Chapter 18
The day finally arrived for Blake McMillan, Hailey and Liz to arrive from the States. As Jessica understood things, Blake had arranged for a limousine to meet his party at the airport, then transport them to Michael’s training yard. Michael had arranged for two additional bedrooms in the house to be cleaned and aired, and ready for his guests. Liz would be given the room she had occupied originally; Blake would be further down the hall. Michael had arranged for one of the manor house’s former parlor rooms on the ground floor to be converted to a bedroom for Hailey so that she wouldn’t have to negotiate stairs every day and to make it easier for her to get around in general. Jessica was grateful for his consideration, and gratified to know that he had taken the time and effort to make Hailey’s stay as comfortable as possible.
Jessica fought an attack of nerves, as she paced the manor entryway waiting for the limousine to arrive. Michael took note of Jessica’s apparent distress and tried to ease her nerves.
“Calm down, Jess,” Michael soothed. “Blake is just a guy. He may have a very high opinion of himself because he’s worth a lot of money, but ultimately, he’s just like you and me.”
“You don’t understand, Michael,” Jessica responded with a touch of annoyance in her voice. “This ‘guy’ controls my destiny. He holds my future in his hands. If he decides I’m not worthy to receive the gift of Tempest, he can give him to someone else on the US Equestrian Team without a qualm. His commitment is to the Team, not to me personally. While he’s here, I have to impress him enough that he still is willing to buy Tempest for me.”
Michael understood her concern, but there was little he could do to assuage her fears. Blake McMillan was a wild card. He didn’t know the man, and none of his contacts on the British Equestrian Team knew anything about him either. Apparently, he was new to the equestrian world, and an unknown quantity. Michael vowed he would, to the extent he could, as Jessica’s interim trainer, portray Jessica as the talented rider he knew her to be, and hope for the best. He was confident he could do just that, if McMillan was willing to pay attention. In the past two weeks, even with the brief time out required by Tempest’s near-colic episode, Jessica’s riding of Tempest had improved tremendously. She no longer appeared to be intimidated by his sporadic naughtiness, and didn’t let the stallion bully her as he had the first time she rode him. Michael was also interested to see what Liz’s reaction would be to seeing Jessica perform on Tempest in person rather than by video. He expected her to be impressed as well.
Just then, a long, black limousine pulled into the drive. “They’re here,” Jessica said with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. She looked to Michael, reached for his hand. “Let’s go out and welcome them.” Michael took her hand, squeezed it, and continued to hold it as they walked out the front door to greet the newest arrivals to Stafford Oaks Farm.
The chauffeur had already exited the limo and was opening the rear door closest to Michael and Jessica. Liz emerged first, smiling, and was quickly followed by Hailey, who struggled a bit with her prosthetic legs as she exited the vehicle, but righted herself quickly and stepped out, also sporting a big smile.
Jessica dropped Michael’s hand and ran to Hailey, embracing her with a big hug. “Hey, sis, I’m so glad to see you. I missed you so much.” Jessica’s voice broke, and she couldn’t stop the tears that had started running down her face upon seeing her beloved sister.
“Don’t cry, Jess.” Hailey was tearing up a bit herself. “Everything’s great. Blake made the trip really easy. He had a car pick Liz and me up at home, then had us driven directly to the tarmac, so all we had to do was climb up the steps into the plane. His assistants took care of our luggage, and any other details. My wheelchair is in the trunk.” Michael had walked up behind Jessica, and extended his hand to Hailey in greeting.
“Hello, Hailey, I’m Michael. It’s great to finally meet you in person.” He smiled and put his other arm around Jessica just as Blake McMillan was exiting the limo on the other side.
Hailey blushed and shook Michael’s hand. “Hi, Michael. I’m glad to meet you in person too. I’ve got to say that you’re even more handsome in person than you are via Skype.”
Michael wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that comment, so he quickly shifted his attention to Liz. “Liz, it’s good to see you again. I trust your legal matters are taken care of, at least for the time being?”
“Yes, Michael,” Liz responded. “Everything seems to be all right. My soon-to be-ex-husband has conveniently withdrawn his custody suit, and Amy is safely ensconced with my sister Cynthia while I’m here working with Jess.” She sighed. “At least for the time being, all is well.” While Liz and Michael were talking, and Jessica and Hailey were catching up, Blake walked around the vehicle and supervised the driver unloading all of their luggage, paid him, including a tip that made the man’s eyes pop wide open, then saw him on his way. He approached Michael, and extended his hand.
“Blake McMillan,” he stated with a definite air of superiority. “You must be Michael Stafford.”
Michael assessed this newcomer with a jaundiced eye. The man knew how to dress, he would give him that. He wore a very expensive navy-blue Armani suit, and a matching tie that probably cost more than any one of Michael’s barn staff made in a month. His perfectly pressed dress shirt complemented the suit perfectly. His shoes were also of the highest quality, most likely also Armani. Michael shook Blake’s hand firmly, and looked him squarely in the eye. He wasn’t going to let this wealthy nabob run roughshod over him on his own property. No, not at all. “Yes, I’m Michael. Welcome to Stafford Oaks Farm, Mr. McMillan.”
