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Post by Kiersten on Sept 24, 2023 19:02:46 GMT -6
Cosette walked over to Silas and took Peanut’s reigns from him. “Alright, I think she could use the box to get on, unless you want to try and jump in the saddle.” She offered Aleah the choice, but she wouldn’t judge if she wanted to make it easier on herself.
Thomas took in a deep breath and watched the three of them, feeling like a slight outsider since he didn’t work at the school, but he again didn’t want to return to an empty house. “Alright, give me a name and I’ll grab him.” Though if they were all riding, he assumed Silas would need to grab his own horse.
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Post by Bri on Sept 24, 2023 19:58:51 GMT -6
Aleah slowly followed Cosette, casting a backwards glance at Thomas before looking back to the hose. "Uh, I think I'll need a box right now." She said, not seeing how she could make it up on the horse without one just yet, not sure if she was strong enough.
Silas looked at Thomas with a slight frown. "I'll go with you, I'll probably bring out Ruger." He said, stepping out from the ring and heading back into the stables.
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Post by Kiersten on Sept 24, 2023 20:42:07 GMT -6
Cosette ground tied Peanut where she was, a trick Silas had taught her a few weeks back. “Give me a second.” She told Aleah before she raced across the ring, grabbed the box people used to climb onto their horse, and brought it over, thankful it was light enough for one person to carry. She placed it near Peanut before leading the horse around it so Aleah could easily climb on. “Alright, ready when you are.” she said, instructing Aleah on how to step onto the horse safely.
Thomas easily followed after Silas, though when they disappeared into the barn, he couldn’t stop himself. “I see you’re growing a bit smitten with someone.” He pointed out, sticking his hands in his pockets as the two of them headed down an aisle.
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Post by Bri on Sept 24, 2023 21:11:32 GMT -6
Aleah looked at Peanut then Cosette, nodding as she explained how to mount the horse. "Okay." She nodded, taking a breath before stepping on the box and pulling herself onto the hose, struggling for a second before she was able to pull herself on, her eyes widening when she realized what she had done and how high up she was. She looked over at Cosette as she grabbed the saddle horn. "What do I do now?"
Silas almost stumbled, managing to catch himself as he looked back at Thomas. "Now what's making you say that?" He asked, wondering if his little crush on Cosette was really that obvious. It wasn't hard for him to admit that she was beautiful and her personality was just as wonderful but he didn't want his feelings to be plastered all over him, especially if she didn't feel the same way, he didn't want to make things awkward for her at work.
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Post by Kiersten on Sept 24, 2023 21:45:41 GMT -6
“Hook your feet into the stirrups, and then grab the reigns.” Cosette instructed, though she was still holding onto part of the reigns just so Aleah felt safe in knowing Peanut wasn’t going to just run off. “Then I’ll walk you two around, if that makes you feel better.” It was what she did when she let her nieces ride Estella when she was back home, even though Aleah was older, she knew it wasn’t easy being scared up there.
“You couldn’t pull your eyes away from her the second she walked in,” Thomas noted, knowing Silas made a B=line for Cosette and seemed to forget he was there for a minute. “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything.” He held his hands up in surrender to let Silas know he was no threat. “I don’t think she knows though, unless she’s pretending to hide it.” He pointed out, though he’d gotten distracted by Aleah, mostly because he couldn’t bear to watch someone fall in love at the moment.
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Post by Bri on Sept 24, 2023 22:39:55 GMT -6
"Okay..." Aleah nodded and did as Cosette said, making sure her feet were in the proper spot and she was holding the reigns. "Uh yeah, that would be good." She agreed, even though it made her feel like a kid having to be lead around like that. Silas could feel his face heat up, "I...well, whatever." He grumbled a little and walked up to his horse, gently scratching his forehead. "I doubt she's noticed, or at least I hope she hasn't." He said, feeling like he was being a kid again. "You can take Rosie over here, she's a sweet girl." ![](https://www.helpfulhorsehints.com/wp-content/uploads/Grey-horse-grazing-in-summer-pasture-ee220401-1024x597.jpg.webp) Ruger ![](https://horsej.b-cdn.net/files/styles/article_large/public/pictures-videos/articles/template-mainphoto-homepage_-_web.jpg?itok=JZz9t7lo) Rose
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Post by Kiersten on Sept 25, 2023 20:26:26 GMT -6
Cosette nodded and led Aleah around in a circle, “Feeling comfortable?” she asked, getting ready to let her have the reigns herself, see how she did on her own.
