Can't Ever

Chapter 10: Horse, the Horse, of Course

Chapter 10: Horse, the Horse, of Course

Samantha

After Bryan left me in my room I was restless. I tried going back to sleep but I was actually too excited. I had gone through my things that I had brought from home and tried to find a way to make them look like i was moving in for good. It became quickly apparent that a passport, loose cash and a couple days worth of clothes can't make a room lived in. I finally gave up trying. I decided to make my way downstairs, hoping to find Bryan and praying I did not find Nicholas.

"Bryan?" I called softly from the bottom of the stairs. I peered around both corners into the living room and then into the kitchen.

"He is in the barn" I heard Caleb's voice call back from somewhere distant in the house. I smiled at the fact that he was not going to just ignore me but was actually planning on speaking to me occasionally.

"Thank you, Caleb" I called back, trying to speak loud enough that he could hear me where ever he was. I went out the front door and began trying to locate the barn. My search came to a quick end when I saw what I would call a stereotypical barn. If I were to google barns at least half of those barns would look identical to this one. I slowly made my way across the uneven ground to the barn. The door was open but the inside was dim, as if no one thought to turn on the lights.

"Bryan?" my voice sounded flat as the wood, hay and other items in the barn absorbed it. I walked further into the barn slowly; the barn seemed eerie to me, similar to a ghost town. I felt my heart drop and my feet leave the floor as a wet nose swiped across the back of my neck. The shriek that left my mouth was quickly followed by an unhappy neigh from the horse I had not known was there. I clutched my hand over my pounding heart, taking deep breaths in the hopes that it would help slow it down.

"Sam?" Bryan's voice yelled from the back of the barn. I could hear his footsteps as he came closer.

"Are you okay?" Bryan's voice was dripping with concern. He seemed to be visual checking to see if there was any blood.

"I am sorry. I did not know the horse was there until it stuck its nose in my neck. It scared me" I breathed. I tensed as  Bryan took me in his arms before relaxing into his warm.

"That's Orion, Nic's horse. He tends to be friendlier than Nic some days" He chuckled softly as he released me from the hug.

"Do you have a horse?" I asked looking between Bryan and Orion. Bryan laughed once again as he grabbed my hand and gently pulled me further into the barn. He stopped in front of, what I now recognize as, a stall and gave a low whistle. A large head poked out from inside the stall.

"This is Bullet" Bryan was clearly proud of the horse and from what I could see Bullet was a pretty horse. His hair was either dark brown or black, a mane just as dark and a white mark on his forehead about the size of three fingers held together. Warmth engulfed my hand as Bryan lifted my hand and placed in on Bullet's long face. I let my hand drift down the length of his face and fall of the end of his nose before lifting it once again to repeat the action multiply times. The soft, smooth hair that covered Bullet felt like velvet on my hand.

"You've never petted a horse before?" Bryan asked as he drew my attention back towards him. I shook my head no as I continued to pet the large animal.

"How would you like to ride one?" He offered. I was almost surprised that I did not get whiplash with how quickly my head shot up to look at him.

"I would love that" my excitement leaked into each word as I spoke it.

"OK, both Orion and Bullet have done more than their share of work today so we'll have to take Cal's" Bryan explained as he crossed to the other row of stalls.

"Will Caleb get mad at me for riding his horse" I worried. I feel like i just got onto Caleb's good side and I did not want to jeopardize that.

"He won't mind at all. Why don't you go wait outside while I saddle him and then we'll meet you outside?" Bryan suggested as he opened the horses stall, walked in and closed it behind him. I walked slowly out of the barn stopping to pet both Bullet and Orion as I exited the barn.

I had not been waiting very long before Bryan came out of the barn leading a tan horse behind him. The dark, rich brown saddle was in sharp contrast to the pale horse. They both stopped in front of me and I reached up to pet the beautiful beast.

"Samantha, meet horse. Horse, meet Samantha, she will have the pleasure of gracing your saddle today" Bryan joked with a half bow, causing me to giggle.

"Is his name really Horse?" i asked still laughing.

"Yeah, it is. Cal was never one to think real hard on naming things. He use to have a dog named Puppy and a dog named Dog" Bryan's confirmation sent me into full blown laughter. I honestly could not remember the last time that I had laugh like that, if ever.

"Can I pet him?" I questioned; it seemed like a stupid question because Bryan was going to let me ride Horse; so why would I not be able to pet Horse?

"Just don't get behind his feet" Bryan cautioned. I walked slowly around to the side of Horse's gigantic body and ran my hand from right behind his ear all the way to the saddle on his back. His hair felt even finer than Bullets did; almost as if the paleness of the color made it more delicate and pleasing to touch.

"How about we just get you onto Horse today. It will take a while for you to get comfortable sitting on top of a horse" Bryan reasoned. I nodded in agreement as Bryan dropped Horse's lead and walked towards me.

"Place your right foot in the stirrup, like that..." Bryan directed me on how to get into the proper mounting position but moved me feet and body for me. "... and then just push down on your right foot, try to straighten you leg as much as possible and swing your left leg over Horse." I pushed down on my right  foot and I could feel the muscles in my leg strain to lift my body. Before i could fully comprehend that I had succeeded Bryan was cheering. I leaned forward and whispered in Horse's ear. It was almost as if his ears flicked back towards me just to hear the soft, quiet words that were meant for him only.

"What you saying up there?" Bryan tossed up to me.

"Nothing much, just introducing myself" i answered half honestly.

"Lets get you down for today, Caleb should have supper ready by now" Bryan directed me on how to dismount and we lead the beautiful Horse back into his stall. We were in comfortable silence as we made our way into the house.

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This is a bonus chapter to apologize for not posting for so long. Hope that you all enjoy it!

xXKissesXx