Chapter One

City Slicker

The familiar sound of my horse's hooves thumping against the ground was all I heard as I traveled toward the lake. Blue, my horse, followed the trodden path with ease, galloping at his usual brisk pace. The sun was high in the sky, and I could feel it's vivid summer heat through my worn blue jeans and white t-shirt.

As the lake came into view, Blue slowed down to a trot and I gave him a pat on the neck, "Good boy," I murmured, swinging my legs over to one side so that I could drop to the ground.

My eyes scanned the lake and it's shores expectantly, but it was as still as glass. Frustrated, I began to tie my blonde hair into a pony tail, only to hear Blue whinning beside me.

I turned to the old horse with a frown and stroked his nose, "What's wrong, big guy?" I asked as he stomped the muddy ground.

Just as my hand left Blue's sleek black coat, something grasped my shoulder tightly. With out a second of hesitation, I spun around and punched my attacker straight in the gut, causing them to stumble backwards onto the muddy shore.

Eyes wide and alert, I was about to throw another punch when I heard laughing. It was a familiar laugh, and I lowered my fists immediately while a frown crossed my face.

"Really, Dale?" I yelled, crossing my arms and glaring at the boy before me. He was covered head to toe in mud; and when I say toe, I mean it literally. He was barefoot as usual.

"You really should listen to that horse of yours, Shay," Dale chuckled as he rose from the ground and shook his muddy hair out, "What if someone was actually attacking you out here?"

"I think I can handle myself," I replied, though my hostile tone had turned to a playful one. I couldn't stay mad at this boy; with his sloppy brown hair covered in mud and his grin as bright as the sun itself.

"You sure about that?" Before I could react, a mischievious glint entered Dale's eyes and he lunged forward, grabbing me around the waist and lifting me into the air.

"Hey! You better put me down or-"

"Or what?" he questioned.

"Just put me down!" I screamed, squirming in his strong arms.

"If you say so," With that, Dale dropped me straight into the mud, and I was coated within seconds.

After swiping the sticky substance out of my eyes, I glared up at Dale challengingly, "You're dead," I warned him, scooping the mud into my fists.

You can probably guess what happened next. A serious mud fight insued, and by the end of it, we both could've blended in with the ground if we wanted to.

This is how my weekends usually went; riding Blue down to the lake to meet up with Dale. Wether it was during the school year or the summer, we never missed our weekend hangout days. It was our time to relax, since we spent the weekdays of the summer working around our farms. Both of our parents owned large farms with many animals and fields to tend to, so it is easy to imagine how much work there was to do.

Dale had me pinned to the ground by my shoulders and I let out a defeated sigh, "Alright, alright, you win," I muttered reluctantly, "I have to get home soon, anyway," I added to persuade him to let me go.

Dale smirked, but released me and fell to my side, "Good," There was a long pause as we both sat in a comfortable silence, watching the clouds pass by over head. It's safe to say Dale was my best friend. Out of the few neighbors that I had, Dale was the only one that I could stand. It wasn't that I hated everyone or anything like that...I was just picky when it came to friends.

After a few minutes of peace, Dale suddenly glanced over at me with his deep brown eyes full of curiousity, "Isn't that kid coming today?"

I gave him a confused look, "Huh?"

"The guy...from New York?"

My jaw suddenly dropped, "No...that can't be today?" I gasped, attempting to recall what day it was.

He nodded, and my heart dropped to my feet, "Shoot, I completely forgot! My ma's going to kill me if I'm late!"

Within a second, I was on my feet and running toward Blue, who had completely ignored our mud fight.

"You're just gunna leave me here?" Dale called, shaking some muck out of his hair as he sat up.

"Yeah. If I don't show up...well, you don't even wanna know what my mom will do," I replied, climbing swiftly onto Blue, who grunted irritably as the mud dripped down his sides. I gave him a small kick and he took off at a gallop down the path that led to my house.

"Good luck!" Dale called, and I swear I could hear him laughing as I raced home.

I had Blue moving faster than ever before as we charged down the beaten path toward my house. We were both panting, but I had to get home as fast as possible. My mother's words kept ringing in my head...

"Remember, that boy from New York is coming on Sunday. I expect you to be there when he arrives. You're the same age, and he's going to be here for the whole summer, maybe longer, so I want you to become friends with him,"

I hadn't been very happy about this news, considering the fact that I didn't like making new friends. But, more importantly, I knew that the kid wouldn't fit in here. He was from the city; the biggest city. Let's just say that Thomaston, Alabama wasn't going to be a good home for him.

As my large, ranch style house came into view, I realized I didn't know anything about this kid. Not even his name. Yet, he was going to stay with my family for the summer; maybe longer.

