13. ATLAS
Chapter thirteen
ATLAS
THE DANCING SUIT
I could hardly believe the suit did it. I half expected him to run his skinny ass back to the ranch the second he saw me naked, but the guy keeps surprising me, and I don’t hate it.
Nial is off helping the young Royal next door with his goats, so this morning I’ve been helping get the cows milked.
It’s not my favorite thing to do on the ranch, but the cows are easy enough to get sorted.
They make way too much milk for the young they have, so milking them is good for both them and us.
When I first came to Beaker Brothers, I used to help all the time, so I’m just as quick at hooking them up and letting them go as the other guys, though it took me a second to figure out the tech they got them hooked up to that tracks the cows’ health, milk production, and whereabouts.
If we had a bigger pasture set out for the horses, we’d use it for them too.
They did hook up Gordon, the donkey, though.
That’s what gave the RedTech guys the idea to test the tech on horses too.
The stubborn mule just had to be tagged like his momma and siblings.
Yep, you heard that right, the thing thinks he’s a dairy cow.
He’s about the strangest animal on Beaker Brothers.
Well, him and Loki. Maybe that mutt too, or the pig that sleeps inside with the mutt.
Okay, so this place is kind of full of oddball animals.
“So how big is this party my brother’s planning?” Dean asks as we start unhooking the second round of girls, and I shrug.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You do, come on, my brother hasn’t been able to keep a secret since he was twelve.”
“It’s nothing, really. Just a few of us guys and a movie. One of those old ones you like.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Pretty sure, yeah.”
“Good, ’cause I don’t need anything big. We’ve got too much work to do around here without throwing in a big hoo har on account of me.”
“A hoo har? Does Preston know who he’s getting married to?”
“I couldn’t tell ya. I have no idea why that man loves me.”
“I don’t fully understand it either,” I laugh. “First you and Preston, now Connor and Hayden. The next thing you know, some girl will catch Nial’s eye, and you’ll all be paired up.”
“Feeling left out, are you?”
“No. I don’t know how you stand it.”
“Stand what?” he asks with a chuckle, like he thinks I’m joking.
“Being around another person all the time. Sleeping in the same bed, having them breathe in your ear every night. How do you do it?”
He shrugs. “I guess none of that bothers us. Preston complains when I snore, so I guess it does bother him a little, but it’s nothing in the grand scheme of things. We’d rather be together than apart, I guess.”
“It’s weird, that’s all.”
“Says the guy who’d be naked every minute of the day if I didn’t put a mandatory clothing rule in place out here.”
“Don’t knock it until you try it. I’ve got the suit halfway convinced it’s the way to live.”
“You got Matthew naked? When? How? Wait, I don’t want to know.”
“Seriously, you should give it a go, then you’ll see how great it is, and we can host a nudist weekend with horse riding, swimming, and stargazing.”
“Sorry, but I’m not convinced that having a naked anything out here is a good idea.”
“It can be your birthday present to me,” I offer, but he simply shakes his head and ignores the suggestion. I will get him to agree one of these days. I’ll wear him down. Maybe I’d have a better chance if I got Nial on my side first. He is the least stuffy out of these two Beaker Brothers.
“Speaking of gifts, what do you want this year?”
Preston pulls open the milking barn door, and Dean smiles in a way I’ve only really seen since they got together. It’s more… I don’t know how to describe it, really, other than happier. I guess it wouldn’t be so bad to have someone smile at you like that.
“I have everything I could ever want already,” Dean says.
“You’re still getting gifts for your birthday,” Preston says, and Dean chuckles.
“I seriously don’t need anything.”
“But there are things that would be nice to have. You were chasing Cuddles around the house just yesterday after he chewed through one of your Ugg boots.”
“They were from Australia. Alan got them for me when the Banana Ball team went on tour there, and that mini goat ate through the entire toe section.”
“Dibs,” I say, and Preston and Dean both look at me.
“What?” Preston asks.
“Dibs on buying him new Ugg boots for his birthday,” I reply.
“Size twelve,” Dean says, and I jump on my phone and quickly order a pair. The express shipping from Australia was about the same price as the boots themselves, but according to the website, they’ll get here right on time.
“Done,” I say as the confirmation email pops up as a notification on my phone.
“Seriously?” Dean asks, and Preston leans in and kisses his cheek.
“See, everyone wants to spoil you. Can you please just let us?”
“I suppose a few gifts wouldn’t be so bad,” he says, reaching up and grabbing Preston by the shirt and pulling him down to kiss him properly. I get back to work unlatching the girls.
I finish up and head over to the new stables to get two horses saddled for Matthew and me to take out along the new trail.
Well, the part that’s leveled out, at least. It’ll be good to make sure it will ride well, and these old workhorses are used to uneven ground and long rides.
