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CHAPTER 14 - EXPECTED VS UNEXPECTED


STABLES - MORNING


JUSTIN


I smile as Zeus gently helps his son up when he takes a tumble; then nuzzles Odin’s neck, I’m so proud to be a Granddad! “Hey, Zeus. Let us in, please.” 


With very little effort, he nudges the door open. ‘Ariel’ is feeding, whilst ‘Stitch’ lands on his butt again. “Don’t.” I hold Brian back as he goes to check. “Zeus was the same. Wait a couple of days, I’m sure he’ll be fine.” 


“Okay.” He clears his throat to get the boys’ attention, they are so entranced. “You want to tell them or shall I?”


“Tell us what? Gus looks a little worried.


“We’ve decided on names.” I reply. 


“Oh.” Hunter looks keen. “What are they, and can they have middle ones? Me and G were talking last night; we want to have a say.”


“You do, do you?” I drum my fingers against my cheek. “Well, you might not want them to have them after you find out what they are.”


“Dad!” Gus tugs on my hand.


“Hold on, how about you tell Hunter and I tell Gus?” Brian leans against the wall, looking every inch the cowboy.


“Okay, you first.”


“Gus, meet Ariel.” He grins.


“Hunter, meet Stitch.” I add. For a few seconds, they just stare at us. “You don’t like them?” I frown.


“That’s what their middle names were going to be.” Hunter beams. “Thank you so much for picking them!”


“You’re welcome. Now you just have to decide who gets who. Personally, I think that the opposite should go.” I’m so pleased to tell them this, naturally they’re confused. “They are yours…”


“Ours? As in to keep, ours?” Gus gasps.


“Yep. Your Dad and I were talking last night. We think you’re both ready to rear and train your own horse.” 


“Dad…” Gus croaks before throwing himself into my arms, Hunter does the same with Brian. 


“I take it this is a yes?” I stroke his hair whilst he nods.


“Okay, so why don’t you two go back to the house and discuss things. You’ve got a month before they leave…” Brian wipes Hunter’s face with his shirt. “...you need to start from scratch with everything: their tack, the stables, everything. But first things first, you must register them.”


“Come on, G!”


“Wait, H! Just to clarify, can we add visiting rights?” 


“Why wouldn’t you?” Brian frowns.


“No reason! Just...ermm...checking!” He blushes before they run out.


“Do you think they were checking ‘how we are’?” He grins.


“Yeah, just a bit.” I giggle, then open the box of boobers. “Mind if I feed Odin first, so that she gets...” I pause as Stitch totters over; sticks his muzzle in the box before starting to eat, tail swishing. “...like I said; you’ve got nothing to worry about. Zeus was exactly the same, food led!” 


“Good job I brought these then?” He pulls out another box. “Think some enrichment is called for.” He declares as he starts to throw them around the stable, but also buries them in the hay. “There that ought to do it, what do you think?”


JUSTIN


“Thamsgrey.” I mumble.


“Are you al…” He begins as he turns. “...oh I see, need help?”


“Pleath.” I reply; he tilts my chin up before biting the boober in half. “They are seriously good. Want to go pick some more for you to take home?”


“Pleath.” I chuckle. 


HOUSE - FORTY MINUTES LATER


KITCHEN


EMMETT


I can’t wait to see his face! It’s been years since we’ve seen him! I watch them walk up the path. “Hide!” I order. He gets behind the open pantry door.


“Hey!” Ben grins as they come in. “What did you say to put a fire under the butts of the boys?”


“That they can have a foal each.” Brian snags a piece of toast before taking his seat. Justin sits next to him. 


“Are you sure that’s wise given his age? If he’s anything like you, he might not be up for the job.” 


Whilst I can understand the jaw drop on Brian, Justin’s is a surprise. “Ethan!” They both declare, then stare at each other.


“Justin! What the hell are you doing here?!” Ethan exclaims, rushing to hug him. “How do you know these guys?!”


“How do you?!” Justin demands.


“You know the circle of friends in college? Well, this is them! It was Brian who told me about the job I took. Man! You look so great! I’m so pleased that you’re out and about! The way Michael talked about you, he made it seem you were in an iron lung!” 


“Of course he did!” I snipe.


“What’s going on?” Ethan looks around the room, but before we can explain, Gus and Hunter come in, their reaction mirrors their fathers.


By the time we fill him in, he’s furious!


SANCTUARY OF DEBS - SAME TIME


DEBS


It’s the bleat that gets my attention. I turn, and coming down the path is Michael with three baby goats. “Oh, this should be interesting, shouldn’t it, Finnegan?” I ruffle the belly of one of our resident foxes. Why his ‘hoomans’ thought a studio apartment was a good place for him is a mystery. “Hello, Michael! What you got there then?” 


