The Easy Part

"I'm always up for walks, too." Travis' eyes twinkled a little, and he munched on a potato chip. "I don't know which they'd think was worse though." He smirked. It was hard to tell at this point what their parents would think. 

Leaning back in his chair he sighed. "Maybe we could get away with a walk this afternoon. It would be worth asking, right?" His eyes swept the room, finding Eric, who was holding one baby to his shoulder, while trying to eat with the other hand, and rocking a carrier seat on the floor with the other sleeping twin. Travis suspected Stacy would show up any second to lend a hand. It was a pattern he'd noticed, which, wasn't surprising. 

"Think it would help if I talked to him?" His eyes drifted back to Ashlee. "Eric, I mean. I will, if you want."


Hearing Ryan's comment, Hunter's eyes went wide, and his hand paused his brushing. Peeking over Buttons' back, he saw Ryan concentrating very hard on the horse, and his lips curled into a grin. He knew good and well she hadn't meant that how it sounded. "Yeah... I am pretty nice to look at," he teased. 

Resuming his brushing, he spoke quietly to Buttons and worked out a couple tangles in her mane. "You're enjoying this an awful lot, aren't you, hmm?" He smiled and scratched her under her chin, making her stretch out her neck. "Uh-huh..." 

Grooming just a while longer, it was on to the tack room where Hunter made Ryan sit in several saddles before finding one that fit her size. Tacking up Buttons, he talked as he worked, explaining things to Ryan, but not trying to teach her too much, lest she get overwhelmed or bored. Eventually, the mare was all tacked up, and they were out in the corral. 

"Okay. So. Mounting up. The easy part." Hunter demonstrated putting his foot in one stirrup and swinging up into the saddle. Sliding back off again, he patted the seat and grinned at Ryan. "Your turn."


Seeing Sam, Ty straightened up. "Hey, yeah." He set his red-lens glasses up on his head. "Nice to meet you. I was just... showing Hal the footage from last night." 

He gestured to the screens. "Seems your new lock kept Aaron occupied for a while, so congratulations on that. He made his weird rounds again. Took his time - not that he has much of a choice being on crutches. Although he seems to be learning to maneuver them quite well. So, FYI, watch your step since he's getting more agile." He kept talking as he reached over Hal to hit a couple keys and rewind the footage he'd just shown to Hal. "He doesn't seem too awful interested in the main floor - although he likes snooping around people's desks. He spent a few minutes in the infirmary - if I had to guess, I'd say he's got his eye on his pain meds. Strangest thing is he spent the majority of his time out and about in the break room. And... all that's in there is a fridge, stove and some food." 

He straightened up again. "He thought about going downstairs once, but it looked like maybe he just didn't want to try it. Although I think he'd manage the stairs pretty good by now."

Hal nodded up at him. "Thanks, Ty. I won't keep you any longer."

"Sure." Ty looked to Sam once more. "I think I'm gonna get out of here. I've got a date before I sleep the rest of the day."

After he was gone, Hal shook his head. "That's one smart kid. Pretty sure he's a math genius and I think he's not bad on computers. I worked with him for months on handling a gun and he's a good a shot as I am by now. Still stuck on janitor work though." He shrugged. "He was illiterate when he got here. His glasses help, but learning to read at his age has been slow going. I don't know if that's why he hasn't been given a chance at anything else, or if he just won't stand up for himself. Either way... he deserves to do more than mopping floors and cleaning toilets."