Dagger's Point

Chapter Three

"So I'm assuming you have had prior horse experience?" She says this like a statement, though at the same time she is asking it, pulling my eyes away from the pictures that line the wall.

"Yeah. My mom and dad used to own a barn back in Idaho, they had it ever since I was little. So more or less I've grown up around horses."

"Okay. What about now, what brought you to Jersey?"

"Our barn got destroyed in a storm, and Oxford Equestrian offered my Dad a job and he took it." At the mention of the other barn her face shifts ever so slightly, surprise lingering there.

"Why do you want to work here?"

I hadn't really thought about it, and the truth was something that she would not want to hear.

"I need a job."

"Aren't you busy riding at the other barn?"

I open my mouth to reply, surprised by her question as it seems too personal for a job interview, especially something as menial as a stable hand. But I know better than to question her, as it would most likely end with me still jobless. I am saved from answering though when the man from outside; Jake, strides in, a deep frown carving his face.

"Glow is no different. I called the vet to come check him out."

Fred sighs loudly, glancing from the wall to me, to Jake and then again as if formulating some type of response.

"Okay. I guess that's one less horse for us to take on Friday then." She doesn't seem happy about it though, darkness clouding her face.

"When can you start?" She turns to me, her eyebrows raising, lips pressing into a firm line making her look intimidating.

"Right now."

"You're hired. The stalls in the first barn need mucked out. That's the one to the right of this one."

She doesn't bother with saying anything else, before slipping out of the office with Jake, leaving me dazed and confused. It's what I want, but at the same time I hadn't expected it to go so smoothly and quickly. Though either way I move from the office quickly ready to set off and get to work on the stalls, if there were as many as in this barn it's going to take me half an eternity to finish.

It has been a half-hour and six horse stalls and all I can think about is taking a shower and how unprepared I am. The May sun has come out in full force since the early morning, now making it hot enough that sweat beads on my brow and causes my shirt to cling to me awkwardly. The tractor is parked in the aisle way, a few of the horses still inside eye it cautiously, while one paces and another watches me while chewing on the wood of his stall. I take another load to it, carefully pitching the shavings up into it, some of it scattering on the floor, while bits of it come back to hit me.

In reality this should be a two person job, as eighteen stalls to clean is a large amount. But I'm not complaining, instead I cherish the physical work and the fact that I have zero chance of having to see Dad. Something that hasn't happened in a long time, as for my whole life we were basically inseparable. A groom slips past the wheel on the manure spreader, shooting me a curious glance before leading a high stepping, chestnut colt away, the youngster skittering to the side in excitement, his head high in the air.

I forge onwards with the stalls, the work slow, until all the horses are outside and the stalls clean and with fresh bedding. When I am done I set off to find Fred to ask her what she wants me to do next, as I don't have even the faintest of ideas and the grooms and other workers have since disappeared. I go back into the main barn, though instead of going directly to the office I pause to admire the horses inside.