“Goats. They were abandoned, so I thought I would bring them to you.” 


“Where’d you find them?” I ask, then out of the corner of my eye I see Honey, my adolescent goat, looking over, which is fine for me but not for him since Honey doesn’t like Michael. He stood on her hoof once, and she’s been against him ever since. 


“Just tied up at the top of Liberty Avenue.” He looks so proud of himself, which would be fine if they weren’t the pedigree Nigerian Dwarf Goats who were in the pet store I walked by last  week! “Can you help?”


“Yes, of course, you know I will!” I exclaim. He goes to hand me their leashes. “No, you need to take them over to the pens. Might as well start as you mean to go on, remember? So take them over and get them settled in.” His face drops. “Problem?”


“Well yeah.” He looks down at himself. He’s wearing his semi-swanky clothes, which means he is on his way somewhere. “It’s just I’ve got to go and pick Ethan up, he’s arrived early.”


“Ethan loves animals, so will totally understand that you can’t pick him up and take a taxi. Just call and tell him that.” I ‘smile winningly’. “Come on, Michael, we need to get them settled. These poor neglected animals need to get some food in them!”


BRITIN - SAME TIME


KITCHEN


MAYA


“The trick, Mel sweetheart, is to knead not pummel.” I pull her hands from the dough, which instead of a smooth mound of plumpness looks like it’s gone ten rounds with Holyfield, Ali, and Tyson. “What’s she or he said…” I quickly wipe my hands when she bursts into tears. “Oh, darling!” I steer her to the sunroom and hold her until she stops. “What happened?”


“Dessicated uterus, that’s how he described me, and she said nothing, just laughed.” She sniffs. I shake my ear out. “No, you didn’t mishear, I wish I did.” She sighs. I say nothing, whilst wondering why the hell she is still with that dungheap. “Do you have cookies still?”


“Of course. Now don’t move.” I order, and head to the kitchen, my blood boiling. Ten minutes later, I have prepared two ice cream sandwiches with the chocolate and strawberry cookies. “One’s for me.” I smile at her questioning look.


“Thanks Maya.” She takes a bite, then smiles. “Bliss.” 


“Want a coffee float too?” I ask after I finish mine off. She wars with herself. “Tell you what, I will make, it I always have chilled coffee in the fridge as you know, and we can share, how about that?” 


“Perfect.” She replies through the sandwich.


SANCTUARY OF DEBS - FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER


GOAT PENS


DEBS


Honey looks very pleased with herself, and, even better, he can’t blame anyone but himself. He knows better than to bend over in front of her. When she blammed into his ass, and sent him head first into her mud pile, I kept it together, but almost lost it when Finnegan snickered. 


“You need to control that beast!” He complains, using his hankie to clean up his face, amazingly enough it’s just his head that is dirty.


“Michael…” I dig my nails into my thigh. “...she’s a goat. Goats butt, besides you did present a target.” As he reaches for the towel on the hook, I look away, only turning back at his cry of disgust. “What’s wrong...Michael! That’s her butt towel! You know that!”


“What’s Ethan going to say when I meet him smelling of goat shit, and god alone knows what else?!” He exclaims.


“Nothing. He’s met up with friends, so is staying with them…”


“He’s what? Which friends are these, and why didn’t he text me? He knew I was picking him up!” 


“Maybe he did, have you checked your phone?” I query. He searches his pockets, all four of them. “Problem?”


“I can't find my phone.” He looks around before his eyes light upon it...near the midden, with a pile of dung on it. “Are you kidding me?!” He shrieks, rushing over to rescue it. Gingerly, he shakes the poop off, before looking relieved but still disgusted.


“Does it still work?”


“Yes. Just about.”


“Good, it would be such a shame for you to have to get another one. Now, you can go home and shower.” I wave him ahead of me. “And first thing in the morning, go to the doctors and get your shots up to date.” He looks surprised. “All my employees have to have a full medical.” 


“But Ma…”


“I know you hate injections. Just think about it as a small prick, you know what’s it like to have one of them, and brace yourself accordingly.”


BRITIN - FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER


SUNROOM 


MAYA 


We’re staring at each other. “I’m so sorry.” Mel mutters. “I don’t know what came over me.”


“You kissed me.” 


“Yes. Err, yes, and um…”


“Mel, may I ask you something?” She nods, then looks down. “Do you have any idea how long, how very long, I’ve wanted you to do that?” Her head snaps up. “Since the moment I met you, during my interview, six years ago.”

 

Coffee float: https://seattlesbest.com/recipes/coffee-ice-cream-floats-recipe

Chapter End Notes:

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