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When The Stars Go BlueMost things in life came to Billie simply, meaning she wasn’t one to make much of a fuss about anything. She lived a quiet and secluded life, the owner of a forty stall stable she had inherited from her Uncle when he had passed three years previous. She had grown up working on the farm, spent her entire life working with animals, and planned to continue to do so until the end of her days. Billie had a reputation for having some of the best trainers and groomers this side of this Mississippi, and she intended to keep it that way. She didn’t have any patience for anyone that could not meet her standards or did not treat her animals right. So, when she found her stable master, Micah Bell, attempting to break one of their new horses using aggressive and abusive methods she kicked him to the curb faster then he could raise his hand in anger. Which is how Billie found herself in her current predicament, a forty stall stable, currently holding two dozen horses all being housed for various reasons and nobody to run the day to day operations, nobody familiar with their clientele or their needs. A quick call to a friend who in turn called a friend and so forth yielded the result of a man who should be arriving on her doorstep in round ‘bout a week. Without even a name for her new stable master Billie set about trying to pick up the pieces of the poorly organized business Micah had left behind. Working double duty seeing to both the financial and operational side of things Billie quickly exhausted herself trying to get acquainted with all her charges and address their needs as they became apparent. Her two stable boys, Lenny and Charles, who were both just graduated from high school did what they could to help her, but they simply didn’t have the experience to see to the many aspects of the business that Micah had been covering. While they awaited the arrival of their would be savior Billie and her stablehands worked near around the clock, all three alternating taking turns sleeping on the small couch in the stable masters office. Mary-Beth, her groomer, lent a hand where she could, working the more mild mannered horses and making a point to get around to every horse on her rounds, but still with the extra help they struggled. It had been almost a week exactly to the hour when Billie was bout fixin’ to saddle an unruly mustang, oddly named Cinderella, who hadn’t been worked hard enough the previous day, saddle blanket thrown over the horses back, saddle hefted up onto her shoulder Billie quickly got about saddling her up before taking the strong willed girl out of her stall and escorting her to the paddock. Before mounting up she took some time to sooth the beast and bribed her with a carrot, as she hoisted herself up into the saddle she didn’t notice the stranger who had approached the paddock and began to observe her. Working the horse into a trot Billie spoke to her quietly, little assurances for both her and the horse. Things were going well until she felt Cinderella stutter step and begin to spook, she whinnied loudly throwing her head back before she began to buck. Billie pushed herself down firmly into the saddle, squaring up her shoulders and pulling strongly on the reigns, it did little to calm the horse down, she turned about in the paddock thrashing from side to side before Billie finally called the situation for what it was. Letting out the loudest whistle she could and hoping one of the boys would hear her she held on for dear life as Cinderella bucked a few more times, stopping only to thrash her head about wildly. A lull in the commotion had Billie fooled into thinking she could dismount and jump the fence before anything else happened, as soon as she loosened her grip on the reigns Cinderella bucked back up and Billie went flying. Landing hard on her back, the wind knocked out of her she thought for sure she was done for, gravely injured if not dead, she rolled off her back, in the direction she thought safest, before she could make it to the paddock wall a pair of boots landed right in front of her. Strong arms hoisted her up by the biceps and tossed her quickly over the wall. After getting her feet back under her Billie rose up to see what exactly was going on. In the middle of the paddock stood a stranger, tall and broad with his back to her all Billie noticed was the worn black leather hat on his head, a lasso in his hands, the other end of which was around Cinderella’s neck. The horse circled around the man, slowing to a walk before finally coming to a stop just behind his left shoulder. “Ya alright?” He called over his shoulder, voice deep, and accented with just the right amount of twang to denote he was a southern man. “Been better,” Billie called back climbing up to sit on the fence of the paddock, “Mind tellin’ me who you are, Mister?” With the horse finally calmed and the stranger firmly in control of her, he turned to Billie finally making eye contact with her for the first time, “Names Arthur Morgan. Open the gate, please.” Billie jumped down and quickly did so, giving Cinderella a wide berth as he brought her out and guided her in the direction of the stables. Once she’d been stabled Lenny finally showed up, stepping in to brush her