Kashi grumbled as she coiled up the rope that was lying haphazardly on the floor. "How hard is it to put it back where you found it?" She mumbled to no one but herself as she shuffled through the hay that was scattered across the cement floor in one of her uncle's stables. It was built pretty recently and the smell of fresh wood hadn't quite worn off. She cast a glance up at the crossed beams forming a ceiling. The other barns didn't smell horribly, but she preferred this one. It had windows that were much too fancy for a barn, but the natural light was nice to work under. A few fans whirred overhead.
Kashi brought the newly coiled rope around the corner to hang it back up on it's hook. Working at her dad's barn would be a nightmare. Though she and her dad had seemingly made amends for the moment, she was still not going to slave around in his barns that were about ten years overdue for repairs.
A horse let out a heavy huff of breath beside her, making Kashi laugh. She leaned over to rub his snout. "Did no one let you out boy?" She petted his orange neck with her hand, earning what she thought might be a look of appreciation. She looked at the tag on his stall. "Ah I see, you're a boarder. I wonder who you belong to."
After one last gentle stroke on his face she returned to her work, finding an empty hook for the rope. It was darker in this nook of the barn. It was simply a closet-like space between two stalls that held some equipment. There were a few of them scattered about the structure in between the stalls. Kashi sighed as she beheld the disaster that this certain storage area was. She set to recoiling all the ropes. Then she'd tackle the mess of bridles that someone had chucked on top of a wooden chest against the wall.
She was about half finished with her task when she heard two people enter the stables.
"I promise you we're the best there is. It won't be like last time Hudson." A man said. Their voices were louder due to the curved ceilings. From their footsteps, Kashi could tell they were about four stalls down. Should she leave? Should she cough to let them know she was there?
"Look Jeremy, you know why I was nervous last time. I need to make absolutely certain that we address this." Her uncle's voice reached her ears. She couldn't tell if it was his cold tone of voice or the name Jeremy… could it be the one they were searching for?
Kashi slid her phone out of her pocket and hit the record button. This could be useful. She then squeezed herself between the wall and the ropes which she had hung up. Hopefully the shadows would conceal whatever the ropes didn't.
"I know. I apologize that I didn't address that last time. If I'd known it was a dealbreaker—" Jeremy began.
"Jeremy." their footsteps stopped. Her uncle raised his voice. It unnerved Kashi. She'd rarely seen her level-headed uncle become agitated. Even then, he still kept his tone at a normal volume. "How could you think that was okay in the least? Of course it was a dealbreaker!"
"Let me remind you, Hudson," Jeremy spat out, "that your very own brother who you claimed would agree with you last time, did not think it to be a dealbreaker."
"James has changed. He never even answered your phone calls, remember?"
Kashi held her breath as the two walked past the corner she was hiding in. Neither man glanced in her direction.
"Yes, but you did." Jeremy stopped, his back to her. Kashi tried to keep calm, hoping her uncle, who was facing her, couldn't make out the unnatural way the ropes stuck out.
"Look Jeremy, I appreciate the fact that you want to try again, and that you want to try it my way, but I still have reservations. This is a bigger step than what we've been doing for the past few years."
"But look how much money you've made!" Jeremy swung his arms, gesturing to the stables. "That money built this. Trust me, I've visited your brother's ranch. You two used to have about the same amount of property, ranch hands, money… look at how much you've grown. Imagine how much more you could make."
"Look Jeremy, I want to trust you, but—"
"Why don't we talk about this over dinner sometime." Jeremy said, his voice suddenly pleasant. "How does this weekend sound?"
Another ranch hand, Alex Furtch, a middle aged guy walked past the two men, nodding his head.
"Keep up the good work Furtch!" her uncle called to the man. He turned back to Jeremy, "Fine, this Friday evening for dinner. How's five sound?"
Jeremy stuck out his hand for Kashi's uncle to take. "Perfect." They shook hands firmly enough to show that it definitely wasn't a cordial handshake.
Kashi waited a few minutes after they left before she moved from her hiding spot, letting out a breath. She stopped the recording on her phone, hoping it picked up the conversation amid the whirring of the fans. She'd have to tell Carr and Sierra.
She pulled up her text messages and started a group chat. "Updates on our mystery situation. We need to meet ASAP."
Sierra texted back right away. That wasn't surprising. "Belle's Diner. 10pm. Cake is on me."
Kashi chuckled at the three rapid fire text messages. She sent back a thumbs up. Hopefully Carr could make it too. Worst case scenario, she and Sierra met, talked and ate cake together. That wasn't a bad option either.
Kashi resumed her organizing of the supplies. She'd do the other closets next. This was a boatload of new information. Her dad had decided to opt out, they were starting this transaction again… Kashi just couldn't tell what this deal was about. What was so secret and lucrative? What was her uncle so nervous about? What—
"Kashi!"
She let out a yelp in surprise and jumped so high she might have hit the ceiling.
"Woah sorry!" She turned around to see Matthias chuckling behind her. He was one of her uncle's new hires. "Didn't mean to scare you."
She shook her head with a smile of her own. "Sorry I was deep in thought." she looked at the pile of brideles around her. "And deep in leather I guess."
"Finally someone is organizing those things. I go to put things away and there's no space because everything was thrown about everywhere." He looked around at the closet which was mostly done. "Looks nice."
"Thanks Matthias."
"You know most people just call me Matt." He said, pulling off his work gloves.
Kashi glanced at his hands, uncalloused, trimmed nails… He should have been a hand model, not a ranch hand. "This a career change for you?" Kashi asked him, trying not to stare at the unworked hands.
He laughed a little. "Yeah well, after I failed all of my classes at school I figured it probably wasn't for me. I have a great aunt who lives here. I figured I'd get a job and hang with her until my parents were chill enough to let me go back home."
Kashi smiled mirthlessly. She knew how that felt. "My dad told me I needed to pick school or work, so I ended up here." She chuckled. "Sounds like we're in the same boat. It's nice to officially meet you." Kashi smiled at him. Matthias was a nice kid. Hard working, her uncle had said to her Auntie Cee a couple of days ago. He was only slightly taller than she was, but especially compared to the lean build of her muscles, his build was quite large.
"Um, I was hoping you could show me how to do a couple things around here that I haven't done before. I'm kind of new to all of this." He said, his hand scratching the back of his head with either embarrassment or shyness. Maybe both.
Kashi glanced back at her previous task. Tedious. This definitely sounded more fun. Besides, she preferred to be with people rather than being all alone. "I'd love to."