| Chapter 6 |
| Lance sat in the chair for a few hours, until his tailbone was starting to ache. He sighed and grabbed his suitcase, walking to the horse stables. He went inside and up to a large, tan horse. "Hey there," Lance cooed, stroking the animal's nose softly, "how are ya?" "You never give up, do you?" Lance turned at the sound of Chris's voice and shrugged. "Nope." Chris took off his glasses, walking up to the other side of the horse and watching Lance's interaction with the animal. "You're pretty good with the horses," he said. Lance shrugged. "Been around them my whole life." "What about your family?" asked Chris. "Won't they miss you if you go away with some riding horse show?" "Ain't got no family." Chris raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. After a minute, he turned back to Lance. "Listen kid," he said, "I'm not going to hire you as a bronco rider. Not now. Chasez is all I need in that field, and he's damn good." Chris let out a breath and retrieved a hanky from his pocket, using it to wipe the sweat from his brow. "But, I do need another hand around here. Joey's kind of a klutz, and doesn't get much done. Can you clean after the horses? Get them water, food, and wash them when it's needed?" At Lance's nod, Chris smiled. "All right then kid, you've got yourself a job." Lance grinned and shook Chris's hand. "Thank you sir," he said, "you won't regret this!" "I better not," grumbled Chris as he watched Lance run from the stables. Lance was excited that he had been hired, and he rushed out of the stables to find Joey. He was looking behind him and failed to see the man in front of him. They both collided, falling to the ground opposite each other. Lance shook his head and sat up, watching the man with brown hair and blonde streaks dust himself off. "You need to watch where you're going kid," he said sharply. "This ain't no kiddy playground around here." Lance sat back against the palms of his hands. "I know that," he said. "Mr. Kirkpatrick just hired me." The man laughed heartily, checking Lance over. "You? He hired *you*? Aren't you kind of young?" Lance narrowed his eyes. "I'm 16." The man grinned at him, and Lance swallowed hard, willing himself to not fall for the charm. He saw a hand in front of his face and grabbed it, allowing the rider to help him up. "What's your name kid?" he asked, looking Lance over. Lance blushed lightly under the man's gaze. "I'm Lance." The man nodded and held out his hand. "I'm Josh," he said. "I'm a bronco rider for Chris." Lance nodded as he shook Josh's hand. "I know." He blushed when Josh raised an eyebrow at him. "I, uh, I just saw you ride a minute ago." Josh nodded, leaning forward to whisper in Lance's ear. "I know." Josh dropped his hand and walked into the stables, yelling at Chris for something. Lance blushed as he stared at his feet. "Lance! Laaaaaance!" Lance looked up, laughing at Joey, who was hanging onto the back of a truck and waving at him. "Come on man!" yelled Joey. "We've got to start loading up all of the shit now! We leave for the next city in the morning!" Lance nodded and picked up his suitcase. With one more look towards the door that Josh had just walked through, Lance smiled to himself and jogged to catch up with Joey. ~*~ The next morning, everyone was up at the crack of dawn and off to the next city. Chris had expected Lance to whine about getting up so early, but as it turns out Lance had gotten up early than he had. He worked just as hard, if not harder, than anyone else, and Chris was impressed. He was glad he wouldn't have to let Lance go after all. Josh watched Lance work quietly, not wanting to admit to himself that he found his new coworker very attractive. 'Cool it Chasez,' he scolded himself, 'the kid's barely sixteen.' He sighed and watched Lance load one of the horses into the truck. 'But I'll be damned if he doesn't have gorgeous eyes and one *fine* ass.' Lance knew that Josh was watching him, and he was trying his best not to let the attention go to his head. Chris was still a little wary of him, and one screw up could cost him his job. So, he continued to joke with Joey, laugh with Chris, and secretly cherish every time he and Josh "accidentally" touched. He volunteered to ride in the back with the horses, giving him the chance to get to know all of the animals he would hopefully be riding one day. That evening, when the riding show was set up at the next city's fair, Lance cleaned up and arrived just in time to watch Josh ride the broncos. That's how the routine went everyday. Lance was beginning to love his job and his coworkers more with each passing day. Chris finally felt he could trust Lance, and he joked around with him like he did with everyone else. Joey was a handful, but still a great guy to be around. He could make anybody laugh, and for that Lance was grateful. Josh was just, Josh. Lance knew he was falling, and he didn't do too much to stop it from happening. There were a few other riders in the show - Britney, who performed tricks, and Bobbie, who was the only female bronco rider to ever appear in a public show. Lance didn't like her. She knew she was the only female bronco rider, and she ate up all of the publicity like candy. She also had a not-so-secret crush on Josh, which was what really got under Lance's skin. Josh was polite whenever she touched and fawned all over him, but he basically ignored her. He always helped Lance with the horses, claiming that Lance was "still a little boy and might get hurt." Lance just rolled his eyes and pushed Josh aside, showing him that he was not a weakling. He knew Josh liked him, but was scared and used their ages as an excuse. "I think you should jump his bones," said Joey one night. Lance had blushed, but laughed anyway. "Yeah, okay, Joe," he grinned. "I'm sure that'll go over real well with Josh." He sighed. "What's his problem anyway? I mean, I know it's not really the age thing. He's only three years older than me; 19. My parents were married when they were 17." Joey shrugged, peering at Lance through the dark. "He's been through some pretty shitty relationships," he answered, patting Lance's arm. "Give it time. Things'll work out. Trust me." Lance smiled. "Thanks Joe. You're always great to talk to about stuff." The response was a soft snore, and Lance laughed. Rolling over on his side, he sighed happily and closed his eyes. |