`Promises [rory]

[FalconX]

Roxy McRae

Roxy grabbed the keys to her truck, humming under her breath as she walked out the door. She was heading over to Valley Oak Ranch. True to her word, she was going to drop in on her friend, Rory Calder. Who happened to own said ranch. A thin smile made its way onto her features as she hopped into her truck and pulled out of her own ranch. Her gaze stayed fixed on the road ahead, but one hand strayed to turn on the radio. Pretty soon, she was singing along to the country station, her chocolate eyes alight. She'd finished all her work for the day. At least, for now. Till it was night and she needed to head out and check all the horses before she went to bed herself. Sighing, she ran a hand through her curly hair, before settling the hand back on the steering wheel, turning it to make a turn, in the direction of Rory's ranch.

A look of satisfaction crossed her face when she saw his ranch come into view. She vividly remembered Rory lying in a hospital bed not to long ago. But he was feeling better now and they had let him go home. Which was a great relief to Roxy. She hated seeing him look so fragile, lying in that huge white room. Her body instinctively shuddered at the thoughts. She used to be okay going to a hospital. Yet, ever since her mother passed away, she could hardly bear to stay in the room. She had only gone, because Rory was her closest friend, and there was no way she was going to not visit him when he was hurt.

She put the truck in to park, then pulled the key out of the ignition, right after turning off the radio. She sat in the vehicle for a moment, looking towards the house with interest. She'd never been here before, and was honest to goodness thankful that she hadn't gotten lost trying to find it. She wasn't the best when it came to directions. Smiling, she got out of the truck, shutting the door behind her and walking up to the house. Raising a hand, she knocked three times, then let her arm drop back to her side. "Hey Rory! It's Roxy." She said, raising her voice slightly in hopes of him hearing her.

[Forte!]

On a normal day, Rory would have been in the barn by now. Where he liked to be. But Grace was keeping him locked up indoors since his arm was broken and apparently that made it impossible for him to muck a stall. Or lead a horse. Or... well... anything. Which annoyed Rory, who liked to be doing something at every possible moment, to no end. It felt like he'd gotten out of prison just to wind up on house arrest. At the moment, he was half-dozing on the couch, watching birds flit across the windowpane and hearing, but not really listening to, country music on the radio. He was, honestly, bored out of his skull. Speaking of which, he had a gigantic lump on his head now, smack in the middle of the patch that they had shaved of to clean his wound. Which made it all the more conspicuous.

He sat up when he heard the tires on the road leading to Valley Oak. Nobody ever came down that road except Grace and himself, and occasionally the farrier, who wasn't due that day. He was about to get up to go see what was going on when he heard the knocking on his door, and then a voice. Instantly his entire countenance broke into a grin. Roxy had kept her promise, he supposed. "Be right there!" he called, shifting his stetson so that it wasn't hanging in his eyes and, as an effect, accidentally jarring the massive lump on the back of his head. He winced and threw the hat on the couch. Which he instantly regretted. After all, that hat had saved his life. Notwithstanding, he opened the door, beaming, "Hey, Roxy!" he said, obviously just glad to have company for once.

"Welcome to my humblest of abodes. Come on in. Make yourself at home. And all that jazz." He said, stepping back, "I still can't believe you've never been here." He was, obviously, feeling a lot better. He was still on pain meds, but these didn't put him to sleep, and he had a sneaking suspicion that they were actually making him rather giddy. He hated the word giddy. But, seeing as he'd rather be giddy than in pain, he'd just have to live with that. "Great to see you again," he said with a grin. He hardly looked surprised that she had just popped in, after all, he'd given her permission to come by whenever she wanted. Which was practically like giving her the key, since he never locked the doors anyway. It wasn't like he owned anything particularly worth stealing. As he pondered this, he realized that he'd practically been staring her down, and looked away with a sheepish grin.

