Disclaimer: I don't own HSM, only Victor, Valencio, Belle, Brett and Jake. ENJOY! =)

Brantwoods' Cowboy
Chapter 1: Welcome to the Farm

"Congratulations Troy, you are now a real cowboy"

The words were echoing amusedly through his mind over and over again, spoken by his big brother before he drove away from California in his old red Chevy truck to the barely known land of Brantwood, Wisconsin. He was reading every sign road aloud, afraid to get lost in the middle of nowhere.

Troy Bolton seemed to be the only person driving down the road as he followed the indication the map placed on his lap provided. For a long period of time now he hadn't seen anyone or anything close by, only a few trucks that passed by him on their destination to somewhere. The grey cemented road was the only colorful thing in the very much green landscape. He had studied the neighborhood he was going to and learned that the lots were great to breed cattle and horses.

A low hiss escaped his slightly parted lips as he turned the steering wheel left, swiftly pressing the gas pedal down, accelerating the car further in the empty dirty road. He rolled down the driver's window and sighed pleasurably as the lazy breeze of the sunny day surrounded his body and relaxed completely his mind for a whole minute. His tongue massaged his bottom lip for a few seconds as he felt his insides protesting for water as dehydration seemed to be overcoming his now exhausted body. Using the hand that was not wrapped securely around the steering wheel of his old Chevy, he took his red striped cowboy hat, that was newly purchased when he arrived in Wisconsin, sitting it on the passengers seat as he rubbed the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead.

Dr. Bolton had heard about the weather in Brantwood being intense, but he never thought it would be as intense as he was experiencing right now. His eyes were burning from the lack of sleep and the glare of the sun rising off the hot tarmac. His skin prickled painfully as the warm sweat rolled down his forehead, armpits and six packs. The young veterinarian felt like he was losing liters of liquid as he drove closer to the Montez Farm, his home for the next three months.

Who could have imagined that two weeks ago he would have received a call from Victor Montez, his dead cousin Maria's husband, offering him a job as the farm's veterinarian for the summer? Victor had informed he heard about his work with the Jefferson's ranch animals last year and they were really impressed with his skills of training horses and the way he bred the cattle, so he decided to give it a shot and see if he was still available to help him out throughout summer.

The funny thing was that Troy and the Montez hardly kept in touch all his life, mostly because his mother Demi moved from Wisconsin to California when she met his father Jack Bolton. She was far, far from her sister Nadia that stayed in Brantwood and was Maria's mother. Distance was not the only reason Troy and Maria were never really friends. Being the fourth and last child of the Boltons, he was very young to hang out with his cousin that was twenty years older than him, only his brothers and sister being friends with her when they were younger. All Troy could remember was the only time he visited the farm when he was nine years old and her only daughter, Gabriella, was born. Troy didn't remember how Maria looked in person, nor how she acted, but he had seen himself in a picture his mother had, holding Maria's newly born daughter in his arms after Demi insisted on getting a picture of the both of them because they looked cute together.

It was different, and he couldn't still put in words what he felt right now, going back to the Farm after seventeen years of no contact at all. After Maria's death, after working as a veterinarian for two years already. Troy Bolton was now a man of 26 years old, not a boy anymore. He felt weird being there, but he had been through a lot to gain the trust of the old farmers that hired him to deal with their expensive horses and cattle. He was a great vet and was embracing his future with his arms, collecting the good things that he earned due to hard work and dedication all these years. No strange sensation or anything would make him give up right now, because he deserved this work. He had earned it.

Keith Urban's powerful voice was softly singing to him, the once tone of voice that worked immediately almost as lullaby to him, agitating more his already stiffed with anxiety body. He was not only nervous, Troy was freaking out. He had no idea of what to expect from the Farm, the horses and his new Boss. Nor Jack or Demi had much to say about Victor Montez and they could only remember him being a very serious person, still with a nice heart.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he pressed the break brusquely before almost hitting a cow that had stopped in the middle of the road. The animal seemed to be glad with its time doing nothing, laying down on the hot cement and enjoying the sun, as if it was not in danger of being hit by a truck.

