Lance (bluelion) wrote in doorslogs, @ 2013-02-04 18:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | cosette, marius |
WHO Charlie & Thomas
WHAT Going for a ride
WHEN After Charlie's Grandmother's Funeral
WHERE The Mason Ranch
WARNINGS None
She just needed to get out. It was as simple as that. The funeral had been draining even though she never once shed a tear, showing strength for the sake of her grandfather. Allison was laid to rest with a simple service and a few words said before being lowered into the ground. A car had taken them to and from everywhere and Charlie just signed the paperwork for her grandfather so that he could grieve in peace instead of worrying about the dollars and cents. They’d worry about all of it later. She could only handle so much though and by the time everyone was back at the ranch for a family style luncheon, Charlie only made it an hour before she needed to get out. Her room was right near the back so she slipped in and changed out of her black dress, into jeans and a button down checkered shirt over a white tank top, her go to riding gear. Blonde hair was swept up in a ponytail, out of her way, and she stepped into her riding boots as well. As she used to do as a young girl, Charlie stole out her window and made her way to the stables where her horse, Boise, would be like she always was. Charlie felt guilty for how little time she’d spent with Boise over the past few years. Her grandparents had been breeding horses way back when she was little and Boise was never going to be anything other than a leisure horse. After her parents and brother died, her grandparents had given her the horse as a way to teach her responsibility and to help her grieve. Boise had been everything then and Charlie hoped she’d be so again. With most everyone up at the main house for the luncheon, she wasn’t worried about running into anyone. She got Boise’s tack off the wall before heading into the stall, giving the horse a warm smile. “Hey girl, miss me?” Charlie set about getting her horse ready for a ride and then led her out of the barn, honestly looking forward to thinking about nothing but riding. So distracted as she was, she didn’t even notice Thomas walking in as she was leading Boise out. Thomas had gone to the funeral. It had seemed like the decent thing to do, and he tried hard to be a decent person. He put on his good clothes, his church clothes, a pair of black jeans and a sportscoat that had seen better days, and a shirt and tie. It all was clean, and it all mostly matched. He’d taken a quiet spot in the back of the church, a little uncertain about what a Catholic funeral would even be like, but it was the respectful, decent thing to do. Allison had been kind to him. She was a good woman. And he was going to miss her, he thought. As soon as the service had ended, however, he’d bolted back to the ranch, changing into his work clothes and getting back to the matter of tending to the horses. The family might’ve taken time to grieve, but the animals still needed to be fed and watered. Some things didn’t wait for death. Someone had to do it, and it was better him than anyone else. He just hoped to God that he still had a job come next week. It was a mercenary kind of thought, and he kept it quiet, choking it back somewhere bitter and small. “Miss Charlie, you want some help with that?” Thomas asked when he heard Charlie come into the stables. He knew it was her. Who else would it be? He leaned the rake he’d been using to muck out the stalls against a wall, hitching his thumbs in his dirty jeans. His work gloves came halfway up his forearms, covering what the rolled-up sleeves of his red flannel shirt had revealed. He was a decidedly average young man, not terribly tall, not terribly broad, just the kind of wiry fitness that came from a short life of hard work with his hands. But his face was boyish and kind as he peered in the stall at the blonde and her pretty palomino. She didn’t scare or startle easily, thankfully, so when she heard Thomas, Charlie just looked over at him and stopped Boise from going any further. “Oh,” she replied, half surprised to see him and half surprised at the Miss he’d tacked on in front of her name. “It’s just Charlie, Thomas,” she reminded him gently, same as she always did. The Miss just made her feel like a kid and she wasn’t that anymore. She certainly hadn’t been since she was a teenager. “Would you hold her steady while I climb on?” Although she hadn’t needed help in a very long time, she thought maybe he offered for himself just as much as for her. Everyone grieved in their own way, after all. She held out the reins for him with a smile, but then had a better idea. “You ride, right?” Thomas huffed a laugh, ducking his head a little, something sheepish about it. Still, he caught Boise’s bridle and held on to the cheekpiece, keeping the horse steady. “Yes ma’am, surely do,” he said. “Or else I’d be a poor choice to work horses.” Charlie smirked in reply as she swung herself up onto the saddle. “Take...hmm.” She considered the horses they had stabled and who would be a good fit for Thomas. “Saddle Brighton and come ride with me,” she suggested, just a bit more hopeful than she would have