Ranch of Dreams
Author's Note- this is starting out as a story for my friends and me, but who knows where my imagination will lead me!
"Fan mail!" Joey exclaimed, coming in Justin's hotel room with five huge bags of mail.
The guys had gathered in Justin's room while they tried to come up with something constructive to do. For once, reading fan mail didn't seem like that bad of an idea.
"Hand it over," Justin, said, holding out one arm. The other was being used to attack Chris in a game of two-player Turok on Nintendo 64.
Joey smiled devilishly and slung the whole bag at Justin. Justin yelped as the bag's weight caught him by surprise.
"Wimp," Chris snorted, shooting Justin's player with a Tek arrow.
"Shut up loser," Justin replied, looking at Chris out of the corner of his eye.
Chris turned astounded brown eyes to Justin. "What did you call me, 'little boy'?"
Justin smiled and looked back to the TV screen. "What, is your hearing going too now?"
"That's it," Chris said, tossing his control on the floor. He pounced on Justin, pushing the teen backwards and to the floor.
"You guys are so weird," Joey mumbled as he watched the two wrestle on the floor. He handed J.C. and Lance their mailbags before sitting down in a corner with his own mail.
Lance was going over contracts of new artists that he was considering signing on to Freelance. He looked at the mail that awaited him and sighed. Reluctantly, he set down the contracts and picked up the mail.
J.C. watched Lance's whole display of annoyance and asked, "What's your problem?"
Lance immediately smiled. "Nothing," he said. "I just know this is going to take all day."
"We don't have anything better to do," Joey said, tearing open a letter.
"Ow!" Chris yelped, startling them all. "You dumbass," he cursed, picking himself up off the floor.
"I'm sorry," Justin apologized, trying to swallow his laughter.
Chris held a hand over his mouth as he glared at Justin.
"What happened?" J.C. asked.
Chris pulled his hand down; revealing his newly split lip. "He hit me in the mouth," Chris said, wiping away the blood that had begun to trickle down his chin.
"Oh, is that all?" J.C. asked, picking up a letter.
"What do you mean, 'Is that all?' He hurt me! I'm suing!"
"Oh no, please don't sue me!" Justin mocked, holding up his hands in surrenderence.
"Look at me, I'm bleeding," Chris complained.
"So get some ice and stop fussing," Joey said.
"But I like to fuss," Chris smiled. "That's how I meet women."
"My ass," Joey laughed.
"Oh crap," Lance trailed off.
J.C. looked up from his letter, turning his attention to Lance. "What?" he asked.
"These girls sent me this letter," Lance started.
"Really? That's a change," Justin teased.
Lance threw a pillow at Justin and continued, "They own this horse ranch in Missouri where they take care of pregnant horses and colts-"
"The football team?"
Everyone looked at Joey. "No retard, baby horses…" Chris hinted.
"Oh…" Joey replied, turning back to Lance.
"Anyway," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "They claim to have Toby's daughter. They say she's pregnant but it's not going too good. She might die after the baby is born."
"Are they for real?" J.C. asked.
"I think so," Lance replied. "The return address looks real and it's written professionally and on stationary."
"The whole works, huh?" Justin asked.
"Looks pretty real," Lance said, looking at the others.
"So what, you want us to go to Missouri so you can see some girls you don't even know?" Justin asked.
"It's Toby's daughter," Lance said, looking at the letter again.
The guys remained silent for a moment before J.C. finally sighed, "Fine, we'll go."
He turned to Chris and felt his stomach churn at the sight. Chris stood grinning evilly with blood running down his chin and slowly dripping on the floor. "God Chris," J.C. laughed. "Go take care of yourself."
Chris smiled and turned to go in the bathroom.
"Thanks," Lance said sincerely.
"I just hope you're not disappointed," J.C. replied.
"Road trip!" Justin and Joey yelled in unison. Justin started for Joey but Joey stopped him.
"Stay away from me," Joey said. "I don't want one of you complimentary split lips."
"That was an accident!" Justin yelled in his defense.
"Still hurt!" Chris yelled from the bathroom.
"Stop complaining old man," Justin mumbled.
"I heard that!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~v
The next morning the guys flew down to a small town in Missouri, near Kansas City. They had a week before they had to be back at Florida, where they would start taping their next video, 'It's Gonna Be Me.'
They arrived at the airport at eleven am. J.C. was well rested from his four-hour nap and the others could tell Lance was excited. He had to find out one way or another if the girls were telling the truth. If it really was Toby's daughter, Lance wanted to be there.
"Guys, I'm hungry," Chris complained as they walked through the quiet airport.