"You lie down on the street in California and you'll be a burger in no time" he mumbled to himself as he took a deep breath, trying to ease his heart beat that pounded against his ribcage due to the almost accident. Troy unbuttoned the top button of his navy blue, gray and red plaid shirt, rubbing the thick sweat away from his neck and collarbone. His pale hand travelled up to his face, massaging it against his forehead as he waited patiently for the cow to move.

"Come on, get out of the way" he tilted his head to the side, staring blankly as the cow seemed to ignore him completely. Shaking his head and smirking amusedly at the animal's behavior, he smacked his fist against the steering wheel, pressing lightly the honk, grinning as the black and white cow finally stood up, moving slowly out of the road.

The loud noise of his old car's engine roared to life again and he continued his way down the road, accelerating again as his mind slightly recognized the wooden fence he passed through. He was already inside the Montez Farm.

Troy drove the entryway slowly, afraid he could meet some other rebellious animal that decided to walk away from its family and just stroll around the farm. He felt his heart jump as he spotted a red large stud farm behind the main house, the place where he would be working the most, looking forward to see horses that hid there.

He took a deep breath and eased off the accelerator, his car moving gradually slower as he approached the main house, stopping the red truck in front of the big white two story house that was beautifully surrounded by trees and brilliantly green bushes. The porch was nicely decorated with wooden arm chairs and a swing that looked very comfortable. The front door of the house was partly opened and a very big brown dog was peeking through it.

He observed for a whole minute as the dog wagged its tail and greeted the short middle aged man that wore dark jeans, blue t-shirt and a cowboy hat, not as new as his was, much more used probably. Troy hopped out of his truck swiftly with his hat securely under his arm and shut the old Chevy's heavy door loud enough to bring the man's attention from the bear-sized-dog to him.

"May I help you?" the slight Spanish accent lingered in the air as he watched the man frown deeply as he rested his elbows on the porch's edge.

"Uhm… yeah" Troy put his hat back to his head, pretending he was a professional cowboy, walking slowly, but confidently towards the chubby dark mustached man, "I'm Troy Bolton. The new veterinarian..."

"Oh, you came right in time" the man grinned, raising his hands in the air as if he was thanking God for Troy's arrival. He turned around, jumping the three porch steps and landing on the ground perfectly, as if he still had a body of a eighteen year old boy instead of the 50 something he appeared to be and motioned with his hand for Troy to follow him, something he automatically did, "Come Brett"

Troy considered reminding him his name was not Brett, but as he heard steps, he looked over his shoulder and noticed the man was in fact not talking to him, but the huge brown dog that followed them promptly. The Tibetan Mastiff that accompanied them had to be the biggest dog he had even seen his entire life, mostly because back in California people enjoyed small dogs the most. The almost bear dog looked at him with its medium sized brown eyes, his wide black nose with open nostrils stiffing the air frenetically and its V-shaped ears slightly rose up at every new step he took to get to Troy.

Troy smirked when the dog passed by him, brushing its long, thick and wavy fur covered big body against his leg, running fast to where the middle aged Spanish man was taking them. He couldn't help but notice that every time the dog touched its heavy paw to the floor, it felt slightly like an earthquake. Troy was probably overreacting, but for a city boy, things were very different around here.

"I'm Valencio by the way. I work in the farm too" the man looked over his shoulder as if he was certifying himself that Troy was right behind, "We have a labor, Dr. Bolton. It's Miss Gabriella's dog. This big boy there" he pointed to Brett that waited for them in front of the red barn, "Got the lady pregnant"

"What's its breed?" he asked curiously as his pace matched the middle aged man's and Valencio laughed lightly as Troy took off the cowboy hat again and ran a hand through his damp with sweat hair.

