[OPEN] //i've been watching you//

[Sebastian James Miller]

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"Emily, can't you sit still for just a minute?" Sebastian pleads to his three year old daughter. She looks up at him, with her big brown eyes, as if she was thinking. "No, daddy," she replies and begins to run around the tack and feed shop some more. Sebastian sighs, and sits down at the counter, watching his daughter tear around the shop as if it was her bedroom and not a store. He'd had her on his own for two years now, without a sign of her mother, besides the monthly child support she pays him. He was relieved when the court awarded him full custody of his angel. He didn't know what he'd do without her, or if he had to share custody with that no good, rotten, selfish...He couldn't think of her anymore. Remi and him had been together since high school, and the bitch just cheated on him. For two years, he had no clue. While she was pregnant with his daughter, she was out having sex with another man. The thought disgusted him.

The toddler came running towards her father, and he smiled down at her. He stood up and swooped her into his arms, kissing her cheek. "Okay, Em. Sit down. Stay still, for a minute. I bet you can't," he says and Emily nods her head vigorously. 'Great,' Sebastian thinks, 'I've got my own daughter started on a gambling habit.' Sebastian has suffered for years with a gambling addiction, betting on anything and everything that moved. So far, most therapists claim it's untreatable, or that he's just not willing to work it out. The majority believe it's the latter of the two.

Sebastian looks at the clock when his daughter jumps off of the stool. She had lost the bet, but he wasn't going to tell her that. She's a sore loser. "You won!" he exclaims, and picks her up again, this time sliding her onto his back. She wraps her arms around his neck and her tiny legs around his stomach, and he carries her around the store while he checks the inventory.
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[ruby]

[style=width:400px; height:200px; background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/ke887a.png);]

[ Horse: N/A ] [ Outfit: Click ] [ Tagged: Sebastian ]

She couldn't believe it. She'd only had Bella at Crossfire for a few weeks, and she'd already somehow managed to break her halter. It amazed Ruby how mischievous her Warmblood mare could be sometimes. So, off to the tack shop it was. Although it was still winter in Addison, Ruby could feel a hint of spring in the air. She only needed her leather jacket to fight the crisp air, rather than her giant parka. Purse slung over her shoulder, Ruby walked briskly into Addison Tack and Feed, noticing that she was alone save for a man and what appeared to be his daughter (or niece?) on his back. It was clear she was a woman on a mission. Brow furrowed, she browsed through the halters, trying to find one similar to Bella's old one. Everything Addison T&F had out looked too small for her Warmblood's gigantic head. Too bad she doesn't use that inflated head for good instead of evil, Ruby thought to herself, annoyed all over at the mare's antics. She had so much to do before her shift at the coffee shop, and this was just one more thing to cram in. She hadn't even exercised her gelding King yet this week, and they were competing in the upcoming show.

Ruby chewed her lip, sighing to herself. It was starting to look grim on the halter situation. Maybe she could see if her mother had an extra large halter laying around back at home. The petite brunette turned to leave, almost bumping into the man with a child on his back she'd glimpsed before in the process. "I'm so sorry," Ruby apologized, looking up at the pair. Hopefully she hadn't jostled them too much in her hurry. What was a little girl doing in a tack shop anyway? She didn't look old enough to do anything more than glorified pony rides. Ruby wasn't exactly the maternal type. Kids were loud and sticky, and she just didn't have the patience for temper tantrums. However, she did have time for handsome men. And the man she'd bumped into certainly fell into the category of handsome. She smiled at him, crossing her fingers behind her back. Please let that be his niece, please let that be his niece...

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[Sebastian James Miller]

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The bell ringed as the door opened and someone walked in. "Hello!" Sebastian called over his shoulder, without bothering to look at who it was. He wasn't expecting any of his employees for a while now. Emily still clung to his back, her tiny arms wrapped around his neck. Her head rested on his shoulder, as if she was ready to go to sleep. Sure, most people wouldn't find it very professional that he had his daughter running around the shop, but he tried to make it a more family-oriented business. Well, that and he didn't have a babysitter for the little girl. "Hello!" the little girl echos her father, smiling brightly at the woman who just walked in. She loved to copy Sebastian, just because she adored her father.