"So go buy something," Joey said.
"Okay. Don't leave without me!" Chris said as he veered off and went into a miniature Pizza Hut.
"Think he'd notice if we kept walking?" Justin smiled.
"Eventually," J.C. replied, following Chris.
"What kind of freak eats pizza for breakfast?" Justin asked loud enough for Chris to hear.
"Be quiet little boy," Chris warned.
"You're not getting anything with sugar are you?" J.C. asked, stepping up to the counter beside Chris.
"I was getting a Dr. Pepper," Chris said, looking at J.C.
"Didn't you already have one on the plane?" J.C. asked.
"Yeah."
"Won't that be too much sugar?"
"God damnit, why do you always make fun of me because I'm hypo-glycemic?" Chris yelled melodramatically.
J.C. stared at Chris for a moment, then relaxed when he saw Chris's smile.
"Gullible," Chris muttered, grabbing the slice of pizza he ordered.
J.C. shook his head and walked back with the others as Chris followed behind them. They continued through the airport, grateful Chris couldn't talk and chew at the same time.
"So what do you plan to do with the horse once you see it?" Joey asked Lance.
"I don't know, maybe I could buy it from them," Lance replied. "My parents could take care of her when I'm not there."
The others agreed then were interrupted by the thumping of sneakers on the floor as Chris ran up behind them.
"It's back," Joey muttered, rolling his eyes as he smiled.
Chris threw his arms around the others and walked with them. "What's up guys?" he asked, smiling.
"Nothing," J.C. replied, eyeing Chris as they neared the doors. "Let me see your pockets."
"J.C., I'm stunned," Chris replied, taking his arms off the others.
J.C. glared at him. "Do it," he commanded.
Chris sighed and pulled a handful of candy wrappers out of his pockets.
"You ate all that?" J.C. exclaimed.
"No, I buy empty candy wrappers so you can ask me these dumb questions," Chris said sarcastically.
"Shut up," J.C. shot back.
"Come on Chris, we'll hang out together," Justin said, pulling Chris aside. "I'm not prejudice."
J.C.'s mouth dropped open. "I am not-"
"There's the limo," Lance interrupted, heading through the parking lot.
"Good. Maybe they'll shut up," Joey teased.
"Hey Superman," Chris shouted. "I'm older than you and I can your ass. You just remember that."
Joey glared at Chris as if he were a space alien. "You wish," he laughed.
The guys continued their brotherly teasing the whole way to the ranch. The ranch was forty-five the airport, and luckily the scenery was beautiful. They passed farms, cows, lakes and wild flower fields on their way. Everything looked plain compared to Florida. The guys missed the beach already and could tell this would be a long trip.
They finally arrived at the ranch, which was called New Beginnings. They immediately began seeing horses roam the pastures and knew they were at the right place.
"Well it looks real to me," Lance said, a smile playing on his face.
"This place is beautiful," J.C. added.
As they drove down the long gravel lane, they passed a small herd of Appaloosa horses. The muscular stallion lifted his head in alertness as the females continued to eat grass.
Lance's smile couldn't get any bigger. "I love this place," he beamed.
The guy's parked on front of the main building and got, breathing in the scented by horses and hay. A small Border Collie trotted to them, panting happily.
Lance kneeled down and petted the dog. "Hey boy," he smiled. "You know where anyone is?"
"Oh my God," a female voice said, startling the guys.
They looked up to see a young woman in her late teens frozen to her spot. She had fairly long blonde hair and stood about 5'8.
"Can you help us?" Chris asked.
"We're looking for the owners," Lance said, standing up.
"That's me," she replied, swallowing.
They looked at each other for a couple seconds before Lance said, "Maybe I should explain why we're here."
J.C. smiled. "You better before she stops breathing."
"We got your letter about your having Toby's daughter," Lance smiled, watching the dog trot off.
"Oh yeah, sorry," she replied, snapping out of her trance. "Sorry, it's just not everyday Nsync comes to the ranch," she explained.
"We understand," Joey replied.
"Just follow me," she said turning.
"So what's your name?" J.C. asked, walking beside her.
"Shannon," she replied. "I would ask you your name but I already know," she smiled. "I like that name," J.C. said, immediately feeling stupid. 'That was lame,' he thought.
"Thanks," Shannon said, blushing as she led the five guys through a stable.
Lance breathed in a deep breath of the stable air, identifying the smells of hay, horse and leather. 'Just like home,' he thought.
Chris noticed Lance's bliss. "Remind you of home?" he asked.
Lance glared at Chris, too happy to get mad. "My room is no worse than yours," he said.
