"Hey, wake up kid. We're here."

The voice is deep and a bit scratchy but that's Dave for you. Beca yawns, blinking several times and stretches. She's been in the damn, half broken down, truck for over five hours and she's a bit sore from sitting for so long. She narrows her eyes as she takes in the look of the ranch.

"Looks like they need a landscaper."

She pushes on the door of the truck and steps out, her feet meeting dirt.

"No need to be so negative Beca. It's not that bad, you'll see."

Beca sighs, it's really not half bad. The barn is of course, red, the paint fairly faded, and there are several array of fences with several horses to the left. There's a few corrals here and there and there's even a square one but, she's not sure what call it. Seeing how usually, well at least in a western movie, corrals are circular. And she only knows that because Lisa loves westerns and always picks those for movie nights. Not that Beca ever makes it through the whole movie. The grass seems to go for miles but what really catches her eyes, are the mountains in the background, faded by fog. The rest of the place seems to be mostly fences and grass. Lots of fences.

"Have enough fences?" she grumbles, going to the back of the truck to sling her large duffle back on her shoulder and holding her laptop bag in her hand.

"We'll get the bike later, let's get you situated."

Beca looks at the black bike, a bike she rebuilt with Dave. Her father's bike. It's a Triumph, a british bike that could be considered a collectible to some. It's starting to rust and there's a crack in the headlight, the wheels are worn but it's the only thing she has left oh him. She's going to cling to the bike for as long as she can.

She turns away and follows Dave to the house, the structure is mostly wood and there's an old looking swing on the porch. She lets out a heavy sigh and watches a tall, slender, rough looking older man. He's probably in his seventies or later. He has on a pale cowboy hat and Beca does her best not to scoff at his attire; a grey plaid shirt, jeans, and brown cowboy boots.

"Hello Monty!"

"Dave! It has been years!" Monty reaches out and pulls Dave into a hug. Pulling away he looks to Beca. She can't help but feel like this man is your typical grandpa. "And you must be Rebeca." He reaches his hand out to shake. Beca just looks down at his hand then back up at Monty.

"It's Beca." she says simply, giving a short lived smile.

"Sorry, Beca. Well, welcome to Hoofbeat Ranch." Monty drops his hand and smiles. He looks back to Dave, "How's Lisa?"

Dave smiles, "She's well Monty. She's well. How are your granddaughters?"

"Casey is back from New York to help out and Chloe, just finished up with some business classes at the community college." he says with pride.

Beca just looks around as the two continue to catch up. She doesn't know much about the place. She knows Dave, her mother's father, was once a worker here at the ranch. Apparently, Monty and Dave go way back. She honestly doesn't care though, she barely knows Dave.

"So, let's get you situated." Monty says, starting to walk towards the barn.

He leads the two to the barn and halfway down the stalls that are empty. He leads them past a room off to the side that looks a like a messy office. To the right, there are a set of stairs which he starts to walk up.

"You'll be staying in the loft." he says, outstretching his arm.

Dave smiles, "I remember staying up here during the summer."

Beca takes in the sight. It's entirely empty excluding a bed, a desk, and a dresser next to the entrance. It looks as if no one has been up here for years, cobwebs are everywhere, there's bits of hay strewn on the floor, and the air smells a lot like horse. To the left are two wooden doors which she assumes is a closet at first. But the left side is the outside wall so it's probably not a closet.

"Beca, Monty are going to catch up if that's alright." Its more of statement than a question and all Beca does is nod.

"Get settled then meet us in the house and we'll discuss the schedule." Monty says before leaving Beca to herself.

She puts her laptop bag on the bed and her duffle at the foot of the bed. Sighing she goes to the two doors and spots a latch keeping the doors from opening. She flicks the latch open and the wooden doors swing outwards giving Beca a view. She looks down and can see the drop from where she's standing, to the dirt ground. She takes a step back not keen on heights and opts to look up at the scene. She can see the road that leads to the ranch, pastures, woods, and of course horses.

"Fan-fucking-tastic."

"It really is."

Beca turns to see a man standing in the doorway with an off white shirt and brown hair. She doesn't offer a response, not entirely sure why this person in the doorway or why he hasn't introduced himself yet.

"You came in with with that guy. Is that your motorcycle?"

Beca stays silent, narrowing her eyes. What's this guy's deal?

"I'm sorry, I'm Jesse. Jesse Swanson, I'm a rider here and I also help around with the heavy lifting that Monty can't do anymore."

Beca just nods curtly.

"Not much of a talker?" He smirks.

Beca looks back out and decides to close the two doors, placing the latch back in its place. Turning back to this Jesse kid, she sighs, "Thanks for knocking."

