Natural Attraction

by C L Green

  “Oh. Well that sort of settles that then doesn’t it? What are we going to do for the next half hour? Do you need to be in there coordinating the disaster recovery mission or something?” I ask feeling happier than I should.

  I look at him expectantly wondering if he is going to abandon me out here alone. As I do this, a weird feeling of being watched overcomes me. I look towards his house thinking I see a curtain move in the front window.

  “Hell no!” He almost shouts. “If I even try to step foot in there they’ll beat with me a broom or something. It's safer to stay out here. Let’s go talk to Maverick and see what sort of a mood he’s in shall we?”

  He grabs my hand gently, sending an electric shock through my body at the intimacy of him holding my hand and starts guiding me towards the day yards.

  “Okay,” I say quietly as I let him drag me along. I’m sure that if he asks me to jump off a cliff with him I will.

  I turn back one more time to look at the front of his house and realize I was not imagining that movement before. There, standing in direct view, are three heads nodding knowingly to one another as they watch us walk away.

  *****

  Maverick is very pleased to see us and I can see why as we approach. I have clearly lost track of time because he has not only finished his hay net, but he has also managed to tip over his water bucket.

  “Sorry big boy,” I croon to him as we approach. “I abandoned you didn’t I?”

  He nickers and approaches the gate looking at me keenly.

  “Well that’s a good start.” Jax looks at me nodding. “He likes you, and he wants to spend some time with you. You’ve been working on your relationship.”

  “We have! I listened to your suggestions and I’ve been doing all the things you told me to do. There’s been an amazing change in him since we got to know each other better.”

  I tell him this with just a hint of ‘proud mummy’ in my voice.

  “Good, tell me exactly what you can do with him and then give me a demonstration in his yard can you?”

  “No worries!” I chirp as I head into Mavericks yard, pausing briefly at the gate while he stretches his nose out and makes first contact with me. “I’ve got heaps to tell you.”

  The next fifteen minutes see me giving Jax a blow-by-blow of all that Maverick and I had been through over the past six weeks.

  Jax stops me now and then to ask questions like, “Can you pick his off hind foot up from the near hind side?” Or, “Can you touch his ears?”

  I either answer a yes or a no and give him a demonstration if it is a yes, or give it a go with varying levels of success and failure if it is a no.

  The time flies and we both slide into easy conversation while we focus on Maverick.

  “Have you put a rug on him before?” Jax asks looking at Maverick thoughtfully.

  “No, not yet. I was told he was rugged regularly to be shown but it’s been too hot for me to bother with one yet. I don’t do summer rugs, only winter rugs when the weather turns foul.”

  “Mmmm, wait here a second and I’ll grub a summer sheet and be right back.”

  Jax saunters off towards the barn.

  I pass the time while he is away scratching all of Maverick’s itchy spots.

  “Here, do you think you’ll need to tie him up?” Jax asks as he re-appears and hands me a neatly folded, black and white check cotton summer rug.

  “I don’t know. What do you suggest?” I ask.

  “Give it a go without tying him up and we’ll see what happens hey? If he’s fine for you to put it on, it shouldn’t matter whether he’s tied up or not.”

  I nod my understanding and set about unfolding the rug. I am about halfway through the process of folding it out straight when I hear what sounds like a drain gurgling noise coming from Maverick.

  Before I can even look up, I hear Jax say quietly. “Stop Ash.”

  “Wh…” I start to ask why as I look towards Maverick and realize why. He is standing dead still, head in the air, staring at me with what can only be described as dead eyes. Lifeless, black eyes that hold no reflection.

  “Um, what the hell is he doing?” I ask.

  “He’s catatonic Ash.”

  “What’s catatonic?”

  “Not good. You just need to stop what you’re doing and let him relax. Clearly he’s not so rapt at the idea of having a rug put on him.”

  “Oh,” I whisper softly, now worried that something catastrophic is about to happen. Catatonic, catastrophic, I can see a likeness in the language there.

