I woke up in a strange bed and was slightly confused as I tried to make sense of my surroundings. When my eyes adjusted, I sat up in bed and looked over to the mattress on the floor to the left of the bed. It was empty and there was no evidence that anyone had slept there. I pulled a light jacket over my shoulders and went downstairs.
Rose was sitting on the couch sipping coffee and was reading the newspaper. She looked up as she heard my footsteps entering the room.
"Hey, Lily. How'd ya sleep?"
"Good, thanks. Where's Reagan? I don't think she slept in her room last night. I woke up and the mattress was bare."
When I finished my sentence, Reagan came into the house and hung her hat up.
"Good morning my beautiful Rose! And good morning, new friend!" She strided into the room and poured herself some coffee and put a lot of cream in it. She sat down next to Rose and kissed her on the cheek.
"Paul! You skipped your chores this morning. Lucky the horses and animals didn't starve! Thanks to my favorite child, Reagan," Rose shouted as she looked at Reagan with a smile.
Paul came stumbling down the stairs. His hair and short beard were in disarray.
"Mom, I'm sorry. Reagan. I owe you one."
"It helps that I don't need much more than a few hours of sleep everyday," Reagan said sharply.
Reagan glanced at me and said, "Hey there. Want some breakfast?"
She didn't give me a chance to respond as she headed off into the kitchen and whipped out the frying pan and began to crack eggs and bacon bits into it. I followed her into the kitchen and watched her cook. Suddenly, she seemed much older than she was.
"Well, after breakfast, I need to exercise Dusty and Charlie. Maybe you want to go for a ride?"
"I don't know how," I said sadly.
"You don't need to know how to ride if you're going on a trail."
"Okay."
"Awesome! One thing to make you a real cowgirl," Reagan ran up the stairs and came back down bearing a large hat similar to hers, but with a pink buckle on the crown. "My first hat when I came here. It's a Sterling family tradition. Wear this and survive the first ride, you are officially a farm girl!"
I laughed and placed the feminine hat on my head. It fit rather well. I pulled the drawstring around my chin.
"Beautiful." Reagan smiled and continued to make the eggs. "The boys had to wear it too."
YOU ARE READING
Dust Storm
قصص عامةHorses are lovable creatures and you can learn a lot from them, especially how to open your heart and welcome new people. Reagan's horse, Dusty, needs a lot of love and care and it takes a new friend to help Reagan realize she needs the same.