down. “Sorry Billie, I fell asleep,” Lenny apologized bashfully, before Billie could question where he’d been in her moment of need. Immediately feeling bad, knowing Lenny and Charles had been putting in just as many hours as her, Billie reached out, a comforting hand on his shoulder, “Finish this up an’ go on up to the house, take a shower get something to eat, and go to bed, I’ll take care of the night duties, don’t worry.” Lenny opened his mouth to argue but Billie quickly fixed him with a look, silencing him on the spot before leaving him to escort Arthur Morgan, the man of mystery, into the office. “You just traveling round, or you the man I’m ‘sposed to be expectin’?” Billie questioned once she’d pushed the door to the office open with her shoulder. “Expectin’, ma’am.” He replied, tipping his hat back so she could get a clear look at his face for the first time. A strong jaw line, covered in a day or twos worth of stubble barely hid a somewhat prominent scar on his chin, thick lips, pretty eyes some shade between blue and green stared back at Billie, no doubt he was taking in her appearance just a throughly as she was taking his in. From head to toe Billie was covered in dirt, and prolly smelled to the high heavens if he got close enough to tell, hadn’t slept or bathed in two days, dark bags under her eyes and greasy dark brown hair that hadn’t been washed in she didn’t know how long, braided and thrown over her shoulder. The white Stetson she usually wore was dusty and laying sadly on the small desk that was pushed up in the corner of the small office. Billie let out a light chuckle before sticking her hand out in greeting, “Billie Matthews, it is an honest to god pleasure to meet you Mr Morgan.” “Likewise, ma’am.” Arthurs rough hand ensconced Billie’s own smaller, calloused hand, a smiled stretched his lips out but didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just Billie is fine, promise.” “I ain’t no Mr Morgan then, deal?” Arthur countered. “Deal. So,” Billie handed Arthur a cold bottle of water before finally sitting down, “what all do you know about the situation I done got myself in?” “Just what John Marston told me, your fair lady to work for, expect your animals to be treated and trained a certain way, guy you had in here previous wasn’t doin’ it right, so he got the boot.” “Is that all John Marston told you?” Billie questioned, knowing that John was never one to keep things short and sweet, usually having something to say about everyone. Arthur smiled genuine this time, his eyes sparkled for a moment and he brought his foot up to rest on his knee, “Take it you’ve known Marston a minute, if ya know he’s got a fat mouth. He ain’t say nothing bad ‘bout you if thats what you’re wondering, just that he couldn’t never work for you, but that don’t mean much considering John ain’t one to hold himself to anyones standard, ‘sept his own.”“Fair point. I’ve worked myself into a bit of a shitty, sticky situation here, what you see if basically what you get. Got two stablehands right now, could do with a third, but we ain’t got a third so we make do, as one does. Man I had in here before you made a right mess of just about everything, and I know I’m partially to blame for that, cause I stepped back and trusted him when I shouldn’t have, and now I’m paying for it. That being said, I clearly have no issue getting my hands dirty, I’ve worked around horses and on the farm my whole life, don’t know everything but I’m willing to learn, and more importantly I’m willing to do what it takes to get things where they need to be. So, you in?”Arthur took his time measuring her out, inspecting the set of her shoulders, how she stood tall and proud, arms crossed over her chest, one leg crossed over the other, even leaning up against a desk in a small little office he could tell Billie commanded respect and expected everything of her employees, but clearly also gave her business everything she had, and he could respect that, he decided, “I’m in.” they shook on it, then got back to work. Billie went about mucking out the stalls and laying down fresh hay, filling up water troughs while Arthur moved from stall to stall introducing himself to every horse in the stable, and reading the files they kept on each door, for each horse. Two hours later and the two had finally finished up for the night. “Couch in the office is meant for those mid day, exhaustion fueled naps. Everyone has their own room up at the house, follow me and I’ll show you round.” Billie led Arthur out of the stables, quickly snatching up one of the two bags he had dropped at the door of the office before they set about working earlier. “Housing and food is provided for obviously, checks get handed out bi-monthly, we grocery shop on Tuesdays. It’s usually a group affair but if your busy you can just leave a list, no promises you get everything, though.” Billie snickered, throwing Arthur a wink over her shoulder before making her way up the front steps and onto the wrap around porch that surrounded the house. Charles was sat out on the porch in a rocking chair, head lulled back, passed out to the world. “Thats Charles,” She whispered as they walked passed him, once inside she continued, “he’s a good kid, he’s got the touch I swear. Most days he knows what all the horses