"A beautiful Kuvasz named Belle" the Spanish informed as a matter-of-fact, opening the gate to the old barn, letting Troy peek through before he walked inside, being followed by Brett. "Miss Montez is out at a friend's house, she'll be so disappointed she's missing the birth"

"Maybe you should go call her" Troy replied, spotting the white as snow dog curled up in a blanket in the far corner of the barn, whimpering loudly as it tried its best to find a comfortable position to deliver the pups, "I'll take care of her now"

"'Kay, Doc. There are clean towels here" he pointed to the old chair placed beside the entry of the barn, "I'll go call Miss Gabriella and Mr. Montez"

Troy nodded his head up and down slowly and watched as Valencio disappeared through the door, commanding the brown dog to stay where it was. Brett barked just once, as if it was a confirmation that he understood the man's orders and sat down, observing the young doctor again.

He breathed through his nose as he moved his attention from the male dog to the white female that contorted in pain. Taking slow steps towards Belle, carefully not to scare the mom-to-be, Troy crouched down in front of her and patted her head gently, letting his large hands slide across her huge head and rub behind her ear soothingly, "Hey girl. How are you doing?"

The almond-shaped brown eyes of the dog looked pleadingly up at him and its V-shaped ears perked at the husky sound of his voice. Troy smiled, letting his hand caress from the top of Belle's head and midway down her back. The dog whined sadly and dropped its heavy head painfully, her tail only wagging once or twice before stopping completely. "I imagine it hurts, but you'll be good in a few hours"

Belle whimpered loudly and moved again and Troy decided it was better to back off and give her space to give birth when she found it was the better time. He walked to the old chair that had the clean towels, collected it and sat down, observing as the dog initiated the action of delivery, getting the pups to breathe and cleaning the slick fur with her tongue when they were completely out of her body.

Throughout the whole birth process Troy watched carefully, in case the dog needed any help or the pups had any kind of trouble to breathe on its own. A whole hour passed by quickly till he could breathe in relief as the last pup whimpered to life.

"Oh Brett… seems you are a dad of five" he laughed lightly and the dog barked its approval at the sound of its name, rubbing his huge head against the side of Troy's body tenderly. He patted his head and smiled, "Congratulations big boy"

Standing up, he collected the clean blanket Valencio had stopped by to give him as he informed Gabriella was on her way to watch the delivery, and walked towards the new mom and the pups. The Kuvasz growled darkly as he got too close to the babies and he raised both hands in the air, showing there was nothing to worry about, "Calm down Belle. I'm only going to help you out, alright?" he bent down and placed the blanket and towels on the floor, staring at the dog again, "Not stealing your babies, 'kay? I don't want bear sized little monsters in my house"

Troy quickly put all the pups on the clean blanket, curling them up in the towels, being a hero to the last as he saved it before Belle could roll over in an attempt to stand up and move to the new blanket with her babies. He watched as the last puppy writhed in his hands, trying to breath on its own, turning slightly purple as its lungs couldn't work correctly due to the lack of proper stimulus provided by Belle.

He sat down swiftly, placing the pup on his lap as he unbuttoned his plaid shirt, taking it off his body rapidly, rubbing the soft material gently against the puppy's lengthwise. He threw his hat aside, flicking his hair out of his eyes as he repeated the process, harder this time, getting anxious about fact the pup didn't seem to respond the stimulation.

"Damn it… breathe, come on" he mumbled to himself, massaging its back slowly, pressing his fingertips on each side of the tiny body, rubbing his thumbs back and forth a few times. It was like decades passed till Troy heard the urgent breath of air the puppy took and how the little one in between his hands seemed to relax slightly as air came in and out of his lungs, showing it could handle itself on its own. Running one hand through his hair, he squeezed his eyes shut and cussed under his breath, "Shit…"

"Here Belle, one more" Troy put the last baby near the other's and watched as the mom nursed them all, licking, sniffing and rubbing her head against them affectionately. Brett tried to lie down next to the female dog, but she growled and he knew she was protecting her babies. Troy grabbed the big brown dog by the blue collar that was wrapped around his neck and backed him off, "Naw Brett, give her time"

Brett once again seemed to understand the command and sat down near the barn's door, waiting for Troy to join him. He massaged his shoulders slowly and rolled it back and forth as he stretched his arms, easing the tension that the last pup provided to him. He checked Belle one more time and turned around with his now very dirty plaid shirt under his arm, sweat rolling down from his neck to his abs and getting lost in the encounter of his pelvis and dark jeans. Troy let Brett get out of the barn first, afraid he could find a way to go back to Belle and start a war and joined the dog, closing the door securely behind him.