"Here we are," Shannon said, stopping in front of a stall. Lance stood by her, eager to go in.
Shannon looked to Lance and raised an eyebrow, then opened the stall door. Inside another girl sat on the hay, using a damp washcloth to wipe down a chestnut mare's forehead. The mare lay on the hay in a corner, sweat dripping off her muscular body. Her ears perked up and she turned amber eyes to Lance and the others.
"How is she Denise?" Shannon asked, stepping in the stall.
"Oh my God," Denise said, staring at the five men behind her friend.
"Looks like Brandi's letter worked," Shannon smiled.
Lance stepped in the stall and kneeled down next to the horse. "What's her name?" he asked, gently petting the mare's forehead.
"Cosmo," Denise replied. She was shorter (Excuse me, 'Vertically Challenged') than Shannon and had shoulder length brown hair. She also had a crush on Joey.
"What's wrong with her?" Joey asked, kneeling in the hay next to Denise.
"She's pregnant," Denise said, continuing to wipe the horse's head. Her cheeks grew hot as she felt Joey's gaze upon her.
"You're doing a good job taking care of her," Joey said.
"You liar," Chris laughed, hitting Joey on the back of the head. "You have no idea how she's doing."
"Don't touch the hair," Joey said, placing a hand on the back of his head.
"So uh, what else do you have to do around here?" J.C. asked, not really wanting to get close to the mare.
"Do you ride?" Shannon asked, smiling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The five guys stood in awe as they watched the two young women ride white horses at full gallop around the pasture. The other horses would scatter to get out of the way as the girls rode through a herd of grazing horses. One of the girls was slightly taller and had light brown hair. The other girl had chin length dark brown hair and small framed glasses.
Shannon looked at the guys and noticed how Lance and Chris were visibly interested in the riders. "Nice horses, huh?" she asked.
The two men nodded, keeping their gazes fixed straight ahead.
The two girls steered the horses to the fence to see who the crowd was. As they approached, a huge smile broke out on their tanned faces.
"Brandi, Emily, I'd like you to meet Nsync," Shannon beamed.
Brandi tried to stop her horse but the friendly mare trotted right up to Lance. "Hi," Brandi blushed, weakly tugging on the reigns.
"Beautiful creatures you have here," Lance said, a smile creeping over him. He absently stoked the horse's soft nose as Chris introduced himself to Emily.
"I guess you know who I am," Chris smiled, looking at Emily.
"I do," Emily choked out. "Glad you guys could make it."
"Lance made us come," Justin spoke up, leaning against the split rail fence.
Emily looked at Shannon. "Have they seen Cosmo yet?" she asked.
"Yeah, we just came from there," Joey interrupted.
Brandi's horse whinnied as the mare dug her nose through Lance's pocket. "Princess," she scolded, trying to pull the horse back.
"It's okay," Lance laughed. "I think she likes me."
"She's not the only one," J.C. whispered to Shannon.
Shannon smiled and looked into J.C.'s deep blue eyes. His chiseled face looked extremely attractive on this warm sunny day.
Shannon jumped when she felt a hand on her back. "Let's go see Dawn," Denise said, smiling at Shannon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh my God," Dawn said. Her jaw was hanging on the floor as Brandi stood behind Lance giggling.
"Another fan, I see," Justin smiled, stepping forward to shake her hand.
Dawn shut her mouth and replied, "I can't believe you guys really came."
"You really got Toby's daughter, right?" Lance asked in his deep, southern voice.
Dawn snapped back reality and turned to a filing cabinet. "Yeah, here's the blood lines and paperwork," Dawn said, handing a tan folder to Lance. She looked back to Justin who hadn't stopped looking at her since he entered the room.
"So what do say you show me around the ranch?" Joey asked, leaning close to Denise.
"Sure," Denise replied, looking into Joey's soft brown eyes to steady herself.
"Okay," Joey smiled, looking back at the shorter girl. Denise's head only came to Joey's shoulders, but her expressive eyes still seemed to equal his.
Lance turned to Brandi and she said, "Do you wanna go sit with Cosmo?"
"Sure," Lance said, giving Brandi his famous cocky smile.
Emily looked from Brandi to Chris and smiled. "I suppose you wanna go for a walk too?"
"You're so cute," Chris smiled, his eyes bright.
J.C. looked at Shannon longingly. "You know, I always wanted to learn how to ride a horse…"
"Come on," Shannon laughed, rolling her eyes.
Dawn and Justin were left alone. A smile crept over him as Justin stepped forward.
"Hey," he said.
