The Devil and His Angel >>Jacquelyn<<

[parker]

It was creeping up on 1 am and the halls of the barn were completely empty… the lights were out and not a creature was stirring… except maybe the nearly silent swoosh of the horse’s tails and snorts they sigh out every now and then. The smell of sweet hay and leather wafted through the halls filling the stable grounds. Not that anyone in the entire universe would ever know… but this was Parker’s favorite time of day. No one was around to annoy the crap out of him or to get in the way… there weren’t girls screaming at every little spider that crawled around the stable. No country hicks acting like they were macking on all the girls that walked the halls… and no daddies little rich princesses acting like they were all that. It was just him and the horses and the normal noises of a barn… nothing else. This is what he called silence even though it really wasn’t that quiet considering the amount of noise the horses made… but it’s the closest thing he got to it. Normally he wouldn’t be here this earlier… usually he didn’t get here till around 2:30 that’s usually about how long it took to finish up with… whatever he had going on at home. But he had ended up getting stuck with a pile of paperwork at the office and decided to just stay the whole night…

Head up, smirk crookedly placed on his face, and shoulders back, confidence cascaded off of him… that’s normally what everyone saw when he walked around the stable grounds… but since no one else was here he was more relaxed. Most would be surprised at the amount of stress that he had hanging over his shoulders but he hid it well absolutely no one knew what he dealt with on a day to day basis. Right now though none of that was on his mind… he came to the barn at night to ride… this was the only time he really felt like he could get a good practice in. No one was around to stare and say ooh and aw it was just him and Foxy. Nothing was distracting her and nothing was getting his way. It was the perfect time… he loved the feeling of just him and Foxy… just him and his horse. There was no place he’d rather be…

If he could, Parker would marry Foxy… she was his entire life… without her he would just be a rich man in riding boots. She was the only one who would ever hear the four letter word that started with L come from his lips. If anything happened to her he would never forgive himself… she was the only one that would tolerate his actions and behavior… He was a devil but so was she they were one in the same and completely inseparable. No one understood their relationship… except for maybe his grandfather but that was different. He was sure he’d never care about anything the way he cared about her she was his prized possession… His Angel. They spent hours training and when they were going over a dressage course it was like they were floating… they moved perfectly together… and they were unbeatable. Champions… and they both knew it. Foxy knew she was his angel and she acted like a snobby bitch to anyone else. She knew she was better than everyone… if someone looked close enough they’d see that Parker and Foxy were exactly the same… And Parker wouldn’t change her at all… sure they butted heads a lot but it was the challenge that kept them both interested in the sport.

All tacked up and in the barn isle he rested his forehead against hers and just stood there for a moment letting all the crap from the day leave his body and mind. It was just the two of them against the competition… against the annoying people of the barn, against the stack of papers sitting on his desk, against the pressure from his parents…. Against the world. "Just me and you Fox..." he sighed softly and let his smirk spread slightly and he opened his eyes to look into hers. “We’ll show ‘em.” He said with a wink of his eye. She snorted back and bobbed her head as if to concur with him. He let a soft chuckle out before leading her out of the barn toward the arenas.

Once they were down in the arena and all the lights were out except for the spot lights in the dressage arena he plugged his iPod on and put it on shuffle… they both moved better if they had a good beat. He mounted and took a deep breath releasing it slowly… his serious face lifted into a smirk… not his usual cocky smirk but more of a… happy smirk. He never smiled so if you paid enough attention you’d be able to learn his different smirks… they were hardly different but if you looked close enough you could see it change. Whenever he was around Foxy it was as close to a smile that you would ever see. After letting himself relax into the saddle he moved her around the arena warming up for a few minutes before really getting into the groove and dancing across the arena… almost like they were floating over the sand. It wasn’t long before he was completely lost in what he was doing… this… eventing… was his life… the only thing he would ever be passionate about… He was obsessed.

