looking for a treat. “Sorry, boy, I’m not here for you today.” Feeling the spark of depression that hit the horse, Jared rolled his eyes but a smirk sat on his lips while pulling out a sugar cube and offered it to BamBam, who took it happily.

A loud stomp and high pitched neigh grabbed Jared’s attention making him turn his head to the very end of the stable. Storm was staring straight at him and flipping his head up and down as if calling him over to take him out of his stall. Laughing, he walked over to his baby and reached out for the very proud horse. “You look pretty mad at me.” The horse snorted as if agreeing while nodding his head up and down causing the owner of the stables to laugh. Walking into the very back of the barn, he picked up his saddle he kept around. Returning to Storm, his hand unhooked the lock on the door and stepped inside while the large animal stomped his hooves against the hay that covered the wood panels.

Making sure all the straps were secure, Jared ran his hands over Storm’s neck and down his forelegs to gently lift them up. Inspecting the horse shoes, he signed and shook his head. Those shoes were going to need to be changed within the next month. Making a mental note to check the other horse’s shoes, he grabbed the bridal for Storm and placed the bit in the horse’s mouth. Storm perked up at the idea he was going outside and not just to the pastures. Taking the reins, Jared led the horse out of the stall before closing the door. “Ready big guy?” Rubbing Storm’s forehead, he got a happy nicker that told him it was well past time for a nice long ride.

Grabbing the saddle, Jared hosted himself over and on it and wiggled slightly to get comfortable while getting a good grip on the reins. Clicking his tongue, Storm started walking slowly out the barn doors. He wasn’t going to push his baby just yet, maybe once they were away from the eyes of the office in the center of the school where Markus likely was. He was able to feel the strong breaths from Storm as the horse trotted down a path heading for the trails that wrapped around the school and into the woods as well.

[chris]

Chris knew he should be doing his homework right now, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it, especially as it was his English homework. That he could manage, the book they had been given to read had been okay. Not brilliant, but okay. Only now Ms McMillan had tasked them to create lessons for their class. Sure, she had provided a lot of material to use. He would just have to read it, pick out what related to the question at hand, and find a few bits and pieces in the book to support it all. With a bit of work, Chris knew, he could do it. Only that with a book set during the Civil War it felt all too much like a history lesson - and Chris hated history lessons with a passion.

So instead of doing what he was supposed to, he had set out to explore the trails - on foot of course, as he still wasn't anywhere near ready to get on a horse. But summer was finally here and that called for a trip to the lake soon. Exploring paths that led to different parts of the lake, and not just the shore closest to Willow Brooke, could come in handy. And it was a lot better than just standing in the back during riding lessons and listening to theory.

After a while he had reached the edge of the forest and paused, to get his bearings, studying the mountaintops he could see over the tree line. Getting used to hills and mountains had taken some time for someone who loved the ocean almost more than anything, but he spent so much time outdoors, the landscape surrounding Willow Brooke was now quite familiar to him. Looking around again he thought he had a pretty good idea where the lake was, but also spotted a rider in the distance, approaching along the trail he had just walked down.

He took two steps to the side of the road, waited and watched. It was better to let the rider pass before he walked on, much better than being taken by surprise or constantly looking over his shoulder, which he would certainly do if he just continued his walk.

Chris, not being one who spent much time in the stables, didn't recognize the horse, but he soon enough recognized the rider. He was glad it was a familiar face, and more glad that it was Jared. Most students had been worried when they heard about his heart attack - not all, but still most, and Chris was firmly in the worrying camp.

[Jared Martins]

Rubbing a hand over his face, Jared sighed and shook his head unsure where he was heading right then. He suddenly found himself with too much time and not enough to fill that time with. But Storm was pretty happy about that since he now found himself on the familiar trails that the both of them had worn in and explored since they’d become partners. His hand reached down while smiling and patted the horse’s neck getting a soft neigh back as if understanding and agreeing. This ride was long over do.

Seeing a boy on the side of the road, Jared pulled back on Storm’s reins to get him to slow down and stop. Storm stomped his hoof as if protesting the stop in the ride and shook his head while grinding his teeth around the bit. Chuckling under his breath, he peered down at the boy before smiling. “Good morning, Chris.” Giving the boy a small wave, he leaned forward slightly and leaned back up to adjust himself. Oh yes, he knew the kid. He wasn’t one that caused too much trouble for the school and as far as he knew Markus wasn’t having problems with him either.

