Downswing

So Stacy must be tougher on speeders than her own daughter. That was probably good - at least Ashlee didn't seem like the rod had been spared too much. Eric digests her words, still trying to figure out the whole family dynamics and what Stacy was made out of. Her question makes him pause his work again though.

Thinking a moment, he finds a dirty spot in some deeper tooling that he picks at with his thumbnail. "Mick's usually the one that gives lessons," he finally answers. It was true - Mick was the head honcho when it came to riding lessons or breaking in horses, whether it was visitors, family or paying customers. Eric only got involved if he was asked directly by Mick or Rosetta. His job had always just been to help around the barn and bring in money from the road.

His mistake, however, was glancing over at Ashlee. There were those eyes again. He usually didn't have trouble saying no, did he? He didn't think she was trying to manipulate him - there was just a sweet spirit about her that was hard to ignore. For a moment, Eric wonders what it must be like for her to be the daughter of a law enforcer, and without a dad too. She seemed happy and well-adjusted but he was sure some days must be tough. Why she'd come to him though, he had no idea.

"And I ain't sure when I'll be in the saddle again," he concludes, settling on his last excuse. "I got a leg that don't like cooperating."

Getting up from the bench, he limps over to the supply shelf and grabs a round tin. Bringing it back, he sits next to Ashlee again and leans over, pointing out some dusty places in the leather, and even where some mold had formed. "This is some saddle soap," he explains. "It'll soften up leather too, but does a better job of actual cleaning." Picking up a soft toothbrush that had seen better days, he rubs the bristles into the wax-like soap and brushes it onto the saddle, brushing in circles until the soap had disappeared and a clean spot now existed. He hands Ashlee the toothbrush. "You can use this too... don't much matter where on the saddle you use it - just if the leather ain't soaking up anything anymore, it's had plenty of soap and oil."

He pats the saddle seat, gaining back a little grin. "Just don't put too much of either here... you might go sliding off as soon as your bottom hits it."


Tal chuckles and he shakes his head. "If I didn't want to share the secret with you, I wouldn't have brought you here, now would I?"

He takes a bite of his food before leaning back against the tree, his mind wandering to many different places. None that took away his smile, but none that wished to be spoken either. So for a few moments, he simply enjoys his lunch and the company.

"So I was thinking... Eli said he'd be out with Scarlet again tonight. I... wondered if maybe you'd like to come over to my place for supper?"

He glances over to Ryan before his eyebrows rise a little. "If... you don't have any other plans. I mean..." He didn't want to make her uncomfortable. "...if you want to. And I could even introduce you to Holly."


Justin shrugs lamely, his eyes staying focused on his food. "Maybe some of it's my fault, always trying to fix things. I guess when I couldn't make it with social services, I gave up on starting my own practice or anything. Just got a bad taste in my mouth. But then I just started trying to fix people's problems all over again, like a bad habit or something. Technically I'm not even a counselor... I just get away with it because of connections. Experience, I have. The little paper that says so, I don't."

Stabbing a meatball with more force than necessary, the tines clang on his plate. Taking a bite, he has enough time to chew before he laughs outright at Beth's suggestion. "Vacation? What's that?"

He smirks and shakes his head. "Oh, I've had a day off here and a day off there. A real vacation hasn't happened since I was a kid. Not since..." His sentence drifts off as he remembers the last family vacation when his dad had still been alive. He clears his throat and takes a sip of water. "I guess there's just some things that never get done." He'd always wanted to take a trip to a nice big lake somewhere, take the dogs with him, and spend a week fishing and relaxing. But he'd always had too much work and had always stayed close so he wouldn't be far from his mother. Of course... that had apparently changed now.

That thought seems to anchor his mood on the downswing and he gestures to the television remote. "Wanna watch the movie while we eat or wait 'til after?"