YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL.

⋆.°    ᝰ.ᐟ     a light laugh expels past the figure skater’s lips at the blonde’s comment.  “  that’s certainly one way to describe a riesling.  ”  but it’s an honest one so maxine can respect that.  honesty is such a rare thing to come by nowadays.  “  i fear that might just be an easy territory to enter with high acidity wines.  and i’ll be sure to keep that in mind.  any other cheeses worth sampling for hartley’s own  ?  ”  she’ll ask,  eyeing the spread in front of them before looking up at the blonde.  max will readily admit that the w hotel really outdid themselves with this event.  truthfully,  it’s probably on par with some of the other wine and cheese nights she’s attended at the likes of the four seasons and the ritz.  and since retiring from life as a professional athlete,  she enjoys occasionally treating herself to the finer things in life.   call it making up for missed opportunities.  “  well now that you ask,  ”  the figure skater starts.  “  it surpasses my expectations.  i’m quite enjoying myself.  you’ve managed to capture the right ambiance.  i was worried this was going to be one of those wine and cheese nights where no one talks and it’s just silence,  ”  she tries not to shudder at the thought.  “  are there any plans to host more of these in the future  ?  ”

her mouth turn upwards with gusto at the admission from the other, pride swelling at her chest; with her own part in this, she would expect nothing but perfection, and the turn out has proved some of that. "i think if someone gets the ball going, it helps, as you've done. so thank you for your part in this." the blonde raises her glass, saluting her companion. then she takes a sip of her riesling, and presses her lips together as she swallows, so she would not hum out loud. "perhaps. it has been a while since we've done one of these, so we were looking into how successful this would be." which has been. "´perhaps for something other than wine and cheese – or is that the entire appeal for you? do tell me your suggestions. i can take it to the boss, after all." a ghost of a smirk touches her lips as she is the future boss in the succession.

" because i know you, and i know you'll hate them. " the words are muffled against fabric, pulling the dress under her chin before trying to pull stubborn curls out of her lipgloss. there's something to be said about how quickly she reverts back to her younger self with teddy, but she can't pretend like age has made her less dramatic. " i've decided being rich on your own is overrated. " it's not - well, not when her parents have decided it isn't. she thinks she'd be doing just fine with their money, considering they had plenty to let her use. cemre tries to remind herself that she actually has somewhat enjoyed her time owning the barn - even if her family back home would balk at the idea of a square dance competition. at teddy's sudden entrance to the closet, her hand stops on the skirt she's contemplating trying on next. " hey, " a roll of her eyes follows at the question, unsure if it's genuine or a dig. " i do, and it's thrown with the rest of my dirty clothes. why? " she sighs, leaving the skirt and peaking at what teddy has in her hands. " find anything decent? "

teddy represses a sigh, raising her eyebrows momentarily, adding to a grimace. well, cemre is not exactly wrong, but she's also not thinking rationally – so it falls to teddy to do so, curbing the other's self hatred. "i think you owe me at least trying them on for me. come on, i'm your own fixated audience. could you want any more?" perhaps something that fit, but teddy doesn't say that. instead, she clicks her tongue at cemre's stubborness and gives her friend a playful shove before she turns to look at the goods around the closet. "you've been going abroad without me, cemre?" hands feel the touch of italian and french brands, and she gives her friend a look as if she's offended. "you just need not to wear that. people will remember, if they're truly regulars. you have some of those, don't you?" she flips through clothes, and pulls out a mini - dress from between the many options; turning on her heel, she presses it against cemre's chest. "try it on for me."

a  soft  snort  escaped  him.  eyes  rolling  as  she  pokes  and  tugs  the  corner  of  his  mouth  into  a  lopsided  smile.  a  softness  he  reserved  for  her  and  her  alone.  "i  ain't  know  about  eatin'  it,"  colt  murmured,  wisely  waiting  until  her  hand  was  otherwise  preoccupied  before  continuing,  "but  bake  a  few  more  an'  we  could  use  it  for  that  rockery  you  wanted."  his  hand  swished  through  the  water  again.  the  smile  turning  rueful  as  he  splashed  her  yet  again.  "unless  you're  lookin' to  turn  this into  a  mud bath,  trust  me  when  i  say  you  don't  want  me  getting  in  with  you  right  now,"  he  glanced  down  at  the  dirt  and  grime  that  had  accumulated  over  the  course  of  the  day,  nose  wrinkling  slightly  as  he  caught  his  own  scent without the shirt too run interference.  "i've  been  ridin'  the  trails  all  day.  i'm  twelve  kinds  of  dirty  an'  not  in  any  kind  of  way  you'd  be  wantin'."