are thinking, his skills are still developing though, give him time and I’m sure he’ll surprise us all.”The front half of the first floor of the house was used entirely as business space, to the left of the front door was Billie’s office and records room, to the right was an open meeting area where she displayed the awards she’d won over the years. Billie dropped Arthur’s bag on the stairs before making her way to the back half of the house, an open concept kitchen with the same dark hardwood floors that went through the front of the house. A breakfast nook in the corner, and a casual living room off to the right with warn and comfy looking couches, and straight out the back was the other half of the wrap around porch, beyond that a fenced in garden, Billie’s pride and joy. “Food’s all share, but if you got something real special and ya wanna be a dick just write your name on it, we all know how to read. Beer?” Billie asked, opening the fridge and giving him the choice of the three different kinds of beer they always kept on hand, Billie’s own Guinness, Charles local IPA, and Lenny’s Mike’s Hard, which nobody had any issue with making fun of him for drinking. A soft crinkle of his nose to Billie that Arthur would no doubt be contributing his own personal preference to their beer collection, “We’re a weird and varied lot, but you’ll get used to it, promise.” she laughed, popping the top off her beer before showing him upstairs. “Five bedrooms and four bathrooms, I sleep on the third floor, got my own bathroom up there too. You lucky duck though, you get the master, comes with its own bathroom as well. The other three rooms and bathrooms are for the hands, clean up after yourself and we shouldn’t have any issues. Nobody ever really goes in each others spaces unless were looking for one another, but knockings always a good idea, privacy and all that jazz.” Arthur nodded along wordlessly as Billie pushed the door to the master open The same dark hardwood floors that were throughout the house matched the exposed beams in the ceiling, and clean white walls tastefully decorated with modern artwork left the space feeling clean, open, and breezy. A soft looking bed in the middle of the room, covered in light grey bedding, was the focal point of the room. A matching dresser sat opposite the bed, and on either side there were doors, one to a walk in closet Arthur would never have enough clothes to fill, the other door to the nicest bathroom he’d ever seen. “Shit.” He let out a low whistle, stepping into the bathroom. A clawfoot bathtub sat center stage, a wood vanity painted the lightest shade of pink sat in the one corner, a glass shower next to it, and on the other side of the room was a toilet and shelving. Two decent sized windows facing west let the final light of the day in, casting everything in a light pink glow. “I know right!” Billie laughed again, “This is one of my favorite rooms that I’ve redone. Second only to my own bathroom.” They stepped back out again, Arthur finally depositing his bags at the foot of the bed. “Miss Billie, this is a lovely house you’ve got, I don’t know what to say.” “How ‘bout, I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow morning?” “Hm…” In a rare show of emotion Arthur turned on his heel, taking in his surroundings one last time before turning to his new employer. “Yes ma’am,” “Hey none of that! We agreed, remember?” “Yes m-“ Arthur caught himself before he could continue to make a fool of himself, “Yes Miss Billie, see you in the morning.” -The next morning came quick, quicker then Billie thought it was, quickly silencing her alarm she got up out of bed and changed into her work clothes for the day, slipping on a pair of wool socks and grabbing her boots in hand before making her way downstairs. Once in the kitchen she pulled her boots on, flicked the lights on and turned on the percolator, knowing the boys would need their hot coffee before going about their day. Billie herself preferred cold coffee, and pulled hers out of the fridge, pouring it over a glass of ice, adding a gross amount of cream and sweetner. Sucking down her coffee quickly she grabbed a breakfast bar and made her way over to the office to check her email before making her way out to the stables. Most of the horses they kept were show horses, meticulously groomed and trained, rarely let out to simply have fun, they held a couple race horses too, but Billie’s favorite section of the stables was where they kept their own mounts, as well as those of friends who just loved to exercise their horses and ride them to their hearts content. So there in the last stall of the stables, stall forty, stood her own horse, Dirty Harry, named for her favorite character from her favorite Clint Eastwood film, Harry was as cool as they came, mild mannered and a runner, fastest horse Billie ever sat was Harry, and that was her favorite way to ride, fast, riding a horse was like flying to her, and when your on a fast horse its like piloting a fighter jet. Dirty Harry took her out across the expanse of her property, following the sun as it rose up and started to warm the earth. It was nearly 6 am when they got back from their rounds, just about time to get to work. Charles and Lenny were coming down from the house when she trotted