  “Is this going to get me hurt?” I ask, my voice notching up an octave and starting to tremble.

  “I hope not.” Jax announces in a matter of fact manner. “Just stop what you are doing. Even better, slowly turn around and walk away from him a bit. That should help.”

  I slowly take a big breath and send Jax an imploring look. One that begs him to save me from whatever catastrophe is about to hit.

  He smiles softly and says, “You’re okay Ash, just turn ‘round.”

  I do, slowly. Almost as slowly as you would if you had a big, fat, poisonous cobra rearing up in front of your bare legs ready to strike and kill you.

  Giving Jax one last glance and sending a prayer to the gods that I will leave this yard alive, I start walking back towards the gate. By the second step I am able to let my breath go only to get a huge fright when I hear what sounds like Mavericks teeth grinding behind me. I swing my head to look at him and see his ears flapping as he starts to shake his head.

  “S’all good Ash. Turn your body back round again now, nice and slowly.”

  “Um, are you sure? The reason I ask is because right about now I get the feeling that I just had another near death experience. I wouldn’t mind a shot of whiskey to calm my nerves before I go through catastrophia or whatever you said it was, again.”

  “I’m sure Ash. He’s fine now. Turn ‘round and take a look for yourself.”

  I do as I am told and I am surprised to see Maverick looking his cute old happy self again with his ears honed in on me and his eyes shining brightly.

  “Um, what just happened? Is my horse a Dr.Jekyll / Mr.Hyde horse perhaps? If I turn around again and turn back quickly, will he look like the dead eyed dragon again?”

  Jax chuckles softly. “Well maybe, if you do it fast enough.”

  “What do you mean fast enough?”

  “Fast enough to give him a fright or make him wary then yeah, he’ll do that again.”

  “Oh, so you are telling me that his high headed, blank eyed look is him being scared and catastrophic?”

  I ask this with a tone of disbelief in my voice and then wonder why I am even questioning him.

  “Catatonic, not catastrophic, and yes. But funnily enough, your wording is pretty good ‘cause when a horse is catatonic, the result can be catastrophic,” he explains.

  “Catatonia, or ‘being catatonic’ is where a horse disappears out of their mind and goes into a frozen state of ‘stupor’. It’s a state of motor inability, easier explained as the ‘big freeze’. A horse that is frozen has lost its ability to think. If not given the opportunity to regain that ability to think it will, at a point unknown to you or me, suddenly switch on all its fight or flight emergency procedures. This means it will explode into wild horse lifesaving mode.”

  “Fuck.” I groan, blowing out a huge breath of air. “That sounds bad.”

  “It is, but as long as you catch it early and stop doing whatever is bothering him, it won’t be a problem.”

  “Right then. So what do you mean by catch it early?” I look back at Maverick who now appears oblivious to his seemingly near death experience of a few minutes ago. He is now energetically scratching his eye on his front leg.

  “Look out for the signs. Raised head is a clear early warning sign. If he shoves his head high like that again, stop. When you can see the muscles running along the underside of his neck are tight, he’s stressed. At that point you probably need
to stop what you are doing and just wait. If he progresses further than that to the next stage you need to back off like you did before.

  The next stage is jamming his mouth shut as hard as he can so you can see ‘ribs’ of skin running along his muzzle. His eyes will also be jammed wide open and not blinking.

  If his tongue then starts hanging out of his head while his eyes are jammed open, that’s real bad. Leave the yard, paddock, whatever space you are sharing with him and just leave him alone. That is the worst form of catatonia and I’ve seen a horse come out of that and flip up and over backwards nearly knocking themselves out as they hit the ground. You don’t want to be standing near a horse when he does that.”

  “Fuck.” I stress again and stare at Jax in shock. “How do you know this shit? I’ve never heard of it before.”