“Why don’t you want her to notice?” Thomas asked, though he didn’t feel like stepping up to bat again, even though it had been a year. A thought passed through his mind though, that maybe Sunny wasn’t going to come back, maybe he should move on. He stepped up to the horse named Rosie, “Hello there.” He said, patting the horse on the neck as it greeted him.
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Post by Bri on Sept 25, 2023 21:49:25 GMT -6
At first she felt wobbly, biting her lower lip as she held onto the saddle but as they went she felt herself relax and nodded to Cosette. "Yeah, feeling way better." She smiled.
"Because I don't want to make things weird if she doesn't feel the same." Silas replied, shaking his head. He didn't want to make a mess of things and turn everything awkward. He patted his horses forehead and headed back to the tack room.
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Post by Kiersten on Sept 26, 2023 18:50:16 GMT -6
“Good, I’m letting go now,” Cosette said, letting the reigns drop, Aleah being the one in charge of driving the horse. “You look good up there.” She smiled, glad she didn’t push Aleah too fast in getting her to ride. “Whenever you feel ready, I’ll join you on Estella.”
“Ah, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Thomas chuckled, carrying everything he’d need for a ride from the tack room over to the horse and saddling her up. “I think, if you two had a moment alone together, and just went for it. She wouldn’t stop you.” Though he could be wrong, he was wrong about Sunny and him.
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Post by Bri on Sept 26, 2023 20:44:38 GMT -6
"Okay." Aleah bit her lip slightly unsure what she was bracing for but held onto the reigns a bit tighter. When nothing happened though she relaxed a little, smiling back at Cosette. "Thanks...I think I'm good." She said, looking back at Peanut to find that the horse was just looking off to the side as if she was bored with all of this.
"Or I'd get fire with a sexual harassment charge." Silas replied as he got his horse ready to go out into the arena but glanced at Thomas with a slight smile. "You know...Aleah's single too...it wouldn't hurt to...get back out there, if you want."
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Post by Kiersten on Sept 27, 2023 18:07:22 GMT -6
Cosette smiled before jogging over to Estella and jumping into the saddle with ease. She joined Aleah in the ring and kept a few feet between them, in case either horse had an issue with the other. She let the silence fall between them for a few seconds but felt something gnawing at her. “You aren’t going to get Silas in trouble. For the beer.” she asked, though it sounded more like a statement.
“The way she was looking at you while you rode, I doubt it,” Thomas was sure she ran for Silas in the office, though he was probably just hoping for the best for Silas, a girl who was into him more than any other guy. He sighed when his friend suggested getting back out there. “I know, I just… Kind of don’t want to.” He did admit to himself that he was attracted to Aleah, but the thought of Sunny had him holding back, for now.
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Post by Bri on Sept 28, 2023 11:34:22 GMT -6
Aleah looked after Cosette with a bit of envy and admiration at how easy she made it look to get up onto a horse. She glanced down at Peanut, letting the horse walk along the ring as she relaxed a little bit but her gaze slid over to Cosette at her question, a slight smile on her lips. "Am I?" She asked then shook her head, hoping she wouldn't regret it. "Silas works hard and it is after hours, I'll let it slide as long as it doesn't cause any issues."
