Redeem Myself

Miles' eyes widened and he quickly opened the hood of the car in his bay. "Oh, it's on!"

Leo grinned and shook his head. He missed the competition and was glad Ryan was playing along again. He knew she'd felt slow lately, but he'd be the first to tell anyone she'd still been pulling her fair share in spite of everything she'd been going through. 

The morning went more slowly than anyone liked. It turned out to just be the three of them in the garages which made it harder, but working together, they were still determined to get it all finished. By lunchtime, the air was just a bit thick with frustrations, in spite of efforts to stay positive...

...Hunter ambled in the side door of the garage, going unnoticed under the sound of clanking tools and loud radio music. He put his sunglasses up on his head and wandered over to the workbench where he hopped up to sit, his legs dangling over the edge. He set aside the paper bag of food and just watched the mechanics, waiting. 

Miles was the first to notice him, and lifted his eyebrows. He whistled through his teeth at Ryan before calling over to her. "Hey, don't look now, but you're being watched..."


Feeling Sam take his hands, Hal snapped his head up in surprise. He didn't pull away though, and just listened, more embarrassed than he'd ever been, but unable to deny her graciousness. As her thumbs ran over his fingers, the same tingle ran up both arms, and his eyes dropped to look at her hands.

In spite of his mortified state, he couldn't help his laugh at her last compliment. Sighing, he shook his head and gave her hands a little squeeze before letting them go and retreating as he sat up straighter. His eyes refused to meet hers though. "I... cannot remember the last time I ever made such an idiot of myself." What was wrong with him anyway? It didn't make any sense, and he was beyond frustrated with himself. It wasn't like him to be this awkward around anyone. 

He finally looked up to meet her eyes again. "And you just proved how amazing you really are." He bit his lip. "Thank you... for at least trying to keep my dignity in tact. Truth is... I've pretty much exposed what an idiot I am, from my anxiety issues to my apparent lack of all social common sense." He grimaced at himself. "So here I am... in all my dumb glory, making a fool out of myself all over again. You'd think a grown man like me could handle a luncheon with a friend, wouldn't you?" He rolled his eyes and was about to say more, but their food arrived. 

After a quick prayer, he hesitated before starting to eat, and dared to look over at Sam again. Despite him making a total fool of himself... she'd somehow put him at ease. "I really need something to redeem myself..." He gave her a sheepish grin. "You don't like to fish, do you?"


Sparky continued to stroke the mare's neck as he answered Ashlee. "Oh, it can take several hours from start to finish, but this girl's been restless all day so I don't think we've got too long to wait."

"She's been up and down several times already," Dylan added quietly. "When she didn't get up again, that's when I came to get you." Feeling the chill on his legs, he accepted the corner of the blanket, shifting a little closer to Ashlee. 

The mare stirred, and Sparky smiled. "Oh yeah... it's close. We're lucky she doesn't mind an audience like most mares. Otherwise she'd probably wait til the minute we turned out backs."

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Copper to give birth. Thankfully everything went smoothly and even Sparky sat back and let her be until the foal emerged and he assisted just a little. It was a colt, dark brown with a white blaze and a small white sock on one hind leg. His eyes were bright with wonder as he lay wet in the  straw, taking in the big new world. 

It took all Dylan had to keep his distance as he leaned back against the wall. He turned his head to look at Ashlee, a wide smile on his face. "Pretty cool, huh?" It wasn't the first goal he'd seen born, but it was always amazing.