Tennessee Summer

Plan's for the future

Breakfast winds down and everyone talk's among themselves and I just watch enjoying being home with my family again I feel my heart swell knowing I'll never have to leave them again. "Hey Ady, we were all thinking about going down to the wagon wheel tonight and do a little bit of dancing and drankennnn," I laugh at my bother as he sings song drunken. 

"UH, I dunno, I haven't danced in years, I'm not sure I remember how to two-step," I answer him honestly. "OH come on Adelyn, dancing is like riding a bike you never forget, it wouldn't be fun if you didn't come along." Lydia puts in her two cent's, I just shake my head and chuckle.

The Wagon Wheel is one of the two country western bars in town and the one we frequently visited while teens, "Ugh, fine I'll go, but the first person who laughs when I miss a step and face plant, mucks knights stall for a month." Everyone laughs, but nod because they know I mean business.

"I'm going to, I need to find me a lady," dad say's getting up to take his dishes to the sing, We laugh getting up to do the same and then start on our chores. I head out towards the barn to get knight and I hear Ally calling my name, but I ignore her. "Adelyn would you please stop!" she yell's, causing the ranch hands who have made it into work, to look our way, so I stop and wait, "What do you want Allison?" I question her annoyed when she is finally in range.

"I'm sorry, Ady really," I huff and start back for the barn, "Allison I love you like a sister, but between you and Stiles neither one of you know the meaning of privacy, you could have turned away, but you choose to stand there and watch like a creeper." I rant as I tether knight to a post and pull out his saddle and reigns. 

"I'm really sorry Ady, please let me make it up to you, I'll do anything" She begs. HMM interesting I thought, having her help I can get the cabin cleaned out quicker, "Go get Luna and saddle up" I say, she excitedly did as she was told and saddles up. That was until she turned and found me with a blindfold. "Awe Ady come on, not again." She whines, "Turn around," I tell her and secure the blindfold and help her onto Luna and hand her the reigns as I mount Knight.

Firmly in my saddle, I take her reins back and head out through the field. I did this to her once before when I closed up the cabin before I left for college. No one, but myself, Knight and Rambo know how to get out there, it's not hard, but it's not easy either. The way the tree's wind and the terrain change it could get confusing to someone who's never been this way before without help.

Once we are a hundred yards away from the cabin and out of the woods I hand her the reins and she takes off her blindfold. I never worry this close plus knight and I never take the same path out here so there isn't a worn out path. 

"We're going to open up and clean out the cabin aren't we?" She asked I nod "I figured you would stay close to the main house because you have been away so long," she says.  I sigh "I do want to stay at the house, but I'm starting to get feelings for Derek; I am going to need an escape if the feelings aren't mutual," I tell her as we stop at the tie post and we tie up the horses.

"What if they are mutual, what are you going to do about granddad finding out?" She asked I'm silent for a moment as I make my way to the electric pole to turn the power on the cabin and then the water. "I really don't give a damn anymore about what he thinks, if I lose the inheritance so be it, I was never a person who was about the money anyways, you know that," I tell her, she looks upset.

"What about the ranch? I thought you were going to use that money for this place, Ady I like my job here I don't want to lose this place, I love it as much as you do." She is really upset and I understand where she is coming from. "Well I have a plan for extra income until we have enough boarding and riding clientele," I say, she perks up a bit. "Which is?" she asks.

We open up the windows and doors in the cabin, "I just put an offer on the southern hills golf course and resort," I say as I make sure the water run's and the hot water heats up. "You have got to be shitting me, Erica Reyes is asking two point five million for that place, how can you afford that?" she asked, "Easy, I offered her a million, which I know she'll except me considering she's made bank on that place in the last four years and I introduced her to her husband Vernon Boyd," I say dusting my hands off, then stripping the coverings off the furniture. 

"Okay, how do you plan on paying for it if she does?" she asks, I sigh in frustration because I'm trying to get things done, "With cash," I say as though it were obvious and she gives me a look which says elaborate. Sighing again I turn to her, "You know how I said, I got a scholarship to finish paying on my college? well, granddad still sent the tuition money, I just let it build in my account, which has been gaining a lot of interest." I tell her.

"Well, how much do you have exactly?' she asked I smile " Almost three million dollars", her eye's go wide, "Why don't you use it on the ranch?" She asked. "I am, but it has to be used to repair things like put in a new fence, build a second barn, renovate all four guest house's plus the main house, buy two new cattle trailers to replace the ones we have, build a bunk house for employee's who are just coming to town and need housing until they make toughen money to make it on their own, not to mention I need a new pick up because I just rolled over to four hundred and fifty thousand miles coming home," I explain, she nods in understanding.

We work non stop the next two hours and then the cabin is done. "Thanks for helping, it'd be tomorrow before I finished." I thank her, "No problem, it was good to just spend time with you." she tells me, I smile and we hug then head for our horses. We mount and she respectfully puts on her blindfold and hands me her reins.

I hurry the horses back towards home then stop the moment the roof of the barn comes in view. Ally takes off her blindfold and takes back the reins. "So, what are you going to tell granddad at the family barbecue in three weeks?" she asks, "I don't know yet, but..." my words are cut off by the loud sound of someone crashing into a fence. We look at each other and push the horses into a run.

Coming around the barn we see a crowd of people around the little horse drinking pond, I yell for people to make a path and then come to a stop at the edge of the water. There is a large section of wood fence missing and when I look down into the water Ally and I look at each other than laugh. 

I laugh so hard I nearly fall off my horse, but Derek and another ranch hand caught me. Stiles sits in the middle of the pond waist deep on the side by side with a lily pad on his head. "Stiles, what the hell are you doing?" I ask my idiot brother between laughs. "I was going to fill the dump bed with gravel and fill the holes in the driveway, I turned right, but the side by side went left and through the fence and into the pond," he says, I laugh harder when he opens the door and fish come out and back into the pond.

"Come on Ally, let's get some lunch," I say and throw my arm around my cousin and head for the house. Steak could be smelled the closer we get, we find dad and Chris at the grill. "What'd he do this time?" dad asked when we walked on the porch knowing if anything was crashed it be my idiot brother. 

"He drove the side by side and went through the fence and ended up in the pond," I tell him, shaking his head he say's, "That boy is going to cost us more money then we make," I nod in agreement. "Hey did you give everyone the rest of the day off?' I ask, "Yep and by the looks of the time, I say they are all headed out now," dad tells me, I kiss his cheek and walk around the house to watch them leave.

They haven't had an early day in so long, they deserve it, "Ady lunch is ready, whistle for the boy's," my uncle Chris calls to me. I stick my fingers to my lips and let out a whistle, then head into the house.