Walking back to his car and the main house, Troy spotted Valencio talking to a Latino looking man, slender but very tall. The man's hair was dark like the night and his beard covered most of his face. He wore almost the same clothes Troy was using when he first got to the Farm, plaid blue shirt and jeans, but instead of the white converses he was dressed in, the man used brown cowboy boots.

Although Troy was only 9 years old when he saw Victor Montez for the last time, he was a hundred percent sure that the man standing in front of him was his dead cousin's husband. Victor nodded in greet and his lips curled in a half-smile, "How was it doc?"

"There are five pups" Troy said certainly, "All of them very healthy"

The Latino's hands touched together as he clapped loud, cheering contently, "Ella will be so happy about this" he offered his hand and introduced himself properly, "I'm Victor Montez"

"I'd shake your hand…" Troy began calmly, "If I wasn't covered in blood and placenta"

Victor laughed warmly and he couldn't help but wonder where the hell his parents took the idea of Maria's husband being a serious man. He seemed very talkative and social right now. "Maybe later then" he promised, patting Troy's bare back, "I can't believe you are that big now, boy. Last time I saw you, you were that size" he lowered his hand to his hip to emphasize his point of Troy being really small, "How old were you?"

"I was 9"

He squeezed Troy's shoulder affectionately, "Maria would be happy to know you're back to the Farm after so long. Can you believe Gabriella still has the picture your mother took with you holding her?"

Troy blushed several tones of red as Victor talked about his daughter having a photo of the two of them. He couldn't understand why a teenager would want a picture of her as a new born being held by someone she couldn't even remember about.

"Oh" he laughed awkwardly, "that's cool I guess"

"She's been dying to meet you" Victor informed as a matter-of-fact, turning around to look at Valencio, "Did you call Ella?"

He observed as the short man nodded his head slowly, his dark thick hair never moving, not even once as he grinned proudly, raising his hand and pointing forward. Victor turned around and smiled as well, giving Troy's shoulder a squeeze again. "That's Ella"

Turning around as he heard the sound of engine, Troy took note of what would be probably one of the most beautiful things in the state of Wisconsin: his cousin Gabriella Montez.

The girl was hopping out of the car as if she was a Goddess, her slender body covered with a sunny red dress, her feet decorated with a simple sandal. She had dark waves that were perfectly placed around her shoulders and midway down her back, contrasting pleasurably with the olive tone of her skin. Her legs were toned and he quickly linked it with the information his mother had given him about Gabriella being very sporty.

How was it possible for a girl that was only 17 years old to look so mature and beautiful? He couldn't help but wonder how Victor would deal with the guys that Gabriella probably knocked to the floor with her confident presence.

Before Troy could see who was inside the car that she walked out, the person had accelerated and disappeared through the gate. Gabriella turned around after waving the person off and spotted her dad, running towards the group of people gathered in front of the main house, "Is Belle okay?"

"She's fine" Victor replied, wrapping one arm around his daughter's neck and giving her a tender hug, "Dr. Bolton helped her out. She has five pups now"

Gabriella moved her light brown eyes away from her father's chest and looked up at the guy standing beside Valencio, a lazy smile spreading on her puffy lips, "I can't believe you are the guy in the picture"

"I can't believe you are the baby I was holding in the picture" Troy said truthfully, smiling in return, "You grew up a lot"

She looked at him up and down, nodding her head, "Ditto"

Victor laughed loud and Valencio smirked, Gabriella grinning as she localized Troy's dirty shirt under his arm, knowing it was probably due to her dog's labor, "Thanks for helping Belle"

"It was my job" Troy shrugged his shoulders, but felt tingles when she brushed his muscular arm up and down once, gratefully.

"Come on Ella, let's see the pups" Victor suggested, hugging her side tenderly and pulling her towards the barn. "Valencio, take Troy's things to the back house" he yelled over his shoulder as his voice got distant. He watched as father and daughter raced to the barn, laughing loud and bumping into each other playfully.