"Sorry, so, like, is that you're bike. It's pretty cool. A Triumph right?"

"Yeah a Bonneville." A Bonneville t100 to be exact but she doesn't bother with being exact about it.

"Cool!" He shoves his hands in his pockets. "So you're a new handler or barn help? Wait, you're not a fancy rider, are you?"

Beca pushes the hair out of her face and looks at what she's wearing; a black leather jacket, a purple flannel and black skinny jeans and boots. She can't fathom how he thinks she's a rider. Or fancy for that matter. She plays with the spiral in her ear for a bit, trying to avoid a sarcastic comment trying to edge it's way out of her. She furrows her brow.

"No I'm not a rider." She closes her duffel bag up and goes to unzip her laptop bag.

"Oh…"

"Is that all?" Beca raises a brow.

"Can I at least get your name so I don't call you 'girl with the scary ear spike'?" He chuckles.

"Beca." she huffs out.

"Oh, you're Dave's granddaughter?" He leans against the door frame, crossing his arms. "The troubled one."

Beca clenches her jaw. Dave is no grandpa to her. He's just a man with a blood relation. Actually, he's quite nice and very patient. Beca just can't help but feel like a pitied girl whose mother left her two kids for drugs and alcohol. Dave and Lisa likely took her, and her younger sister on, out of pure pity and nothing more.

"Sure."

"So what did you do?" There's an amused smile on his face.

Beca looks at him, narrowing her eyes again. What was that supposed to mean? "None of your fucking business." Who asks questions like that?

Jesse puts his hands up in surrender, "Alright, alright. I'll see later Becaw."

He's gone before she can say anything about the nickname, which she doesn't really like. She doesn't like nicknames and that one is just ridiculous. She pulls out her laptop and sets it on the desk. She looks for a plug and spots one behind the desk. She pulls the desk forward and then plugs everything in.

She boots it up and smiles seeing the picture of her and her sister in the city. Lou has a blonde streak in her hair that she had just gotten that day. She has the biggest smile Beca has ever seen on the younger girl. She frowns, already missing the girl and closes the laptop, not wanting to dwell.

Monty is actually quite nice. He doesn't try to make small talk which Beca appreciates greatly. He gets straight to the point of everything.

"So breakfast is at six and your chores should be done by dinner at seven. As long as you have your chores done you're free to do just about whatever you want around here. As long as I know where you are. Tomorrow, Chloe will show you all that needs to be done."

Her eyes go a little wide, "Wait. Did you say six?" That's really the only thing that registered with her. She is no morning person, she has enough trouble getting up at nine.

"Yes, six. Is that a problem?"

"No." She answers quickly, "But it's a bit ridiculous." she grumbles, looking off to the side.

Dave finally speaks up, "Let's get your bike Beca."

That gets her attention. She follows Dave to the truck. She helps him get the railing set up and she climbs into the bed of the truck, unlatching the straps keeping the bike in it's place. Carefully, she wheels the bike onto the ground. The small brunette then turns to Monty who is talking with Dave.

"Hey, uh, where can I park this?"

"By my truck over by the house."

She opts to wheel it over to the spot instead of turning the engine on. She doesn't get far because Jesse is back. Great.

"This is really cool Beca." He's got his hands in his pockets and he's looking over the bike.

"Thanks." She says checking the bike over. She kicks the kickstand out and lets the bike lean on it.

"How much was it?" He asks, looking up to Beca.

"I uh," she pushes her hair out of her face, "It was my dad's." She looks over the bike, part of her worrying that the trip might have done damage. Though, that's not exactly possible. She looks back at Jesse and he has a dopey grin on his face,

"That is, that is awesome Beca." He seems genuine when he says this.

"Do you have a bike?"

Jesse scratches the back of his neck, "No, not yet. Broncs are more my thing." He nods his head, shoving his hands in his pockets.

Beca furrows her brow, not entirely sure what he means by broncs. "Broncs?" She raises a brow slightly, wondering if she should really be asking.

It must be something Jesse is really passionate about because his face lights up rather quickly. "Unbroken mustangs. It's a rodeo event. You try and stay on the horse holding on with one hand for eight full seconds. The other hand can't touch the horse though."

Beca wants to cringe at the word rodeo. "Sounds dangerous."

"Horses are dangerous." He states, with what might be sarcasm. He continues on talking about it but Beca loses him after a while.

"So broncs are basically your life?" She finally asks but it's more a statement than a question. She decides he's a nice guy but is just a little too into broncs. Then again, if given the chance, she could talk about motorbikes for hours. So really, who is she to judge?

