Taking the Reigns

Tom hadn't come up for dinner sending excuses through Marcie and Alyssa was confused and disappointed by his absence after the disagreement. She dressed for bed, feeling torn between being mad at him for not being able to talk about everything today and upset because she knew she wanted him to be here for dinner so they could make things right between them. If she had looked out of her window she would have seen the silhouette of Tom watching her change through her bedroom window with the same mix of emotion playing over his face.

*****

Over the following days Alyssa woke early and went to watch and help with the training of Godiva's Girls as she had nicknamed the horses. Being small and slightly built, she was able to do the track work just as well as the other jockeys and tried to get Bob to let her do the track work with the filly. He continued to refuse her request and, frustrated beyond reason, on the third morning Alyssa had stormed off after being told none too subtly that the track was no place for a little girl. She had run to the stables and saddled up her own horse riding out into the surrounding landscape.

Alyssa rode up to the bluff that overlooked the farm and surrounding lands. She tied the reigns to a tree so the horse could recover a little from the long steep ride, and sat on the edge of the rock face. It was said by the locals that long ago the whole fertile plain was a lake. She looked out to the left where the lake that fed the city water supplies was situated and smiled thinking of the wild stories her father used to tell her about the lake and the valley plain where they lived. She missed him dreadfully and cursed him for leaving her with so much mess to clean up on her own.

Sure that no one was in sight, she pulled off her sweat soaked shirt and lay it on the rock beside her. Lying back and letting the sun soak into her skin she looked up into the clouds and talked to her father, "How could you do this? You know they won't listen to me, I'm just a girl! Well in their eyes, I am, regardless of how well you taught me, they won't let me do anything." The truth was that she wasn't a little girl, she was almost thirty, and her best hope for the happily ever after of the white picket fence and children was probably sleeping with several of her best friends as she lay alone on the bluff and felt sorry for herself. Justin's handsome face flittered across her mind and she reassured herself that it really was for the best because they had very little in common. They really were from two different worlds.

The thought of two different worlds made her think of Tom. He had been increasingly distant as the week went on. They worked on the finances together during the evening but he usually had an excuse to leave early and Alyssa didn't blame him. Their bickering only seemed to be getting worse. It was useless going over the same figures time and time again. She had come to rely on him heavily in the time since her father's death and his constant absences bothered her more than she would like to admit, but the longer they left it to repair the damage their small arguments had made in their relationship, the wider the gap between them became.

She heard the crunch on the stones behind her and, thinking it was Tom who often came to this spot with her as they grew up, she didn't bother to turn around only to have him berate her for running away from her problems. It was only when she heard the sneering voice of Kerrick that she opened her eyes. "You weren't there for my usual Friday visit, imagine my disappointment." His voice shocked her from her thoughtful introspection and she rolled, getting up to her feet to face him.

"What are you doing here Kerrick?" Alyssa scowled, as she pulled on her shirt.

"A stable hand told me you threw a tantrum and rode out. Where else would you go?" he gestured around the plain. "The scenery is so nice up here, though not as nice as a few minutes ago," he leered, letting his eyes travel to her breasts.

"Go home, Kerrick. We don't have anything to discuss," she said looking him in the eye. "Not here, not now." She felt his looming presence more than ever as she saw him look her up and down.

Alyssa went to walk past him to her horse but he grabbed her arm. "It wouldn't hurt you to be a little friendlier. I can be a very generous friend to have. The racing game is a harsh place for a sweet little girl like you. You will need all the friends you can get," he said in a deep soft voice, his other hand coming up to stroke over her cheek. "You don't want to make an enemy of me, Lyssy."

The way he shortened her name made her skin crawl. Fear of his touch and the fingers digging cruelly into her arm, holding her in place, caused her adrenaline to surge, giving her the strength to shake free of his vice like grip. A small whimper escaped her as she gritted her teeth against the painful ache the fingers that had dug into her skin left. She made herself walk rather than run to her horse. "You're the second person today to call me a sweet little girl," she said. She climbed into the saddle after shaking the reigns free of the tree. "And I think you will find that I'm quite grown up now and able to stand on my own two feet." She turned the horse and galloped away not hearing the last thing he said as she disappeared through the trees.

