All In the FAMILY (closed/Cav)

[Ripley]

Mal shoved his hands through his dark hair as he stepped onto the porch of the home he shared with Adele. Her truck wasn't in the drive which meant she was being kept hostage by Landing. The man seemed to take pleasure in keeping his wife from him. The relationship was still rocky with Landing. God knew the man wasn't as big a grudge holder as Malcolm, but Mal didn't trust him still. Ripley spent loads of time with Intrepid. Brooks was a downright drinking buddy with the man. Mal simply didn't like a man who would attempt to stop a marriage from happening when it clearly was the best thing for both parties involved. Mal turned around, cocked his hip, analyzed his pretty little yard from the looping white porch. It was a gorgeous piece of property, settled smack in the middle between Intrepid Racing and Witch Creek Stable. He'd not budged an inch from his ideal country home with rolling grass as far as the could see.

A city boy he was not. He didn't mind the downtown appeal. Nothing beat a cold beer under the lights at midnight in town. The atmosphere always seemed to rock him. It reminded him of the west Ireland town he'd grown up in. Someday he wanted to go back and take Adele with him. It'd be a good vacation. They'd never really gone on a honeymoon. They'd gotten married and then Breeders' Cup season had hit. Then after Breeders' Cup season Mal was too busy with the mares and foals at Witch Creek. After the breeding season would be the spring classic season. Mal could practically feel his stress level rising. Perhaps September would be good for Adele and him to slip away. Everything seemed to slow down then.

Mal rolled the sleeves of his flannel shirt up and entered the house. He yawned a big lion's yawn as he untied his clunky barn boots. He felt bad for the glimmering wood floors in the front hall, but that was the danger when you married a horsemen. Unfortunately for the floors, the house was home to a horsewoman as well. His lips quirked at the thought of Adele coming home and sweeping her off her feet. She was a romantic at heart. She'd appreciate it and she'd appreciate the red wine he'd bought for the clam sauce linguine dinner he was going to make. The pair of them were lucky they'd found each other in this crazy world.

Contentment swirled around Mal as he broke out the ingredients for the dinner and chilled the wine. It was about time his pretty wife came home.

[Cavallo]

She sighed in relief as she parked her beat up truck in the gravel driveway. She rested her head briefly on the steering wheel as she felt some of the work tension ease from her shoulders. She sat back and rolled her shoulders, trying to ease the soreness there from working her power house style mounts. Fin had been showing a little bit more of an edge in their workouts and she had to admit that his TC Prep win had placed a new edge into the Reve son, but the highlight and stress of her day had come in the form of Quick Silver. She was a bully of a filly and today's workout hadn't left the Mr. Hat and Clogs filly in a pliable mood to say the least. It had been like walking a poised snake down the barn aisle after Crimson Fatalis had romped the filly by a length in their workout. She'd been bested and bested by a horse of the male gender to say the least.

She'd given the evil eye to anyone that had dared to come close and so that had left her with the task of removing her tack, cooling and grooming. Dana just wouldn't tolerate anyone else and it wasn't that she minded, but it was taxing to say the least in addition to her other jobs around the barn. Katia had given her a sympathetic eye and helped as much as Dana would allow, but it had just been more...more added to her plate and then throw in the new face at Intrepid and she was thrown for a loop. As soon as she'd finished with Dana she'd raced to hunt down Beth. She'd found her moving Princetta into the broodmare section of the barn and flagged her down. She'd paused with a keen and indifferent Malva in hand and she'd blatantly asked her what she knew about the new trainer...to which she saw the deer-in-the-headlight look she'd had upon meeting the man. So pretty much...no one knew anything. She added it to her list of things to discuss with her husband.

