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A/N: Strae deserves some major kudos for betaing this story for me!
EPOV
Interviews had been in full swing when she stumbled into my arena.
I'd tried to keep a straight face, but I'd watched her trip over nothing at all. Had it not been for the horrified look on her face, I probably would have laughed.
It's going to be another one of those days, I'd thought to myself.
Each and every applicant I'd had in there was useless to me, if not completely incompetent. If this one couldn't even walk through sand, there was no way she could ride cutting horses.
I couldn't flat out refuse her simply because she tripped though, so I had to offer her the chance to ride first.
Based on her resume, she had riding experience, but I'd heard that before. The majority of the hopefuls had ambled in here with a false sense of superiority, thinking they could and would certainly get this job. How hard could it be, right?
Putting each and every applicant up on good, old, reliable Woody was my best bet, to keep everyone safe.
Bella surprised me, to say the least. I'd half-expected her to ask me, "Now how do I get on this thing?" like some of the others had, but she mounted Woody like she'd been doing it her whole life. Though, based on her resume, she had.
Woody was the type of horse you could put a brand-new-to-horses child on and wouldn't have to worry about them, yet would pick up the slack for a more experienced rider.
Bella put him through his paces. Neither of them took a bad step in the wrong direction. It was like watching a boat sail across the water. She was made to be on a horse, and she knew it—and so did Woody.
She kept him properly collected, he took the right leads, she gave him the lightest cue, he followed like a lovesick fool, they rode together like a lifelong team.
I'm pretty sure my jaw had unhinged because I couldn't seem to close my mouth.
I hired her on the spot, with a probation—a two week trial, so to speak.
To say I wasn't disappointed was an understatement.
– – –
Bella was humming along to the radio somewhere close by. I stopped to admire the sound, then peeked around the corner to catch a glimpse of her. A wayward smile stretched my cheeks at the sight of her. She was in her usual ill-fitting, long sleeved button-up, worn out Wranglers, and a dusty old pair of shit kickers. Her dark auburn hair was tied back into a loose ponytail, tantalizing me as it swayed with her movements.
She was none the wiser when I moved out from my hiding spot. She continued forward with the feed buckets, unaware of my admiring gaze. She was also oblivious to the fact that she was approaching the hose that was laying in the aisle way. A small hose was usually a non-hazardous object, but for Bella, everything was a potential danger to her inelegant equilibrium.
I picked up my pace, expecting the worse and not willing to stand by and watch as she tripped, again. Predictably, her toe did catch on the hose and she shrieked in surprise as I wrapped my arms around her tensed waist. The feed buckets were not so lucky; they clanged loudly to the concrete floor, spilling their contents across the aisle. I was just thankful it wasn't her head that made that resounding thud on the unforgiving ground.
"Miss Swan, you will be the death of me. One of these times, you're going to give me a heart attack," I said, releasing her from the decidedly intimate embrace.
Her fair skin darkened considerably as she stuttered an apology and bent to pick up the buckets. I chuckled lightly. Her clumsiness was quite endearing. I fetched the broom to help her sweep up the scattered grain.
"Th-thanks," she stammered as we finished.
I shook my head, brushing off the gratitude. "No need to thank me, Bella."
She smiled at me before raising her eyebrows in amusement. "You know, it's actually kind of funny that my tripping would give you a heart attack, but a colt launching me twenty feet in the air wouldn't bother you a bit."
I grinned back at her. "You're wrong, I would probably be the one who needed the ambulance after that. Of course, once I knew you were okay, I'd make you get right back on."
She laughed. "From the ambulance?" I nodded my confirmation with amusement. She shook her head at me, then added seriously, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
"That a girl," I encouraged.
She snickered and disappeared into the feed room.
– – –
In two weeks alone, I'd grown very attached to Bella. The more I learned about her, the more I liked her. I already liked her a lot…
As a stable hand, she was irreplaceable. She was always to work on time, she knew her job and she did it exceptionally well, she didn't shy away from getting dirty, nor was she afraid of hard work. I had feared that her clumsiness would cause a problem, but she was tough and she very watchful around the horses. Her lack of grace wasn't exactly a strong suit, especially around flighty young horses, but she was careful.
In two weeks alone, she had become an indispensable fixture in my life, and by far the best help I'd ever known.
Even above her hard-working attitude was her natural riding ability. Her lack of grace on the ground was contradictory to the utterly flawless poise she showed in the saddle. Training her to be my riding apprentice would be more of an honor than a chore.
