Stephen

There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man—Winston Churchill

He'd been preparing for this moment for years.

Stephen wasn't quite sure what had prompted this sudden urge to ask Bailey out, but all he knew was it had arisen, quite suddenly, out of his chest until he could hardly think of anything else. If anything, he just wanted to get it done and over with. Either she would say yes, or she would say no. But Stephen was done waiting. He wanted to know now whether Bailey felt the same way about him that he felt about her.

It wasn't an easy thing to do. They'd been friends for years. Stephen could hardly remember a time that Bailey Grant hadn't been a part of his life. Even when they hadn't seen each other, it wasn't like they hadn't talked. They'd texted, albeit periodically, as she'd been on tour or he'd been away on the circuit, at least until he'd gotten hurt. Then he'd been texting her from the safety of the ranch as she went around the world, performing in front of sold-out stadiums filled with adoring fans.

There were days that Stephen felt entirely inadequate compared to her. After all, how could he hope to match with someone who was internationally recognized? Someone who could have her pick of any guy? How could he hope to compete with them? With the musicians and the actors and all the other famous people who Bailey had met over the past four years; people who had undoubtedly noticed, like he had, how special a girl like Bailey was.

Stephen lifted the wheelbarrow full of horse crap and pushed it out of the Grant's barn. He'd been clearing the barn out for over an hour. It had been going faster when he'd had Travis's help, but then Rob had grabbed his youngest son and the two had headed out for the road where Rhea had said that one of their neighbour's trucks had broken down.

The younger girl had been out with Bailey on a trail ride when they'd seen the smoke through the trees. According to Rhea, they'd stopped to investigate where they'd come across the neighbour needing help. She'd gone for help while Bailey stayed behind, waiting for her father to show up with his truck.

Rhea hadn't mentioned which neighbour it was, the Grant's were surrounded by ranches on three sides, but from the way that she was sighing wistfully, he could guess. Considering that two of their neighbours happened to older, in their mid-forties and late fifties, respectively, and the other was a young, twenty-something bull rider, Stephen was fairly certain that the girls had run into Noah Hartley. He'd seen the dreamy look on Rhea's face more times than he could count, both on the girls in town, the buckle bunnies at the rodeo, and around the Grant farm on the rare occasion that Rhea had spotted him working on his ranch while out on one of her trail rides.

Stephen had to admit, somewhat grudgingly, that Noah Hartley was a good looking guy. He was taller than Stephen and broader-shouldered. He also knew that Hartley had more muscle than he did and he'd been told, by a swooning Rhea, that the man also happened to have 'drop dead gorgeous eyes.'

This, of course, was something he'd never noticed for himself. But, from the way the girls reacted, he had to admit that it was probably true.

The one thing going for Stephen was that Noah seemed perfectly content to be by himself. He and his sister rarely showed up at town events, whether it was the Spring fair that had rolled through a few weeks earlier or the Christmas tree lighting in the town square, they never came. The rodeo classic was one of the first times Stephen had even heard of Noah actively engaging in an activity in Tishomingo.

"—so dreamy," Rhea was saying as Stephen pushed the wheelbarrow back into the barn and set it down in front of Fabio's stall.

The horse belonged to Travis and lived up to his namesake. He was chestnut in colouring with a mane and tail that were flaxen. Stephen wasn't quite sure how he'd done it, but somehow the animal had perfected the perfect hair toss, where his long mane shook out around his head in the same manner that the wind might blow through the hair of the human Fabio.

Rhea was seated on the lid of the feed bin, swinging her legs. She'd been there for the past ten minutes, since she'd gotten back from the trail ride and sent Rob and Travis out after Bailey.

Stephen looked over at her as he walked into Fabio's stall. He dug into the straw with a pitchfork, sifting through until he found some manure which he subsequently dumped into the wheelbarrow. "You still going on about him?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "You don't get it. He's totally swoon worthy, Stephen. And then there's the fact that he's so mysterious and has that whole dark-brooding thing going on and—"

"And isn't he a little old for you?" Stephen teased half-heartedly. It was true, though. Noah was in his mid-twenties. Rhea was fifteen.

Rhea tossed her auburn hair and glared at him with her bright green eyes. "God, Stephen, I'm just saying. He's totally hot."

"Go chase after boys your own age, kid."

"I'm not a kid. And for the record, I do have someone my own age. Ass."

Stephen raised an eyebrow at her and tossed another pitchfork full of manure into the bin. "You have a boyfriend."

He watched her flush as she fumbled for words. "Well, not technically, but Brady Wilson has been flirting with me a lot during math class so I'm sure we'll get there soon."

"Yeah, sure sounds like it." He hid a grin by scooping up more manure. He pushed the remaining straw around and removed anything that seemed soiled. Then, he set the pitchfork down and went to grab fresh bedding. Stephen laid it down in the stall and then, Fabio's residence clean and ready for inhabitation once more, moved onto Fawkes' as Rhea watched from her perch.

"Why don't you have a girlfriend?"

Stephen glanced over at her, brows raised. "Excuse me?"

