Useless

Jim was grateful for Xander’s effort to help him keep his dignity. He really was. But it was still hard. He was still frustrated. Embarrassed. Scared. Being turned a little, he tried to envision his route, but it wasn’t easy. He trusted Xander, but he couldn’t quite imagine the angle, and his hands trembled slightly. “Okay. Um. Thanks.” He started forward carefully, scuffing his feet as he went – a natural reaction to being unsure of his footing. A few times he stopped unsteadily as his mind tried to get its bearings. 

Eventually, his toe scuffed the ground harder, and he felt a slight incline. Had he made it? Was he near the barn? How far- His thoughts were stopped short as his next step sent his face right into the corner of the barn’s open doorway. He muffled a cry of pain and growled instead, reaching out to steady himself to wait for the pain to subside. He hoped he wouldn’t get a black eye from that. Not that he’d be able to see it. 

Finally he managed to get inside the barn and feel his way along the stalls until he ran into a hay bale where he sat down, exhausted. It had taken him how long to make it from his house to the barn? With how much trouble? It felt impossible to conquer this one. How was he supposed to do it? And then, even if he could learn to navigate better… now what could he do? He was useless.


"Yeah, please don't puke," Hunter teased. "I don't handle that well." Grinning, he went to get them both a little food - just enough to keep them going, but not enough to make them sick while they rode. 

It really wasn't much later that they were out in the barn, saddling up. Hunter concentrated on Buttons first, and took her out to the corral with Ryan. Once she was on the saddle, he stood back with her phone. "Okay... smile!" He snapped the picture and had to smile himself. What a difference a week had made. "There... now Eli will have to believe you." 

He came back over and patted Buttons' neck before looking up at Ryan. "Wanna ride a little while I go get Bonzai? Buttons will take care of you..."


Jason chuckled. "Mmm... yes... dessert is much better." Turning a little more, he pushed Katie onto her back in the sand, and stretched out to half lay on her as he smiled. "I tend to forget about eating when I'm around you anyway."

Leaning in to continue their kiss, it was several long moments before he pulled back again. "But I suppose we should eat, since we did pay for it." Sliding down though, he just rested on her, nestling his head into her shoulder before he sighed with content. "Suppose anybody would notice if we just stayed here?"


Looking at Karla's idea while downing the rest of his coffee, Levi's eyes widened. "Brilliant!" 

Without warning, he got to his feet and flopped back down in his chair, swiveling around to his computer. Mumbling to himself, it wasn't clear if he was speaking actual words or not, but at least his fingers were getting the job done. "Here. Here. Take a look at this." He pointed at the screen and scooted back so Karla could see.

"What if I did that, then used that same style for the letterhead?" His eyes grew large. "Maybe we can actually get out of here in another hour or so if this works."