Cowboys and a Angle

Ch. 1

Pulling up to the White House I sigh loudly and stop the truck putting it in park and turning it off. I see a patch of flowers and bushes in front of a big porch, that has a swing and a table with a chair on each side. Looking to the left I see a barn. Big enough to fit fifty horses. Jumping as I hear a slam and a screech I look to the porch to see a bubbly blonde pop out of the house. I smile slightly and open the truck door stepping out. I close the door just in time to be brought into a bear hug.
"Bambi, I missed you so much." The Texan accent smacking me in the face. " Its been what, two years?" The small girl asks me.
" Yes Mariah, it's been two whole years since I had the pleasure of getting one of your famous bear hugs." I laugh as I peel her arms from my sides. " Look how big you got little cousin." She scowls me.
" I'm not little anymore! I'm fourteen." She exclaims. I laugh and poke her side.
" Gee I wouldn't have known if you wouldn't have told me!" I joke. As if she wasn't surprised at my joke she smiles.
"Like I haven't heard that one before." She smiles as I walk to the trailer and lean a little on it. Looking up hearing yet another laugh I see my aunt Jen and uncle Jeremiah standing on the porch steps smiling brightly at me. I give them a small smile.
" Mariah dear, don't you think poor Bambi is exhausted from her trip. Why bother her?" Aunt Jen pipes up. Mariah frowns and kicks a rock.
" But momma.." Mariah begins but the look from her mother makes her trap shush. I laugh as they walk towards us. Marian's fathers arm rest on her shoulder, he whispers something in her ear that makes her perk up, nod then run to the barn. After she leaves I turn towards my aunt and uncle and smile.
" Now, look at you miss Bambi Fleming." Uncle Jeremiah pulls me into a hug. "What is it now 19? 18?" He asks as he pulls me at arms length.
" Nineteen." I reply and he gasps.
"Young and the prettiest thing around, well Hun we are gonna be fighting some of those Cowboys in town off." He laughs and pats my shoulder. Aunt Jen nods and smiles at me before turning her gaze down. I already sense where this conversation is going. Might as well get it done and over with. My smile drops a little as I feel my uncle look at both of us. "I think I'll go help Mariah in the barn." He kisses his wife's cheek and pats my shoulder before turning and strutting off towards the barn.
She turns to me and sighs, stepping forward and pulling me into a hug. I can't help myself when I rap my arms around her and shove my face in her shoulder and sob. "Such a strong girl." She whisper. I hear a small crack in her voice as she rocks us slowly. She pulls me away and runs her finger across my cheek taking one of my tears with her. I see her eyes fill with some of her own as she smiles at me. Pulling my hair out of my face I sigh. "Bambi darling, I would give anything to take back the past few months to make my beautiful niece happy again, but lord knows things happen for a reason. And we are more then happy have you stay with us for as long as you need. Yea?" She questions and I nod smiling again.
As much as it hurts right now, my aunt has always had a special way of making me feel better. Next to my mother, she was another woman in my life. Till about ten years ago her and Jeremiah decided to move out here after the loss of their unborn child. New start, new beginnings she always said. Of coursed I missed her but it was what made her happy. And until a few months ago.. I was happy too. Now as my chest tightens at the thought of my mother. I know I have a long journey ahead of me but I'm ready to finally have a new start myself. I look over at Jasper and back to my aunt Jen.
She pats the trailer and looks up at him. " Let's get this big guy off the trailer and stretched." She laughs as he neighs. I walk to the back of the trailer and open the first door. Swinging it so I can latch it to the side of the long trailer. I walk back to see the other side already latched and Mariah jumping in her pants. I laugh and rub her hair. I step onto the trailer and hand my tack bucket to her and she eagerly grabs it. I unlatch the metal bar holding him in place and walk up beside my four legged friend. Patting his neck I undo his lead rope from the trailer hook and slowly back him up guiding him back off the trailer.
As his front right hoof touches the ground Mariah squeals. "He's huge!" She jumps. I laugh and walk him around in a big circle. His leg muscles ripping as he moved forward after me. My head barely coming to his shoulder. I pat him and look her in the eyes.
"Would you like to do me the honor of lunge him for me.? So he's nice and stretched and we can get him settled in?" She nodded and set the tack bucket down. Grabbing the rope from my hand she turned him to the left and starting towards the side of the barn and pasture and to the round pin. Closing the door after her, her father watched on.
I started unloading his tack and boxes full of his brushes. After everything was out of the trailer I walked towards the round pin and watched as Mariah called him into a trot. Jasper being the well trained horse he was jumped into it. She smiled brightly at him and nodded. Spinning on her heel with him as he turned around the round pin in long strides. Looking at him made my heart sink. I've had Jasper for almost five years. He was abused and broken when me and my mother got him. A year old colt that was scarred for life after what happen to him. It took me and my mom almost a whole year to get him trained well enough to be rode. And after that barrel training came at ease.
I trusted him with my life and the same for him. He was all I had left of her. My chest tightened and I looked back up at Mariah as she slowed him down to a stop and called him to the middle of the pin. She patted and babied him. He soaked it all up and nuzzled her hand. As she came to the door I opened it and took the rope from her hands. "Thank you." I smiled sadly at her. She grabbed my arm and pulled all of us toward the barn. As we walk in I see my aunt and uncle at the end of it preparing a stall with hay.
As we arrive to it Mariah looks at me and smiles really big. "This is Jaspers stall. It's the biggest in the barn since now he's the biggest here, well of course next to my Sandy." She tapped the stall next his and up popped and beautiful Palomino mare. Blue eyes stared at Mariah as she kissed her nose. "I'm working on becoming a barrel racer like you and aunt Lou where!" She gasped.
"Mariah Sue." Jen glared. Mariah's head fell.
"Sorry Bambi." She sighed. And kicked her foot on the ground. I rapped my free arm around her shoulders.
"Aye, it's okay. She'd be so happy that you want to be just as great as she was." I smile looking into her green wide eyes. "Tell you what. Once me and Jasper are all settled in how about we show you and Sandy some tips and tricks?" She nods happily and skips away to the tack room.
Jen looks at me sadly. "You didn't have to do that sweetheart." I nod greatly and fiercely.
"I insist. I wanted to, I can see she's madly in love it just like mom was." I say. She waves me forward with a small smile. I pull Jasper into his new stall and unclip his lead from him and let him sniff around. He proceeds to lay and roll in the dirt and hay that lay at the bottom of the stall. I look out into the pasture and see about twelve to fifteen different horses grazing. "You guys expanded." I said noticing the new horse. Jen nods and walks to the open barn door.
"Not to long ago Jeremiah went to a auction. Seen how the horses where treated and ended up coming home with ten new horse," she laughs," I bet if Jackson wasn't there he would have came home with all of them." I nod confused.
"Jackson?" I asks. She turns to me.
"Oh my, I almost forgot y'all have never met. He's one of Jeremiah's boys. He comes out and does chores and helps around with the horses. Oh he's such a sweetie. You two can meet tomorrow when he comes around." She nods me foreword and closes and locks Jaspers stall door and pushes me to the front door of the barn. "Now let's get you settled into the house." She says and pulls me to the house.

Note:
Dat picture dur is Jasper. Reminds me of my quarter. Sadly lolz.