Wayfaring Stranger

[Emery Peyton]

It had been a long and ugly winter, although it was nearing July the Forelocks & Flanks Furlough, the picturesque horse farm that had been established for more then three years, was still feeling the effects of the damaged trees. A nice getaway from the bustling and ever growing city of Lexington, Kentucky. Paris, located in Bourbon County, was literally the country that people only saw in the movies with the bluegrass, rolling hills, lengthy fences, and horses and cattle roaming freely in such vast land so it was the perfect spot to have created a horse farm.

However, as nice as it was and how talked about it had become, this time of year seemed to slow down to almost a standstill. Sure visitors were almost always there either purchasing feed, training horses or beginning riders, or even for people looking for new trails. But those travelers who came to visit the Kentucky Horse park or Keeneland to see races, overnight stays were few and far between in the country. It always dipped at this time of year, but the peak earnings made during the derby, it went incredibly far, especially now after she agreed to allow breeding on her property, Emery Peyton’s property that was.

Sitting alone in her small office, branched off the newly renovated barn, she swiveled right and left in her office chair, leaning far back while holding the phone in between her ear and her shoulder.

"I was so glad y’all came out." She smiled briefly in her conversation, slacking off to a small degree watching the clock on her tan colored wall in between the picture window to the left and the green office door to its right. "I was so shocked to hear he died. It was a shock to us all." The woman on the other end of the line chatted lively, no remorse in her voice.

Emery had been on the phone for over two hours, she hardly ever liked talking on the phone for enjoyment, preferring face to face conversations over this at least that way she could have faked some sort of illness to get out of it, unlike now. She had been saying bye for quite some time now.

Luckily, the shadow that befell the small window in her door made her smile with relief, praying to god it was someone that needed something and when it slowly creaked open she waved the party in as she leaned forward on her desk, trying her best to get off this phone.

"I know, I know. It was so bad. I followed it very closely hoping for the best." Emery drew her green eyes up to clash with a pair of shocking blue. A smile crossed her face immediately and the Paul Newman wannabe in the Steson hat smiled back. He talked loudly for her own benefit.

"This," The small pocket of air coming after the small thwack from the manilla folder caused her to squint. "Is the pain in my rear end!" He sounded angry, but the smile would have given it away had the other person on the line seen him. She bit her lower lip and looked down at the folder.

"Look, I have to go. IT was good talking to you. Yeah. Mmhmm, you too. Yeah. Bye!" Emery hung up quicker than she had in her whole life. "That woman," She stated as she pointed at the phone. "Never shuts up!" The man standing tall in front of her desk laughed lively, digging his hands into his jean pockets.

"Jackson, right?" Emery saw the glint of humor in his eyes and she slit her own to stare.

"Gretchen, yes. I called her to ask if she got my flowers for Barbaro. She then proceeded to just…go on and on!" The two laughed a moment and she suddenly got her mind back on track by slowly opening the full folder with papers stacked an inch high. "What is this?" She questioned sticking her bottom lip out.

"That, my dear, is the pain that I have going throughout my body." She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow annoyed that he wasn’t being more specific. "Ah, hell, it is our budget being blow to smithereens. That new level to the house we wanna put in to house more people…ain’t happenin’ very easily." She grimaced and closed the folder.

"Ew." She said looking at him then straight to the clock. "Well, it is Friday and I was supposed to be off the clock twenty minutes ago." She stretched in her chair with a smile, glad that this honestly could wait till Monday. However, the man standing tall was not happy.

"Emery-"

"Poppy? Look, we can fix this Monday. We haven’t gotten everything straightened out yet." The man scoffed annoyed at her passive behavior. Emery stood up and smiled walking around the desk to give him a kiss on the cheek, her Godfather always being the one to worry.

"All right, all right." He said after the sweet peck. He looked down at the girl who could almost match his height, him being just 6’3, she shy by four inches and her boots weren’t helping either. "I got a date anyway!" He sighed and turned around towards the door, shifting his hat slightly.

"Since when did you start dating?" She laughed, her eyes and face skeptical. He pulled the door open, the fresh smell of horses and hay swarming her senses as he held the door handle.

"Since Hillary Winton became divorced last week." He tipped his hat and winked walking out and leaving her with her arms crossed. Luckily she wasn’t able to contradict his decision to start dating at 65, the phone was ringing. She sighed out and walked back to her desk and bent over to answer the phone.

"This is Emery, how may I help you?" She frowned, the secretary on the line filling her in on what she apparently missed. "Yeah, it is a holiday weekend so I figured nobody would need to work since this time of the season is just dead. Right. Direct calls to my cell phone." Emery hung up a few minutes later, barely glancing at the folder. Hopefully she wouldn’t have many surprises this weekend for she would most likely be shorthanded.

[Laurent Eades]

The long stretch of highway ahead of him was long and empty, much like the fields that lined it. The Ford F350 roared down the heat-wavy grey like a well-oiled machine, dragging the sleek, silver horse trailer along behind it.

Laurent Eades, fondly known as Laure or Laurie, was a “good ole’ boy” according to his colleagues, seven other detectives in the homicide unit at a police station near <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://sw-fans.net/forum/ /><st1:City w:st=Nashville</st1:City>, <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comhttp://sw-fans.net/forum/ /><st1:City w:st=Nashville</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st=" /><st1:State w:st="on">Tennessee. </st1:State></ST1:pBorn in <st1:State w:st="on">Montana</st1:State>, and raised in <st1:State w:st="on">Colorado</st1:State>, he had called <st1:State w:st="on"><ST1:pTennessee</ST1:place</st1:State> home since his twenty-third birthday, four years earlier. He didn’t speak much, but when he did, it was thick with a southern accent. He even sported a stereotypical five o’clock shadow.


He glanced into the rear view mirror at the small window into his horse trailer. His horse, a grey Quarter Horse named Byrd, shook her head in protest, stomping her foot. He nodded at the mirror and looked back at the road.


“We’re almost there, darlin’,” he muttered, seeing the road sign at the side of the road: “Forelocks & Flanks Furlough: 2 miles”. Laurent had made reservations months in advance—at the advising of his head of unit Carl Thomas—but had not been able to give an exact time of day when he would be arriving. And having not left early enough, the sun was already spending itself on the horizon. It was nearing four thirty.

Not bothering to put on his signal—there was no one behind him—he switched lanes, pulling into the turn lane. Slowing down and turning into the long gravel drive up to the F&F ranch. The truck and trailer crunched slowly down the drive towards the renovated barn where the office was located.

An undercover officer when no one else wanted to be, Laurent was under orders to find out as much as he could about this place and the people who owned and ran it. He was following a tip on a hit-and-run case that had occurred three years earlier. It had been closed several times due to lack of evidence, but recently, a tip had come up that had pointed them straight to this ranch. Laurent just had to figure out what the connection was between the crime and this place—the quaint place in the middle of a beautiful state.

Laurent slowed his truck to a stop, parking it and turning the key back. The engine purred to silence and popped as it cooled down. He glanced up to where the door to barn was, then down into the side mirror at his trailer.

He pushed open the door with one brown boot, the decorative neck hidden under worn and fade boot-cut jeans. Laurent brushed back some of his hair as he reached in to grab his black cowboy hat and place it on his head, covering the blonde hair. He stretched out to work out the kinks in his back that all his driving had done, before slamming the truck door, ignoring the open window, and striding back to the trailer.

He pulled open the tack room door and hopped inside to check his saddle—a NBHA stamped saddle, lycra and lightweight, the horn was made of durable plastic, the stirrups almost fully adjustable, the only hint of steel was inside the stirrups for maximum grip. It look alright, as did his black leather bridle which he had hooked to the wall to ensure it didn’t fall down during the journey. He glanced over at his horse over the wall that separated the tack area from the stall area. She was tossing her head and snorting, scolding him for having her in there so long.

Laurent smiled fondly. Reaching over and brushing his fingers through her forelock. She snorted in annoyance to make sure he knew she was no forgiving him anytime soon. Laurent shook his head, turning and hopping down out of the trailer. He pushed the door shut behind him as he began towards the barn and the office therein. He fixed his blue button down that laid open to show his white undershirt so that he would at least look slightly presentable.

As he entered the shade of the barn, the smell of new hay, and slightly sweating horses overcoming his senses , reminding him of home, he saw an older man coming down the hall.

“Afternoon,” was all the man said, and Laurent acknowledged him with a nod as he continued down the hall to the small room labeled office.

As Laurent approached, he saw a woman leaned over the desk, seemingly finishing up work for the day. He glanced at the wall clock in the office. It was now almost five.

Leaning on the door frame, he knocked on the door lightly.

“Evening, Ma’am…can you tell me where I check in reservations?”

[Emery Peyton]

Emery yawned as she wrote down a number to reach her new vet that had given the secretary instructions of his new home, lucky guy had just bought over 300 acres of farm land out in the boondocks for his 30 plus horses. The man had more money than God and it was quite the sight to see the short 5'2 man taking care of animals over half his size. She heard a small knock on the wooden door and her senses were brought back to other business. A reservation she had forgotten about long ago.

Pushing her braid out of the way, as well as a piece of her reddish brown hair out of her eyes, she turned around to see a rather stereotypical cowboy standing in her door, dressed in the typical gettup one would normally assosciate. Her heart raced, his shaded eyes catching her off guard, something she always thought was quite shady of men to do unless they were outside in blistering sun. Then again she was paranoid.

"Howdy." She said with a small southern drawl that was almost unnoticeable until certain words popped out of her mouth. "Reservations for a stable?" She frowned, dang it. If her memory didn't slip at the most valuable times. She realized, by the shadow of stuble on his face that perhaps he was renting a room.

"Or are you here to set up room and board?"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent reached up, pulling off his hat and lifting his eyebrows a little. He waved vaguely to the door of the stables.

"I called in March about a room for me, and a stall for my animal..." he paused, reaching up to move hair from his eyes. He glanced up and down the woman. She was black, of course he noticed that first. But she was very pretty, and seemed awfully young to be working in an office for a ranch like this. He ignored it though, glancing at the clock.

"I know it's late..." he muttered.

[Emery Peyton]

She walked around her desk after questioning him, she figured she could go ahead and give him a stall if he was to stay, reservations for the room where back in the lobby at the house where she was sure her front desk clerk was ready to kill her for such a late arrival to take over duties. Curfew was in a few hours anyhow and the front doors would be locked down around 9. She looked up at him after flipping through her scheduled dates for stall rentals and luckily there were still three opened.

Emery had taken a quick peek at him while walking to the desk, finding nothing out of the ordinary with him, but she hadn't pegged him to be a blonde, nor did she realize he had electric blue eyes that would chill anyone on a hot day like today. She bit her lower lip when their eyes met for a second and she gave him a small smile, glancing down at the papers to make sure he realized she wasn't staring at him or anything, just sizing him up.

"All righty," She said with a little grin. She looked up at him and realized he had said something. She looked at the clock then at a man walking by the door then back to the man whose hat was in his hand. "It ain't late." She said with a wave of her hand. "It's early!" She smiled and looked back down and grabbed a pen.

"All righty, I can stick you in stall 13," She looked up. "Unless you are a superstitious man then I can put you in 48." She clicked the pen out of anxiousness, new males were always hard for her to get used to, especially when he'd be the only one staying at the house with her tonight.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent waved a hand, not smiling at the little joke. He didn't really laugh much, unless he was really inclined to. He shook his head, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"I ain't superstitious. Thirteen suits me fine," he said quietly, watching her closely for a moment. He glanced around, he was wondering about the big tack room he had seen earlier and if he could put his saddles, brushes, reigns, halters, bridles, blankets, and other various care products for his horse in there. He didn't know if he had to pay for space in there or not. He figured he could ask later, it was pressing. He could leave his things in the trailer for the night, until he rode the next day.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery nodded and started writing, but looked up at him. She'd need to make introductions, she was never really good at being side tracked like that, but her mind was amidst many thing at the moment and having a blonde cowboy standing at her doorstep definitely put her in a different kind of mood.