Her Husband. Her heart warmed at that thought and she moved with a new eagerness out of the truck. She skipped up the steps with a new lightness, thinking about Mal had that kind of effect upon her. She saw his truck in the drive and knew he was home. It was a welcomed sight to come home to, knowing that someone you loved and who loved you in return was there for you. She walked through the door with a small smile on her face as she shucked her boots off by the front door with a quick loosening of the laces. She'd at least contained her mess to the front door, which was more than she could say of her husband as she looked down the hall with a mock huff of exasperation. "Mal, boots off by the door. Okay?" she mocked teased and lectured as she wandered down the hall in search of the man she called her own. She heard some rustling from the kitchen and meandered her way through the living room that connected to the dinning room and kitchen. She smiled as she leaned against the door frame, arms crossed over her open button up flannel with a white tank top smudge and grimy underneath from the days work. Whatcha doin' there babe?, she said with a small smirk on her face, her eyebrow arched in question. "Is that dinner you're cooking..mmm good and wine too?" she said in hope as she sauntered over to him barefoot across the kitchen floor as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and buried her face into his strong muscled back. She inhaled his scent of work and horses and hummed content as she then turned her face to peek around his shoulder, "Well this is a nice surprise after the interesting day I've had..."

[Ripley]

He heard the truck pull up, knew from the squealing of brakes that it was Adele. Brow furrowed, Mal took note to check them later. She made enough to get a new truck, but damned if she'd sign the contract for one. That was something he was working on. Pretty she was, but she was as equally stubborn.

He shook off the pondering fuzz, coming back to reality. He liked to think he wasn't all about work, but when work was your passion there was little else you thought about. He knew it consumed Ripley as thoroughly as it consumed him. Often he'd wake up in the middle of the night or delay going to bed just to write down new ideas for breaking the yearlings or handling the babies. He was the key between the fun little babies and the fine tuned athlete. He prided himself on his ability and was so far seeing his oldest group excel at the age of three. Saintly Touch, Sun King and Nirvana had been his babies to play with. Two were Breeders' Cup and two had been named juvenile of the their sexes. He had a lot to be proud of and he was as hands on beyond the age of two as it got. Fine tuning did not just stop upon racing age. Spotlight Pride and Taboo were a testament to that.

He thought of the talented eight juveniles he'd turned over to Ripley now. His group was doing very well. Perhaps they weren't the best string out there. Certainly Intrepid, Valkyrie and SOPS had more powerful strings all together, but he wouldn't change anything out. Every individual he had would improve with age and experience. There was no need for a flash in the pan horse at the youthful age of two. It was only a side benefit to have a dominating juvenile. Lord knew he'd been blown away as much as the casual fan by Sun King's shocking juvenile season. The red colt was potentially the greatest youngster he'd ever seen run. And that was a high compliment.

Mal smirked at Adele's comment. "They are by the door. Just be thankful they're in the hallway." He scrubbed hard at the pots, appreciating the energy it took to clean up the mess.

He smiled when she stepped into the room, already feeling the atmosphere brighten. Everything always felt more shiny and precious when she was around. It was considered a side effect of being in love. He rolled his eyes at her comment, "I'm practicing a recipe for Susie. She's got a hankering for serving fancy restaurant food in that diner of hers. I figured what better way to practice than on her new favorite guinea pig." He gave up scrubbing when she wrapped her arms around him. He admired the rings on her finger, reached up and rubbed them with his own. "Don't know what's wrong with hot dogs and fries. Nothing better after a hot summer day."

He turned around, kissed her forehead. "Why so interesting? You don't look like you got bucked off today. You aren't usually so peppy when that happens."

[Cavallo]

She listened with an amused smile on her face at the mention of Susie. She loved that woman, but then it was easy to love someone who had taken such good care of her man and had a mutual affection for Mal - though hers was definitely more of the motherly kind. Both Mal and her didn't have very many parental figures in their lives, what with hers being rich snobs and Mals...well who knew. That caused her to think...she really didn't know all that much about the Floyd family, not that it mattered in the long run because she knew she loved Malcolm, but still it made her wonder. She troubled her bottom lip with her teeth in thought as he scrubbed the dishes, their hands touching in a simple and easy manner and she already felt her innards warming at his casual touch. Yes, he had that effect on her and she smiled a slow and easy smile when he turned around to take her into his arms. Oh, but this felt like coming home, resting here in his arms. "Well, you better stop volunteering us as guinea pigs because I do have a weight to maintain after all..." She teased and looked up adoringly into a pair of cobalt blue eyes as he turned around and kissed her forehead. She hummed in satisfaction, letting herself fully relax in his arms. She would be more than okay at this point with him just carrying her off to bed, but she knew she needed a shower. She was the nazi here when it came to showering before bed. She liked sleeping in clean sheets after a hard days work, even if Mal did grumble at her from time to time for the demand to shower or bath before bed...but it had its advantages. That brought a wicked gleam to her eye as she held his...his eyes so familiar and yet...not ton unlike the stranger she met today. And with that her thoughts once again became clouded , her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to place the man and figure out just how he fit into everything. Her train of thought was interrupted though by Mal's comment.

