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YOUNG AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT!!
The buttons on my cell phone clicked nonstop as I texted my friends from school. They buzzed about how much fun they were going to have this summer and what I was going to miss out on. I buzzed about a boring two and a half hour car ride and not knowing where I was going. Exciting. I shut my phone, having enough of their seemingly perfect life.
“Where are we? Out in the middle of nowhere?” I asked as I glanced out the window, my leg bouncing with impatience. Open fields with big, round hay bales dotted the scenery around us. Horses filled their bellies in a lush field along the side of road. I looked away as a gray horse lifted it’s head to our passing car.
“Springston. Population 687, the cows outnumber the people here,” Dad answered.
“Well, the faster we get there, the faster I get this summer done with, and the faster I can get back to my friends. That is, if I even have friends by then,” I said. My charm bracelet jingled as I reached up to brush my bang out of my face. I glanced over all the charms. So many had come and gone over the past year. The horse charm was gone which was replaced with a BFF charm. That too could be gone by the end of the summer.
Mom looked over at Dad, he nodded his head in silent agreement.
“Honey, your dad and I worry about you. You see, ever since you lost Aspen, you’ve become a totally different person. Now you’re thoughts revolve around your social life and being popular.” Mom paused and gathered her thoughts before going on, “It’s been a long year since Aspen had to be put down. We want you to have some time away from everything this summer to sort things out and heal your heart.”
“My heart doesn’t need healing,” I said as I crossed my arms and looked back out the window.
“Then why have you shoved horses out of your life?” Mom asked.
“I’m just done with horses. Got that?” I said. Mom sighed and looked out the window. Dad reached over and rubbed her shoulder. I rolled my eyes and picked up my phone. I had to get my mind off horses and back on a more uplifting subject- my pathetic summer.
“8317 Peora Road, here it is!” Dad called out. He grabbed the scrap sheet of paper that he had scribbled the directions on to double check. A familiar scent waffled into the car through Mom’s open window. My eyes raised from the screen of my phone and started to penetrate Mom’s hopeful glance.
“I know that scent!” I snapped. “You’re taking me to a place that has horses hoping I’ll get back into. I told you I never wanted to see another horse again,” My voice quivered as the tears started to come, “How could you betray me like that?” My watery eyes searched both their faces for some legitimate excuse. Once again, they exchanged glances as if looking for approval to go on.
Mom ran her hands through her hair as she said, “We know it’s going to be difficult facing horses again but you had such a passion and we think you can find it again.”
“You thought wrong. Aspen is the last horse I will ever love,” I said, firmly crossing my arms after wiping away a set of tears. “Come on Dad, you know Mom’s being unreasonable about this. Turn the car around.”
“Actually, I’m in agreement with your mom. This will give you a chance to rethink walking away from horses,” Dad said as he reached back and affectionately offered me his hand. I crossed my arms tighter. We sat in tense silence while I gathered my thoughts.
“Do you have everything? We can always run grab something before we head back home,” Mom said.
“Nothing appropriate for working with horses. Guess we’ll just have to turn around,” I said.
“No need to worry. I packed an extra bag with some riding clothes, boots, gloves, and those kinds of things.” Mom smiled proudly. I slouched down deeper in my chair.
As we continued closer, a farmhouse and multiple barns came into view. Then a large outdoor arena and another more simple house showed up. My stomach started to feel queasy as my eyes scanned the place for more information. This was nothing like the dressage stables I was used to. This was a real, working ranch.
“Wow, this place looks even better in person! What do you think, Meg?” Mom asked over enthusiastically. I sat in shock, barely hearing Mom’s question. The tears started to come again as Dad brought the car to a stop and popped the trunk. He got my bags out while Mom rummaged through her purse to find a tissue. I bit my lip as she reached over to dab a tear off my face and pull me in for a hug. I stepped away before she reached me.
“You’re acting as I still want to talk to you. Well, guess what? I don’t,” I grabbed the handle on the suitcase, flipped the duffle bag packed with horse-appropriate clothing over my shoulder, and draped my purse over the open arm. I marched towards the farmhouse, tears still pouring down, leaving dumbfounded parents and the car behind.
The screen door on the white two-story farmhouse creaked open as a middle-aged woman came bustling out. “You must be Megan! Welcome to the ranch! I’m Emily.” She stuck her dirt covered hand out for a proper shake but quickly decided against it and opted instead for a hug. I made no eye contact and brushed past her open arms and towards the house.
“Where’s the bathroom?” I called over my shoulder without stopping my march towards the house. There was a few moments of silence before Emily spoke.
