Sutcliffe Cove

by Ariel Tachna

  “So what’s the lesson for today?” Gerald asked as he walked alongside Brett after putting on the headgear. Tiny clomped right behind them placidly.

  “First, we’ll see how much you remember from Tuesday,” Brett replied, “then if you’ve still got that down, we’ll work on trotting some more, see if you can’t steer while you’re trotting.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Gerald answered with an anticipatory smile.

  The lesson passed far too quickly for either man. Gerald remembered everything Brett had told him on Tuesday, even managing to keep his heels in place most of the time. They worked on trotting and on Gerald keeping his balance and his seat in the saddle instead of standing up as Tiny picked up the pace slightly. Gerald wasn’t satisfied with his progress, but Brett was.

  “Well, if you’re sure. I still felt awfully off balance, though,” Gerald said as he dismounted, gnawing a little at his bottom lip.

  Brett wanted to kiss the abused flesh. He ached with it, but he knew that kind of desire was purposeless and futile. “It takes time,” Brett reminded the other man. “And you were starting to get tired. Working more when your legs are about to give out isn’t going to make you a better rider. Believe me, when you come back on Tuesday, it’ll feel much better.”

  “Okay,” Gerald said, letting it go with a slight shrug. “I hope I don’t forget much by then.” He took Tiny by the reins and starting walking back out of the ring toward the stables.

  “You could come this weekend,” Brett blurted out before he could stop himself. “We can always use an extra pair of hands with the kids’ classes,” he added, trying to cover his slip.

  Gerald turned his chin. “I’ve got no problem with kids,” he said. “Don’t know that I’d be much help with riding lessons, though.”

  Brett nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry about it. We’ve usually got plenty of extra hands around, with the older kids trying to earn free hours of lessons by working on the weekends. Enjoy your weekend and come back on Tuesday ready to work.” He led Tiny into the stall, intending to untack him by himself.

  Gerald followed him in to pet Tiny some more. “Didn’t say I wouldn’t come,” he said mildly as he watched the other man remove all the equipment. “Just that I don’t know what good I’ll be,” he said. “But I can’t this weekend, regardless.”

  “Big plans?” Brett asked, shouldering the saddle in one arm as he lifted off the pads with the other.

  “Work,” Gerald said with a slight shrug. “An account needs to close by Sunday, so it’s got to be finished up on Saturday.”

  “Better you than me,” Brett declared, stepping out of the stall. “Spend as long as you’d like with Tiny,” he offered. “Just make sure you latch the stall door behind you when you’re done.”

  “Okay. Have a nice evening, Brett. And thanks,” Gerald said, smiling at the other man.

  “You’re welcome,” Brett replied, reluctantly heading back toward the tack room and his office and the next round of lessons in half an hour. Maybe if he were lucky, he’d have time to eat that apple that had been sitting on his desk since lunch.

  AS the car tooled along the highway, Gerald lifted the bottle of water and took a slurp. He was still thirsty after the long run in the cool morning air. But once he’d gotten home after the run he’d known he had no desire whatsoever to go to the gym to lift weights. No, he wanted to be at the stables, to ride, to visit with Tiny, and maybe even to move grain bags if Brett needed the help he said he did. That was several weeks ago now.

  Gerald had been to Sutcliffe Cove twice a week ever since, taking lessons and falling more and more in love with riding and horses. Even now that he rode other horses sometimes and left the big horse for the true beginners, he always went by to visit and sneak Tiny some carrots. And although he saw him every time for his lessons, Gerald tried to take a few minutes separate from that to visit with Brett. Though Brett was usually busy, he always had time for a short talk, and he was always friendly. Gerald liked him a lot.

  Happier now with his prospects for this Sunday than he’d been in quite awhile, he figured an extra stop at the farm wouldn’t hurt anything. If Brett didn’t need the help, he’d just visit awhile and then go to the gym. Gerald hummed softly as he turned the car onto the lane that led into the farm. He knew the way very well by now, and it didn’t take long to get to the parking area.

