Cowgirls Don't Cry

Ch 12

Lynn

"So, where are we going?" I'm sitting in the front seat of Colt's truck, driving into town. He called me last night after my mini melt down with Kip in the barn.

"You'll see," he says turning on his blinker and turning down a dirt road.

 I have no idea what came over me. I enjoyed my ride, and was feeling good, and then I walked into the barn. Snowflake's head was poking over her gate. She looked at me, and for some reason, her eyes reminded me of my mother. Suddenly, I was the quiet little girl again.

"Where are you from?" I ask, in a weak attempt to distract myself from my own thoughts.

"Alberta,"

"Where's that?"

"Canada"

"What! No way" I was shocked. "They don't have cowboys in Canada?"

"Excuse me? Yes they do" he laughs, "You don't believe me?"

"Well," I joke, "I haven't heard you saw Eh"

"Excuse me, young Lady!" he exclaims, "That's offensive."

"What? All I know of Canada is Hockey and what I see in cartoons." I laugh, tucking my feet under me.

"Well, I'll have you know that Alberta is just as country, if not more." He glared at me sideways, "Still don't believe me?"

I know I shouldn't have said it, but I just couldn't help it, "No, I don't... Eh"

Colt tries to look mad but I can see a smile playing on his lips. "You got your phone?"

"Course," I hold it up to prove my point.

"Look up the Alberta Rockies." I just looked at him, "go on, now."

I did what I was told, the pictures were beautiful.

"My family owned a 300 acer ranch out there." He said glancing at my phone.

"It's beautiful, why did you leave?"

"It was my granddads land. My mother took it over when I was four. I lived there all my life, and then my granddad died. He didn't have a will, and everything got left to my uncle. He sold it out from under us."

"I'm so sorry," I really was, I couldn't imagine losing my home.

"Its ok, he gave my mom half the money. She used it to put me through school, and here I am."

"So why don't you have an accent?" I ask, changing the subject.

"I will kick you out of this car...eh" we both laughed and talked about random stuff the rest of the ride. He won first place in the junior rodeo in high school. He's been riding since he was four, bought his first horse when he was ten after selling a prized cow. He started breaking horses in vet school, his first horse was Houdini, "Something went wrong with that one" he joked.  Second Jesse "She's an angle, any horseman's dream"

Were still talking when he pulls into the parking lot of a stable, "What are we doing here?" I ask, after he runs to my side of the truck to get my door.

"I want you to look at something with me." He takes my arm leading me inside.

"A horse?"

             The stables are pristine, a high-end equestrian center. Everyone was in dressed in formal riding clothes. I look down at my scuffed up boots, suddenly self-conscious.  I fallow him to the back where they keep the tack, not western saddle to be seen. An old man stands when we walk in and embraces Colt when we walk in.