[jacq]

"A horse! A horse! A kingdom for a horse!" Were it possible to do so, a person might think that Jacquelyn Daniels was building a kingdom for her horse. She worked day in and day out just so that she could afford to keep him. She worked every shift that she possibly could, and when she wasn't working, she was at the barn taking care of the horse. Her whole life revolved around him and making sure that he was comfortable and well taken care of. His needs took precedence over her own needs, and if she had to do without so that he wouldn't have to, then she most certainly would. If there was such thing as too much determination, Jacq had it. Every bit of effort that she put out was for the broken down racehorse that wasn't likely to ever be sound again, let alone amount to anything.

So what would make a person put every drop of sweat, every hard earned penny, ever waking moment into a horse when they had never so much as given a second thought to horses before seeing this particular one? To be honest, Jacq didn't know. All she knew was that when she saw the horse, she just had to save him, and once she got an idea into her head, good luck getting it out. Truthfully though, it was because she saw in the horse what no one had ever cared to see in her. He was misunderstood, as was she. He was beaten around the track to no avail, she was beaten into submission to more avail. The harder they tried to get that horse to run, the slower he went. The harder they tried to force Jacq into obeying the law or what have you, the harder she tried to break every law she possibly could. When he finally broke down and couldn't take it anymore, they ordered him killed, when she finally got caught, they locked her away and gave up on her. Despite their vastly contrasting personalities, they were very nearly the same in every other way. They would not be forced into bending to the will of someone else.

Lately she had been working a lot more than was probably good for her in a desperate attempt to finally finish paying off the vet bills while still keeping up with his board. It had been nearly a year since he broke his leg, and she knew all too well that while the veterinarian had been exceedingly generous in letting her make whatever payments she could, he could only go so long before he would have to start charging her an interest on her remaining balance. Seeing as it had been so long since the surgery, she knew that date was coming soon, and she could hardly pay it off as it was, there was no way she could pay it off with an interest added. She had insisted on working a double shift that day, and had been at the bar since... well around 9:00 in the morning, and worked until 11:30 when the manager sent her home before she worked herself to death.

Of course, as soon as she was off, she headed straight for the barn. It took a while to get there considering she didn't have a car and couldn't afford the $2 fare the Taxi would cost her to get there, so she had to walk the five miles from the bar to the barn. When she got there, pretty much everyone had left, just how she liked it. So she took Vince out and down to the pastures to let him graze a bit and get his daily exercise. She sat down with her back against the tree, holding the lead lightly in her hand, not worried about the horse escaping, he had a broken leg for crying out loud, he wouldn't go far. She hadn't been there long when the exhaustion of the past several weeks caught up with her and though she fought if for a while, she drifted off to sleep, letting the lead rope fall from her hand.

What felt like only a few seconds later, the eerie sound of coyotes howling in the not too far off distance woke her from her sleep. She liked dogs well enough, but coyotes were just creepy, and she hated being out when they were, especially when it was this dark. So she stood up and grabbed Vince's lead where he stood grazing quietly just a few feet off, and headed back up to the barn. No one was there, she might as well just put him in his stall and get some sleep before morning came and people started showing up. As she neared the barn and the arenas, however, the sound of music caught her attention, and of course, she just had to go see what it was. When she got there, she stopped and stood in silence watching the horse and rider in the arena. The way the two of them moved together like that... it made them seem completely unreal. She wanted that, someday, with her horse, though not in the confinement of an arena.

People mocked her for it, saying that she was just going to have her hopes crushed. That horse of hers was just a worthless broken horse that would never be rideable. They were only making her more and more determined to fix him. No one told her what she could and couldn't do, and when they tried, she would do everything she could just to do the opposite. Jacquelyn really didn't realize that she was sort of staring, she was so... mesmerized by them. Vince stood beside her, his expression so similar to hers that it almost looked as if he was copying her on purpose. He was a curious horse, and a friendly one at that, and this dressage thing was as unfamiliar to him as dry land was to a fish. They were both a tiny bit wide eyed as they stood there watching stupidly. Neither of them knew what this was, dressage wasn't a word that was even in Jacq's vocabulary, but they were both obviously intrigued.