  “It’s what I do Ash. It’s called Natural Horsemanship in several countries around the world. There are heaps of people teaching it to folks who want to learn it. It just doesn’t seem to have taken off as big in Australia as it has in other countries like America.

  There’s a fair bit of horse psychology mixed with a bit of horse language. Each horse needs to be treated individually. There are some basic cues and signs that you can watch out for across all horses though. These basics will make your life, and theirs, a whole lot easier and a whole lot safer. I bet you went to Pony Club to learn about horses didn’t you?”

  I nod.

  “Well Pony Club is a great place to start learning about horses. I like the way they go about trying to make sure that kids get to experience a little bit of everything. They teach a wide variety of things ranging from feeding and care to riding and competition.

  One thing they do not do so well in my book is teach Natural Horsemanship foundation skills. Natural Horsemanship foundation skills keep kids safer than the traditional methods of dealing with their horses. Have you ever been told about horses chewing?”

  “Um, like on hay or food? “ I do not know where this is going. Perhaps he is about to lecture me on equine dental care?

  “No, I mean as in have you ever noticed that during the time you spend with your horse, he chews – a lot? He will constantly be talking to you and telling you that he understands things by chewing his mouth gently. Not on food. This chewing is just moving his lips or teeth together gently. He does this as he ‘gets’ stuff you are doing to him or telling him to do”

  “No, I’ve never heard of it. Are you saying when he is chewing he is talking to me?”

  “Sort of, yes. Let me show you something. Put that rug down on the ground in front of you and step away from it.”

  I give him a ‘what’s this about look’ and do as I am told.

  “There! Quick, look at Maverick. He’s licking his lips gently. Did you see that?”

  Yes!

  “Yes, I did! How did you know that he would do that?” I ask, amazed.

  “Because he is nervous about that rug and by you putting it down and backing away from it, you took the focus off the rug. He understands that you are giving him a break. He appreciates it and he is telling you so by saying ‘got it’.”

  “Wow! I’ve never even noticed that before. How dumb am I? How did I go all these years and not notice something like that?”

  Clearly I have a whole lot of learning to do.

  “Don’t worry about it. You’re one of millions Ash. That’s what I am here for. I’m going to teach you some horse language so that you can start to enjoy horse riding again. It will be fun I promise.”

  He gives me a wink that says there is going to be a whole lot more fun to be had than just with the horses.

  I sigh.

  “It’s a bit overwhelming. I feel so dumb and I am now embarrassed at how little I know about horses. I am not sure how to deal with that. Well, I’m not too sure how to deal with you, and that. Do you know what I am saying?”

  “Ash, it's fine. I knew that you didn’t know much about Natural Horsemanship when you got here the last time. Just by hearing the run of events it took to get to my place in the first place, it was pretty obvious. Don’t feel embarrassed.

  I can see you want to learn and I can also see that for some reason you are outside your comfort zone with me. There’s no need to be uncomfortable around me, I’ve already shown you that I am interested in you by spending time with you. I could have just sent you packing the first day you came. That’s what I normally do with everyone else. Let’s just get to know each other a bit more and then we can see if there is something more we both want to pursue. All I ask is that you are honest with me and we’ll see how the rest plays out as we go. What do you think?”

  What do I think?

  Right about now my thoughts are spiraling madly out of control. How can any one guy be so good-looking, single, interested in learning more about me - and a horse whisperer all in one package. Clearly there is a Lord above and right about now he has his focus set on me.

  “I think,” I pause to think carefully about what I am going to say next, “I’m glad I’m here. I like you a lot. Embarrassingly, probably a bit more than a lot. I also think it’s lunchtime and I’m hungry. Is that honest enough for you?”

  “Sure is, let’s go eat. Ma’ll be organised by now. Just put the rug on the side of an empty yard so no one chews it. You refill Mavericks water while I grab him some more hay from out the back. I won’t be long okay?”

