My Country Paradise

Chapter 9: Dreams Come True

I tried to hide the look of horror from my face, but it was useless. Jake was coming home with us to Aunt Darcy and Uncle Rob's house? My heart sank, I was enjoying my time not having to worry about him.

"Don't look so mortified, Al. She said I was coming to your Aunt and Uncle's house, not dieing." Andrew pulled back and I looked at him sympathetically. I knew...his mother was dying.

"Look, I'll see you later, okay?" I snapped and turned to get into Aunt Darcy's car.

"I'm going with Jake and Alyssa," Joy shouted behind me. I was glad, but I didn't say so. Andrew got in the passenger seat and gave me a half smile. When I didn't smile back, his lips turned into a frown.

"Hey Alli?" he called quietly.

"Yeah?" I whispered.

"You okay?" I took a second to glance over at him. His eyebrows were pulled together in concern and his deep brown eyes frowned along with his lips.

"I just need a break from him...already..." I frowned, deep in thought.

"Hey, how about we go to my house for a little while? I've got something I want to show you anyways," Andrew spoke gently and it made me able to manage a smile in his direction.

"I would love that."

"Good, but we've got to get you back before too late because we have church tomorrow morning," Andrew winked at me.

"Not until 11:30!" I protested. We continued our 'arguement' until we pulled into his house...er, trailor. He owned quite a large amount of land, but the only thing he had for a house was a small, beat-up white trailor. An out of place awning served as a make shift porch and the barn located behind the trailor looked in much better shape than the trailor itself. Andrew looked at me apologetically.

"Sorry, I'm not much of a house keeper." He looked embarassed.

"It's alright Andrew. I like it," I smiled sweetly his direction and opened the door to get out of the car.

"You should of let me do that," he spoke, almost demandingly.

"Whatever," I shot back playfully. He smiled at me and got out as well. He walked around the car to meet me and took my hand.

"Come on, I know you're going to love this. Well, if your Aunt Darcy's facts about you are true."

"You asked Aunt Darcy about me?" I asked, completly surprised.

"Well, sure," Andrew was the one who seemed embarassed this time. I just smiled at his response and tugged at his hand.

"Now, what were you going to show me?"  We walked around the back of the trailor and towards the red barn that stood majestically, its fresh red paint shimmering in the sunlight. Soft nickers came from the direction of the barn. Horses? My heart instantly began to race with excitement. Words could not describe how much I loved horses. Andrew released my hand and yanked open the barn door. The soft smell of hay drifted out to greet me and I breathed in the sweet scent. The barn was dark compared to the glaring sunshine outside, so I waited for my eyes to adjust. When they adjusted, I studied the four stalls that stood on each side of the barn. Horses hung their heads over the wooden stall doors and whinnied a greeting to us. A tack room stood directly to my left and on the right was an open stall used for grooming and washing. Nearly all eight stalls were full except for one which stood empty. I clapped my hands together in excitement. "Horses!"

Andrew smiled satisfactly. "Want to ride?" I didn't hesitate as I quickly nodded."Okay," he gestured towards the stalls, "pick out your horse!" I rushed to study each stall carefully, starting on my left. The first stall held a small palomino mare, I judged by her tan coat and white mane. I moved on to the next one which held another mare, a majestic white arabian who nickered softly when I approached her. I rubbed her forehead before glancing at the next stall, an appaloosa stallion stood rigid in his stall. I smiled and quickly glanced at the remaining four horses-- a black and white paint gelding, a paint mare, an old looking dappled gray arabian stallion, and a lean thoroughbred stallion with a shiny brown coat.