Irish Summer - 3. Chapter 3

Irish Summer

By

Andrew Todd

Chapter 3

Cam held his breath as he watched Rory help Finn mount the black colt for the first time. With Rory busy helping his Uncle the past few days, Cam had spent most of his time watching Finn work with Prince and learning about the farm and horses. He was impressed with the youngster’s patience and control with the young horse.

He didn’t know who was more excited for this moment, him, or Finn. Finn had been pestering Rory relentlessly as Rory wanted to be there for Finn’s first ride on the colt.

Having witnessed the bond between boy and horse, Cam was thrilled to be able to capture this moment on film. He had a video camera set up on a tripod as he had promised Finn, he would video the training session. He moved around slowly with his camera, not wanting to be a distraction but wanting to get as many good shots as he could.

“Are ye ready, then?” Cam heard Rory ask Finn.

“I been ready for days, ya daft sod.” Finn replied.

Cam laughed as he captured the looks and grins between the two brothers.

“Prince is ready, too.” Finn continued. “Aren’t ye, me son?” He said quietly as he stroked the colt’s nose.

“All right then.” Rory said with a chuckle. “Let’s go, I’ll give ye a leg up.”

Finn reached as far up the horse’s back as he could and bent his right knee. Rory looped his fingers under his brother’s extended right foot and boosted him up. Finn landed gently on the horse’s bare back.

The colt barely moved.

“See, I told you he was ready.” Finn grinned ear to ear. He stroked the horse’s neck and wrapped his fingers in Prince’s long mane.

Cam watched as Rory walked to the center of the ring holding a longe line attached to the horse’s halter.

“Let’s go, boy.” Finn said confidently as he squeezed the horse’s sides with his knees.

Prince moved out at a slow walk. Over the next few minutes, Finn would signal the horse to increase his speed until the two were cantering around the ring.

When Finn brought the colt to a stop, Rory walked over to them. “Good job.” He said stroking the horse’s neck. “Both of ye.” He grinned at his little brother. Rory unsnapped the lunge line and took the halter off the horse.

Finn rode over to where Cam stood by the fence.

“Want to give him a try, me friend?” He asked with a toothy grin.

Cam shook his head as he stroked the horse’s face. “I think Ivy is more my speed right now.” He laughed. “But you two looked good out there.”

“Did ye get it on the video thing?”

“I’ll have to double check, but it was working good when you started.” Cam answered. “And I know I got some great shots of you two, too.”

“Do ye want to take some of us now that he’s free o’the halter?” Finn asked.

Cam nodded. “Sure.”

Fin nudged the colt forward and took him through his gaits again.

At one point, as the horse cantered around the ring, Finn lifted his arms up and out like he was flying. He reminded Cam of the boy in ‘The Black Stallion’ movie he had seen as a child. He couldn’t snap pictures fast enough.

“I think Prince’s had enough for the first time, Finn.” Rory called from the center of the ring. “You want to make sure you leave him in a good place, and he’s done very well today. Take him to the barn and hose him down now.”

Finn slipped from Prince’s back as the colt came to stop in front of the round pen gate.

“C’mon, me boyo, you’ve earned some rest time after today.” Finn said as he snapped the halter and lead back on the horse and led him through the gate that Cam held open.

Rory walked up to Cam as he took down the video camera and tripod set up.

“How did ye like that, Cameron?”

“It was great.” Cam grinned. “After watching them together the last couple days, I think I was as excited for this as Finn was. I want to get the video loaded in my computer so we can get a look at it.”

“Aye, Finn will enjoy seeing himself and Prince.” Rory nodded. “I’m glad ye were here for that.”

“Me, too. It was great to experience something like that, at least to see it.”

“We could arrange for you to try it yourself.” Rory offered.

Cam laughed. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”

“But, ye will be.” Rory replied. “We always have horses in training, Finn and I could pick one out for you and work with you. Ye’d learn a lot.”

“Really…”

“Sure, ye’ll be here for a while yet, so we wouldn’t have to rush things.” Rory answered. “I’ve got a couple young ones in mind, that’d be fine for ye. They’re used to people and should take to ye easily.”

“If you think I can do it, I’d like to try.” Cam said.

Rory nodded and wrapped his arm around Cam’s shoulder.

