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40K views 184 replies 62 participants last post by  knightrider 
#1 ·
It's only one paragraph but I wanted to try to work on it tonight so:

A splash of light spilled across the aisle of the large rubber matted flooring of the barn revealing tiny dust particles dancing in the morning air. It was filled with the sounds of content as horses munched quietly on their morning feed. Lacey Evans stood in the tack room, reserved for private owners. She ran her fingers over the expensive saddle before her. It was old and well used but had been carefully taken care over the years, having belonged to the trainers daughter. She traced the letter B that was the brand so beautifully stamped into the elegant leather saddle. Not only was it the first day of summer vacation, it was her first day on her summer job.
 
#3 ·
A splash of light spilled across the aisle of the large rubber matted flooring of the barn revealing tiny dust particles dancing in the morning air. It was filled with the sounds of content as horses munched quietly on their morning feed. Lacey Evans stood in the tack room, reserved for private owners. She ran her fingers over the expensive saddle before her. It was old and well used but had been carefully taken care over the years, having belonged to the trainers daughter. She traced the letter B that was the brand so beautifully stamped into the elegant leather saddle. It was the first day of summer break and she had landed one of the most desirable positions offered at the Cutter Ranch. Some of it had to do with the fact thate she was already on the staff part-time, although she wasn't working for cash, she was working for two lessons per week. One english, one western. She wasn't working for cash through out the summer either and that is probably why John Cutter was so quick to agree to hiring her on full time. All she wanted was that saddle, well, that saddle and her two lessons a week. She would have to babysit on her off days and in the evenings to continue saving money for the horse she would some day own. To date, she had banked eight hundred and seventy two dollars. Not enough for a Cutter bred Quarter horse by any means, but someday...
 
#4 · (Edited)
The sound of tires crunched on the pea gravel outside followed by the slamming of doors. Lacey took one last look at her prized possession before carefully covering it w/ a ratty towel. It was time to turn horses out into their paddocks for the day. She stopped by the white board to check the owner request list to see what horses needed to stay in their stalls for early morning rides. Lacey sighed when she saw the first three names on the list. Carly White, Morgan Rowell, and Vicky Blake. Her three favorite people. They were like the "Saddle Club" only backwards. She liked to call them the Saddle Divas. They weren't from the wealthiest families in the valley, but they sure did act like it. They were snippy and rude and never seemed to mind when it came time to remind Lacey that the horses she rode, did not belong to her. And because she didn't own them, she'd never show in the AQHA shows with the rest of them. She was destined to live out her show career at the local level.
The fourth and fifth names on the list put a smile on her face. Maddie Stormwaters, her best friend in the entire world. Maddie understood her better then anyone and she was the most supportive person she'd ever met. Even more supportive then her own mother in some ways. That mainly had to do with the fact that she understood her needs when it came to horses much more then mom did.
 
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#5 · (Edited)
Chase Cutter was the other name on the list. Chase. At sixteen he was a year older then most of the other riders in the barn, Lacey included. He was larger then life, in her mind with his steel gray eyes and deep brown hair. He was always tanned from hours spent outside around the ranch. He was the youngest of the cutter children. There was Jake, in the middle, he was nearly 18 and attending community college while taking over the begginer lesson program. He was a stronger, taller version of Chase and then there was Elizabeth. She was the oldest, kind and beautiful dark hair that fell in soft curls all the way to her waste. She had doll like features on a perfect complexion. She had left to attend a college that specialized in equine studies the year before and hadn't been home much except for holidays. She was supposed to be home for the summer any day now, though no one seemed to know when.
 