[parker]

Being the center of attention was nothing out of the ordinary for Parker… For one Foxy and him had been the stars of their trade since day one… but being the center of attention didn’t start there… No it all began at birth… Being the first born son to Brad Townsend earned him the spot light. It was like being a celebrity’s child… Not a moment unwatched by his adoring fans. Not that he didn’t secretly enjoy it… For Parker the smile he posed in for the camera was a lie behind a lie… he was lying about his happiness because ever since he could remember he’s hated his parents… but truly he loved all the attention he got… call him an attention whore… it wouldn’t be the worst name that had been tacked to him. He loved the fact that every time he put his arm around a girl it made the front pages… or whenever he showed up to a bar it became the new it place. He may not have been the son of an actress or actor but he had money backing up his actions and it caught a lot of people’s eyes.

Parker wasn’t one to really on his families money or his last name… he worked really hard to be the best at what he did despite his naturally ability he didn’t take handouts and he normally didn’t give them out… no one got special treatment… Well except Foxy of course but she didn’t count as she was his horse… though he considered her his best friend. She was the only one here who would put up with him on a permanent base, the only real family he had here. He worked hard not for the attention and the fame… but for her she deserved his all and they were a team… he was different around her than anyone else… it may seem silly but he didn’t trust anyone but her… and he had a good reason not to considering the crowds he sometimes got involved with. With the world he was closed off and cold… With Foxy he was firm but gentle… nurturing but structured… a completely different person… But nobody would ever get a chance to see that as he only showed it when no one but the horse was around… or so he thought.

This was the end of most his nights… sure he usually had some… company to go home too but he tried to always make sure that him and Foxy got this time in right now she was his main priority… she even topped getting laid… though it was really close. He loved how…quiet it was… yeah he had the music playing but there was no one asking him where the leather polish was or stupid questions about training or which horses needed wormers. Whoever said there was no such thing as a stupid question… lied and that was one of Parker’s pet peeves… if there was one thing he hated most it was when people had so called “dumb blonde moments” drove him insane… When he was on Foxy and it was just the two of them… it was just a release a way to get rid of all the crap that went on, on a day to day basis. Whenever he thought about strangling someone he knew it would all go away later. He may be Satan to the rest of the world but to Foxy he was almost the opposite… she was his Christine and he was the Phantom of the Opera… his lion tamer. Funny how a horse could have that sort of effect on a person…

He was completely unaware that there was an audience… and why shouldn’t he be… on a regular night he was the only one there… So like usual his full attention was on Foxy… As they came to a slow stop he bowed like he normally would only to look up right at a girl and what could only be thought as her horse. His head raised and he looked down at her with his ever so harsh belittling eyes, he was starting to think that he was never going to get time to unwind. Tracing through his mind trying to remember who she was he couldn’t fit a name to her face… he could on the other hand fit a name with the horse… Jaw locked he dismounted trying not to let his frustration be too obvious though he was sure it was too late for that. “Would you like to rake your mind and try and come up with a hardly decent excuse for why you’re here after closing or should I just assume that you’re trying to steal that horse?” Poor girl picked a very bad night to interrupt Parker in his therapy session.

[jacq]

Intruding on anything was very far from Jacquelyn's intentions. She had a very live and let live mentality, and she would much rather leave everyone alone and be left alone. Normally, she would have just walked on by and ignored the other rider, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She was all too aware of the fact that it was definitely outside of normal business hours, but the horse was really all she had and she couldn't go a day without seeing him. Besides which, the vet said he needed exercise every day, and even if that meant coming at 2:00 in the morning, she was going to get him his exercise. He could probably stand to go a day without it and not be harmed, but she didn't know that. Her horse knowledge was severely lacking, so she took everything the veterinarian said quite literally. He said Vince needed daily exercise, so he was going to get exactly that.

Mostly, Jacq was just awe-struck by how perfectly he and his horse were moving together, like there was absolutely nothing that was wrong with the world. They were perfect together, to say the least, and she hadn't even seen them up close yet. It wasn't long before his music stopped, and so did he and his horse. When he looked up, his eyes fell directly on her, and she instantly felt out of place and uncomfortable. He was obviously one of those guys that was clearly well off and had probably never had to do without, and people like that made heer incredibly uncomfortable because she was so obviously out classed by them. She'd had to do without her entire life. She'd never really been loved by anyone, she'd never had all those things that people called "comforts of life." Hell, she lived on the streets, she was obviously multiple classes below him... and her five dollar lame racehorse was clearly nowhere near as high quality as the horse he was riding.

