Date:         Wed, 17 Dec 1997 00:35:59 -0500
From: CK Tower <vixxen@SOJOURN.COM>
Subject:      Re: INT: Strawberry's Bed and Breakfast

At 11:54 PM 12/16/97 -0500, you wrote:
>The place looked deserted from the outside.  A rambling Victorian
>mansion, windows on the bottom floor were boarded up, to protect the
>house from vandals most likely.
>    Chelsea reigned in her horse, and carefully dismounted.  She tied
>the reigns to the post of the porch, hoping the wood wasn't rotted, and
>that her only source of transport wouldn't bolt.
>    Carefully the short blonde walked up the creaking steps to the front
>door.  Using the corner of her t-shirt, Chelsea wiped the grime away
>from the oval window and peered inside.  Cobwebs festooned the entryway,
>and the house emitted an air of disuse and loneliness.
>    Curiosity semi-sated, the petite woman turned to leave.  A flash of
>light tickled at the corner of her eye.  Chelsea resumed her position at
>the door, and lying on the floor - which she would have sworn was
>covered with dust and nothing more - was  a silver brooch.

Celia sat down her backpack and slid the barn door open.
It was dark inside, but light shown in enough for her to see
the dust in the air and cobwebs in every corner.  But that
wasn't what worried her.  After six months away she was
afraid to imagine the condition of the stalls.   After looking around
she found a pitch fork in the corner.  Reaching into her pocket
she retrieved a rubber band and pulled her long sandy hair
into a ponytail, then began the long task of getting the barn
back in order.

All in all, it was great to be back, and she looked foward to
seeing Strawberry again.  She was taken aback when the
letter arrived.  June was reopening bed and breakfast and
she wanted Celia back on as the barn manager, if she was
available.  For Celia it was perfect timing.  She had
been looking for a new place to work and a better home for
Granizar.  After the copper-coated stallion had come down
with colic for the second time, Celia started keeping a closer
watch on the goings on where he was stabled.  She was furious
to discover they were feeding moldy grain, just to save a few
dollars.

Celia stopped shoveling for a moment to wipe the thin layer
of dirt and sweat from her forehead.  But she couldn't
linger too long, Strawberry said her horses would be arriving in the
morning, and that she had already leased out five stalls.  Celia
wondered what the owners would be like.  But there would be time
for wondering later, for now she had twenty some stalls to clean,
grain and hay to pick up and unload, and a dozen other chores
to do before the barn was in order for tomarrow, let alone see
what kind of state the apartment over the barn was in

Just as she was about to resume her cleaning, Celia heard
a horse nicker.  The sounds seemed to be coming from up at the house...

-CK


(thanks, Kat for reviving a great INT ;)