"Women don't belong in the racing game," Kerrick called after her. He liked her spunk. She would be fun to tame once he took over her farm.

Alyssa rode back to the farm seeking the security she always felt with Tom around. Halfway back she slowed the horse to a walk and considered whether she was running to him or just running home to mask the constant loneliness she felt. Alyssa thought about all of the farm workers who would have to suffer the intimidation of Kerrick if she couldn't find a solution to the financial problems and the friends and families she would be letting down. She looked at her watch, it was nearing midday when most of the staff would be heading in to lunch. Making a decision, Alyssa spurred her horse forward to a gallop and headed down for the confrontation she had been dreading.

Arriving in the stable she caught sight of the leading hand walking to the lunch room. She called out, detaining him. He followed her into the stable as she began to remove her gear from her horse. "Can you jump on the PA system and get everyone who is here to come to the lunch room for a short meeting?" She grunted as she hefted the saddle from the horse noticing his furrowed brow. "Please, Lou, just do it. I will explain everything when I get there."

He disappeared and she heard the call go out, with relief she began to unbuckle the halter. Lou appeared on the other side of her horse. "Care to share?" He said softly as he helped her brush down the horse.

"It's time to let everyone know what's really going on," she sighed. "It's a bit dire," she admitted. "I barely sleep with worry about how I can continue to pay you all and you all treat me like some dumb little girl. I know more about this farm than anyone here except maybe you and Uncle Bob." Lou was a man of very few words and said nothing, letting her talk as he brushed, "Someone actually talked to Kerrick today. They told him I had a tantrum. I swear if one more person calls me a little girl today, I will show everyone what a tantrum is."

She looked at the man who was helping her, "I need to calm down and stop this current tantrum first I suppose," she admitted. "I'm sorry, Kerrick rattles my cage. He scares me a bit, not that I want to admit that. It wasn't nice to have him sneak up on me when I was alone up on the bluff."

Lou grunted, and looked her over noting the early signs of a large bruise appearing on her arm. "He do that?" Lou asked, nodding his head toward her arm. Alyssa pulled on her sleeve to cover the bruise from where Kerrick had grabbed her, and nodded. Lou grunted again. When they had finished rubbing down the horse and feeding her some well deserved treats, they walked toward the lunch room. When they entered, the room quietened a little as they walked to the front table and turned to face the room. "Can I say something first?" Lou said softly from beside her.

"Of course," she said, startled. Lou had never addressed a meeting that she knew of, but then again she was never invited so how would she know. She was half grateful for the extra few minutes to compose what she wanted to say. She needed to keep it short and sweet but get her point across.

"Listen up," Lou boomed taking Alyssa by surprise. "Kerrick was here this afternoon, someone spoke to him and I want to know who that was?" There was a low murmur among the men. "You may as well tell me because I will find out eventually. Who was on the stable duty roster?"

"I was on stable roster but I didn't see him," a youngish voice called out from a table to the left. "I only left for a minute to have a smoke out the side in the dosa, but I can see inside the stable from there. I never saw Kerrick."

"If I have to investigate this I'm gonna be a damn sight madder than what I am now that no one told me Kerrick was here again." He looked around darkly as he got no further response from the room, "So be it," he growled. Tom came through the door and raised an eyebrow as he saw Alyssa standing beside Lou at the front of the room. He took a seat and the man beside him filled him in on what had happened so far.

Alyssa watched as Tom listened and furrowed his brow. "Hey Mike," Tom called, "You told me Kerrick was here again for his Friday visit. Where did you see him?"

"Yeah I was down at the gate. Didn't talk to him though," Mike said, looking guilty as he glanced at Lou whose face was like thunder.

"Let me make this very clear, any bastard who puts Miss Lance in danger again by not reporting seeing Kerrick or speaking to him, will get worse than the resignation I will demand when I find out who it was!" He scowled at the assembled hands as another murmur rippled around the room and Tom stood up clearly startled by the announcement.

"Now Miss Lance has something to say and you will show her the respect she deserves as the person who owns this farm and therefore signs your pay cheques." Lou stood aside to let her speak.

