Chapter Eight

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz……Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. The vibrations of her phone off the bedside locker awoke Jenn the next morning. Groaning she reached out and grabbed it, blinking at the screen. Her alarm read 7.00am, good job she’d remembered to set it the day before or she‘d have slept through.. She had a busy day planned for her visitors. They were due to view a horse at a farm about an hour outside of the city before lunch then in the afternoon she had arranged to take Steph out on a cross country course. Riding across country in Ireland is a fantastic thrill for even the most experienced rider and Jenn knew it would help Steph’s balance no end.

Jumping out of the bed she padded across to the window and peeped out behind the curtains, 'Please don’t be raining’ she prayed and breathed a sigh of relief to see an only mild grey sky. With any luck the rain would hold off until this evening anyway. Trying out strange horses in the rain was not a prospect anyone would relish. After showering and a quick coffee she rang through to the Bongiovi’s suite. Steph picked up and they agreed to meet down in the lobby in five minutes. Glancing at herself in the mirror, Jenn laughed at the difference in appearance compared to the glamour of last night. Her hair was piled into a baseball cap jammed on her head and she was ensconced in several layers of fleeces, t-shirts and a waterproof riding coat. Blue levis and brown riding boots completed the ensemble. Just a regular farm girl she thought to herself, gotta love the style Jenn! Grabbing her bag with her riding gear she headed out the door and waited for the lift to appear.

The doors slid back to reveal Jon and Steph as it’s only other occupants. Both father and daughter were dressed for the weather with warm jackets and hats. Jenn was relieved to see that both were prepared for the mud of the Irish countryside and smiled in greeting;

“Morning guys! Sleep well?”

“Sure did although I think Dad wishes he was still in bed!” Steph winked at Jon who still had a sleepy look on his face.

“Yeah, you got a full night’s sleep kiddo. Give your old man a break!”

“Don’t worry Jon, I’m a little bleary eyed myself this morning. The country air will soon brush away the cobwebs though!” Jenn smiled brightly at Jon who returned it back to her.

“Yep! We’re both looking forward to this aren’t we hon?” He motioned to his daughter; “Steph’s got excess energy to burn off here!”

Laughing they stepped out into the lobby area and headed for the door. Jenn had arranged a rental land cruiser for the few days they’d be touring the countryside and it was waiting for them outside. Jumping in behind the wheel she steered them out through the city with Jon comfortably nestled in the front beside her and Steph taking in the passing countryside from the back seat. Focused on the day ahead of them, Jenn found herself relaxed and chatting easily with Jon through the hour or so it took until they pulled down a narrow laneway which opened out into a wide concrete yard surrounded by stable doors in varying states of disrepair.

“Don’t be fooled by appearances guys, some of the best horses this country has produced have come from here.” Jenn took in the wide eyes of her visitors as they gazed around at the ramshackle buildings. Steph had always been in yards and horse farms that were perfectly manicured and where money was no object. She found this slightly rundown farm somewhat enchanting. As the three of them stood in the yard looking around them a voice from behind had them turning around.

“Howya Jennifer. Tis about time you came back to see me!”

A stout balding man in his sixties was ambling towards them, a broad smile on his face. Green Wellington boots with baggy brown trousers and a flea-bitten grey woolly jumper shrouded his figure with a flat grey cap perched on his head.

“Ted! Great to see you! It’s been too long” Jenn pulled the man into a fond hug.

“Sure that’s no ones fault but yer own lassie! I’ve not gone anywhere! Introduce me to yer friends.” He drawled in a broad country accent and extended a knarled hand to Jon.

“Jon Bongiovi sir, thanks for having us,” Jon shook the man’s hand firmly and motioned to Steph,

“And this is my daughter Stephanie.”

Steph smiled shyly as the older man grasped her hand firmly.

“And a grand girl you are too! You’re very welcome here, come on so and I’ll show you the big fellah!”

With that the man turned and let a hearty roar out across the yard,

“TOM! Where are ye?”

A muffled shout came from a barn across the way. Jon and Steph both looked at Jenn, a bemused smile twitching at the corner of Jon’s lips. As their host made his way in the direction of the voice, Jenn pulled in close to Jon and murmured in his ear ,

“It’s rough and ready but you won’t find a nicer family. Bet you never thought you’d be dealing with a mad Irish farmer!” She giggled and followed after Ted who had disappeared around the side of the barn. Jon laughed and clapped his arm around Steph who was looking a little nervous at the whole situation. The three of them trooped into a dimly lit cattle shed, the smell of haylage pungent in the air. The central walkway was surrounded by cattle on both sides behind strong metal bars all busily munching the sweet forage. Jon wrinkled his nose and glanced at his daughter who was now smiling widely and looking with delight at the animals.

“This sure is a real farm Dad! Maybe we should bring some cows home too?” She laughed at the look of disgust on her father’s face. Jon was a town man and a bit of a city slicker and never in his life had he imagined he’d be standing in cow shit on a farm in the middle of Ireland. A heifer let a mighty bellow out beside him and he leapt about six feet in the air.