Rhea leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees. Her hair fell into her face and she brushed it back and tucked it behind her ear. "Well, it's not like you're ugly. You kind of have that boy-next-door look going on and, I mean, I guess some girls like that. So, why don't you have a girlfriend?"

If there was someone he wanted to talk about his love life with, Rhea was not that person. The girl was a blabbermouth — could hardly keep a secret. She loved to gossip and Stephen knew that if he told her about the way that he felt about Bailey everyone in town would know by the end of the day.

Stephen grabbed the pitchfork and walked into Fawkes' stall. "Maybe I just don't have time to date, Rhea. You ever think about that?"

"Everyone has time to date. If you say you don't, you're lying to yourself."

"That's easy for you to say," he refuted as he scooped up a pile of manure and dumped it into the wheelbarrow. "All you do is go to school and then sit around and bug me all day. I work from dawn until dusk here. And then I go home and sleep before I come back here again and work all day."

He didn't have to look at her to know that Rhea was rolling her eyes. "If you wanted to, you could make time," she said.

There was a dull thud as Rhea hopped down from the feed bin and Stephen turned to watch as she stalked out of the barn just as Bailey walked into it. She was leading Fawkes and smiled at Stephen as she saw him.

"Hey, Stephen."

He nodded and the corners of his lips twisted into a grin. A flurry of nerves struck up in his stomach. "Bailey."

She led Fawkes by him and secured the horse to a post at the end of the barn. As Stephen finished mucking out Fawkes' stall, Bailey took off the horse's saddle and blanket and then went to retrieve a hoof pick.

The pair worked in silence, Stephen cleaning out the stalls one by one as Bailey picked Fawkes' hooves and then began to brush him down with a curry comb. Stephen snuck glances at her out the corner of his eye as he worked, watching as she cooed to Fawkes quietly under her breath.

He finished the last stall in the stable and went to retrieve another brush. Bailey smiled at him as he took his spot up on the other side of the horse and began to brush him down.

"Thanks," Bailey said. She went to exchange their curry combs for hard brushes that would help to remove the dirt and hair that was brought out by the comb. She handed him one and the two set to work once more.

"You guys have a good ride?" he asked to break the silence.

Bailey nodded and an absent smile arose on her lips, almost like she didn't realize she was doing it. "Yes. I didn't realize how much I missed being home until I got out onto the trail. Don't get me wrong, I love Nashville and music and performing, but this will always be home, you know?"

"Yeah, I understand," Stephen said. "Tishomingo is just always the place that you long to return to. It was like that for me when I used to travel the circuit, back when I'd be gone for months at a time. The first few weeks were always fun, like going on vacation, but eventually I just wanted to come home."

There was a tone of wistfulness in his voice. It was true, Tishomingo was home, but there was still a part of him that longed for that time on the circuit. He'd been forced to quit early, a result of those injuries that he'd sustained and had forced him out of the world he loved forever. There was no doubt in his mind that, had he still been able to ride, he would be out on the circuit right now instead of speaking to Bailey in the Grant's barn.

Stephen had never really gotten over the rodeo. He missed it more than he cared to admit. He'd loved the rush he got when he prepared for a ride and his favourite ones were always the toughest. Stephen preferred a hard ride, the ones that made it difficult for him to make the eight. He liked the challenge, liked the way he felt atop the bronc. It made him feel strong, powerful, like he could do anything. Like he couldn't be defeated.

And now he was sidelined.

He'd learned to love other things, of course. Things like herding cattle and trail rides and mending fences. Things that had once been chores he now considered fun as they broke the daily monotony of mucking stalls and moving bales of hay. He'd even been offered a position helping to privately train some younger kids in the junior rodeo and he enjoyed his time there on Sunday afternoons where he taught a pair of five-year-old twins the art of mutton busting.

But there was still a void in his soul, one he feared would never vanish. He was trying, though. And that, he thought, was the most important thing.

Bailey was smiling at him, sadly, as if she knew exactly what he was thinking. He'd always admired how open her face was. She was one of those people who could connect with anyone in a single glance and her smile was one that you would trust implicitly. Bailey was the kind of girl who made you feel safe, like you could tell her anything and she'd take that secret to her grave.

Stephen opened his mouth, finally ready to tell her the secret that had been weighing on his mind for years. "Hey, Bailey?"

"Yeah?"

"You know, I was thinkin' that we, uh, we should—"

"Where's my baby sister?!"

Bailey and Stephen turned just as Travis jogged into the barn. Stephen hadn't heard the truck pull up and frowned. Travis was grinning, all teeth, as he went to jab Bailey playfully in the ribs. She danced away from his touch and Fawkes snorted with derision as she squealed.

"So..." Travis trailed.

Bailey wouldn't look at him. She was biting back a smile as she started to brush down Fawkes again. "So, what?"

"Oh, come on. Don't be coy. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

Stephen looked between the two siblings. "I'm missing something."

Travis looked over at him, brown eyes flashing with mischievous delight. "What you're missing, my dear friend, is that Noah Hartley asked my little sister here out on a date not an hour ago. And I know," he added as he turned back to Bailey, "that you gave him your number and told him to call you."