“Call me Blake, please.” The blighter even made that assurance sound condescending. Michael knew he and Blake were not going to be fast friends. He hoped the man’s stay would be short. Michael also didn’t like the way Blake was looking at Jessica. It was almost as if he were sizing her up for his next meal. Michael’s stomach clenched, as a wave of possessive anger rolled over him. There was no way this interloper was getting anywhere near Jessica if Michael had his way, and he vowed he would.
Jessica pushed Hailey in her wheelchair into the manor, and showed her where she would be staying. “This house is awesome, Jess,” Hailey exclaimed. “It’s just what I imagined an English manor house to look like.”
“It is beautiful, and I understand Michael spent a lot of money renovating it,” Jessica responded.
“I wasn’t kidding about Michael, Jess. He’s gorgeous. And that accent . . .” She sighed in rapture.
“About Michael,” Jess began, not sure exactly how to tell Hailey about their relationship. She really wasn’t quite sure how to describe it. Were they lovers? The term seemed pretty risqué, but the labels boyfriend and girlfriend seemed to trivialize what they had together in her mind.
“What, Jess?” Hailey said. “What about Michael?”
“Well, our relationship has gone beyond a trainer/student relationship. We’re actually seeing each other romantically. In fact, don’t tell him I said this, but I think I’m falling in love with him.”
Hailey squealed in delight. “Jess! That’s great! I’m so happy for you. I know I kid you about how good looking he is, but he seems like a really good guy. I’m so glad I’m here now to get to know him better. Maybe he’ll be a part of the family soon.”
Jess hugged Hailey and couldn’t help feeling her heart swell with joy. “I hope so, Hails, I really hope so.”
~ ~ ~
While the commotion was going on with the new arrivals at the manor, Lionel was using the round pen to try Monty Roberts’ Join-Up training method with Rocky. Over the last few days, the gelding had been accepting more and more physical contact from Lionel without flinching or shying away, and Lionel was extremely encouraged. Lionel felt the time was right to advance his relationship with Rocky, and Join-Up seemed to be the ideal way to do that in a cooperative, non-threatening way.
The purpose of Join-Up, as put forward in Monty Roberts’ books and videos and on his website, is for the horse owner/trainer to develop a relationship of mutual concern and respect with the horse using the horse’s own natural language.
The process started with the horse being given free movement in a round pen, with the human trainer creating a somewhat fearful environment for the horse, but allowing the horse to run away from the fearful object within established limits of the round pen.
This was the aspect of the training that Lionel was most apprehensive about. Rocky was already fearful of humans in general because of his past abuse, so encouraging that fear through any action on his part was problematic in Lionel’s mind.
As it turned out, Lionel’s worries were justified. As soon as Rocky realized he was free within the confines of the round pen, any time that Lionel approached him, he fled, galloping at full speed around the perimeter of the round pen, eyes wide open, a panicked expression on his face. Lionel was worried that Rocky might hurt himself running as fast and as mindlessly as he was around the perimeter of the pen, but instinct told him not to interfere, but to let Rocky work this out for himself. Gradually, over a period of several minutes, Rocky tired of running, and slowed his pace to a reasonable canter, then to a slower, more controlled trot. Lionel also noticed that Rocky was licking and chewing, and his ears were pricked toward him. Now that Rocky was aware of his presence and exhibiting interest in a curious rather than fearful way, Lionel implemented the second, most critical part of Join-Up, the invitation to the horse to accept him and trust him as a leader.
To do this, Lionel turned away from Rocky, and broke eye contact, thereby inviting him to approach him with trust and submission. Lionel waited for what felt like hours, but had to have only been a few minutes, when he felt Rocky’s muzzle nudge his shoulder in a gesture of curiosity and trust, and stood there, without a trace of fear. Lionel, unaware until that very moment that he had been holding his breath, exhaled and was suddenly overcome with a wave of incredibly strong feelings. The first thought that came to mind was that he didn’t deserve the complete trust this poor abused horse was giving him. He reflected on his behavior of the past few months, especially toward his best friend Michael, and most recently his very uncharacteristic willingness to jeopardize a horse’s life, and was overcome.
Powerful emotions poured forth from Lionel as if a dam had burst, pouring wave after wave of grief, anger, fear, shame, and finally relief over him. The feelings were almost too strong to bear, and he sobbed uncontrollably, still standing in the middle of the round pen, with Rocky patiently standing at his shoulder, curious but not afraid. After several minutes of a deep, purging cry, Lionel looked up toward the heavens. Nigel, my love, I miss you so much. I’ve completely lost my way. Please help me find my way back.
Lionel received no clear answer to his plea, but knew that from this day forward, his life would be irrevocably changed. Using the front of his polo shirt to dry the tears from his face, Lionel turned to Rocky, quietly praised him for his courage and trust, clipped the lead rope back to his halter, and returned him to his stall. There was no way he was going to try any further training today. Avoiding the new arrivals, he went into his bedroom and closed the door. He had a lot of soul searching to do.