Here to Stay: Day 6

 Word Count: 36,032

Summary of Events:

Jake went out for a ride on his gelding and ended up encountering a wild stallion — or, at least, Jake was convinced they did, but the encounter was quite surreal, and he couldn't find any proof it'd happened after the stallion had disappeared. James had arrived back at the yard for lunch when Mr. Baron arrived to invite everyone to a Canada Day barbecue in a couple Saturdays' time; before he could leave, James' stallion got excited when one of James' mares, who happened to be in heat, walked past him . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

“What is wrong with that horse?” Mr. Baron asked.

Turning, James looked at Mr. Baron. “He’s a stallion, and the painted chestnut over there is in heat.”

“I didn’t know you had a stallion,” Mr. Baron replied.

“I didn’t mean to keep him,” James replied.

“Where’d he come from?” Mr. Baron asked.

“My old mare found him days old and starving beside the carcass of his mother,” James replied. “She’d just lost her foal, and he happened to be the relief she needed, and I couldn’t leave him to die either, so we brought him back here.”

“You found him somewhere out there?” Mr. Baron asked, gesturing vaguely westwards.

“Yes,” James replied.

“So is he a mustang then?” Mr. Baron asked.

“Yes,” James replied.

“Oh, I guess that explains it,” Mr. Baron said.

“Explains what?” James asked, caught off-guard.

“His lack of restraint in the presence of, as it were, beautiful women,” Mr. Baron replied. “My stallion won’t behave like that because he’s come from a long line of horses that have been owned by men.”

“You bought a stallion?” James asked, too shocked to hold his tongue.

“Of course,” Mr. Baron replied. “What cowboy doesn’t ride a stallion?”

“How long have you been riding?” James asked.

“About two years to this point,” Mr. Baron replied. “Plus the five years I did because my parents made me. I wish I’d never decided it was uncool and made them let me stop.”

James put his hands over his face. If God was real why had He allowed such a stupid person to be born?

“Is something wrong?” Mr. Baron asked.

Sliding his hands off his eyes, James drew them over just his nose and mouth for a moment before withdrawing them entirely while inhaling enough oxygen for a heavy sigh.

“That behaviour is not abnormal for a stallion, or a result of the fact that his sire was a horse who never brooked a man’s will. That is, in fact, how all stallions behave in the presence of a mare who is ready and able to conceive — regardless of her willingness.”

The Colt whinnied again before pawing the ground in dramatic frustration.

“Furthermore,” James continued. “Seven years of riding experience is not enough — not near enough — time for a man to know how to ride a stallion, especially if that education is casual and not intensive. Even I didn’t ride a stallion until I had accumulated over twenty years of regular and intensive horse riding education and experience.”

James snapped his head over his shoulder at the sound of a strike against wood and saw that the Colt had merely hit a rail while pawing and, thankfully, hadn’t thrown himself bodily at all the rails.

He looked back at Mr. Baron. “I would highly recommend that you find a way to cancel your purchase before your stallion arrives.”

Mr. Baron looked like he wanted to ask why, but James strode away before he could speak, as he’d already told Mr. Baron why, and he had no intentions of repeating himself.