[FalconX]

Roxy McRae

She figured she would find Rory in the house. If his sister, Grace, had anything to say about it. Roxy smirked at the thought, knowing that it would be driving Rory crazy to be stuck in the house all day. Guess that's what happened if you had a broken arm, considering their lives revolved around horses. A broken arm, pretty much canceled out about anything. Well, there was a few things he might be able to get away with doing, but the majority of it, he wouldn't be able to do. Her chocolate eyes trailed across the exterior of the house. The corners of her lips turned up, just barely, a telltale that she liked the house. It wasn't upscale, by any standards. Then again, Roxy never believed a ranch house should be overly expensive. Unlike her sister. Her mood started to decline at the thought of Ava, but she brushed it off. Nothing was going to make her sad today.

Her slight smile turned into a full blown one at the sound of Rory's voice. He sounded so much better than he had before. Granted, the last time she'd spoken to him was right after he'd been in the accident. So. he was guaranteed to sound better this time. Still, it caused her to be extremely happy. Chocolate eyes sparkling in the sunlight, she shifted her weight from foot to foot, somewhat impatient for him to just open the door already. Roxy was never good at waiting, even if it was only for a few seconds to a minute. She grinned at Rory, laughing at his enthusiastic greeting. "Hey Rory!' She responded, with equal enthusiasm. Reaching up with one hand, she adjusted her hat, pushing it back slightly, so she could see him far more clearer.

Chuckling at his welcome, she walked into the home, looking around with interest clearly shown on her face. She glanced over at Rory with a sarcastic smile. "Maybe that's cause you came to mine, we've met at the mall, the wrangler's camp, and it... I don't know, slipped you mind?" She rolled her eyes at him, but was happy to see he looked so much better. He was still pale, but that was his normal complexion and not the deathly pale white that he had appeared while he was in the hospital. He didn't look so easily broken now either. He looked... though still frazzled, calmer, and stronger. At his words she offered him a small smile, tilting her head to the side curiously when he continued watching her. He seemed to catch on, because he looked away sheepishly. Laughing she walked up to him and gave him a hug. "Yeah, it's great to see you." Letting him go, she walked over and sat on the couch. She picked up his hat, fingering the edges. "Let me guess, Grace is out taking care of everything, and she specifically told you to stay inside?" She smirked at him teasingly.

[Forte!]

Rory was still grinning like a fool, incredibly happy to see her again. This was partially due to the painkillers and the boredom of being alone all day, but mostly simply the general happiness he felt when she was around. She was his best friend, after all. It was right that he should enjoy her presence at least a little bit. He couldn't help a little chuckle that bubbled up in his throat at her response to his rather over-enthusiastic greeting. "How're you doing?" he asked casually, as he shifted his weight from foot to foot slightly, his old habit resurfacing now that he was feeling better. "I'm so glad to be out of that place," he said, elongating the 'so' in a sort of relieved exhasperation, "...and it helps that I feel a whole lot better now. Obviously. I can even remember what I had for breakfast the day of the fall." This last was said with the barest hint of sarcasm, even though it was true. He still couldn't recall anything else.

He chcukled at her sarcastic comment. "Okay, okay. You win. You forgot the beach, by the way," he said, sticking his tongue out sideways at her. He raised his head again when she hugged him - something he hadn't been expecting. She was usually one of the most reserved people he knew, liking to keep her sadness or affection or anything that wasn't happiness hidden. All the same, he accepted her hug warmly, his grin faded into a small, permanent smile. He followed her over to the couch, eying his Stetson as she fiddled with it. He recalled how he had obtained that particular hat, and a secret little grin passed over his face. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that that particular point in time was when he had realized exactly how much Roxy was worth to him as a friend. She was really his only friend in this place thus far. Even though his broken arm might be a blessing in the fact that he had more time to get out now that Grace had forbidden him from going to the barn.