Dawn could smell his cologne. And she liked it. "Hey," she replied.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So do you like working here?" Joey asked, looking down at Denise as they walked along.
"It's awesome," Denise said, taking a deep breath as she lifted her eyes to Joey.
"What's you favorite part?" Joey asked.
"Riding the horses," Denise replied before she could stop herself.
Joey chuckled. "That's cool," he said. "Do you have your own horse?"
"Yeah," Denise said, tapping him on the shoulder before she turned off the main path. He followed her as she led him back in the large stable. "Her name's Little One."
"Little One?" Joey questioned. "There's nothing little about you, you swept me off my feet."
Denise blushed and stopped in front of her mare's stall. "You really are the flirt aren't you?"
"Only when I see someone as fine as you," Joey smiled, making himself look cuddly.
Denise forced herself to open the stall door, revealing a light brown horse that eagerly trotted to the two humans.
A look of shock swept over Joey and the mare immediately sensed it. Little One stopped in her tracks and nervously looked to Denise. "What's wrong with her?" Joey asked.
"I think you scared her," Denise said, beginning to smile. "It's okay," she soothed, taking a step towards the frightened horse.
"I'm sorry, I'll just wait out here," Joey started, backing up.
Little One snorted and reared, slicing the air with her hooves. "She's never done this before," Denise said, moving to the giant animal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's wrong with her?" Lance asked, keeping his eyes focused on the mare in front of him.
"The baby's stuck inside of her," Brandi replied, brushing Cosmo's mane off her forehead. "She was bred immaturely and her body wasn't ready."
"Who would be so cruel?" Lance asked, turning his eyes to Brandi.
"The losers that had her before we rescued her," Brandi replied. The glistening mare looked at Lance with pained amber eyes.
Lance reached out and rubbed her between the ears. The horse groaned softly and closed her eyes in bliss.
"You have a way with animals," Brandi smiled, looking at Lance.
"Thanks," Lance smiled. "I love horses."
'I love you!' Brandi screamed in her mind. But instead she smiled and lost herself in Lance's sparkling green eyes.
"What?" he asked, noticing her gaze.
"Nothing," she blushed. "I just love your eyes."
"I don't see what's so special about them," Lance replied. "I wish I had eyes like yours."
'Oh my God!' Brandi thought. 'Lance Bass is hitting on me!' "Thank you," she giggled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Emily and Chris leaned on the fence watching the horses gaze and periodically swish their tail. The colts would gallop around clumsily and play with each other.
"Aren't they sweet?" Emily asked, looking out into the field.
"Very," Chris replied, looking at Emily. She noticed he was looking at her and looked back.
"What?" she asked.
"Nothing," Chris replied. "Just taking in the scenery."
Emily blushed and turned back out to the field. "So aren't you guys suppose to be making a video or something?"
"We start next week," Chris replied, smiling at her shyness. "That's why we came so soon, so we would have some time to spare. It was a now or never kind of thing."
"Oh," Emily said. "And then you guys are going on tour?" She looked at Chris quickly, nervous that the hottest guy in the group was actually standing next to her.
"Yeah," Chris answered. "We're coming here on tour, to…Kemper Arena?"
"Yup. I got tickets!" Emily smiled. She loved the way the sun was playing in his hair and making him look angelic.
Chris made a mental note to get five front row tickets for the girls before they left. "So you're a dedicated fan?" he asked.
"One of the best," she replied.
"Would you do anything?" he asked, grinning mischievously.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"That is a big horse."
"This is a Fresian," Shannon laughed, handing the reigns to J.C. "They're part draft horse."
J.C. looked up at the tall, heavy black horse. It's mane and tail were naturally crimped, along with the feathered fur around its huge hooves.
"Is it a boy or girl?" J.C. asked, eyeing the horse.
"This is a male," Shannon replied. "He's extremely gentle though. He won't hurt you."
J.C. looked at Shannon, who was only slightly shorter than himself. "I'm not afraid," he announced.
"I didn't say you were!" Shannon laughed. "That's just how you look."
"Well I'm not," J.C. said. He turned and started walking for the door. The horse glanced at Shannon before J.C. pulled it along.
"Do you know where you're going?" Shannon called after him as she bridled her own tan horse.
"I'll find it," J.C. replied. He smiled to himself, thinking of how beautiful Shannon was. He didn't want to make her mad, but his teasing made her smile, and he loved that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You're pretty hot," Justin said, smiling.
"Same to you," Dawn said, closing the drawer on the filing cabinet.
Justin looked around, noticing all the awards and ribbons. "Did you girls win all these?" he asked.
"Yeah, over the years."
