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At 5:30am on the dot there was a knock on her door. In her nervousness she was awake and more than ready to go. A young man who introduced himself as Connor was waiting for her. Connor walked her through her tasks and where all the equipment was kept. Grace on her part remembered everything. Surprisingly it was similar to the way her Grandfather taught her so that she didn't have to work to hard to retain it all. She put her head down and got to work. Occasionally another hand or trainer would walk in to get a horse or return one. They would introduce themselves politely and more than a little curious about her. She was sure she'd get the names straight eventually.
Within a couple of hours she was done and aching having used muscles that she didn't even know she had. She cleaned and returned all the equipment, made sure the horses had fresh water, and was making her way back to her house for breakfast when she literally walked into someone. "Whoa there little lady" he drawled in a deep Texan accent. Grace looked up to see what most women would consider gorgeous, tall, blond and blue eyed. He left Grace cold.
"Sorry" she breathed.
"Name's Taylor Smith, but most people call me Tex, nice to meet you." He said as he took her hand and brought it to his lips. Again most would find the gesture romantic. Grace found it down right creepy from him. Due to her job she was pretty good at reading people and he set off all her alarms. After providing her name and extricating her hand from his she managed a quick exit. She didn't like the way he looked at her, like he was a predator and she was his next meal.
Over the next few days Grace slipped into an easy routine. She found that she could manage her chores and still get to work on time. The schools welcomed her with open arms having waited so long for someone to take up the position. Apparently there weren't many applicants and none that wanted to relocate to a rural area. The principals were open and honest with the challenges they faced and the staff were grateful for any assistance or advice. She was looking forward to working with these people to make life better for these children and the adults in their lives.
On the days she didn't work in the schools she took it upon herself to have lunch with the hands and trainers. At first they were uncomfortable with her presence but soon her easy going nature got to them and they relaxed around her. She was young and the older and married men felt like they needed to protect her from the amorous younger ones, constantly telling them to mind their manners around a lady. Grace was amused and flattered by the attention both the fatherly and not so fatherly but she wasn't really interested in a 'roll in the hay' so to speak. The only one that made her uncomfortable was Tex and she avoided him like the plague. Lucas appeared to be avoiding her so all in all her life was stable.
One day she decided to go and watch the men start training a young mare that had arrived a couple days beforehand. Sitting on the fence she watched as Grant, a young trainer was attempting to put a bridle on the mare. She kept snorting and pulling away from him. He became increasingly frustrated at her lack of cooperation. He started pulling the rope around her neck harder and tighter and the mare's eyes widened in fear.
Grace could see Bradley and a couple of the others start to get edgy at Grant's handling of the horse. When Grant whipped the mare with the reigns Grace had had enough. "Get away from her you bastard." She yelled as she hopped down from the fence. Furious she rushed towards him and grabbed the rope from his hand. "How could you! You're scaring her half to death, no wonder she doesn't want to take the bit." She growled at him in a low voice so that she didn't frighten the horse further. "Give me that bridle." She demanded. Grant was so shocked by her outburst that he numbly handed it over without at word. "Gracie girl, you shouldn't really be going near a riled up horse." Bradley cautioned. Grace just held up her hand to stave him off and approached the mare slowly.
"There now girl, no one is going to hurt you. You're safe now." Grace soothed and continued to murmur to the horse as she got closer. The mare was still snorting but slowly she calmed and allowed Grace to stroke her neck and scratch a sweet sport behind her ear. Grace managed to carefully place the bridle on her and buckled it securely. She then led her in a circle to ensure her comfort before handing the lead to Bradley.
Bradley on his part was looking at her with shock and not a little admiration. "Well now child, aren't you a packet of surprises" he smiled.
Lucas had been leaning against the stable doors watching and was about to intervene when she went flying into attack. He was mesmerized by her movements the way she touched the animal each stroke gentle and confident. It was almost sensual to him. This woman he didn't want on his property was definitely getting his attention. As she walked towards him he said loud enough for her to hear "Don't touch my animals without permission again." And he walked towards the men not allowing her to respond.