His condescending and critical glare struck a nerve of fear in her, but she would never show it. The way he looked at her reminded her so much of the way her ex "boyfriend" had always looked at her that it did scare her a bit. Not to be deterred, she simply tightened her grip on the horse's lead and returned his glare with her bitter scowl. The nerve of this guy, suggesting that she would even think to steal a horse. So she'd stolen cars before... she went to jail for it... she didn't do that anymore. Besides, she'd only done it so Marcus would be happy and less likely to be a complete jackass to her. Any approval she could get from anyone she would cling onto. Whenever she made him happy, she thought she was happy. Pleasing him had become her addiction. After she got arrested, though, and he didn't even think to bail her out, that changed. She decided she shouldn't have to please anybody, and she would do whatever she felt like doing no matter what anyone else thought.

Granted, she had absolutely no idea that this was the guy who ran the place and earning his disapproval was probably not the best idea in the world, so she was probably going to dig herself a grave. She'd spent so many years being submissive to and controlled by anyone who had the ability to hurt her that now she had reached the extreme opposite. She had decided that no one should be able to tell her what to or not to do. This was her life and she wasn't going to let anyone else run it for her. Vince was more important to her than her own life was, and if him recovering meant getting almost no sleep and working herself into the ground for his well-being, then so be it. Of course, under all that she was just disappointed and scared, but it would take a miracle for her to let anyone see that. She was strong willed and determined, and she wasn't about to let some rich guy put her down.

Most of the time, she would go out of her way to lie about something, but in this case she decided the best way around this one was to simply tell the truth. I worked late on a double, and he needed exercise. She said bitterly, and what's it to you, anyway? Truthfully, no one in their right mind would want to steal Vince... especially out of this barn. If they were going to steal a horse they'd take one that was worth something. Jacq had been dumb enough to spend $5,000 dollars on him, he really wasn't worth more than $100, especially in this state. He was lazy as hell, too big to be an English horse, not agile enough to be a western horse, he couldn't even be ridden at this point with his leg being broken... someone would have to be a fool to even want the big black thoroughbred. She was determined that he was going to be a champion someday, though, that was the only hope she had, and she was going to cling to it no matter what.

[parker]

Foxy brought a large smirk to Parker’s face as she snorted and roller her head at the other horse as if she was saying she was better than him. She probably wouldn’t be like that if it weren’t for Parker’s influence she was just like him except more moody and temperamental. Parker was the only one she allowed to touch her… whenever anyone else tried to she raised her head and tail and pranced away as if laughing at how they thought they were worthy enough to come near her. Parker often laughed at how snotty and high strung she could be she was just as cocky as he was if not more… they were a perfect match and he knew there could never be a horse as great as she was. He knew they were great at what they did and there wasn’t a soul on earth that would ever compare to how smooth they moved across the arena and over fences. Foxy was the only girl Parker would say I love you to and she would be the only girl her ever loved… that he was sure of. She was the only one for him and vice versa.

As the girl in front of him retorted bitterly with quite a bit of attitude he had to forcefully maintain from smirking at her… not that he thought it was at all funny… it was just obvious that she had no idea who he was which was just made all the more clear and she asked what it was to him anyway. His stance relaxed just slightly and he patted Foxy’s neck and nodded. “Working late or not… its afterhours… and you’re not supposed to be here… maybe next time you should make arrangements for one of the staff to work with him.” Parker wasn’t one for sympathy… there was no one who was capable of making him feel sorry… partially because Parker had not feelings at all and partially because he was... nope it was all because he had a cold heart and he didn’t know the meaning of the word sorry. He’d heard it all… all the Sally sob stories and Harry hard lucks… he had never given them a break so just because she was working a double shift and this was the only opportunity she had to get out here didn’t mean he was going to hug her and tell her it was all alright. Nope that was absolutely not going to happen… like ever.