by, shooting them winks as she passed. Arthur looked as if he’d already been at it for at least an hour, he was out in the field with one of their show horses, taking her around the paddock at a brisk pace, paying close attention to her stride and how she held her head high and straight. Billie quickly set about going though the office and getting it organized, pulling up all the accounts they had and organizing a schedule for Arthur to utilize in accordance with the needs of the animals and the needs of their owners. Marking off all the shows for the next month and then posting an ad for a stablehand position Billie felt quite accomplished with the hour or so she had spent on the computer. She was just wrapping up on the computer when Arthur walked in, the flannel shirt he’d been wearing that morning was in his hands, and it looked to be covered in sweat, much like the t-shirt he still had on, which clung to his biceps and chest like a second skin. “Cute.” He commented, pointing to the glasses perched on the edge of Billie’s nose, that she only ever wore when staring at a computer screen. She huffed an annoyed sigh before noticing the state of Arthurs own dress, her cheeks heated quickly and she forced herself to meet his eyes, pulling the glasses off her nose she hung them from the collar of her t-shirt before gesturing for Arthur to take her place at the computer. She went about showing him everything she had sorted out and organized for him before showing him how to print to the wireless printer in the office, and also how to email her copies of any of his paperwork she might need to see. She set him up with his own email and “company” phone, before leaving him to continue with his day, letting him know he could call her if he needed anything. Billie Jean made her way back up to the house just in time to meet one of her clients, “Tilly Jackson, how are you Sweetie?” She called out to the young girl, pulling her in for a hug before taking her up into the house. Tilly was just a few years younger then Charles and Lenny, and already an amazing rider. Her event, the barrel race, was one of Billie’s favorite to watch. “I’m doing well Miss Billie, how ‘bout yourself?” “Oh you know me,” Billie shrugged, dropping into her chair behind her desk, “just working, as per usual.” quickly pulling up Tilly’s file and going over a few things before she brought her down to meet Arthur. Once they had finished updating some paperwork Billie walked Tilly down to the stables, bringing her over to where Arthur was standing on the outside of the same paddock they had met in the previous day, this time observing Charles as he worked with one of their newer clients and her horse, teaching the young girl how to properly sit her horse.“Arthur this is Tilly Jackson, Tilly this is my new stable master Arthur Morgan.” They quickly shook hands and exchanged pleasantries before moving back into the stables to meet with Tilly’s horse, Righteousness. For the rest of the day Billie caught up on all the paper work she had neglected over the passed week, called her clients to remind the rent would be due next week, and scheduled a showing of some of her own horses to see if anyone would be interested in purchasing. She stopped back in the stable one more time to check on Dirty Harry, and feed the barn cats that came and went as they pleased. She’d been finishing up the final touches on dinner when the boys finally came in for the day, Charles and Lenny quickly slid into the kitchen, fishing beers out of the fridge and picking at the chicken tacos that sat plated up and ready to go, just waiting on their last member to join them. “How you boys likin’ Arthur?” She asked, grabbing three of the plates and moving them over to the table the always ate dinner at in the breakfast nook. “He’s quiet.” Lenny offered up, still picking at the meat of his taco. “Knock it off, man.” Charles slapped at his friends hand before turning to Billie to answer her question, “He knows his shit. He’s good with the horses, real good.” Billie hummed appreciatively, moving to grab the salad she’d made off the kitchen counter before coming back to sit at the table, and just in time as Arthur came through, joining them in the kitchen. They all quickly dug in, each man at the table in turn passing his praise to the chef who sat at the head of the table, a bottle of Guinness in one hand and a fork in the other, picking at her salad. “Well, thank y’all for thankin’ me. You know how much I love it when y’all tell me you like my cookin’” Billie smiled, leaning back in her seat and finishing off her beer. “So whats in store for y’all tonight?” “‘Sposed to be a party going on down at the lake tonight, figured we’d swing by and check it out.” Lenny offered up, leaning back in his chair, balancing on the back legs. “You know the rules,” Billie offered up from her seat, Arthur turned to her raising his brow in silent question, “they flip for it, who gets to drink and who don’t. A DUI is a fast track to unemployement.” The boys both nodded in agreenace before making their way upstairs to get ready for their night out. “How was your first day?” Billie asked, moving to pick up the plates and take them to the sink. Arthur hopped up quickly, snatching the pates out of her hands and carrying them over to the