"That's awesome," Justin said, looking into her brown eyes. "So I guess you're a good rider?"
Dawn smiled, reading the thought behind his clear blue eyes. "You could say that. What about you, being from Tennessee and all?"
"I know my way around horses," he replied. "But I'm not a master. I just know what they like."
"That's what's important," Dawn said. She sighed and said, "Look, I'll tell you now, I'm not obsessed with Nsync like the other girls. I don't think you're the hottest thing that ever walked the earth."
"Well let's see what I can do to change that," Justin smiled seductively.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Joey don't move!" Denise yelled, trying to grab he rearing horse's halter. She almost had it when Little One reared again, tearing out of her grasp.
Joey was frozen at the stall door. "Okay," he said, watching the tall light brown horse try to stab him with her hooves. She whinnied shrilly, alarming the other horses.
Finally Denise grabbed the halter and held heaving horse still. She rubbed Little One's nose, and the horse calmed drastically.
Denise looked at Joey. "Care to try it again?" she asked hopefully.
"Uh…" Joey started uncertainly.
"It's okay, she just wasn't expecting you," Denise said. "It was my fault."
Joey looked at Denise and sighed. "Okay," he mumbled, walking back in the stall. Little One watched him closely but made no attempt to become aggressive. "She's really nice once she's standing still," Joey noted.
"Take some treats out of her bucket and give them to her," Denise said, pointing to a bucket that hung on the stall's wall.
Joey grabbed a couple and held them out as he approached Little One. She saw them and jerked out of Denise's grasp again. Joey smiled as he watched the horse walk to him, her hooves pounding the hay as she came. The light brown horse marched right up to Joey and greedily but gently ate out of his hand, her whiskered lips brushing against his palm. Her breath was sweet of hay and her mane shone in the sunlight.
Joey looked to Denise and smiled. "Guess I got past your guard dog," he smiled.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So are you glad you came?" Brandi asked, watching Lance rub Cosmo's neck.
"Extremely," Lance said, looking at Brandi. "I got my two favorite things, horses and lovely ladies."
Brandi smiled. "You're so sweet," she said. "I'm surprised you don't have a girlfriend."
Lance smiled back. "I don't know. I must smell or something."
"You smell fine to me," Brandi said.
Lance laughed. "Thanks. That means a lot."
"Are you being sarcastic?" Brandi asked.
"No! You're honest and I like that. I like it a lot," Lance said. 'Oh crap,' he thought. 'It's Seventh Heaven all over again.'
'He's in his Seventh Heaven mode!' Brandi said to herself. 'In a few minutes we should be making out!' "Well I'm very honest, as anyone will tell you," Brandi said.
"You're very cute too," Lance said.
'God I want you!' Brandi screamed in her mind. "You're cute too, but I'm sure you hear that all the time."
"It means more coming from you," Lance replied, looking into her eyes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Define anything," Emily said, looking at Chris.
"Would you go skydiving for us?" Chris asked.
"I'd try," she replied.
"Would you…rob a store?" Chris asked.
"Depends on what store," Emily smiled.
"Would you sleep with me?" Chris asked quickly, smiling devilishly.
Emily stopped breathing. 'Okay, two can play at this game,' she thought. "Yeah," she replied. "I bet I could show you a thing or two."
Now Chris stopped breathing. 'That wasn't what I was expecting,' he told himself. "Oh really?" he asked, watching a filly run up to them. He held out his hand for the baby to smell, and the horse nipped his fingers then tensed, preparing to run away. "Ow!" he yelled, drawing his hand back through the fence. "It bit me!"
"Poor baby," Emily laughed. The horse flicked it's tail as Chris glared at it, then it turned and fled.
"I hate animals," Chris teased, inspecting his hand.
"You're not even bleeding," Emily reasoned. They seemed to have forgotten their previous conversation as they turned their attention to the frisky colts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Okay, now the hardest part is getting on," Shannon said, holding on to J.C.'s Fresian as he circled the muscular animal.
"Aren't you suppose to only get on one side?" he asked, looking at the horse as it's ear twitched.
"Yeah, over here," she said, pulling him to the right side. "Now hold on to the saddle, put your left leg in the stirrup, and mount the horse."
J.C. smiled to himself when he felt her touch his back as she said mount. 'Knock it off J.C., she didn't mean it like that,' he told himself. He obeyed, grabbing the saddle horn tighter as the leather shifted under him. The horse took a step back, tossing its head.
"Raven, relax," Shannon said, touching the horse's forehead.
"Is he okay?" J.C. asked, sitting stiffly in the saddle.
"He just wants to run," Shannon smiled, looking up at J.C. She handed him the reigns and asked, "You got him?"