He walked over to the gate figuring he wasn’t going to get anymore riding in now thanks to this interruption and opened it. Foxy danced at the end of the lead delicately and he stopped and glared up at her sternly. Foxy was a snot but Parker didn’t tolerate her nonsense and she would test him on a regular basis but that’s what made their relationship work. At times it seemed like a hateful relationship but that’s how they showed their love. In fact that’s how Parker always showed how he cared… nobody else managed to figure it out though so it always stayed a secret between her and him which was exactly how he liked it. She stopped dancing and nudged him with her nose impatiently, he just shook his head and led her up toward the barn expecting the other pair to follow suit. “Oh and to answer your question… I’m Parker… Parker Townsend.” He said nonchalantly over his shoulder.

As they moved toward the barn he removed the saddle from Foxy’s back and held it with one hand while leading her… a habit he had acquired while doing back to back shows while he was in Florida. He clipped her to the cross ties and ran a brush over her body making sure there were no sweat marks or a hair out of place for that matter. Normally you’d think a rich guy like Parker would have people he paid to brush off his horses and do small little things like that but Parker liked the quality time he got from grooming her… and besides no one else did a good enough job so he had to do it himself like with everything else. Without Foxy, Parker knew that the odds of him maintaining his sanity were slim. Without her he wouldn’t have made it through living with his parents those last years. She was the glue that held him together. And He was pretty sure he was the same for her since she never let anyone else around her… that could also be because of how protective he was over her in her younger days. From the day his grandfather bought her for him He knew they were destined for greatness… I mean a couple that good looking couldn’t settle for anything else right?

[jacq]

Jacq wasn't earning herself any points, but she could really care less. As far as she was concerned people already had such a low view of her that it really couldn't get much worse... and she was so determined to be just awful towards everyone that even if it could get worse she was sure she wouldn't care. After all, this stable was a high quality establishment and she definitely didn't belong there. She despised wealthy people so the less they thought of her the more satisfied she would be... or so she thought. Mostly, she just wanted to think she liked that everyone disliked her so she would feel better about the fact that they did. She'd long since gotten used to people disliking her, and instead of crumbling under that like so many had, she just hardened herself to it, became immune to it. If people didn't want to like her then so be it.

When he said she should get someone at the barn to work with the horse, her expression remained the same. No one was going to touch her horse. No, he wasn't a high quality horse, no he wasn't really worth a dime... at least not so far as anyone else was concerned, but to Jacquelyn, he was more precious than her own life was. she was certain that because he didn't mean anything to anyone except her that they would probably grudgingly take care of him and not do as good a job. Because she cared so much for him she took better care of him than anyone else possibly could, and in her opinion anything less than that just wasn't good enough. He might not have been the greatest horse in the world, and he had essentially accomplished nothing in his short life thus far, but neither had she. All that mattered to her was that she loved him, and she was pretty sure he loved her too.

Besides that, she couldn't afford to pay someone to do it, and everybody knew that if someone was going to take care of your horse for you, you had to pay them something, and she had literally nothing to give. That wasn't an option. she muttered, really starting to dislike this guy. Who did he think he was telling her she couldn't be here after hours when he himself was here after hours. Hypocrites were definitely her least favorite sort of people, and it was even worse when they were wealthy self-righteous jerks who thought the world revolved around them. Well she had news for them, the world revolved around a big flaming ball of gas that would consume everything and everyone regardless of societal status, and they definitely didn't measure up to that.

She grudgingly followed at a distance behind him back up towards the barn, the going much slower for her and her gimpy horse than for him and his high strung mare. She had absolutely no idea who Parker Townsend was, nor did she care. She'd asked him what it mattered to him if she was there after hours, not who he was. She just rolled her eyes and walked along slowly beside Vince, letting him walk at his own pace. He was impossibly awkward trying to walk in the cast, and considering it hadn't been that long since the injury, he was still a bit reluctant to do much walking, but he had to for his own good. She lead him up to the barn and to his stall which wasn't far from the door, as the vet had suggested so the horse wouldn't have to go far to get in when they first brought him.

