Chapter 706: A superstar in the stables

Dayo woke up a few minutes before his alarm, as he usually did, and lay still long enough to remember where he was. The previous evening returned to him in pieces: Luna running into his arms, Jennifer refusing to leave his side, and Richard announcing that he expected him at the ranch by six in the morning. Dayo checked the time on his phone. It was a little after five, which gave him enough time to wash, dress, do his usual exercise and get outside without disturbing the rest of the household.

He had barely finished tying his trainers when Luna appeared at the bedroom door, still wearing her nightclothes. She looked at the time on her own phone and then at him. "You’re actually going?" she asked, sounding more surprised than she wanted to admit.

"You heard your father yesterday. Six means six."

Luna leaned against the doorframe while he picked up his jacket. "You know he might make you do work all day just because he can. He has been talking about this since you agreed to come."

"Then I’ll do the work."

"You’re a musician, Dayo. You run a company. You don’t know anything about managing a ranch."

"That’s why I’m going to listen to the people who do." He walked over and kissed her forehead before collecting his phone. "Besides, your father said I should come. I don’t want him thinking I can’t keep a simple promise."

She followed him towards the stairs, still looking unconvinced. "I’m warning you because I know him. If you make one mistake, he’ll remember it for the next ten years."

"Then I hope I don’t make too many mistakes."

Luna laughed quietly despite herself and reached for his hand before he left. She had wanted him to return for so long that seeing him prepare to spend the morning with her father brought an unexpected mixture of relief and worry. Richard could be difficult when he believed someone needed testing, and Dayo had a habit of accepting challenges without considering how unpleasant they might become.

"Please don’t let him push you into doing something dangerous," she said. "He can be stubborn, but you don’t have to prove everything to him in one morning."

"I’ll be careful." Dayo squeezed her hand, then headed downstairs. "Go back to bed. I’ll see you later."

Outside, the air was cool, and the ranch was already beginning to stir. A vehicle moved slowly near one of the equipment sheds, while two workers carried supplies towards the stables. Dayo walked to the front of the house and waited near the entrance, stretching his shoulders as he watched the activity around the property. He had expected to be the first person awake, but the ranch clearly followed a different routine from the one he knew in London.

Richard emerged a few minutes before six, dressed in work trousers, a long-sleeved shirt, and boots that had seen years of use. He carried a pair of gloves and stopped when he saw Dayo waiting outside.

"You’re early," he said.

"I didn’t want to be late."

Richard glanced at his watch. "Good. Come with me, then. We have work to do."

He led Dayo towards the stable buildings without offering him breakfast or asking whether he was ready. Dayo followed, taking in the rows of equipment, the fenced paddocks, and the workers who were already preparing the animals for the morning. Several of them noticed him and exchanged surprised looks. One whispered something to another, who quickly looked away when Richard turned in their direction.

Richard noticed the reaction but did not comment on it. He stopped beside a storage area where bags of feed had been stacked near a trolley. "Do you know what you’re looking at?"

"Feed," Dayo answered after examining the bags. "I assume you want me to move them."

"You assume correctly. Take those to the stable at the end, then help them prepare the morning feed. Don’t open anything until someone tells you what each animal needs."

Dayo removed his jacket and set it on a nearby hook. "All right. Where do you want the trolley?"

"Over there. And be careful with the bags. Some of them are heavier than they look."

The first few trips were straightforward, although the bags were heavier than Dayo expected. He adjusted his grip after nearly losing his balance while lifting one, then moved the remaining supplies without rushing. A worker named Peter, who had been sorting equipment nearby, came over to help him position the trolley.

"You don’t have to carry all of them yourself," Peter said. "We usually move these in pairs."

"I thought I could manage one at a time, but you’re right. Show me how you normally do it."

Peter demonstrated how to lift and secure the bags before moving them, and Dayo followed his instructions. Richard watched from the other side of the stable, apparently waiting for him to complain about the work. Instead, Dayo asked Peter where the remaining feed needed to go and continued with the task.

When they finished, Peter handed him a brush and pointed towards a stall that needed cleaning. Dayo looked at the equipment, then at the stable floor, where fresh bedding had been spread around the edges.

"Is this the part where you tell me I’m doing it wrong?" Dayo asked.

Peter laughed. "I’ll tell you if you are. Just don’t put everything in one pile and expect someone else to finish it."

"Fair enough."

Dayo worked alongside him, learning how to remove the soiled bedding without disturbing the clean sections. The job was less pleasant than moving the feed, but he did not try to avoid it. When he missed a patch near the corner, Peter pointed it out, and Dayo went back to clean it properly.

