Cowboy Chapter 7
Before leaving, I changed into a nicer outfit.
I secured my best cowboy hat so it wouldn’t fly off as I rode.
I was taking my bike. I didn’t wear a helmet unless I was riding in a state that required one.
I was glad I’d gotten out of bull riding before they mandated helmets for most riders.
I found them constraining, and they gave me a headache.
Saranya’s place was outside of Ormond Beach city limits, which made sense.
She needed property for a barn and pasture.
When I pulled in, I noticed the house was a small, one-story brick building.
It had flowers planted along the front porch as well as baskets of them hanging from the horizontal porch support.
These were what my house needed—flowers, I thought.
I parked my bike in the driveway outside the garage. Getting off my bike, I rearranged my hat, then made my way to the front door. There was no indication that anyone was home, but she might be in the barn I saw at the back of the property. If I got no answer here, I’d head back there.
I knocked twice, then rang the doorbell without success.
Hoping she wasn’t ignoring me, I walked away and around the house.
The trek to the barn was about half a football field away.
I took in the structure as I approached.
It was in excellent repair based on the outside.
I did not doubt that it was the same inside.
Someone who loved animals would ensure they had a safe and warm place to live and recuperate.
The small door at the front, not the larger one that would allow a truck to back inside, was open.
Pausing inside of it, I inhaled the scent of hay, manure, and leather. It smelled like home. Entering further, I was about to call out when I heard her voice.
“Goodness, you’re sure greedy today. What if I told you I don’t have any carrots for you? What would you do?” her teasing voice asked.
The answering whiny told me she was talking to a horse.
I did the same thing with mine. Following the sound, I ended up in a stall at the far end of the barn.
Saranya was inside, examining a horse that was munching on what I suspected was a carrot.
Seeing me, the horse whinnied, causing Saranya to jerk and whirl around. Shock overtook her expression.
“Cowboy, what are you doing here!?” Shock edged toward unease, and I saw her shift her body toward a coat hanging on a nail inside the stall.
I held up my hands. “No need to go for your gun, Saranya. I’m not here to harm you. I didn’t mean to scare you. I tried at the house, and when there was no answer, I came here. I heard you talking to this guy. I should’ve called out. Sorry for frightening you,” I told her.
She halted a couple of feet from the coat. “Why are you here? How did you know where I lived?”
“The living part is easy. My club brother, Micro, is something of a computer sleuth, and he found your address. As for why I’m here, I wanted to talk to you. Last night, there were too many people around. We need privacy.”
“I don’t see why we need privacy or what we have to speak about. If you don’t mind, I’m working. Please leave.” She partially turned her back to me and took a step back toward the horse. She halted when I spoke my following words.
“We need to talk about Vegas and what happened there.”
Saranya swung around and stalked closer to me.
Her hands rested on her hips. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not remember Vegas.
You made yourself very clear to me, which makes me wonder what that show was all about last night.
Anyway, forget it. And don’t worry, I won’t be at the party.
There won’t be any need for either of us to pretend we like each other. ”
“There’s every reason to talk about it. I need you to let me explain myself and apologize. I was out of line in Vegas. There will be no pretending at the party.”
“I don’t have time. I need to brush Dandy. Then there are stalls to clean and other work to be done.”
“Then aren’t you lucky that you have an expert brusher, mucker, and every other job in between guy at your disposal. I wasn’t just a bull rider. I took care of my own horses and grew up with them. I have several of them back at the compound in my stables there.”
By the way her mouth was opening, I knew that she was about to shoot my offer down, so I added to it.
“I’ll make you a deal. Let me help you do your chores.
If I do something wrong or forget a vital step, I’ll leave without discussing it further.
However, if I do everything right, you’ll let me explain.
Come on. Don’t tell me you wouldn’t love to see me fail.
This might be your only chance to see it and rub my failure in my face,” I cajoled.
The way her shoulders relaxed, and the twitch of her lips, told me I had her before her words did.
“Alright, I’ll give you a chance to prove you’re more than a pretty saddle greenhorn. But if you screw up, when I say leave, you do it without arguing.”
“I swear I’ll leave.”
“Okay, then, get your ass in here and show me how to brush Dandy. There are brushes over there. Pick one,” she said, pointing behind me to the wall.
As I approached them, I knew she thought she had me. Numerous brushes were hanging there. A greenhorn would pick one, and that was it. I knew better. Each one was required to brush the horse correctly. I took all of them down and brought them to the stall. Her surprise was covered in moments.
Entering, I placed them on a ledge inside, then cautiously made my way to Dandy. I did it at an angle since coming at a horse face-on wasn’t smart. Their vision was out to the sides due to the placement of their eyes.
I halted a few feet away and allowed him to study me. When he was ready, he’d make the final approach. When he did, I caressed his forehead and muzzle, then ran my hand down his mane. He whickered softly, and his eyes closed. I knew a horsey smile when I saw one.
“Look at you. You’re a beauty. I bet all the girl horses want you. You’re the stud of the stable, aren’t you?” I teased.
To outsiders, it would seem weird to talk that way to an animal, but horses were intelligent creatures, the same as dogs and cats. They understood more than we thought. Compliments could work wonders.
I walked around Dandy with my hand on his coat so he’d get used to me and my touch. I was careful when I walked around his hindquarters. I stayed back in case he kicked. When I saw that he remained calm, I asked Saranya a question.
“Has he eaten yet?”
“No, I feed him while I brush him.”