Silas frowned a little bit, had he been that blind? Probably, if he was being honest. "I don't know about that." He said with a little shrug as he finished getting his horse ready. "Well, if you don't want to then don't, but..." he trailed off, shaking his head and hoping that he wasn't going to make his friend mad at him, "Tom you deserve to be happy, whether that includes Sunny or not, but no one can force you to do anything," he looked over at his horse, patting his head, "besides, I may not have noticed how Cosette looked at me but I did see the way Aleah looked at you."
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Post by Kiersten on Sept 28, 2023 14:35:50 GMT -6
Cosette felt her chest feel lighter when Aleah said she wouldn’t get Silas in trouble, though she had to frown at herself for feeling that way. She hated the thought of Silas getting fired over something so trivial, but she didn’t want to admit there was more than that to the feeling. “I think he won’t do it again.” Though she didn’t know Silas all that well, she had a feeling he wouldn’t.
“Look man, you’re telling me the same thing I’m telling you,” Thomas pointed out, though as the wheels in his mind turned, he knew there were a few different things involved. “Granted, she’s a coworker, but I’m confident she’s into you.” He took into consideration that Aleah looked at him like Silas said, wondering if he should just try and put himself out there, even though he was sure Sunny hadn’t returned his heart yet.
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Post by Bri on Sept 28, 2023 17:17:48 GMT -6
"As long as I don't catch him I think we'll be fine." Aleah smiled at Cosette, the less she knew the less accountable she needed to be and the easier it would be to feign innocence if anything ever came of it.
Silas chuckled, waving his hand at Thomas in a brushing off motion. "I guess we'll see if anything happens then." He replied as he lead his horse to the ring.
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Post by Kiersten on Sept 30, 2023 3:10:08 GMT -6
Cosette led the two horses around the arena, but she could feel Estella itching to do something, and since there were no jumps set up, she started putting her through their dressage routine. “Give me a moment, Estella needs to stretch her legs, though she wants to jump more than anything.” She patted her on the neck before continuing the motions, knowing she’d jump her tomorrow.
“Guess so, though I feel like you are trying to get me involved with your boss to help you out,” Thomas teased, smirking as he jumped into the saddle with ease and turning the horse towards the riding ring. He probably should have led the horse there first, but he rather just be in the saddle immediately.
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Post by Bri on Oct 2, 2023 19:59:06 GMT -6
"Okay." Aleah nodded, continuing to hold onto Peanut, letting the horse wander around the arena but the second she saw Cosette go through that routine with her horse she felt like her brain went silent as she watched. When she had hired Cosette she had watched a few videos of dressage performances in order to understand what exactly to expect but seeing it in person was much more impressive.
"I please the fifth." Silas chuckled, opening the gate to the ring for Thomas but paused when he saw Cosette, his eyebrows raising as he watched.
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Post by Kiersten on Oct 3, 2023 12:05:55 GMT -6
The routine was short, Cosette didn’t want to keep Aleah waiting, just watching her, and hoped that Estella would be satisfied enough till tomorrow. She came to a stop next to Aleah after she was done and sighed, “I know Estella would rather go through the full thing, but that’s enough.” she said, patting Estella on the neck.
Thomas led Rosie into the ring and started walking the horse in circles, letting her warmup, though he wasn’t sure what the four of them were planning to do anyways. “So, you worried about any kids riding this year?” He asked teasingly, assumed Stormy had signed up to ride, figured Reed, Jake, and Sam would be helping his friend too.
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Post by Bri on Oct 3, 2023 21:28:13 GMT -6
Aleah shook her head, "that was amazing." She said, still impressed by what she had seen. She looked between the horses and smiled a bit, amazed that such big animals could do what Cosette had shown.
Once in the ring Silas closed the gate and pulled himself onto his horse. "Not really, I mean there are some that could use extra work but there are also some talented riders in the bunch." He said, his lower lip catching slightly as he thought about Stormy, "but uh...are you aware that Stormy didn't sign up for classes?" He asked.
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Post by Kiersten on Oct 4, 2023 17:33:11 GMT -6
“Well, I hope I can pass down my skill and knowledge to more students,” Cosette knew Shannon’s skill level, but she hoped she could create a desire to ride in other students. “I think only three people signed up to ride though.” And really only two since Shannon didn’t count.