“Well, then we’ll start first thing tomorrow.” He suggested. “Now that things have settled down at me uncle’s place, I’ll have more time to be ‘round here. And I should thank ye, too, Cameron.”

“For what?”

“For bein’ here to help Finn.”

“I don’t know how much help I was.”

“Finn said ye was a big help to him.” Rory replied. “Even if you were only cleaning stalls and helping him that way, it’s one less thing for me and him to be worrying about.”

“I feel like I’m the one who should be thanking you.” Cam offered. “You’ve taken me into your home and given me something to keep myself busy while I’m over here. The farm is great. I never thought I’d look forward to the work involved here, but I’m having a good time and Finn’s been a great teacher for me.”

“When he puts his mind to it, he can get things done, can’t he?” Rory grinned.

“Yes, he can.” Cam answered as he walked towards the house with Rory.

Later that evening after dinner, Cam was able to show Rory and Finn the video he had taken of Finn and Prince.

“Look at that.” Finn said grinning. “He looks so fine, there.”

“That he does.” Rory replied. “Ye both look very fine, indeed.”

Cam appreciated how Finn’s smile lit up his whole face as he basked in his older brother’s praise. He never realized what he was missing not having siblings. He knew that in spite of the way he often spoke to his brother, Finn idolized him and sought to please him as much as he could. Seeing Finn’s reaction to his brother praising both him and the horse he had worked so hard with made Cam wish he had his camera handy, but he decided some moments didn’t need to be captured, some moments just needed to be enjoyed.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to start Cameron training his own horse.” Rory announced to his brother.

“Really, Cameron?” Finn asked excitedly.

Cam nodded shyly, still not a hundred percent sure he was ready for the task.

“Don’t be doubting yourself, Cameron.” Finn ordered, as if he could read Cam’s mind. “Ye’ll be doin’ a fine job with Rory’s help.”

“Thanks.” Cam replied. “I’ll need your help, too.”

“Aye, we’ll need your help picking one out for him first.” Rory said.

Finn’s eyes lit up. “I know who’d be great for him. Ivy’s colt. He’s just coming three now and he’s level-headed and very kind-hearted, like his ma.”

“I had a feeling you’d choose him.” Rory nodded. “I agree, he’d be a great horse for Cameron to start with.”

“What’s his name?” Cam asked, starting to get swept up in the brother’s excitement.

“Don’t have one, yet.” Finn explained. “We don’t name them all as we sell them and then their name’s get changed. Ye’ll have to be naming him since ye’ll be working with him.”

“Did you name Prince?”

Finn nodded. “I did, but he was an exception, we knew my Da was going to keep him for breeding, so I named him ‘The Prince’ when he was born.”

“Are you still planning to breed him?” Cam asked Rory.

“Not sure, yet.” Rory replied. “He’s got a great temperament and ye’ve seen how easy-going he is, but I’m not sure about breeding him to our mares. We may just put him out to stud for others and collect the breeding fees. We do that with some of our stallions, and others we keep for ourselves.”

“What about the horse you want me to work with is he a stallion, too?”

“He’s still a colt.” Rory answered.

“What’s the difference?”

“Me Da always said they were colts until they were bred and then they were stallions.” Rory explained. “Most of them we start breeding around the same time we start training, Prince won’t start ‘til next year. Some people would call him a stallion cuz he’s three, but we don’t. If’n he was to be five or six and never bred that would be different, but it’s all just words. If’n we were to castrate them, then they’d be geldings from the time we did it.”

“Why do you do that?” Cam asked trying not to wince at the idea of his testicles being cut off.

Rory grinned. “Some people think that stallions are too uncontrollable or unpredictable, and some are, but not all. If we’re not gonna breed them, then gelding them makes them gentler and less moody than some stallions. Then you get ones like Prince, that are calm and fine to deal with left intact.”

“Ye only keep the stallions if you’re planning to breed them.” Finn added. “Most people who want to just ride or show want a gelding. Mares can be as moody as stallions sometimes. Not me Ivy, but some o’them are right bitches.”

“That they can be.” Rory said, looking at the kitchen clock. “I think it’s time ye got off to bed Finn, it’ll be mornin’ before ye know it and we’ve got lots to do tomorrow.”