#6 ·
Lacey spun on the heel of her well worn boots and headed to the first stall to begin what was going to become her morning routine for the rest of the summer. As a part-timer she always worked in the lesson barn, which doubled as the sale barn since the Cutter’s only had two honest lesson horses, which were actually horses that his children had outgrown but refused to part with. The rest were actually for sale. The number of students not owning horses in this facility was minimal. Mr. Cutter was very particular in accepting new clients, he refused to waste his time on those who did not wish to learn. The lesson barn was always loud and bustling, she was going to miss the friendly atmosphere
 
#9 · (Edited)
I made a few changes here and there. gramatical and wording stuff mostly. The boss's daughter is now named Brittany instead of elizabeth (geuss my mood changed) and the middle brother is now 17 ALMOST 18 instead of 18..... teehee.... more to come. Please tell me if I need to change anything or if anyone has suggestions or anything....oh... and please let me know if my characters are to mature or to immature... I know you can't really tell yet.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Lacey spun on the heel of her well worn boots and headed to the first stall to begin what was going to become her morning routine for the rest of the summer. As a part-timer she always worked in the lesson barn, which doubled as the sale barn since the Cutter’s only had two honest lesson horses, which were actually horses that his children had outgrown but refused to part with. The rest were for sale. The number of students not owning horses in this facility was pretty small. Mr. Cutter was very particular in accepting new clients, he refused to waste his time on those who did not wish to learn. The lesson barn was always loud and bustling, she was going to miss the friendly atmosphere it offered. This barn seemed to be a little stuffy.
Once all of the horses were turned out she began the chore of mucking stalls. It surprised her that she was the only one working in the private barn that morning, although she had never thought about who cared for these animals before. It had always been off-limits in her mind so she had spent very little time in it. Unless she was hanging out with Maddie, but Maddie usually came down to the lesson barn. She liked it better there and was always complaining that she was never fully accepted by the other teens in the private barn. Lacey jumped at the sound of a male voice.
“Hey.” It was Jake. He was standing in the open door of the stall wearing a tight pair of blue jeans, ripped out at the knee. His t-shirt was already filthy for the early morning. He was drenched in sweat and had pieces of hay stuck to his glistening arms. For a moment Lacey pictured him rolling in the hay with one of the saddle divas and then she noticed his leather gloves. He’d been unloading the hay wagon. That’s where everyone was this morning. Her eyes widened. Had she been supposed to be there? Helping?
“Hey.” She answered in a shaky voice. It wasn’t Jake that she pined for, he was much to old for her. He was a college boy. She wouldn’t even turn sixteen until the beginning of the school year. Even so, he was a very good looking man and she found herself unable to form words. “Was I supposed to be somewhere else?” She asked.
He took his hat off to wipe the sweat from his forehead. His dark hair was soaked. Was it really that hot outside she wondered? “I was looking for Chase.” He braced himself on the door of the stall with one arm making that diagonal muscle on his upper arm bulge. He was definitely a solid guy.
“I haven’t seen anyone this morning. I did leave his horse up.” She remembered the owners request list on the white board.
He cursed. Lacey’s eyes shot up and she took a step back placing her pitchfork between the two of them. The prongs were still in the sawdust and she didn’t realize what a defensive pose she had taken. But he had seen it. She saw it in his expression. She wasn’t going to have him thinking she was some timid little girl. She’d hidden the abuse that her mother and she had endured up until her father had finally left them in her last year of middle school and she wasn’t about to show the scars now. She stood as tall as her five foot two frame would allow and she held her chin high. “He left his name on the list.” She told him defensively. She had been a member of this facility for over eight years and was amazed that she still felt like such an outsider.

“He was supposed to help unload hay.” He grumbled heading to the other side of the barn. When she heard his loud curse she knew his horse was gone. He must have joined the girls on their morning trail ride. It didn’t surprise her. She was pretty sure he’d been seeing Morgan towards the end of the school year, although nothing had ever officially made it’s way down the rumor mill. Not that she had heard anyway. Morgan was the quintessential high school teen queen anyway with her wheat blonde hair, big blue eyes and the cheerleading outfit she donned for the Friday night football games. They made a cute couple. Lacey knew she would never be the kind of girl that demanded attention from a guy like him anyway. Her hair was long and thick and it was even blonde, but it was that strawberry blonde that brought out the splash of freckles covering the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were blue but not an exceptional shade, just plain old blue. She was the girl next door that everyone sings about in the country songs. The one that is always begging the guy to notice her.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Lacey knew she would never be the kind of girl that demanded attention from a guy like him anyway. Her hair was long and thick and it was even blonde, but it was that strawberry blonde that brought out the splash of freckles covering the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were blue but not an exceptional shade, just plain old blue. She was the girl next door that everyone sings about in the country songs. The one that is always begging the guy to notice her. What those songs never seemed to mention was the fact that the guy never notices the girl next door or in her case, the girl in the lesson barn that lived in the rental house on Main street, near the only stop light in town. The one she could see flashing red through her bedroom window the whole night through. She sighed and went back to cleaning stalls.