Alyssa realised this was a mistake as soon as she looked into the uninterested faces before her but she felt she owed it to the men to tell them how it really was. She straightened her back and took a deep breath. "I realise," she began, "that the events of today could have been averted if I had told all of you what was going on and why Kerrick has begun visiting so often and snooping around the place." There were nods of assent that it was all her fault after all. "The truth is my father ran this place into the ground and Kerrick knows it. He is trying to force me into selling so he can add it to his neighbouring ranch like he has with most of the other small stables around here."

There were shouts of outrage but Lou's booming voice silenced them all, "Quiet!" Alyssa smiled gratefully at him before beginning to speak again.

"I am doing my best to come up with solutions. I'm selling my apartment in the city but I'm not sure it is going to be enough. I lie awake at night wondering how I will pay you all if things don't pick up soon." She expected rebukes about being a girl so she hurried on. "I have a business degree, Tom's been through the books with me but our expenses far outweigh our income at the moment and we can't sustain it much longer. That, along with the debt the farm has accrued, means that things are going to have to change around here and soon."

Alyssa could hear the quiet muttering so she finished quickly. "I won't blame anyone for looking for a more stable job but I hope you won't. I haven't given up yet and all Kerrick's threats are just that, I haven't been hurt," Alyssa paused as Lou cleared his throat. "Well not badly," she smiled at Lou and turned back to the men noting the surprise in their faces. "If you have suggestions please let Lou, Tom or me know. At this point any suggestion is a good one. Right now we are keeping our heads above water but that wont last long unless WE can come up with something." Again she looked around the room. There were possibly two dozen men there. "No wonder they think I don't belong," she thought to herself.

"I am happy to keep you all updated with Friday meetings like this if you like. You can vote on that when I'm gone," she smiled. "I'm sure there are a lot of things you would like to say once I am gone so I will leave you to it."

Looking around, Lou chose a man that he knew he could account for his whereabouts this morning, "Hey Dan," Lou waved him over and spoke quietly, "Walk Miss Lance back up to the big house and tell Marcie she is hurt 'cause she won't do it herself. I know where you were this morning but come straight back. I wanna have another chat with these guys."

Dan walked with her out the door but Tom called out, stopping them before they had gone far. "You're okay, really?" His eyes searched her face.

"Yeah, just a little bruise, nothing to worry about," Alyssa reassured him. "Go back in, you can come for dinner tonight and fill me in on all the curse words I don't know 'cause I'm just a sweet little girl." Dan chuckled beside her but Tom heard the tone in her voice and frowned. Now was not the time for his anger, something bad had happened today and he needed all the details.

"Dinner tonight," he nodded stiffly and turned back into the room.

Dan chuckled again, "Actually I think you could probably teach me some new and interesting words."

Alyssa laughed with him before turning serious, "How do you think I went in there?"

"It's good you told them, us," he quickly corrected. You were a bit too nice about it frankly. You could sack half that room full of idiots and the farm would still run like clock work." His frankness surprised her and she looked up at him showing her shock. "Not me of course. This place would fall apart without me."

Alyssa couldn't help but laugh and they wandered into the back door of the big house. "It's okay, I will tell her. You can go back if you want to."

"Marcie," Dan called, ignoring Alyssa's pout. The woman appeared from the pantry saying nothing but putting her hand on her hips and looking at his dirty work boots. "I know, I know, but Alyssa's hurt and I had to make sure you would look after her. Lou's orders."

Marcie immediately clucked around Alyssa like a mother hen and Dan made a quick escape out the back door chuckling. "It's just a bruise," Alyssa assured the woman pushing up her sleeve and letting the woman look after her rather than arguing and giving in eventually. "Oh, Tom's coming up for dinner tonight," Alyssa said as she winced at the probing Marcie was doing around the deep bruise.

Satisfied that she was okay, Marcie let Alyssa go to shower, and bustled into the kitchen. Alyssa trooped up the stairs. It had been a hot day and she could smell her own sweat as she stripped and stood under the gushing hot water of the shower. Letting herself relax she washed her hair and used a body scrub to cleanse her of the all the muckiness she had had to deal with not only today but during the whole week.