  As soon as he climbed out into the quiet, he realized there must not be lessons this early in the morning on Sundays. He glanced at his watch. It wasn’t even ten yet. He frowned a little, wondering if he should have waited until after lunch. With a shrug, he started crunching across the gravel toward the stables to see if anyone was around. If not, he’d head for the office.

  As Gerald rounded the corner of the large barn, movement in the side pasture caught his eye. There were jumps set up in a circuit; he’d seen it before with some of the older students. But the rider obviously wasn’t someone just learning.

  Brett had decided to take advantage of the rare free morning to do a little riding of his own. It’d been weeks since he’d had time to really give Shah a good workout. So he’d raised the bars on the jumps to really stretch his stallion’s limits, saddled the bay, and led him into the ring. Shah had danced in anticipation and as soon as Brett let him, the horse headed for the first fence, as excited about the exercise as Brett was. For half an hour, now, they’d moved together, man and beast working in tandem to defeat the challenging course. The air was cool on Brett’s cheeks as Shah’s gait sped them around the ring, an exhilarating, refreshing rush.

  Line up the approach, send Shah at the fence, bunch, release, land, check the lead, across the ring, flying lead change, line up the next fence. Eyes up, heels down, drive him on, keep him balanced.

  The thoughts ran through Brett’s head without him even being conscious of them. They’d done this so many times he didn’t even need to think. His body just did what it was trained to do, and Shah responded, letting out a long, clarion neigh as they cleared the last fence again.

  Gerald watched, fascinated as the man and horse moved as one through the course. To that point he’d always thought of riding as fun. But now he could see it was also about skill and beauty. Shah was a gorgeous horse. And, he realized, Brett was quite a good-looking man. He wondered why he hadn’t really noticed before.

  Brett drew Shah into a finishing circle, and then let him walk on a loose rein to cool off. When Brett pulled Shah to a halt, Gerald applauded, still watching Brett speculatively.

  The sound of clapping drew Brett’s attention to the side of the ring. He squinted, trying to figure out who was watching him before he recognized Gerald’s stance. What was the other man doing here this early, on a Sunday of all days? He guided Shah over to the fence. “I didn’t expect to see you today.”

  “I’m playing hooky from the gym,” Gerald admitted. “That was really great. You and Shah, I mean,” he said, leaning against the fence as he watched them approach.

  “Thanks,” Brett replied, swinging down off Shah’s back. “We don’t get a chance to play as much as I’d like. I spend all my time in the barn or the office. One of these days, I’ve got to hire a secretary.”

  “You should ride like this for the students some time. Give us something to aspire to,” Gerald said. Then he tipped his head and grinned suddenly.

  “What?” Brett asked, seeing the sudden, odd smile. “Do I have something on my face?”

  “You’ve got nothing on your face,” Gerald said, still smiling. “You shaved. What happened? Had a hot date last night?”

  Brett flushed. “Yeah, actually, I did,” he admitted, not sure he wanted to go into more detail than that, but he’d finally convinced the hot, young guy he’d met at the gay bar in town to go out with him last night. He’d shown Robbie a good enough time that the man had agreed to a second date next weekend. Brett was hopeful that one would lead to more than just a scorching good-night kiss.

  Gerald chuckled. “Rea
lly? I thought you swore off women.” He lifted one foot to brace it on the lowest bar of the fence.

  Brett raised an eyebrow. “Who said I was with a woman?” he asked, turning and leading Shah toward the gate. As much as he enjoyed talking with Gerald, and as much as he wanted to see the other man’s reaction, his horse was blowing, breathing hard. Shah had to come first.

  Both Gerald’s brows jumped, and he just watched Brett walk away as surprise rippled through him. “Well, damn,” Gerald said under his breath. He hadn’t seen that one. And now Brett was apparently taken. With a sigh, Gerald straightened up and followed with a resigned shrug. Seemed like all the good ones were always taken before he figured out they were even good.

  He caught up with Brett inside the stables. “So, anything I can help with?”

  “Yeah,” Brett replied immediately, pulling his saddle off Shah’s back, “if you don’t mind. Grab the hose, and make sure everybody’s water bucket is full.”