By lunch time Lacey had made up her mind that she hated working in the private barn. It had taken nearly two and a half hours to clean the fourteen stalls, add pine shavings, and fill water buckets. Fifteen minutes later she had swept the aisles. When she’d entered the barn that morning it had looked like too much work for just one person to handle when in fact, it really wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d expected. What was bad was that it was really quiet. And a little spooky with all of the horses turned out. The phone rang causing her to nearly jump out of her skin.

“Cutter Quarter Horses, Lacey speaking.” She answered as professionally as she could. It was a call ahead, Mrs. Stevenson and her twelve year old daughter were coming to ride. They were leaving their house and would be at the barn in approximately thirty minutes. It was one of the services provided by the Cutter Ranch. Grooms would catch the owners horse and tack it up so that it was ready to go when they arrived. Lacey did not agree with the idea and always wondered; how would they ever bond. The truth was they wouldn’t.
Grabbing a set of matching halters she headed out to the first paddock. Killian was a well built bay with long legs and a powerful hind end. He was built to perform at the higher levels of dressage and could soar over the highest jumps, a warmblood of sorts, Lacey didn’t know much about the breed, her interests had always fallen on the quarter horses, but this animal was magnificent by anyone horseman’s standards. She always figured the larger performance breeds were hot heads so she was careful when she entered the paddock, having never handled this particular horse before she was expecting him to be a handful and was surprised when he dropped his head and allowed her to fit the halter on him. He was an enormous beast, she found herself in awe over his size. Even at a walk he exuded power. She led him into the barn and left him standing in cross-ties while she headed off to get Chilly, a large dapple gray pony trained in hunt. He was a very showy pony, well built and flashy.
The Cutter Ranch focused on breeding and training quarter horses but all breeds and disciplines were welcome. It wasn’t a large facility but it was well managed and had an indoor riding arena large enough for local the level hunt shows to place entire jump courses in it. There were three barns. A lesson barn, a training barn, and the private owners barn. There were also three outdoor arenas and a round pen. This wasn’t the average horse owners barn. It was very pricey. John Cutter had worked hard to build this place. The barns and the house had been there when he purchased it fresh out of high school, using an inheritance. The original owner had been involved in a scandal, something to do with the use of illegal substances. Lacey had heard the story several times but it was constantly changing. What she did know was that a simple change in ownership and a new name had not been enough to bring in the clients. Mr. Cutter had several world championship titles under his belt before he was able to bring in the clients.
 
#17 ·
That's great Jenny. You have a good knack for story telling.
 