Finn looked mildly disappointed, but a less than well-timed yawn showed his tiredness.

“Alright, then.” Finn said getting up from the table. “G’night, Rory. G’night, Cameron.”

“Good night.” Cam answered watching the younger boy head down the hallway to his room.

“I’m gonna take a shower before bed. “ Rory announced standing up.

“Ok, I’m just gonna work on some of the pictures I’ve taken the past few days.” Cam said. “My gallery is wanting some new ones, so I’ll see what I have for them.”

“Are ye still plannin’ on your book?”

Cam nodded. “Yes, most of the pictures I’ll keep for the book, especially the stuff around here, but some of the landscapes I did when I first got here should sell well at the gallery.”

“Well then, I’ll leave ye to it.” Rory said, heading down the hallway. “G’night, Cameron.”

“Good night, Rory.”

Cam sat at the table and tried to work on the pictures, but he couldn’t get Rory out of his head. They had spent a little time together since the first day he arrived, but now that he was done helping his uncle he would be around much more and Cam thought about whether he should tell Rory that he was starting to have feelings for him.

Rory had given no indication that he was interested in being anything other than friends in spite of the conversation Cam had had with Finn riding back from town that first day.

“Maybe Finn’s wrong.” He thought to himself. “Maybe he’s not interested…maybe he’s not even gay.”

He felt it wasn’t worth losing the friendship he was beginning with the brothers by bringing romance into it. He had been fine without a boyfriend this long, he could last a while longer.

Meanwhile, Rory stepped into the hot shower and sighed as the water caressed his aching muscles. He ran a hand down his chest and wished, not for the first time, that it was Cam’s hand. He had been attracted to the other boy since he had first seen him at the river, but he knew that Cameron was not like him and only wanted to be friends.

He reached down and slowly stroked his hardening cock all the while seeing Cam in his mind’s eye. He kept at it for a few minutes until he was swept away by the feelings of his impending orgasm.

As he came down from his post-orgasmic high, he thought to himself. “Cameron’s only here for a few weeks, then he’ll be headin’ back to America, why risk angering someone who was becoming a good friend and whom Finn liked so much.”

***

The next morning found Cam, Rory and Finn standing outside on the paddocks.

“There he is.” Finn said motioning to a young horse that was making his way over to the three.

Finn hopped the fence and the horse followed him over to where Rory and Cam stood.

“He’s beautiful.” Cam said as he let the horse sniff him and then stroked its nose.

The horse was spotted like his mother but a bit taller. He was heavily built, but Cam could see the kindness in his eyes, the same kindness he saw in Ivy and Prince. If he were going to learn to work with horses, this one looked like he wouldn’t do him any harm.

Finn grinned as he sat on the fence. “He’s halter broken, so he’s used to being led around and worked around. He’ll stand for grooming and he’s good about his feet, doesn’t try to kick ye or anything.”

“We work with most of the horses from the time they’re babies.” Rory said. “That way they are used to people and being handled. Makes training them a lot easier, most of the time.”

“What about the colt you’ve been working with?” Cam asked.

“He’s a bastard.” Finn answered. “I told ye, he must a been out of Uncle’s stallion cuz if he was from Aragon or another of ours, he’d be far more easy goin’.”

“He just needs more work.” Rory interjected. “He’s not bad, just got a wild streak in him. Not all horse are as even tempered as this one. We’ll probably have to geld that colt to get him calmed down a bit. His hormones are takin’ over.”

“You mean he’s horny?” Cam asked with smile.

Finn and Rory roared with laughter.

“That’s about it.” Rory replied once he caught his breath.

Finn hopped down from the fence and grabbed a halter and lead off the post. “Why don’t ye take some time getting’ to know him.” He offered Cam. “If’n ye don’t be likin’ him, we can find another.”

Cam took the halter and lead and climbed over the fence slowly not wanting to spook the colt.

The colt looked at his as Cam slipped the halter over his nose and fastened the lead to it. He spoke quietly to the horse the whole time he as leading him around the paddock. The colt stood quietly at his shoulder and followed him like a dog.

Cam smiled over to Finn and Rory. “I think if I’m going to try this, this guy will be just the ticket.”

“Good boy, Cameron.” Finn called. ‘We’ll make a horseman of ye yet.”