"Well, I also really like movies," Jesse cocks his head to the side, "Let me guess, you're one of those girls who likes super dark and mysterious movies. Thrillers? You have that 'dark' vibe going on."

Beca offers a smirk, "Oh I just love those movies." She starts to walk back to the barn, "I have to unpack and settle down. I'll see you around."

Jesse follows her back to the barn but parts with her to go off to wherever.

Beca spends the rest of the day in her 'room' above the stalls. She can hear what sounds like horses' feet hitting the cement ground. She can hear, who she assumes is Jesse, singing and it's not bad. She just doesn't like country enough to continue listening to it. She looks for her headphones and pulls out her old mp3 player, plugging the headphones in and starting a playlist she made. She lays down and goes over the day in her head. She figures in the end, this won't be so bad.

Beca doesn't know how or when she fell asleep but there is suddenly someone trying to wake her. She groans seeing the time on her laptop being displayed. It's six am. Fantastic.

"Hey, you're going to miss breakfast if you don't wake up!"

Beca groans and stays where she is, determined to not get up at the ungodly hour of six. "Yeah, I don't care."

"Well, it's essential you get something into your system. Especially since it's likely it will be a long day."

Beca ignores the voice and opts to grumbling.

"I will use this bucket of water. Don't test me, I did it to Jesse once and I've done it to my sister."

"I swear I will end you if you do that." She's still determined to stay asleep.

"I'd like to see you try. Grandpa says you're here on account of bad behavior. So, I'm assuming you have to be on your best behavior."

She grumbles, "That doesn't mean shit. I will still end you."

She feels drops of water on her face and god that water is fucking cold. She shoots up and sees red hair that's short, just barely shoulder length. She meets eyes are a dull green and she has freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheeks. She eyes a plastic blue bucket and keeps her gaze there.

"Good, you're awake now. I'm Casey Beale, you must be Beca."

Beca narrows her eyes and looks up at the girl, "I wouldn't call it a good thing that I'm awake."

"Well get ready, breakfast is almost ready."

Beca watches as the woman leaves. It's Saturday and she's up at six. She gets up from the bed and looks for a t-shirt to wear. She pulls out a white band t-shirt that she doesn't recalling listening to but, that's how most of her t-shirts are. She gets ready rather slowly, her motor skills aren't great at this time. Putting on eyeliner is even harder and for a moment she almost decides not to put it on. Almost. Once finished she slides her leather jacket on and heads to the house.

She trudges into the house to see five people sitting at the table and helping themselves to food. Monty is by the coffeemaker. Casey is sitting next to another person with long red hair. She checks that person as Casey's sister, seeing as no one else in the house has red hair. Jesse is talking with a heavy woman with blonde hair, who doesn't sound like she's from this country.

"Oh hey, Becaw!" Jesse hollars.

She winces at the loudness and also at the nickname. "Morning Jesse." It's barely a mumble.

"I think you mean good-morning." He's pushing a mug into her hand, it's warm and she assumes it's coffee, "Here, this should help."

Beca takes the mug and sips from it carefully, humming as it runs down her throat. It's definitely coffee. Good coffee.

Casey turns to her sister, "Almost had to wake her with a Beale special."

"Casey! That's not nice! She's a guest."

Finally some sensibility.

"Hey she wasn't going to wake up."

Beca rounds the table and finally can put a face to the unfamiliar voice. Unlike Casey, this woman doesn't have any freckles, that she can see from her current position, and she also has blue eyes instead of green. There's something about her eyes but Beca doesn't try to decode what it could be.

"I'm Chloe." She offers a bright smile and makes Beca want to wipe it right off. It's too early to be that cheery.

"Beca." she takes another sip of her coffee.

Chloe smiles again and gestures to the blonde, "That's Amy."

"That's Fat Amy to you twiggy!" Her voice holding a strong… accent of some sort. Really, she's too tired to figure it out. Maybe it's a New Zealand accent. The woman looks from Chloe to Beca, and gives her a smile before dishing up a plate of food.

It's too early for Beca to question anything that's going on. She sips at her coffee and is grateful for the strength in the taste. Taking a seat at the table, she lets out a sigh and closes her eyes wishing for sleep.

"Someone's really tired." Chloe says, amusement in her voice.

She can hear a chair being pulled back next to her, she opens her eyes a crack to see Jesse has taken a seat next to her.

"We can't all be morning people like you." Jesse states.

"Yeah, she wouldn't stop grumbling about how awful I was for even trying to wake her at this 'ungodly' hour." Casey says with a dramatic tone.

"Beca," it's Monty, "Dave left this yesterday."

Beca opens her eyes setting the mug down. She smirks seeing the black bike helmet.