"well, you got me. i will have to change strategies now." which may as well be a difficult thing on itself, for god knows how colt is as steady as they come, and she isn't sure how well he's taken to her disturbances in the routine – at least there's been no complaints, for she does know how to sweeten them. carolines heaves a content sigh at the prospect of nesting – from what she's read about, that's more on late term kind of habit, but maybe the anxiety has made her rush the process. "you remind me, we should stop delaying that. not that my cakes are that hard, mind you!" caroline scoops a handful of foam and tosses it his way, letting out a giggle that turns into a groan at his denial. "you haven't been a way yet that i don't want, colt ashford." said sentiment is further prooved by the way she snakes her arms around his neck and pulls him into a kiss; as she pulls back, her nose wrinkles, and caroline has to stop herself from chuckling. "you do smell horribly, though. but you need to get in for me to show you something."

[📲 sent at 11:14pm ]: ew, why are people like this? [📲 sent at 11:14pm ]: Is he one of those people who thinks of themselves wine connoisseurs? [📲 sent at 11:15pm ]: is he a tourist? i need to know if i'm sweeping in as your ex girlfriend or with an emergency. [📲 sent at 11:15pm ]: nope, I was reading. and hell yeah I have you on find my iphone. world is crazy, creeps be creeping, i gotta protect my care bear.

lacey watches the exchange with the nurse without much reaction, just a slight shift of her weight where she’s sitting, like she’s already decided she’s staying put either way. “five or ten’s fine.” she says it easy, not bothered—just impatient in that quiet, contained way. “i’ve waited longer for worse.” her gaze flicks briefly to the nurse, then back to caroline, catching that look without calling it out. she doesn’t push it, just lets it pass. “i’ll stay sitting. don’t feel like making it more complicated than it needs to be.” her attention settles a little more when pumpkin’s mentioned, something softer slipping in without much warning. “she’s good.” a small nod follows, like that’s enough to confirm it. “same as always. little stubborn, but she’s got reason to be.” she leans back slightly, arms resting loose, thinking for a second before answering the rest. “they remember more than people give them credit for.” her tone’s matter-of-fact, but there’s something steadier underneath it. “not like we do, not exact. but they know voices, habits… how you handle them.” a brief glance over, more direct now. “she’d remember you.” a beat before she continues. “you should stop by and say hi to her, i think we'd both like that.”

"yeah? are you signing up for more bothersome little tortures around town, lacey?" she teases, but there's some curiosity there too – if that was the case, caroline would think of them the bravest, all things considered. she has barely wanted to do this. "i don't think ashford stables produces anyone that isn't a little stubborn, at the very least." she rolls her eyes, but her tone is playful enough that it is barely a dig – and if it was, could anyone go against her in that regard? "would she?" eyes widen, brighten, though a thought dims it. it's been so long now. almost six years, that's enough for her to be a stranger around these parts – even to the horse she used to ride almost every day. "would you?" almost a repeat, but the sentiment is equal. "would i be able to bribe the both of you with plain carrot cake? no nuts, of course."

she perks up at the expectation of the stew, her throat already aching pleasantly with the memory of the spices. "your grandma always knows best, aeri." the eldest grins, leaning her cheek against her friend's arm. "but how about you give me your recipe and we do it together? i wouldn't want you to tire you anymore, especially with your woobbly old person's knees and all."

"I mean, he kind of is hot headed but you didn't hear that from me. But can't really blame him. Have you seen the price of a roof these days? Best to just do it yourself. Well, if you know how. And aren't afraid of heights." He advised with a soft smile. "I don't think I could make anyone take the blame for something I might do." There was extra emphasis on might, just to go along with the them of humor between them. Not wanting to incriminate himself after all. He nodded, agreeing. She had a valid point. One would think that that money would be used for health equipment or supplies, things that would do more good than bad and not involve some kind of camera. "That doesn't seem too bad then. There is always some blind spot." Perhaps with that comment, he was hyping himself up more than anything as a ' I got this '. "Don't be so loud with that, wouldn't want any chocolate thief or some with a sweet tooth fanatic to hear. But hey just know I would go to great lengths to catch the idiot that should ever decide to steal from your shop." He promised with a grin.

"important detail: if you know. and i'd add another – if you're not work raging, or however one would put it. definitely will disincourage me from trying to do stuff around my place now." not that caroline was very handy herself, so she supposes she can't escape the high prices. "that sounds like you didn't have any siblings growing up – did you?" she squints her eyes slightly, looking at him from her side of the room, curious. people with siblings (or cousins, in her case) often tried to pin the guilt on one or the other – caroline knows that first hand because she struggled to find any guilt parts when she was a kid, before her cousins began to come around. she does break into a laugh that makes her arm hurt as she moves it. "ouch - god, koa. it's taken me thirty eight years to find a knight in a shining armor, i wouldn't expect to find it on a doctor's office of all places." caroline jokes. "i wasn't thinking of robberies, though. i think deer valley is pretty calm in that regard. at least i don't think there's a lot of criminals around, not that i know of."