Tamed and Free

Chapter 16: Deacon

Deacon was in front of the school, nervous, when he got Gatlin's phone call. He excitedly said yes and left the school. He sped down to his place to pick up Dixie as well as his swimming trunks and a towel. 

As he entered his home, he told Dixie hey and played with her ears. He went into his bedroom and grabbed his bag. It still had clothes from Gatlin's in it. He set it aside. He changed from the jeans and boots he was wearing into a pair of slides and Budweiser designed swim trunks. He took the button down shirt off and traded it for a white shirt. He also traded his cowboy hat for camo ball cap. 

He grabbed a towel from his bathroom when he heard a knock on his door. He walked over to the door and opened it. Standing there was a tall dark haired girl. She was wearing a brown tank top with a white one underneath and some Daisy Dukes. "Can I help you?" He asked her.

The girl leaned on the door frame, "I'm sure you can. My name is Jenny. I'm the owner of the horse you are breaking. You're uncle said something about you might be here and here you are."

"Umm. Hey. Yeah. I got a little time. What do you need?" He said as Dixie came out the door and he closed it behind him, motioning for them to sit on the two rocking chairs on his porch.

Jenny obliged. "Well, I was wondering how are you breaking Glitter? I've heard of the Cherokee earning the horse's trust. And, I just wanted to see where we were." She put her hand on Deacon's knee. 

"Well. I earned, Glitter's trust Monday. The whole week I have spent earning his trust. I believe it is essential to earn trust of any animal you work with." Deacon responded. 

Jenny looked him up and down. "Well, I will be using him at my own worth." Her body moved closer to Deacon, "But can I trust you with him?"

"I mean, yeah. He's a great horse. But what do you mean 'at your own worth'?" Deacon didn't notice how close Jenny got. When he looked up at her, the closeness scared him so he backed up some. "I will be at work tomorrow after school if you would like to come by and see him."

"I would love that." Jenny started calling someone, "Oh and I should warn you." She called back after walking off the porch, "I always get what I want." She got in her tiny Ford Mustang and drove off.

Deacon was confused. She wasn't very clear on what she wanted with Glitter's breaking. But Gatlin was waiting for him so he jumped in his truck and pulled away. 

Just as he was about to pull in Gatlin's driveway, he got a call from his uncle.

"D. Son. The mayor just called and wants you to work on his daughter's horse today. She will be here with you." Antoine said over the receiver.

Deacon sighed, "I already made plans today. Can I do it tomorrow?" 

"She is already here and says that tomorrow is no good for her." 

Deacon sighed louder, "Alright, let me tell Gatlin and I will be over there." He pulled in and walked up to the main house's door and knocked.

A blonde girl with a white and blue bikini top and red boys swimming trucks opened the door, "You must be Deacon." She said in surprise, "I am Sara Beth. Gatlin is getting our mama ready if you want to come inside." She motioned him in. 

Inside the home, there was Beau, a black terrier mix, and a gray pit mix all on the couches. An older woman was in a chair, looking at her phone. "Hey hon. I'm Evelyn. You must be Deacon."

"I am hearing that a lot here recently." Deacon said as he went over to the woman, "But I am. It's nice to meet you." He shook her hand.

"Nice to meet you. The little black dog is Sadie, she is mine. The pittie is Dolche. She is Sara Beth's." Dixie went over to Beau. "And I am assuming you know Beau. So this little new baby must be Dixie." Evelyn continued. 

Deacon smiled. He petted all the dogs. "Where is Gatlin? I need to talk to her." 

"I'm right here, Honey bee. What's wrong?" Gatlin appeared in the living room wearing a Confederate flag bikini and Daisy Dukes. Her hair was pulled in a bun with a camo hat on. She always took his breath away the moment he sees her.

"I can't go to the beach with you." He couldn't look her in the face. When he looked up she seemed sympathetic. Hurriedly he added, "My uncle has a job for me and the owner of the horse is going to be there. I'm sorry Honeysuckle."

Gatlin hugged him, "It's okay. I understand. Do you want me to take Dixie with us?"

"If you want." He didn't want to let go. He wanted to go to the beach so bad, meet his future in laws and have a relaxing time. He did, however, see them off. Sara Beth helped Evelyn to the front seat of Gatlin's Jeep while Gatlin put Sadie in Evelyn's lap. Dolche and Beau picked their spots beside Sara Beth in the back. Dixie was put in Gatlin's lap. He helped put the cooler and bags in the trunk. He came over to the front window. "Look, I'm sorry again."

Evelyn cut him off, "It is okay dear. Work is work. You have to have good work ethic in life. Take care, and be safe." 

"Yeah. It was fun finally meeting someone who would fall for Gatlin. We will get together again another time." Sara Beth reassured, picking at her sister.

"I love you." Gatlin said before she drove off. It stopped Deacon's heart. He wanted to say it back but his words got caught in his throat. A huge smile did grow on his lips as he got in his car and turned his stereo on blast to Whole Lot in Love by Austin Burke. 

He pulled into his Uncle's feed shop and his heart dropped seeing the same Mustang that was in his drive earlier. He stopped his truck and turned the ignition off, taking a deep breath, he stepped out. He walked through the shop and waved to his uncle.

"I'm sorry Deacon. I tried to tell her we could schedule a whole day Saturday for training but she demanded today since you wasn't already in school." Antoine explained to his nephew.

His aunt Lorna came around the corner from the back, "Why wasn't you in school?"

"I was invited by Gatlin to the beach. Her mama just got served divorce papers so we were celebrating." He told her with a bit of an attitude. He pushed off the counter some and walked to the stable. He saw Jenny in front of Glitter's stall.

"Oh hi!" She said as she looked up and saw him. Her eyes flirty but her smile was mischievous. "We have been waiting for you."

"So I heard." He ignored her friendliness. Turning to Glitter, "Hey boy. How you been? Ready to train?" He held out his hand and the horse nuzzled it. A long way from the first encounter. Deacon opened the stall and led the horse out to the gated way. "He needs to trust you first, Miss. Johnson." He said while he led Glitter around the area.

"Call me Jenny." Jenny insisted. "I would like you to." She gave a flirty smile. "So how would I get him to trust me? I've only seen fear to break a horse."

"That's breaking their spirit." Deacon snapped.