Bored

Luke chuckles. "Yeah... I think Dylan's a lot more like his dad than he sees, or wants to admit. I'm not even sure Mick sees it most days."

His hand rubs Angel's arm absentmindedly as he thinks - a habit he usually didn't even realize existed. "At least Dylan is getting out and doing a few more things now. He still hibernates too much, but at least he's making an effort in a few areas." His lips form a wry grin. "I guess even I'd try to help out but I think all I could do was teach him how to sit in a porch swing, and I'm pretty sure he already knows how to do that."

Even though he was kidding, just a little bit of sarcasm seeps into his tone. Realizing it too late, he tries to change the subject. "So anyway, Jeff's been trying to get an UNO game going forever - I thought I might humor him tonight and stay up at the dining room for a while after supper."


Eric gives a short kind of laugh and nods. He hadn't thought he'd help with chores later but now... maybe he would. "Yeah... I'll be here."

Wandering back down the barn aisle, he looked for something to do to keep himself occupied for a while longer.


Dylan hobbles alongside Sparky, wanting to just make it to his bunkhouse where he could hibernate the rest of the day. This morning's lesson had been a disaster. Usually they waited until late afternoon, but Sparky had known Mick was busy in the office this morning, so he'd had Dylan ride early. Unfortunately, it wasn't the time of day that was the problem. It was just one of those days where everything seemed to go wrong. Now if Dylan could just avoid a bunch of questions...

No such luck.

"Dylan?" Mick stops them, approaching with worry in his eyes from seeing his son limping and being helped along by Sparky. "Are you okay? What happened?"

When Dylan glares at the ground in silence, Sparky is quick to speak. "Oh, just had a little tumble. Nothing but a cracked rib, sprained ankle and a nice black and blue shoulder. He'll be good as new so fast that nobody'll know the difference."

Mick isn't convinced and he folds his arms. "Tumble?"

"Yeah... yeah, but we're good."

The pause that follows is an awkward one. Dylan glances up once to see Mick's face before he looks down again. "Can we just get to my bunk?" he mumbles.

"Not until I know what happened," Mick states flatly. He looks at Sparky with irritation - it wasn't like his brother to skirt around issues like this. "Who's gonna tell me?"

Sparky can feel Dylan tense, and he tries to put out a fire before one started. "While he was riding earlier, a few things went wrong and he got bucked off. Angel's already checked him out though and all he needs is a couple days to-"

"Riding?" Mick's eyebrows had already arched. "Dylan, the hater of horses was riding?"

Dylan's gaze snaps up angrily and he opens his mouth to spit out an angry retort, but Sparky speaks before he can.

"Well, you know how some people change their minds." Sparky keeps his tone light, while he gives Mick a definite look that told him to shut up and he'd talk to him later.

Mick catches the hint and backs off. "Ah. Okay. Well, um... if you need anything, Dylan, let me or Rosetta know, alright?"

Dylan gives him half a nod. "Yeah." Leaning into Sparky, he forces him to keep going, abandoning the short exchange with Mick. Once they reach his bunk, he's helped onto his bed to put his ankle up and Sparky helps him with some ice before leaving him be. Stuck where he was, Dylan grudgingly does his schoolwork, though after an hour of staring at his books, these four walls never felt tighter. One math lesson and one book flung at the floor later, he leans back and stares up at the ceiling, frustrated and bored.


"So what's going on?" Mick spins on his heel as Sparky approaches him from behind in the barn aisle.

Sparky sighs and tips his hat back on his head. "I've been giving Dylan riding lessons. He didn't want you to know about it yet."

"Why not?" Mick throws his arms in the air and paces in circles. "And he gets thrown? What happened?"

"Nothing - it was just a rough day. He was having trouble, Sharpshooter had his own ideas and it just happened." Sparky remains perfectly calm. "You know how it goes."

"Well why didn't Dylan want me to know? I don't get it. One day he hates horses and the next he's riding?"

Sparky furrows his brow and just waits a moment until Mick will look him in the eye. "He was scared, Mick. He never hated horses... he was scared. You just didn't see it."

Mick stops his pacing and stares at his brother. "But he never said-"

"It doesn't matter what he said. It's the truth. And on top of that, he's even more scared of disappointing you. That's why he didn't want you to know about him riding."

"Disappointing me? Why? I don't understand. He told you that?"

"No, but he didn't have to. Look, you two might not get along very well, but you're still his father. You're also the top horseman around here - you think he wants to look stupid in front of you? Take a fall for you to see? He's disappointed you enough. First, he hasn't turned out to be what you wanted in a son, and now you think he'd want to attempt being a horseman in front of you - his father and the best?" Sparky shakes his head. "I can't blame him."

It takes a few moments for the whole thing to sink in, but when it does, Mick's heart sinks just as low. His shoulders drop. "Things really are messed up between him and me, aren't they?"

Sparky purses his lips and nods slowly. "Yeah... yeah, they are. But... that doesn't mean it can't get better. Now, I've never been a parent, but my advice for the moment would be to just keep giving Dylan his space. He's more embarrassed than hurt right now and he thinks you're judging him already."

"But I-"

"I know you're not. But his perspective isn't accurate either. He's hurt, he's frustrated, he's scared, and he wants to be loved but just doesn't know that's what that hole in his life is. He doesn't have hardly any friends, his relationship with his family isn't great, he's stuck at a horse ranch and he's got the Agency after him. It's a heavy load for a kid to bear."

Mick sighs deeply. "So I should just ignore today?"

"Not ignore... but don't make a big deal out of it either. Now's not the time to reprimand or draw attention to what he thinks is a shortcoming. I'll keep working with him... if it's alright with you."

"Yeah... yeah." Mick nods, though his mind was going several directions at once. He was so frustrated... and sad... sad that Dylan was letting Sparky close but not him. But... if that was Dylan's choice, then Mick knew he had to just stay back no matter how hard it was.