"I shouldn't be," She stated as she continued to right the time and date of when the man wandered into her office. "I just never got over my initial fear of the nuimber thirteen." She was babling and she knew that was a bad habit she needed to break, but nerves sometimes did that to her.

"I'm Emery Peyton." She said quickly, looking back up to extend her left hand. "I own and operate Forelocks and Flanks." She slightly shook her head, ridding her right eye of being attacked by a wild string of hair. "I haven't seen you before, it is always nice to see a newcomer to these parts. First night is free."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded, reaching out to shake her hand. She had a nice, strong handshake. He always judged a person by their handshake. If it was weak, they were a weak person. But not Miss Peyton. She was strong person, he judged by her handshake. Yet, she also seemed a tad nervous...of course, that could be anything.

"Laurent Eades," he stated simply as he dropped his hand back to his hat, holding onto it. He blinked once or twice, his mind still considering the fact that a woman so young owned this entired ranch. But after a moment, he nodded.

"Thank you."

[Emery Peyton]

Emery looked him straight in the eye as she shook his hand, no need to mentally shout that he was probably one of the best looking visitors she had seen in a long time, also she took note that he had no wedding band on his left hand, another plus, didn't feel too guilty to mentally establish that his attractive qualities were very easy to spot.

She smiled. That was first time she was every thanked before the stay even begun, how nice. "You're very welcome." She nodded once and looked back down, writing his name quickly. She stood up from leaning and headed over to the small whiteboard that was of the layout of the stables, she found thirteen and marked it.

"All right." She was favoring that word for the moment and she was becoming quite annoyed with herself. "Lets get your horse set up, shall we, Mister Eades!"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded. He put his hat back on and turned, heading back down the hall. He emeerged from the cool of the nice barn into the heat of the dying sunlight. He could hear his horse protesting loudly at her situation. He couldn't help but smile a little as he rounded the trailer.

Reaching up, he unlatched the back doors, pulling them open and letting them swing out, hitting the sides of the tall tralier with a clanging sound. Byrd looked over shoulder to see who was opening the doors. When she spotted Laurent, she snorted. She was still a little mad at him.

Laurent hopped up into the trailer, unhooking the bar that went between the two designated stall areas inside the large trailer. He swung it over, sliding in beside his grey horse. He untied the lead rope from the ring on the wall. Backing out, he let the long lead out until he was standing on the ground outside.

Glancing in at his horse, he clucked his tongue on his teeth, lightly pulling straight back on the lead.

Byrd shook her head and obidiently began to back out of the trailer. Her foot slid a little on the small step off, but, being an old pro, she just lifted her foot and stepped back down onto the ground. She continued in this way until she was finally standing on solid ground again. She shook her head and pulled on the lead. Laurent held on as he shut the doors to the trailer.

Once he finished, he grabbed hold of her halter and lead her to the clear area and let her prance around a moment before reeling her back in to lead her to the barn doors. Laurent patted her muscular neck, warm and a little sweaty, as he walked her into the coolness of the barn.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery allowed the man to go, she figured she could open the stable for him and get some fresh water for the horse, new hay having been put down earlier that morning. She watched him every now and then, her mind not thinking of anything particular, just that she needed to realize that not all men were going to be as loud and obnoxious as her godfather, something she highly prized. Silence and timidness were something she would rather not have hanging around, it just made her worry. Then again she had gotten seven ulcers in the past two years due to worry, she needed a new hobby.

She chatted for a moment with one of the regulars who came almost every weekend to allow his horse to roam free on the 320 acres of land she had purchased long ago and far away, her dream having been made into reality the moment her eyes came to rest on the plot of land needing to be built upon. Luckily, she didn't want to build much except endless safe trails that crossed creeks and into vast open lands, and enough for people to explore themselves and enjoy their getaways.

She heard the slam of the man's trailer and she looked up again from the bucket she had finding the man heading their way, touching the strong neck of the grey horse, she squinted slightly and smiled, a gorgeous Quarter Horse, it gave her goosebumps just to see it. In her mind she figured it was about sixteen to seventeen hands at the shoulder, a very nice sized horse. Average. A real beauty.

Emery glanced up at them again as she slowly turned to walk into the stall she was prepping for them, it wasn't uncommon for a man to come to the F&F, but most had a group with them, or a family at least. Judging people was something she did best and she knew it was an annnoying trait she inherited from her godfather. She soon wondered where he was from.

"Emery, you got enough time to bother him later." She sighed out. Nosiness as well.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent made his way down the hall to the stall that Emery had opened and prepped for Byrd. He nodded thankfully to her as he passed her, unlatched the lead from Byrd's halter and letting her go inside. The horse turned a few circles before dunking her nose in the water bucket and sloshing water all over. Laurent sighed. It was her way of getting comfortable.

He walked into the stall and unhooked her halter, sliding it over her face, and giving her a pat on her damp nose before hanging her halter on the small hook outside the stall desginated for halters and leads. He grabbed the handle of the door and slid it closed, latching it and titling his hat back a little to watch Byrd for another minute. After a moment, he turned to look at the woman.

"Thank ya," he repeated, waving vaguely towards the stall, indicating he meant her prepping for his horse to go inside. He slid his hands into his jean pockets, furrowing his brow a little. He nodded down the hall to the room he had passed.

"That tack room open to visitors?" he asked quietly. "I got saddles 'n stuff I wouldn't mind packing in there 'til I ride."

[Emery Peyton]

Emery smiled kindly, she always did and it became annoying to even herself, and she watched the horse as if this were some marvel she hadn't seen before, and she really hadn't. She hadn't had a Quarter Horse in a few months, her last horse had to be "put down" and it had been one. She didn't want to openly admit it, but she favored the Quarter Horse. She drew in a breath, loving the smell that surrounded the barn and the noises of the horses, the few that were left in there, considering the place didn't close till around 8 at night.

"Yeah." She responded with a nod, rubbing her right hand onto her weathered jeans from where she had sloshed water onto it a second ago. "Tack room is open. However, I have some papers you need to fill out as a general warning that we aren't responsible for anything that is lost or stolen. You know, all that good stuff. After that, if you want, we can head up to the house and I can get everything settled for you." She smiled barely taking a breath to get all that information out.

"Follow me."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent gave a nod. He followed her, signed the papers, and moved his junk into the tack room, moving it to the far side from the door. He figured he could take as many precautions as he could to ensure the safety of his things, considering that saddle had cost him an arm and a leg.

After he positioned everything, he got his bags out of the bed of his truck and followed Emery up the sloping hill to the beautiful ranch house where he would be staying in one of the rooms. He wouldn't say it out loud, but this area reminded him so badly of his home back in Colorado where he had lived with his Aunt and Uncle. He missed his home. But he had to remember that even though he was under the guise of a rancher on a getaway, he still had a real job to do.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery and Laurent had been almost in complete silence since they left the barn. He would mumble here and there whenever he was signing forms to ensure the safety of his hores and certain guidelines he must abide by, much like most boarding stables would have to make sure everything went smoothly and no law suits would come out of their stay.

The only noise she had on the way towards the house, aside from the rustling of leaves and chirping of birds, were the crunching from their boots that, coincidentally, matched perfectly. Emery always being the one to take note to these kinds of things that really didn't need to be noted. So far the only thing she had learned about this man, aside from what was obviously seen, personal details she learned was that he was from Tennessee.

Not too far from home.

She pushed up a fallen sleeve, annoyed at herself that the cold morning they had was just a way of tricking her into burning alive bythe end of the day. Having walked up a slightly steep incline always winded her no matter how many times she trucked up it, she glanced over at the tall blonde, wanting to size him up further, trying to see if he was safe to have around. Lord knows she didn't want to have to call Poppy to stay with her while the male stranger wandered about the house.

Her new years resolution had been to get closer to the male species and to stop being such a wuss around them, but so far the only men she hung around were those who worked with her or had a yearly contract for boarding their horses. She figured now was better than never to at least relax and learn that not everyone was out to get her.

Emery pushed her hair behind her ears and sighed out, walking up the small green steps onto the porch, their boots hitting the wood and making her smile. God, how she loved that sound. She pulled open the screen door and smiled at the woman behind the desk.

"I didn't forget about you, Maria! You can head on out for the weekend!" The woman laughed and nodded. "If you'll just stay here I'll go get some more papers for you to fill out, Mister Eades." She turned slightly to walk backwards and watch the man, she had wanted to ask him if she could carry something for him, but refrained, chickening out like always.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded, setting his duffel and satchel down on the floor to wait for her. He reached up and took off his hat, stepping aside to allow the Maria woman to leave. He nodded to her in good evening, looking around the inside of the lodge.

It cool and roomy, the decorum typically rustic as was normally found in these sorts of places. He liked it, it was homey and comfortable, and he knew it would be a nice place to really get away if he were really getting away. But by God, even if he was on duty, there was no way he was going to not go riding a few times.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery scuffled around in her second office, the place where she tried to spend less time in for the room was bright white with no windows, typical housing office. Papers all over the walls, desks, bookshelves, messy and chaotic. Luckily, she didn't stay there often considering Poppy managed the inn part of the business more than she did, simply because she was the one who favored the money business.

She walked out of the room and behind the small desk in the lobby, although the lobby was rather large and rustic, with many chairs and conversation areas, the rest of the house was much like any other, except with more seating areas. The living room was the one part she loved most. Its comfortable colors and bright windows and large fireplace and expansive library right off the room, it was her dream house, except with many strangers amongst it.

"Here you are." She said as she sat down the main contract. "Here is a schedule of activities we offer, breakfast, lunch, and dinner times, etcetera, etcetera..." SHe frowned as she opened up the rooming program on the computer, typing in the information she already knew. She looked up at him with a smile and was almost shocked to learn that without his hat he was a lot more attractive.

"How long are we staying, Mister Eades?" She had forgotten to ask considering this part was usually done before stalls were assigned.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent watched her for a long moment before look down at the papers she had given to him. He scanned over them, looking at the contract and the activities sheet. He didn't really look at them that closely, he didn't really do activities, not if they involved other people that he didn't know.

He signed the contract with the pen she offered and then leaned back, straightening. He looked at her for a moment as if he hadn't comprehended the question she had asked him. Then he gave her a nod.

"About a week," he answered quietly.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery took the papers, not once breaking eye contact with the man. She couldn't help but stare at his eyes. She hadn't seen a pair that vibrant since she met Poppy, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she was quite fond of them, his especially.

Emery figured it'd be best to stare in spurts rather than alll the time that way he wouldn't be so freaked out by her. If he wasn't already with her all smile expressions. She looked down and cleared her throat, checking some of the information and what not, typing it into the computer very quickly before turning to the small rack behind her holding small golden hooks with old skeleton keys on them, a little plastic ring attached showing the room number. She contemplated on whether to put him naer her room or far away, eventually she found the middle ground, knowing nobody would be staying in that house for the next three weeks.

"Here you are." She said putting the key on the counter. "Can I assist you in anything?" Now she was sounding formal, like the good businesswoman she was, but also to be polite.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded, taking the key and pocketing it. He pulled his bags up and shook his head.

"No thank ya, you've done enough," he said with another thankful nod. "I'll be seein' you, ma'am."

And with that, he turned and strode to the stairs being sure to glance around a few times to get his bearings. He wanted to make sure he knew everything before he stayed there for a week or before he went poking around.

He went up the stairs to the halls of guest rooms, remembering that his key had said room twenty. He walked until he came to it, fishing the key out of his pocket and unlocking the door. He pushed it open and peered inside, before walking in and tossing his bags on the floor. He shut the door behind him with, and threw the key onto the bedside table along with his truck keys and cowboy hat.