sink, taking up position as dish washer while Billie stepped in to dry. “Stables are beautiful, as are the grounds, and the house, and… just bout everything here, you’ve done well for yourself I know that much. The boys aren’t bad you were right about that, still a little green but they’ll do well.” Billie hummed her approval while drying off the plates, stacking them neatly on the counter before moving over to the cabinet she kept the liquor in. She poured two whiskeys neat, offering one up to Arthur before nodding in the direction of the couch, “Wanna watch a movie till we fall asleep?” Arthur let out a snort before following her to the couch, both sitting respectable distance apart, “Sorry, it’s just I don’t remember the last time I sat through a movie without falling asleep.” Billie offered up, turning on the TV and bringing up her digital library, which housed a majority of old westerns, with a few modern westerns thrown in, and a couple of odd ball films. “You pick.” She tossed the remote at Arthur, kicking her boots off and planting her feet on top of the coffee table in front of them. He quickly settled on ‘Hateful Eight’ before downing his whiskey and removing his hat from his head, balancing it on his knee. Billie observed him out of the corner of her eye, having already seen the movie ten times over she knew she’d be out before any of the good bits took place. Arthur sat at the other end of the sofa, ankle resting on his knee, one arm stretched out over the back of the sofa while the other held onto his now empty glass, his light brown hair was sweat slicked back against his head, a faint line of hat hair creased the hairs that sat on the back of his head. The sides of his head were trimmed closer then the top, which was maybe a couple inches long on top, Billie wondered briefly how he would style his hair if her didn’t wear his hat, not that she thought Arthur was ever a man to go about his day without his hat on. Billie didn’t last much longer, the last weeks events finally taking their toll on her, not even paying attention she brought her knees up to her chest and turned to face Arthur, leaning her right side against the couch, she fell asleep not even half way through the movie. -The next three days rolled by in a fashion similar to the previous, Arthur acquainting himself with the horses, clients, and stablehands while Billie got the business side of things set back to rights, she made a point to get down to the stables every day, telling herself it was just to make sure he was finding everything. It was late in the day Monday when she finally made it down to the stables, exhausted from being on the phone all day dealing with an unruly client who felt he knew better how to train his horse then the professionals did. Billie was stomping down the aisle between the stalls, lost in her own thoughts, when she found Arthur sat in the office, feet propped up on the desk with his hat pulled low over his eyes, soft snores coming out every so often. She knocked on the wood of the doorway lightly, not surprised when he nearly jumped out of his seat, startled by the sound. “Hmh?” Arthur rubbed at his eyes before fixing his hat and subsequently her with a glare. “Sorry sleeping beauty,” Billie laughed, leaning against the doorjamb. Arthur rubbed at his jaw, trying to scrub the sleep from his face no doubt, “’S fine, whats up?” “I may have lost us a client today, so don’t be surprised if some rich dick head shows up tomorrow to get his horse.” Billie toed at the scuffs in the floor, unwilling to make eye contact. “Do I wanna know?” He asked, killing the lights in the office and shutting the door behind him. “He was of the opinion that he could do a better job training his horse, so I presented him with his options, and well he ain’t take to kindly to that, didn’t officially say he was pulling out but I wouldn’t be surprised if he showed up here tomorrow, huffing and puffing no doubt. Reason I bring it up is cause this dudes a Class A douche, just watch yourself, I ain’t worried ‘bout you, more worried about any legal situation that may arise if things get…. er… physical?” “You think he’s gon’ take a swing at me?” Arthur cracked a smile, clearly amused at the idea of one of their posh clients trying to fight him. “I think he’s a pompous ass, and I know every time I see him I have to physically stop myself from strangling him because he’s so fucking infuriating. But who knows, maybe you ain’t as quick to anger as I am, still I just wanted to warn ya.” Billie shrugged, pulling her braid over her shoulder, fiddling with it as Arthur pulled the barn doors shut. “Darlin’ you ain’t gotta worry ‘bout me, I can promise you that.” He winked at her first, before turning on his heel and leading her back up to the house. “Oh shut up, you.” She countered, moving to smack his hat from of his head. Before she could make contact with the worn leather Arthur pulled his hat down to his chest, running his fingers through his hair, faking naivety. Billie made to snatch at his hat again, but this time he slid out of her reach, putting his hat back on his head he booked it up the last few steps to the porch and quickly made his way inside, closing the screen door behind him, not letting Billie in. “Your momma never teach you not to mess with a mans hat?” “My momma didn’t ever teach me shit.” Billie spat, instantly feeling bad for the tone she’d used. