A Horse Tale

1

What are you doing?

You want a burn

and a broken leg?

Goodness. You are as stubborn

as the horse you fell off of.

I thought I could at least

help you out with something

around here, you know.

Oh, Dad, is this

breakfast for dinner again?

You know, you know that.

That's my specialty.

Everybody knows I like

breakfast for dinner.

Besides, it's better

than watching everybody

else work around here.

Oh, well, nothing would take you

away from your real work, Dad.

Which is?

Barking orders at

everyone else, of course.

Samantha,

will you listen to me?

Even with your sister

coming down with Ben

to help out around here,

I don't know if we're going

to have enough help to take

care of the business.

Dad, we'll be fine.

You and Mama raised

me right.

That we did, you know.

But you can't take on

the whole organization

by yourself.

There's just too much to do.

You haven't got enough

arms and legs to take care

of it all.

Dad, we talked about that.

Bottom line, we're just

going to need some more

help here.

This a family operated

and owned business,

and I would like it

to stay that way.

Well, there's a wealthy

young man that could be

part of the family

if you'd just marry him.

You did not

just go there.

Go where?

Dad just wants to marry

me off to save the farm.

That might not be

such a bad idea.

Seriously?

Good morning, Nikki.

Good morning.

So, Mr. Hampton called.

He wants to reschedule

for after the holidays.

Oh, great. See, here we go.

The grand exodus.

Doesn't anybody like

to work anymore?

It's like the holidays

get here sooner

and sooner every year.

You say that like

it's a bad thing.

I can't even begin

to imagine,

what I'm supposed to get

a 12-year-old girl that's

going to make her happy.

Mmm. Maybe some freedom.

Oh, that's funny.

That's funny.

You took a funny pill

this morning, Nikki.

Chloe's school

is on the line.

Michael Thompson.

She did what?

Yes. Yes,

I'll be right down.

Apparently,

Chloe flushed a girl's

phone down the toilet.

Well, Chloe's got

an early holiday, too.

It appears so.

Okay... You know, maybe you

and Chloe need a holiday away,

an escape from all this.

Come on. People don't take

vacations during the holidays.

You know how

expensive that is?

Maybe you could make

a little extra income

while you're at it.

What are you getting at?

My cousins.

They own this horse farm.

Actually, I spent a lot

of time out there when

I was growing up,

and it is in the

middle of nowhere,

but it's great.

It's fresh air

and good food.

Maybe it's just the thing

you and Chloe need.

Are you actually suggesting

that I go do farm work?

Yeah... No.

But my uncle,

he called the other day,

asked if I could

recommend an accountant.

Maybe somebody from my

firm would be interested?

And I didn't think much

about it at the time.

Maybe you guys could

help each other out.

Nikki, you know how many

accounts I have. You know

I can't leave the office.

Aha! But you have this

amazing executive assistant

who knows all your accounts

and actually needs something

to do, since you forbade her

from going on coffee runs.

You send me

the information,

maybe I'll call them.

I promise you,

you won't regret it.

Thank you for

always looking out.

Somebody needs to.

This is beautiful.

Look at that horse.

I said, look

at the horse.

It's beautiful here.

Yeah.

I know I sprang this on

you at the last minute,

and I took you away

from your favorite

TV shows,

but this change is

going to do us good.

It's going to give us

some father-daughter time.

This is a big change.

You know, if I put hay

in my teeth and wear denim

overalls, I'll fit right in.

Don't be smart.

Maybe, lose the

pink hair, will you?

Sure, Dad.

I'm right on it.

Michael:
Hi!

-This the Harrison farm?

-Maybe.

I'm looking for

Cliff Harrison.

Do you know where

I might find him?

He's unavailable.

Uh...

I'm Michael Thompson.

I'm the accountant.

I-- I just spoke with Cliff.

Yeah, must've

been that fall.

You know he fell off

his horse and hit his head,

and he's completely

cuckoo-bananas.

I'm really sorry

you had to drive out here

and waste your time.

Come on, Dad,

let's just go.

If it's all the same to you,

I just drove all the way

out here with my daughter,

I would really like to speak

with your boss.

I'm the boss.

Not according

to my assistant, Nikki.

Nikki is in

on this, too?

Dad, does everybody know

about this, except for me?

Michael, I'm glad to see

you made it okay, bud.

There he is, Mr. Harrison.

A pleasure.

Yeah, I see you've met

my daughter, Sam.

Yes, it appears so.

Why don't we go

inside and talk some?

Chloe, do you want

to come inside with me?

Um... Thanks, I'm good.

Give me a few minutes.

Chloe:
Whatever.

You know, my grandson's

out here somewhere. He'll be

happy to show you around.

Okay. You want

to join us, Sam?

No, thanks.

I'm good.

Okay.

Right this way, Michael.

Shall we?

Hello!

Hello?

Anyone there?

-Hey!

-There you are.

Let's try this again.

Hi, I'm Jackson.

And?

You are?

Chloe. Happy now?

So, are you here

for riding lessons?

'Cause if so, you're not

really dressed for it.

Riding lessons?

No. I'm here

with my dad.

Without choice, BTW.

"BTW"?

"By the way."

How can you

not know that?

So is your dad here

for riding lessons?

No. He's an accountant.

Actually, he's

meeting with someone.

Even though he told me

that we are supposed to be

spending some time together.

And here I am,

alone,

again.

Yay.

So is this your

first time on a farm?

No...

Yes.

Well, what you think?

Um, it's pretty and all.

You guys do use

computers, right?

-What?

-Hey, guys!

You must be Chloe,

Michael's daughter.

I'm Sydney.

I guess you've already

met Jackson.

Uh, yes, ma'am.

It's nice to meet you.

Pleased to meet you.

So what's her name?

That's Holly.

Do you want to meet her?

No.

I shouldn't.

I'm waiting for my dad.

You know what?

Yeah, I'd love to.

Okay. Come on.

My grand-daddy

started this place

with 40 acres

and a little shack

out back on the pond.

And he put all his

money he had into it.

And my daddy did, too.

So, that being said,

I think you can understand,

I'd hate to be

the one to lose it.

Absolutely, sir.

It certainly is a...

It's a beautiful piece of land.

Thank you.

How deep is the trouble?

It's, uh...

My wife, some years back...

she got very ill,

and we had a flood

at the same time that

wiped out a lot of the barns

and some of the land here,

on the property.

I had to levy the farm

to take care of the repairs,

and things started to turn

around. I thought we were

going to make it...

And then when

my wife passed, I...

things went downhill from there

and we never really recovered.

We're lucky to still

be here today.

Well, I'm sorry

for your loss.

I'm not sure if you're

aware, I lost my wife

as well last year.

Nikki told me.

I'm sorry for that. I...

I hope things are better

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes