I’d only just met Puck.I didn’t want him to leave the ranch right when I’d arrived.
“Not often,” Adam said.“Usually, we see if they do better with another trainer first.”
Kamal raised an eyebrow.“You want to try him with Lorraine?”
Adam thought for a moment.“Not yet.Let’s see how he is after this session.If you didn’t break him with that, there’s hope he’s doing all right.I’m not sure what’s going on with him.I offered to speak to him as a counsellor, but he wasn’t interested.”
Kamal nodded.“I feel like there’s something else going on.He’s having a difficult time focusing.”
Adam crossed his arms on the fence and watched Puck trot, to the best of his ability, around the ring as I returned to his side.
“So, Oliver, do you think you’ll be able to adequately represent the spirit of ponyboys like Puck in your images?”he asked.
“I sure hope so,” I said, gaze captured by the strength and grace of Puck’s movements, and the sight of the thick, black horsehair tail swishing across the backs of his legs.
Adam and Kamal chuckled.
“Come on, Oliver.I want to show you the bunkhouse,” Adam said.
We walked along the dirt trail that led from the grooming barn, past the arena, to a smaller wooden building on the edge of the trees.
“This is where the ponyboys stay while they’re here.The male stable hands bunk here as well.They help keep the ponyboys in line in the bunkhouse, and it’s good for them to be able to bond with each other, since they come into intimate contact in the grooming barn.”
My brain spun with this information as Adam opened the bunkhouse door and we stepped inside.
“Liv stays at the main building, simply because she wouldn’t enjoy being housed with this rabble, and it keeps things copacetic.Lorraine is at the main house as well, but that’s because she’s a trainer and they’re all housed there.”
“I see,” I said, gaze flying around the space, landing on the confused features of three men—two relaxing on wooden bunks and the third, grabbing something in the kitchenette at the back.
I was still reeling with my paddock encounter, and the bunkhouse seemed astonishingly ordinary.
“Gentlemen, this is Oliver, our visiting photographer,” Adam announced.“Oliver, this is Lincoln, Teagan, and…Joshua, right?”he said, gesturing to each of them.
The tall man in the kitchen nodded and moved toward us.“That’s me.Hi, Oliver.”
“Hello.Glad to meet all of you.”
Joshua had a hipster look to him, with long hair in a bun, a short beard, and an eyebrow piercing.Teagan was blond and bulky, with thick muscles and a square face.Lincoln had the same lean, almost skinny physique as Andrew, but with brown hair rather than red.They were attractive men, and if I wasn’t on a pony play ranch, and hadn’t just seen Puck, at least one or two of them would have turned my head.
As it was, I still had the image of Puck in mind, and probably wouldn’t get rid of it for a while.
“How are you finding things so far?”Adam asked, leaning against the bunk where Teagan sprawled with a gaming magazine open on his lap.
“Stellar,” Joshua grinned, peeling the wrapper from a granola bar and taking a bite, watching me with interest.
“You have a great set-up here, Adam,” Lincoln said.He was small with light-brown hair and a sweep of freckles over his nose and cheeks.“This would be a great spot for a summer festival or something like that.”
Adam laughed.
Teagan nodded.“Yeah, like Coachella, but for kinky people.”
“Great idea,” I said because it was, and I could picture it.
I turned to Adam.“I have to say, I’m impressed.The setting is fantastic and the variety of locations for shooting is wonderful.I love the authenticity of the environment.I’m sure I can produce some spectacular images for you.”
“Glad to hear it.”He clapped a hand on my shoulder.“Look, we should get back to the main house.I have work to do, and you can have a rest or go exploring on your own.Supper is out back of the main house at around five thirty.All the staff and ponyboys convene for a cookout.Unless it’s pouring, in which case we gather in the cafeteria.”
I smiled at the three men in the bunkhouse.“I’ll see you later.”