"Daddy, she's pretty," Emily whispered to her father, and then she was distracted by a pink saddle as Sebastian continued his inventory. The man glances over his shoulder, watching the woman fret over the halters. She didn't look very pleased. Maybe she just couldn't find the right color. Some women were picky like that. They needed to have an orange halter and a matching lead. With a little girl, you'd think he'd carry more colorful halters, but he just hadn't gotten around to buying the varieties yet. Sebastian wandered over towards the feed, located near the exit. He started to count the bags, making sure he had everything on his list, marking down anything that was getting low.

The woman in the shop started to head out of the shop, but before she did, she apologized to him for almost bumping into them. "You're okay," he said, smiling. He scrunched down, allowing Emily to get off his back. "Run along now, love," he said and kissed the top of her head. The little girl runs off, giggling like a little girl does. "Is there anything I can help you find?" he offers, not wanting to let the girl leave so quickly. She looked like she was hurried though, but he was hoping to keep her in the shop for a little while, even if it was just to look at her. [/color][/size][/ul]

[ruby]

[style=width:400px; height:200px; background-image:url(http://i48.tinypic.com/ke887a.png);]

[ Horse: N/A ] [ Outfit: Click ] [ Tagged: Sebastian ]

The brunette watched impassively as the man plucked what Ruby was now dreading to think was actually his daughter from his shoulders and placed her on the ground, sending her off with a kiss atop her head. The girl scurried off, giggling at who knew what. Definitely his daughter. She held back a sigh, before turning back to him. He was smiling at her, so she returned the gesture. At least that was a good sign. But, if he had a daughter, where was the mother? Ruby took a step back, blue eyes narrowed slightly. A married (or at least committed) man probably shouldn't be smiling at random women like that... Unless he was just being friendly and she was reading too much into it. It was nearly impossible to tell. Still, she'd need to tread lightly. A man with a child was a man with baggage. A man with a wife and a child was just simply off limits. Ruby wasn't the type to get mixed up with unavailable men who acted like they were available. But, again, maybe he was just trying to be helpful. She'd realized by then that he worked at Addison T&F, so perhaps this was just customer service.

"Yeah, actually, I need a leather halter with a larger noseband. My Warmblood mare has a giant head," She told him, gesturing at the selection of halters she'd just been looking at. "Do you think you'd have any more in the back?" Ruby asked. She wasn't exactly sure why she was sticking around when she had so much to do, but his smile was just so inviting. Back off, a little voice in the back of her mind snapped, he has a kid. You don't need any part of that. But she definitely did need a halter for Bella, and he could potentially help with that. She checked her iPhone quickly, calculating that she could spend an extra half hour at the tack shop without totally throwing off her day and making her late for work.

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[Sebastian James Miller]

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Emily's mother had been his high school sweetheart. They had been together since sophomore year in high school. But apparently, Remi had decided Sebastian wasn't good enough for him. He wasn't sure of the reasoning behind her affair, but once he found out about it, he only stuck around long enough to gain custody of his daughter. She was the love of his life now. Sure, maybe if he found the right girl again, he'd be able to settle down but for now he was content with his daughter and him. They had started a new life, one without Remi, who never even tried to come around to visit Emily. Which made it easier for Sebastian to get over what she did to him. He hated her for what she did, but he'd been in love with her for ten years. She was his for ten years, and then she just left him for another man. And Sebastian didn't even know the reason why. Not that he really cared anymore. He didn't love her anymore, but he also didn't hate her. He was just over her.

"I believe I may, actually," Sebastian muses, trying to remember what he had in the back. He gave the girl another smile, hoping she wouldn't leave as he half-walked, half-jogged to the back to find the halter she requested. Sebastian looked up and down the aisles, his eyes scanning the shelves until he found what he was looking for. He had three colors, red, black and blue. Hopefully she wasn't looking for a bright pink halter. He grabbed the three larger halters and walked back up front, holding them out to show the woman. "These are the only three I have. Any specific color you want?" he said to the gorgeous woman. He wished he could ask her for her name, but he didn't want to seem too pushy. What if she had a boyfriend? Or even a husband? He didn't need to encourage another cheater. He wasn't sure if he could go through that despair again. [/color][/size][/ul]