He snapped out of his reverie at her question, looking up. "Spot on," he said, his teeth clenched in faux frustration, "it's like I just got out of prison only to wind up on house arrest. Really. My arm's broken, I get it... but... I could still do something." As much as he meant it, however, he couldn't bring himself to really be annoyed at Grace. She was family, after all, and he cared about his family. "...Anyway, what's up?" he asked with a grin, sitting down on the arm of the sofa and looking around almost lazily, with a happy look on his face. "Surely your life has been much more interesting than mine these last few weeks." He'd literally gone from lying down in a hospital bed to being stuck in the house sleeping, daydreaming, and otherwise trying to kill time before Grace would let him back into the stable. He'd even broken one of his rules and watched a little bit of television, something he rarely did except to catch the weather and maybe see what was going on in the world around him. Like most people who embark on similar endeavors, he had found that there was nothing interesting on and ended up napping some more. That's how interesting he was, after all.

[FalconX]

Roxy McRae

Roxy shook her head and grinned at her friend happily. They were both ecstatic to see each other. But she was pretty sure he was more so. For one reason, he hadn't been having much fun lately. Roxy would probably be acting just like him if she was stuck in his situation. In truth, she'd actually never broken a bone. Bruises and cuts she'd had, but nothing bad enough to wind her up in the hospital. She shrugged her shoulders at his question. "Fine I guess, life's kind of hectic for me at the moment." She admitted, not really thinking about it to long. She didn't bother returning the question, considering, she pretty much knew how his days had been going lately. He would be the first to say. She cast him a sidelong look as he started shifting back and forth on his feet. She smirked, his old habit was definitely back. It must be killing him staying inside. "I can imagine." She responded, before raising an eyebrow. "Breakfast? Doesn't really help you, but hey, maybe the rest of the memory of that day will come back with a little more time."

She flinched at his reminder. "Yeah, I think my mind blocked out the traumatic experience at the beach." She shuddered slightly, more in a joking way this time. She didn't particularly enjoy having her best friend and sister in the same place, at the same time. It wasn't a good thing. Especially with the way her sister was always acting. Roxy still couldn't believe Ava was living in a small town such as this one. Small had never been her sister's style, so it was a little shocking when she moved here. She grinned at him again when he stuck out his tongue at her. When she hugged him, she pretty much surprised them both. She didn't usually hug people. She was one of those people who had a huge personal bubble. Maybe it was just because she knew Rory so well. He was her best friend after all. She let go of him, walking to the couch and plopped down on it. A bad habit of hers, her mom used to always tell her she was going to break the furniture. She couldn't help but fiddle with Rory's hat, that was still sitting on the couch. She grinned at him sheepishly and put the hat back down on the couch.

Roxy chuckled at his frustrated tone. She leaned back on the couch, getting more comfortable, her gaze still on Rory, as he ranted slightly. She watched him sit down on the arm of the couch and heard his question. Roxy tilted her head to side, a contemplative look written on her face. She laughed at his next comment and nodded with a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Been figuring out how to do my finances, junk like that. Way to much stress in the money area. However, I've been getting there." Her smile looked a little more forced right now. "On the flip side, the horses are doing good. Wings, my Akhal-Teke racer, is turning in some good workouts, so I'm pretty happy about that. Butterfly, the palomino I caught, well, just found out she's mostly Spanish Mustang. I was pretty shocked. Anyways, her training is going pretty well too. She's shown a great amount of talent in show jumping." Roxy shrugged her shoulders, feeling like she was monopolizing the conversation. Which, she kind of was at the moment. But he had asked... "How long before you're out of house arrest?"

[Forte!]

Rory had broken bones plenty of times before, working with mustangs in Michigan. He'd always been a tad bit injury prone, but he'd never gotten a concussion before this one. The most annoying thing, he'd realized, was the recurring headaches, not the memory loss. Luckily, the doctors had said it was just a side effect of the pain medication, and they were going away. "Yeah, I know," he said. He'd been thinking about all of the stuff that was going on with her recently, and he was sorry to go complicating things even more for her. But he was determined not to say so - he'd made a silent promise to stop saying he was sorry so much. She reprimanded him for it enough already. He chuckled, "Yeah. I hate hospitals," he shuddered a little bit at the thought. He knew that she didn't like them too much, either. After all, the last time she'd been in one, except to see him, was when her mother died, which was a pretty awful thought. "You're right, it doesn't help at all. But, like you said," he shrugged, "and at least now I know it really did happen and I wasn't abducted by aliens or anything." He joked.