Laurent didn't turn on lights unless he had to, he was a natural light or darkness person. He didn't like artificial light. So he wandered over to the big picture window and pulled the curtains aside. His room was on the side of the house where the sun set, so the bloody light of the still dying sun poured in over the room, and over him. His shadow was cast long and black over the carpet, bed, and wall.

He stared out at the sun until it hurt his eyes, then looked away and to the door to the bathroom off his room. He would definately want to shower soon and get to bed. He was horse whipped, no pun intended, and he wanted to get a good night's sleep so he could have a ride the next morning before starting the thankless task of digging into the workings of this ranch.

And most especially, getting into who Emery was. If he was going to know anything about this place, he needed to endear himself to the owner, and that meant, Emery had to like him or she wouldn't help him with anything. Not that she was a nonlikable person, he actually liked her a lot. She was very southern, down-to-earth, sweet, everything one would think of when they thought of a southern lady.

Turning away from the window, Laurent pulled off his shirts and walked into the bathroom, pushing the door behind him.

It was going to be a long week.

[Emery Peyton]

Her stomach hadn't stopped churning since she saw him, rugged sexiness and all, at her door. When was the last time a good lookin' cowboy stood at her door, just beckoning to be stared at. None the last time she checked her calendar! She knew almost half the peopel that stayed there, most were people who became regulars during certain weekends, some made it a family event to come at least one weekend a month. She loved her job and loved how people found it cozy and homey, it had been what she intended when opening up the business, matter of fact, picking up where her parents had left off so many years ago.

Emery sighed out as she hugged herself, the cool nightly wind still not recovering from the odd winter they had. It wasn't uncommong for nights to get a tad chilly, but this was unusual, and she liked it. She bit her lower lip as she watched her feet as she crunched up the beaten path next to the back porch, it was much easier to walk than having to walk around the house and up a small incline in the hill. Here she just had steps. She had just got done making her nightly rounds at the stables, making sure the horses had water, all doors were latched, the barn door was closed and locked. She wasn't in the mood to have horses stolen, not after the ordeal some places were having with their security, luckily she had already locked the front entrance gate, nobody allowed to come in or out unless they buzz the house.

She sighed out as she sat her flashlight down on the kitchen island, putting her key on the little hook of the decorative holder next to the door. Speaking of keys, or thinking of considering she knew a guest was in the house and didn't think he should hear her talking to herself. She was loving his cherry red truck, she had actually touched it on her way back, always appreciative of nice new trucks. Then again she was in love with her Poppy's old Ford and wasn't wanting to part with the four door rust brown truck just yet.

Emery wondered what he was doing, he had looked tired when they made it to the house, then again long trips always wore her out so she empathized with him. She frowned and realized he hadn't been out of his room since he went up. She was wondering if she should go up there to ask him if he was hungry since she had been in the living room reading a book, waiting for him to come down and pick something from the menu. She actually hadn't eaten anything now that she thought about it. The book had grabbed her attention rather well.

She sighed out and figured she could make something later on in case he just woke up or ate late.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent rubbed the towel vigorously through his hair, wishing desperately the blodne curls would straighten out. But no, it didn't matter what he did, they would always stay curly. He got them from his mother, who's entire family had curly hair, and the blonde had come from his father, who had had blonde hair for as long as Laurent could remember.

He tossed the towel on the bed, dressing in an undershirt and grey exercise pants, making his way to the vanity. He pushed his hips against the counter to lean over and stare in the mirror. His blue eyes looked tired, even to himself, and he was in desperate need of a shave...

Growwwl...

And food, according to his stomach. He put a hand over his stomach and leaned back, going back over to his bed and sitting down. He unzipped his satchel and dove inside, pulling out the case file on the hit-and-run he was investigating. The victim, a twenty-three year old business major. The vehicle, a truck, older, the style was in the back of the file and he didn't feel like fishing it out. The tip they had recieved had told them that the person responsible for hitting the man and running lived here, or had lived here when it occured.

Hopefully, Laurent would be able to track down which visistor it had been.

Sighing and snapping the file shut, he leaned back on the pillows, looking out the window. It was dark now, probably nearing seven o'clock. He was starved to death, but he rarely ate dinner. Breakfast was his meal, especially if he was going to get up early and ride the next morning...then again, he did want to venture down and look around a little more.

Reaching over, he grabbed the mess of papers the woman had handed him earlier. He looked at the schedule, searching for the time the barn opened. It said the doors were unlcocked at seven in the morning, and closed at eight at night. Considering most people here were hardcore horseback riders, they would most likely be at the barn at ten til seven, and not get get back until two til eight. That's what Laurent planned to do.

He tossed the papers down and reached over, turning off the lamp in his room. He was so tired, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep, but he didn't have anything better to do with his time.

Rolling over, he rested his head on the pillow, his still wet hair cold on his neck, and stared at the wall opposite his bed. He reached over and picked his cell phone up off of his bedside table and flipped it open. In a moment, he had his alarm set for five thirty, and not long after, he had fallen asleep.

[Emery Peyton]

_____________________

Peyton yawened as she stood in the darkened kitchen, the sun slowly starting to burn a bright red in through the window, something she always watched at this time of day while drinking her favorite kind of coffee, Hazlenut. She blew into her favorite navy blue cup, mindlessly noticing that the steam was rolling around in a circle inside, her mind having wandered on many things this morning.

She sighed out and sat down the mug and figured now was a better time than never to put the fresh linens out on the small tables in the dining room. It was almost 6:30 in the morning, her typical routine to get up at 5 and get ready for the day then prepare the breakfast tables at 6:30. Jeez, her and her routines. Even she got annoyed with herself. She heard her stomach growl when she smelled the food that was cooking in the industrial kitchen right out from the dining room, her two chefs always on time and ready to cook for anyone who wandered in.

Complimentaries were already out, bagels, muffins, coffee, juices, fruits, the usuals, but the eggs and omelets and every other breakfast ammenity was being prepared and Emery was more than happy to eat since she had fallen asleep on the leather chair in the library reading another one of her trashy romance novels dealing with the west and horses. If there was one thing she was obsessed with, other than her job and what came along with it, it was food and romance. A sucker for the last due to her inability to even experience it herself. She figured the only person she'd ever marry would be her horses.

Emery hummed a small song, an old regular baptist song she had learned back in her days of choir. She wasn't much of the church goin' type, but she did appreciate Kentucky's appalachian history to at least sing some over putting white table clothes on the tables. Today she was favoring 'I'll Fly Away'.

[Laurent Eades]

By the time six thirty rolled around, Laurent was dressed in boot-cut jeans, and a white NBHA t-shirt, sticking his riding gloves in his back pocket and pulling on his cowboy boots and hat.

He pushed some flyaway curls away from his hat as he grabbed his cigarettes and lighter, hiding them in his other back pocket, and leaving his cell phone on the bedside table. He didn't want any calls today, especially not from Nashville. Any business calls he took had to be done in private.

Glancing once in the mirror, and shaking his head at his unattractiveness, he unlocked the door and headed down the hall, checking the wall clock before he shut and relocked the door. It was six forty-nine, he was right on time.

He could smell food as he descended the stairs as quietly as his boots would allow. He was still hungry, but figured he could grab something and eat it while he tacked up. But the closer he got to the kitchens, he smelled coffee...he couldn't survive in the morning without coffee. Especially not when it smelled that good. Maybe after a cup or two, he could go out and start tacking up Byrd.

When he wandered into the main dining room, he saw the woman from the night before, and he reached up to take his hat off, seeing food set out, but searching for the coffee. When he spotted it, he walked over, laying his hat down next to it so he could use both hands to get it. He glanced over his shoulder once, trying to be polite.

"Mornin', ma'am..."

[Emery Peyton]

Emery didn't even pay any attention to her surroundings on the weekends considering most people left on Friday morning. To hear boots coming made her heart race and to hear his voice made her stomach jump into her throat.. She looked over her shoulder, smiling brightly at the man she saw getting coffee. Something she had learned in this business, cowboys loved their coffee.

"Oh, good morning, Mister Eades!" She sounded extremely chipper, but she always did this early. It was at night when she became boring and monotone. "Did you sleep good last night? I missed you for dinner, I was thinking about comin' up and seein' if you wouldn't want somethin', but I figured you been driving all day you were just wantin' some sleep." Another moment when she spoke too much and barely took a breathe. Nerves already at this time of the morning? He didn't come bother her last night, so he was very respectful, she figured she needed to stop being judgemental and just trust people a little more.

"We got some fresh eggs coming out, would you like me to go get you some breakfast, hun?" She slightly walked towards the middle of the room towards the buffet where things were set out. "I was just about to go get me some before I go ridin'."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent listened to her. She was a morning person obviously, unlike him. If he didn't put forth a good effort, he could be very grouchy in the morning. But he had gotten a lot of sleep the night previous, so he was feeling rested and polite this morning. He turned around, leaning on the table a little, taking a nice big gulp of coffee.

"Aw, no thank ya," he said quietly. He watched her for a long moment. "I reckon I'll take something with me," he said, waving a hand vaguely to the bread products, or one of the other things that was easily wrapped up and put in a saddle bag. He continued to drink his coffee, refilling after a few moments. He looked down into the cup for a moment as if waiting for it to do a trick. He looked back up.

"Wouldn't care to get some of this to take with me though," he said.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery smiled, watching him talk, his drawl much more noticeable in the morning and the deep morning voice he had was very appealing, then again the more she thought about it there wasn't much about this man that wasn't uappealing.

"If you want, I have some thermos' back in the back I can fill you up on some hot fresh coffee for your mornin'. We are here to serve you, so don't be afraid to boss us around." She smiled and felt that she was doing too much of it already, he didn't seem like the kind of man who loved mornings that much. She used to not be either until she started this little inn, it was part of the job and, at times, she felt like sleeping in on many occassions. However, this morning, she was more excited to get up and see the new guest.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. He was a totally humorless man, and this woman actually was funny. He gave a short nod, the tiny smile disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"I'd like that, thank ya," he muttered, indicating he would like to have a thermo of coffee to take with him. He liked nothing more than hot coffee on the trail. Hot coffee and a cigarette. He leaned off of the table and grabbed his hat, indicating she lead the way to the thermo. He walked to the door and then waiting, looking around. He turned and walked to the front door, pulling it open to peer outside. The sun was peeking over the horizon, it always rose late in the summer.

The sky was grey. Grey, and blue, and pink, and red. Sun rises were gorgeous in the country. Not like the city where the car exhaust and pollution made the sky more of a brown in the morning. He loved it here. It reminded him so strongly of Colorado that he was getting a tad homesick. He couldn't wait to get out and spend some quality time with Byrd.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery was on a mission, perhaps more than she should be considering this was the first time she was actually serving a man she wanted to serve. Most cowboys in these parts had a perverted way about them and it made her very uncomfortable, but she could run with the boys and she gave them a run for their money, yet at the same time praying to god she'd not be caught alone with them anytime soon. Not even if it was passing in the hallway, however, she would want to pass Laurent in the hall anyday, even if she was carrying her skivvies. A blush crossed her cheek, her mind always overactive on the weekends when there wasn't much to do at the inn. Luckily, Laurent was there, but he wasn't her horse and pony show.

Emery was enjoying the thought of being able to sit with him in the library and talk, she did with most her guests, but he seemed like the quite type, the loner. She sat down the hot pot of coffee that she had made for her personal use in the main kitchen, she screwed the silver cap on and smiled, happy with herself. She turned and walked out of the kitchen and smiled.

"Here you are. I hope you enjoy it. I love riding and drinking my favorite kind of coffee. Muffin's too. Then again I need to cut back on the snacking and riding!" She laughed as she patted her stomach. Why did she tell him that? That was stupid. Now he was going to think she found herself fat. She sighed.