  “Sure, that’s easy enough,” Gerald said. As he uncurled the long hose, he glanced up. Brett’s back was to him, and he took in the other man’s body as he hadn’t thought to do before, and then rolled his eyes at himself. The guy’s taken, Gerald thought. Buzz off, Saunders. So he dragged the hose out, turned on the water, and got to work.

  Brett finished up with Shah, rubbing him down with a clean rag to dry the sweat before brushing him well. Satisfied, he led him outside to his paddock, turned him loose, and laughed when the big bay immediately rolled on his back and undid all Brett’s hard work in getting him clean. “Big baby,” he muttered affectionately.

  With a shake of his head, he turned back into the stables. “So,” he called to Gerald, “ready to do some real work?”

  Gerald looked up from where he was filling up the last couple of buckets. “Real work, huh?”

  “We’ve got hay to spread, stalls to muck, and sawdust to put down,” Brett explained. “You may wish you’d stayed home.”

  Gerald felt mild concern, but nodded anyway. “Ahh. All right, I’m here,” he said. “Guess we ought to get started?”

  Brett smiled. “Come on, rookie. I’ll show you the ropes.” He led Gerald down the long aisle to the storage room where he kept the hay. Opening it up, he pointed to a wheelbarrow propped against the outside wall. “Wheel that in here, and we’ll fill it up. Each horse gets two flakes of hay.”

  “I’m not real prepared. Have you got an extra pair of gloves?” Gerald asked, looking down the long line of stalls. “I think I’m going to need them.”

  “Look in the cabinet in the tack room,” Brett suggested. “I usually have a couple of pair in there. If not, I’ll find some up at the house.”

  Gerald gave Brett a crooked grin and headed to the cabinet. It occurred to him now that Brett had a lot of charisma, and he wasn’t necessarily immune to it. He wrinkled his nose as he dug through the supplies and found an old pair of gloves and pulled them on. On his way back to Brett, he wondered what he’d missed to not even see that he might be interested in Brett as more than an acquaintance. Gerald glanced toward Brett as he walked to get the wheelbarrow. “All right, abuse me.”

  “Don’t tempt me,” Brett joked, tossing another bale of hay into the wheelbarrow, his muscles working with accustomed ease to move the heavy load. “I haven’t had anyone to abuse in a long time.”

  “I find that hard to believe,” Gerald answered. He looked at the hay bale. “Don’t we need a pitchfork or something?”

  “Nah,” Brett replied, snapping the twine. “See, it flakes off. Two flakes in the feed trough for each stall.” He separated the first two sections of hay and fed the horse on the end. “Come back when you run out, and I’ll give you another one.”

  “Okay,” Gerald agreed. He walked from stall to stall, smiling, though he didn’t realize it, as he looked at each horse when they approached him to eat. He tried not to linger too much; there was obviously more work to be done.

  Brett glanced down the aisle periodically to check Gerald’s progress. It did his heart good to be reminded of the joy of first discovery. It’d been so long since he’d just stopped and looked at all the horses in his care. Sure, he took time with Shah, and the others got what they needed, but not a lot of his time. Maybe it would be a good thing to have Gerald hanging around more often.

  With that thought in mind, Brett grabbed another bale of hay and walked it down to the wheelbarrow. “Here’s another one,” he offered, glancing into the stall where Gerald had paused. “That’s Lucky. He was a rescue horse. They found him in a barn, starved half to death, with no sign of the owner anywhere. My dad offered him a home.”

  Gerald watched as the horse nosed into the feed while it was right in his hand, not waiting for it to drop into the trough. He lifted one hand and patted Lucky’s neck. “Plenty of food, buddy,” he said.

  “He’s been here six years, but to this day, he never leaves a crumb in his bucket, whether it’s hay or oats,” Brett explained, looking at the chestnut gelding fondly. “I have to be careful he doesn’t eat too much. Obesity is as much a problem for horses as it is for people, and Lucky doesn’t have the sense to stop when he’s full.”

  “I imagine if you’ve been starved, you’re afraid it would happen again,” Gerald said. Lucky had already eaten up the biggest part of the food. “You’ve taken good care of him, though. He looks good.”