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” she scratched her head, a nervous tick, “I did not have a good relationship with my mother. I shouldn’t have spoke to you like that.” Billie rubbed her hands down her face, wishing a hole would just open up beneath her a swallow her whole. “Aye,” Arthur pushed the screen door open, pulling her in by the hand, “Quit that shit, you don’t owe me no explanation, ‘kay?” “Yeah I know, but I am sorry. I know I’m quick to anger and she’s like pouring kerosine on a match before you strike it, ya know? I ain’t mean to talk to you like that, and for that I’m sorry.” Billie squeezed Arthur’s hand back before dropping it and making her way up to the third floor, to her room, where she dropped down face first on her bed, not caring how dirty she was, just exhausted from the days events. A long bath, followed by a trip down to the second floor to wash her bedding was about all she got accomplished for the rest of the night, skipping dinner Billie sat up in her room, staring out the window long after the sun had set; the moon high in the sky when she jolted, rubbing at her eyes to make sure what she saw was really there. There is was, someone trying to sneak into the stables!Jumping down from the window seat she ran down the steps to the second floor and was halfway to the steps that lead to the first floor when she thought better of confronting some intruder, barefoot in her pajamas, and alone. Knocking quickly on Arthurs door she didn’t wait for him to respond, pushing her way through the door and shaking him awake, pulling him out of bed. “Whats wrong?” he asked her, alert and looking her over head to toe. “Someones tryna get into the stables!” “Grab my rifle,” he nodded in the direction of the dresser, where a bolt action rifle was sitting. Billie snatched it up, holding it to her chest as Arthur pulled his jeans on first before sticking his bare feet in his boots. “You got a gun?” He asked, taking his from her hands before moving out of his room and making his way downstairs. “Yeah, in my desk in the office, why?” “Go get it, lock the door behind me and do not let anyone in, you hear?” Billie shook her head silently, quickly going to grab her pistol from the bottom drawer of her desk, “Grab Mary Beth, wake the boys up, and I’ll be back in a minute.” “What do I- What if-“ Billie quickly began to hyperventilate not one to handle situations of dire stress well at all. Arthurs heavy hand came up to rest on her shoulder quickly, “Go wake up the boys, and I will be back in a minute, promise.” the touch was fleeting, as soon as he was done speaking he was silently out the door. Taking the steps two and three at a time Billie pushed into Charles’ room first, shaking him in the dark, and puling him into Lenny’s room before dashing back to grab Mary Beth at the end of the hall. Once they were all in Lenny’s room they watched silently from the window as Arthur snuck off in to the dark. “Whats going on?” Lenny asked, confused as to why Billie and Charles were staring out his window at 2 in the morning, Mary Beth had all ready fallen asleep on the bed.“I was sitting up in my room, just sitting in front of that big window up there, and I saw someone creeping into the stables. Arthur went down to go deal with it.” She offered up, her grip on the pistol tightening. “He’s down there by himself?! We need to go help him, what if her gets into trouble?” Lenny questioned, trying to make his way for the door. Charles and Billie both grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back further into the room, knowing it wasn’t a good idea to go out there and help Arthur when he was already on red alert looking for an intruder, and armed. “He said stay here and don’t let nobody in. So thats exactly what I plan on doing.” Billie planted herself on the edge of Lenny’s bed, watching as Arthur slid in the side entrance, no doubt hoping to catch their intruder by surprise. The next twenty minutes were the slowest of their lives, the four of them stayed up in Lenny’s room, alternating between pacing and nail biting. When Arthur finally exited from he same door he’d entered and empty handed Billie’s heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. Had she hallucinated all of it, maybe it was just shadows moving, or was she just plain exhausted? Doubting herself, shoulders slumped with what felt like the weight of the gun pulling her shoulders down to the ground, she, along with a sleepily confused Mary Beth, followed the boys out into the hallway, going to let Arthur back in the house. Before he could even say anything Billie knew, knew he thought she was crazy, could see it in the way his eyes raised up to meet her own, silently looking for answers to the same questions she had just asked herself. “Wasn’t nobody in there, if there was they got out before I got in. Swept the whole building, every stall, every nook, even went up into the loft. Nothing. You sure you saw someone?” He questioned her. “Yes I’m sure, they came in from the north side of the lot, came right up to the front doors of the stables, just pushed them doors right open…” “What?” Charles asked, noticing the way Billie cursed