Richard entered the stable as they were finishing. He inspected the stall, then looked at Peter. "Did he complain?"

"Not once," Peter replied. "He asked a lot of questions, though."

"Questions are better than mistakes," Richard said, although his tone suggested he had hoped for both.

Dayo picked up the remaining tools and placed them where Peter had shown him. "What comes next?"

Richard directed him towards the water troughs outside. Several needed checking before the horses could be moved between the paddocks, and one of the pipes had been giving the workers trouble. Dayo followed him across the yard, stopping when Richard explained which valves controlled the water supply and how to check whether the troughs were filling properly.

At the first trough, Dayo discovered that the water level was lower than expected. He called one of the workers over rather than turning the nearest valve without knowing what it controlled. Together they traced the problem to a connection that needed adjustment. Dayo held the equipment while the worker tightened it, then waited until the water began flowing properly.

Richard had expected him to become impatient by then. Instead, Dayo stayed until they had checked the other troughs as well. He was unfamiliar with the equipment, but he was willing to learn, and that made it difficult for Richard to dismiss him as a celebrity who had come to perform for an audience.

The morning continued with one task leading into another. Dayo helped move a delivery to the correct storage area, carried tools to a worker repairing a section of fencing, and assisted with checking the gates between two paddocks. When Richard explained that one gate had been sticking, Dayo tried it several times before asking whether the hinge needed adjustment. A worker examined it and confirmed that the hinge had shifted slightly.

"At least you didn’t force it," the worker said as he reached for his tools. "People do that when they don’t know what’s wrong, and then we have a bigger problem."

Dayo stepped aside to give him room. "I’ve learned that forcing things usually creates more work for someone else."

Richard heard the comment but said nothing. He had been expecting Dayo to complain about his hands getting dirty or ask when the work would be finished. So far, the young man had done neither. He also seemed comfortable speaking to the staff, listening to their instructions, and accepting correction without trying to prove that he knew better.

A little later, one of the workers approached Richard with a question about a supply delivery scheduled for the following day. Richard was checking a list on his phone and asked him to repeat the details. Dayo stood nearby, listening while the worker explained that the delivery time might conflict with another scheduled task.

"Would it help if we moved the equipment delivery to the afternoon?" Dayo asked. "That would give you the morning to finish the work you mentioned, wouldn’t it?"

The worker considered it. "It might. I would need to check with the supplier, but that would make things easier."

Richard looked at Dayo. "You have been here for less than two hours, and you’re already rearranging my schedule?"

"I’m not rearranging anything, sir. I only suggested an option. If it doesn’t work, leave it as it is."

The worker checked the schedule again and said he would speak to the supplier before making any changes. Richard returned to his list without further comment, although he had noticed that Dayo had not tried to present the suggestion as a clever business solution. He had simply listened to the problem and offered an idea that might help.

By the time the morning had progressed towards nine, the work around the stables had moved into the next stage. Dayo helped prepare the horses for their routine checks, carrying the necessary equipment while the experienced handlers dealt with the animals. He followed their instructions about where to stand and when to move, and he did not approach a horse without asking whether it was safe to do so.

One of the younger workers, who had been watching him from the start, eventually found the courage to speak. "Sir, can I ask you something?"

Dayo turned towards him. "Of course."

"Is it strange being here? I mean, yesterday you were at your company, and people were probably waiting for you. Today you’re cleaning stalls and carrying feed."

Dayo considered the question while placing a brush back into its container. "It’s different, but it’s still work. I don’t know how to do everything here, so I’m learning. The people who work here do this every day, and I don’t see why I should act as if their jobs are beneath me."

The young man seemed satisfied with the answer. "My sister listens to your songs all the time. She’ll probably think I’m lying when I tell her you helped clean a stable."

"Then tell her I did a poor job and had to do it twice," Dayo replied, smiling as he picked up the next piece of equipment. "That part might be easier for her to believe."

The worker laughed and returned to his task. Richard, who had overheard part of the conversation, looked towards Dayo but did not interrupt. He had never expected the young man to become an expert in ranch work overnight, but he had assumed that his fame would make him reluctant to do the ordinary jobs. Instead, Dayo had treated the morning like any other responsibility that needed to be completed.

Near the end of the third hour, Richard took him towards another section of the property to help with a few remaining checks. The work involved carrying equipment, inspecting a fence line, and helping two workers move supplies closer to a storage building. By then, Richard’s shirt had begun to darken with sweat, and he was moving more slowly than he had at the start of the morning.

Dayo was tired, but he had not reached the point of needing to stop. He placed the last container where the worker directed him, then returned to Richard to ask what else needed to be done.

