City Girl and Country Horses

Chapter One

I stare out the car window, watching the raindrops race down the glass. There is nothing interesting outside anyway. Just bland, dry, brown grass. It's been like this for miles. I don't get it. Chicago was the nicest city I have ever lived in, (and the only city) we were happy. I sigh loudly as my watch ticks to 10:00pm. We have been on the road for four hours now. First a one hour flight, now a four hour drive. I sigh again.
"Kylie, quit it." Mom says. I roll my eyes and sigh louder.
"Come on Kylie, at least give the place a chance, I'm sure you'll love Kansas." Dad says, his voice a little edgy. I stop sighing, in fear of being yelled at. I turn away from the window to look at my younger sister, Annie. She is fast asleep, letting out the occasional snore. I smile a little before leaning my head against the window, and promptly falling asleep.
"Kylie, sweetie, we're here." Mom whispers. I open my eyes and check my watch, 10:30pm. I slept for half an hour. I undid my seatbelt and slipped out of the car, stretching my muscles. I look to our new house, it is a single story, typical country home. A covered porch wraps around the entire house. At least it looks comfortable.
I walk inside and go straight down to the bedrooms, I find the biggest one that isn't the master, and stand in it.
"I call this room!" I say. I hear someone reply down the hall, although I can't tell what they say. Annie comes racing down the hallway.
"I want the room with the big window!" She exclaims excitedly. The room she wants is across the hall from mine. I let out a little sigh before going outside and collecting my bags from the car. Before my parents can call for my help, I set up my sleeping bag and a pillow in my room and practically pass out.
I wake to the sound of a large engine. I walk to the window and discover that the moving truck is here to drop off our furniture. I make my way outside and help move boxes into the house.
Four hours later and we finally have the house furnished. Mom has about twelve fans on in the living room and our bedrooms, since the air conditioning isn't fully installed yet.
"I'm going for a walk!" I call before walking out the front door and heading of down the road. How big is this town anyway?
Turns out the town is tiny. Most of it is farms and small wooden houses. There is one grocery store, one service station, a clothing store and a pub. As a small breeze picks up, I have to squint my eyes to avoid the dust coming off the road. I continue down the road, occasionally coughing out mouthfuls of dust. I walk for another couple of minutes before I come across something that really intrigues me. A barn, with horses. I thought the only animals in this dirty old town were the people who didn't seem to be that social. Considering the only people I have seen since I got here are my own family. I stand outside the gates for a while, studying the area. A small turnoff leads to a small wood building, which then leads to a big red barn that looks more brown than red. The sign at the turn reads 'Loretown Ranch'. Real original, just take the name of the place you're in and add 'ranch' after it. I roll my eyes before wandering down the road to have a look.
I soon reach the little building with a sign out front that says 'office'. I walk through the door and I am instantly greeted with the smell of horse.
"Can I help you?" A woman, about 30, says from behind the counter. She is short and slim, her stringy black hair is braided neatly so it sits flat on her back. Her glasses rest precariously on the bridge of her nose.
"Uh, I'm new, I moved here yesterday?" I reply, my voice is squeaker than usual. The woman raises an eyebrow before a warm smile spreads on her face.
"Ah, welcome, welcome! It is always lovely to see new faces. This is Loretown Ranch, do you ride?" She asks. She pushes her glasses up her nose so they don't risk falling off as much. Suddenly at a loss for words, I shake my head. Her face falls, the lights up again.
"Do you want to learn?" She asks, hinting excitement. I have a feeling she hasn't had a new student in a while. I stand for a while, thinking it over. I have always been fascinated by horses, but there was nowhere to ride in the city. Then there is the problem of my parents, there is no way they would let me ride a horse.
"I would love to, but I don't know if my parents would go for it." I say carefully. The woman turns away for a second and seems to be digging around.
"Here, this is a, uh, brochure. It has the price list and some info on our place. Talk it over with your parents. They can always call if they are concerned. My name is Ms Blackberry, by the way." She says with a smile, handing me a small booklet. I smile back.
"I'm Kylie." I give her one last smile before leaving the office and making my way home. Maybe this town won't be so bad after all.
Mom and Dad both read over the booklet thoughtfully. They spend a lot of time on the price page. I can't decide whether or not I should stay hopeful.
"Kylie..." Mom begins.
"Yes?"
"Do you really want to do this?" My face lights up almost instantly.
"Yes!" I say with so crazy amount of enthusiasm. Mom smiles and Dad chuckles a little.
"We will allow you to ride on one condition. You no longer complain about Loretown. It really is so nice little place." Dad says. I let out a little squeal and nod madly while I squeeze the both into a hug.
"You won't regret this!" I call as I make my way to my room. I lay on my bed and wait for the sound of Mom calling up the ranch. This is going to be amazing.
I try on a pair of jeans for the fifth time this morning. Mom is taking me shopping for clothes I can where riding.
"What about this one?" Mom asks, holding up a red and whited checked shirt.
"It looks like a table cloth." I reply with a cringed nose. Mom sighs and puts the shirt back. One hour later and we have found three pairs of jeans and four loose-fitting button up shirts. As we make our way the the register I spot a rack of cowboy/girl hats. With a cheeky smile I walk over and choose a dark brown one, placing it on my head. Mom chuckles a little.
"Go on then." She says, nodding towards the pile of clothes on the counter.
"That will be ninety dollars." The man says from behind the counter. He looks bored. Mom hands over the money and I stuff the clothes into my bag. With a smile I lead Mom up the road, headed for home.

The next morning, I get dressed into a blue long sleeve shirt, I pair of jeans and my cowgirl boots. Today I get to have my first riding lesson.
"You ready Kylie?" Dad asks. I nod and start to make my way out the front door when I hear mad giggles.
"Wait! You forgot your hat!" Annie cries, her eyes bright as she hands me my cowgirl hat.
"Thank you Annie." I say before Dad and I make our way down to the ranch.
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A/N So guys, what do you think? I am starting yet another story. Should I keep going with it? If you notice any grammatical errors (or spelling errors) could you please let me know? Enjoy!