Her eyes flashed in challenge at him mentioning her getting bucked...Granted it wasn't unheard of..in fact it was just a part of working with horses...you fell off every now and again, but he should know more than anyone that she was more than capable of holding her own, even on the most spirited of horses. She had the touch with horses that were edgy and often labeled as aggressive, but her light touch and steely determination was often just what those horses needed to be brought in hand and to run the feet of the devil. She loved to go fast and she loved her mounts, all of them in their stubborn glory. She had less mounts than others and some might few that as a slight in comparison to the other jockeys, but she didn't mind...in fact she just had a new addition added to her roster and three was after all a number of perfection, but that was neither here nor there. She mused her response to him, wondering why she got a feeling of foreboding, but why should she? It wasn't as if the new trainer was the devil incarnate and Nick had every right as head trainer and owner to hire whoever he wanted. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders noncommittally as she rested in Mal's arms. "No...I wasn't bucked off you oaf." She teased with a sarcastic quip, "But Quick Silver's workout today was...I don't know..it was just off. Nick's hired some new trainer...and kind of just sprung him on us out of the blue while we were all headed to the tracks. I mean...it's not like he did anything. I think he had just gotten in and Nick was getting him familiarized with everything, but naturally all of us were just like...Who are you? And Dana took that as license to be a grade-A butt hole." She paused and looked to him for slight reassurance, she had no idea why she had this nagging feeling, but if she could vent to anyone it was her husband and so she pressed on with slight hesitation. "It was an older-younger pair workout so Dana naturally got romped, but she also stretched, which was just what we wanted, it was just weird having the new trainer there out of the blue. I even hunted Beth down to ask about the new guy and she'd had no idea that Nick was ever hiring anyone.." She crinkled her nose in deep thought as her mind recaptured the mental image of the man and then looked up at her husbands features with a confused look. She was going to lie. This Jaime McGrady had been attractive, an eerily familiar build to the one her husband sported...but that was just coincidence right?

"I know Nick can hire whoever he wants and Lord knows he needed the trainer help with Michael still riding more so than training, but it was just..odd...he was tall, dark haired and had an Irish accent. Hell you two look like you could have been related come to think of it.." She teased, feeling a nervous laugh come out her mouth as she hinted and joked about her inner musings. I mean what were the chances?

[Ripley]

Mal tensed as Adele went through her work day. Quick Silver had been a difficult filly. She'd been sweet and beautiful, a product of a rare cross. Mr. Hat And Clogs threw lookers. Hell he was about to wean a Mr. Hat and Clogs colt who already looked like he was going to be trouble. But the trouble makers tended to be the good ones. They had the attitude of winners and the fury of hell when they lost. Thank goodness he didn't have them when they were racing. He couldn't deal with the melodrama of a racehorse. He'd leave that to Ripley and Brooks. They seemed to relish the challenge of complicated horses.

His cobalt blue eyes darkened as Adele described the new trainer. Of course Nick Landing would add in a branch of authority. He was a city slicker boy who didn't seem to grasp that assistants needed to prove themselves before they were hired. Brooks had worked his way up from jockey to assistant trainer. Susie had given Mal a grade A review for his baby handling to Ripley. She'd been wary at first, but had gradually surrendered the reins of that area after he'd proven himself. He had several opinions about Nick Landing and none that he could voice to Adele. Ripley or Justin would hear his opinion of the man tomorrow or later when he went back for feeding.