"What are your plans for this morning?"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded when she handed him the thermo, he could feel the heat of the coffee on his hands as he held it. He watched her for a moment, considering what she had said. If she really thought she was fat, she was in need of a mirror check. She was far from it, not even knowing her, it was obvious she rode horses. She had the muscles in all the right places.

"Ah," he sighed, putting his hat back on, but tipping it back so he could see her, and vice versa. "I'm gonna head out on Byrd this mornin'...don't plan on bein' back for a few hours..." he said quietly, nodding a little.

"And yourself?"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery nodded, smiling softly not wanting to be the woman he recalled as being 'All teeth, all the time.' She figured nobody in their right mind would be that happy. But, she was. Surprisingly.

"Ah," She looked around and out the orange tinted white lace curtains that barely hid the large French windows. "I got to do a few things here, but in about twenty I am getting my baby out and taking her for a ride. It's been two days since she and I have been alone." She smiled referring to her horse as a lover, but she was her baby girl and nobody was as loyal to her as Kicker, her tan Quarter Horse.

"Might see you out there." She sighed and realized she wanted so much to blow off filing a few things and heading out to give her horse a brisk morning run. "We have markers and things around so you will never lose your way, all right? Be careful. Have fun!" Emery felt keeping him there any longer would probably agitate him so allowing him to be on his way. Plus, she'd be able to go ahead and give the maid on hand to clean up his room.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded. He tipped his hat and turned, striding through the hall and out the door into the brisk morning air. The sun wasn't fully up yet, but the bar nwas unlocked and he could hear the sound of the horses kicking in their stalls.

He made his way down the hill to the barn, going through the unlocked doors and walking down the hall to his horse, who had her nose rested on the small window to the side of her stall. He smiled, patting it before opening the stall and grabbing her halter. She stood obediently while he put it on and lead her out into the hall, crosstying her.

He hung up a bucket of food for her--a scoop of sweet feed to give her energy--and went to the tack room, grabbing his saddle, his bridle, and his saddle pad. He rested his saddle on the floor, tossing the saddle pad on her back as she scarfed down her food, not paying him any mind. He hauled his saddle up on her back.

After she finished, he laced the leather strap through the silver ring...over, under, over, under, through, a loose knot. He carefully anchored his elbow against his hip, stepping under her belly a little and then pulling up on the leathers until it was as tight as it would go. He finished the knot with pulling the excess through and over. After that he loosely buckled the cinch around her lower belly.

When she raised her head from the food, he unlatched her halter from the cross ties, leaving one on, and sliding her bridle over top of her halter, making sure the bit slid smoothly into her mouth. He wrapped the lead around her neck, braiding it before he lowered the stirrups and mounted her on the left side.

He tapped her sides lightly, clucking gently to her. Byrd jumped a little, prancing until she got out of the barn and he was able to see the several entrances to trails along the feilds. Deciding to run her a little, to get her energy out, he entered the back feild, gave her her head, kicked her sides and held on. Byrd flew across the feild, a blur of grey and black as she galloped over the freee fields, something she hadn't been able to do in a little while.

This was where Laurent felt at home the most.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery sighed out at the deafening silence of the house, the loneliness always getting to her from time to time whenever Poppy went away for business or races in other states. She hated it to be quite honest, which was probably why she heavily relied on this business to keep her company since she wasn't one who went out partying with friends, those few she had.

She had refilled her cup and was glancing at the Lexington Herald, reading up on the local and national news, slowly making her way to the funny papers, her favorite. She sipped on the steaming mug and wandered over to the small round glass table where two small brown whicker chairs were staged, right in front of the bay window that overlooked the field. Her mind wandered to racing her horse around to let her work out those kinks she seemed to get while being couped up in the stall. Work was keeping Emery busy these days and unfortunately her horse would not understand at all. So she had making up to do this holiday weekened.

She grinned at thinking of her horse, but her thoughts were kicked to the curb when she saw the lone cowboy riding hard and fast in her large farmland. He was a professional, that was for certain, and he looked wonderful riding a horse. Although he was far away she could tell that he felt at ease on his horse. It made her smile. He was hard to talk to, that was for certain. She wondered if it was going to be like this for a whole week.

[Laurent Eades]

______

Laurent wasn't out on the trails for as long as he had thought he would be. His horse was wonderful, but she wasn't a jumper, or a cross country horse. She wasn't good at endurance riding. So somewhere around five thirty he was a mile or two away from the barn, and by six he was riding into the empty barn, with few horse left inside.

He dismounted and untacked her, listening to his stomach growl, and pulling off his working gloves, shoving them into his back pocket as he put out feed in her stall, and refilled her water bucket. She was sweaty from the riding, and if he left her that way, she'd get to cold, and might colic. He left her in the stall to eat while he retrieved her blanket from the tack room.

He latched the blue blanket on her, brushing her mane and clearing it of burs before he closed the door and headed back up to the house. He was starved to death, and was actually thinking of eating something this evening. He was dusty, and a little sunburnt, but he felt better than he had in ages. He hoped Emery was up at the house. Now that he had his bearings he wouldn't mind talking to her about the history of this place.

Getting down to the business he had come here for.

[Emery Peyton]

"Well, thank you for calling to tell me that you had the best night of your life, Poppy." Emery laughed lightly as she bent over the front counter, chatting lively on the phone, her godfather telling her all about how well his date went with the newly divorced woman living in Lexington. How funny he was. She heard footsteps coming up the driveway and she looked over her shoulder.

"Hey, my guest is coming on in. Why don't you come by tomorrow and ride with me?" She smiled and laughed at his response and quickly hung up after a breif 'I love you'. She sighed out and turned to walk to the front door, pulling it open to step out onto the porch, crossing her arms as a cool breeze blew by.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent looked up as he hopped up the stairs. He nodded, tipping his hat.

"Evenin'," he said. "You got some trails out through there," he commented breifly, rolling up his sleeves and wiping his brow of the fine sheen of sweat and dust that had settled here. He waved his hand vaguely around. "Where'd ya get all this? In the family?"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery watched him and smiled, why should she feel so enthusiastic to see him wandering up her yard and towards her house. Although he wasn't much of a talker, he said a lot in the way he looked and the way he walked, he spoke volumes.

"Evenin', cowboy." She smiled. He looked good at any time of the day and it was incredibly ridiculous. She tilted her head in response to his sudden interest in talking. "Family? No, no." She laughed, glancing down at her feet and scuffing them before looking back up at him walking closer to her home.

"I used to live a few miles away when I was little. I graduated from college and saw it was needing to be bought. So, I bought it." She shrugged. How often was it that a woman fresh out of college went and bought 320 acres of farm land to start a business. "Kinda nuts, huh? Still hadn't paid off my college loans and I already bought this place."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent's eyebrows popped a little. He turned to face the open field, crossing his arms over his chest. He shook his head a little. He didn't really have enough money to rent the apartment he owned, how did she get that kind of money fresh out of school?

"So you run it on your own, then?" he asked quietly, glancing over shoulder at her.

[Emery Peyton]

"Sorta." She said drawing in a breath, her eyes dancing over the vast amount of land to her right. She smiled and looked back at the man.

"My Godfather and I run it. He usually runs the Inn during the week while I run the barn." She nodded adn looked around again before finding the tall man. "You know I didn't ask you, what do you do?"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded at the information about her godfather. Hm. He hadn't heard anything about a godfather. He'd have to go snooping around a little if he could. He'd also needed to check in on his file to make sure he was asking all the right questions.

At her words he looked over. He nodded.

"Aw, I'm a rancher up in Tennessee," he said slowly and quietly. "I ain't been up here in a few years...figured I'd spend my holiday up here with my horse..." he expounded quietly. He turned a little more towards her. He wasn't a cold person, so he didn't want her to think that he was trying to blow her off with his short answers. He paused a moment as his stomach growled a little.

"I reckon I oughta go get myself something to eat."

[Emery Peyton]

She perked up and smiled, pointing her thumb over her shoulder.

"Want...I can go whip ya up somethin' to eat, we got burgers, steak, cheese, bread, anything...everything." She laughed lightly. "I would love to do nothin' more than to chat with ya." She raised her eyebrows and slightly turned to wave him towards her door.

"Come on, I can give you a grand tour of the house cause I am sure you haven't been able to look around. I dunno how well you are into books, but I got a library. It's very nice."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent was certain that this woman could read his mind. Not only did she run a horse farm, but she had a library in her getaway. Horses and books were his first two loves. His horse was the only woman who had never done him wrong, and books made him feel like his life wasn't so crappy when he was feeling sorry for himself.

"Ladies first," he intoned politely, pulling open the door and standing aside to give her room. He followed her into the lodge, thinking more about the books and the horses and what he was going to eat than his job, which he had vowed to start his second day there. But oh well, after, or during dinner perhaps she would be give him more information he could use later.

"You happen to know Edmond Laws?" he intoned from behind her. "He ain't too far away from here...I heard about ya'll from him, said he knew ya."

[Emery Peyton]

Emery felt him behind her, she was smiling at the fact that he had opened the door for her considering most people didn't even do that much anymore. He was bringing home the old cowboy and she liked it.

"Edmond Laws..." She repeated lowly, racking her brain desperately trying to remember, but it was to no avail. "No I don't think I do." She looked over her shoulder. "But I am glad you heard about us, that means I am doing my job!" She laughed again.

"Tell me what you want to eat, hun."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent watched her for a moment, taking his hat off and shaking out his blonde curls. He laid his hat on the table and waved his hand. He shook his head, checking his boots for mud to make sure he didn't track any inside.

"I ain't picky, ma'am," he said, indicating that whatever she made for herself, he would eat the same. He stuck his hands into his pockets, looking around the kitchen area that they were standing in. He really liked it here. It was a wonder she didn't know the man he had been talking about. Edmond was a loud mouth West Virginian who was not easily forgotten.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery looked over her shoulder at him, why was she smiling so dang much? Why? Really, who smiled this much? Over nothing. Well, it wasn't nothing it was Laurent Eades to be quite honest. She liked him, but it was all superficial, she didn't know him which was why she was trying to invite him for a tour of this house it gave her a moment to learn a little about him and vice versa.

"Well, I was gonna make myself a, uh, I dunno." She laughed. "I was hopin' you'd make it easy for me and pick a meal I'd make. I usually don't have much of a choice when I get guests." She pushed a piece of hair out of her eyes and looked over at him. He was pretty. Not pretty in a way that made him a wussy, but in a way that sorta deceived people. He looked like he could whup a man's behind if he was rubbed the wrong way and that was very appealing.

She grinned, looking back down to the small runner covering the wooden flooring as they walked into the lobby and towards the dining room, then she stopped turning around to look at him.

"Y'know...why don't we eat in the kitchen. It would be really stupid to eat in a big room with just....me." She smiled. He was goign to eat with her right? "You can sit at the island and watch me work. Very rare here at the ranch."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent gave her a nod, and then a smiled. His first real one in about two weeks. He didn't smiled as a general rule, he didn't like to, he always thought it gave away too much about people. But at that moment, in that occassion, and in the presence of that woman, a smile just came to his face, without him really meaning to.

"Alrighty," he answered, and the smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. He followed her into the kitchen, spotting the island. He put his hat down on it and then slid into one of the chairs. He got comfortable, looking around the kitchen. He had deducted already that this was not a good time of year for this place. At least he assumed that since he was the entirety of the customer count. But he preferred it quiet, and if he wa a ranch owner, he would have preferred it quiet. Which, he was a ranch owner, but he didn't have people come and board there.

"So ya'll have an up season?"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery looked around and grabbed a menu that had been printed up for customers. Perhaps he'd find something that he'd fancy. She turned and slid it over to him as she walked around the island to face him head on, his hair wild and tightly curled. She so badly wanted to run her fingers through it to see if it was as silky as it looked, but she refrained knowing it would just have to stay a fantasy.

