The Time Giver

May 8th: Beginnings

Zach woke up with a start, momentarily disoriented as to where he was. This was made worse when he sat up, because a giant cat curled up at the foot of the bed darted out of the room before Zach could let out a yelp.

Slowly, it all came back. Leaving the detention center, coming here last night...the cat was named Mooney. The sunlight streaming through the window told him it was nowhere near six-thirty. He checked the bedside table's puny little alarm clock: 8:05am. Well, Kelly didn't seem like the hard and strict type. She had probably left something sitting out.

Zach went to the bathroom and got dressed before clomping down the stairs in the boots he'd found by his door. In the kitchen, Mooney was eating from his dish on the side table. Other than that, the only food out was a biscuit and a jar of jelly. He checked the fridge; a gallon of milk and a half-gallon of orange juice were his options for drink besides water. He pulled out the juice, then rummaged through the cabinets until he found a decent mug. He downed the juice, then smeared the jelly on the biscuit before placing the dirty dishes in the sink. Taking the food with him, he walked out the door.

Piper was laying on the porch, and greeted Zach with a few slaps of her tail on the old wood. He was still nervous around the big dog, but she simply gave him a glance before turning and laying her head back down. The sunlight was streaming right on her, and Zach could feel heat radiating off of her as he stepped over her and meandered into the barn.

The first thing that hit him the moment he walked in the door was the smell. Zach's nose filled with the scent of grain, with a hint of molasses and leather. Added to that was the tang of urine, and the sharp bite of sweat, making his eyes water. Taking a deep breath, he straightened up and continued down the hall.

As he walked on, more than one head popped over a stall door to greet him. Brown horses, black horses, and even a few spotted horses reached toward him, ears pricked forward and eyes wide with interest. Some had small white spots on their forehead, while others had stripes that varied in width, and still some didn't have any at all. But one thing Zach noticed is that all the horses had a very fine look to them. All their muzzles had been trimmed of whiskers; every ear was free of hair; their coats shone like diamonds; and not a single one of them had a bulky, stocky look. Of all the horses he passed, every one of them was built on thin legs, sported a muscular body, and held a graceful head on a long, beautiful neck.

Zach was only halfway down the barn aisle when he heard gravel crunch under tires. Turning around, he saw a large, shiny dually truck pulling a trailer into the yard. Piper was barking from the porch, and he saw Kelly's blonde ponytail disappear around the corner as a car door slammed.

"Good morning, Mr. Barr," Her voice sang out, receiving a couple whinnies from the horses in response to her call. Zach crept along the wall until he could peek around the corner. From his view, he could see Kelly in a button up, old jeans, and worn boots approaching the vehicle.

A tall man rounded the front of the truck. He was clean-cut, the trimmed suit and shiny dress shoes framing his broad shoulders and lean build. Everything about him radiated confidence and power, with the scent of money hanging in the air. But right now, he seemed a little agitated as he strode toward the horse trainer. Zach shrank away from the mere sight of him.

"Kelly, I want to get something straight," he stated as he pointed a finger at her. "This morning when I swung through the coffee shop, the woman behind the counter said that you stopped by yesterday morning. You said something to her about picking up a kid from the detention center in town. Now, I wanna know if that's true or not."

Kelly didn't seem fazed by his forward aggressiveness. "Mr. Barr," she calmly began, "I did pick up a young boy from the detention center. He is going to stay with me over the summer to help with the horses."