"Oh, come on," he said, rather sarcastically, "meeting your sister was fun!" He honestly wasn't too incredibly fond of Ava. Actually, he'd rather stay away from her. "Oh, yeah. About that trail ride I owe you..." he paused, "well, actually it depends on when they say I can ride again. But, still, it's a deal." He grinned, knowing that she really probably didn't want to talk about her sister very much. At least he didn't want to talk about her. He stood up suddenly, not noticing her rather sheepish grin as she set his Stetson down. "Is there anything I can get you? Water, lemonade, iced tea?" It was amazing how quickly he reverted back to his nice-southern-gentleman mode, actually. And it happened at the most random moments... Realizing what he had just said, he supressed a chuckle at himself, and it was his turn to grin sheepishly at her, iwth the tips of his ears glaringly red. He blushed really easiliy, which only added to the fact that he was a horrible liar. He couldn't pull off a poker face for a million bucks.

Rory hadn't even realized that he was ranting, which was probably just his temper getting to him again. If he had a fault other than that he was too apologetic, it was that he was quick to annoyance. And, unlike Roxy, he didn't like to keep things bottled up. He knew all too well that he'd explode at some inconvienient moment. "That's good," he said with a grin, "and good again. Mustang? I love mustangs." Okay. Well, that was a little random, but he did. He shrugged at her question. "I get the cast off in three weeks, but I don't know if they're going to let me ride after that. People are apparently against giving you a straight answer in that place..." He grumbled a little bit, before looking back up at her with a grin. "Oh, by the way, are you still going to drag me to that wedding with my broken arm?" he chuckled, pretty much already knowing that he'd have to go no matter what. He wasn't a huge fan of big weddings, to be honest. But Grace would make him go if Roxy didn't, and Roxy was the maid of honor, so there was practically no chance that she would let him get away with not being there.

[FalconX]

Roxy McRae

"I'm not to fond of them either." Roxy said with a shrug, feigning nonchalance on the subject of hospitals. She didn't think she'd ever be fully casual about that kind of thing anymore. Going into the hospital for shots and check ups didn't used to bother her, but nowadays, she stayed as far away from them as she possibly could. It was just a fact of life for her now. A lopsided grin appeared on her face at his next joking comment. "Yeah, it's gotta be great to know nothing supernatural happened." She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She was glad to have a friend like Rory. Even if they did go through some tougher times, they were still there for each other. And she could never express how much that meant to her. No, really, she couldn't. She didn't like talking about feelings and such, in fact, she pretty much avoided those kind of discussions at all cost. Mushy, sentimental conversations made her feel really awkward. And honestly, even though she trusted Rory more than anyone, she didn't like opening up to him that much. That may sound like she didn't think he could handle it or something along those lines, it just wasn't her personality to talk about stuff like that.

Roxy rose both her eyebrows at his sarcastic comment. "yeah, right. Weren't you ever taught that it's not okay to lie, Rory?" She replied back teasingly, smirking at him. She didn't really mind joking about her sister and her. She knew they didn't have a good relationship, to say the least. In fact, Roxy pretty much kept away from Ava. And she was quite confident that Rory felt the exact same way. Which was initially why she hadn't exactly wanted the two of them to meet. Her face lit up at his next comment. "Good, I'm counting on it. Can't wait to take a break and actually have some real fun on a horse." She grinned and shook her head slightly. She raised an eyebrow at him again when he stood up, startling her by how suddenly he did it. She almost laughed at his question. "That's why you got up so quickly? Geez, and here I was thinking there was a problem. Heck, maybe even a fire." Her grin grew, before she laughed, not being able to stop. "And in all honesty, I'm good. Don't need anything, thanks though." She smiled at him, smirking when he smiled back sheepishly and blushed. She still thought it was funny that he blushed so easily. Considering Roxy herself never seemed to blush, no matter how embarrassed she got.