Thomas frowned, “She didn’t?” She was excited to be able to ride at school before, he wondered what had changed. “That’s not what I thought was happening.” He admitted, wondering if Sunny knew, a frown etching on his face.
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Post by Bri on Oct 4, 2023 21:49:35 GMT -6
"I'm sure you will." Aleah sad with a bright smile that didn't falter even with Cosette admitting her class size. "That's probably because the students don't understand what it is but I bet once word gets around you'll end up with a wait list of students." She told her because, in her opinion, who wouldn't want to learn a skill like that, even though she was new to horses herself.
Silas grimaced, instantly regretting letting it slip. He didn't know how Stormy was coping with her parents slip but apparently whatever was going on resulted in her not telling them the truth, it wasn't like she could hide what classes she was or wasn't taking from her parents forever. "Uh, no, I didn't see her name anywhere on our class lists."
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Post by Kiersten on Oct 5, 2023 20:09:06 GMT -6
“I hope you are right, which reminds me,” Cosette just remembered the idea of the contest, though she didn’t have all the information and details, she figured it couldn’t hurt to at least get the ball rolling. “I was thinking of having a cross country race, at the end of the year.” She figured that would give students enough time to learn to ride, at least she hoped it would.
Thomas’s frown deepened, “I don’t think she’ll talk to me,” He sighed, shaking his head as he waited for Silas to jump into the saddle before heading over to the other two. He eyed Aleah from the side, wondering if Sunny was making plans to mov on, like Silas was suggesting he do. “What are we doing right now? Riding around in the ring?”
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Post by Bri on Oct 5, 2023 21:56:34 GMT -6
Aleah tilted her head, smiling at Cosette's idea, "I think that's a brilliant idea, we could make a whole event around it," she said thoughtfully, "get some food vendors and maybe some activities, I think it could draw in a crowd." She tucked some of her hair behind her ear as she considered what else they could possibly do.
Silas shrugged, frowning a little bit, "I don't know, teenagers can be...intimidating." He said, knowing there were a few students he would avoid because of how they would lash out. "Well," he glanced over at the girls, speaking loud enough for them to hear, "we could ride around the ring our we could go out into the fields for an evening ride."
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Post by Kiersten on Oct 6, 2023 19:11:11 GMT -6
Cosette sat a little straighter, smiling a little bigger, her eyes drifting to Silas. “Absolutely, and doing a, uh, tombola? Er… Prix, ah no, prize?” She wasn’t sure what the prize would be yet though, not sure what would make students want to join. She turned her head towards Silas when he seemed to be trying to ask them something. She smiled and turned back to Aleah, “Do you want to try riding outside?” She wouldn’t if Aleah wasn’t comfortable.
Thomas only nodded his head about stubborn teenagers, knowing Reign wasn’t always the easiest to get along with during high school either. He hoped maybe college had rubbed something off a little responsibility, he could see her running the place and hoped Stormy would ask to run the place too. “It’s pretty nice outside, just cool enough outside not to freeze.” He eyed Aleah from the side thinking her outfit would be warm enough, but he shivered anyways. He did find her attractive, shocked she’d be interested in someone with two kids, though he’d keep his distance because of his feelings for Sunny, but there was no harm in making friends. He could keep it platonic, until he was ready to let Sunny go. He eyed cosette as she asked Aleah if it was okay to do so and he rememebered this was the frirst time in the saddle. He kept his mouth shut, not wanting to tempt her with a ride outside if she wasn't ready, even if Jake trusts the horse she's riding.
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Post by Bri on Oct 6, 2023 21:58:54 GMT -6
Aleah smiled softly and nodded, "a prize, we could do a prize." She agreed then glanced at Silas, hesitating slightly. She looked down at the horse she was on then at everyone else, unsure if she was really ready for something like this but she figured if they were to do this she was at least with some of the safest people she could be with. "As long as you guys don't turn it into some kind of crazy race I think I could manage a ride."
