Saddle up

Chapter Four

The story about Kelsey and Izzy had been replaying through my mind the rest of the day as I worked. I was beginning to get use to the routine and had all the horses names memorized.

I rested against the fence as I waiting for the last water basin to fill to the top. A breeze picked up and carried the smell of fresh hay through the air. I lifted my face to the sky and welcomed it. The peaceful moment was soon interrupted by the loud vibration coming from my pocket. I reached in and pulled out my phone. I panicked when I saw 5 missed calls and 12 new text messages. My first thought was something was wrong at home. But when I unlocked my phone I saw they were all from Cole...

"Hey, can we talk?"

"Jess, please..."

"I miss you."

"I won't leave you alone until you answer me."

The texts went on and on. My immediate response was to text back and tell Cole that I was working and that I'd get back to him later, but just as I was about to respond, Chase jumped me from behind.

"Get back to work, ya lazy bum!", Chase hollered as I watched my phone slip from my hands and sink to the bottom of the water basin I had just filled.

Chase followed the look of horror on my face to the water basin before finally realizing what had happened. I quickly reached into the ice cold water to retrieve my poor IPhone.

"Oh shit, Jess! I'm so sorry...I didn't realize you were holding your phone!"

I shook the phone vigorously, and pressed the home button, but it was no use. The phone was shot. I looked up at Chase. His distraught expression was pathetic enough to make me laugh instead of scream.

"It's ok Chase, it's an old phone anyways, due for an upgrade. No biggie", I said as I punched him in the arm. He smiled in relief and punched me back. This started a war between the two of us instantly. Chase poked me in the side as I reached for the garden hose I was using to fill the water basins and turned it on him. Before I knew it, Chase and I were screaming and running after one another, each trying to take control of the hose. As I was running, Chase stepped on the hose which made it slip from my hand. He snatched it up and began spraying me with the icy cold water. I screeched as it made contact with my back. I ran as fast as I could around Chase and pulled at the hose around his feet. Chase slipped and the hose went flying. I made my move and snatched it off the ground and came after Chase. I pounced on him, pulled the collar of his shirt up, and shoved the nozzle of the hose down so that all the water made contact with his bare chest. Chase yelped and bucked me off onto the ground. He secured my hands above my head and grabbed the hose. He was ready to retaliate as I screamed in protest when the water suddenly shut off. The look of defeat on Chase's face was priceless. I was sticking my tongue out at him when we heard a very irritated Brant clear his throat from over by the waterspout.

"The water is for the horses to drink, not for you guys to spray all over each other and the lawn", Brant shouted. "Get back to work, both of you."

Chase rolled his eyes as he got up from the ground and extended his hand out to help me up. Once I was on my feet, I realized just how soaked I was. My green tank was sticking skin tight from how wet it was. Every curve of my body was clearly visible through the top. I looked up to notice the two men in front of me once again unable to look away. I folded my hands over my chest and I could feel my nipples poking out through my shirt from the ice cold water. Brant broke the silence by once again clearing his throat, but this time I could sense the nervousness in his tone.
"You can't work all day like that, come in the house both of you so I can get you some clothes", Brant said as he headed towards the house and motioned for us to follow. Chase nudged me forward and I shoved back as we headed towards the house after Brant. Just then I heard a horse headed down the road in full lope. Chase stopped dead as his head shot in the direction of the sound. On top the horse was a tall, fit girl with beautiful strawberry blonde hair chasing behind her under the baseball cap she was wearing. She peeked right over at Chase and smiled as she continued on down the road. Chase didn't look away until she was out of sight. He was so lost, that I startled him when I spoke.

"Who was that?"

Brant answered first. "That's Lacey from the farm up the lane, it's Chase's crush that he's too pussy to go after", he said with a smirk.
Chase turned back towards us with a hint of pink in his cheeks. "Shut the hell up, Brant! If I wanted her, I'd make it happen."
"Yeah, Brant teased, that's why she comes by here every evening practically begging you to stop her, and you just stand there lookin' a fool as she rides by.
"Awe, Chase!, I squealed, she's gorgeous! And I definitely agree with Brant, she's definitely into you. You need to make your move!"
"Alright, alright, you two! In the house, Chase shouted, trying to shrug off his obvious crush on Lacey. All of us laughed the situation off as we headed inside.

The inside of Brant's little farm house was charming, but cluttered. I looked for any sign of a female in the house but found nothing. Just balled up clothes in every corner and stacks of dishes in the sink. 'Definitely single', I thought to myself, then quickly shook the thought before I got carried away. Why would I need to care if he were single. He was older and would never be interested in me, plus I had my own drama going on that I needed to get a handle on before jumping into another relationship. Brant tossed Chase a set of clothes and asked me to follow him to the bedroom. 'Oh no', I thought as my subconscious let out a growl and my mind raced with dirty thoughts. I followed Brant down the long hall, past the full bathroom on the left until we reached Brant's room at the very end. It was much bigger than I imagined for such a small, old farmhouse. The first thing I looked for for some reason was the bed. It was a comfy looking king size with a beautiful oak frame with green plaid sheets. 'So much room for activities', my subconscious hissed.

Brant pulled open the folding doors of his closet and reached back and retrieved a single cardboard box labeled Kelsey's clothes on the side. I thought for a moment. Why would Brant have Kelsey's clothes at his place. 'Oh crap, I thought to myself, Kelsey and Brant were a couple! I immediately recalled the tragic story Brant told me earlier in the pasture after feeding Izzy. Brant must have recognized the mixture of realization and sadness on my face before he spoke...

"Yeah, Kelsey had just been moving in when she had her accident", Brant said as he rested his hands on top the box. "Anyway, you should fit these pretty well, she was about the same size and height as you. I'll let you go through them and see which ones you'd like to wear, just go ahead and change in here, I'll be heading back out with Chase", Brant said. Before I could protest, Brant was already closing the door behind him. I sighed to myself and looked down at the box. 'This is just weird' I thought to myself as I began sifting through Kelsey's clothes. I wasn't really sure if I was comfortable with wearing her clothes, but I took another look at myself in the wide mirror hanging on the wall across from me and quickly got over the thought. I settled for another pair of torn and weathered jeans and baby blue t-shirt that read, 'Country at heart' across the front. I slipped out of my damp clothes and chucked Kelsey's clothes on. 'Wow', I thought to myself. Brant wasn't kidding. These clothes were a perfect fit. I straightened the rest of the clothes in the box and placed in back in a Brant's Closet. I grabbed my wet pile of clothes and carried them out with me, on my way to the door I nearly tripped over Chase's pile of soaking clothes in the middle of the floor. I rolled my eyes and scooped them up along with my clothes brought them out on the porch with me. There was a clothes line there, so I pinned them up and headed back towards the barn to find the boys.

As I hit the end of the yard, I heard a loud cry as Izzy came tearing around the corner and nearly jumped the fence towards me. I stopped dead wondering what had gotten into her when I heard a loud splash and looked to see Brant at the edge of the fence, locked onto me, jaw dropped, with a large puddle at his feet...I instantly understood when I heard a single whisper escape Brant's Lips..."Kelsey..."