"Oh, so that's your bike!" Casey says.

Beca just nods. She looks at the food and starts putting some on her plate in front of her. She doesn't pay attention to what she's putting on her plate, but it's food. She eats silently, barely listening to the conversations going on around her. She can't fathom how any of them were holding a conversation at this hour. But, perhaps, they were all used to being up early; with this being a farm after all.

Which is a great reminder that this is reality and that she royally fucked up last month. She recalls the events leading to this moment and it makes her cringe. So much lying that only lead to handcuffs and three days in a jail cell. She didn't miss it though. It was more, who she misses. She misses her sister and she wonders how the younger girl is doing on her own. She worries because her sister is different from the typical fourteen year old. She worries how the girl will do without Beca to guide her.

She pokes at her food, not feeling up for food with her thoughts spinning around her head. However, whatever Chloe or Casey, or whoever is supposed to show her how this place runs, has planned for her today, she knows she has to get something in her. She notices, when she's done, that there is only Chloe sitting at the table. She finishes off her coffee and then picks up her plate. Standing up, Beca looks to Chloe hoping the redhead will show her where to put the empty plate and mug.

"Oh, here." She stands and takes the plate and mug out of Beca's hands.

Beca watches as Chloe puts the items in the sink.

"Ready?" Chloe asks in a much too chipper voice, wearing a smile.

Beca opts to stay silent. She takes in Chloe's full look, noticing the dull black cowboy hat first. Her red hair, just past her shoulders, has small curls in it. She has on a pale blue button up and a pair of jeans. Those intense blue eyes are darting back and forth, clearly expecting Beca to respond.

She simply grunts and shakes her head softly, "Hell no, but do I have a choice?"

Chloe's smile disappears, "I suppose not." She turns around and heads out the door, walking to the barn.

Beca follows the redhead, crossing her arms. "So you're Monty's granddaughter?"

Chloe nods "Yeah, I mean, I know we don't look much alike so I can see how you're surprised."

"So where does the red come from if you don't mind me asking?"

Chloe shrugs, "My dad's side. He has this bright red hair and freckles all over his face. Casey looks more like him; really tall, short hair. I mean, obviously they're not exactly the same. Gender and stuff. I look a lot like my mom, minus the hair color. And Casey's pretty jealous that I have our mom's eyes." She chuckles a little, "It's silly."

Beca finds herself not minding the little ramble. Which is extremely strange because usually, she can't stand that. She likes people who get straight to the point. She shakes it off, not dwelling on why it doesn't bother her,

The taller girl ends up leading them to a pen filled with four or five horses.

"Okay, so this is where we keep the mares and geldings." She gestures to a pasture across the gravel road, "And that's where we keep the stallions. We don't have many stallions. It's very rare that we have more than two at a time."

"I have no idea what any of that means." Beca says tiredly.

"Oh, right, sorry! Mares are the females, stallions are the males fit for breeding, and geldings are males that are not-so-fit for breeding."

"Got it." Beca says putting her hands in her jacket pockets. She blinks a few times in an effort to further wake herself. She could go for a RedBull right about now.

"Stallions are kept separate because they tend to be territorial and temperamental." Chloe adds. "Plus we don't need unwanted breeding."

Beca simply nods and looks back at the geldings and mares. "So I have to…"

"Bring the horses that are ridden regularly by riders, into the stalls. I'll help you with this every morning."

Beca goes wide eyed for a moment, "Wait, so I seriously have to make contact with these things?"

"For someone who gives off a 'I'm a badass' vibe," she gestures to Beca's attire, "you don't seem too badass right now." Chloe notes.

"Nuh, that's not- I'm not scared. I just don't- I didn't expect I'd be working with them." Beca furrows her brow with slight frustration that she can't form a proper sentence.

"It's easy." She walks to the barn and heads to where Beca saw an office yesterday. The only real big difference is that the stalls are empty and there's country music playing. Opposite of the stairs is an open area.

"This is the tack room. Here you'll find saddles, saddle pads, blankets, bits, reins, medicine, oats, shoes, helmets, leads and halters, buckets, and grooming supplies." She gestures to each thing in the room.

"What you'll need for bringing in the horses is their halter and lead rope. Each halter is specific to each horse. On the side," she picks up a halter and shows it to her. "You'll find an engraving. This is the name of the horse this halter belongs to." She then gestures to a board with the writing 'Boarder Horses' and there were several pictures of horses, each with a name underneath.

Beca looks at the board, it's a lot to take in. She's not one to ask questions but, she has a feeling that's going to change soon; and not by choice. But Beca is stubborn, if she can avoid asking a question, she'll find a way around it.