Silas had almost forgotten about Aleah being new to riding, focused mostly on Cosette. "Well I don't plan on racing or anything," he chuckled, "I think we should be fine."
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Post by Kiersten on Oct 7, 2023 12:54:40 GMT -6
Cosette shook her head, having no plans to make the horses run wild, let alone run at all. “The most we’ll do is a trot, but that’s like a light jog,” She explained, narrowing her eyes at the boys to let them know they shouldn’t even think about it.
Thomas held his hands up, “I won’t try and race Silas, even if he’d lose.” He smirked, knowing he was making it worse, but he couldn’t help but look over at Silas, wondering how else he could annoy him. It was just like in high school, the two of them goofing off again. “Silas won’t race, I guess I won’t either,” He then motioned over his heart with his hand, “Cross my heart and hope to die.” He joked, having not said that since he was a kid, but it seemed appropriate here.
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Post by Bri on Oct 8, 2023 14:22:19 GMT -6
Aleah nodded, looking between Cosette and the boys, smiling a little when Thomas mad his joke. "Okay, I'll go, it sounds fun." She said, having a feeling that if something did go wrong Cosette would be there to help her out.
Silas rolled his eyes, "I would definitely win." He taunted back at Thomas, "but I'll agree not to race...this time." He joked, guiding his horse to the side of the ring that held a door that opened up outside and hopped down, swinging the gate open for them and leading his horse out first.
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Post by Kiersten on Oct 8, 2023 16:01:45 GMT -6
Cosette turned Estella to be near Aleah and Penny, giving the horses just enough space. She chewed at the inside of her cheek, thoughts racing through her mind. She wasn’t sure she could ask certain questions, and she hesitated, “Er, where did you say you grew up?” She asked, deciding she could talk about her own hometown, it was always at the front of her mind since leaving.
Thomas rolled his eyes, and then trotted over to Jake. He eyed Aleah before turning to Silas, “If I’m going to reach out and try, so are you. Ride next to Cosette.” He smirked before he turned Rosie into a slow jog over to the other side of Aleah. If Silas got something out of this, then it was already worth trying himself. He waited for her to acknowledge him, partially listening to their conversation as he thought about Sunny but hearing Aleah talk brought images of her. He obviously had a type, blue eyes always dragged him in.
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Post by Bri on Oct 8, 2023 19:18:24 GMT -6
Aleah looked down at her horse then over at Cosette, smiling a little when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye, spotting Thomas getting on her other side and giving him a small smile. "A little town in Montana." She replied, looking at the gate Silas opened and letting her horse follow the others out.
Silas shot Thomas a narrow eyed look, he hadn't been expecting the conversation to turn on him. He didn't respond as everyone left the ring and he closed the gat behind them. He climbed back onto his horse and rode up next to Cosette but shot a look around her towards Thomas, wondering if he would really put himself out there or not.
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Post by Kiersten on Oct 8, 2023 19:39:15 GMT -6
“I’ve obviously never been there, so what’s it like?” Cosette asked, sitting up a little when she noticed Thomas on the other side of Aleah. A few seconds later, she turned to find Silas on her other side, and without even thinking her body flushed with warmth, making her feel happy.
Thomas waited for an opening, though didn’t want to be rude and interrupt, but at least he was right about the air outside. It was cool the second they led the horses outside, and he couldn’t help but sigh a little, his shoulders shagging slightly.
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Post by Bri on Oct 8, 2023 20:20:53 GMT -6
"Well, it's small," Aleah joked, "lot's of fields and farm land, one stop light in town, not a lot to do unless you drove about thirty minutes away to the next town over." She explained, knowing it sounded boring but it was. She looked over at Thomas, smiling slightly, "so you grew up here? What was it like?"
Silas looked at Cosette and smiled but then looked at Thomas and laughed, "it may have been boring but Thomas always knew how to liven things up." He joked.
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