At merely twenty-six years old, I was highly acclaimed in my discipline. Having topped the charts in both the Novice and Amateur levels, I was ranked against the biggest, and often more elderly, names in the industry in the Open division.
I could have had a huge operation, had I wanted it, but the big name never really mattered to me. I didn't want to be one of those trainers who would take in horses only to pass them off to the trainees due to lack of time—or commitment. Instead, I only took in a limited amount of horses, rode the horse myself, and was still able to do what I loved: showing.
Since Bella had come along, everything slowly but surely fell into place. Normalcy and consistency were the only things that truly kept me happy. For three years I had been in a constant state of unease—more unhappy than I'd allowed myself, or anyone, else to believe. Everything had changed after the accident.
Three years ago I had married Miss Tanya Denali. Barely twelve hours after becoming Mrs. Tanya Cullen, she had been taken unexpectedly. On the flight to our honeymoon rendezvous in Hawaii, Tanya had a brain aneurysm and died.
My suffering over her death had been a long, dark stretch. One full year was devoted solely to mourning her before my family stepped in. My family's way of an intervention was to send my brother Emmett to live with me. In my mourning, my career had deteriorated. After Tanya's death, I hadn't done much more than was necessary to keep my horses alive, but all it took was a week before Emmett drove me so crazy that I started to spend all of my time in the barn again.
It didn't take me long after that to remember what I was giving up.
After I had regained my grip on reality, I opened my barn to customers for training. A helping hand quickly became essential. That was when Mike Newton came along. The downward spiral had seemed to have leveled off, my life was getting back in order, and training and showing couldn't have been better.
Mike was always a little flaky and untrustworthy, but I made an exception because he seemed to know what he was doing on a horse. Just at the peak of show season—two months ago—Mike left without notice for a job at another barn. I had to forfeit all of my paid entry fees and miss high stakes shows because he had left me helpless.
If I were one to devise theories, I would say that Mike had been right along side his new employer, Jacob Black, in a plan to royally screw me over. Black was my only local competition and I would put nothing past him. Stealing my apprentice out from under me had worked very well in his favor.
I'd tried to replace Mike repeatedly, but no one worked out. Riding and taking care of twenty horses alone isn't exactly an easy task, nor is it really fun without the benefit of having the time to show. I started to believe that Mike's betrayal meant that I was destined for failure, but it turned out to be the greatest gift, because it brought me Bella Swan.
She was a lifesaver. I'd had more fears and doubts than I could count on my fingers and toes about her, but she proved me wrong every single time. She was vastly mature for a girl of just twenty-one years. Never had she missed a stall, botched a feeding, or lost her temper with an unruly two year old, that was more than I could say for myself at times. She was a dream come true.
– – –
I snuck up on Bella again later the same day. She was riding one of the horses in training on the flag. I quietly watched, silently appreciating her ability once again. She paid no attention to me, as usual, but after the general awe wore off, I took in her posture and noticed she wasn't moving with the horse like she was supposed to be. Something was off.
In two weeks alone, she'd learned a great deal about the ways of cutting. It didn't take her long to pick things up and wasn't forgetful or neglectful. She was very easy to teach.
"Sit deeper," I instructed and watched as she sank into her seat, making her tailbone curl under into the stop. Her legs were still wrong, she looked far too tense. "Finish this flag and stop."
She rode a few more turn backs, stopped, and backed the horse off the flag. I approached and repositioned her closest leg. I pushed her leg back just a bit, which helped to keep her heel down, and slid my hands over her calf and made her keep her leg closer to the horse's side. I ran my hand up and placed it on her thigh. All the while I was forcing myself to remain profession, trying desperately to ignore how firm yet soft her leg felt against my palm.
"Do you feel that?" I asked, referring to the newly found leg position. She nodded and I walked around the horse to check her other leg. She mimicked the other leg's posture perfectly, but I ran my hand over it anyway, just to double check, or so I told myself.
I walked back to my spot and watched her set back to work. The look of deep concentration on her face told me she was working to keep her form, as well as making sure the horse kept his. Her strong thighs tightened as her pelvis tilted, setting her butt deep into the saddle seat as she signaled for a stop. Her lean torso curled, following the movement of the horse's turn back, and her breasts tested the security of their confinement with a great bounce. My mind instantly put the beautiful woman in a whole different situation and I mentally scolded myself for letting my brain wander to that—it wasn't the first time, and it admittedly wouldn't be the last.