"Up season?" She repeated as she looked down at the small bag of trail mix she had left open on the counter, sticking her hand inside to grab a pretzel and chex, slowly chewing on it while thinking. "We start getting more people in here by late July, towards August." She nodded as she looked around the room, thinking, then nodding.

"We do good here, I love this time of the year though, all the madness surrounding the Kentucky Derby in May...it makes you so excited to be in peace and quite." She slit her eyes and looked back down at the man, leaning her palms on the corners of the island. "Right now, this is busy." She laughed and nodded at the paper in front of him.

"Check out what we got. I can make anything."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent looked down at the menu she slid over to him, and he observed it for a moment, looking at all the things they had. Which was basically anything. He wasn't much of a fancy food type person, which was good, because in a place like this, fancy food wasn't really available.

They had down home stuff; steak, potatoes, grits, beans and cornbread, fried chicken, cheesburgers, fries, the works. He read for a long moment before giving a shrug and sliding it across the table.

"Make it easy on ya. I'm up for grits," he said, leaning back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head and looking up at her.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery looked at him with a grin, staring for what seemed like forever and after a small laugh and pulled the menu to herself and looked down.

"You are kiddin?" She said looking up at him, "That it? All you want is grits? That ain't gonna fill anyone up! Come on, give me something hard to work for!" She laughed lightly and shook her head. He was an easy pleaser, if Poppy was around he'd tell her to run for her life cause that meant he was a complicated man.

"How about some chicken with it? Bread? Cornbread? Anything?"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent couldn't help a laugh. He leaned foreward, leaning his elbows on the table. He looked up at her and shook his head.

"Naw, if you got too much, you can't taste the grits anymore," he responded, looking up at her through curls that kept falling into his face. He knew what his partner would tell him about this woman. She was sweet, funny, kind, easy to get along with. Which probably meant that she was intelligent, and not to get too close to her or she would figure you out before you could figure her.

Then again, he didn't really trust anything his new partner said. He was young, hotheaded. Everything Laurent wasn't. The boy hadn't yet been through half the things Laurent had, and he couldn't judge people like Laurent could. Although, in this case, he figured his partner might not have been wrong. Laurent was guarded anyway, but around this woman, he would have to be extra careful with what he said because she was smart and would be able to put two and two together. Which he didn't want her to do until he had this case solved.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery looked at him again for a long moment before raising her eyebrows and shaking her head, a roll of her shoulder as well. "All right." She said with a sigh.

"You're boss." She turned and quickly grabbed a pan and began to heat the water, pouring some salt so she could prepare everything for him. Grits were her specialty, her mom and pop used to make them all the time from scratch, it normally didn't take long to make them and even if it did, she would have them done in half the time. If there was something she was known for, it was for her cooking. Although her inn was pretty popular too, in the full swing of season that was.

"So, you say you got a ranch?" She felt she could begin to know this man, it had been enough time to relax and get out all those driving kinks. She was hospitable and being friends was one of her favorite things about running this business, especially knowing that they wouldn't be around for very long. Single serving friend, they'd have their week together and that was it, after that...if they came back they'd be friends again, but never did it go beyond that and she enjoyed it. Made her feel less like the extrovert who loved to stay indoors. A very odd concept since that should have been an introvert. Then again, she was a very odd girl.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent gave a nod, watching her back for a long moment. It took him a moment to realize that she wasn't looking at him and couldn't see his nod.

"Yup," he answered. "Nearer to Clarksville than Nashville...but nobody knows where Clarksville is," he expounded. His ranch was a family thing. His grandparents had run it since they had been young, and when he moved out to Colorado with his Aunt and Uncle, he had gotten much closer with his grandparents. They had left it to him in their will. "My pop passed away couple years ago, left it to me in his will. It's nice out there..." he paused, glancing around. "Ain't nothin' like this, but it's home."

He tapped the edge of his cowboy hat as he listened to her cooking. He didn't want to share to awful much with her, considering if she was vindictive, he didn't want her hunting him down. But considering he had to live in the city during the week, and his cousin ran the ranch when he couldn't be there, he didn't think telling her where the ranch was would cause too many problems.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery nodded and began to make the grits after the water began to boil. She quickly added everything in and it was soon prepared. She looked over at him and smiled.

"Clarksville, huh?" She stirred the grits for a moment then looked back over at him. "I know exactly where it is. Poppy goes down there all the time, there is a country club he and some of his old friends go to during the summer. Nice farms down there, some good vineyards, too." She grabbed a small bowl from the cupboard and was quick to slop it in, the steam rising.

"I've only been on two occassions, one was to sell a horse, the other was to breed a horse for a friend of mine. I didn't do much, but it seemed like a nice place." She handed the bowl to him and smiled. "What would you like to drink?" This was going genuinely well, she figured, she didn't think she ever got to sit and talk with a guest in such a smaller setting. It was all on a whim whenever the place was packed. But, she didn't want to be too much of a bother so more intimate questions were being held off until she felt safe enough to.

"Tell me," She turned to put some grits in her own bowl, she licked her finger and sat it on the island and looked up at him. "I didn't mean to pry or anything, but Greta, my maid, said she was cleaning your room and she put them on your dresser, but...do you own a gun? She said she thought she saw one." She hadn't wanted guns in the way of her maids, but it was slighty comforting to Emery to know that he had one. Especially after some odd occurrences and some odd notes she had been getting.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent looked down at the bowel, not bothering to tell her what he wanted to drink, he had spotted bottled water earlier in the day and was quick to get up and pull one out.

He listened to her as he snapped open the bottle and took a long drink. He took his time, walking back over to the island and sitting down. He leaned his elbows on the table and looked over at her, nodding a little.

"Yup," he answered. "Ain't loaded though. I keep the bullets in a box I put in the closet. I can leave it in my truck if ya want," he said, putting a little butter and pepper in his grits before taking a bite. He hadn't had any since he had been back to his Aunt and Uncles house, and to tell the truth, they were really good. He chewed slowly and then swallowed.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery stirred hers to cool it down after adding a little salt and butter...staring at him as if she were contemplating his every move. Which, to be honest, she was. Now that he admitted owning a gun and not looking at her made her slightly worry. Why on earth would he carry a gun with him? Afraid someone will try to steal his horse or something? She was wanting to ask, but figured best to leave it where it laid. She didn't want to go making enemies with him so soon, even more so now that he had a gun.

"Oh," She said after a long pause had suddenly turned into a very incomfortable silence, at least for her. She could feel her body temperature rising and a small drop of sweat wanting to bead on her forehead. Why was she still chicken? It had been quite some time ago. She shivered on reflex.

"No. Don't worry about it. I might have been a little uppity about the idea had kids been stayin', but by all means, keep it in your room." She slightly hoped he would, kinda made him more sexier.

"My maid is just a tattle tale, to be quite honest. Never knows when not to pry and when to." She smiled, grabbing her own bottle of water from the fridge. "Don't mean to do that, now. Pry in your personal business I mean." She was getting nervous now, she felt she had asked too many questions, but she knew she just needed to relax but she was still unsure whether to trust him or not.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent leaned back a little, taking a drink of water, and watching her. He swallowed, putting the bottle down on the table. He shoot his head a little.

"Don't worry about it, ma'am," he said quietly. He meant about prying, because she hadn't really. She had simply asked him if he owned a gun. Honestly, when he had walked in with it, he hadn't thought about it making people uncomfortable. Generally because most of the people who knew him, already knew he was a police officer, and the face that he had a gun would not have crossed their minds.

But this woman and her employees certainly didn't know he was a police officer, and even though it wasn't uncommon for cowboys to have guns, handguns generally weren't the weapon expected of a Colorado raised cowboy. Shot gun maybe, but not handgun. He'd have to put it away and not get it out unless he needed it...which he didn't think he'd need to.

He continued to eat in silence. He could tell that she felt it was an uncomfortable silence, but honestly, Laurent didn't relate well to people, and he had already said more in one sitting than he had said in a week, so he figured if he went without saying much else, he'd be fine...

"These are good," he muttered, glancing at her, indicating the grits.

[Emery Peyton]

"You like 'em?" She smiled. This made her perk up and forget everything. She always trying to keep her resolution in mind. She didn't know why the problems she had with guys stuck with her for so long. She had been raised well by Poppy, she had been around boys her entire life through school and especially when it came to horse riding. But she never got over the initial underlying problem, the fear of being hurt in some way. She sighed out, wishing there was just an easy button to push to make her more bold and more outgoing with the other sex, but she always felt that wall was too big to climb.

It had literally been almost twenty years since her father's death, thirteen since her mother's. She shouldn't feel that men were such a heavy burden, then again, she had other reasons to fear men as well. Her truck still wasn't acting right.

"Thanks. My Dad..." She stopped. "I mean, uh, Poppy used to make them for me all the time. Mom did, too. I just watched them and learned I suppose."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded in acknowledgment, but he didn't answer with words. He slowly continued to eat, still looking around. He wasn't used to the place yet. He knew that once he finished eating, he'd need to go back to his room and call his partner. He figured the other man would still be awake at this time of night, considering it was just a little past eight.

He didn't particularly want to talk with him, he would rather just call his boss directly. Not that he didn't like his partner, the boy was easy to get along with, a little bullheaded, but generally a good person. But ever since his partner of five years had been killed in the line of duty...Laurent didn't like anyone they paired him with.

But Laurent didn't want to think about that, it was a moment in his past he hated recalling. It made him angry and sad, two emotions he hated feeling.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery looked up at him and figured he was done talking, which seemed normal. Most men stopped talking to her because they felt there were better things to look at or talk to. She had never really been well with men anyhow, unless they were her Godfather or co-workers. She knew it wasn't a surprise, but it still sucked to not be looked at in a way that was other than visitor-worker.

"I think we'll do the tour some other time. I am kind of tired tonight. Thanks for eating with me and talking. It was fun." She smiled and turned to put her bowl into the sink. "When you are done you can just...stick it in there." She nodded and looked at him before slowly walking out of the room, her stomach turning so many times at the fact that she recognized that the odd feeling had been a little crush on him.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent watched her walk away and disappear up the stairs. She was headed to her room. He sighed, standing up and putting his bowl into the sink. He paused, listening for her door to shut.

When he heard it, he picked his hat up off the table and put it back on his head, moving from the kitchen area to the library, off which was an office. He didn't know if it was locked or not, but he figured any normal person would have locked their office. He ignored it.

Instead he looked through the bookshelves. Any lodge with half a brain had guestbooks, and most lodges kept them out for other visitors to come through and see who had visited. He spotted them in the far shelf from him. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure he was alone, he walked over, sitting down in one of the couches. He read the sides, searching for one in 2004.

After a long moment, he found it and pulled it off the shelf. It was a little dusty and made him cough a little. He opened it on his lap, searching for the dates he knew right off the top of his head. He kept turning pages, unable to find what he was looking for until...

Ashley Flanagan.

Aha. There was the name he was looking for. The very man who had been hit and killed had stayed in this lodge. Everything seemed to be leading back to this place. He observed the name for a long moment before shutting the book and replacing it. So now he knew that the man had stayed here...he had been on his way to see his brother when he had been killed.

Laurent rubbed his eyes and walked through to the hall, hopping up the stairs and making his way down to his room. He unlocked the door and went inside, fishing his cell phone out of the things on his bedside table. He flopped back on his bed, holding the cell up to see he had a missed call from his partner. He would have to call him back. But he figured it could wait until morning.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery sighed, he stomach not feeling any better after taking a long hot bath. The only thing that felt right was how she felt refreshed. She normally didn't like taking showers in the morning, since she figured it'd be best to go to bed clean rather than dirty from her trail rides and being with the horses all the time.