"So, we only have one stallion. I'll get him, his name is Harley. It'll be good to show you how it's done." Beca watches as Chloe looks for the right halter, pulling out a black one.

"Follow me." Chloe says, grabbing what Beca assumes is a lead and slings it over her shoulder.

Beca pulls the hood on her leather jacket over her head and then stuffs her hands in her pockets again. She follows Chloe to the pasture where a single white horse is eating grass. He's a big horse, bigger than those in the mare and gelding pasture.

"Jesus." Beca huffs out, leaning on the wooden railing, watching as Chloe walks over to the horse. She watches as Chloe puts her hand on the horse's neck, rubbing back and forth. Beca watches as she puts the halter on, trying her best to pick up every detail she can. She mostly pays attention because she knows that if she doesn't, she'll look like a complete idiot in front of Chloe. Not a great first impression.

Reeling in her thoughts, she watches as Chloe walks towards the gate with the horse. Already Beca feels uncomfortable with the size of this horse which is easily another two feet taller than her. She steps back and Chloe just smiles.

"Think you can handle bringing a horse in?"

Beca opens her mouth to talk but nothing come out, still not over the size of the horse Chloe is leading around like it's a small dog. "Uh, not really."

She watches as Chloe's mouth forms a grin, "What, are you afraid?"

"Hell no." she suddenly feels defensive, "I just thought I'd be doing heavy lifting not, whatever this is." Beca gestures to the horse.

"Aren't you a little small for the heavy lifting?" Chloe starts to walk to the barn, leading the horse.

Beca frowns, following Chloe, "Don't underestimate me Beale." she says in all seriousness. "Besides, I don't really like… horses."

"Because you're afraid."

"N- No, that's not- look I didn't come here to become this horse whisperer." Beca shot back.

Chloe opens the stall gate and leads the horse into the stall, turning to close it, "Look Beca, whether you like or not, you're stuck with whatever job I give you. Today, I need you to help me bring in the horses. Then, I need you to groom them down. Tomorrow, I'll plan for something different if you really are that afraid."

"For fucks sake, I'm not afraid." Beca crosses her arms, "Now what horse do I have to go fetch?"

Chloe smirks slightly, "Go take a look at the board."

Beca huffs but walks back into the tack room looking at the board. There are several horses on the board and she goes with a black horse named Tucker. Clenching her jaw in frustration, she looks for his halter. Noticing the purple one she pulls it down and grabs a purple lead as well. She walks out of the tack room to see Chloe waiting for her.

"Tucker?" Chloe asks and then gives Beca a short nod, clearly seeing annoyance in Beca's whole attitude. "Alright, let's see what you got."

Beca places the lead on top of the wooden barrier. She watches as Chloe opens the gate, then closes it when Beca is in the pasture. She glances at Chloe who gives her a reassuring nod. She turns back at looks over the many horses. There's several dark looking horses but only one all black one. She slowly approaches the horse.

Don't be a fucking wimp Mitchell.

She grips the halter again and unlatches it, approaching Tucker slowly. She runs her hand tentatively over his neck, the horse lifts his head up rather quickly, nearly scaring the life out of Beca. She slides the halter onto Tucker's face. Then latches the bottom and then hooks her fingers around the side of the halter. Taking a deep breath, she pulls the horse in the direction of Chloe.

"See, that wasn't so bad!" Chloe has a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say Beale."

The small brunette grabs the lead and hooks it onto the bottom the halter where there's a gold ring. She waits for Chloe to open the gate and then exits the pasture.

"So where do I put this guy?"

"Any of the stalls. Here, I'll help." Chloe goes to the stall at the end and opens it.

Beca leads the horse into the stall and walks in a circle so Tucker is facing the stall gate. She walks out of the stall and latches the gate the way Chloe had earlier.

"There, happy?" Beca says with annoyance.

Chloe sighs, "Guess you really aren't a morning person."

"No, I just don't like being threatened to be doused in water or being called a coward."

"I was not calling you a coward Beca. I was simply stating that you were obviously afraid to be near a horse. That's understandable, you are much smaller than them after all." a small smile played at Chloe's lips again.

"I am not small. You're what, only a few inches taller than me?" she gestures to Chloe.

"Five-four." Chloe crosses her arms.

"Five-two." Beca crosses hers as well.

"You were still afraid. I saw the look on your face when I brought Harley out." Chloe says with pride, as if she just cracked some code that is Beca Mitchell.

Beca just grunts before uncrossing her arms, "What's next Beale?"

"Help me get the rest of the horses in and then we'll talk grooming."

Chloe looks at the clock and sighs, "Well, I have a client coming in soon, so I'll show you how to groom them down before. That way you have something to do."