Typical shit that Landing pulls. You want me to like this guy, but you give me more reason to dislike him every day." He brushed her hair back, admiring the differing light colors. "I hold my tongue because you love it there."

He stepped away from Adele as she described the character to mix the sauce with the pasta. He added a dash of salt and spooned some up for tasting. It was delicious. He could count on Susie for anything food related. He made a note to bring some for lunch for the staff tomorrow. They never ate enough during work days. "Lots of Irish people around here. Half of Ripley's crews from outside the U.S. Only people who aren't are Brooks, Justin and Connor." He shrugged off the description. Where he was from a lot of people looked like him. What's his name? Maybe I know his family?"

[Cavallo]

Malcolm was without a doubt the love of her life, but he was also the must stubborn pain in her ass when it make to the topic of her boss, Nicholas Landing. He simply would not let the past incident go when she and Mal had decided to elope and get married. Sure, she'd been plenty pissed at her boss at the time, but looking back she could see where the man had been coming from. Nick was the replacement father figure when she'd made the choice to leave her posh life and pursue her riding career. He'd taken the too-tall, lanky female jockey under his wings and she'd flourished. She owed her start to this man and he'd supported her when her career had taken flight. Intrepid was her second home and the crew and staff there were family and it had been an adjustment, to say the least, to make that family circle now include Malcolm - a man who wanted nothing to do with the other man central to her life.

She huffed and rolled her eyes at Mal as he made his sarcastic comment about her boss, not allowing herself to become distracted by his touch as he smoothed back her hair and walked over to finish prepping dinner. "Malcolm, we both know that you're just looking for reasons to despise that man, a man who, yes, acted like an idiot, but has since apologized...And don't think I don't see the judgment in your eyes. There's been a lot of changes that had to be made with Nick's retirement. He knows what needs to be done...and it's okay if it's different that at Witch Creek." She implied with a pointed stare, but a small fire quirked at her lips at the thought of Mal getting all riled to become her knight in shinning armor. He was good at saving the damsels in distress. He put up such a tough front and yet he had the quiet touch to bring along the wildest of weanlings and yearlings or handle a taciturn pregnant Ripley or the firecracker Reese. She wouldn't lie. She got jealous sometimes of the other jockeys at WCS, mainly because they got to see Mal all day, but she'd rather cut her own hands off than leave IRS. Mal had his stable family and she had hers, but when they came home it was just them and that was all that mattered. Things were definitely done differently between the two stables, that was for sure, but at the end of the day her and Mal worked at two of the top stables, their common bond for the love of the sport more than enough to give them pillow talk late into the night. At the end of the day, it was this man she came home to and he to her and that was more than enough for her.

"Anyways..." she continued on, willing to redirect Mal's frustrated attentions from her boss to the real situation at hand. She watched as he seasoned the sauce and taste tested it. Her stomach growled and she was unabashed about it as she hopped back onto the counter top to watch Mal finish. She licked her lips in anticipation for the meal to come. Suzie's recipes had been the bane of her riding career since she and Mal had gotten together, but god, the food was so worth the extra running and training. He listened to her as she described the man and he was so nonchalant about it all, but then that was Mal for you. He rarely got his feathers ruffled, but when they did it took forever for him to get his feathers re-situated, typical Irish man. He seemed so relaxed about it all, it caused her to drop her own anxiousness as her bare feet swung casually in the air as she rested atop the counter her hands braced in between her legs on the granite surface. He shrugged off her description and she decided to assign her prior nerves to being nothing more than that - nerves. She shrugged in return then and answered his question, "His name is Jaime. Jaime McGrady. I think he said he was from the Dublin area...or something like that.." She hopped off the counter and grabbed some plates for them and silverware too, not looking at Mal. After all, he hadn't seemed concerned before so surely he wasn't now. Jaime McGrady was just another face and a new co-worker nothing more it seemed. She turned back to him plates in hand ready for him to dish out the dinner. She was freaking hungry.