liked. Riding was something she loved to do but there was a needy part of her that didn’t want to be alone just then, even with Boise’s company. “Would you mind?” For a moment, Thomas glanced back over his shoulder, at the stables, doing the mental calculation of how much work remained, how much daylight he had, all of it. Then, finally, he nodded. “I can do that. That boy’s do for a run, I figure. Give me two shakes.” He patted Boise on the neck, nodded to Charlie respectfully, and left the stall to go gather up tack and get the big bay gelding saddled. It was easy work, good work, and he made sure to pull on his brown, winter cowboy hat before leading the bay out of the stall. He didn’t ride a lot, it felt presumptuous, really. It was just as easy to work the horses on the line, in the ring. This was a reminder of different days, maybe a good one. He hoped so. “You ready?” he asked, pulling open the stable door for her. Two shakes. Who said things like that? Charlie had lost a lot of the ‘country’ aspects of her personality after moving to DC and she’d never really been all that southern to begin with. It was refreshing, she just wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. It would be good for a little while at least, and that was what she needed now. “Ready,” she replied, mustering a smile for him before starting Boise forward. She kept it at a simple walk until they cleared the stables. Charlie encouraged her horse faster, then faster still, until they were running through the pasture. She looked over her shoulder every once and awhile to see if he was keeping up with her, but he was always there. She didn’t slow down until they’d reached the edge of ranch property, looking out over the horizon. “Thanks,” she said quietly, between deep breaths. Once Thomas had swung up on Brighton, it didn’t take him long to find a rhythm with the big gelding. As Charlie let Boise level out to run, Thomas gave Brighton his head, felt him stretch out to eat the ground, and the thunder of hooves cast up dust around them as they ran. He was never far from her heels, letting her set the pace and matching it with an easy, steady hand, and the thrill of running like that, a hard gallop, had his cheeks flushed above and beyond windburn, and he had to hold on to his hat to keep it flying off, plastering the brown wool to his head. When they slowed up, Brighton tossed his head, eager for more, and Thomas wheeled him in a tight circle to keep him in hand. “No trouble,” he drawled. “It’s a treat for me, too, miss.” There was nothing like letting Boise go, letting her run as fast as she wanted. Neither one of them had ever been afraid to go fast, to push the limits, and it was one of the few things Charlie could count on to help ease her mind. Sometimes, when she’d been younger, she’d thought about running away on Boise’s back, camping out in the wild and leaving everything behind. She needed to avenge her parents though, and to make sure that no one would ever have to go through what she had. Charlie wasn’t naive enough to think that she could save everyone. She just hoped she could save a few of them. It was nice to not have to run alone. “You don’t get a chance to ride?” she asked, not understanding his schedule. She’d never paid a great deal of attention to the ranch hands, not because they were employees but because she’d been gone for so long. Her grandparents had taken care of everything. “Brighton seems to have enjoyed it just as much,” Charlie added with a smile. “No, ma’am, I mostly put the horses on the line and run them that way. There’s a fair few animals to look after, and not too many hands. Better to get as many run as I can,” Thomas explained, adjusting his hat on his head. He looked like a natural in the saddle, completely at ease, and he nudged Brighton up abreast with Boise. “Feels irresponsible to take joyrides. Brighton might need to be exercised more, though.” She nodded in understanding though she wished he did have more time to ride the horses. He seemed to be an excellent, well trained rider. It was a shame that his talents were sidelined in favor of simply getting the job done when the horses could use a good ride every once in awhile. “Maybe not irresponsible,” Charlie suggested. “More like a bit of a treat. For you and the horses.” She smiled then, liking her reasoning. “I’ve been gone for so long...how has Boise been? I’m sure the lack of sugar cubes and carrots have helped her too.” Charlie had been the absolute worst, spoiling Boise with treats every time she saw the horse. Thomas chuckled. “Well, she’s been real solid on her feet, and she’s eating good. Bit feisty, and she’s been known to headbut people when they get too close and she feels friendly,” he told her, a fond smile on his face. For all that this was his job, he really cared about the horses. They were just like people, just unable to tell you what they needed directly. You had to know how to listen to them. He knew how to listen. “You’ve been taking care of her?” she asked, and although she knew she shouldn’t have been surprised by that, she was. “I’m afraid the friendliness was me. I was a bit too affectionate as a teenager and taught her a few bad habits,” Charlie