Chapter One

I cringed as I herd rocks flying up and hit my Mercedes. I had gotten it as a gift from my father for my seventeenth birthday a few months ago. But now I was driving it down a path, in the Texas Panhandle.

I had family who lived here (Why I don’t know), and my father felt like it was time for a visit. My folks and I lived in Dallas, a few hours away. I hadn’t been here since I was eight, and I wasn’t excited to come back. My parents were high on the social scale and we had money, and I liked to use it.

As I followed my parents own Mercedes, I could help back look in my mirror from time to time. My brown eyes shone of tiredness, and my short, brown hair a bit messy from all the times I pulled my fingers through it.

As I watched my father roll down his window and stick his hand out with a cigarette in between his fingers, I herd my phone having a vibrating attack in the cup holder. I picked it up and flipped it open with my finger, pressed it to my ear and said, “Hello?”

“Ashton,” My mother’s voice came, “We’re almost there.”

“Thanks, Mother,” I replied plainly. I told her I didn’t want to come. I was a city boy, not a cowboy.

“Well, you better perk up. A sour note from you and…” Her voice faded and I pulled my phone away from me and checked my bars. There were none. No good reception either. This was going to be hell.

I clicked my phone shut and placed it back in my cup holder. We drove for about another ten minutes, my hair getting even messier, until we turned on to a long drive. A gate was up ahead, with words in Iron saying, “Briare Ranch.” This would be my Uncles ranch, my father’s brother. He had his wife, three sons, and one daughter. Their son’s were all older than me, but I believed one was off to school.

I watched my father tap a code into the dial sticking out to the driver’s side. He pulled his hand back in and rolled up his window as the gates shook and the opened. I followed down the drive after my father, watching the gates close behind me in my rearview mirror. I was now officially in Hell.

It only took us about five minutes before we were pulling up in front of my uncle’s house. It was older, consisting of wood and bricks. The wooden door swung open, a tall man standing there. His dark hair was covered by a tan cowboy hat, and he tilted it up to show his green eyes.

“Well, look at that!” He said, walking down the three steps from his porch and coming out and shaking my father’s hand. “You’re looking good, Brice. And who’s this pretty little lady with you?” He teased, turning to my mother.

“Oh, now you stop it, Marc,” My Mother said, hitting Uncle Marc arm. They all laughed slightly as closed my car door and locked it before putting the key’s in my pocket. I would get my stuff later.

“Hello, Uncle Marc,” I said, coming up. He smiled to me and clasped me on my shoulder.

“Look how much you’ve grown!” He said. “I still remember you runnin’ around here naked when you were smaller!” I gave a false laugh. I was so glad my cousin’s weren’t out here yet.

“Hey! Uncle Brice and Aunt Lisa are here!” I looked back over at the door to see my cousin jumpy over the stairs and coming to greet us. He had his fathers dark hair and green eyes, but much more muscle in his arms than Uncle Marc. What was his name? Rob? No, Robbie, that was it.

“What up, cuz!” He came over to me. Before I could pull my hand up for him to shake, he pulled me up in a bear hug. I wondered what the look on my face was, because my mother raised an eyebrow. I tried to compose it, and gave a weak smile.

“Nothing much. I missed you,” I said as best as I could without having a false note in it.

“Missed ya too,” He replied and went on to greet my parents as my Aunt Susi with her other son came out. Aunt Susi was a short woman, just coming to my chin and easily the shortest one there. Her bright, red hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and she smiled as she gave me a hug. My other cousin, Joseph, had the dark auburn hair, a mix between his two parents, but had his mother’s light brown eyes. He just nodded his head to me.

“Where’s Errin?” My mother asked as she pulled away from Aunt Susi’s hug.

“She’s out ridding with one of her friends,” She replied. “She should be home. I think she’s out in the barn putting the horses away.”

Errin was my cousin who was my age; though I think she turned seventeen last month. I remember my father calling my mother when she was out shopping to get a necklace for her birthday.

After a couple minutes of talking, we went into the house. The floor was wood in the hallways, but white carpet was in the living room. A couch, a recliner, and wooden chairs were in the living room, with a small bar separating it from the kitchen. The floor was tile in here, with a long dinning table. There was a door on one side of the kitchen leading out to their back patio and barn house were they kept their horses and sometimes cattle.

