Of Horses And Waterfalls

19. The Schedule

Pansy had noticed the look on Harry's face when Draco had said what he had about her being his everything, and wondered what that was about.  No matter, either she could ask or she could ignore it.  It had nothing to do with her really.  Draco had confided in her last night that he hadn't been expecting Potter to get tears in his eyes just from saying goodbye to his godfather, to which she had replied, "Yeah, but we don't know his full story Draco.  Maybe they just found each other", she said.

Draco nodded and said that was probably true.  He remembered thinking that if he had one, why hadn't he come into Potter's life sooner.  But, not one to dwell on other people's life stories, they made themselves comfortable and made a light dinner of a chicken salad and white wine.  They could smell the delicious aromas coming from the cottage and wondered what Potter was making, but paid it no more mind after their own stomachs were full.

They had decided to work on the schedule tomorrow, and while Pansy said that she had to pop in to the office, she would be back in no time.  Draco said thank you, then he said goodnight to her, and went to bed, totally happy that his hired hand was here, and hoped to God that he knew what he was getting himself into.  Running a ranch was no small feat, and he had a funny feeling that Potter was going to need help.

Harry woke up earlier than usual, he needed to stay as fit as he could, so he ran about five miles on his treadmill, spent a half hour on his boxing bag doing roundhouse kicks and punches, and then went for his shower all before 6am.  He knew that he was still late, and tomorrow he would have to rise even earlier, but he was ready for that.  Baby steps Harry.  Pansy had given him Draco's mobile number so that when he needed to voice something or get permission, he was just a phone call away.

He dressed in a black denim with a white figure hugging T shirt that had no sleeves, showing off his Sirius constellation tattoo beautifully.  He walked towards the main house and saw that Pansy's car wasn't in the driveway.  Didn't she sleep here last night, he wondered.  Oh well, not his business anyway, and started his walk up the steps.  Just as he was about to knock, the door was opened by Draco Malfoy, who had been watching him.  The biceps that were being shown off, his tattoo with the fireworks.  Yes, he had been watching him.

"Good morning Potter", said Draco with a drawl.  He had hardly slept last night, the beauty of the man standing before him, haunting his dreams.  And for that he was pissed off, because a sleep deprived Malfoy was extremely taxing and made him act like a spoiled brat.  It wasn't Potter's fault that he had no sleep, but Potter didn't need to know that.  He held the door open, so that Potter could enter.

"Good morning Sir", he said with that annoying smile of his.  Draco turned around and made his way towards the dining room table.  There, he had a tray of coffee waiting, with pens, notebooks and highlighters.  Turning around he saw that Potter was still standing in the doorway.  "Well, are you coming or not Potter?", he spat out.  

Harry came back to himself and started to apologize.  "Sorry, didn't realize that I had to follow you", he said and sat down.  He poured coffee for the both of them, remembering that Draco took only one sugar and no milk, and gave it to him.  This alone made Draco sit up and notice that maybe the man wasn't as oblivious as he looked sometimes.  

He would get this vacant look on his face, as if he had no idea what was being said, or how to interpret it, but it seemed he had pegged Potter the wrong way.  He would definitely be paying more attention to that from now on.  After Potter had poured his own cup, Draco asked him if he had had breakfast yet.  Harry said no, but he would get something later, thank you.  Draco nodded and together they started on the schedule that was so desperately needed for the ranch.

Potter was asking all sorts of questions like where do you buy your feed from.  How many cattle were there, and what were their corral times.  Who took the horses out for their exercise, and did those same people groom them after.  What other animals do you have or what were you looking to buy.  Who has access to the barns and the animals, and were there keys to keep everything locked up safe.  Question after question, and Draco found himself getting irritated by all of it.

After a while, Draco rubbed his eyes and looked at the man.  "All of those questions you just asked Potter, is your job to find out.  I inherited this bloody ranch, and haven't even had the chance to take a walk around the property, let alone know what and who is on it", he snapped.  Harry was taken aback by the sudden snotty attitude, and thought that the man looked tired.  

He got up out of his chair, and said quietly, "Please excuse me", and he took all the papers and notebooks and everything else that was on the table, scooped it up in his arms, and made his way outside.  If his new boss was going to act like a child, then by God, he would treat him like one.  Jesus, he had just asked the normal questions, he wondered what the reaction would be if he asked the more serious ones.  He hoped that Mr Malfoy wouldn't call him back, and when he heard nothing, he was glad.

Dropping off the papers at his cottage, he stood in front of the barn and gave a very loud and piercing whistle.  Anyone who was working on this ranch would hear it and come running.  It was the universal language of farmers and ranch hands, that if they heard a whistle, they would drop what they were doing, and pay attention to the matter at hand.  Harry waited, while Draco got up from his seat at the table, after hearing the whistle, put a hand in his pants pocket, and watched what was going to happen.

Out of the blue, there were people walking towards Potter, and Draco had no idea where they had come from.  Some were young, and some were older.  Most of them were in blue overalls, and were wearing hats to shield them from the sun.  He counted at least four people that were now standing in front of Potter, who had his hands on his hips, waiting for the last of them to arrive.  Which made his eyes travel downward, and he saw that the denim that Potter was wearing, hugged his arse magnificently.  What the fuck is wrong with you! his brain screamed at him.  

He closed his eyes, and rubbed his forehead, trying to gather himself.  Holy Christ, he needed to get a grip.  What had Pansy said?  Oh yes, he had a hunger in his eyes, he just hoped that Potter never saw it.  What were the fucking odds.

They hadn't made any headway with the schedule, but Draco was sure that Potter was going to handle what needed to be handled.  He was the boss and would have to be informed of it all, and yes he would like to be involved.  Just not in the actual physical work, but he wanted to know all of what was going on.  So, he set his cup down on the table, made his way outside, to hear what Potter was going to say.

That, and he had to introduce himself as the new owner of the newly named ranch.  When he reached the bottom step, Pansy drew up in her car and waved at him.  Seeing that he was grumpy, probably from lack of sleep, she stuck out her tongue at him.  He shook his head and waited for her to get out.  When they were standing together, she saw the gathering of people and asked what that was about.

"Potter called them, and we're about to find out why", he said and started walking.  She put her arm through his and saw that he looked annoyed.  "You didn't get any sleep last night", she stated.

"No I didn't.  The ranch, my father, and just everything getting to me I guess", he answered.  

"Mmm", she said softly, not believing a word.  "How far did you and Potter get with your schedule?", she asked.

"Nowhere.  Which is why this is happening", he answered and splayed out his hands in an effort to look even more pissed off.  It wasn't working.  She knew that secretly Draco was glad that someone was taking the reins, so to speak.  Because Draco had absolutely no knowledge about this kind of thing, and they both knew it.  

They stilled and waited for Potter to address the other staff members.