“Just walk straight as you walk in and you’ll run into it,” she said with a slight hesitation in her voice. “I’ll just be talking with your parents. Let me know if you need anything.” I swung the screen door open and set my suitcase right inside the door. I kicked my shoes off, grabbed my makeup bag and my cell phone, and headed for the bathroom.
I clicked speed dial number five and pressed the phone against my ear. It rang four times before rolling over to voicemail.
“Hunter! I need to talk to you. Call me as soon as you get this message. It’s an emergency!” I shut the phone and shoved it into my pocket.
I spent ten minutes in the bathroom fixing my make-up which was ruined from crying. The more time I took, the more likely my parents would be gone by then. Unfortunately as I stepped out of the bathroom, I could hear Emily chatting it up with the parents in the kitchen. I slowly walked towards the voices.
“Megan! Emily was just sharing with us all the things you’ll be doing. I think you’re really going to enjoy it,” Dad said as I appeared in the kitchen. He gave me a look that warned me not to protest. I shrugged and sat down in the open chair. In front of me was a glass of lemonade filled to the brim with ice and topped with a straw. I slid the glass towards me and took a big slurp.
“So how long have you been into horses, Megan?” Emily asked. I shot a look at my parents.
“I was into it for six years,” I said, playing with the straw in the lemonade.
“She knows what she’s doing. She should be able to be a big help around here. Shouldn’t you, Megan?” Mom asked, eyebrows raised.
“Whatever,” I said. Dad gave me another warning look but I avoided his eyes and looked out the window. In the outdoor arena straight across from the house was a guy riding a grey horse. He worked in circles and figure eights, lengthening and shortening the horse’s strides. I glanced back at my parents.
“Well, I’m sure you guys are itching to get back on the road,” I said. I had better things to do than sit and chat with adults all day.
“Don’t worry, we’re in no rush,” Dad said. “So, Emily, how about seeing her room?” I sighed.
“Sure thing!” Emily got up from her chair and the parents followed suit. I waited until they had filed out before grabbing my bags from the entryway and shuffling behind them.
“Last door on the right,” Emily stood back and let us take the lead. The door knob wobbled and the hinges creaked as Dad opened it.
The smell of fresh flowers greeted us as we stepped into the room. I tossed my bags down on the bed and studied the room. Talk about country. All the furniture was very rustic and the quilted bedspread, window treatment, and pillows looked like they were family heirlooms. Accessories were minimal besides a vase of daisies on the dresser, an alarm clock on the nightstand, and a desk lamp. The worst offender, though, was the yellow walls.
“Oh the room is so cute! I love the way it’s decorated. Did you do it yourself, Emily?” Mom asked. I stared at her in astonishment. Being that she is an interior designer there was no way she’d like this kind of room.
“I wish I could take credit for it but my daughter designed the room,” Emily said.
“I didn’t know you had a daughter! I hope Megan isn’t kicking her out of her room,” Mom said.
“Oh no, she doesn’t live here anymore. She left last year. It’ll be so nice to have a girl around again,” Emily said.
“There’s no other girls around here?” I asked.
“Oh no, there’s Savannah, the ranch hand. I don’t see her often but, maybe you’ll get to know her if you guys do some chores together.”
“Only one other girl? You’ve got to be kidding me,” I sank down onto the bed and covered my face with my hands.
“Is that a bathroom through that door?” Dad asked as he pointed to the door next to the dresser.
“Yes it is,” she answered. He pushed the door open and I peered around him to find it had a pedestal sink and an antique claw foot tub. The walls were the same annoying yellow. I put my hands back over my eyes before I could dwell too much on how badly the light for doing my make-up would be in there.
“Are you okay, Megan?” Emily asked.
“Me? What do you think? I’m getting dropped off at a place I have no desire to be at. I am not okay,” I said, my voice muffled by my hands. I felt tears start to pool up in my eyes.
“Megan! That is no way to talk to somebody who’s doing you a favor,” Mom said.
“A favor? Staying here is not a favor! It’s a nightmare!” I wailed. The tears started pouring down.
“I’m so sorry Emily. She’s still in shock. She doesn’t mean what she’s saying,” Dad said. He put an arm around Mom’s shoulder and eased her towards the door. “Why don’t we finish chatting out in the kitchen and give Megan some time to regain composure?” I could feel Dad staring at me, his eyes full of disappointment. He guided Mom out of the room and Emily followed behind.