“Are any of you hungry?” Aunt Susi asked, her eyes sweeping over the three of us.

“We ate not too long ago,” I answered politely. She nodded her head.

“Well, you can just take what you like from the fridge if you do.” My father and Uncle Marc then got two beers and went on the back patio, catching up. Aunt Susi was about to go show my mother something, before the back door opened again.

A girl, my age, walked in with her silky red hair pulled back and her skin tan. She paused when she saw me.

“Hey, Ashton!” She said happily and came over and gave me a hug. I stiffened. She was sweaty from riding, but I forced a hug back.

“Hey, Errin,” I greeted back. She pulled away and smiled.

“Errin, your dad is so nice! I wish he was my dad.” Another girl walked in from the back door, pulling off a white cowboy hat. She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear and her hazel eyes looked over at me curiously. Her plaid, button up shirt at unbuttoned at the last few and folded up and tied under her breast, showing her skinny stomach. Jeans covered her legs, with brown boots showing at the bottom. In other words, she was beautiful.

“You always say that,” Errin replied. Then she looked to where her friend was looking and smirked.

“Jack, this is my cousin, Ashton. He’s visiting here for the summer. Ashton, Jack.” She introduced us. Jack? Wasn’t that a guy’s name?

“Hello,” I said with a slight smile.

“Howdy,” She replied. I tried to resist the urge to raise an eyebrow, but it did go up a little. I earned a giggle from her.

“I’m just kidding,” She assured me.

“Whatever, you so talk like that!” Robbie accused from where he was leaning on the counter, cutting up an apple and then placing it in his mouth.

“Shut up!” She said back. They were talking to her life family. Was she family? No, Aunt Susi said Errin's friend.

“Errin,” Aunt Susi said, cutting into the conversation. “Go and help Ashton get his stuff out of the car.”

“Here, Ashton,” My mother said. She tossed me the keys to my father’s car. “Would you get your father’s and my bags also?”

“Of course, Mother,” I replied, tucking them in my pocket.

“Let’s go,” Errin said, walking out of the kitchen.

“I’ll help!” Jack said from behind me.

“Then hurry up, both of you!” I walked out of the kitchen and towards the front door, Jack behind me. Errin was waiting for both of us on the front porch, her arms crossed and her hip out to the side. I shrugged and took both the pairs of keys out of my pocket and click the buttons where the doors unlocked automatically.

“Wow.” Jack said, her hazel eyes round as she looked at the cars. “Snazzy.”

I gave a silent reply: a shrug. I walked over and pushed another button on the keys to where the trunks clicked open as well. I pulled my parent’s trunk up. I showed off just a bit, opening it with one hand.

“Here, I got these.” Errin came to my side and grabbed the big red suit case that was my moms and heaved it out. “Mother Mary with a Sherry, does your parents take your gold blocks wherever you go?”

Errier pulled the handle out and started dragging it towards the house. I turned to go to my trunk, but saw it already open. As I walked over, Jack was leaned against my car, my black Pod in hand, and one of the blue gummy earphones in her ear. She saw me out of the corner of my eye and nodded her head, while holding up my iPod.

“Counting Crows,” she said. “I like your taste in music.” An then she turned up the volume and I herd “Mr. Jones,” blaring into her ears. She laughed and turned it off and handed it back to me.

“Thanks.” I said. I grabbed one of my bags and slung it over my shoulder. She took my other one and did the same, pulling down the lid of my trunk.

“So, is your real name’s Jack?” I questioned, going back to my parents car and taking out my fathers suit case and then closing the trunk.

“No, it’s just a nick name.” She informed me. “My full name is Jacklyn, but I like Jack better.”

“Jacklyn is a pretty name though.” I told her. She smiled and giggled. I felt my cheeks get warm. What’d I say? I walked back towards the house, where Errin was on the second step with my mom’s suit case. Jack took the end of it and helped carried it into the house.

“Hey, Ashton, you alright with sleeping in my brother’s room, in Anthony’s bed, or do you want to the couch?” She asked. I almost forgot I had another cousin. Anthony was the one who had gone off to school.

“I’ll take his bed.” I answered. I took my bag from Jack and Errin reminded me where the room was. I walked in and saw Joseph drawing, he looked up and tried to turn over the picture unnoticed.

“I’m bunking with you guys,” I said. They room was pretty big. Joseph got up from his bed and stretched his arms out.