"Yeah," J.C. nodded, afraid to move. The horse took another step back and J.C. regained his balance on the shifting animal.
"Okay, I'm gonna get on Peaches, then we'll go, okay?"
"Hurry," J.C. whispered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"How are you gonna prove it?" Dawn asked.
"All you gotta do is turn on the TV and you'll see all the girls screaming for me," Justin said.
"I don't know…that only proves that you're hot to other people," Dawn said. "When I think of a hot guy, I at least imagine them with their shirt off."
"Really?" Justin smiled, shifting his weight. "Well I like you too. And if we're both as hot as we think each other is, then I say we both take our shirt off."
Dawn's smile faded. "You gross little pervert. I can’t believe you just said that. How many minutes ago did we meet?"
"Long enough," Justin smiled. "You started it."
Dawn smiled. "This better be worth it," she said, taking her shirt off.
Justin smiled also. 'Finally,' he thought, 'Someone with my personality.'
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"This horse isn't very little," Joey noted, looking over the horse back at Denise.
"I know," Denise replied. "Little One is my nickname."
"Hey Little One, I'm Phat One, glad to know you!" Joey laughed.
Denise rolled her eyes and continued brushing her horse. "What a dork," she mumbled.
"What did you call me?" Joey asked, his smile disappearing.
Denise stood on the tips of her toes to look Joey in the eyes. "I called you a dork."
Joey looked behind him and saw the water bucket. He looked back to Denise and said, "Take that back."
"No," she teased, tossing the brush aside.
Joey cupped his hands and scooped up a handful of water. " Last chance," he warned.
"Joey's a dork…" Denise sang.
Joey threw the water at Denise, scaring her. The drops ran down her face and landed on her T-shirt. Little One swung her head around and looked at Joey with big amber eyes.
"You shouldn't have don that," Denise laughed.
Little One began nibbling at Joey's hair, walking behind him as he tried to get away. "Get off me!" Joey yelled, playfully swatting the horse. Joy ducked his head and ran around the stall, but Little One kept up easily.
Joey wasn't looking where he was going and ran into Denise, knocking them both down in the clean hay. Little One stood over Joey, still nibbling his hair as he tried to get off Denise.
"Joey get your ass off me!" Denise laughed, watching Joey squirm under Little One.
"I rather like being on top," Joey replied, grinning as he covered his head with his hands.
A surge of estrogen ran through Denise as Joey finally got off her. 'No comment,' she thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Even though we just met, I feel like your perfect for me," Lance said, sitting next to Brandi.
"I have always dreamed of this day but I never thought it would happen," Brandi replied quietly.
They looked at Cosmo as she slept peacefully. Lance turned to Brandi and looked at her longingly. "Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked.
"No," Brandi replied. "I don’t get that many offers."
"They're probably losers anyway," Lance said, wrapping his arm around her.
Brandi blushed and looked at the ground. "Most of them are, yeah," she said.
"You just wait," Lance smiled. "The right man will come along."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"These horses can't get rabies, can they?" Chris asked, rubbing his fingers.
"No," Emily laughed. "Let me see," she said, taking his injured hand. Two of his fingers were turning red, but it was nothing that should cause him pain. "You poor thing," Emily lied. "Are you going to make it?"
"Kiss it," Chris said, sticking his bottom lip out.
"Big baby," Emily said, rolling her eyes. She kept her eyes glued to his as she softly kissed his fingertips. "Feel better?"
"Yes thank you," Chris replied. He looked into Emily's eyes with a look of gratefulness, and a little longing. 'I'm starting to like it here,' he thought.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Is this thing stable?" J.C. asked.
"It's a horse," Shannon said. "Horses do not want to fall."
J.C. pulled on his reigns in attempt to keep his balance. Raven raised his head and whinnied, but kept following Shannon and Peaches.
"Stop doing that," Shannon called over her shoulder.
"I can't help it," J.C. said. "This horse had an attitude problem."
"Give him a little kick," Shannon said.
J.C. did what she said, but got no response from Raven. J.C. spurred the horse again a little harder. All of a sudden Raven took off in full gallop, running past Shannon. "Help!" J.C. yelled as he bounced along.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"See? I'm pretty sexy, huh?" Justin asked, flexing for Dawn.
"You're not impressing me," Dawn replied, trying not to smile.
"Well you're impressing me," Justin grinned, his eyes glued to Dawn's chest.
Dawn started to say something mean but stopped. "Go on," she smiled.
"No," Justin replied. "Why should I suck up to you? You don't even like me," Justin said.
