Page 40 of Waiting for Ru
“You like that?” Ru whispered. “Look at those eyelashes. I’m jealous, so I am.”
The mane was trimmed short, and needed little work. Ru didn’t want to use a comb and pull hair out so he looked in the pail for something else. He found a brush that resembled the one he used on his own hair and drew that gently through the short mane. Then he moved to the tail and painstakingly unfastened it, leaning against Cheyenne’s side as he worked.
“Does that feel better?” Ru whispered. “You can swish it soon. Just not in my face, thank you, my lady.” He carefully combed the tail out, keeping one hand on the horse so she knew he was there, relieved when not too many hairs came out in the comb. Then he wiped the washcloth around the dock area.
“Done?” Paolo asked.
“Not yet.”
Ru brought the hoof pick into the stall and Cheyenne whinnied in a distressed way.Ah, is this the test?
“Hey, Cheyenne. Don’t tell me you’re frightened of a little bitty thing like this.” Ru prised another Polo mint from the packet and put it on his palm next to the hoof pick. Cheyenne sniffed both, then took the mint.
“Good girl. Now are you going to lift your hoof like the princess you are?” Ru ran his hand down the back of her front leg and she lifted it.
Ru was quick and gentle as he scraped from the heel towards the toe then put the hoof down again. He did the other front hoof with no problem, but she kept her hoof firmly on the ground when he ran his hand down her back leg.
“Are you going to be awkward when there’s nothing to worry about?” He pressed his head to the side of the horse’s neck. “Is it another mint you’re after, my lady? Haven’t I spoiled you enough already?”
He gave her another, and on the next try she lifted her hoof. He hadn’t even needed to squeeze the tendon on the back of her leg which worked to make the horse lift its hoof but if done incorrectly, could damage the tendon. When everything was done, and he hoped he’d not missed anything, he released her from the lead rope, took off the halter and hung the items on the hooks outside the stall. The hoof pick went back in the box, he made sure everything was tidy, then set the dirty cloth aside for washing.
When he turned to face Paolo, Ru swallowed hard, because Paolo wasn’t smiling. But then he did and Ru breathed a silent sigh of relief. Paolo picked up the chart at the front of the stall and put Ru’s name down as groomer.
“She’s your responsibility now along with Cookie and Joni. Just the grooming when Mike tells you to. Not the riding. Nor the prep for a game.”
Ru nodded.
Paolo glanced at his watch. “You’ve done enough today.”
Once Paolo left, the grooms who’d still been in there were quick to follow. Ru made sure the tack room was tidy and clean, then went down to Cookie and Joni. He would have loved to take one of them out for a canter, but he’d been told not to ride and he had no helmet. He watched them for a while and when they came over to him, he gave them each a mint and took them back to their stable.
Two horses to check, groom and feed,thenhe’d be done. Joni looked as though she’d been rolling in mud. Knowing her, she probably had, but Ru just got on with cleaning her up.
Back at the accommodation, he went straight to his room. Bela was sitting in her cage and he clucked at her. She flew to his shoulder and rubbed her beak on his cheek.
“Another long day,” Ru said. “I wonder what you’ve been doing.”
“Safe,” Bela cawed.
“I’m not so sure.”
Bela pressed her wing against his cheek.
“Don’t interfere if you see anything happening to me. There’s a guy here who’d throw a stone at you. Be careful. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Ru smiled. Maybe shedidunderstand.
When he stripped off for a shower, he saw the bruises on his stomach and thigh. Even his arm and neck were marked where Mike had grabbed him. Ru could complain, but how popular would that make him then? Not very. He’d seen that Mike was liked by the others and Ru didn’t want to make trouble. He stepped into the shower. He wasn’t going to say anything. Maybe Mike knew he’d gone too far and Ru keeping quiet about it would stop him doing it again. Or was that wishful thinking?
The towel he’d bought wasn’t very absorbent, so drying himself wasn’t as easy as it should have been. Maybe it would better once it was washed. Tomorrow he’d do his laundry. He pulled on a T-shirt and his jeans before he headed to the kitchen.
Mike, Seb and Kirstie were in there, plates of food on their laps as they watched TV. They said nothing to Ru, so he said nothing to them. He made himself a coffee and a toasted cheese sandwich, then sat and ate it at the table in the main room. He didn’t want to. He’d have much preferred to go to his room, but if he didn’t make the effort to be sociable, then he couldn’t expect people to be friendly towards him.
But the three in there didn’t pay him any attention so when he’d finished eating, he cleaned up after himself and went back to his room. The moment he stepped inside, the volume of the TV in the room next door seemed to double. Bela cawed and flew out of the window. Ru wished he could follow her. The TV had seemed plenty loud enough when Ru had been in there so he guessed the increased volume was just to annoy him. He picked up his hoodie, workbooks, sketch pad and pencils, made sure he had a packet of mints, and crept out. It amused him to think Mike thought he’d be irritating him when he wasn’t even there.
The first place Ru headed for was the stables. He’d not really had chance to meet all the horses and he’d prefer to do it with no one around. So he left his things by the door and walked from stall to stall, learning their names, starting to see what sort of manners they had. Ru was quiet and gentle with horses, but could be firm when he needed to be. Ru had heard the other grooms moaning about the grey he’d just reached. Lexi, a gelding, who apparently bit everyone.