Rather than going straight to the hay that was left in his stall, though, Vince turned towards the door when the halter was taken off, and hung his head over the door, pleading for attention. Of course, Jacq gave him exactly what he wanted. He was so not like your typical racehorse it was no wonder he hadn't done well at the races. He mostly acted like a great big oversized pony rather than the high strung racehorse. Jacq was kind of hoping that Parker would leave, seeing as it was kind of brisk out and she would much rather stay here on nights like this instead of staying out in the cold... but she had a feeling that he wasn't going to leave until she did. One could still hope, though, so she just stood outside his stall, gently stroking his muzzle adoringly. They were all they had, and when that was the case, there was no stronger bond, and there never would be.

[parker]

With the up and coming show that the barn was hosting… and he was participating in, things were a bit on the hectic side. Not only did he have his normal barn responsibilities to do, he had to train for the show, and run the company his grandfather put him in charge of… which was based in New York. Business was easy… Parker had the ability to write contracts, trade stock, and read anything put in front of him and only see dollar signs. He wasn’t worried about going poor… or without money; his only worry was that he would have to take money from his father. Surviving without his parents help was the main goal of Parker’s entire life. He strived to be independent and stand on his own two feet. He was confident and had no doubt that he would be able to do so. Riding was his career though; he was talented and gifted when it came to business transactions, but all he wanted to do was ride. That was where he was most comfortable… and in his element. It helped that he was extremely talented and gifted in that area too. Parker was just one of those lucky sons of a bitch that was talented in everything that he did, and unfortunately he knew that and it went straight to his ego.

Not only was he slammed with all that he also had his constant family issues that seemed to follow him where ever he went. I guess there is no escaping your family, despite how far he managed to get from them. Growing up with parents that basically used you as an accessory when they wanted and left you with the nanny when they didn’t wasn’t exactly the ideal childhood. Yes he had whatever he wanted… but money couldn’t replace a parents nurturing and love. Parker wasn’t a weak person. He wasn’t sensitive when his parents left him with the nanny or toted him around and showed him off to all their friends he just rolled his eyes and tolerated it. Subconsciously I suppose it did affect him but he never showed it. He was cold when it came to his parents… he learned at an early age that they didn’t really care about them, he didn’t get all worked up into a tizzy about it… he just accepted it and spent more time with the one person that he knew actually did care. All this turned Parker into the cold person that he was… and luckily for him his grandfather accepted him for who he was no matter what.

Using his history as an excuse wasn’t what he did… in fact no one knew about his history except for his family. Yes that was what most likely caused him to be the way he is now… but he didn’t feel the need to make up excuses for how he was. He liked the way he was and wasn’t planning on changing and becoming some softy that just wanted to hug and take care of everyone… that just wasn’t in the cards for Parker Townsend. He was driven and was heading full speed in the direction of his dream, as far as he was concerned nothing and nobody was going to get in the way of that. Everyone had issues that’s not what determined what they made of themselves. No that could only be determined by how you handled those issues… if you let them control you and sulked and suffered because of them then you weren’t going to get very far. Parker didn’t believe in letting anything or anyone control his life. He wasn’t going to settle for “okay” he didn’t believe in “this is as good as it gets” no that just wouldn’t do. He wanted the best and he was damn well going to get it.

“That wasn’t an option.” There was something about this girl that he just didn’t… like. Course Parker didn’t really like anyone but she… there was something off. He wouldn’t take the time to get to know her and figure out what that was… but so long as she had a horse in his stables he might as well try to be civil to her… unfortunately for her and most people… this was as civil as Parker got. He was gentleman when around women he was “dating” due to having that drilled into his head by his grandfather. But at the end of the night they weren’t going to stick long enough for him to need to know their life story. This was a little different, obviously he wasn’t dating her, they had only just met and under such poor circumstances considering she was trespassing on his property. Well sort of his property. That was besides the point though. He would treat her as well as he could but if she insisted on acting in such a manner that made her seem lowly then he would have no choice but to treat her that way. Parker wasn’t a consoling type and you would be a fool to expect that from him. Sympathy was not in his vocabulary.