Her mind was wanting to not hit on the sore spots of her past, but for some reason having Laurent here was making it all come back to her. Perhaps it was because she found herself attracted to him, he was very cute, okay hot, and had a body like none other, but she still didn't figure why something about him made her uneasy. Perhaps it was because he wasn't much of a talker, she didn't have a good enough grasp on who he was. Many other people came and might never talk with them once, but that didn't bother her. She wasn't sure, but she figured it had something to do with that gun. Or the fact that she got an unmarked postcard from someone stating 'In time...' whatever that was supposed to mean.

Emery sighed. Her stomach growled. She didn't finish her grits. She had gotten too nervous and felt it was time to go, she needed to get something to eat. With a towel in hand, furiously scrubbing her head, she walked out of the room, stopping for a moment at the man's door, leaning her ear against it to see if he was in there. After a moment she figured he was asleep, showering, or still eating. Although who ate that long?

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent heard the woman walk past his room and he was glad he was no longer downstairs snooping in the guestbooks. He was still staring at his cell phone, listening to her footsteps fade down the stairs.

He sat up, deciding he ought to go ahead and call his partner. He felt like he had now made the woman suspicious of him, and he didn't want that. He needed her to trust him...

His fingers dialed the number while he watched his door, he knew his partner's number by heart, and didn't need to look at the keypad anymore. He put the phone to his ear and listened to it ring. It rang much longer than he thought it would before the gruff voice of his younger partner answer.

"Cyler Chou," he said. Laurent furrowed his brow.

"Were you asleep?" he asked flatly. He heard rustling on the other end, Cyler talking with someone else and then footsteps. He was moving from the bedroom and his boyfriend.

"Yeah, actually, I was. Rough day...how are you doing?"

"Look, Ashley Flanagan stayed here. His name was printed in the guestbook about five days before the hit-and-run," he explained monotonously. He heard his partner cough, he seemed to be thinking about it.

"Okay. Which means he probably knew the person who hit him...if they were coming from the ranch, or heading to it. They had to have met somewhere along the way."

"Naturally. But it could be any one of them roughnecks who come through here to stay..." Laurent said. He paused, glancing back over at his door. "Look, I'm gonna go. Night."

"Good night, Laurent."

Laurent hung up the phone, wanting to keep the conversation as short as was absolutely possible.

[Emery Peyton]

"You ain't kiddin'!" Emery laughed lowly as she wandered around the downstairs, talking on the phone with Poppy, hearing him complain about the rain and how it was trying to flood the barn. Weather forecasts were brutal, it was non-stop rain and thunderstorms for the next twelve hours and she knew how incredibly upset the horses seemed to get when they got rain puddling around their feet. Poppy had called to let her know that he was getting the sump pump to start sucking out the water that was trying to collect near the entrance. This, he had been complaing to her about, was why they needed to hurry up and get their priorities straight so they can go ahead and see about building an arena.

"T.G Shuck was talkin' about how it was going to get uglier by seven tonight. Thunderstorms." Poppy groaned on the other line, she couldn't help but smile as she moved out of the living room and into the library, wandering over slowly to the tall windows to pull back the curtains. She hadn't gotten up as early as she wanted, rain somehow effecting her sleep pattern. She had somehow managed to get out of bed around eleven and dress in a rather comfortable manner. Always favoring jeans and comfortable long sleeved shirts, today she had dawned a pair of light grey yoga pants and a white tank top. She looked like she was ready to go for a jog instead of run an inn.

"You just keep the water out and we'll be good." She slowly opened the tall tan colored curtains, hearing the rod being scraped by the hooks. She didn't know why she was in the mood to clean, but she figured the maid calling in sick had something to do with it. She smiled and laughed every now and then when she heard Poppy curse and fuss about how he was getting too old to do this job, although he found nothing more gratifying than helping his god-daughter out.

Emery walked from window to window pushing the curtains open to allow the muted grey to wash over the room that was already painted in tones to be relaxing and dark. The sky was bruised even with grey the only colors popping was the dark green grass being pounded by the rain. Emery couldn't help but stop for a moment to look outside before moving on to wandering around.

Aside from the small conversation she had with her godfather the only other noise throughout this house, aside from the pops and creaks from the wood outside shrinking and swelling from the rain, was the small sound of the rain pelting against he window pane. She sighed out as she made her way to the large wall of books, her eyes slightly wandering around them for no reason. How on earth, she mindlessly thought, did she collect all these books? She smiled as she saw a few books she remembered reading fro her parent's library, she touched the spine of the old weathered hardback book, memories flooding her brain. She reached up to touch her neck, feeling the small golden locket her mother had given her when she was thirteen, hours before her mother killed herself.

Emery hated thinking of those final moments she spent with her mother before heading off to school unaware of her mother's condition. She sighed out yet again as Poppy continued to talk in her ear about whatever came to mind, she didn't know why but hearing him talk always made her feel good, evne if she didn't talk back. Her eyes moved around and fell onto her guest records, one book, in particular, being moved. She frowned and stared at it for a while.

"Poppy, I gotta go. I'll call you back." She hung up and put the small white cordless phone onto the mahogany shelf, her hands grabbing the year 2004, that had been stuck between 2001 and 2002. Being the obsessive compulsive woman she was she knew that this was not her doing. She slowly pulled the book of the shelf and suddenly she sneezed.

"Dad gum it." She said after a sudden spurt of non-stop sneezes. "Greta can't you clean in here." She growled at the incompentence of her maid suddenly, but she was highly annoyed that this book was out of order. She opened it up and looked around, her eyes finding the leather chair to her right near the door, the small decorative pillow that had been on it knocked over and an indention in the seat. She frowned. Greta might not have dusted, but she would have kept pillows propped up. Her mind put two and two together. She flipped through the book wondering what it was her guest was looking for.

This was public record and on display for anyone to see so it wasn't uncommon for people to check who stayed and who left comments. She knew several people looked to find friends or families or to reminisce when they first came here. She smiled as she flipped seeing people who used to come all the time, some who moved, some who had even passed away, but one name made her blood run cold.

The name burned into her mind and she got chills. Ashley Flanagan. The man she had heard on the news died of a hit and run accident while he stayed. Sadly, the man hadn't been there for very long and they had to throw out his personal belongings, along with some drug related items like a burnt spoon and some syringes. She sighed and closed the book, putting it back into its original place. Emery grabbed the phone and headed out of the library. What was he looking for?

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent had been awoken the next morning by a large clap of thunder, and the flash of lightening. He had jumped awake, sitting up in his bed to look out the window. Barely any light was coming in now, the sky was so grey, it might as well have been nighttime.

And if there was anything he hated almost worse than the dark, it was storms. He didn't know why he hated them so bad, maybe because of losing so many animals, and even crops when storms would flood the farm back in Colorado. He could remember being eighteen and having to be out in the driving sheets of rain next to his uncle to herd the animals into the barn. He had somehow managed to never get hit by lightening, but he had certainly seen enough animals go down that way.

Rubbing his eyes and getting up, he showered and dressed, checking his cell phone, and then peering out the window. He could see water pooling around the barn and wondered if they would need help pumping it out. He grabbed his hand gun from the bedside table and tossed it up into his closet with his bullets. He didn't need nosey maids looking at it.

Laurent opened his door, locking it behind him and sticking the keys in his back pocket as he donned his cowboy hat and pulled on his brown jacket. He was hungry this morning, he figured he would just go out and make sure Byrd was alright--she hated the rain and thunder, almost as much as he hated the dark.

He hopped the last few steps, glancing into the library, noting that all the curtains were pulled to the side to allow as much light in as was possible. But the sun was so covered outside by clouds, and the rain was so thick, the light that was being let in was very low and grey.

As he passed, he noted the thermometer, which indicated that the temperature was down around sixty outside. Unusual for this month, but no unusual for this weather. He figured the rain had lowered the temperature that much.

He had thought he heard someone down here a moment ago, but he saw no one as he went to the front door to pull it open and peer outside. The rain was almost too heavy to see through. Ah well, he had seen worse in Colorado. He just hoped Byrd would be alright until he made it out there.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery sighed out, mindlessly paying attention to the fact that water as pouring off of the bill of the brown flat sombraro she wore, looking around trying to keep the rain out of her eyes. She shivered as she looked around, watching everyone that could ride a horse long and hard in the torrentous downpour and look for the horses.

"How did this happen?" She screamed loudly over the rain that pecked against her navy windbreaker, the all terrain walkie talkie in her left hand trying to figure out what happened. Apparently, the sump pump inside the barn was beginning to cause the horses distress and they were getting quite spooked. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, allowing the horses to roam in the rain while they go the water out of the barn, however a sudden miscount of the horses led Emery to come to the startling find that part of the fencing had been mutilated to shreds and horses were on the loose.

Now, cold, wet, annoyed, scared, and highly observant she sat on her horse looking around, watching her workers gather the horses that remained and place them back inside the barn until they fixed the problem. So far, out of thirty horses, 24 had been found. Unaccounted for were her two other horses, her godfather's, and the customer's.

"Why arent' we working hard, people? Rain ain't gonna hurt you! I want y'all to get these horses into the barn! Move it! I've got owner's bestowing their trust in me to keep their horses safe!" She sighed out, angered that this had happened, plus she was fairly worried considering her new horses were very green and rebellious and still hadn't bonded with her in a way that they would listen to her very well.

But the thing that was worrying her most was the fact that she wasn't sure if Laurent's horse was in the barn or somewhere else. Right now, nobody was giving her any answers.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent had gone outside into the monsoon weather and had seen that the barn was emptied of livestock. And that half the people in Kentucky were over by the fences. His brow furrowed, and he quickly hopped the fence taking a run in all the mud towards where he saw the form of the woman whom he had spoken to.

Water was pouring like a waterfall off of his hat, but he wasn't paying it much attention. He slid in the mud a little, grabbing Emery's shoulder to steady himself, and cussing loudly before he peered into the shreds of the fence.

"What the hell happened here?!" he yelled over the rain. He didn't really need her to tell him, it was obvious the horses were gone, out into the woods somewhere. He shook his head, looking back over at her. "Do you need my help? Looks like ya'll can use all the help you can get."

[Emery Peyton]

Emery sunk down slightly the force of something grabbing her scaring her and also making her boots slide in the mud. She looked over to Laurent in all his sexiness wearing his hat low. Ignoring his question for a moment she looked back over to the fence and sighed out, shaking her head.

"Who in the hell knows!" She threw an arm up. "I had this stupid thing put in last summer, brand freakin' new. We have checks on it occassionally for rotted wood, but that...I don't even know what that is." She was meaning the shards of wood. It looked like it had just been hit by lightening, but she didn't remember every hearing or seeing it. She looked over at Laurent.

"Yeah." She said with a nod. "I need you to help me and a few of my boys search these woods." Her walkie screeched and she brought it up to her ear.

"Emery, we got two horses comin' back. Jake and I found two more in the woods, how many does that leave?" Relief washed over her as she glanced down at her soppy piece of paper in the other hand having kept track of who was still missing and who was found. She smudged some of the water droplets away.

"We got 28 horses. Two more. Y'all head on back. Eades and I can go find the others." She sighed and lowered both hands, pointing at the only part of the hills they hadn't looked. She gave a sideways glance at Laurent and then lifted the walkie back to her mouth.

"Poppy," She let her hand off the small button hearing static as he picked up the other end with a growl of a hello. "Is Laurent's horse still missing?"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent listened intently to the gruff reply of "Yes" that came in from the man on the other line. Laurent was immediately worried. His horse was good about not running off, so he didn't think she was too far. If he could find her, he could hop up on her and see if he could move a little faster at finding the other one.


