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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 18, 2007 14:15:59 GMT -5
"What am i doing?" Kristy asked herself as she walked up the drive to Sparrow Ridge Farm. She was going back. Did she really want to? Of course she did. She loved Thoroughbreds, and this farm seemed to have a nice amount. And they took good care of them. And they had nice racers. She sighed. Was she really going to do this? Was she actually getting so desperate that she returned so quickly? After she left the other night, she kept getting the longing feeling of being lost...like she did before she came here the first time. She felt as though she belonged here. It was just a feeling you get. She stopped as she neared a cottage. She had remembered Jarred going to it that night. She she was hoping that that was where he lived. And one other thing, she hoped he was in there and not out somewhere. How stupid would she look if he wasn't there, and Ella, who she believed to be the owner but never met, saw her? A scrawny 15 year old at a..what 21 year olds? 22? 25? She didn't know his exact age. She never got the courage to ask. Not that it mattered. They were not related, or even friends. Only mere acquaintances. She stepped up to the cottage door and rang the door bell. Holding her breath...she waited to see if anyone answered...in hope that it was Jarred.
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Post by x.Ella Volter.x on May 18, 2007 16:25:35 GMT -5
Just as the short jockey was finishing his chicken sandwich, his doorbell rang. He wiped his mouth and scrambled to put the things in the sink. Wow, he probably didn't look very presentable. Hopefully it wasn't Ella! He went to the door and opened it. He laid eyes on the middle-aged teen he had seen the other night.
"Hey! Glad you came back. Wanna come in?" he said, not being very formal. He stepped aside making a larger space for her to walk into the living room. The kitchen was farther up. She looked a little tired. Hopefully she had permission from her parents to be here.
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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 18, 2007 16:33:34 GMT -5
A sigh of relief escaped her mouth. Thank god it was him. "Thanks" she said quietly as she stepped into the homey looking cottage. Horse pictures galore! And trophies...ribbons...everything she wished she had. Without moving from the spot, she began reading names of races around the room. She could see a few hallways leading elsewhere into the house and she got a glimpse from the window of the barns and some of the horses.
"I hope I'm not intruding..." she said turning back to him.
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Post by x.Ella Volter.x on May 18, 2007 16:44:02 GMT -5
He smiled as she looked around. He did have quite a few ribbons and plaques displayed throughout the room. Jarred caught the nickers of horses right before he shut the wood door. He motioned for her to sit down on the couch, and he placed himself on a stuffed arm-chair.
"No, not at all. Make yourself at home," Jarred said, nodding his head. "What brings you to this neck of the woods?'' he said with a smile. Not many people knew or remembered all the twists and turns through the countryside to reach this place. He never really left Sparrow Ridge, though. This was his home and his office. It was nice that way, and he wouldn't switch for the world.
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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 18, 2007 16:49:19 GMT -5
She sat down and looked at him with tired eyes. Her hair was in a ponytail..but not the neatest one. Actually she looked terrible. "Oh...I didn't go far....since i left the other day." That sounded like an odd response...but she really didn't go that far. She went...maybe a mile? Before she found an old abandoned tree house...with a bed. She hoped he didn't ask further on the subject. But she knew something she didn't want to talk about was going to come up. And she knew it was going to happen fast. She readied herself for the question. Ready to come up with an answer. She searched her mind for that response....
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Post by x.Ella Volter.x on May 20, 2007 10:53:12 GMT -5
Jarred nodded as he listened to her words. Then another sound entered his ears; a trailer driving up the gravel way. He glanced out the window and saw the familiar black truck with a sparrow in a circle skillfully painted onto it and a matching four-horse trailer. Apparently, from the whinnies coming from the trailer, Ella had purchased a new horse.
"Well, I would assume you are here for a job?" he asked. He had a few forms in his office that he could quickly run and get. But he wanted to make sure that was why she was here. Ella and himself were in desperate need of stablehands and exercise riders. Due to the way she treated Ben the other evening, Kristy would be perfect for the job.
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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 20, 2007 10:56:25 GMT -5
Her eyes popped open. He wasnt going to ask about her parents? Joy to the world. She nodded eagerly. She would love to work with the horses here at Sparrow Ridge. And she would be able to keep her mind off of her Mom...and wondering if she would ever find her. But she quickly made that thought exit her brain...or at least stay out until a later time. She smiled. I'd like that.