Dawn put on her shirt. "I like you, but I'm not going to kiss your ass."
"That's okay, we can save it for later," Justin teased.
Dawn rolled her eyes. "Put your shirt back on and go find everyone else."
Justin grabbed his shirt and blew a kiss to Dawn. "Love ya," he grinned, then walked to the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I can't believe I fly all the way down here so I can help you wash your hyper active horse," Joey mumbled as he rinsed off Little One.
"You're the one that wanted to help!" Denise replied.
"Because there's the chance you'll get wet," Joey grinned.
Denise's mouth opened. "Excuse you? You are not spraying me."
Joey kept his mouth shut but smiled at Denise. Little One stomped her hoof, nearly missing Joey's foot. "Watch it!" Joey scolded.
"What's wrong with you now?" Denise asked, turning around to face Joey.
"Your horse just tried to crush my foot," Joey replied, spraying Little One a little harder than necessary.
Little One glared at Joey with her normal comical look. "You made her mad," Denise said. She then turned back around to get the shampoo.
Little One nickered and took a step sideways, landing on Joey's toes. "Ow!" he yelled, dropping the hose and sinking to the ground in pain.
"What?" Denise asked, turning around. Little One looked at her innocently as Denise looked for Joey. She saw the water running from the fallen hose and walked around Little One. She found Joey sitting on the wet cement, holding his toe in pain. "What happened?" Denise asked, bending down.
"You're horse stepped on my toes!" Joey said through gritted teeth.
"Can you get up?" Denise asked.
"No. I think I'm crippled," Joey replied.
Denise rolled her eyes and held out her hands. "Come on," she said.
Joey looked at her with tears in his eyes. "Help me," he whimpered. He grabbed her and she helped pull him to his feet.
"Hey guys?" Justin asked, stopping before he walked right by them. "What happened?"
"Justin, get on the other side of him and help us back to the main buildings," Denise instructed, propping Joey up on her shoulder.
Justin obeyed but repeated, "What happened?"
"The horse stepped on his foot," Denise replied.
"Did it hurt?"
Joey smacked Justin on the back of the head. "No, it felt good, retard," Joey said sarcastically.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"J.C.!" Shannon yelled, kicking Peaches into a gallop after Raven.
J.C. desperately tried to remain on the fleeing horse as they galloped along. Peaches was a lighter horse and able to catch up to the part draft horse fairly quickly. "Make him stop!" J.C. yelled to Shannon as they galloped through the pasture.
"Pull on the reigns!" Shannon yelled over the pounding hooves.
J.C. pulled on the reigns with no result. Shannon directed Peaches closer to Raven and took the reigns from J.C. "Woah!" she yelled. "Raven!" Shannon scolded.
Raven finally came to a halt and stood heaving under the scared J.C. "I think that's enough for today," J.C. said, getting down clumsily.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Joey sagged heavily on Justin's shoulder as they hobbled back to the main office.
"Joey I am so sorry," Denise whimpered as she walked along beside the guys.
Joey stopped and turned to face Denise. "I am not mad at you. I'm not mad at anyone," he said, looking into her eyes.
"But I hurt you, or Little One hurt you, but it's all my fault and-"
Denise was interrupted when she felt Joey's lips against hers. She was confused at first but then closed her eyes to enjoy the moment. Joey placed his hands on her shoulder and slowly pulled away.
"You didn't do anything, understand? Don't worry about me. I'll live," he smiled.
"Okay," Denise squeaked. She remained silent for the whole rest of the walk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brandi looked at Lance. "I hope you're right."
"I'm always right about these things," Lance smiled. "Did you see me on Loveline?"
"Yeah," Brandi said. 'You were hot on there too,' she thought.
Lance nodded and was about to say something else when Joey, Justin, and Denise all walked by the stable door.
"What happened?" Lance asked, getting up then helping Brandi.
"Denise's horse stepped on my foot," Joey said. Then he looked at Denise. "But it doesn't hurt too bad now."
"Denise, how could you let Little One do something like that?" Brandi asked.
"I didn't mean too," Denise said.
"It's not her fault," Joey said, leaning on Denise.
"Where's Chris?" Justin asked Lance.
"What makes you think I'd know?" Lance asked, teasing.
"I thought they were just going to look around," Denise spoke up.
"Well let's go," Justin smiled, leading the way.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"So what do you guys do here?" Chris asked.
"What do you mean?" Emily asked as they walked.
"To make money," Chris added.
"Well, we try to win money prizes, we board horses, and we sell them," Emily said.
"And that supports all of you?"