He glanced at Emery and gave her a shrug, hopping over the shredded fence and into the muddy, leaf covered forest. He squinted into the trees looking for the grey Quarter Horse. She spooked in the thunder storms, but in here, where the rain wasn't as hard, he figured she would have lit somewhere to eat some of the dead and living leaves.


"Byrd!" he called loudly, followed closely by a sharp whistle through his teeth. He had been calling her to him the same way since he had broken her as a teenager. He waited for a moment, also keeping his eyes open for the other horse. After a moment, he whistled sharply again. "Byrd! Here, now!" he demanded.


He waited for another long moment before he heard a stick crack near to him and he turned to his right. He saw the grey horse trotting towards him, her ears perked up and her feet kicking high. She looked a little spooked, he could see slight slivers of the whites of her eyes. Something had seriously frightened her. But by what he was not sure. Byrd only spooked during thunderstorms, and if a human being provoked her. She had seen everything else, and was used to it all.


It disturbed him a little.


"There now," he muttered as she trotted a circle around him before stopping just short of him and allowing her to pet the velvet on her nose. He patted her, moving her wet forelock out of the way, checking her over. He scrunched his nose when he saw a small cut on her knee. But it was already beginning to dry, she would be fine.


Laurent turned and looked at Emery.


"One down," he said over the rain to her. "What's the other look like?" he asked, grabbing a hold of Byrd's mane and jumping onto her bare back, scooting in place just below her shoulders. He patted her neck and held onto her mane.

"If ya want--" he began over the pounding of the rain. "We can ride her through the woods, see if we can't find the missin' one!"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery followed suit of Laurent, although thoroughly worried about the two misisng horses, Laurent's more than the other, she could't help but give herself a little grin at the sound of his voice echoing throughout the forest amidst the rain. He was a rugged cowboy and she liked that a lot, it seemed he knew how to stay cool and calm and knew how to handle situations, much like herself, and she liked that a lot about this man.

Her ears perked when she saw and heard the horse trotting towards the two, she barely glanced over the wet horse, seeing a flew leaves here and there which she quickly peeled off as Laurent checked her over, she loved this horse. She might not have been around it very long but it was a good tamed horse and very proud of its owner, the bond she could see in the way they interacted. She smiled as she ran her hand over it and patted it kindl. She stepped back and looked around, distressed that she couldn't find her other horse.

"It's an American Thoroughbred, uh..." She frowned trying to give him some information on the horse that she had begun to favor after her old Quarter Horse began to get arthritis in the knees. She looked at the horse to find Laurent had gotten on his horse and already was asking her to hop on. She nodded and looked at the horse. She wasn't one to ride bareback, but this wasn't really a situation of needing luxury. Time was of the essence.

"She's roan in color. Beautiful horse. Name is Mannie. She reminded me of Man O' War." She sighed looking back up at Laurent.

[Laurent Eades]

Man O' War. Now that was something he could compare to.

Reaching down, he offered his hand to her to help her up on behind him. Byrd was very talented at double backing and wouldn't mind the extra light weight of the woman. After all, even though it was obvious Emery worked with horses--strong arms, and legs--she didn't look like she weighed nearly as much as Laurent, and that would probably be a blessing to Byrd.

"Hop on, sweetie!" he called over the rain. It was picking up and Byrd was getting a little restless. He saw a flash of lightening, and a rumble of thunder came a moment after. Byrd's skin twitched a little, but she seemed more calm now that two humans were around.

"I'm sure th'other horse is around here somewhere!"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery smiled on the inside, that was interesting to hear! She quickly took his hand and hopped on not wanting to linger around any longer fearing for her horse, fearing that the lightening could hit trees and harm her in some way. That horse wasn't really aware of what to do just yet in this kind of surrounding, Emery was worried and was wanting to just find Mannie.

"Let's check over there." She pushed herself against him and spoke loudly in his ear, hearing the rain beginning to pick up and hit the leaves on the trees, thunder clapping and rolling deeply throughout the feilds, this was dangerous weather to stay under all of this.

Emery felt the horse jerk every now and then from the loud thunder rolls, but Laurent was quick to get a move on it. Something that was not half as important as finding Mannie, but she recalled she had called him Laurent for the first time while radioing her godfather. She sighed out as she looked everything trying to find her horse, with all this green and all this fresh color it would be easy to spot her muted color, but for some reason her stomach was churning with fear.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent made sure she was on before pressing his heels into Byrd's sides. She lurched a little before moving into her smooth pacing gait. He had taught it to her long ago, and she still preferred it over a gallop. And so did he--it wasn't nearly as hard on his butt.

Laurent squinted into the bushes underneath his hat, whistling in hopes the other horse would hear them and come towards the sound. Byrd was moving quickly and smoothly, giving them enough time to look around.

If the horse was a roan, it wouldn't be difficult to spot her among all the green. And with Byrd under them, it was more likely the horse would not shy away. Laurent didn't see anything. He tugged a little on her mane and she slowed to a lope, her neck arched perfectly against her chest--his horse prided herself on her form.

But Laurent's attention was up and around at the surrounding trees and grasses. He rested a palm on one knee, guiding Bryd with the other, and scanning the trees closely.

"I ain't seen her yet!"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery felt let down at every single snap, creak, pop, anything and everything that might allow her to see her baby horse. She was incredibly annoyed that the fence had been destroyed by some ungodly force, she was upset that her barn was being flooded, she was ticked because everything was suddenly not making any sense. Where was that horse? Where? She had gotten the word on the fence being down within ten minutes of the horses being let out, no way could it have run off that far could it?

She sighed. Of course it could. Thunder and horses just didn't seem to mix and despite not knowing where it was going it was probably running for dear life. There wasn't any way they'd be able to trot up the steep hills on a horse, let alone when it was raining cats and dogs.

Emery lost track of time, as well as the signal in her walkie talkie. She had tried to contact everyone back at the barn to see if they had found the horse wandering around the grounds, but all she got was static. She was getting hungry, tired, she was freezing to death her coat finally allowing water to soak on through. She looked ahead and saw a patch of mud, remembering when she and Poppy went fourwheeling throughout the land to survey it and to rid any dangerous objects that were man made just in case this was to happen.

"Hey, hey," She patted Laurent's side with her hand, squeezing him slightly to get his attention in case he didn't hear since the rain was beginning to pick up as well as the thunder and lightening. She had to look up at the barely visible sky to see the streaks from far away. She knew that this storm was going to be brutal later on.

"We can't let Byrd walk through that with our added weight, hun." She sighed and looked around making sure they had already looked at that area. They had. She sighed out and looked back ahead. "We can go look there, okay?"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded. He had seen the mud too.

Steering Byrd away, he swung one leg over her neck and slid from her back, pushing her face away from the mud so that she would step away from it instead of go towards it. Her skin twitched a little and she swung her head up, knocking Laurent's hand away, her body tensed a little. Laurent's brow furrowed. He held her nose and petted her softly.

"Easy, girl..." he muttered to her, watching Emery slide off. Byrd shuddered a little. Laurent figured it was from the cold. He patted her lovingly. "Don't worry, darlin'. We'll have you back soon."

Laurent turned to where the mud pit was, and he started for it, looking for a path around. Byrd, behind him began to follow him, as she always did when he wasn't riding her. He glanced back, sighing and turning. He put a hand on her nose.

"Stay there," he said. He glanced over at Emery, then waved a hand. "How 'bout you look over that way, I'll get through this mud and check over here!"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery looked over her shoulder at Laurent and gave quick nod, quickly taking off in the direction of where he pointed. She stuck her hands into her pockets, trying to warm them, but it didn't do her any justice. She was wet and wished her dang horse would just come on out of hiding. If she figured out what happened to that fence she was going to make sure it wouldn't ever happen again, ever.

Emery called for her horse, whistled for him, anything and everything to try and gain her attention to somehow let her know where her baby was. Emery sighed out, annoyed to no end that she was stomping through mud that could, if the rain didn't stop, cause her feet to sink in past her ankles.

"Come on girl, where are you?" She sighed out, whislting a little louder for her horse, trying to coo it towards her. She heard a few snaps and she followed the sounds. She was getting excited for the closer she got the louder it came. Thankfully, she was about to come into a small clearing away from heavy bushes and drooping trees. She heard a small growl that slightly reminded her of what Mannie did when annoyed or not wanting to be bothered. She smiled and slipped slightly, gasping and grabbing a tree limb. The noise grew loud and suddenly she realized that wasn't a normal horse sound.

"Mannie?" She called, frowning as she gathered her ground and stepped around the tree. Unfortunately seeing a dark grey bobcat hunkering down and growling made her stop dead in her tracks. Her heart stopped and her breath caught in her throat. She looked around for something to throw at him to scare him, but she saw nothing.

"Shoo, shoo!" She screamed, throwing her hands at him, but it growled louder and slowly started to make its way towards her. Her heart began to beat again.

"Shi--Laurent!" She screamed, stopping herself from the curse that was about to grace her mouth, luckily his name made its way to her lips first. "Laurent, Christ, come here!"

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent was trained to hear his partner yelling for him, even in the loudest conditions.

The woman's screams were no different.

Laurent couldn't remember the time he had moved so fast. He leapt over the mud puddle, picking past Byrd who spook at his sudden movement and reared back, her hooves slicing too close to his head for comfort.

Fortunately, he ducked under her and bounded towards the area where he had told the woman to go. He could hear strange sounds coming from a clearing, and he headed that direction, tearing through the trees.

He crashed through the bushes, and almost ran right into Emery, if it hadn't been for the tree she was standing on the other side of. Laurent pulled his gun out of his belt, leveling it at a man's height as he came around the tree.

But it was not a man, or a human at all.

A hunkered bobcat was sitting in front of them growling with all it's might. And it didn't seem at all intimidated by the bigger human being that had come into the clearing with a firearm raised at it. Which would have frightened any other bobcat to run.

"It looks rabid..." he muttered back to Emery as shouldered her behind him. He grasped the grip of the gun as he had learned in the academy, with both hands, one for the trigger, the other to steady. With a slight flinch he fired at the ground beside the animal. It jumped into the air and landed, hissing and spitting, but it didn't seem anymore afraid of him. It had to be rabid. No way would a normal bobcat just stand there and get shot at...unless it had babies somewhere.

Laurent glanced around, but preferred to keep his eyes on the problem at hand. He moved in front of Emery, moving one leg in between hers to urge her to slowly back up along with him. The slower they went the better chance they had. If he could get some space between them and the animal, he might be able to shoot and scare it off.

"Jesus..." he muttered, half a curse, half a prayer that that thing didn't decide he looked like better meat than the animals around here. He pressed Emery to move back more.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery grabbed onto his right arm then grabbed onto his waist with the other while hearing the cat screetch and howl. She didn't think she ever would have been afraid of a cat, but this was no ordinary cat. She swallowed the fear and felt Laurnet trying to back up and she paid all attention to what he was doing knowhing, by the way he held his gun, that he had had a lot of practice, which was more than she could say for herself even though she knew how to shoot her father's shotgun that was behind the counter, robberies not uncommon in these deep parts of the woods.

"Laurent," She said with fear laced in her voice. "I don't think it's gunna stop coming at as." She watched it hiss and growl in a way that urked her. She wanted so much for it to just run off, it could have scared away Mannie, or bit him, anything! If it did she was gonna kill it with her bare hands. She bit her lower lip and gasped when it jumped slightly, giving them its last warning. She watched it hunker her back, slightly shaking its hips, trademark of a cat that meant at any second it was going to attack.

"Laurent?" She didn't know why she said his name again, but she wanted to be as close to him as possible. She was almost suprised she wasn't on his back holding him in her arms and fearing for both their lives.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent saw the shaking.

"I know, I know," he said, his voice equally stressed. He aimed, he steadied his gun, he slid his finger into the trigger. But he was almost too late.