“Whatcha doing outside this morning? On foot?” The last part puzzled him more. Jared would have loved to see the boy working with his horse and trying to surpass his problems for coming to Willow Brooke. Technically wasn’t supposed to be working, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the students and worrying about them. A lot of them needed someone to talk to and he had promised to be there and for the past few days he hadn’t been and it pulled at his guilt strings.

Storm neighed, snorting while keeping his head up high and proud. Jared reached up and rubbed the horse’s neck to calm him down, it didn’t take much effort on his part. He was pretty skilled with horses since growing up with them since he was a baby. They were just like people, each had their own personality and quirks. Storm was very cocky and head strong, he thought that ever other horse in the barns was somehow under him as if he was the head horse. It made Jared laugh knowing that there were older horses then Storm, but none of them seemed to go up against his baby.

[chris]

Chris watched Jared reign in his horse and marveled how easy it looked. Even if he ever got on a horse in his lifetime, he doubted he would ever be that easy in the saddle. Not that he intended to ever get into a saddle to begin with.

"Good morning, Mr. Martins... Jared," he slowly corrected himself, a little hesitantly. Jared was still the boss, even if Mark now sat in the main office and ran the show, or at least that was how Chris saw it.

"Just, umm... getting the lay of the land, stretching my legs," he answered. He took half a step back as the horse neighed. It was a big one, certainly too big for him to feel very comfortable around, and he wiped his palms on his pants. His hands weren't as sweaty as he had expected; it was just something he sometimes did. Sometimes wiping his hands on something he wore was a habit that had started before his problems, when he was helping his dad in his garage. His mom had often given him hell over the stains it left in his clothes, but once the habit had begun it had stayed part of him.

Of course he knew what Jared had meant when he asked about him being on foot. He was tempted - very tempted - to just change the topic and ask how Jared was doing, but he was willing to bet all the little money he had that Jared wouldn't let him get away with that.

'Might as well get this over with,' Chris thought, before he cleared his throat and shook his head. "Still not going anywhere near the horses. Sorry." He looked up at Jared's horse and shook his head again. "I know I am supposed to take care of one, but I just... I just can't bring myself to go near Shadow. Sorry to disappoint you."

[Jared Martins]

Jared chuckled slightly hearing Chris correct himself when calling him by his last name. The boy did have respect, more than some of the other boys around the camp, but the ‘Mr.’ or “Mrs.’ only added to the space between the students and the teachers who were there to help them anyway they could. It made him wonder how many of the students realized that he wasn’t really in the office anymore and spent more time around the stables and pastures now. “Chris, I know you’re not a very social guy, but could you do me a favor?” It wasn’t a large request. Something small that would benefit the both of them. “If you know anyone that really needs me more than say my son or the other teachers, could you point them out here to the stables and pastures? I’d be in your debt.”

Eyeing the kid as he stepped back from the horse, Jared held back the sigh and the sadness from showing that he was a little disappointed that Chris hadn’t made much progress. There was no rush and he supposed that the kid hadn’t run away was a good sign. That small sign gave the older man hope for him. “Well, that is better than just sitting around in the cabins.” Giving Chris a grin, his hand gripped the horn of the Western Saddle and swung his leg over and off the horse’s back. Landing with a thud on the ground, he pulled the reins over Storm’s head until the leather straps were in front. Rubbing Storm’s nose, the large beast pushed his nose up into Jared’ hand hoping for a little more attention which made him chuckle under his breath.

Staring over at Chris, Jared took a moment to think about what he’d just been told. “Maybe you’d be better with one of the foals.” Glancing over to the pastures, his eyes saw Mr. Bright Eyes and thought that might work better than Shadow for the boy. “Do you suppose the large size of a full grown one is too much for you? I’m sure we could get someone else to work with Shadow.” It was a quick and easy switch if Chris wanted that instead. That didn’t mean it was going to work perfectly, but with all the free time Jared was being forced to take he had more time to understand and help out the students.

[chris]

"Umm, yeah, guess I can do that," Chris replied after a second to Jared's first question. He wasn't quite sure what this request was about, and wondered if by people who needed him more than Mark or a teacher, he meant the more troubled students. It would be odd, to say the least, for him to tell them to look for Jared in the pastures. That a man who had always been so busy around the camp was just looking for a diversion, for some extra work, instead of enjoying a few days off never occurred to Chris.

