Bella Lilas Stables

Chapter 1

Anger. Fear. Sadness. It all raged through her at once. She threw her novel across the room, the same one she was reading the night before. Its damaged casing fell to the floor as Zoë screamed in anguish. Her brother came racing into the room, checking to make sure she wasn't hurt. He stared at her as she wailed, "Get out, Lucas! Just get out!"

He refused to listen to the hateful words she preached. Instead, he reached out to her, wincing as she struck out at him and connected with his abdomen. Slowly the punches began to slow, reducing to mere taps as she cried into his chest.

"Why are they gone...why..." she repeatedly mourned.

Lucas couldn't speak. He simply held her as tears began to spring to his own eyes. Life was not going to be easy from then on. He had to watch over her. She relied so much on her parents, yet now they were gone. The car crash hadn't left much hope for them. He tried to convince them to stay home during the storm, but his father was the CEO, so he believed he had to be at the party. He had to make an appearance with his wife. Luke squeezed Zoë tighter. He knew she had struggled with slight depression before, but now it would acclimate. He didn't want to lose her, too. They were all the family they had left for miles around.

Over the next couple weeks, many of their distant family members gave their condolences, appearing at their ranch to attempt to help with whatever they could. The days came and went, but all the siblings wanted were for them to leave. Lucas was slightly more willing to see them, but they hadn't had any knowledge of the horses. Since they weren't help at all in that aspect, Luke preferred to do the chores himself. It relaxed him in a way, letting him get away from the hastiness of life. He held up the business of the ranch well, but Zoë wasn't able to concentrate on much. He watched her often lay out in the horses' pastures. Many would watch her curiously, but none would stay close aside from her sweet stallion, Czech. Lucas silently gazed into the field as the stud laid down next to her. He almost seemed depressed along with her. Many of the horses acted different. They all seemed more depressed, now that he noticed them. They all knew that their parents were no longer going to be returning to the ranch.

Luke leaned his elbows against the steering wheel of the gator, feeling yet another tear roll down his dirt covered cheek. He wanted to be over this. It was really too much to handle at once. He sighed before sitting up again, driving back towards the house. It held so much emptiness now. He glanced up at the house, stepping inside to enter the office. He sat at the desk, running his fingers through his hair.

After sitting there silently, he finally decided to focus on the paperwork. Numerous bills were piling up, not to mention all of the things he needed to take care of for his parents funeral and life insurance. He stopped signing as the phone rang, nearly vibrating off his desk. He looked at the unknown number before answering "Bella Lilas Stables, this is Luke speaking."

"Umm, yes, hi, this is Sahra. I got a call a couple weeks ago to come by?" the soft voice spoke through the phone.

Luke's brow furrowed, confused by her statement. He furiously started going through the unorganized mess of papers on the counter to try to make sense of what she'd said. "Who did you speak with and what about?" he questioned.

"I spoke with Mr. Ceianse about starting some work and training."

Luke froze at the mention of his father's name before finally searching again. A small note had a rough scribble on it, obviously his father's:

"Sahra. Jumper. Stablehand. Training?"

"Ah, I see. Well if my father had suggested you begin working, why don't you come by today around 2:00?" he told her.

"Alright. Should I bring any tack?" Sahra questioned. Luke could hear her quickly gathering her things through the phone.

"No, we have tack specifically for each horse."