"Alright Bella, I think that's enough for today. You must be exhausted," I said to her once I was sure my voice wouldn't hint toward my shameful imaginings.
She sent the horse around the arena at an easy lope and I again became transfixed. I watched as she cooled the horse down, eventually bringing him down to brisk trot then a low-headed walk. Anyone who saw this girl ride would never believe me if I told them she was a complete klutz.
I walked by the horse's neck as she rode him back to the tying wall outside the tack room. I helped her unsaddle him and groom him out before putting him up for the night. Her truck was parked between the barn and house so I walked with her there, debating whether she would think it unprofessional if I invited her in for a drink.
"Bella," I started before she got into the driver's seat, which reminded me she'd have to drive home. I smiled, trying to mask my disappointment, and said, "Goodnight," when she looked my way.
She smiled back, her full pink lips stretching over her pearlescent teeth. "Goodnight, Edward."
She waved as she backed out causing my lips to again curl into the smile that was becoming familiarly hers.
The night held no entertainment for me. I found myself wandering aimlessly though the large empty home, a piece of leftover pizza in hand. I relaxed into the nearest seat, which just happened to be the black leather couch in the living room. I was relaxed in the quiet space, freshly showered, in clean underwear and a t-shirt. My mind was unoccupied and it deviated back to Miss Swan.
Bella, she was a beautiful girl, young.
I reminded myself, a young, beautiful girl.
Only 5 years younger than you, my head argued with itself. What was I thinking? I was being preposterous, she was my apprentice. My very beautiful, sweet, charming, clumsy apprentice.
I huffed angrily at my inappropriate inner musings and decided to just go to bed.
BPOV
I had debated with myself about applying for the position for weeks. Surely the Edward Cullen would not want to hire a clumsy unknown for a riding position in his highly acclaimed, though small, training barn. Figuring it wouldn't hurt, I sent in my resume, not expecting a call. When he himself called to set up an interview, I'd unthinkingly agreed with everything he said. The phone call ended with a promise to meet him at his barn the following day.
I was a nervous wreck from the minute I'd hung up with him until I pulled into his driveway. I went from a nervous wreck to a literal ball of overwrought anxiety. I'd very nearly curled into the fetal position in the cab of my truck when I saw him coming over to meet me.
He was breathtaking. I'd seen pictures and I'd watched him from a distance before, but I'd never actually been up close to him. He was so beautiful.
On that note, I'd forced myself out of my truck cab with a great reminder that he wasn't going to be interested anyway, so I might as well just get it over with. Of course, I had made a complete ass of myself by tripping over thin air and landing into the pliant sand of his large indoor arena.
With my pride and chances already shot, I let go of the unease to simply enjoy a free ride on a well-trained horse when he instructed me to "Saddle up."
Much to my surprise, Edward—as he insisted I call him—complimented me after my ride. I tried to take it in; the Edward Cullen, complimenting me? No way. I'd thought he was just being nice, because he was very nice, even if the surprise had been obvious on his face when he watched me ride. No doubt my clumsiness had drawn him towards the preconceived notion that I couldn't ride.
I'd had to covertly pinch myself when he asked me how soon I could start.
– – –
The work wasn't easy, sometimes it wasn't even enjoyable, but I couldn't help but grin even when I was hardly bearing it. I knew without a doubt that it was the best opportunity that I had ever been given.
Edward Cullen was an excellent teacher. The word 'excellent' was even lacking when it came to a description of him, everything about him was just... perfect. I'd expected him to be pretentious, and maybe even a bit of a jerk, but he remained nothing but nice. He wasn't 'high on his horse' as I'd assumed he would be, but instead was right alongside me, cleaning water tanks, mucking stalls, and picking dirty hooves.
Though he didn't flaunt himself, there was still an air superiority about him. He was proud, and it was obvious that he knew how good he was, but I couldn't be put off by it. He really was good. Really, really good.
His goodness extended to all sorts of levels. Not only did he help with chores, but he was more than considerate of my... lack of balance. I never felt like more of an ass than when I tripped in front of him, which I did far too often.
He always caught me off guard, though. He moved like a ghost, always sneaking up silently. He would either startle me into tripping or make me so nervous I forgot to watch where I was going.
I hummed along to the song playing on the distant radio as I considered my luck. I still found it hard to believe that I'd been hired for this job. It was everything I'd ever wanted and dared to hope for. I was living my dream.
I yelped as my body lunged forward, the all to familiar feeling of falling overtaking my senses. I instinctively released the buckets in my grip to free my hands up to catch my fall. The hose I had neglected to roll up was the likely culprit of my latest demise.