He went about his business and left her to hers, and when he was finished grooming Foxy he lead her to her stall. Though they had been together for a while now… her beauty never ceased to amaze him. She was the only creature on the earth that he would ever feel this way about… that he was sure of. He stroked her forehead for a moment before sighing and latching the gate “tucking her in for the night.” That left only one thing to do… lock up… not really expecting the girl to still be there he was rather annoyed when he looked down the aisle and spotted her outside her horse’s stall. He remembered that stall be requested because of some vet’s orders for the horse… or something like that. Parker could remember every detail about a horse but when it came to people… let’s just say his people skills weren’t up to par.

After locking up the office he made his way to the end of the barn toward her. Despite his annoyance he wasn’t just going to leave her here… for two reasons. 1: It wasn’t gentleman like to leave her with no way of getting home. And 2: he didn’t trust her so leaving her here on her own was out of the question. He ran his hand through his hair; a sign of how tired he really was, and looked passed her to her horse for a moment summing him up and trying to remember who she was. “Do you need a ride home?” He offered trying to be polite and genuine in his question… of which for the most part he really was. Though he tried not to be, he did have a sort of nice guy side to him...

[jacq]

Jacquelyn kept hoping that Parker would leave so she could be free to stay here tonight, but the longer he took putting his horse away the smaller her chances of getting what she wanted seemed to become. She had a feeling he probably wouldn't leave until she did which was a major annoyance to her. It was cold outside, and she wasn't looking forward to a night spent out in the elements, but it wouldn't be the first and probably not the last. Still, she wasn't going to leave unless she was absolutely certain that he wasn't going to let her stay there so long as he could help it. So she stayed there standing outside the stall door, talking softly to the horse, really hoping he would forget about her and just go. She was completely exhausted from her lack of sleep these past several days and would really like nothing more than to get at least a few hours of sleep.

If she wasn't so downright determined to pay off the vet bill as quickly as possible, she might have spent some or her paycheck on warmer clothes, but the way she saw it, every $10 counted, and she couldn't afford to spend any of it on herself. Granted, her tanktop, hoodie, and cargo pants weren't exactly winter weather, but it was all she had, and she wasn't spending a cent more on herself than she had to. She was really quite lucky she hadn't gotten frostbite or something of that nature by being soo under-dressed for the cold temperatures. It was manageable during the day, but at night when the temperature dropped it was very nearly miserable to be out when dressed like that. She was getting used to it, though, seeing as she'd been living like this for nearly a year now.

She got herself so caught up in babying Vince that she almost completely forgot about Parker until his voice interrupted her, asking if she needed a ride home. If she was honest she would have had to say that she already was "home" but we all know that Jacquelyn was a bit of a pathological liar... and she didn't want anyone to know that she was essentially homeless. It wasn't easy being around all those people day in and day out, knowing that they probably had a nice house, nice horses, nice everything, and rarely had to go without, while her whole life revolved around her doing without so that Vince wouldn't have to. The more she was around those people the more she hated them. So many of them fell under the "rich snob" category, and she detested those sorts of people.

She sighed and let her hand fall away from Vince's neck, that look of adoration disappearing in an instant and melting into her usual scowl. No, I can get there on my own. She said just as unkindly as before, showing absolutely no sign of being grateful for his offer. When it came to people, Jacq had one vibe, and one vibe only, and that was bitter. She distanced people as far from her as she possibly could. It was easy to tell that he wasn't going to leave until after she did, so she turned and headed out of the barn into the bitter cold night air. She wasn't sure where she would go, maybe back to town to find a doorway or an overhang to try to get some sleep under out of the snow and wind. There was quite a bit of snow, but the roads were plowed well enough she shouldn't have much trouble getting there... that is if she didn't freeze to death on her way.