She nodded and smirked slightly at his random comment about mustangs. "Good to know, Rory. But I'm pretty sure I could've figured that one out on my own." She chuckled. Roxy grinned as he started grumbling about not getting a real straight forward answer as to when he could be riding again. Her grin changed into a smirk at his next question. "Of course I am! If I have to sit through a fancy shmancy wedding, wearing a dress no less, you can bet that I'm gonna make you come to." She ended the comment, faking a sweet smile in his direction. Roxy didn't like big weddings and she surely didn't like wearing dresses. It was practically torture for her. But, it was a friend of hers wedding, and she was the maid of honor... Her cellphone ringed in her pocket and she looked down, slightly surprised. Reception wasn't exactly reliable out in the country. Shrugging, she gave Rory an apologetic look, before answering the phone. She only talked for a minute, with a few quite gasps, a shocked look or two, and then some apologies, before hanging up. "Viv's in jail for assaulting a police officer. And something about I have to go down the station to collect something of hers.., I didn't really catch that part, I was in shock. You gonna come with?" She rambled slightly, before standing up, not really waiting for a response. She headed towards the door, opening it and practically running to her truck.

[Forte!]

"Not too fond, huh?" he asked with a chuckle, raising an eyebrow at her. Even though he hadn't been noticing a whole lot when she came to visit him, he did notice how uncomfortable she seemed. He laughed when she rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I was seriously worried there for a while," he said, still utterly sarcastic. He stared at her for a moment, a little grin on his face, not saying anything. She was so much prettier with that smile on her face, even if she thought it made her look silly. Rory wished that she'd smile a little more often, but, of course, she didn't really like to show emotion, although he'd always managed to make her laugh. He adored her, and he knew it, but he'd never admit it to himself or anyone else. Grace knew, actually. She'd seen that dreamy look on his face, the one that he only got after he came back from a good ride. He really did love Roxy, more than he'd ever loved anyone else in his life, or, at least, in that sense of the word. But he was terrified that if he told her that he loved her, she would push him away.

So, for now, he was content to be her best friend. Her comment broke his reverie, and he looked up with a grin, rubbing the back of his head. Unfortunately, this caused him to bump up against the large lump that had formed there, and he winced. "Yeah, me either," he said with a grin, dropping the whole sister thing. He was purposely not mentioning that he planned to take Sundancer, the horse he had fallen off of in the first place, on the trail ride. He'd always been taught that you have to get back on the horse, no matter how badly you were hurt. But, of course, he couldn't exactly do so at the moment. "...Yeah, I guess it is," he said with a chuckle, a bit sheepish still, and he sat back down on the arm of the couch with a lopsided grin on his face. "kinda stupid of me, I guess." He chuckled again, this time really meaning it, with the sparks of true mirth dancing in his eyes. He picked up his hat and put it back on his head, attempting, and failing, to hide the fact that he was still blushing.

"Yeah, you probably could have," he said with a laugh. He pretty much loved all horses. But mustangs had a special place in his heart. after all, they'd pretty much saved him from sinking into the same depression that his father had spiralled into. He chuckled at her response to his question. "Fine, fine. But I'm going to look ridiculous in a tux with this cast on my arm!" he said. he wasn't really annoyed when she picked up her cell phone, knowing that she'd only answer it if she really needed to. But she seemed rather distressed, and he was taken by surprise at her hasty explanation. He hardly had time to sort things out in his head before she dashed out the door, and he, of course, followed her, hastily shutting the door behind him but not locking it. Grace had things covered here. Afraid that she was about to pull off without him, he hastily climbed into the passenger seat. "Assaulting a police officer?" he said, more to sort himself out than out of amazement, although there were both, "Viv? Really?" Her question was pretty much answered by the fact that he was here at all. Why did things seem to go wrong every time they got together?