Not that I expect we’ll be out for more than an hour.
We’ll be taking it super slow, and I’ll have to note down any low-hanging branches that might have to be trimmed back to allow for a wider group to follow it.
The whole point of this trail is to give the guests a great experience, and not being all cramped up or forced to ride single file will be key to that.
I get Thor and Whiskey saddled up and tied to the post outside the new stables, then I head over to the old stables to check how Matthew’s going. He should be done washing Loki by now, that is if no one interrupted him and scared Loki into playing dead on the filthy barn floor.
As I get nearer to the stables, the sounds of music start to grow louder, and someone is singing along.
I’m almost to the door when I realize it’s Matthew singing “Stayin’ Alive” at the top of his lungs.
I peek over the door frame, and nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see.
There, in the middle of the stables, is Matthew, dancing in front of Frigg, the beautiful golden mare that’s essentially the leader of the wild horses we took in last winter.
She’s put on a good amount of weight now and is starting to look strong.
Matthew is jumping side to side as he sings to her, but that’s not even the strange part.
Behind him is Loki, and as if he’s under some kind of trance, like a pied piper kind of thing, he’s stepping side to side in time with Matthew’s dancing, like he’s trying to join in on the fun.
Matthew does a little jump, crosses his legs, and spins in place. The second his golden hazel eyes meet mine, he stumbles and scrubs his hand through his hair as he rushes to shut off the song.
Loki stops too, but he nudges Matthew with his head, bowling him over.
“Looks like he doesn’t want you to stop,” I say, and Matthew pets Loki, laughing as he tries to stand.
“Yeah, he’s getting pretty good, don’t you think?” he asks, and I nod.
“You both are. So, how long has this been going on?”
“What? The dancing or me washing Frigg? Because I finished Loki like an hour ago and figured you wouldn’t mind if I gave this girl a wash too. She’s such a beauty.”
“I meant, how long have you been teaching Loki to dance?”
“Oh. Umm, I haven’t been teaching him. He just sort of likes to stomp when I’m messing around. Really, I think he might be faking the whole deaf thing sometimes, with how on beat he is. I guess you could call it dancing. Do horses dance?”
“There are whole events dedicated to making it look like they are,” I reply, moving slowly around the side of Loki, running my hand over his side as I go, and he turns into my touch.
“But also, he’s not faking it. We’ve had him checked out more than once.
His hearing isn’t coming back, but his eyesight is perfect.
He probably spotted me watching before you did. ”
Matthew turns to Loki.
“You could have warned me,” he tells the horse, and then he picks up the brush he dropped when he fell and starts brushing Frigg’s mane again.
“Do you still want to try that ride?” I ask, and he spins excitedly.
“Yes. Can we go now? I mean, she’s pretty much done.”
“I’ll get Loki put away, then,” I say and I grab his lead rope from his stall.
“He won’t need that. I figured out another way to get him to go in,” Matthew says, and I step aside as he passes Loki and comes over to his stall.
“Watch this,” he says, and he unlatches the gate, opens it wide, and as he steps to the side, he bends forward in a low bow, his other hand coming out at the side as if he’s thanking a crowd after a stage performance.
Loki clocks him and turns in place, then trots right on in, snorting on his way past as if to acknowledge him. Once he’s inside, Matthew returns to an upright position and closes the gate.
“How?” I ask.
“I was messing around the other day, leading the horses to their stalls and bowing to them as they stepped through, to thank them for being so good. He must have been watching me. I opened the gate ready to go get him and bring him over and he just walked on in. I gave him the bow he so rightly deserved, and then the next day, I tried it again with him. I just opened it and bowed as I did now, and it worked. He’s pretty smart. ”
He walks back over to Frigg and opens her stall before unclipping her lead rope from the side. Unlike Loki, she was attached at the bridle to ensure she didn’t try to leave while he was grooming her. We thought about moving her over to the new stables, but she seems to like it better in here.
“You really should have him connected when he’s out of his stall.”
“He won’t run away.”
“He could, and if he did and got out onto the main road or got caught up in one of the fences, he could be badly injured.”
“I didn’t think of that,” he replies, and he walks up to Loki’s stall. “Good thing you didn’t run then, huh?” he says, petting him again. “So, should we go?”
“You have to be more careful. They don’t know about all the things that can hurt them out there.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure to connect him next time, or I’ll close the main stable doors so he’ll be safe and can still be free out here with me while we dance and groom the other horses.”
“So, you do that part often too?”
“What? The dancing?”
I nod.
“I guess,” he says with a shrug, and he passes me to head out. I follow close behind.
“You’re not what I thought you were,” I say before I can stop myself.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Good. It was meant as one.”