Cowboys and Mustangs

The Perfect Home- Codi

My eyes squeezed tighter and I groaned out while I reached over to turn off my awful alarm clock. I am extra tired this morning because I was up studying all night. I'm currently in my senior year of college, majoring in Radiology at the University of Wyoming. I do online courses, so it doesn't interfere with mounted shooting and ranching. But from time to time, I have to go up there to do labs and clinicals.

People are shocked when I tell them I want to be a rad tech, they expect me to be an equine therapist or a vet. But I've always had an obsession with x-rays and all the other medical imaging. When I was a kid, it blew my mind to know you could look into someone's body and see exactly what was happening. I still have that feeling now.

But today is my turn to feed all the horses and then give them a workout. Then the boys have to oversee the cattle and the property to see everything is in place. So I roll out of bed, groggily go over to my light switch and turn on the lights, making me grimace.

I go to my drawers and pull out a pair of dark trousers and slide them over my bare legs, and then find a tee shirt to wear, deciding on a red Cinch shirt. I grab one of my tooled belts, along with one of my newer buckles on it. I grab my phone and tuck it into my pocket as I walk to my community bathroom.

I say community because it really is. I don't know how my mother still handles living with these monsters. I prepare myself before entering, but once I enter, I notice it's not too bad. Only a couple pairs of underwear and jeans and shirts. Most likely Austin's and Beau's, Wyatt is the only one to figure it out. I shake my head and kick the clothing into a pile to the side and turn on the sink to wash my face.

As I walk out of the door, I braid my long black hair into a simple braid. I only braid it 3/4 of the way, so I really give it a 'western' look. When I step onto the grass, I stop to take a moment to look at the sky. It's a beautiful sight before me. The horses are up in the first pasture waiting for me, the mountains are piercing the sky, and the air is still. It's only an hour after sunrise, so the baby blue sky is still filled with yellows and oranges.

I take a deep breath through my nose and close my eyes, trying to engrave this sight into my brain so I never forget it. With a soft smile on my face, I continue my journey to the barn to grab the bags of feed. With my strength I throw a bag of Total Equine over my shoulder, and then carry another one on my other shoulder. People wonder how I stay fit.

Once I'm done feeding the horses, I go and check all the gates and fences to ensure they are all closed. And of course, I go to each and everyone of our horses and give them a little morning loving. But like them, I need to eat, so leaving the pretty horses I go back to the house.

When I walk into the house, all eyes land on mine as everyone sits at the table. "Morning." I greet them as I go over to the sink to wash my hands. When I'm done, I grab my plate and grab two pancakes and add some strawberries and go to my place at the table. Replacing my mom on the other head of the table sits my grandfather, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Got any plans today Codi?" My father asks me.

"I have to go to the college in about an hour to take a test." I say as I cut up my pancakes. When I look up at them, they are all looking at each other.

"What time do you think you'll be back?" My mother asks me in a sweeter tone than usual.

"One maybe." I shrug and they all seem to nod. "Am I forgetting something? Is it your birthday?" I look at Austin and he gives me a sarcastic mock smile. Austin and I enjoy picking on each other, I'm a real challenge for him.

"No no, just curious." My mom says again in a strange voice. Something is definitely going on with everyone. I carefully look at everyone at the table, trying to read them. I couldn't even read Beau, who always spilled to me in the end.