Finding Home (Part 2)

Lucas gets a very important phone call.

Callie is with the horses again and I have no idea what she's doing. She has this hook and is shoving it into the horses hooves. I set outside to ask her what it is.

"Oh. You have to clean their hooves out." She picks up the horse's other hoof and shows me. "See how much dirt's in it? Just got to keep them clean. Have you ever ridden a horse before, Lucas?"

"Once. I was twelve and I was visiting my grandparents. They live in Georgia. It was sort of a rural town. There were a lot of places you could go horse-back riding."

"Cool. Would you like to go out, later? These horses haven't been on a ride in days."

"Okay." Is she asking me out on a date?

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She leads me to the barn and hands me a saddle and reins. She shows me how to put the saddle on correctly and how to boost yourself up onto the horse's back.

"Very good. Now put your feet in the stirrups." I give her a confused look. "The semi-circle shaped things hanging down from the side of the saddle."

I do as she says and she lets me toward an opening in the woods. It's a neat little trail. We ride for about an hour and then stop at something she calls The Overlook. We tie the reins around a tree so the horses don't wander off. When we reach The Overlook, I understand. 

We're standing on the edge of the hill, looking over the mountainside. It's incredible. The view is breathtaking. I cold almost imagine someone coming up here and painting it. We sit down and she pulls out a few containers of food. There's some vegetables, fruit, chicken, and a thermos full of lemonade. I swear her mother is the best cook. The chicken tasted like it would've come from a gourmet restaurant. 

She adjusts the way she's sitting so she can see the view better. She and I are sitting with our backs against a huge tree trunk. The branches so low that if we stood up, we'd hit our heads. 

She lays her head on my shoulder and says "Isn't this beautiful? Mamma used to come up here every weekend with me and Daddy. Well, until she hurt her knee. We don't have any really good doctors down here so it never really got fixed properly."

"Oh. I'm so sorry."

She sighs and looks up at me. Our eyes meet for a few seconds and she smiles. She looks back at the mountains and I grab her hand. We sit like that for a while and I start to think. What if I just skipped Florida? Stayed here for a while? I can't. What if I get that job offer? That's the main reason for going to Florida. Bill would never give me the sports rehabilitation offer. It's been my dream. But... I like it here. It's so simple. And Callie.

I look down at her. She catches me staring and looks up at me. I place my hand on her cheek and guide her face closer to mine. My lips meet hers and my heart starts to race. When I pull back, she leans closer into me.

Forget the job offer, forget Bill. I could never leave Callie. Never. This is my new home.

Reviews

[Ace St. Jean]

Interesting, definitely interesting. I like the voice that you use, and the scenery that it gives.

[Quinn W]

Thank you!

[DRAGO]

Hmmm i think I like it, ill have to read the first part to make shure

[moonlit_cove]

I really like the direction this is going! I love the vivid scenery you've painted here, and the internal conflict that Lucas is facing. It will be fun to follow and see where it goes! :-) Keep up the good work.

[Quinn W]

Thank you!!! I'll post the next part tomorrow or Tuesday. I'm honestly regretting not making it into a book now because I'm going to have like four parts but oh well.

[moonlit_cove]

That's okay. It will be enjoyable all the same!