Prologue
Holly gripped her steering wheel a little
tighter and stared at the line of red lights in front of her as she
pressed delicately on the pedal. Five feet. Ten feet. At this rate
she would be on the Parkway for another 45 minutes before she even
got to her exit, two miles away. Early June and the heat was
already bearing down on her, so she cranked up her air conditioning
another level. She wanted on that state route so bad. Away from all
the congestion. Away from the city. Even on her way out, the city
seemed to get to her, weakening her resolve.
No, she would not be deterred. She couldn’t
wait to get to where the sky is so big that it goes on for miles,
to where she could actually make out all of the
constellations.
Holly reached for another French fry, popping
it into her mouth, the salty concoction coating her tongue and then
sliding down her throat. She loved the way they tasted. Her own
personal weakness. It wasn’t even her cheat day but she didn’t
care. Work had been stressful and she didn’t want to diet anyways.
She was doing it for her sister, Jen, who was trying to lose the
baby weight after her second child.
Holly had reluctantly agreed, wondering if it
was another one of Jen’s attempts at trying to influence her life.
She did that a lot and Holly had long since been trusting of any
plan that Jen concocted, especially when it included the Rubenseque
beauty. She was always trying to set her up on dates (usually bald,
overweight men of middling age with a good, solid job), suggesting
new diets or exercise programs. It came from love, but Holly
couldn’t help but feel a little bit of resentment.
Things came so easily to Jen. The perfect job,
the perfect husband. A family and a beautiful house. Her little
sister had always been the paragon that her mother looked to in
order to measure her own success as a parent. Holly felt like a
mulligan. The first attempt that didn’t count.
Jen called her crazy for spending all of her
vacation time with Aunt Sheryl. Two weeks at her aunt’s sheep and
cattle ranch. She had been looking forward to this vacation for
months. She loved the smell of the open air, the warm nights where
all she heard was the peepers down at the pond and the crickets
fiddling their lullaby. It sure beat day in and day out answering
calls for her boss and typing up letters. Four years studying
economics and finance at a top ranked woman’s college and she was a
glorified secretary. How ironic could you get?
For two weeks she could forget about the smog
and the crowding and the job and just focus on what she truly
loved. The sun and the mountains, the animals. The ranch. She had
spent a month there every summer while her mom “got a break” from
being a single mother. Aunt Sheryl never resented them, she let the
girls play from sun-up to sundown, as long as they helped with the
chores first. She felt beautiful when she was there, sun-kissed,
her brown hair bleaching out to a beautiful red.
What her sister thought was gross, Holly did
without complaint. Mucking stalls, brushing out the horses. She
even got to help shear the sheep. She loved all of it. She never
wanted anything else as a child and told her mom about her dreams
to run a ranch just like Aunt Sheryl’s. Her mom just laughed at her
and told her that she better hope she never inherited that “heap”.
She needed a good education and to take a job that paid the bills.
Focus on her career. So she did.
She couldn’t wait to get back to the part of
her that enjoyed the country. Four hours and she would back where
she felt like she belonged. Home.
She had no idea how just much it had
changed.
Chapter 1
Holly pulled into the long driveway, dirt
kicking up from between her tires, the familiar ping of gravel
against the hot metal of her car as she approached the main house.
It was like a beacon of hope, standing there only yards from the
first barn. The one that housed the trucks, quads and the foreman’s
office.
Holly gripped her steering wheel a little
tighter and stared at the line of red lights in front of her as she
pressed delicately on the pedal. Five feet. Ten feet. At this rate
she would be on the Parkway for another 45 minutes before she even
got to her exit, two miles away. Early June and the heat was
already bearing down on her, so she cranked up her air conditioning
another level. She wanted on that state route so bad. Away from all
the congestion. Away from the city. Even on her way out, the city
seemed to get to her, weakening her resolve.
No, she would not be deterred. She couldn’t
wait to get to where the sky is so big that it goes on for miles,
to where she could actually make out all of the
constellations.
Holly reached for another French fry, popping
it into her mouth, the salty concoction coating her tongue and then
sliding down her throat. She loved the way they tasted. Her own
personal weakness. It wasn’t even her cheat day but she didn’t
care. Work had been stressful and she didn’t want to diet anyways.
She was doing it for her sister, Jen, who was trying to lose the
baby weight after her second child.
Holly had reluctantly agreed, wondering if it
was another one of Jen’s attempts at trying to influence her life.
She did that a lot and Holly had long since been trusting of any
plan that Jen concocted, especially when it included the Rubenseque
beauty. She was always trying to set her up on dates (usually bald,
overweight men of middling age with a good, solid job), suggesting
new diets or exercise programs. It came from love, but Holly
couldn’t help but feel a little bit of resentment.
Things came so easily to Jen. The perfect job,
the perfect husband. A family and a beautiful house. Her little
sister had always been the paragon that her mother looked to in
order to measure her own success as a parent. Holly felt like a
mulligan. The first attempt that didn’t count.
Jen called her crazy for spending all of her
vacation time with Aunt Sheryl. Two weeks at her aunt’s sheep and
cattle ranch. She had been looking forward to this vacation for
months. She loved the smell of the open air, the warm nights where
all she heard was the peepers down at the pond and the crickets
fiddling their lullaby. It sure beat day in and day out answering
calls for her boss and typing up letters. Four years studying
economics and finance at a top ranked woman’s college and she was a
glorified secretary. How ironic could you get?
For two weeks she could forget about the smog
and the crowding and the job and just focus on what she truly
loved. The sun and the mountains, the animals. The ranch. She had
spent a month there every summer while her mom “got a break” from
being a single mother. Aunt Sheryl never resented them, she let the
girls play from sun-up to sundown, as long as they helped with the
chores first. She felt beautiful when she was there, sun-kissed,
her brown hair bleaching out to a beautiful red.
What her sister thought was gross, Holly did
without complaint. Mucking stalls, brushing out the horses. She
even got to help shear the sheep. She loved all of it. She never
wanted anything else as a child and told her mom about her dreams
to run a ranch just like Aunt Sheryl’s. Her mom just laughed at her
and told her that she better hope she never inherited that “heap”.
She needed a good education and to take a job that paid the bills.
Focus on her career. So she did.
She couldn’t wait to get back to the part of
her that enjoyed the country. Four hours and she would back where
she felt like she belonged. Home.
She had no idea how just much it had
changed.
Chapter 1
Holly pulled into the long driveway, dirt
kicking up from between her tires, the familiar ping of gravel
against the hot metal of her car as she approached the main house.
It was like a beacon of hope, standing there only yards from the
first barn. The one that housed the trucks, quads and the foreman’s
office.
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