Today will be my day.

Chapter3

After more chat last night I learned that today Brad, Nath, Barney and myself would be doing first call instead of Dylan, Ash, Tarun and Mike so they do second call. I also learned that I would only need my leather boots for riding, meeting owners and doing demonstrations but for mucking out and other yard work I could wear my brown country boots, although those also have to be kept as clean as possible.

So today I sit and eat breakfast with Brad, Nath and Barney, discussing my various roles at the yard, how I like my key horses (Bentley, Novelty and Boebka), how I like any of the people I have met and starting to get to know each other a little more. After breakfast is done with and all dirty dishes have been put into the dishwasher and the table cleaned off, we get ready to leave. I walk out of the house with a bag slung over my shoulders, with my clean leather boots, a clean pair of breeches and a clean polo shirt just in case I get dirty, following after the three males who are bounding down the steps towards the Range Rover, jumping on each other's backs and racing to get there first. Before I've even made it to the bottom step all three are in the car, honking the horn and shouting at me to hurry.

We arrive at the yard just after 5am and proceed to go our separate ways, Brad and Barney heading to tend to the sheep and cows and Nath and I heading towards the stable block containing my key horses, ready to start mucking out.

"I know we asked you this at breakfast but how are you really feeling about everyone you've met? Surely you don't think they're all great?"

"So far everyone I've met has been very welcoming and lovely, I'm already starting to feel like part of the family both here and back at the house" I paused to think. "Actually can I ask you something?"

"Let me guess, you want to know why me, my dad and my siblings live with uncle Mike?"

"Well I did wonder about that but no, I was going to ask you why Bella is so shy and always looks so scared. Yesterday at breakfast I sat with her and started to try and talk with her but she just acted like I wasn't even there."

"When our mum left, Bella took it the hardest she was just a new born baby. She thinks our mum left because she was born and that our mum didn't want her, she distances herself from everyone so she doesn't feel like she's in the way in case anyone leaves again." He spoke this all to me with a small, sad and obviously forced smile sitting in his features. He looked down at me, still with a sad smile before rubbing my arm gently and leading me to utensils I would need for brushing out.

I was the first to finish brushing out, probably because I only had eight horses and everyone else had more, so I decided to take a look at a few more of the horses in this block of thirty. Turns out that Joel, who I met yesterday has five key horses and me and him do alternate calls, so when I do second call he mucks both of our groups of key horses out and when I am on first call I muck them out. I carried in wandering around the stable block quietly until I heard the crashing of shoed hooves against a concrete wall and the shouts of various people, I decided to go and try to help. Nath was pinned in a corner by a horse I had never seen before but quickly found out was called Rogue, as the horse continued to kick at the wall beside him while everyone stood outside the stable door doing nothing but trying to talk to the horse. Pft yeah like that would work. I pushed through the crowd and into the stable only to be pulled back out again by a burly looking guy telling me to get out of the way because I am just a girl. I humphed in annoyance and shoved him off me before walking back into the stable slowly approaching the angry horse.

"Everyone move away from the door." I order all of the people around the door with none of them taking a blind bit of notice. "Move now!" I raised my voice slightly so that they would take more notice and so I didn't scare Rogue anymore. I step slowly towards the angry grey horse as he whips around threatening me with his hind legs and swishing his tail in my face, I step away from his legs so I am more central in the stable and can't be pinned to any walls. "Ah ah, now you're not going to kick me are you, Rogue? That would be very unreasonable of you, now come on let's just calm down and let Nath out of the stable please." I spoke calmly but authoritatively to the horse and he slowly started to turn to look at me before lunging to bite me. I took my chance to grab the headcollar that the horse was conveniently wearing and taking charge of his head so he couldn't bite me again. "Ah not quite quick enough Rogue. Now come on, we both know that you're not going to win this battle so let's move over so Nath can get out and we'll have a little chat." I moved the horse over to the far side of the large stable and away from Nath who was still cowering in the corner. "Nath move slowly and along the wall to the door." Nath took that as his signal to leave the stable as I started to talk quietly to the horse calmly him slightly before being rudely interrupted by the guy who had told me to get out of the way because I was just a girl.