under her breath and hung her head. “I know who it is, I’m a fucking idiot this is all my damn fault. I should have changed the fucking locks I didn’t even fucking think about it. I’m a fucking idiot.” Billie sounded off, smacking herself in the forehead. “It was fucking Micah Bell, I swear to god if I ever see that bastard again I’ll fucking-““You’ll fucking what you dumb Bitch?” Billie wasn’t proud of what happened next, but given the situation she couldn’t be too hard on herself. Screaming bloody murder she turned on her heel, and there leaned up against her desk, was Micah Bell dumb mustache and all. “You ruined me you dumb Bitch, won’t nobody hire me now that you spread that shit about me,” He pushed up off the desk and thats when Billie noticed the large Bowie knife in his hand. Before she could even begin to back up she was yanked backwards first behind Arthur, who slid in front of her, his rifle held high, the bolt pulled back and ready to fire. Flanked on both sides by Lenny and Charles, Arthur held his rifle stead, aimed right at Micah Bells dumb face. “If you wanna live to see another day I’d suggest you get the fuck out, now.” Arthur didn’t raise his voice, if anything it dropped an octave and sounded like liquid steel, there was not a hint of hesitation in his tone. “You cowpoke motherfucker,” Micah continued to move forward, knife still held firmly in hand. Three things happened next: Micah lunged for Arthur, swinging his knife wildly, then Arthur spun the rifle around in his hands and in one fluid motion brought the butt of the rifle down hard on Micah’s left temple, and lastly Billie screamed, again, and again it was not her proudest moment. With Micah out cold on the floor Arthur kicked the knife out of his hand and down the hallway, “Charles call the police. “ He ordered, not moving from his position stood over Micah, rifle back in its original position held tight against his shoulder and aimed right at Micah’s face. “Mary Beth, take Miss Billie into the kitchen.” He ordered again, and as soon as the words left his mouth Mary Beth had her by the elbow pulling her into the kitchen and pushing her down into one of the barstools that lined the far side of the island. It did not take long for the police to arrive, quickly carting Micah off and taking everyone’s statements and information. Billie was still sat at the counter when Arthur ushered the last officer out of the house. Lenny and Charles had gone up to their rooms about thirty minutes prior, knowing they only had a few more hours to catch up on sleep before they’d have to get down to the stables and tend to the horses. From the corner of her eye she could see he was talking to her, instead of turning to listen she just continued to stare off into the middle distance, not knowing how to even begin to cope with the series of events that had just played out. Billie waved Mary Beth off, who had been sitting with her while the whole debacle with the police went down. Mary Beth huffed quietly before turning and making her way back up the stairs.Arthur noticed she wasn’t paying him any mind and made his way around the island, stopping only when he stood across from her, three feet of space between them, “Ya alright?” “I’m a fucking idiot right?” Billie asked, more to herself really, then to Arthur. “I didn’t even change the fucking locks I feel like such an idiot.” Leaning forward she pushed her face into the surface of the counter, wishing more then anything that the cool stone would swallow her whole.“Ya ain’t a fuckin’ idiot, come on,” Arthur grabbed her up by the elbow, not relenting until she finally slid off the bar stool and made to follow him through the house. “I’ll stop by the hardware store in the morning and well put new locks on every door, alright?” Arthur questioned her with a raised brow, challenging Billie to say something. She didn’t, instead she followed behind him, climbing the stairs one at a time till they stood at the landing to the third floor. “Quit that shit will you?” Arthur pipped up again, pushing her up the stairs to her floor, following her closely behind. “Quit what? I wasn’t doin’ nothin’” She moped, pushing the door to her room open. “You’re fucking pouting. Ya fucked up Billie it happens, were gon’ fix it and it’ll be done. Learn from your mistakes but for the love of god do not mope around like a child.” Arthur didn’t face her as he said this, instead her moved around her room, checking behind curtains, the bathroom, and the closet before he finally turned back to her. “Fuck you.” Billie spat, pushing his against the chest. “Thats better,” Arthur countered, “buck up, kid. We’ll change the locks, cops got him, ain’t got nothing else to worry about, ‘kay?” When she didn’t meet his eye Arthur stepped in closer, a gentle hand on her shoulder and a knuckle under her chin, forcing her to meet his eye. A lone tear rolled down Billie’s cheek before she looked him in the eye, “Yeah.” barely a whisper Billie didn’t trust herself to speak any louder and not break down. “Can I do anything for you?” Arthur asked, genuine concern alight in his eyes.Billie shook her head before shaking free of his grasp, moving in the direction of the bed. “You know where I’ll be if you need me.” Arthur turned on his heel and left the room, just like that.