  “I can’t abide a starving animal,” Brett admitted sheepishly. “Stray dogs, cats, horses, the occasional raccoon… I feed them all. My father despaired of me when I was growing up, but an extra scoop of dog food isn’t going to break the bank, so I just keep on feeding the ones that show up at my doorstep.”

  “You’re a kind-hearted man,” Gerald said as he fed the next horse. He was facing away from Brett as he dropped the hay into the bin. “I’ve never had an animal of any kind as a pet.”

  “Why not?” Brett exclaimed. “You obviously love animals, or you wouldn’t be out here on a Sunday spending your free time with the horses. Do you travel a lot with work?”

  Gerald shrugged as he turned around. “No, I don’t travel. I work a lot of hours, though. Just never thought about it, I guess. My parents both worked a lot when I was growing up, and it wouldn’t have been fair to have a pet just to leave it at home alone.”

  “You’ll just have to adopt one of the strays out here then,” Brett declared impulsively. “He can stay out here, but he’ll be yours to take care of while you’re here.”

  “Adopt?” Gerald said in surprise, turning to blink at Brett blankly. “Me? I don’t know anything about horses.”

  “I actually meant one of the dogs,” Brett replied with a chuckle, “but you’re welcome to adopt one of the horses as well. Most of them get ridden by the kids who come in here for lessons and don’t get the kind of personal attention they really deserve. So what do you say? Want your own horse?”

  “Uh?” Gerald tipped his head to one side and sort of shrugged. “Okay?” He wasn’t too sure about it. “As long as you don’t let me do something wrong, I guess.” He looked bemused.

  “Don’t get too enthusiastic,” Brett teased. “I might think you weren’t interested.”

  “Oh, I’m interested,” Gerald quickly insisted. “I’m just surprised, is all. I tend to think about things awhile before making decisions. But this won’t hurt anything, and you’re right—I do love the horses.”

  Brett smiled. “Nothing wrong with thinking things through,” he said. “But this is a no-lose situation. And it’ll give you a chance to really see the other side of the equation, in case you decide at some point you want to buy a horse of your own.” He grabbed the next two flakes of hay and gave them to the horse next to Lucky. “I’ll introduce you to some of the ones who belong to the stable, and you can decide who you want to adopt.”

  A smile curved Gerald’s lips as he started to warm to the idea. “Will I get to ride mine sometime? When I’ve learned more?” he asked.

  “Sure,” Brett assured him.
“The stable’s horses are all used for lessons on various levels. Once you’ve decided who you want, we’ll just have to get you up to that level so you can ride him.”

  Gerald picked up an armload of flakes. “Let’s go then. You can introduce me as we work.”

  “So do you want a mare or a gelding?” Brett asked, pushing the wheelbarrow down the aisle in Gerald’s wake.

  “Well, they both have their positives, I’m sure, but a mare, she could have babies, right? That would be an awful lot of responsibility. I’m not too sure what I think about that. I’d worry, you know, even more, since I’m a beginner with horses,” Gerald rambled as he thought it over.

  “She could,” Brett agreed, “but I try to keep that to a minimum unless it’s planned. Shah has a separate paddock and a separate stall, so he can’t get to the mares except when I want him to, and he’s the only stallion in the barn. I’ve got plenty of geldings for you to choose from.”

  “Okay, that would probably be best,” Gerald agreed as he picked up a couple more flakes for the last stalls. Then he stopped in place and looked over his shoulder. “I probably should have asked what was involved, huh?”

  Brett threw his head back and laughed uproariously. It took a minute for him to get it under control. “Mucking his stall, making sure he’s got food and water, spending time spoiling him, making sure he gets enough exercise,” Brett said when he could talk through his laughter. “I promise, I haven’t signed you into slavery for the rest of your life.”

  Gerald visibly relaxed as Brett laughed. “I think I can handle that. It’s more than a twice-a-week responsibility, though,” he pointed out. “I’ll have to be here more.” He wasn’t at all bothered by that thought. In fact, he thought he might be looking forward to it.

  “You’re welcome as often as you want to come,” Brett told him honestly. “You’ve been spending enough hours here helping out that I owe you a few free rides anyway. You may as well take them on the days you’re not taking lessons. That’ll give you an extra excuse to come take care of your horse.”