"You listen here young lady," he addressed me as he roughly grabbed the horse away from me, "if I tell you to get out of the way then you get out of the way. I don't know who you are but I am head of this stable block so whilst you're down here you do as I say. Capeesh?" I glared in annoyance at this man as we both quietly left the stable shutting and bolting the door behind us.

"If I had listened to you then what would have happened huh?" I growled in anger at this ridiculous man. "I would have been another onlooker crowding around the door uselessly and making the horse even more angry by the amount of people that just stood there doing nothing. If I listened to you we'd probably be standing here ringing the emergency services to see to Nath because he'd just been kicked because no one did anything other than hope that uttering a few choice words at the horse would just calm him down. How anyone has survived here by listening to you is completely beyond me, you call yourself head of this building but you have no clue whatsoever of what to do in a situation like that, and the way you came in and grabbed the horse only upset him and angered him just proving you have no idea what you are dealing with." I ranted on until I realised that I was surrounded by men staring at me with wide eyes. He retaliated. "How dare you talk to me like that, I had the situation completely under control-" I cut him off, "Pft, yeah looked like it, don't even think about trying to lecture me about respecting you, the only thing I should be respecting you for is as someone who is in charge but you have failed to show me that you capable of doing that when it really matters so if you don't mind I have work to do."

I flounced off swishing my hair in his face and pushing my way through the crowd only to face Robin, the guy who was really in charge, on the other side. I gulped trying to keep my confidence up as he scowled at me, until his face broke out into a broad smile. "I knew you would fit right in Lola, no girl has ever stood up to Nick like that you should be proud of yourself. This stable block is the one full of guys because no female can handle being told 'no you're just a girl', but you! You handled it and you proved him wrong and when he tried to put you down you stood up for what you done and who you were and you corrected him of what he was doing wrong. I am immensely impressed with you Lola, it can only go up from here and I can't wait to see where you end up." He finished praising me and wrapped an arm around my shoulder leading me back to the onlookers and Nick. "You all need to get back to work." He snapped at the men who started back on whatever they were doing before all hell broke loose. "Not you Nick, you come back here and introduce yourself to Lola properly. I am disappointed in the way in which you reacted to Rogue yet again, if he had kicked the son of the joint owner of this entire establishment you would have been out, no questions asked. If Lola hadn't have been there and Nathaniel had been kicked then what would you have done Nick?" Nick tried to speak but failed at uttering out anything other than mumbled bits of words before Robin cut him off again. "This young girl of only 17 has proved she has more of what it takes to run this part of the yard than you, on the morning of her second day she has proved herself more than you have in the 20-something years you've been here Nick. From now on Lola takes over Rogue, she will be his key care giver and you stay far away from him. 'Capeesh'?" Robin mimicked his tone of voice from when Nick had spoke rudely to me earlier before leading me off to meet more and more people.

By the time everyone had got there from second call I was the talk of the whole yard and even everyone at the farm had heard how I stood up to the Nick, the guy who no one stood up to, the guy who is always in charge. Apparently Nick has been working here his whole life and is feared by everyone as he is apparently some hot shot ruler guy who everyone feels inferior to because of the power he has helped himself to, now everyone looks totally differently at him and it looks like I have made my first enemy since being here; didn't take too long. The rest of the day ran smoothly and I left the stables to go and meet the guys at the car for a lift home with instructions to be at a meeting at nine tomorrow morning, that would give me enough time to check my key four horses and go to Rogue's stable to spend a bit of time figuring him out before going to the meeting. I wonder what it's about?

All thought we're cut off as I approached the two Parker cars with 5 Parker guys standing around them, suddenly one of them noticed me and all their attention was on me as I think Ash ran up to me swinging me up onto his shoulder and running circles whilst they all shouted chants of how much of an impression I had made and random other things. Wait was one of those about my bum? I had no more time to think as I was thrown into the car onto the lap of Nath. "Our dad's have to stay late so they need the other car and as payment for saving my life when the rest of those dumbfucks just stood there I will be your comfy cushion for the ride home" he winked at me as we left yard to head for home.