Chapter 1
Rose
I wish that I had no reason to come home from school. I love my life at school and even love my crappy job. Being there is so freeing. My stepmother and I don't get along, and when my father passed away last year, the family ranch went to her.
This ranch has been in my family for generations, and I grew up thinking it was going to be mine. Instead, it went to her. That's what happens when your dad doesn't have a will and expects he has many more years ahead of him when he doesn’t.
Regardless, I still feel a duty to make sure that this land is taken care of, as well as the ranch and the ranch hands. So here I am on my spring break, getting ready to spend a week with people I hate to ensure the land I love is given the attention it needs.
At least the small town of Rock Springs, Texas, makes the trip worthwhile. Everybody knows everybody and coming home to this town is like a warm hug. The kind I know I won't get from my stepmother.
As I drive down the dusty dirt road to the ranch, I wish nothing more than it was time for me to point my car back to Amarillo and go back to school. But I have to do this regardless of what the law says and even though there was no will. But it is still my responsibility to make sure that this land is taken care of and the people that work for it are supported. I owe my dad at least that much.
Why my stepmother wanted a ranch, I have no idea. She won't even ride a horse, and knows absolutely nothing about it. Even though my father kept trying to teach her about ranching, she had no desire to learn. As I walk up to the front door, I'm not quite sure what action to take. Do I knock? Do I just walk in? I mean, do I still have a bedroom here? She knows I'm coming, but if I knock now, I guess I set precedence for the future, so I skip the knock and walk in.
"I'm here," I yell out into what seems like an empty house.
"Take your stuff to your room. Don’t leave it in the hallway or out here." My stepmother's high-pitched voice fills the house, causing me to cringe.
Trust me, I have no desire to leave my stuff where they can easily get to it, not that I have anything to hide.
As much as I would like to hole up in my bedroom all day, that would defeat the purpose of why I'm here. So I take a deep breath, and go see what changes she has made to the house this time. But no sooner do I walk out to the living room than she is thrusting a piece of paper in my face.
"What's this?" I take it from her.
"That's the list of things that need to be done around the house while you're here. You have to earn your keep, as I'm not running a charity," she says, turning on her heel and walking back to the kitchen. Why she’s walking to the kitchen I have no idea because she doesn't cook.
I glance at the list, and it includes things you need professionals for like fixing some plumbing in the bunkhouse bathroom and adding some outside lights along the driveway. Though I grew up here, I am not an electrician.
"Amber, I can't do electrical and plumbing. I'm not a professional. You need to hire someone to do that stuff if it needs to be done," I tell her, walking into the kitchen after her.
"If you expect to stay here, you'll get it done. If you are so concerned about this ranch you do it. I don't need to hire someone because you can do it."
Not bothering to argue as I know it'll do no good. This is her way of trying to find an excuse to ban me from the ranch altogether. So, I head to my room, put the list on my dresser, put on my riding boots, and go out to the barn.
I get my dad’s horse, Casper. My dad called him Casper because he's all white except for the dark brown heart-shaped spot on his back left hindquarters.
At least Casper seems happy to see me. I saddle him up and we go for a ride to check out the ranch. We ride along the fence line until we come to the big spool of barbed wire fence that has been sitting here since my dad died. He had planned to rewire the fence but never got to it before he died.
Now it just sits here like a giant reminder. Anyone that drives by can see it, and I think it's become a bit of a memorial nod to my dad, at least for those that knew him.
Casper seems to understand that, and he circles around the large offensive ball. That's when I see a small bird that seems to be stuck inside the wire at the very top. It's chirping and making an awful lot of noise, so at least it's still alive. Casper being trained well makes it easy for me to get him right up to the fence. So I don't even have to get off of him as I lean over and help the little bird out, and no sooner is it free than it flies off.
In the process of moving the wires, I have poked myself pretty hard. When I pull my hand out, there's blood trickling down my arm. It's not a big cut, but that's also the moment having not eaten today catches up with me. The world around me spins, tilts to the side, and I can't stop myself from falling off Casper.
The moment I hit the ground, everything goes black.
