Dancing

Ch. 11

^^^^^Axel^^^^^

I woke up to a kiss on my forehead. I lifted my head up to see who it was. "Morning Honey. Ready to spend the day with me?" I looked to see who it was. One that I did not meet yesterday. I sighed and sat up. The familiar sound of clothes thumping onto the bed let me know that he got what clothes I needed for today.

I got up and dressed before going to meet him. I was in old jeans without holes and a tee. He had set socks out too along with my boots. I put my boots on and exited the room. He handed me breakfast and a water. When I had both finished. He led the way to the shop. Axel. He opened the door and let me in.

"Guess Harris already gave it away what we're doing today." He said. "Somewhat." I said. "Need to finish one up before we take them out there. Mind helping me?" He asked. "No." I answered. He grabbed two shirts from a closet. Then curled his finger. "I'll let you borrow Harris' shirt until he gets here. Noon to one in the afternoon is the most vulnerable time round here." He said.

"Shift changes and the girls moving?" I asked. "Yes ma'am." He said as he got what Harris had on yesterday. "I bet you can tell where Harris and I like the shield." He said. I shrugged it off. "Luckily we keep an extra just in case." He said pulling it out and having me turn around. "Hair tie?" He asked. I handed him the one off my wrist.

He pulled my hair back and fixed it to fit my head. "There. Turn back around please." He said. I did as he asked. He checked it completely before handing me gloves. "You look adorable." He said. He then had me follow him to the same table Harris was at yesterday. There was half of the post together and the other half apart.

"Said he got distracted by a certain beauty yesterday then had to help Tex by escorting a stallion and a girl he was taking with him to the southern edge." He said. "Know anything bout that?" He asked. I shook my head with a smirk. "Think ya do sweetheart." He said. Then had me standing in front of him as he finished the weld.

When he was done, he let me off to the side and checked it better. "We'll let this cool down before moving it. I'll carry them over there. Here is what you need to carry." He said setting them on the table. He helped me out of the shirt, shield and took the gloves. As he carried the posts, I carried the tools. He stopped by the gate and set the two he had down.

As he asked for the tools, I handed them to him. "Hold this straight for me sweetheart." He said holding the post straight. I held it as he got some concrete out and filled the hole a few inches deep with it. He mixed water with it and took over holding it. The concrete dried in a few minutes.

We worked our way around the garden all morning until it was noon. Axel handed me a water bottle as Tex was making his rounds. "Looking good. How far do you have to go?" He asked. "The backside and up to that post over there." Axel said. "Switching off?" Tex asked. "Yes sir." Axel answered. "How slow do you think it's going to be on patrol?" Tex asked.

"No clue. Could let Harris have half a day with her and we can split his day in half with her." Axel said. "And have her walking all day." Tex said. "Never mind. I'll keep a close eye on her all afternoon." Axel said. "Make sure she's drinking." Tex said. "Will do." Axel said as he motioned me to follow him.

We met up with Harris at the shop. Axel had me drink some water and eat lunch while they swapped what they were doing before Axel had me follow him. "How fast can you run?" He asked. "Don't know." I answered. "Let's find out then." He said before shifting. I followed suit and he quickly eyed my coat before having me follow him. He picked up into a run and kept glancing back at me.

I lengthened my strides and caught up with him. I was loping in long strides keeping in pace with his running. When reaching some brush, I cleared it easily while he had to gather himself before the jump. I slowed a bit for him to take the lead.

He slowed more down to a trot. I followed. Then a walk. All afternoon we walked the border and kept an eye out for anything. He did, I watched the path in front of us. When the sun started setting he nudged my left side to turn. I did with him right behind me. When I noticed he was about to touch my bruised side, I picked up the pace.

He took notice and moved to the left side. A yowl pierced the air. I knew what he was about to do. I picked up to a trot and kept going. He spotted it before I did and was trying to get me away from it. I felt his teeth, before he could bite, I was at a lope. Another horse was coming out from the brush area.

Axel was still nudging me. He then turned and the one that had came out led me away from him and back to the stand. The one at the stand shifted. Have not met him just yet. He checked me over including my right hindquarter moving the hair and seeing the bruise there. "Has this been there?" He asked.

I bobbed my head. "Does Tex know?" He asked. I nodded. He scratched that one area that I absolutely loved it. "Thirsty?" I shifted then. "Come on up. Axel should be back in a moment." He said letting me climb up first. He handed me a water and watched for Axel.

I drank half of it before he moved to get down. I looked out seeing Axel walking up. He and the guy interacted for a moment before the guy waved for me to come down and join them. I did and stood next to him. "May I see the bottle Honey?" Axel asked. I handed it to him.

He took a large gulp of water. "Thank you for doing what I asked Honey." Axel said. "Should get you up to your house. Who is on night guard?" Axel asked. "Thomas and Michael." The guy said. "Thanks for the help James." Axel said. "Never a problem. Especially when it involves one of our girls." James said.

Axel motioned for me to follow him. "I'll take you to your house before going to talk with Tex. Chances are he's already there wondering where you are since I lost track of time." He said.