As soon as she stepped outside, she could feel the wind biting at her, and pulled her hoodie tighter around her. This was going to be one more miserable night in a line of many. the odds of actually getting to sleep in this cold were pretty slim. Maybe she could go to work early tomorrow and get a little sleep in the back before she had to actually clock in... though she didn't see Ethan taking too kindly to that either. Already she was regretting stopping to watch him, and turning down his offer to give her a ride... at least she could pretend to live in a house close to town and let him drive her there... but she was much too stubborn to allow that. She was completely independent of anyone. After she got out of prison and essentially told her "boyfriend" to "f-off" she decided she would never let herself rely on another person again, she couldn't trust anyone, in her mind, that much was sure.

[parker]

Oh this girl, it was like she was placed there by some greater being just to annoy the crap out of him. Most people had the innate ability to make him want to strangle them but this girl was just that splinter you couldn’t get out. It’s like she wanted him to not like her… at all. Well she was getting just what she wanted. She threw off his groove and he wanted nothing more than to have her thrown out the window of his empire. But that wasn’t going to happen… Parker really did need to learn how to control his temper. Or rather his mental temper seeing how he rarely showed how mad he was… unless you just asked him to. But he swore when he took this job that he wouldn’t blow up on any of the boarders or anyone who came to ride at the barn. That just wouldn’t be professional and He wanted nothing more than to be completely professional here. So losing his temper was completely out of the question despite how much he wanted to say some snarky, belittling remark and make her feel worse than, he was only assuming, he already had.

Though he made sure everyone thought so, Parker wasn’t a complete monster. Yes he liked making everyone around him feel insignificant and could do that by just simply walking into the room, but he had his soft side. It was about one millionth percent of his personality but it did exist. He just chose to only show it to Foxy and that’s the only one he ever felt like that with. When it came to people his patience was zilch and he was very irritable. He got his parents good genes. He was smart, very smart, and extremely good looking like all the Townsends were. He didn’t see it as a short coming that he couldn’t tolerate other people he knew he was a superior being and if the people around him didn’t know that just by looking at him they would quickly find out as soon as he spoke. Not just with his impeccable vocabulary but with his amazing talent at cutting you down and you not even knowing it.

The only reason he could do hook-ups was because he was attractive and lured them in with his stunning blue eyes and they were never smart enough to know when he was dissing them, but most people didn’t. The difference was that when he hooked up there was never much talking done. And he never was with the same girl twice so he never worried about getting to know her or any sort of annoyance like that. Frankly he didn’t care about anyone but Himself and his horses and as far as he was concerned it was going to stay that way. Call him a selfish SOB but he didn’t care he welcomed the fact with open arms. There was pretty much nothing you could say to him that would hurt him. He was invincible unless you touched his horse. Foxy was his kryptonite touch her and you could guarantee that you were going to die and that Parker would personally beat the crap out of you.

Though he may seem like the type that sat at a desk and didn’t ever do anything, it would be a mistake to underestimate him. He was in extremely good shape. He worked out every day and rode every day which basically meant two work outs a day. Buff was an understatement he just didn’t look it, he didn’t let his arms get all nasty and large. What was the point in being strong enough but too big to catch the person you wanted to hit? But in any case other than Foxy he would just hire someone to do it… what was the point in getting your hands dirty and wasting valuable time on someone who wasn’t going to be much help to you? Besides he didn’t want to risk anything ever getting back to him… not that he ever got involved in stuff like that…

He stood looking at the horse waiting for her answer reminding himself that she was paying board and that was business so he couldn’t be his normal self with her despite how much he wanted to. He leaned onto one foot and shoved his hands into his pockets in order to not cross his arms like he typically would if he was annoyed. “No, I can get there on my own.” She said after sighing. The way her words came out so… he couldn’t put it to words. She just sounded like one of those poor pitiful me type of people. You know the type that when you offered your hand they rejected it with a venomous sneer. He shook his head with a scoff. “Right…” He watched her walk out for a second before sighing and following her. She hardly looked warm enough and he shook his head again turning to lock up. “…because you look like you can’t get 5 feet without freezing.” He mumbled under his breath but loud enough for her to hear if she was listening. What did he care… this wasn’t his problem…