Chapter One
Author's note:
Bare with me on this, please. This is my first time writing a story that wasn't for school. I'm excited to hear y'all's feedback. Hope you enjoy it.
Rose's POV
It has been 2 years since my father's death. It's just my mom, my four younger siblings, and me. I'm the oldest at 16. Shane is the second oldest after me, he's 12. Then Noah, who's 10. Then the twins, Luna and Lucas, who are 4 years old. Since our dad died its been a struggle. I've tried to help mom as much as i can with the farm work and my siblings while still in school, but its not enough to keep everything balanced. The farm is struggling financially, we needed help so we hired a new ranch hand. He's arriving today.
I'm sitting on the porch talking with mom when he pulles up the driveway on his motorcycle. He's wearing a leather jacket over tight black tshirt, blue jeans that fit just right, and cowboy boots. He's got dark brown messy hair, and when he takes off his sunglasses, i see his enchanting emerald green eyes. He turns of his motorcycle and swings his leg over it. He's walks towards the porch where I'm currently sitting. My mother asks him, "How can I help you, mister?"
He respondes by saying, "My name's Cody Miller. And i believe I'm your new ranch hand. That is, if I'm in the right place. You're Mrs. Thompson, right? My name's Cody Miller."
"You are in the right place. Nice to meet you, Cody. Please, call me Julia. No need for formalities. This is my oldest, Roseanne." She says as she gestures to me.
"Hello. Nice to meet you. You can call me Rose." I say in greeting.
His gaze sweeps over me appraisingly before he speaks, "Nice to meet you both."
My mom then says, "Let's show you around and get you settled in."
We take him to the barn first and show him to the loft, where he'll be staying. He places the bag he took off the back of his bike on the bed, and we continue showing him around. As we go around the farm, mom is telling him more about the farm and basics of the job. He just nods his head and ask questions as we go.
The ranch is beautiful. The old weatherbeaten barn is a big, red, wooden structure that's off to the side of the house. Inside the barn, it was large and drafty. There are four stalls on each side of the barn. The door to the tack room is under the stairs that leads up to the loft. The loft had been turned into a mini-apartment. It had an open floor plan between the living room and kitchen area. There was a modest bedroom. It also had a small bathroom with a shower. The loft-apartment was fully furnished with the basics. The kitchen was also supplied with basic cooking and eating utensils. It was all very minimalistic. The house is modest and rustic. It has two stories. There are eight bedrooms, 3 and ½ bathrooms, and an office. The kitchen is medium-sized, modern style. The living room is spacious. It’s fully furnished with a simple, brown couch, two end tables, a recliner, a coffee table in the center, and a tv mounted to the wall above the fireplace. There was also a bookshelf against the wall. The bookshelf and mantle both had pictures of the family and various animals. A small lamp sat on one of the end tables. The house was simple and cozy. It was all very lived-in feel, but that’s because it is. We love our home, it’s become a part of who we are. We will do anything to keep this land in our family.
We mostly have horses and cattle, but we also have a few free range chickens, pigs, and four goats. Also some barn cats, and we also have two dogs, one’s an Australian Shepard named Bailey, the other is a German Shepherd named Max. My dad got Bailey for me when she was just a puppy. She was my sixth birthday present. We got Max a few years before dad died. He’s more Mom’s dog than anything. We have a total of ten horses, eight of which are rideable. One of our two unrideable horses is about seven months pregnant and the other is retired.
Cody’s job on the ranch, as a ranch hand, is to do basic care and maintenance of these farm animals and any equipment, and help my mother with any job, on the ranch, she may ask of him.
After mom finished showing him around and informing him of the basics of what he'll be doing, we left him to get settled into the loft. Before we left though, mom told him, “You are welcome to join us for dinner, if you want. We'll be having meatloaf tonight.”
Author's note:
Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it. Can't wait to read your feedback. I'mma keep working on this and adding more chapters.
Let me know if you have any ideas or suggestions on how I can make my story better as I go along.