Once the door clicked shut, I flipped onto my stomach and cried into the pillow. I cried about being stuck here for the summer, about losing Aspen, about my parents betraying me, and about being confused. Everything there was to cry about, I cried about. Eventually the tears dried up and I just laid there thinking. I spent almost an hour laying there on the bed, working through my emotions. Once I felt stable enough to face the world again, I got up and went into the bathroom to fix my makeup, hopefully for the last time that afternoon.
Before leaving the room, I unpacked all my things. No use fighting staying, there was no way Mom and Dad would take me home. I’d just have to find my own way out and until then, I was going to make this room feel like home. As I unzipped my pink, extra large suitcase, clothes started to spill out. A couple hoodies were the first items to make their way out of the suitcase and casual shirts and tank tops followed shortly. Then came all the new tops recently bought on a pre-summer shopping spree with friends. At the bottom of the suitcase was all my jeans and shorts. Designer jeans had become a weakness of mine over the past year and now I had drawers full of them. Picking the ones that were supposed to come with was super difficult. It was like asking a parent to pick a favorite kid.
I put all the clothes away neatly and organized my shoes at the bottom on the closet. All my beauty tools were put in the bathroom and the few pieces of jewelry were set on the dresser. I got my computer out and set in on the desk along with a stack of magazines and a book that was required summer reading for school. The only thing left to unpack was the dreaded bag filled with riding clothes. I tossed the bag in the corner of the closet and shut the door. I was on horse overload.
Just as I was getting up the courage to leave the bedroom, my phone rang. The ringtone told me it was Hunter. I whipped the phone out of my pocket and clicked answer.
“Finally you called, I’ve been waiting for ages!” I almost yelled into the phone.
“I just heard the news from my parents. What in the world?” Hunter said.
“I know! I don’t get it. They never mentioned anything about the horses and then they suddenly send me away for the summer claiming they want me to ‘rethink walking away from horses’,” I said.
“Wait, why did they send you there?” she asked.
“To get me back into horses or whatever. Why?” I asked.
“Well that’s not the story my parents heard,” she said. “My mom said your parents said they needed the money your job at the ranch would bring,” Hunter said. It took me a second to process what she said.
“What? That’s ridiculous!” I said. “Are you sure they didn’t hear wrong?”
“They heard right. Too bad your parents didn’t admit they were having a hard time financially sooner. Maybe my parents could have helped out and you could’ve stayed home,” she said. “You know, my dad’s business has been booming.” Annoyance with my best friend started to rise up inside of me. I was sure she was making this all up.
“Whatever. That is all just a rumor. My family is absolutely fine financially,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Believe what you want to believe. If you decide you want some help getting out, I bet I could get my parents to lend you some money,” she said. That was it.
“I have to go,” I said. Without waiting for a response, I flipped my phone shut. I drew my knees up to my chest and just sat there. It was too much for one day. I couldn’t take it. First I get dropped off at a ranch. Then I hear a lie about my parents needing money. The lie came from my best friend. My life was crumbling. I sat frozen like that for a long time. After a while I got up and left my room. I needed to get outside. I needed fresh air. What I forgot was that the air would be contaminated by horse stench.
I needed some place that you couldn’t view horses from. The backside of the house seemed like the only answer. As I walked around the side of the house, I was greeted by a white picket fence with vines weaving through it. I unlatched the gate and let myself into a beautiful flower garden. I slowly walked around the little piece of paradise, stopping to smell the variety of flowers often. This was just the kind of place I needed to help me forget today. I sat down on a bench in the middle of the garden and took a deep, shaky breath. I lost track of time and barely noticed when somebody joined me in the garden.
“Looks like you found my mom’s flower garden.” The guy’s voice startled me causing me to jump off the bench. It took me a second to figure out where the voice was coming from. When I laid eyes on him, I felt an immediate blush creep to my face.
“Yeah. I just kind of tripped across it. I’m sorry if I’m not supposed to be in here,” I said. I could barely get the words out. I had never been this close to this hot of a guy.
“Oh no, Mom loves when people are able to enjoy her garden,” he said. “You must be Megan?”
“Yup, that’s me. You are?” I asked.
“Trevor, my parents are Emily and Dunn,” he said. I nodded. My eyes focused on my feet as awkward silence fell between us. Trevor was the first to break the silence.
“Well, Mom just wanted me to tell you dinner will be ready in ten minutes. You’re expected to be there on time, cleaned up, and ready to eat. See you there,” Trevor said. He tipped his cowboy hat and strolled out of the garden. My hand went over my heart and I slouched onto the bench. Maybe summer here wouldn’t be so bad after all. Yeah right.