"We do other little jobs too," Emily said. "Whatever comes up." Chris looked at her with laughter in his eyes then Emily said, "That wasn't meant to be a sexual reference."
"I know, I'm just playin' with ya," Chris replied. He opened his mouth to say something else when Justin's familiar irritating yell reached them. "Ignore it and maybe it'll go away," Chris teased as the others approached.
"Don't be mean," Emily replied, smiling.
"What happened to you?" Emily asked when she saw Joey.
"Just a little accident with my big feet," Joey smiled, nuzzling Denise's neck.
Denise smiled brightly and looked at Emily, still believing what was happening herself. Emily looked at Denise and Joey and smiled. "Looks like you two have become well-acquainted."
"I'm just a very lovable person," Joey smiled.
"We better get some ice on that," Denise interrupted, starting to push Joey back towards the main building.
Emily and Chris followed the group, whispering to themselves like the other pairs were doing. "Wait a minute! Where's J.C?" Justin yelled, stopping and causing Lance to run into him.
"What did happen to them?" Denise asked, looking at Emily.
"Last I saw, they were riding and J.C. looked scared shitless," Emily smiled.
"J.C. actually got on a horse?" Lance asked. "Do you know how long it took him before he got on Toby for the first time?"
"He just doesn't like anything bigger than him," Chris said.
"Or stronger," Joey added.
"Emily, you and Chris help Justin find Shannon and J.C. while me and Brandi help take care of Joey," Denise said.
"OK, hopefully this won't take too long," Emily smiled.
The group split and headed in two different directions. Denise helped Joey hobble to the main building with Brandi, and Emily, Justin and Chris headed out to the pasture to try to find their missing friends.
"I hope they're okay," Emily said, walking beside Chris as Justin led the search party.
"Why wouldn't they be?" Chris asked.
"Well, Shannon put J.C. on Raven, and he can be stubborn at times," Emily replied. "He's a big male Fresian."
A white mare began following Chris. "J.C. can take care of himself." He looked behind him, hearing the clip-clop of hooves. "What do you want?" he asked the mare.
The horse perked up her ears, studying Chris with big blue eyes. She snorted and kept up her pace, if not quickening it slightly.
Emily laughed. "That's Whisper. I think she likes you."
Chris turned around and concentrated on following Justin. They walked in silence for a few more feet before Chris felt a nibble on his back pocket. "What the-?" he yelped, turning around. There stood Whisper, nickering proudly and stamping her foot.
"Today just isn't your day for horses, is it?" Emily said.
"Obviously not," Chris replied, rubbing himself.
Suddenly Justin pointed ahead. "Is that them?" he asked, squinting.
Up ahead, Shannon was riding Peaches and J.C. sat behind her looking somewhat pissed. Raven trotted along behind them looking ashamed.
Emily waited until Shannon rode Peaches closer then asked, "What happened?"
"Oh nothing, Raven just got in a mood," Shannon replied. "But J.C. did a good job."
J.C. smiled to himself. "Well you know…" he trailed off.
"We've been looking all over for you," Justin said.
"I can see that," Shannon laughed, pointing behind Chris.
The others turned to see a small herd of horses all stopped behind Chris, looking at him expectantly. "What do you want?!" Chris yelled.
The horses stood their ground and whinnied in response.
"It's okay," Emily laughed, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Denise carefully pulled the size 13 shoe off Joey's foot. He winced, then quickly smiled to cover it up.
"Here's the ice," Dawn said, handing a bag to Denise.
Denise took it and placed it on Joey's sore foot, then took a set on the floor beside him. She opened her mouth but was cut off be Joey.
"If you say you're sorry one more time, I'll have to kiss you again."
Denise smiled. "I'm sorry," she said. (You're Welcome)
Joey smiled his trademark, infectious smile. He leaned into her, his deep brown eyes sparkling with love. Denise tilted her head up to meet his lips, and smiled when his whiskers tickled her chin. He wrapped his arm around her, letting his kiss become more passionate.
Suddenly something dropped to the floor next to him and he pulled away to see what it was. There sat a large gray cat, staring at him with a comical face. It had hair growing out of it's ears that formed points on each of it's ears, and long whiskers on each side of it's face, giving it a broad face. The cat walked over to Joey, rubbing itself against his outstretched leg.
"Who's this?" Joey smiled, petting the cat.
"Um, that's Joey," Denise blushed, closing her eyes in embarrassment. "It’s a girl."
"Hi Joey," Joey smiled, picking up the cat. The cat stared at Joey with amber eyes, then began chewing on Joey's fingers. Joey looked at Denise as the cat continued to maul his hand. "Not too friendly, is she?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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