He was glad Jared got off the horse. It made talking easier. He studied Jared for a moment, and how he dealt with his horse. Chris was pretty certain he would never be able to do that, even if he ever got close enough to a horse. He had never cared any about horses before being sent to Willow Brooke, and while he had come to think of them as beautiful animals - if admired from afar - he doubted he would ever turn into a horse person. It just wasn't his world.

Chris looked over to the foal pasture and thought about the question for almost a minute, scratching his chin. When he had helped Jared with the fence, the proximity of even a small foal like Mr. Blue Eyes had almost overwhelmed him, but perhaps if he had time to mentally prepare himself, if it didn't come as such a surprise...

"Well,..." he slowly began, still not quite certain if it could work, "we could give it a try. And if I leave the stable hands to care for Shadow anyway, we might as well make that official."

Chris looked at Jared, and shrugged. "It's not like I have anything to lose by trying with a foal. Just don't send me straight into the foal pasture where half a dozen of 'em can swarm me. That would sure give me a heart attack."

His eyes widened as he heard the words come over his lips and his face contorted into a pained expression. "Oh Christ! I didn't mean... I mean I..." He took a step closer to Jared without even noticing. "I am sorry Jared, I wasn't thinking."

Chris cast down his eyes and shook his head, asking himself if there could have been a stupider thing to say, but there was only one answer to that he could think of, and it was a firm, unqualified 'no'.

[Jared Martins]

It was an odd request; Jared supposed but with Markus bent on him not working aside from the office a couple of hours a week he needed to make sure the students knew he was still around. The camp was still legally under his name with all the trimmings. Everything that happened on the camp was his responsibility to maintain and keep under control. “Thank you.” It was all he could say on that matter. There were some kids that he knew he would have liked to see but he wasn’t going to push his luck and ask for any more help than he already had from Chris.

Giving the boy a moment to take in how large of a horse Storm was, Jared ran his hand over the animal’s neck to sooth him. The horse was eager for a long hard run after being stuck in his stall for the past two days, even the pastures hadn’t seemed to calm or tire him out enough. A soft nicker from his horse gave him a good indication of how much he really wanted to run while stomping his front hoof impatiently. Chuckling under his breath, he retrieved a small baby carrot from his pocket which brightened up Storm’s eyes at the sight of the orange long vegetable. It was time Jared stopped giving his baby the sugar cubes, they weren’t the healthiest snack for a horse out there. That thought brought up the horse’s files that Adrianna had dropped off at his cabin the other day. Those definitely needed to be read over within the next week at the latest.

Turning back to Chris, Jared’s eyes watched the teenager’s expression while thinking over the idea of helping care for a foal instead of a full grown stallion. It wasn’t going to be easier, in fact a foal, especially Blue Eyes, was going to need even more time together than a stallion would. The baby horse was still hand fed from a bottle regularly either by Jared, Markus, or a stable hand. The uncertainty in the kid’s face was impossible to miss. In a way he could understand after seeing how nervous Chris had been with Blue Eyes coming close to him while mending the fence. No one said conquering your fear was going to be easy, even he knew that from experience.

“I’ll go by the office after I’m finished with Storm and tell Markus.” Of course there would be no asking if Markus was ok with the change. Jared had the last say in anything regarding the students and his son had better not forget it either. The heart attack remark only caused him to grin and actually laugh, out loud, not just in his head. If he knew it wouldn’t have scared the teen, he would have slapped him on the shoulder to reassure him it was ok. “Don’t look so terrified as if I’m going to chew your head off for that comment. I’m not mad.” After everything that had happened, Jared had accepted what went down and moved on. Markus and him had already joked about it in the hospital to lighten up the tension which had sprouted from the stress levels rising. Laughter was the easiest way, in his eyes, to handle being told to take time off from work by his own son.

Storm’s head came down and bumped into Jared’s shoulder only making him laugh even more. “Have you been properly introduced to my horse?” That made no sense because in a way all the horse aside from the staff ones were his. Storm was just his personal one, the horse that reminded him so much of his father’s horse when he was a child learning to ride for the first time. Storm’s large black eyes stared over at Chris as if sizing the teenager up. It wasn’t supposed to come off in a threatening way but he was a large horse even with someone Jared’s size standing next to him.