mercy | jared padalecki

xliv. no fast movements

   "You have horses?" Thomas asked in an excited voice as they pulled into her driveway.

    "Yes," she said. "We have four of them here right now. Two of them are mine and two of them are my friend Ty's. Do you want to meet them?"

    "Yes!" Shep chimed in.

    "Alright," Jared said as they parked. "Remember to listen to whatever Laurel tells you to do, okay?"

    "Okay."

    Once all of them were out of the car, Shep held his arms up at Laurel, so she chuckled and picked him up easily, resting him on her hip. He grinned, clinging to her as she unclipped Toaster's leash and let her free, then they began to approach the pastures. At the sight of humans, all four horses started to make their way to them. As the four - five if you counted the Golden Retriever - of them waited at the gate, Thomas grabbed onto both Jared's hand and Laurel's hand, standing between them. Laurel grinned down at the boy, so thankful that they had both accepted her so quickly.

    "What are their names?" Thomas asked as the first horse - Minnie - reached them.

    "This one is my horse Minnie. She's a sweetheart. Just slowly and calmly hold your hand up for her to sniff, then you can pet her. Just no fast movements or you'll spook them."

    As each horse arrived, she told the boys their names and let them pet the girls. To her delight, each of the boys seems to really connect with a horse; Tom and Minnie, Janie and Shep, and of course Jared and Daisy. Thomas soon let go of her hand, just so that Jared could lift him up to pet the horses more easily. Lena almost fell asleep while Laurel was petting her, which made her laugh a little and kiss the horse's nose, which led to the boys wanting to kiss the horses' noses too.

    "I'm hungry," Shep whispered to Laurel after about ten minutes with the horses.

    "Do you guys wanna come in for dinner? I can make grilled cheese and tomato soup," she offered, knowing it would be easy to make and not too fancy for them.

    "Can I have a peanut butter and jelly please?" Thomas asked.

    "Yes, of course," she grinned. "Do you want me to grill it?"

    "You can do that?" he asked with wide eyes.

    She chuckled, "I sure can! Do you want strawberry or grape jelly?"

    "Hmmm," he said, thinking, as the four of them made their way inside - both boys still being carried after their long day out, starting with lunch and then spending time at the zoo, then bowling. "Grape please, Laurel!"

    "Of course, hon. And everyone else is okay with grilled cheese?"

    "Yes," Jared said, grinning at her and quickly pecking her lips - which elicited an 'ew' from the boys. "That sounds perfect, thank you babe."

    And so the three boys picked a movie and settled down in the living room while she cooked. It didn't take long for Shep to join her and ask if she wanted any help, so she decided to let him stir the soup. The two of them talked and she told him all about her pets, including Perry who had been hiding since they had come home. When dinner was done, he helped her carry food and drinks out to the other two boys, so they all sat on the couch and watched How to Train Your Dragon 2.

    When the movie finished, both of the boys had fallen asleep on the couch and both adults were pretty tired themselves. They had eaten most of the sweets that she had baked the night before in her nervous fit, though Ty had stolen some for him and Lucy that morning before Jared had gotten there to carpool with her to pick up the boys from Gen. Laurel looked down at the two boys sleeping on them and then at the tired Jared, who was yawning very loudly.

    "You guys can just sleep here," she whispered.

    "Are you sure? We can go, it's no big deal," he told her.

    She shook her head, grasping his face, "I'm sure. Stay. Spend the night with me."

    His shock at her words disappeared as she pressed her lips to his. They kissed for a few moments before she broke the kiss and gestured to the boys when he made a face. They got off the couch - careful not to wake the slumbering kids, and Toaster, who was curled up with Thomas - and pulled blankets over them. Standing there with his arm around her and looking down at his sons, he suddenly felt as if the world were right again. So he pulled her closer and kissed her again, then she led him to the bedroom and for the first time, they slept together.

alice's note

my grandma [aka my mom's boyfriend's mom] is stuck in a ditch. i shouldn't be laughing. she hit a deer 2 days ago and then drove into a ditch. im so amused.

[ 12.20.16 ]
[ edited | 3.29.22 ]