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Ben looked away from the two, focusing on his soup. For some reason, seeing couples interact like that just made him want to cringe. Ben finished his bowl, stomach happy with the warm and filling soup. He was a little surprised to see Emma collecting the dishes and going to do them herself. He didn't think she should do all the meal work unless she really wanted to. 'I'd be happy to do the dishes...' Ben thought. He was always responsible for doing everything both at school and at home, so a few more dishes wasn't hard at all. But he decided it might be weird to go help her on the first day of the job, so he reluctantly left the building and made his way back to his room, humming a sad lullaby that he had composed himself. |
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Emma called Ben back from the porch. "Come here a sec!" She said, walking back inside to the kitchen |
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Ben raised his eyebrows to himself but turned around and went back into the house. "What is it?" He asked Emma, curious. It was 6:45, and he wanted to go back to his room, unpack a little more, and maybe go see Cash again. He also wanted to see the whole extent of the ranch, so he wouldn't get lost when he was ordered around tomorrow. |
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"How'd you like your first day?" She asked, turning to wip off the table as Jeremy walked into the room. "Lemme get that for you, darlin" He said, placing an arm around her waist and gently taking the rag from her. He kissed her head and turned her toward the living room. Once Emma started to walk toward the living room, Jeremy turned to Ben. "Listen, she's my girl. Don't touch." He growled quietly, patting Ben's shoulder toward the living room |
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Ben lifted his hands in a gesture of yielding and stepped back a little. "Of course," he said genuinely. He followed Emma to the living room and sat down in an armchair. There was a beat of awkward silence before Ben said, "Yeah, thanks for asking. It was great! Brock showed me how to feed the mares and then I hung out with Cash for a while. Dinner was great, by the way." He added after a moment. |
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Emma nodded. "Sorry about him" she said, shaking her head. "He can be a little overprotective sometimes" she stated, crossing her arms in a defensive position. She sighed. "When do you think you'll get a saddle on Cash?" |
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"Nah, it's no problem." Ben said, waving off the apology. He thought for a few seconds before saying, "Well, first we'll obviously need to work on in-hand stuff... I could get a saddle on him in a few months, maybe weeks, but I'd rather not rush it. I wouldn't try to ride him until he's four or so." |
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"So you'll likely ride a different horse in the annual comp?" She asked |
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Ben shrugged. "Maybe. I'm not sure. I might just sit it out. I tend to get nervous when I'm performing." He admitted, a little embarassed. "When is it?" |
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"This fall. Nearly October." She said, shrugging and standing. "I'm sure you want to settle in a bit longer, so I'll let you turn in for the night. Thanks for coming along and actually be willing to work" She said, smiling |
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Afternoon Storms, then Clearing