Feeling refreshed, she spent some time before getting dressed moisturising with her favourite body lotion and enjoying the slight breeze through her window. She moved slightly closer to the window, looking down, wondering if anyone could see her. The thought was tantalising: that one of those men who thought of her as a silly little girl might just see exactly how grown up she had become. She knew it was a bad idea and she warred with herself about it as her door burst open and Tom marched into her room and drew the curtains.

"Any credibility you gained by your little speech today was just ruined if anyone looked up at this window," Tom raged at her. "They're men for God's sake. Of course they are gonna look if you are so determined to show your breasts to the world." He turned back to her and stared in disbelief. "Put some clothes on for fuck's sake!" He groaned.

Alyssa stepped into her closet and pulled on a sleeveless soft cotton shift dress. "Better," she said as she emerged.

Tom was looking at her arm, he turned away still angry and grabbed her bag. He dumped the contents on her bed. "Where the hell was your phone when I was trying to ring you and warn you about Kerrick?" His anger wasn't dissipating and she couldn't work out why he was so angry with her. This was Tom, her oldest friend why was he yelling at her like... like... a child! Her eyes started to well up. He had been avoiding her or so it seemed all week. Aside from the work they did together for an hour or so in the evening, they hadn't really talked about anything meaningful and here he was yelling at her. She felt abandoned by the person she thought she could rely on the most to be there for her and the tears started to fall.

"Get out," she croaked. "Get out of my room and get out of my house." She turned and fled into the bathroom, locking the door.

Tom realised immediately what he had done to her after the day she had endured and swore. Mad at himself now for losing his temper, he yelled through the door, "Find your fucking phone and answer when it rings!" He stormed out of the house.

*****

Neither of them arrived for dinner, so Marcie took a tray up to Alyssa in her room. "Lou brought your phone up to the house. It was in your saddlebag in the stable. He says he needs to talk to you if you're up for it."

"I'm fine," Alyssa smiled. "Can you keep him company for ten minutes while I wash my face? I will be down soon. I'm not hungry," she said, looking at the tray Marcie was holding meaningfully. "I'll eat later, I promise." Marcie seemed about to argue but instead gave her the phone and left with the tray.

Checking her phone, there were a dozen missed calls from Tom and one from Justin. The phone rang as she held it. Loud music pumped in the background as Harry shouted, "A friend is lending me his car and driver for the weekend. We'll be there first thing in the morning, okay?"

Shit! Alyssa had forgotten Harry was coming this weekend. She could use the distraction and it might help Tom to calm down she thought, so she shouted her "Yes," back into the phone to try and raise her voice above the background music.

"Great! See you then, Lady Godiva!" Harry hung up abruptly.

Alyssa listened to the messages, hearing the urgency in Tom's voice as he warned her of Kerrick's visit, and the smooth, familiar, deep voice of Justin as he said he had found a place to live and would be able to move over the next week or two. He had some things she might be interested in keeping if he could meet her sometime, maybe halfway between the city and the farm. Once again she wondered if she had made the right decision in leaving him and wandered down the stairs to see Lou.

She found Marcie and Lou in her father's study. She stopped and considered that, it was her study now. Maybe she could talk to someone about some redecorating in here if she could make this place viable again. Lou, always the gentleman, stood at her arrival. "How's the arm?" he mumbled.

"It'll be fine," she said, looking at it absently. The purple and blue of the deep bruise had truly begun to surface now. "So tell me everything that happened after I left," Alyssa said as she flopped into a chair.

"I gave two weeks notice to anyone who was on their second reprimand. We are overstaffed for the amount of horses we have stabled here at the moment. That should cut down on the wages and living expenses quite considerably," Lou began.

"Oh no, I didn't plan to fire anyone yet," Alyssa gasped, horrified.

"You didn't, I did and they know it was me, I told them you didn't want to fire anyone but that my job was the stable staff. Most of those guys knew it was coming and were only doing a half-assed job anyway," he shrugged. "I offered a few of young ones half-wages until they either lifted their game or found another job." He waited for her to absorb what he was saying.