"Clients?"

Chloe nods, "Yeah, I help people with their horse problems."

"So like, a horse whisperer?" Beca raises a brow.

"No, no..." Chloe lets out a soft sigh, "Well yes but, no. I don't 'whisper' to horses. I just help them." she pauses and walks into the tack room and comes back out with several different brushes. She goes into the stall Tucker is in. Beca follows hesitantly into stall, closing the gate behind her.

"This one time, a horse was always weaving in his stall. He was a dressage horse and it turns out, he was weaving because the schedule was too rigorous." she grabs a rubber looking brush and sets the others on the railing. "Here, this is a curry comb. You brush in circles to loosen the dirt in the horse's coat."

Beca takes the rubber brush, "So you fix horse problems?" She presses the brush to the flank of the dark colored horse, brushing in circular motions. There's a lot of dirt in this horse's hair and for a moment, it grosses Beca out. Only for a moment.

"I guess so." Chloe shakes her head, "C'mon Beca, he's a big boy, you can put a bit more pressure on him." She places her hand on Beca's helping the younger girl.

"I- yeah, I got it." Beca curses to herself for stumbling over her words from a simple touch. She tells herself to get it together. Chloe's just another person, no different from anyone else in this world. She'll be damned to think otherwise. She hopes Chloe will let go but, she only does when Beca finally starts adding pressure to the brush herself.

"Okay, now be a bit more gentle on his neck." she picks up a brush herself and starts brushing the other side.

Beca keeps her focus on where she's brushing but, that doesn't last when Chloe starts talking again. Usually Beca prefers silence but there's something about the way Chloe gets really excited about whatever she's talk about. She's passionate about a lot of things and Beca kind of admires this. Kind of. Sure the super perky vibe is a little annoying, especially at this hour, but it's not overly happy. Which Beca appreciates. Lisa is a great example of in your face happy; pinching cheeks, smiles way too big for someone's face, and overly excited about the most ridiculous things. She internally scoffs thinking about the time Beca got a C plus on a test and Lisa ended up baking 'c' shaped cookies.

"So once you've done that, you're going to want to use a hard brush to remove the dirt. And just like any other animal, you're going to want to brush the direction the hair goes." Chloe picks up a brush and offers it to Beca. She takes the curry comb and sets it on the railing with the other brushes.

Beca takes the brush starts to brush out the dirt. "How is there this much dirt?"

Chloe smiles, "A horses favorite activity is rolling around in the dirt."

Beca shakes her head, "Animals."

"Sometimes they roll right after you brush them down and let them out in the pasture." Chloe picks up another hard brush and goes to the other side of the horse again.

"This is why cats are so much better. And, even a dog isn't this dirty." At this point the dust and dirt must be getting to Beca because she starts sneezing uncontrollably. "Plus, I'm less likely to die from sneezing."

Chloe laughs at this and shakes her head, "You get used to it."

"I don't think I will Beale."

"Hey, Miss Chloe Beale, are you busy or should I come back later?" The voice is a little sharp and condescending. It irritates her for a reason unknown to her. Maybe it's because it reminds her of the way her algebra teacher would always lecture her. Maybe it's the fact that she doesn't understand how someone could be so condescending. Especially towards someone like Chloe. Someone who just breathes 'nice and happy'.

She turns to see a middle aged woman with very, very short blonde hair. She's dressed in what looks like extremely fancy business attire. Really anything more than a nice pair of jeans and top is fancy to Beca, so maybe it's not fancy.

Chloe exists the stall, "Sorry Mrs. Posen. I was teaching the new hand. I got distracted."

"Excuses, excuses Chloe. You know, if you're going to be running a business, you can't keep people waiting." She shakes her head, "Tango is in the trailer. I trust you'll take care of the rest. I have a meeting I need to get to so I'll expect a call on his progress tonight."

Chloe gave a short nod, "Of course Mrs. Posen."

Beca watches Chloe disappear before continuing to brush down Harley. She enjoys the silence but it doesn't last long. It annoys Beca but she knows she's going to have to get used to it. There's no choice. But of course, it has to be Jesse.

"Sup Becaw!"

Once again Beca opts not to say anything and cringes at the nickname. Okay, so it's not a bad nickname. Beca just hates nicknames in general. Her name is already short enough. No her full name isn't Rebeca, it's just Beca. Her father thought of it, although her mother didn't have much to say in the matter.

"So I see Chloe showed you how to brush down a horse." He leans against the stall railing.

Beca shakes her head, "I don't think she finished. A Mrs. Posen interrupted."

Jesse rolls his eyes, "Yeah that's Aubrey's mom."

