Hey everybody thank you for reading chapter 4! Please review and favorite and all that stuff it helps to inspire me! Hope you have a lovely day!
Annalise worked out, preformed her farm chores, visited with neighbors, helped Gannon with her repairs, foraged for some natural resources, cut wood, pounded stone, and expanded her field for the next few days. When her barn, coop, and house were finally finished, she had used all of her savings, her travel money, and the few hundred dollars her mom had sent to her to help her start her farm. She got a letter from her mom explaining how she had been a farmer before she had married her father and couldn't wait to come and visit.
As she had promised, Lise went to Mirabelle's shop when her coop and barn were all finished. "Greetings Mirabelle!" She called as she walked in the shop. "Ah! I have been expecting you, Gannon told us he had finished your coop and barn, why don't you come out to the barn with me!" She said waving Lise through her back door. "Stay out here, I will bring them out!" Mirabelle said with an excited grin. She headed into the barn before Lise could question what 'they' were. She stood around for a few seconds but got bored so she walked around the pen, there weren't any animals out because it was supposed to rain sometime that day. Annalise heard hooves pounding and was transferred back to a hot desert and riding fast while hooking the special saddle to a harness that would lift her and her horse up into the air and carry them away by helicopter.
She snapped out of it and reached for her nonexistent gun as the horse stopped in front of her and a large man dropped from its left side. "What are you doin' back here?" He asked her in a deep voice and drawl. "Waiting for Mirabelle." Lise answered unconsciously transferring into a fighting stance. "You really think you could take me little girl?" He asked smirking at her dukes up and perfect fighting stance. She smirked at the thought of all the men that had said that to her as she grew up, she had no problems fighting a bigger person. "I know I can cowboy." She retorted. Mirabelle came out then and Annalise quickly changed to a lounging stance. "Here they are, aren't they beautiful?" Mirabelle said leading a team of five horses of different color. She saw Vaughn standing there and looked at Annalise. "Oh I'm sorry Annalise, I didn't introduce you to Vaughn in the shop, and I thought he would still be there when we got back." Mirabelle sent him a look. "Howdy." He lamely said. "It's no problem, may I?" She asked gesturing to the horses and completely ignoring him. "Of course! You can choose one; Taro bought a horse for you as a welcome to the Island present." Mirabelle said smiling. "She is moving to the island?" He asked Mirabelle while Annalise checked the horses over. "Yes, she's buying that old ranch and restoring it; said she wanted to get out of the city and find peace out here. She has had a hard life as a soldier." Mirabelle said to Vaughn who tensed up. "She was a soldier?" He said looking the woman up and down. "Yeah, and by how she acts, she has been one for awhile, but she looks so young…" Mirabelle sighed. "Yeah…" He agreed.
"May I ride some of them? I want to see how they move." Annalise asked coming over to the pair. "Of course!" Mirabelle said and ran to fetch some gear so she could saddle them up. "Do you even know how to ride?" Vaughn asked her. "You will just have to wait and see." Annalise said with a challenging stare. "I don't want you hurtin' any of them horses." Vaughn grumbled. "I would never!" Lise glared at him. She huffed off to saddle three of the horses herself. She tightened the stirrups to racing height and started with a chestnut gelding.
Vaughn whistled softly. "What?" Mirabelle smirked at the cowboy. "She can ride." He drawled. "Good thing too, or this present wouldn't be worth much!" Mirabelle stated. Vaughn nodded in agreement. The pair watched as she rode a pure white mare and then a blue roan stallion. "This is the one!" She said with a huge grin on her face. She even jumped the gate to go up to them. "You sure you will be able to handle this big boy? He hasn't even been gelded." Vaughn asked raising an eyebrow. "I'm completely sure, he is perfect, aren't you Andy?" She said naming him after her deceased friend. "Andy? I like it, good name for a farm horse." Mirabelle said with a satisfied nod. "There is some paper work to sign right now; Vaughn will bring Andy over tonight." Mirabelle said in a business like fashion. "I'll just take him home after the paperwork is over." She said eyeing Vaughn warily. "Vaughn is great with animals, don't worry, he can bring Andy over." Mirabelle said and turned when she heard a screech from Vaughn's startled horse.
Annalise got to him before Vaughn, pushing Mirabelle out of the way. "Woah, woah." She called standing at the horse's side and grabbing its reins. She pulled it down, hushed it, stroking his neck and face, calming the horse. She let her hand roam down his back and through its mane, whispering in another softer language to it. "You mind giving my horses reins back?" Vaughn glared at the girl. "No problem cowboy." She said glaring right back at him. He was quietly pleased, though that, she was so good with animals. That meant she would take good care of the horse she just bought.
"Being Taro bought him for you, all you need to do is sign and date here' Mirabelle pointed to some lines on the paper 'fill out this information, and sign again on the last page." She said leaving Lise to fill out the stack of paper. Lise sat down on a crate, which seemed to be the only sort of seating in the store. It took her a few minutes but she handed the clipboard and pen back to Mirabelle. She left the store and headed out to the farm after visiting with neighbors. "Water and weeding time." She sighed. The one thing she missed about her life as a soldier, there was always an adrenaline rush to be found, and that was not so here. Once she had finished with watering her field of crops, it was well past noon. "Crap, I didn't eat lunch." She grumbled as she checked her watch which told her it was nearly four. "I guess now is as good a time as any to take a break." She mumbled again. *She walked into her newly house with its expensive remodeling.
Remodeling explained soon! MY FREAKING DREAM HOME!