Chapter 1

Rays of light gently crept through the blinds as the morning came upon Riverside Ranch. Ethan scrunched his nose and closed his eyes tighter as the morning bell rang crisp and clear through the air. I hate that bell, he though, I'll have to destroy it. He found the noise very annoying, as he did every morning. He reluctantly inched out of his bed and dragged himself to the showers. Thankfully the showers were nearby as they were only across and down the hall. After his shower he got dressed, T-shirt, jeans, old cowboy boots, and his cowboy hat, nothing special. Awake and alert now, Ethan sauntered his way down to the kitchen.

Guests and ranch hands alike were lined up at the picnic tables in the buffet style room. This is where he ate every morning with the other ranch hands and guides. As he entered the room his friends were already waiting for him at their regular table. Quickly he cut the line and picked off his usual breakfast.

"Hey! You can't just cut everyone!" shouted Ali, a lively brunette guest; she looked as much of a bitch as she really was.

"Why don't you stop me? You're the only one complaining." Ethan teased. She snorted and was silent. He went to his friends who greeted him as he sat.

"Hey Ethan, did you see the new set of girls that came in? I'd give the blonde one a ride for free, and I'm not talking about a horse." Rolling his eyes he looked to where Riley had pointed. Yeah he thought, typical rich snob coming to be a 'cowgirl' for a few weeks, what's new? They just can't seem to keep their hands off of cowboys.

"Well Riley, at least I can count on you on being the shallow one in our group." he joked.

"I get dibs on the other blonde." said Preston.

"I stand corrected." Ethan laughed. Before he left the kitchen, he glanced at the schedule for the week... he would be giving trail rides. As he walked out of the huge housing facility he found himself taking in the beauty of the land around him. He didn't know why he had stayed at this ranch for so long, but there was something that kept most people there longer than their intended to stay. Ethan supposed it could have been the fresh air, the beautiful view of the mountains on either side on the ranch, the flowing hills of grass and the forest. Or it could of been the quiet evenings while the sun set behind the mountains as the river steadily flowed, but everyone seemed enchanted by Riverside. I meant to leave years ago, though Ethan, but I just can't bring myself to leave.

He headed to Barn #7, as usual. He usually tacked the horses in the morning and fed them. Not to mention the wonderful mucking of the stalls was also one of his morning duties. In the day time he would usually give trail rides to the guests, sometimes do busy work, and then untack and feed the horses for the night. He could hear the loud whinny of his usual mount, Shadow, a lively gelding that was very reliable. Ethan went up to his horse and patted him lovingly on his shiny black neck.

"Ready for a nice long trail ride today?" He asked. Shadow snorted in response. He started to get each horse ready, talking to them as he usually did. People usually found it funny that all the ranch hands, guides, and trainers talked to their horses. But the ones handling the horses understood the connection a person creates with the animal, after being with them so long. Slowly the sun rose, and around 10:00 all the horses were ready, and their morning feed was eaten.

Kali was desperately scared of the day ahead; she didn't want to be at this ranch. Her parents had abandoned her, just like everyone else. They had sent her here for the summer, to try and make friends, get her in touch with the environment... blah blah blah. She was 19 for Christ sake! Couldn't she do what she wanted with her summer? But she admitted herself defeated; she knew she was a pushover. Plus she did confess that she was quite anti-social. She had no friends, and had locked herself up most of her junior and senior year. Her first year out of school hadn't been much different.

Kali's parents were worried about her, it was evident. So what do they do? Ship me off! They know I'm scared of horses! She thought. It turned out that her parents were close friends of Mr. and Mrs. White, the owners of the ranch and they had made a negotiation, she was to stay for the summer and learn how to become a ranch hand. The catch? She would get half the pay of the other hands.