Before I could get up close and personal with the concrete, two strong arms were securely wrapped around my waist keeping me upright. The buckets clanked nosily against the ground in front of me, scattering loose grain across the aisle. I could feel Edward's lean, muscular build against my back as he held me close, his long arms wrapped around me. I couldn't breathe...
All too soon, Edward released me and was as kind to me as ever, nonchalantly making conversation while I stuttered apologies and thank you's. He succeeded in making me laugh, though, and with a smile still on my face, I disappeared into the feed room to go about chores.
Once all of the morning chores were done, time seemed to fly. The day had gone by just as quickly as ever—less the few days here and there when a horse decided to be difficult, but I enjoyed those days just the same. I was finishing with my last mount when Edward spoke. I hadn't even seen him come in.
"Sit deeper," his melodic voice instructed. I did and made sure to plant extra deep in my next stop, but it felt wrong. His experienced, watchful eye must have caught what I was missing though, as he instructed me to finish.
I completed the flag quickly and backed my horse off the line. He walked up and gently pushed my whole leg towards the horse's hip, forcing my to reposition my seat. He guided my calf closer to the horse, then slid his hand up my thigh. I did my best to ignore the tingly thrills it sent through my body and tried to control my breathing.
"Do you feel that?" he asked me.
I knew he meant the correct position of my leg and nodded my confirmation, but I couldn't help addressing the other feelings he invoked. He went to my other leg and I positioned it exactly as he had. His hand still gently ran over it though, I forced the involuntary shudder back and willed myself to just concentrate on not getting fired. I couldn't lose this job.
He retreated and I rode the horse back to the flag line. I tried my best to make up for my flub and was determined to stay in form without allowing the horse to be sloppy at the same time. I could feel his eyes on me and I knew he was looking for my faults. I wanted to be nervous but I couldn't allow myself to, for fear of it messing up my progress.
"Alright Bella, I think that's enough for today. You must be exhausted," he called to me.
I hoped he had asked me to finish because he was convinced of the improvement, but doubted that was the case. I asked the horse for a slow lope and took a few lengths of the arena to stretch his muscles. As his gate eased slower, I pulled up for a trot and posted around the arena before letting him hang his head and walk. I clapped him on the neck in approval for a job well done. A few more slow laps and I guided him to the ties by the tack room.
Edward helped me untack, groom, and stall the horse, both of us comfortable in the silence. He continued to walk with me towards my truck, though he was presumably headed towards his house.
As I reached for the door handle, he spoke, "Bella." It took him a few seconds, but then he smiled and said, "Goodnight."
I had an inkling he had intended to say something else, though I had no idea what it had been. Maybe he had meant to reprimand me for my poor position tonight...
I forced a smile back at him and mumbled my reply.
I waved a final farewell and watched somewhat dazedly as his full lips pulled up to one side in a crooked smile that would forever make my heart stutter. He waved back and ran the same hand through his tousled, reddish locks.
I drove home in silence, not bothering to tune the station on my ancient radio. I cracked a window and let the air fill the truck with noise and a cooling breeze. The short drive seemed longer as fatigue and exhaustion settled in. I arrived to the empty home that Charlie had left me with when he moved in with Sue Clearwater a year ago unscathed.
Yawn after yawn forced me to call it a night early, after a quick shower and a bowl of cold cereal.
As tired as I was, I couldn't fall asleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his smile, or his eyes, or that rebellious curl at the forefront of his head that always stuck out just a little bit further than the rest of his hair. Instead of sleeping like I longed to be, I was left restless as I wondered how I could have let myself get so attached.
It was undoubtedly foolish to let myself get attached to my boss at all, even more so when I'm also incredibly attached to my job. If he knew... I would probably lose my job immediately. It was so childish of me to develop a crush on my boss. But he was just so good looking, not to mention hardworking, sweet, charming, humble...
"Stop it!" I scolded myself out loud.
I rolled over, burying my face into my pillow. It's not like he'd ever be interested anyway. He was so far out of my league it wasn't even funny.
A/N: The answer to the most FAQ - Yes, they ride western, not english. The Edward of this story rides in the NCHA circuit, which stands for National Cutting Horse Association. Cutting is a complex sport where a horse 'cuts' a cow/buffalo. It's hard to properly explain, but if you search 'cutting horse' on Youtube, you'll get a better understanding. The line/flag I mention is a electronically controlled practicing devise used by trainers/riders.
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