“Point me to where you keep the feed, and I’ll keep the same routine.”
She pointed to a recessed area in the middle of the barn, along the breezeway.
I went to it, found a wooden feed box, and scooped out the amount I’d give my horses of the same size.
I poured it into a feed bag. Before returning, I pumped a bucket of water from the hand pump situated in that same area.
I poured the water in Dandy’s trough, then applied the feed bag over his muzzle.
As he began to eat, I picked up the curry comb.
I made firm circles down the length of his body, then down the other.
The only places I skipped were the legs and face.
The curry comb removed built-up dirt, though Dandy had next to none.
I exchanged the curry comb for the dandy brush. Using swift flicking movements, I worked his body again from the neck down. This brush would bring any loose dust or hair to the surface, focusing on the legs, under his tail, and on his belly.
Next, I used the soft brush to swipe away the dirt and hair I’d loosened and brought to the surface of Dandy’s coat.
The soft bristles allowed me to press harder into his coat without causing him any damage.
After every few swipes, I removed the dust from the soft brush with the curry comb to prevent it from collecting back on his coat.
When I was done with the soft one, I used a body brush in long sweeping strokes to make his coat shine.
I loved seeing horses at this stage. The next-to-last step was the tail-and-mane comb.
Just like a human with long hair, I started at the bottom and worked my way up, removing knots as I went.
When I was done, his tail and mane were as shiny as his coat.
The last step was the face. After removing the feed bag, I used the small face brush to stroke it away from his face, paying careful attention around the eyes. Standing back, I checked out my job. I knew I’d done an excellent one. The tall, dark-brown Tennessee Walking Horse looked amazing.
I patted his neck as I praised him. “You were such a good boy. Look at you. You’re a handsome fella. All the mares and fillies will come looking for you.”
Dandy whinnied and tossed his head in agreement. Both Saranya and I laughed. Seeing her smile made me happy. I waited to hear her assessment of the job I did.
“You clearly know how to groom a horse. Let’s see if you know more than that. It’s time to get into the dirty work. Come with me,” she said.
Leaving the stall and securing the Dutch door to Dandy’s stall, I followed her.
She took me to the tack room and pointed to a pair of tall rubber boots.
She sat to pull on another pair. I knew we were about to muck out the barn.
A tiring and thankless job, it was necessary for the health of the horses and other animals.
When we had our boots on, we grabbed stall forks, buckets, and two long-handled floor brushes.
The first thing was to use the fork to remove old hay, dirt, and manure.
That was put in a wheelbarrow, then taken outside the back of the barn and thrown into a wagon.
When it was full, it would be hauled away or used to fertilize.
It was hot, sweaty work. I tried to get her to rest and let me do it, but she scowled and told me she was just as capable as I was.
I shut my mouth. It was one of the times I should allow her to be my equal.
Once all the waste was removed, we used the buckets to scrub the floor using the floor brushes.
The barn looked great afterward. The sun coming through the monitor-style barn’s windows provided more light and ventilation, which were necessary for the animals.
When we were through and our supplies back where they came from, I turned to her. “What next, boss?”
“The hayloft is next,” she replied.
Taking the stairs that were in the tack room, we went to the second level of the barn.
Looking around, I noticed it stored hay and fodder for the animals as expected.
I was happy to see that she preferred loose hay to bales.
I did, too. This way, using the hatches built into the floor, one could push hay or fodder through them when they were open, allowing it to fall into the feed trough in each stall below.
It was much more efficient than hauling it down to them.
The hay and fodder were loaded into the loft using a large door in the gable end of the building that sat about ten feet off the ground.
A loader would be required to do it. I was curious to know who she used to do it for her.
I didn’t see any equipment around that size anywhere.
Dandy was the only animal in the barn, so his hay was dropped in no time. Before Saranya could speak, I asked, “Is there any tack that needs mending? Any restock needed for grooming supplies, skin care, first aid, brushes, trimmers, or hoof tools?”
“Alright, since you offered, there’s tack to repair. I’ve been busy, and I’m behind.”
“Let me at it,” I told her.
In the tack room, she showed me the pile of items that needed repair.
This job was always ongoing. The tack room was set up beautifully with dedicated saddle racks, pegs for bridles, halters, lead ropes, and lunge lines.
The repair pile consisted of two bridles, a halter, and three lead ropes.
She had the tools and supplies to repair them.
You didn’t throw things out that still had life in them.
We sat side by side, working in companionable silence.
We were both more than proficient at repairing items, and with two sets of hands, we knocked it out fast. When the last piece was fixed and rehung, I waited for my next assignment.
As we worked, I easily pictured Saranya and me working like this daily, for the rest of our lives. She and I were a match in this area.
“Alright, I concede that you know what you’re doing, Cowboy. You’re not just a pretty rodeo greenhorn. Thank you for all your help. You’ve given me back time in my day, which is rare.”
“You’re welcome, and I enjoyed it. Does that mean we can talk? You said if I didn’t fail, we would,” I reminded her.
She sighed, then nodded. “Okay, fair is fair. Let’s talk, but I’m warning you, I don’t see how it will make a difference. We might as well be comfortable. Let’s go to the house. We can sit out back and have something cool to drink.”
“Sounds good to me,” I replied.
As she led the way, I admired her ass and her compact body. The sight of her made my cock twitch, but I held it in control. Popping a boner right now would get my ass kicked off her property in a second. I couldn’t allow that.