Beca furrows her brow putting the brush down. "Aubrey?"

"Chloe's BFF."

"Her mother sounds awful." Exiting the stall, then closing the gate and latching it. She picks up the other brushes and walks into the tack room, looking around before setting them in their bins with the other brushes.

"They're lawyers. Her parents." Jesse's now leaning against the door frame. "They're not so bad." Jesse chuckles, "Don't you have to groom all the horses?" Putting emphasis on the word 'all'.

Beca furrows her brow for a moment before realizing she just put away what she needed to finish brushing all the horses. God she's out of it. She throws her head back and groans, turning around to grab them. "How am I supposed to-" she doesn't finish her sentence, she just lets out a frustrated sigh.

Jesse shakes his head, "You really aren't a morning person are you?" He can't help but laugh a little.

"Have I not made it apparent?" She grabs a rubber brush and then a hard brush. She goes to walk back to the stalls but Jesse has yet to move.

"You're forgetting a soft brush and a pick."

Beca furrows her brow, "A soft brush and a pick?" What the hell is a pick used for? Guess she'll find out.

"I thought you said Chloe taught you?" He smiles a little.

Beca slumps her shoulders, "I swear I said we were interrupted but, I could be wrong."

"Right." He walks over to the bins and picks up another brush from a bin and what is probably a pick; although it looks a lot more like a giant dental tool. "C'mon, I'll show you."

Beca walks back to the stall gate, she sets the brushes on the railing and then opens the door. She turns to Jesse who is placing the items on the railing as well. He hands her a brush.

"That's a soft brush. Just brush like you did with the hard brush."

Beca brushes both sides of the horse down, sighing because this is a lot of work for one horse. And she's also not done. Call her lazy but, Beca just doesn't see the point. She puts the brush back on the railing and looks expectantly at Jesse.

"Okay, now, I'll show you how to clean the hooves."

"How the hell is that going to work?"

Jesse just smiles, "It's easy."

He proceeds to show her, sliding his hand down the length of the horse's leg. He starts to explain and gives the horse's leg a gentle squeeze. He mentions something about calling it 'just above the fetlock'. To Beca's surprise the horse picks up his hoof. Jesse faces away from the horse's face, letting the hoof rest on his hand. He shows her how to pick away the dirt and then explains the horse's frog. Wait. Did she hear that right? A frog? Apparently it's a v-shaped part of the hoof that you don't want to pick. Picking away at that would be bad. She tries her best to try to remember everything but, she's still worried she might get kicked in the face. Not so sure this is considered 'easy'. Any of this.

The rest of the day kind of drags on. Painfully slow. She's incredibly pleased when she finishes. Jesse has not stopped talking since he explained hoof picking. He goes on and on about bronc riding, never really having a point to it. Beca learns that he's also obsessed with quotes. Specifically movie quotes and then explaining what movie it was from. She's thankful that he doesn't ask her any questions. Literally none.

She hasn't come into contact with Chloe since the interruption. Although, she has seen Chloe working with clients and their horses. She's currently in a pen with poles laying on the ground. There's a little girl riding a very small horse. Beca can't be bothered to figure out whatever the hell is going on over there. No. She wants to go for a ride on her bike into town. To specifically go find a job. She's going to be here for summer, possibly longer. It all depends on what Dave thinks of her behavior. Really, she doesn't think a summer is going to whip her into shape.

But she'll try. Maybe.

She brushes off the dirt on her jeans and heads to the house to grab her helmet. Monty is doing some sort of work at the small table in the kitchen. She passes him and picks up the helmet. She returns to the small table and thinks for a moment.

"So are all your chores done?" He doesn't look up from the paperwork.

"All the ones Chloe gave me." She fumbles with the strap on the helmet.

"Alright, well, I'll need your phone number if you're leaving the area."

Beca furrows her brow, not sure where she left her phone. "Uh, I'll have to go find it." She rarely uses the device. She doesn't really need it to begin with it.

"Okay, well, regardless I need your number." He finally looks up and hands Beca scrap piece of paper.

She jots the number down and then exits the house to go to the loft. Once there, she digs around for her phone in the duffel bag. She finds it in her laptop case and shakes her head. She flips the phone open and smirks seeing a single text from 'L' saying 'I love u'. She replies with a 'love u 2' before closing the device and sliding it into her pocket.

The drive into town is shorter than she thought it might be. Maybe twenty minutes. She gets a few looks from some people and she can't help the eye roll. Haven't these people seen a bike before? She parks and then pulls her helmet off. Looking around, there are strips of small shops on either side of the road. What catches her eye is a tack and diner called Murphy's. She tries not to make a face at the sight. It's no Seattle but, it is a lot cleaner.