“Holy shit!” he cursed. “Where’s the damn horse?”

Jenn had been watching the pair from the other end of the barn and was doubled over in laughter at the sight of the two Americans looking wide eyed around them.

“C’mon you two! We’re down here!” she called out. Jon spotted the humour playing across her face and strode over to join her.

“Enjoying this are we Miss O’Neill?” He eyed her suspiciously, “Just wait till we get home and I get you out in the big lights of New York! Payback!”

They both laughed and walked out the other end of the barn into a smaller courtyard. In the middle stood a huge dark horse being held by a young man of no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. Ted stood beside them and motioned to them,

“This here is my young lad Tommy. He’ll be taking over the farm shortly Jennifer. He’s got a good head for business!” The elderly man nodded with approval at his son.

“Hi Tommy, nice to meet you. Hopefully you can carry on your father’s legacy!” Jenn walked around the horse looking him over. Jon and Steph hung back sensing that it was better to let Jenn do her thing. Jenn filled them in on the horse’s details as she inspected his legs.

“This guy’s only a four year old but he has a seasons hunting under him already. Hopefully Steph this fellah could be your novice to train. He has all the right bloodlines and his sire was a very successful Puissance jumper.”
Steph nodded and stroked the big horse’s neck. She had never really dealt with a young horse before but Jenn gave her such confidence that she looked forward to the challenge. Jenn smiled reassuringly at her,

“C’mon we’ll have a look at him loose jumping. This guy looks like he has buckets of scope!”

Tommy led the horse out the corner of the yard and down into a large sand arena. Letting the horse go, he stepped back as the horse took off bucking and plunging around in the sand. Laughing he looked a little sheepishly at Steph,

“Don’t worry, he’s just a bit fresh. I never got around to riding him yesterday. He‘ll tire quick enough though, he‘s not fit!”

He smiled at Steph who blushed and gazed back at him. Jenn shot a quick look at Jon who was watching his daughter with interest. He still hadn’t gotten his head around the fact that she wasn’t a little girl anymore and that sooner or later he was gonna have to be dealing with boy troubles. They all turned their attentions back to the big horse who had settled now and was cantering easily around the ring. Ted and Tommy set about raising some fences along one side and the horse cleared them impressively at each try.

“He’s an entire Jon but provided his temperament works out, I don’t see a reason to geld him.”

Jenn liked this horse immensely and had already decided to herself that this one would be going to the States but she tried to keep Jon’s interest held. She knew this was unchartered territory for him and that he was trying hard.

“Shucks, I wouldn’t want my balls chopped off either!” Jon grimaced and shrugged his shoulders.

Jenn grinned and thought to herself, ‘God forbid! What a mortal sin that would be!’

Pushing any further wicked thoughts about Jon to the back of her mind she focused on the task at hand and the next hour was spent with both Jenn and Steph riding the young horse while Jon chatted with Ted. When they had finished Ted invited them all into the big farmhouse for tea and to discuss business. Tommy was leading the horse away when Ted looked at Steph and said to her she could see the rest of the farm with his son if she was interested. She nodded excitedly and headed off after him with Jon looking decidedly worried. Jenn grabbed Jon’s arm and told him to relax.

“Chill! She’ll be fine! You gotta lighten up you know! C’mon big daddy!” She giggled and dragged him along after the farmer who had gone ahead. Jon shook his head and laughed at her and allowed himself to be taken off into the house. A half hour later the deal was done and Jenn was satisfied that they had gotten a reasonable deal on the horse. Walking out to the jeep Tommy and Steph came walking around the side of the house giggling and chattering away with one another.

“Hey Dad! Wouldn’t it be cool if Tommy came over to visit us and see the horses sometime? He’s never been to the States.”

“Um..er…” Jon was at a loss for words. His daughter sure didn’t waste any time. Jenn stepped in seeing Jon looking like a fish out of water.

“Yeah sure Steph, lets see how things go back at home first huh?!” She put her arm around her, “We gotta get set up first don’t you think!”

Steph nodded and turned to say goodbye to the red faced Tommy who was standing awkwardly behind them. Jon regained the power of speech and shook hands with Ted and thanked him for his time. Jenn kept watch on Steph out of the corner of her eye and saw a small piece of paper being exchanged subtly between the two young people. She pressed her lips together to stop the smirk from forming on her face and was glad to see that Jon hadn’t noticed. Saying her goodbyes to Ted and his son, they jumped back in the jeep and pulled away from the farm. Steph was sitting in the back beaming like a Cheshire cat while Jon sat in the front with a bemused look on his face.

“That was fun huh? At least we got what we came for!” Jenn looked across at Jon who looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“Oh yeah!”, he responded dryly “I had a blast!”

Jenn just laughed at him and thought about how this poor guy had no idea what lay ahead of him in his role as parent of a teenage, love struck girl! She’d been one herself and knew exactly how Steph was feeling. Fun times lie ahead she reckoned with herself! Putting her foot down, she accelerated away to take them to their next stop.