“’Course. The top one’s Robbie’s, and you can take the bottom one.” He pointed over to the makeshift bunk bed. The top, Robbie’s, looked nail into the wall, with chains going from the corners that face out and hooked up on the ceiling. Pushed under it was a normal looking bed, with a side table that had a thin layer of dust.

“Thanks,” I said, carefully putting my bag’s down on top of it. I check the blanket to see if it was clean before I sat down. I would just have to make sure I didn’t hit Robbie’s top bunk when I got up. That’s when Robbie walked in.

“Hey, you girls want to go riding?” He said, grabbing his hat and pulling it firmly down on his head. Joseph shook his head.

“No, I’m good.” He said, sitting back down on his bed and pressed his back to the wall behind him and pulled up his knees. He grabbed his drawing and pencil and went to work, making sure neither of us could see it. Robbie turned to me.

“What ‘bout you?”

I shook my head. “I’m good. I don’t know how to ride.”

“Oh, it’s easy. You can ride Cinder; Jack’ll ride Dad’s horse.” I perked up when he said Jack’s name. I sighed and got up, without hitting my head.

“Okay. Have jeans and a hat for me to wear?”

I watched as she saddled up Uncle Marc’s horse. Errin had told me his name was Sniper, and that he was a blue roan horse. His stormy gray coat was glossy and his mane and tail coal black.

Robbie was pulling Cinder’s harness over the horse’s ears. Cinder was a Pinto, red and white fur.

“I hope you’re riding him.” Errin came out from one stall leading a black horse with a white dot on his forehead and neck, then his two rear legs were mostly white. I looked over at Robbie just in time to see him lowering his hand from the “cut-it-out!” sign.

“You’re such a good cousin,” I said, sarcasm in my voice.

“Yeah, well, you know me!” He gave me an innocent smile as I thought, No, I don’t know you.

“Here, you can ride Fiyero.” Errin sighed and smacked her brother upside the head. She handed me the reins of the horse and mounted Cinder herself.

“Fiyero?” I questioned the odd name. She nodded, a smile going across her features.

“Yep! The name’s from a prince in my favorite musical!” She liked musicals? As I thought about it, she looked like someone who would.

“Which musical?” I asked, trying to get on to the back on Fiyero.

“Wicked, of course,” She said in you-should-know-this-already tone. Oh! I had yet to see the Musical, but I knew a lot of people who had seen it. As I almost fell back on my ass from trying to get on the horse, Robbie came and locked his fingers together to help me. He hauled me up and showed me how to turn the horse, and how to make it go forward.

After he thought I got it, and the girls and the horses getting a bit impatient, Robbie opened the doors and went and gone on his brown horse. Errin tapped Cinder with her heels and he trotted forward, followed by Jack, and then me, and then Robbie taking up the rear.

Fiyero was smooth and the ride wasn’t as bumpy as I thought. Cinder on the other hand was giving Errin a hard time. He kept pulling his head down and stopping to take a bit or two from the long grass, soon Jack was in the lead. He stopped again and Fiyero passed them. Jack slowed down Sniper to where she was riding next to me.

“So, you’re Errin and the boy’s cousin, right?” She asked, a smile dancing on her lips.

“Yeah,” I replied.

“Hm. I haven’t seen you down, and I’ve practically been over here for the past two years!” She said rolling her eyes. “I’m guessing you guy’s ain’t too close?”

“Well, I haven’t been up here since I was eight, actually,” I admitted. She blinked, not expecting that.

“Wow, that’s awhile. How old are you? Seventeen right? Errin’s age?”

“Correct,” I replied. “How old are you?”

“Seventeen also.” She shrugged. Hm, at least she was my age. And she seemed like a nice girl… too bad she didn’t live in Dallas.

“Any girlfriends?” she asked. I glanced over at her.

“None right now.” That was true, but I had recently dumped my last girlfriend. Recently being last week. “What about you? Any boyfriends?”

“There aren’t too many cute boys around,” She said.

“Hey! I resent that!” Robbie called from behind us.

Well, I’m iffy about this one. Reviews make me happy! (And will get me to update faster)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Musical "Wicked" (Sadly enough)

Thanks,

Blackcatfrodo

P.S. The "Mother Mary with a Sherry" was an idea given by one of my friends. ;)