I arrived at the Howard lot at dawn, as I had said I would. The place was dead quiet, except for the normal sounds of morning coming from the birds and other animals. As far as I could tell no one else was awake, so I went to work. I didn't need to be told how to care for my land by some city slicker. Even if Mr. Howard did give me instructions, I'm sure they would be wrong.
Around nine I saw my sister Jenny ride up, and head into the stables. Not long after that I saw Casey come out of the house. She gave me a wave and a smile that made my head spin, and then she went into the barn too. I wondered how she and jenny would get on, and hoped they would be friends. I liked Casey, a lot, but I was still terrified of her mom. I made sure to work far from the house, out of sight of the newcomers. I worked long and hard, tending to my land that was no longer mine. When the sun began to get low, I rode back to the house, intending to check on the stables and then leave before I could get myself into any trouble.
I rode into the stable, and found Casey standing beside the big black stallion. She was brushing it gently when she heard me ride in.
"Hey there Jim," she said, flashing her gorgeous smile at me again. No matter how hard I tried to plan on not getting in trouble, that smile tore it all down.
"Hey Casey," I said, riding up to her and jumping down off my horse. "How are the horses today?"
"Great," she said. "Your sister was here most of the day. She's really good with the horses. I learned a lot from her."
"Good," I nodded. "She's been working with horses her whole life. Probably she always will."
"I wish I could live in a place like this my whole life," Casey said, turning back to the stallion. "It's so peaceful here."
"So why don't you?" I asked. "You don't seem to have any money problems."
"My parents would never let me live like this," she sighed. "I'm going to school to become a lawyer, and if I dropped out, my dad would cut me off completely." I wanted to tell her that she could stay with me, that we could have a life together. But I knew that wasn't true. Her dad would fire me, and cut her off, and her mother would hunt us down and kill us both. For now I couldn't rescue this beautiful girl, even though I wanted to.
"A lawyer huh?" I said, not quite able to picture her as a lawyer. I had always had a picture of what a lawyer was in my head, and this girl did not match that picture.
"Ya, my dad says it's a good career choice," Casey said, a bit sadly. "And he can get me into a good firm as soon as I pass the bar."
"Well I suppose that's a good idea then," I said, wishing it weren't. "I wish I could say we have lawyers around these parts, but we don't. The only lawyers I've ever met were just here to buy people's land."
"That's not the kind I want to be," Casey said. "I want to at least help people. Or if not people, then animals, or the land. I want to help something."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you will," I said, and she smiled at me again. As she smiled, I saw her eyes move down my body, and I could tell what she was thinking. I was getting ready to decide what I wanted to do with her, when we were both surprised by her mother's voice.
"Casey!" Amy's voice called from outside the barn.
"Shit," Casey said turning away from me. "Its like she's spying on us or something." I didn't say anything, but I knew she very well may have been. A second later Amy walked in, and shot us both a nasty look.
"Casey, you've been out here with these animals all day," Amy said in a disapproving tone. "Don't you have some studying to do?"
"Mom, its summer," Casey said. "And what did we buy this place for if not to spend the whole day outside with the horses."
"Don't back talk me young lady," Amy snapped at her. "You still have to apply for your summer internship, and you need to prepare."