She walks around aimlessly for the most part but, stops by the diner. Outside the doors is a bulletin filled with events and a lost pet poster or two. Nothing about jobs though. She enters the place, it's small and it's pretty busy for four o'clock The walls are wood and there's a tv in the corner. It's got a western theme going. To the left it looks like a shop is merged with the diner. The waitresses are wearing dull pink dresses and the waiters, although there's only one, is wearing a dull pink button up. It throws Beca off at first. What doesn't surprise Beca though, is the soft sound of country music playing. She walks up to the counter, there are bar stools and she plants herself down on one. She watches a woman with blonde hair come to the counter, a forced smile on her face. And possibly distaste in her eyes.

"Hi, welcome to Murphy's. You must be new in town." Her voice is serious and not all that friendly.

"Uh yeah.." Beca responds, putting her bike helmet on the counter. She watches the woman glance at the helmet and frown.

"What can I get for you?"

Beca looks for a name tag but doesn't find one. "Uh, I was wondering if this place is hiring. Or any place for that matter?" She felt like cringing.

"We're not hiring currently and I do not know of any place looking to hire." She narrows her eyes at Beca, "Is that all?"

Beca narrowed her eyes back, "Yeah," she stands and grabs her helmet, "It is. Thanks." She turns and leaves the establishment. That whole experience was a mess and extremely uncomfortable. She doesn't understand what the blonde disliked about her so much. Actually she could come to several reasons. She was about to leave the small town but a small music store caught her eye.

The place is called Luke's. She looks in the window and there are guitars hanging on the walls, shelves of records, and there's a mess of CDs and records of shelves. She walks into the store and bell rings as she does so. Posters of country singers litter the walls. However it doesn't seem like anyone's here so she goes straight to looking around. She smiles seeing some records her sister would love but cringes at the price. Of course those records would be pricey.

"Hey there, I'm Luke." He has a british accent.

She turns around and see's Luke has short blonde hair. He's wearing a black button up and jeans. He has a friendly smile unlike that blonde woman.

She smirks, "You don't happen to be hiring?" She doesn't know why she asks but she does.

"Not technically but lately I could use someone to help out and organize. As you can probably see. You must be new to town."

"Yeah, I'm here for the summer. I'm staying with Monty Callen."

"A great man." Luke goes to pick up a box of cds and disappears for a moment before returning. "When can you start?"

Beca furrows her brow, "Just like that? Don't you want a background, information, an interview?"

"Okay," he tilts his head a bit and leans against a wall. "Can you count?"

Beca nods.

"Read?"

She nods again.

"Can you be friendly to customers and be on time?"

Beca smirks, "Sure."

"And you're name please." he crosses his arms.

"Beca Mitchell."

Luke smiles and gestures to the helmet in Beca's hand. "And you have transportation. You're hired. You'll earn minimum wage and I'll need you here after hours on Mondays through Thursdays."

Beca smiles a bit, fumbling with the strap on the helmet again, "You're serious?"

"Why not?" Luke shrugs. He smiles again, "So, can you start Monday?"

Beca's smile grows, "Yeah, I can work with that. After six?"

"Yeah, that works. I'll see you then." He disappears before she can say anything more.

Beca does a little victory dance inside her head before leaving to go back to the ranch.

She's immediately greeted by Chloe. Still on the bike, Beca pulls off her helmet. "Hey Beale."

"So, I was wondering if you wanted to come to a party tonight. It's a 'summer's here' sort of party. Jesse and Fat Amy are going as well." There's a hopeful look on Chloe's face.

"What does she do here? If you don't mind me asking. I haven't see her all day."

Chloe smiles, "She helps Casey run errands usually. She's been gone most of the day."

All Beca can say is, "Oh." She's not sure what she was expecting the woman did around here.

"Now, are you joining us or not?" Chloe wears a hopeful look.

Now normally Beca would never be up for a party. Ever. She doesn't do parties. Mostly because parties are just a bunch of kids who plan on getting wasted or high. Or both. It's It's always crowded and the music is pretty tasteless. It also doesn't help that there will be no one Beca knows. But somehow, Beca finds herself saying yes. For whatever reason. Maybe it's because it gives her a chance to rebel. Or maybe it's the way Chloe looks so excited. Wait. What did Chloe have to do with anything? Nothing. Nothing at all.

Beca nods her head, "But only if I can bring my bike. I need an escape if I don't like the party."

"Of course silly. I mean, unless you really want to ride in the back of the truck."

"I'll pass." Beca gets off her bike, holding her helmet.

Chloe just shakes her head, "See you at dinner Beca."