Samantha Forster shivered. She was sitting between Pepper, one of River Bend's hands, and Jake Ely, one of her best friends. Pepper, the red head cowboy, sat in the driver's seat, guiding the silver truck's way to the Idaho ranch. Sadly, Jake was starting college and Three Ponies Ranch needed some help. All the sons were in college or going their own way. So now the Ely's ranch was in need of a foreman. But why Idaho? Sam asked herself. There were plenty of people in Darton who would be a foreman. Then she remembered why they were in Idaho. Her blue eyes looked at Pepper. Apparently his parents couldn't afford to keep their ranch anymore and they didn't want to throw their foreman out. When Pepper had brushed the topic of the Ely's needing a foreman, his mother had demanded to talk to Luke, Jake's father. Samantha scooted closer to Jake, hoping to avoid Pepper's random outbursts. As soon as her side touched Jake's, his eyes popped open from his doze and he looked at Sam. "Brat," he stated with a small eye roll.
"Yo Jake. There's your man," Pepper stated as he pointed to the snowy terrain. Sam squinted her eyes and saw a rider following five cattle. Jake looked out towards the horizon at the rider, his lip twitching up. Sam gave him a quizzical glance and he straightened up.
"I wonder what his horse looks like," Sam pondered as she looked at the horse that was turned white due to the falling snow.
"I wana know who he is," Pepper stated, looking at them with a small shrug. Sam remembered being told that Pepper had run away from his home in search of better weather and other benefits. With his parents permission, Wyatt Forster kept him on River Bend Ranch as one of his cowhands. Pepper usually rode a chestnut gelding named Nike.
"You don't know who he is?" she asked curiously. She watched the cowboy shake his head and then she directed her attention to what was in front of her. A typical ranch house covered in snow was positioned close to a large barn. "This is nice," Sam commented. Pepper snorted but nodded his head in agreement.
The silver truck rumbled past more snow and Pepper put it in park. As the three of the hopped out of the cab, a snow-covered dog raced towards them. Suddenly the dog stopped, ears pricked towards the rider out in the field. The dog bolted towards the rider and a stray cow got pushed back into the group. Pepper led the way, Jake at his side, but Sam lagged, looking around, searching for horses. When she heard her name called by an irritated Jake, she ran to catch up. Stamping their boots off on the porch, Pepper guided them into a mud room where the boots got taken off, jackets stripped off, and hats hung up. "Hey ma!" Pepper shouted towards pots clanging and water running. She heard a murmur and a quiet meow.
Exiting the mud room, Sam saw the inside of the house. It had a quaint set up, something expected of a ranch couple. Walls were painted blue and red, floors had tracks of dust, and a woman was standing in the kitchen with her hands on her hips. "Hello Pepper," she said softly as the red headed middle age woman embraced her son. Obviously Pepper was embarrassed because he hugged his mother but cleared his throat. "Nice to see ya ma. The boys say hi," Pepper stated with a smile. Sam couldn't help but smile at the calico cat that now rubbed against her legs.
"Why hello there," she cooed as she bent down to let the cat sniff her hand. She looked up at Jake who stood awkwardly in the kitchen.
"That's Lily and I'm Kelly," Pepper's mom stated as she held her hand out for Jake and Sam to shake. After introductions, Kelly guided the three into the green living room and they all sat on the floral printed couches. "So how was the trip?" she asked curiously.
"Good", "Long", "Interesting" were all said at the same time. Kelly chuckled and noticed how Pepper looked around. It then struck Sam that his father hadn't come out. Kelly cleared her throat and looked towards a closed door. "Your father, Keith, hasn't been feeling very well," she clarified and Pepper nodded in understanding. Sam couldn't help but wonder if his father got sick a lot.
Sam looked towards the kitchen when the door open, toe nails clicked, and a light grunt occurred. Suddenly the snow covered dog rushed inside and ran. The sound of a jacket being torn off, boots being thrown, and a hat being tossed were heard and Kelly looked after the dog, an amused look playing on her face.
"Ollie!" a light voice shouted. Pepper sat up straight, confused.
"Who…?" Pepper asked his mother. Kelly gave him a look. Suddenly a girl, about Pepper's age, rushed in, sliding on the wood floor due to her socks. Jake looked amused as the girl disappeared and then reappeared with a wet collie with a wagging tail.
"I'm sorry Kelly, she did it again. I'll clean up," the girl stated, her face strained. Sam watched Kelly wave her hand in a nonsense gesture. The girl disappeared, locking the dog in a room that looked like a morning room.
"Pepper, Jake, Samantha," Kelly addressed as she motioned the girl to sit next to her. Sam couldn't help but take in her appearance. The girl had black hair that held a reddish tint. Arched eyebrows hovered above curious brown eyes and a light smile was painted on a fair, heart face. "This is Shadow Ravisk. Shadow this is Samantha Forster of River Bend Ranch and Jake Ely of Three Ponies Ranch." Sam looked over at Pepper who's face had been brushed pink.
"Hey it's a pleasure to meet you guys," Shadow stated with a smile as she leaned forward to shake Sam and Jake's hand. "And it's nice to see you again Pepper," Shadow added with a smile. An odd silence filled the air and Shadow rubbed the back of her neck. Sam knew that Shadow was probably uncomfortable since most cowboys she knew did that in awkward situations.
"Do you have any horses?" Sam decided to ask. Shadow smiled and nodded her head.
"I have two. Grace and Rogue," Shadow replied. "I'll show them to you later," she promised.
Kelly grinned and clapped her hands once. "Well. Shadow will be leaving today to Nevada. She's riding her horses and hooking up with a friend along the way," Kelly said, Pepper sighed and rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Shadow with new eyes.
"You certainly have… Changed," Pepper said with a blush. Kelly laughed softly and Shadow gave him a reassuring smile. Sam snuck a look at Jake from the corner of her eye; he was as lost as she was. "Um. Shadow and I grew up together. Her parents had the ranch next to us," Pepper explained. Shadow's smile disappeared and Kelly rubbed her arm. "What?" Pepper asked, unsure of why his mother was shooting him odd looks.
"My parents died in a car accident a few years ago. In order to pay for loans and their funeral, my aunt sold their ranch," Shadow explained. The dog in the locked room began howling and Shadow scowled. "Crazy dog," she muttered as she excused herself to go dry off the dog and clean up the floor. Kelly sighed softly.
"She's doing like this two person journey with her friend Nicolas," Kelly started. "She's already packed and he has her stuff as well as her stallion, Rogue. She's going to be riding her mare, Grace," Kelly explained. Sam's head tilted in recognition but then she shook her head when she saw the girl return.
"Well. I'll see you guys in Nevada but I got to get joining now if I want to stay ahead of schedule," Shadow stated as she began pulling on chaps and buttoned a plaid flannel shirt over her thermal shirt she was wearing. "Thank you so much for sheltering me Kelly. The cattle are gone except for your lovely gal. She's in the barn," Shadow stated as her and Kelly hugged. Shadow turned around and smiled at the three, shaking their hands. "See you guys soon."
~How I see them; I can't remember if links work or not so you might have to cut and paste~
Shadow Ravisk:/images/emo-hair/emo_hair_
Ollie:.
Grace:.
Rogue:.
Shout outs!
Fancy Girl Halflinger I will try an update as much as possible. To be honest I've lagged behind with my other stories but I'm hoping to come out of my little writer's block.
PhantomStallionCrazzy You know… Having a look alike of Sam hurt the Phantom would be interesting. To be honest I have yet to come up with that. So I'm definitely going to think about that!