Now, very excitedly, she glanced out of the window to also see the trailer and hear the whinnies of a new horse. She turned back to the jockey.
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Post by x.Ella Volter.x on May 20, 2007 20:18:11 GMT -5
He grinned and got up from his seat at the armchair. "Cool, I'll go get the form," he said. He walked briskly to the small, neat, and tidy office and dug through the drawers before pulling out a sheet for a stablehand job application. He returned to the front room where Kristy was seated and handed her the form and a pen. "Then you just have to bring it home and get your parents to sign it. Ok?" he said. With her eagerness, she would probably be back tomorrow with it signed and in a manilla folder.
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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 21, 2007 14:22:54 GMT -5
Her smile froze on her face. Parents? What was she going to do now? Her mom was thousands of miles away. And she didn't have any legal guardians in the area. She looked up at the jockey. Her excitedness, and color, faded from her face. She wanted this job soo much. But, she wasnt going to get it now. Oh..uhm...I...i cant.. she wasnt sure if she should tell him. But if she didn't she was never going to see him, or this place, or the horses again. Her head pondered about what to do.
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Post by x.Ella Volter.x on May 21, 2007 15:35:25 GMT -5
He watched her face drain of life, and almost got up to see if she was all right. But she was just in shock. Jarred frowned. He probably shouldn't have gone there. What if her parents had passed? Or they were in jail, or something? "Sorry.... You can get an aunt or grandpa or someone to sign it, too," he said, hoping he hadn't scared her away. Jarred wanted to be able to teach someone everything he knew about horses, and Kristy seemed very eager to learn. Would she be able to take the job still?
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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 21, 2007 15:38:11 GMT -5
No thats not it. There is...I dont have anyone here with me. She decided it was alright to tell him. My..my mom...well, ex mom, lives in California. I...I ran away from home. After...my father's death. She looked at him in the eyes with great difficulty. She noticed a women outside the window who she guessed to be Ella. But right now all of her attention was on Jarred. How was he going to react?
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Post by x.Ella Volter.x on May 21, 2007 15:50:11 GMT -5
Ella led the beautiful colt by the cottage wanting Jarred to check him out. "Whoa," she muttered, and peeked in the window. She saw Jarred and a young girl. Probably the one he had told her about, the one who might become a stablehand. So she decided not to interfere, and waved quickly and trotted the Thoroughbred off into the barn.
Jarred smiled at Ella quickly before listening to Kristy's explanation. His head exploded with thoughts. What should he do? She seemed a decent person, not one likely to shoplift or anything. And she had come to take the job, so she seemed responsible. Her mother must have been pretty bad for her to run away, or be sent away.
"Oh..." he mumbled, and thought of how to word his next thoughts. "Well, I can sign it, if you agree to stay here. I won't force you to go back to your mom or call you, but I highly suggest it," he said kindly but firmly. If she was to stay here, she needed to be under proper care, such as with him or Ella. Well, she would probably want to meet Ella first. "And, though the decision is yours, you might want to go to school here. It's pretty decent, and I don't want you dropping out like I made the mistake of doing." It was true that Jarred had dropped out quite early to learn the horse trade instead. It hadn't been all that bad, for he was making a pretty good living.
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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 21, 2007 15:55:59 GMT -5
Her face lit up once again. And before she knew it she was on her feet and hugging him tightly. But she quickly pulled away and backed up. Staring at the ground, she mumbled "thanks" Her face was beat red. And she wouldn't mind going to school again.
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Post by x.Ella Volter.x on May 21, 2007 16:03:50 GMT -5
He was suprised by the sudden hug, but took it and gave it back. "It's nothing. You'll get paid, but we'll figure that out a little later," he said. "Do you want to go help Ella with the new colt, or would you want to figure out where you'll be living first? There's a nice loft in the filly barn that you could fix up," he said. A couple times he had been stranded in the barn loft because of snow or rain. It was pretty nice, actually.
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Post by Kristy Ruscoti on May 21, 2007 16:11:31 GMT -5
It dosent matter. she said happily. She looked up now and saw the new colt. Like the others, he was beautiful. She also looked up at Ella. She kinda reminded her of a fashion model...in a good way. Not like the other girls around this area. She smiled and turned back to Jarred. Happy that her mom didn't have to know where she was...at least not yet. She hopped that she hadnt filed a missing person report..if she did everyone in the world would know she was missing. But she didn't care about that now.
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