Richard looked at him for a moment. "Are you not tired?"

"I am, sir. I’m just not finished yet."

"You’ve been working for three hours."

"So have you."

Richard glanced down at his own shirt and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "I’ve been doing this since I was young. You have a different job."

"I know. That’s why I came here to learn something about yours."

The answer was simple, and Richard had no immediate response. He had expected Dayo to use his career as a reason to avoid the work, yet the young man had done the opposite. He had also watched the workers become increasingly comfortable around him, and several of them had begun speaking to him as they would speak to any other person working alongside them.

When they returned to the yard, Peter offered Dayo a bottle of water. Dayo thanked him and drank while the workers prepared to move on to the next set of tasks. Richard stood nearby, looking at the list he had brought from the house. Most of the morning’s work had been completed, and there were still several things he had planned to show Dayo later.

"You can take a break," Richard said at last. "We have more to do, but you won’t be much use if you exhaust yourself before midday."

Dayo put the bottle down on the bench. "All right. Thank you, sir."

Richard studied him again, this time with less suspicion than before. "You didn’t complain once."

"I didn’t know enough about the work to complain."

"That has never stopped some people."

Dayo accepted the observation without trying to turn it into a joke. He knew Richard was still deciding what he thought of him, and he was not going to force the man into changing his opinion simply because he had managed to finish a difficult morning.

Richard took the water bottle he had brought and sat on the bench at the edge of the yard. "Tell me something, Dayo. When you leave here, are you going to return to your office and forget everything you saw this morning?"

"No, sir. I may not remember every detail, but I won’t forget the work."

"What does that mean?"

"It means I understand a little better why you take the ranch seriously. There are people depending on the work being done properly. If something is neglected, it affects more than one person."

Richard listened while Dayo explained that he had noticed how the staff coordinated their tasks and how much depended on communication between the different areas. He admitted that he had never managed a ranch and would not pretend to know enough to make decisions about its daily operation. Richard seemed more interested in that admission than in anything Dayo had said about his company.

"At least you understand that much," Richard replied. "Money can pay for equipment and workers, but it doesn’t mean you understand what they do."

"I agree."

Richard stood and picked up his gloves. "There’s something else I want to show you. It won’t be part of today’s work, but I want you to understand why I don’t allow people to rush around the horses simply because they think they know what they’re doing."

Dayo followed him towards a fenced paddock. A large white horse stood near the far side, moving away from the fence as another worker passed outside. The animal was powerful, and its movements were unpredictable enough that Dayo stopped a few steps behind Richard rather than approaching it.

"That’s White," Richard explained. "He’s been here for a long time, and he has given more than one experienced handler trouble. I want you to watch him for now. Don’t go near him unless one of the handlers tells you it’s safe."

Dayo studied the horse from where he stood. White moved across the paddock, stopped near the water trough, and turned sharply when a worker opened a gate further down the path. The worker waited until the horse settled before continuing, clearly familiar with its behaviour.

"Has he always been like that?" Dayo asked.

"Since he arrived here, yes. We’ve tried different approaches, but he doesn’t tolerate being pushed. Even people who have worked with horses for years have struggled with him."

Dayo continued watching while Richard explained how White reacted when handlers tried to lead him or approach him too quickly. The horse had not been brought out to entertain a visitor, and Richard made it clear that nobody would take unnecessary risks for the sake of proving a point.

"I’ll let you work with the other horses first," Richard said. "You need to learn the basics before you think about handling one like him."

"That makes sense," Dayo replied.

Richard seemed slightly surprised that he had not challenged the instruction. He had expected Dayo to insist that he could manage the horse, especially after spending the morning trying to prove himself through hard work. Instead, Dayo accepted that he lacked the necessary experience and returned his attention to the paddock.

After a few minutes, Richard called one of the handlers over and asked him to explain the next set of tasks to Dayo. The work would continue for the rest of the morning, and Dayo was expected to follow the same rules as everyone else. He would be shown what to do, corrected when necessary, and held responsible for any mistake he made.

Dayo agreed and followed the handler back towards the stables. Behind them, Richard remained near the paddock, watching White move across the enclosure. He had invited Dayo to the ranch because he wanted to test the man who had brought so much uncertainty into his daughter’s life. The morning had not removed his concerns, but it had given him something to consider.

Dayo, meanwhile, had no intention of treating the morning as a victory. He had completed the work because Richard had asked him to, and because he understood that earning trust would require more than a single good performance. The ranch had its own demands, and he still had a great deal to learn. For now, he was willing to return to the work, listen to the people who understood it, and prove through his actions that he was serious about becoming part of Luna and Jennifer’s family again.