#19 · (Edited)
The Cutter Ranch focused on breeding and training quarter horses but all breeds and disciplines were welcome. It wasn’t a large facility but it was well managed and had an indoor riding arena large enough for local the level hunt shows to place entire jump courses in it. There were three barns. A lesson barn, a training barn, and the private owners barn. There were also three outdoor arenas and a round pen. This wasn’t the average horse owners barn. It was very pricey. John Cutter had worked hard to build this place. The barns and the house had been there when he purchased it fresh out of high school, using an inheritance. The original owner had been involved in a scandal, something to do with the use of illegal substances. Lacey had heard the story several times but it was constantly changing. What she did know was that a simple change in ownership and a new name had not been enough to bring in the clients. Mr. Cutter had several world championship titles under his belt in more then one discipline before he was able to bring in the clients.
“Hey Chica!” It was her best friend Maddie Stormwaters. “Rainy day!” Lacey squealed. “Where have you been!” The girls giggled came together in a dramatic hug rocking each other from side to side, shifting there feet with each step. “Cute jeans!” Lacey stepped back to admire her best friends newly purchased super tight purple jeans. She wore them with a fat belt covered in rhinestones. Maddie was a pretty girl, a mix of Caucasian and Navajo. She wore her thick black in a sloppy knot on top of her head. Her eyes were round and dark with lashes that went on for miles. She had full lips and a perfect olive complexion. Lacey tugged at her reddish blonde pony tail staring down at her own faded blue jeans, worn so soft in some spots that her skin peeked through. She wore a thick brown leather belt, nothing as fancy as Maddies number but one she’d saved for. It had a tooled belt buckle decorated with tiny sparkling stones.
“Did you keep Jewell up?” Maddie asked, already heading to her stall.
“Yip, Want me to tack her up?” She asked, erasing the names from the white board.
“Nope.” She heard the stall door slide open and the clip clop of shod hooves. “I haven’t quite earned my diva stripes yet. Better do it myself!” She called from the other aisle. “Can you come?” Maddie asked.
“Better not” she sighed. Maddies little sister Ruthie had a fat little appaloosa pony that she could have ridden but it was the first day of her full-time summer job and she really didn’t want to goof off. Mr. Cutter was always pretty fair about letting his staff take breaks but she was sure a two hour trail ride wasn’t something he’d approve of.
“Guess I’m in the ring today then huh?” Maddie complained. Unless she found a buddy there would be no trails for her. Those were stable rules.
“Sorry.” Lacey mumbled grabbing a broom and sweeping the aisle. She was done with her barn chores for the moment and not really sure what to do next. She decided to help unload the hay wagon. Three hours later soaked in sweat, muscles aching, and feeling itchy and dirty she decided that sneaking off on a trail ride would have been worth the risk. She stood at the entrance of the barn glaring at the empty aisles. Her first day on the job and she hated the private barn. Sighing she took one last look over her shoulder towards the lesson barn, it was full of activity with young riders giggling and horses coming and going. She longed for that barn. Most of the people there had never owned horses and actually respected her knowledge. They came to her for help and advice, she loved it down there. She could only pray that when summer camp sessions started Mr. Cutter would make her a camp counselor for one of the beginner groups.
“Lace!” Giggles and laughter followed the bellow. Another sigh. The “divas” had returned from their morning ride. “Hose my horse please.” Morgan handed the reigns off and made a bee-line for the lounge. “It’s hotter then Hades out there!” she called over her shoulder. Lacey un-tacked the big gelding, leaving him sweating in the cross-ties just long enough to put the saddle away and hang the bridle. Vicky and Carly un-tacked their own horses and followed Lacey to the wash stalls.

“The trails were great.” Vicky told her. “We took the fire path to where it pops out at the cross country course.” Vicky was the one that was boarder-line diva. She could follow Morgan’s path and be condescending on occasion, but for the most part, she was the friendlier of the three.
 
#26 · (Edited)
“The trails were great.” Vicky told her. “We took the fire path to where it pops out at the cross country course.” Vicky was the one that was boarder-line diva. She could follow Morgan’s path and be condescending on occasion, but for the most part, she was the friendliest of the three.
“To bad you’ll never have a horse. I’d invite you to come with us.” Ok, maybe not the friendliest.
“I’m glad you had fun.”
“Oh we did. Chase was supposed to come with us but Hank snatched him up instead.” Vicky continued, oblivious to the other girls hurt feelings.
“Hank?” She’d have to let Jake know that his brother had been working with the head foreman instead of goofing off. He had seemed so angry when he couldn’t find him that morning.
“Yes Hank.” Vicky gave shut off the water spigot and skewed her face. “The hired hand.” She added.
Lacey laughed. “I know who Hank is. I just thought he was trail riding with you. I wonder what they are doing.” Hank was a really nice fellow. Good looking too, for an older guy. He was probably somewhere in his mid thirties, older then her mom, who was only thirty-two. She often wondered what people thought of her mother. Not because she had gotten pregnant at such an early age, but because she had stayed married to an abusive man for so many years. It wasn’t the whole town didn’t know. Her father could go from being kind and loving to angry and harsh in just a matter of moments.

When things had gotten really bad, her mother had begged Mr. Cutter to take her on for lessons just to get her out of the house. Lacey had been so angry with her mother for being such a weak women for so many years. But now Lacy could only be proud of her for the way she had learned to cope and deal with the daily struggles of being a single working parent.
 
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