Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76136 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“I’ve got to say.” I put my hands on my hips as I watch him walk over to us. He is wearing blue jeans that look like he rolled around in the dirt with and an even dirtier shirt. His boots look like the soles are falling off them. “I’m surprised I didn’t get stopped at the city limits.” I shake my head. “You must be slipping in your old age.”
He claps his hands together and howls out laughing. “I got you pegged as soon as you rode into town. I just thought I would give your dad a couple of minutes with you before I whisk you away,” he says, wrapping me in his arms. I smell him, and he smells like home. The smell of when I was five and he found out I was his granddaughter, he would hug me tight and pretend he wasn’t crying, but I would feel wetness on my shirt.
“Are you crying?” I would ask.
“Nah, it’s the sky sprinkling you with happiness,” he would say, and I believed every single word he said.
“Are you ready?” he asks, and my father gasps.
“She literally just got home,” he hisses at his father, “it’s been five minutes.”
“Four minutes and some change,” my grandfather says, “but Grandpa Billy is saddling up her horse as we speak.”
My father throws his head back. “You can’t entice her away with her horse,” he says, and he knows that he totally can.
“Remember when he bought her a pink tractor because she asked him to and then her lower lip quivered when she said it’s okay that he has no money,” my mother says to my father as I laugh.
“That tractor is still in the barn, by the way,” my grandfather tells her. “It was an investment.”
“She rode it five times.” My father laughs. “Okay, let’s go riding,” he says, clapping his hands.
“No way.” My grandfather holds up his hand to stop him. “This is our thing.”
“How is it your thing?” my father asks him. “I was the one who taught her how to ride.”
“Not well,” my grandfather retorts before looking at me. “You even came dressed to ride.” I look down at my white riding pants I put on this morning, knowing that I would be riding, and a button-down, long-sleeve jean shirt that is tucked in the front. The shirt rolled up to the elbows shows off the watch he bought me for graduation and the love bracelet my parents bought me when I turned eighteen. “You have your boots at the barn.”
“I’ll be back.” I walk over and kiss my mother and then my father. “And you get me the whole weekend.” His eyes light up.
“Until Sunday night?” he asks.
“No.” I shake my head. “Until Monday morning.”
I get into the truck with my grandfather, and I’m pulling up to my great-grandparents’ place in a matter of minutes. The whole family lives about five minutes from each other in every single direction. My grandfather owns most, if not all, of the land in town. He may be the biggest tech guy out there, but his heart is at the farm.
I get out of the truck and practically run toward my horse. My great-grandfather is standing there holding her reins. “Sunshine,” he calls me, and all I can do is smile at him. He wears the same thing as my grandfather but with his cowboy hat on his head. The only time he takes that thing off his head is to go to sleep.
“Grandpa Billy,” I say his name as I run to him, just like I did when I was a little girl. He gives me a hug with only one hand. He kisses my cheek. The horse sniffs me as I get closer to her and rub her neck. “Hi, Peaches,” I coo softly, “I missed you. I’m going to go change into my boots and come back.” I rush over to the area where everyone has a locker with their name on it. We are so many that we had to have three rooms. I open my locker, kicking off my sneakers and putting on my riding boots. Before walking out, I see the barn is empty, the horse is now outside. I make my way to my horse, which is right next to my grandfather Casey. He is on his black stallion as he holds the reins for my horse. I put my foot in the stirrup and swing my leg over. “Just like riding a bike.” I wink at him as he laughs.
We take off side by side slowly, and then when we are in the clear, we both push our horses. I put myself lower to pick up more speed. I don’t know how long we ride, but when he stops ahead of me, I slow my horse down as we make our way over to the creek for the horses to get some water.