"She's beautiful, don't you think?" the Spanish accent snapped him out of his trance and he nodded his head slowly, smiling a bit, "She looks exactly like Mrs. Montez"

"Oh"

Troy followed Valencio as he walked to his old Chevy, collecting his suitcase from the bed, shaking his head when Troy offered to help. The man motioned for Troy to walk with him, as he made his way to where he was certain would be the back house, "You already done too much, Doc"

They walked the dirty way to the back of the terrain, till he was able to see in the distance a dark wooden small cottage on top of a small hill. Troy smiled contently as he noticed he'd be alone most of the time when in the house and he loved the fact he could rest and think without too much noise. "There's a river down the way" Valencio informed, pointing to the trees gathered in the back of the cottage, "If you feel like exploring"

Putting his suitcases on the floor, the Spanish man unlocked the door and twisted the doorknob slightly to the left, pushing the door open with a barely audible creak. He motioned with his head for Troy to get inside first, smiling anxiously. Troy walked through the door and stepped into the little living room. Letting his eyes wander around, he scanned from the washed wooden floors to the dirty green couch and the small book shelf in the corner of the room. There was a huge painting of a horse on top of a brown fireplace and a plant beside it.

Troy turned slowly around, already getting used to the soft slap sound that came from the floor as his footsteps made contact with the wood. He studied the other two doors, one that led to a small bathroom that was only big enough to fit a pot, a bathtub and a sink, and the other that led to what would be his room. He liked the big bed covered with a green blanket and as he traced with his hand the mattress he stated it was comfortable enough to his taste. Placed opposite from the bed was what seemed to be a 60's three doors wardrobe, carefully rebuilt. There was a white arm chair near it and a bedside table with a lamp.

"What do you think, Doc?" Valencio asked from behind him and Troy turned around, smiling slyly, "It's cozy"

The Spanish grinned, nodding his head, "You'll eat in the main house with Mr. Montez and Miss Gabriella" his small hand closed around Troy's arm, pulling him to the living room's window, "You can see the whole farm from here" he touched his index finger to the glass and laughed lightly, "And there with Miss Gabriella is my boy Jake. They are great friends, but I'm sure my son has a crush on her" he looked over his shoulder, "He rides horses too. I think you'll like him"

"I bet I will, Valencio" Troy said softly, trying to continue the conversation, but as he peeked through the window and his eyes caught Gabriella's presence playing with Brett, Victor and a tall dark haired teenager, he couldn't help but find extremely difficult to focus on something else than her. "Does Gabriella like your son too?"

"I don't know" he laughed lightly, "But they are always together, so who knows"

Troy turned around and smiled, "Yeah, who knows"

The food was delicious and throughout the dinner, Victor had explained everything about the Farm to his new veterinarian and confessed that he hired Troy to take care of a very particular horse that was impossibly stubborn. He didn't know if the fact the horse had succeeded on being rebellious with another three trainers or if he was Gabriella's new competition horse that was making him uneasy, but he didn't think it would be a good idea to put such petite and fragile looking girl on top of a furious animal. God only knew how things could turn out if the horse decided to act on its own and not follow Troy's commands. He didn't want to be the one responsible for hurting his cousin's daughter.

Victor had explained Troy that he was not worried about Gabriella, because she was a very good rider, so he shouldn't worry as well. Being the talkative man that his parents didn't warn him about, Victor continued speaking, telling everything he could to make Troy comfortable around him and Gabriella, wanting the young veterinarian to feel as family. Troy had learned that Maria died in a car accident two years ago, when she was driving from Madison to Brantwood. Victor went on with his life as normally as he could, mostly because 15 year old Gabriella at the time needed him the most. Now the hard times were behind, Gabriella was doing well at school again, going back to ride horses, the farm was prospering.

The strange thing was, that even after a lot of time not seeing Victor and Gabriella and for the first time in two years that he was a graduated veterinarian and worked at different places for the summer, Troy felt like he was finally home. He could get used to being at the Montez Farm and he definitely could get used to being around Victor and Gabriella.

Just cuz I really wanna try a cowboy story. :]