The cat pounced, it was much bigger than its hunkered position had allowed. If given the right incentive, it could have easily overpowered Laurent. Laurent's blinked once and fired, his body pressing up against Emery's as he feared it would be too late.

The cat had been close enough. The bullet went through it's skull and shoulder, and it's heavy body showed that its predeath jump had not been uncalculated. Lauren't pushed Emery back into the bushes before the dead animal landed.

Right on top of him.

The mud sunk into his jacket as he hit the ground hard, his head in Emery's lap, his gun getting jarred from his hand and landing somewhere away from him. Rain poured down on his now exposed face as the splash of mud, the dead body, he and Emery came to a settled stop on the ground. The cat was on his legs, and he was on Emery's, mud splashed on his face and hers from their swift rendezvous with the hard, muddy, wet, leafy ground.

"Christ," he muttered, bending his knees to unceremoniously kick the carcass of the cat off of his knees and to pull himself out of the mud. The vacuum created made a sucking sound from underneath him as he crawled to his feet, mud splattering off of him. He was covered. He pulled off his hat, it was a goner too, and turned around to where he had shoved Emery. He held out a hand for hers to help her up. He was breathing heavily.

"You alright?"

[Emery Peyton]

Emery was breathless from the push and then the fall, her butt hurting the second it came in contact with the ground, if there was anything she hated more it was the feeling of being stuck, and she was stuck in the mud. She groaned and she looked up, seeing the cat being pushed off, followed by Laurent getting up, muttering a word, and shaking the mud off of him the best he could. She sighed out and felt sick, she hadn't seen that in quite some time and blood almost always made her want to gag and puke. She felt a few drops of mud fall onto her from Laurent but it was fine with her, mud was nothing compared to her life.

His voice brought her away from the sickeness. She looked up and sighed nodding to herself.

"Yeah, yeah." She took his hand and he pulled her up, his strength well hidden under those clothes he always wore. She sighed out when she was stable in her footing and she looked down at the cat feeling a bit of empathy, but it was qashed away when she looked up at Laurent.

"Yeah," She stated again. "You?" She lifted a hand and mindless wiped away a splotch of mud under his eye. "I haven't seen this much action in a while." She smiled, suddenly she didn't feel so suspicious about this man. Matter of fact, he was her hero.

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent nodded in response, looking down at the cat. He shook his head and indicated she move on back through the bushes. If the horse had been here, it was now, if not for that bobcat, then for all the gun firing, and screaming.

They made their way back to where they had left Byrd. She was far away from where he had left her though, looking scared and spooked. Laurent sighed approaching her slowly. She snorted and shook her head, neighing desperately at Laurent as if he were going to make the rain go away. He nodded as he walked up to her.

"I know, darlin'," he answered, making sure Emery was alright behind him. He patted Byrd's side, which was really muddy. It looked like she must have slipped and fallen in the mud. He could help but smile inside. They all looked like the three stooges. Muddy, tired, and drowned rats. He was sure they were the sight. He turned around the wait for Emery. She was the one who called the shots, it was her horse. Byrd was freaked out, but she wasn't unable to be ridden a little longer to look for that other horse. She was sport, and besides, some sweet feed and water later one would make her happy.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery sighed out before getting onto that horse, her fears were confirmed, her horse was not there and tonight was going to be a long night for her.

"All right." She said looking at Laurent then the horse, petting her for a moment, again picking off some sort of muddy debris. "I guess we can go on back now, Laurent." She looked up at him and smiled, trying to hide the small pang of sadness inside of her. Her horse was gone. What else could she have done anyway.

"Come on, lets get you and your baby on back." She sighed out and felt that something wasn't right about this entire ordeal. She nodded and patted the horse for good measure. "We can go to the barn and see if they spotted her at all."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent wasn't a comforter, but he understood what it felt like to lose your horse, especially not know to what you lost it. He didn't say anything, but instead laced his fingers together to give her a leg up, her weight nothing in his palms.

He climbed up behind her, and with a comforting squeeze of her shoulder, he clucked Byrd on. She began to walk, then lope, heading back towards the barn as Laurent leg steered her from his point, leaving her mane for Emery to hang on to.

The trip back to the barn meant a few antsy trips over mud puddles that Byrd wasn't keen on going over, but eventually they got back to the fence, and Byrd picked her way over it. Laurent urged her back into a lope and she arched her neck and headed straight for the open back door of the barn, where Laurent saw some of the men still milling, probably finishing up pumping the barn and getting all the horses back in, fed, watered, and dried off.

Laurent reached around Emery to grab Byrd's mane, slowing her down to a walk by the time they got to the barn and got inside, the rain finally being off of them. Laurent sat there for a long moment, Byrd taking a deep breath and sighing it out in a snort. After awhile, he slid down off of his horse, getting even more mud on the front of him and his gun which was in it's holster on his side, but still getting mud on it.

He reached up, offering his help to Emery.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery was surprised to have been helped up onto the horse, she took its mane and situated herself on the horse before feeling the man get on behind her. It was very interesting to be in this position, normally she pictured the leaders to be in the front rather than be in the back, then again she was probably making too much of it. He was just being curteous. at least it made her smile, espeically the little squeeze he had given her before they traipsed back to the barn.

Her mind was locked on worrying about her horse, worrying about the fence, and worrying about this horrible rain. If it didn't stop they'd have to figure out where to relocate the horses, water around their feet wasn't a very safe thing to have, especially when it could get into her office and get into the electircal outlets she had going.

She felt like she wasn't in her right mind, then agian she was tired, cold, hungry, and in dire need of a bath, especially this little one. She felt Laurent slide off after a long while, she immediately took his hand and heard the slosh of mud under her feet when it hit. She saw Poppy talkin on the phone with someone, looking out over the fencing, probably figuring out who he could get some wood from to fix it. She looked over at her other two horses and she smiled, walking over to one who was peeking at her. She pushed open his gate and walked inside, petting it lovingly, so happy to have at least two horses left. She rubbed his nose and gave it a kiss, happy to feel the large animal rub its head on her before putting her heavy head on her shoulder. She looked over at Laurent and suddenly she felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

"Thank you very much for what you did, Mister Eades," She felt that the situation had been cleared and it was time to go back to being professional. "I appreciate everything." She smiled at him and pushed her hat off, the drawstrings tightening around her neck. She kissed her horse and walked out, closing the gate and latching it.

"I am gonna head on up and take a shower. I will give you another night free for helpin' us." She smiled at him as she slowly walked backwards towards the end of the barn. "Tonight I'll make a hearty meal."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent never took showers to relax. He figured he could just get in, get clean and get out. But after the day's events, he stayed in the shower for a little over an hour, just rinsing off the mud, nursing a couple of bruises and calming his mind down.

The event of the fence doing what it had done was very strange indeed. It looked somewhat like lightening damage, but certainly they would have heard it. And moreover, the wood would have been charred. Yet the wood was perfectly brown, just splintered all over. He was surprised the horses hadn't gotten wood in their legs.

When he finally got out of the shower, he dressed in grey exercise pants and a short sleeved undershirt, remembering that he had left his clothes in the washer downstairs and he would need to go down and get it. His partner had called earlier, leaving a message that Daddy wasn't happy and wanted a report from him. Laurent knew that Cyler would get the blame if he didn't turn in something soon, but he didn't care. He wanted to do his job uninhibited, without someone keeping tabs on him all the time.

He shook out his hair a little, grabbed his cell and headed out into the hallway to head and get his clothes.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery jerked awake at the sound of violent thunder, it practically jarred her out of the comfortable and cushy recliner she was in. She felt her hardback book land on her feet and she hissed, bending forward to pick it up. She was freezing, even though she had taken a blistering hot bath she just felt cold as could possibly be. She had on fresh yoga pants and a tank top, followed by a long sleeved shirt and then a hoodie. She was still freezing. She sighed out as she stood up, her body was aching. It had been about a week or so since she had been riding on a horse and she realized that that must have been too long for her body. That or she was getting old.

She groaned and closed the book and tossed it onto the seat and picked up the blanket that had fallen on the ground when she stood up. Another roll of thunder shook the windows and she looked up at the ceiling as if she coudl see what was goong on outside. She walked over to the window and pushed back the curtain to be startled by a bright flash of white and a streak across the sky. This was a bad night.

She walked away and back to the couch, lifting up one of the arms to grab the remote in the hidden compartment. She turned towards the large high def television she had bought for guests, and herself, and watched the Weather Channel, seeing nothing but pink and green. Bad weather it was. She shook her head and turned it on mute to hear what was going on outside.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." She said as she moved away after more flashes and rumbles. Her heart jumped even more when the lights flickered and the tv kicked off. "Great." She groaned. If there was anything she hated more than this kind of weather, it was the power going out. Generators were hooked up for the barn, but she hadn't been able to gather up the money to purchase some for the house. Something she was going to do before she realized the barn was in need of dire renovations.

"Better get out the flashlights."

[Laurent Eades]

Laurent was in the hallway, almost to the stairs when a large "THUMP!" rumbled through the house, and the lights went totally and utterly out.

Laurent Eades had always considered himself a reasonable man. Few things frightened him, he didn't let people get to him that often, he tended to deal with stress well, and rarely became depressed. But if there was one thing on God's beautiful, green Earth he couldn't stand, it was the darkness. He didn't know where the fear came from, he had had it since he was little. He still suffered from horrible nightmares if he went to sleep in total darkness. Generally leaving a TV on, or even his cell phone open kept things enough in sight that he was fine.

But total darkness he couldn't deal with.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes and whispered a silent prayer to not lose his mind, opened his eyes and continued cautiously down the stairs again. He crept down to the first floor, hearing someone speaking in the next room. His brow furrowed.

"Better get out the flashlights," they said, and Laurent recognized Emery's voice. Oh good. Flashlights were good. Flashlights were very good. He didn't move from where he was, hoping to get her attention when she came by him. He didn't particularly want to explore this house at night, in the power outage. It was not on his list of things to do before he died.

It was embarrassing, a twenty-seven year old man this petrified of the dark. But he couldn't help it. It was engrained in who he was.

[Emery Peyton]

Emery sighed and moved out of the living room on back into the kitchen, lights flickering on and off. In her mind she already knew what was going to happen, it was just a matter of minutes before the entire thing kicked off. She hated this about the country, the generators that gave her electricity...so many miles in the boondocks it'd take all night until it was fixed and back on again. She shook her head, hating the fact she didn't get the house on a battery operated device that kept the lights and air on. She scavenged through drawers in the small kitchen, finding batteries she always kept in case the flashlights were about to go out. She took the large pack and headed back into the living room and down the small hallway into the lobby, almost screaming at the sight of Laurent standing on the steps. The look on his face something she couldn't quite recognize.

"You scared me!" She said after a very vocalized gasp. Still not used to people this time of year. She smiled and frowned at him. "Something wrong?" She walked to the small closet door under the stairs and grabbed the small black nylon bag that held all of her flash lights, matches, and small lighter fluid can. She figured she would go ahead and light the fire in the library knowing that it would give off enough heat to keep the place warm.

"Power's gunna go out." She said to him, closing the door and walking back over to find he had at least made it onto the first level. She untied the bag and handed him a small convinient black flashlight. "It's small, but it'll do. I keep my big ones in the basement. I figure we won't need those." She smiled.

"How good are you at starting fires?" As soon as she said the lights kicked out and she heard everything electric shut down. She looked around, waiting for her eyes to adjust before realizing the flashlight was on in a matter of seconds. A smile pursed her lips.

"Problems, Mister Eades?" She raised and eyebrown and grabbed the medium sized flash light that at least had a bigger range and bright bulb. She turned it on and took the small one out of his hand and replaced it with the other one. "I think you'll like that better." She laughed lightly and pointed the small orb of yellow down the hall towards the library.

"Come on, help me start a fire."