  “Okay.” I agree as I watch him stride off to head behind his barn to get some hay. I am now definitely looking forward to spending lunch with his mother and sisters-in-law. I also realize that I want to learn a whole lot more about Jax and his family while I am here learning a whole lot more about horses.

  Chapter Four

  Rowena Walker

  After getting Maverick sorted for food and water, Jax grabs my hand and once again drags me off towards his back door. Each step we take towards his door increases my nerves and I feel sick. I feel it building up in the pit of my stomach as I realize that I am nervous about meeting Jax’s family.

  Why I am nervous I’m not exactly sure. Not normally one to care about what people think of me, this whole day is turning out to be a life changing event. An event that is affecting the way I feel about other people and the way I feel about myself. I am not sure whether I should worry or be happy about it.

  One thing I do know is that I will deal with whatever life throws at me today. Especially if it means I get to spend more time with Jax. There will be no take me or leave me’s today as I most certainly do not want him to leave.

  As we approach his back door, Jax slows his steady stride and turns to say, “Good luck, you know they’re gunna grill you don’t you?”

  “I was sort of figuring that.” I reply as he swings the back door open in front of me and stands back to let me enter in front of him. “I’m sure it won’t be that bad.”

  I see him smile with his crystal blue eyes and his dimples pop into action.

  “I’m sure you’ll cope,” he chuckles as he swings into step behind me and we step inside.

  It is at this point that I’m pretty sure my chin hits the floor as I gape at the room in front of me. For a split second I think I may have walked into a fully operational restaurant kitchen. Not only am I standing staring at the biggest galley style kitchen I have ever seen, but it is being fully utilized to prepare what looks to me like a Christmas feast.

  I quickly close my mouth hoping no one has noticed my gape as I take in the room with a sweeping glance. From where I am standing, clearly we have stepped straight into Jax’s dining room that forms an extension of the massive kitchen.

  The kitchen is fully ablaze with several strategically positioned down-lights to highlight his beautiful benches and appliances. I feast my eyes on the long, polished, black marble benches and shiny stainless steel appliances. There is a massive stainless steel chef’s oven with twin front doors. There is also a heavy bulkhead overhanging the main galley bench that is used for overhead storage and is li
ttered with hooks and various cooking tools.

  The main thing I notice is there is food everywhere.

  Every burner on the eight burner stovetop is being utilized with various pans and pots bubbling or frying. I can see that both the ovens below are in use as well. The three women are all busy at various positions around the kitchen, chopping and stirring.

  Looking to my left I see a huge, eight-seater, solid timber, square dining table that is loaded with quiches, pasta dishes, cakes and breads. These are all sitting in Tupperware containers with their lids neatly sitting underneath as their contents cool.

  These women managed to cook all these items fresh, in the last thirty minutes?

  Obviously they are cooking enough food to keep Jax alive and well for the next month.

  “Fuck!”

  The word rips loudly from my lips before my brain has a chance to register that I have just sworn loudly in front of a room full of strangers. One of these strangers being Jax’s mother.

  Way to make an impression.

  Ro glances over towards me from where she is standing at one of the gorgeous benches chopping spring onions at what looks to me like the speed of light. I hone my eyes in on her fingers as I see a massive blade flashing up and down on the chopping board as she makes short work of an entire bunch of spring onions.

  “Faarrrkkk!” I swear again.

  Ro looks down at her hands again and quickly finishes her high-speed chopping demo with a cheeky grin on her face.

  “Nearly organized guys,” she chirps cheerfully.

  She is apparently unaffected by not only my foul language, but also my lack of vocabulary.

  “By the time you freshen up I’ll have a lovely bowl of summer soup ready for you both.”

  I feel Jax grab at my hand again as he tugs me backwards and I turn towards a door to my left.

  “This way my potty mouthed little friend. Time to clean up.”

  I look across to see both Teagan and Rebecca flash me huge grins. I am then whisked through a doorway and down a tiled hall.