“Spread the straw into each stall, but leave Amadeus to me,” Becky said and bent at the knees to take a handful of straw and carry it to the nearest stall.
“Leave who?” Jake said hoarsely and copied Becky by grabbing a handful of straw himself.
“Amadeus,” Becky replied as she returned, “Yea, last stall down on the right, just… don’t go in there or even try to pet Am.”
“Is it a mean horse?” Jake asked.
“He’s our stud,” Becky explained, “Makes him high strung, he’s likely to kick or bite you if you get to close or get in the stall with him.”
“Why in the world do you keep a mean horse then?” Jake asked.
“He’s our stud,” Becky said in exasperation as if that was supposed to explain everything to Jake, “All the other males are geldings.”
Jake stared at her for a moment in confusion before she rolled her eyes.
“He’s the only male who still has his balls,” Becky explained, “Gets to fuck all the ladies in the barn and knock em up!”
“Oh,” Jake replied when he realized what Becky was saying, his face turning red.
“Oh, my god,” Becky said while rolling her eyes, “How the hell am I supposed to be related to you?”
“I’m majoring in mechanical engineering, not… horses and shit!” Jake shot back.
“And obviously doing a piss poor job of that which is why you’re here learning about horses and shit,” Becky shot back.
Jake glowered at her and then spent the rest of the time in the barn without saying another word to her, although he found himself staring at her black sports bra on more than one occasion. Becky didn’t seem to be concerned by either his silence or his stares and only bothered to say anything to him when she was giving him directions on what needed to be done next.
“Come on, lunch time,” Becky said several hours later while Jake was sweeping out the tack room.
Jake glanced up in surprise, the shop broom still in his hands. Becky still hadn’t bothered to put her shirt back on, her bare shoulders and chest above her sports bra covered in fine bits of straw with even a few pieces sticking comically out of her hair. Without another word Becky turned and left, Jake hurrying to keep up with her.
“Where’s your dad?” Jake asked as they entered the back door of the house and took off their rubber boots.
“Still working on the fence,” Becky replied and opened the fridge, “It’s too much time to drive all the way back to the house just for lunch so he took something with him this morning.
“Why, got something in mind to do while he’s not around? What happened at CSU?” Becky asked before Jake could get his tongue untied.
“Sex, drugs and rock’n roll,” Jake replied, “I was drinking and partying too much and my grades went to shit.
“Mom thought it would be a good idea to get me away from the crowd I was hanging out with by sending me here for the summer, you know, kick the habit and break the mold at the same time while I wasted away in the ass end of nowhere.”
“What was it like?” Becky asked and sat down at the kitchen table with a bowl of cantaloupe cubes and a small helping of cottage cheese, “What was CSU like?”