"Shut up!" Bailey said, laughing.

She threw the brush at her brother. Travis ducked out of the way as it went soaring above his head.

Stephen felt his heart drop into his stomach. "R-really?" he choked out.

She rolled her eyes and went to retrieve a soft brush and then she walked back to Fawkes to finish brushing him down. She left the hard brush where it landed halfway across the barn after she'd thrown it at her brother. "It's no big deal. God."

Travis turned to Stephen. "What do you think?"

Stephen looked from his best friend to the girl he was madly in love with and licked his dry lips. He wanted to scream at her that, yes, it was a big deal, but how could he do that? He couldn't admit to his feelings now, not so soon after Noah Hartley had asked her out on a date. It didn't feel right. And the last thing Stephen wanted to do was make this into a competition. If Bailey went out with Hartley and it went terribly, then maybe it would be time for him to make his move. But if things were smooth and she liked the man, who was he to stand in the way of that?

Still, he wasn't about to push her into Hartley's arms willingly. He shrugged. "I don't know. Depends, I guess."

"On what?" Bailey exclaimed. "He asked for my number, I gave it to him. I don't see what the big deal is."

"Does he know that your famous?" Stephen asked.

Bailey opened her mouth to reply, closed it, and then opened it again. "Well, I don't...I'm not sure. I didn't tell him. It's not something I like to bring up in everyday conversation with people I hardly know. I mean, how conceited does that sound? 'Like, hey, I know we just met, but are you aware that I'm an international music sensation?'" She rolled her eyes. "I know I've been away a long time, but trust me, I haven't changed that much."

Stephen held his out, palm up. A gesture of surrender. "Hey, I'm just sayin'. You gotta be careful. You never know when you might get some crazy stalker comin' after you—"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Bailey interjected.

"What?" Travis snapped. His eyes flashed to his sister's in shock. "You've had stalkers?"

"Mmhm. Three of them. Not a big deal, everyone gets them when you're in the public eye. Kyra's had like fifteen." Bailey was very matter-of-fact about the situation.

Travis looked like he was going to throw up and he glanced over Stephen who'd gone pale. He couldn't believe his ears.

"Relax," Bailey said then, rolling her eyes. "I've got restraining orders. And the worst of the three is in jail, so it's fine."

"Jail," Stephen echoed. For some reason, he'd never considered that there might be a severe downside to being famous. The paparazzi and constant scrutiny of your life was evidently not the best part, but Stephen had never once thought that Bailey could have been stalked. And the fact that it had happened multiple times made him feel sick to his very core.

Bailey laughed. "Will you guys calm down? I don't have any stalkers at this very moment. No one even cares about me right now. They just want to know what's going on in the Kyra-Mae feud. Trust me, I'm perfectly safe here at home and if someone comes looking for me then I've got you tough guys to defend my honour."

Stephen watched as Travis swallowed roughly. "Fine, if you say so. Did mom or dad know?"

"Dad did. I asked him not to tell mom or you and Jake unless it was an emergency. I didn't want you all to worry when I was fine. We had an entire security team that made sure nothing happened to us and we had the procedure locked down for whenever a threat arose. The guys who I had were tame. They mainly just sent some creepy letters. Kyra had a guy show up inside of her house who claimed to be her husband. He left before the security team got there and we ended up having to stay in a hotel for a few weeks under different names to be safe."

"And after all that, you're still fine to give your number out to people you barely know?" Travis asked meekly.

Stephen was glad Travis had asked the question. He'd been thinking it but after hearing what she'd just said he could barely bring himself to talk.

Bailey leaned against Fawkes' side and stroked the horse's neck. "I won't live my life in a sheltered little bubble, especially not when I'm at home. This is the one place where I can really be myself without scrutiny. And I know that there's a risk, there always is, but if I don't take chances then I'm never going to get anywhere other than where I am now."

"And you're willing to take a chance on Noah Hartley?"

The two men stared at her as she thought for a moment and then she nodded. "Yeah, I think I am. And if it goes badly, then it goes badly and I'll move on and deal with the consequences. But it will be my mess to make. I'm okay with that. I can handle it," she insisted.

Stephen didn't quite know what to say.

Travis, thankfully, did. "Fine. But if he does anything I don't like then Stephen, Jake, and I get to kick his teeth in."

Bailey laughed and all the tension in the barn dissipated. "I wouldn't expect anything less."

She went to put the soft brush away, untied Fawkes, and led him into his stall. She closed the door and then, with a grin and a wink, walked out of the barn, leaving the two men staring after her.

"I'll tell you something," Travis said, laughter in his tone. "Whoever ends up with my sister is going to be in serious trouble 'cause she is something else."

Stephen nodded and there was a part of him that was wishing that he was going to be that man. "Yes, she is."

And then, wishing he'd had the courage to talk to Bailey the day before so that Noah Hartley had never had the chance to make a move on the girl he was in love with, Stephen got back to work.

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Music suggestion: Me and Don Henley by Tenille Arts