explained, only slightly apologetic. She loved Boise, always had, and she finally realized how much she’d missed her horse. After being on the East Coast for a handful of years, she tried to suppress her love of horseback riding, country music, and cowboy boots. “You’ve been working here for a few years, right?” “Yes, ma’am, on both counts. Been taking good care of her,” Thomas said with a nod. The sunlight was dappling over the hills, and the wind steady, playing with the manes and tails of the horses. “Your grandparents’ve had me on two years now. And I’m lucky. They’ve been kind to me, really kind.” “Thank you,” Charlie said sincerely. “I’ve missed her, more than I realized,” she added softly, saying how she was feeling for the first time. She rubbed Boise’s neck fondly and then started her off in a slow walk, gesturing for Thomas to following along next to her. “Where were you before coming here? If you don’t mind my asking,” she amended, because not everyone wanted to talk about their past. She certainly didn’t, at least not too far before graduation. Thomas urged the bay along. “Here and there. Been around a lot. My old truck’s got a whole lotta miles on her,” he said with a shrug. Evasive, but he often was. There was no good in talking about the past. He knew that full well. There were just too many things that could go wrong. Charlie got the message loud and clear, not pushing after that. There was no point to it and she knew just as well as anyone that sometimes it was better to not talk about things. So she just nodded and continued along. “I’m sure my grandparents appreciate having you around. Grandfather, I suppose, now.” She grew quiet, letting Boise set the pace without letting her get up to a gallop. “Do you think you’ll stay on for awhile longer or are you looking to move on through soon?” “I ain’t keen to move on yet,” Thomas said honestly. “I like it here. Your grandparents have been real kind to me. I got a whole trailer to myself, that’s pretty good as far as I’m concerned. I ain’t keen to go nowhere.” Boise was easing up to a trot, and he lightly put his heels to Brighton, letting him jog alongside, nice and easy. She smiled at that. “Sounds like you like the simple life,” she commented. “Must be nice.” Musing out loud wasn’t something Charlie did with any regularity, but she wasn’t trying to impress Thomas in the hopes of getting a job or having him like her. He was just an employee at the ranch, someone to ride with. She kind of liked it, but that wasn’t any reason to show off or try very hard in her opinion. He’d either like her or pretend to get along with her until they got back to the stables. She hoped it was the former, realizing how lonely she was for friendship. “Well, I appreciate you taking care of Boise. I think I’m going to move back home for a while, to help Grandpa. Even with the academy, I should be able to take her out for a run every so often.” She said it in a way that left an invitation hanging in the air, if he ever wanted to honestly go riding with her again. “I think she’d like that a fair bit,” Thomas agreed. “And if you excuse my saying so, your grandfather might appreciate the company.” The simple life. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Something about it made him rankle, but it didn’t do anything to say so. She didn’t mean any harm, and she didn’t understand how genuinely lucky he was. But that was how it was supposed to be, and he couldn’t get upset about that. Charlie shook her head. “I don’t mind, I know I haven’t been the best,” she replied, and it was more a statement of fact than her looking for him to tell her that she was wrong. She wasn’t that kind of girl and she hoped he didn’t mistake her intentions. “I appreciate all you’ve done for my grandparents while Grandma’s been sick,” Charlie added, offering him a smile in thanks. There wasn’t a lot that she wanted to say or that she thought would need to be said, so she lapsed into silence as they walked along. After a while, she mused, “We should probably get back, huh?” “Reckon,” Thomas said in agreement. He was quiet by nature, or at least, he’d become that way, but it was at least a companionable silence. Charlie wasn’t the kind of girl to constantly yammer to fill the space. She talked, but no more than other people. He could appreciate that. “Did it clear your head at all, you figure?” She looked up at him, a little surprised that he saw right through what she’d been trying to achieve in going out for a ride. “I- Was I that obvious?” Charlie asked a bit sheepishly. She felt bad then, because she hadn’t meant to seem ungrateful or bratty by not staying during all the well wishing and whatnot. “No,” Thomas said with a shrug. “It’s just that if you spend a lot of time with animals that can only tell you what’s wrong without words, you start to see how people tell you what’s wrong without them, too. That’s all.” “Oh,” she replied, somewhat reassured by that. “Well, I think it’s helped. I appreciate you coming for a ride with me.” Charlie didn’t want to be any more sad than she already was, so she just smiled and challenged, “Race you back!” She took off a moment later, Boise eager to stretch her legs and glad for her friend back. |