Apparently, he's my mother's friend's son. If that makes sense. They were best friends as children, but their lives went in opposite directions. Literally. Still, they kept in contact enough for her to trust us with her son.

Finally, I reached the front of my house and Blue slowed to a halt. I hopped off of my panting horse, tied him to his post, gave him a thankful pat, and turned to find my mother staring at me in shock. Her hands were on her hips, which is a very bad sign if you know my mother.

"Shay Rose Littleton," she snapped, "One thing; I gave you one thing to prepare for. That boy will be here any second and...and...look at you! You're a mess! You're-," she would've kept going for hours if the sound of a car down the road didn't interrupt her.

Her eyes went wide and she straightened her blouse, "Well, it's too late," she said, suddenly calm, "You'll just have to meet him looking like that,"

I glanced down at myself, all covered in mud and grime, and shrugged. I didn't need to impress him.

A shiny silver car suddenly appeared on the dirt road that led to our house, and I narrowed my eyes at the alien vehicle. The only things you drive in Thomaston are trucks and horses. It pulled to a stop in front the house, and a guy dressed in a sleek black suit stepped out of the drivers seat.

For a split second, I thought that was him. That's the boy I would be living with; one who arrived at my farm in a suit. But...I quickly realized that he looked more like he was in his forties.

The man began to unload the luggage in the trunk of the car as the passenger side opened, and a tall, broad shouldered guy stepped out. The first thing I noticed were his clothes, and they made me wish that he had shown up in a suit instead. My lip curled in disgust; I should've known he'd look like this.

From head to toe, he looked like a typical rich city kid. At least from what I've seen in movies and on TV. As he turned in a circle, studying his surroundings, I took a moment to analyze and scoff at his clothing.

A New York Mets hat was covering half of his blonde head, and was twisted backwards so that the flat brim was facing the wrong way. His eyes were covered by expensive looking sunglasses that matched his navy blue polo t-shirt. His khaki pants were neatly ironed and hung off of his hips in a way that proved they were a size too large. Brand new, black and white Nike skate shoes were on his feet, but the worst part of the whole thing was the skate board that he held in one hand.

By the time I was done sneering at his choice of style, I realized that he had approached us and my mother was grinning from ear to ear, "Welcome to Alabama, William!"

Before I could stop her, she leaned in and captured him in a tight welcome hug. I couldn't exactly see his reaction beneath those sunglasses, but I could tell by the way his arms stiffened that he wasn't sure what to do.

When she finally released him, he managed a slight smile, "Thanks. And, uh, call me Will," he added, twisting his hat so that the bill was sticking straight up in the front.

"Of course, Will," she replied, and to my annoyance, gestured at me, "This is my daughter, Shay. Please excuse her...indecency."

Indecency? Really mom? Will seemed to notice me for the first time, and the corners of his mouth quirked up in amusement. I stared at him straight through those sunglasses, completely unfazed. I'm pretty sure I was judging him more than he was judging me.

"Excuse me, but I'm going to find all the boys of the house. Shay, keep him company while I'm gone," my mother said.

Wait...what? Before I could object, she was scurrying up the porch steps into my house and I was left with the city slicker.

I glanced up to find that Will had removed his sunglasses and placed them atop his head, on the flat bill of his hat. When his eyes finally loomed downward and met mine, I found myself lost in a sea of mesmerizing, bright blue. Those eyes...they were so...typical. I reminded myself quickly, shifting my gaze abruptly away from his. Typical blonde haired blue eyed pretty boy. That's all he was.

"So, I guess showering isn't a priority here in Alabama?" Will finally spoke as he eyed me curiously. I recognized his heavy New York accent and it made me cringe.

"I guess minding your own business isn't a priority in New York?" I retorted in a remarkably calm manner. My mother was already angry enough; she wouldn't appreciate me yelling at our guest.

Instead of being offended, Will chuckled and turned to the man in the suit who had dropped his bags near the front porch, "Thanks, man," he said, pulling a wad of cash out of his pocket. He handed the man a crisp twenty dollar bill and I suddenly remembered my mom mentioning that his parents were quite wealthy.

As the man, who I came to realize was a chauffeur, headed back to the shiny car, Will turned back to me, "Fair enough, though I would like to know one thing,"

I raised an eyebrow in question.

"Is mud bathing a common activity here?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes and turned away, heading over to Blue without a glance back. My poor horse was trying to shake the mud from his coat and I felt guilty. As I gave the old horse a rub on the neck, I noticed Will approaching in my peripheral vision. He had a cautious look on his face, and now it was my turn to be amused.

"You ever rode a horse before, pretty boy?" I asked without looking at him.

"Do I look like I've ridden a horse before?" he answered, dropping his skateboard to the ground with a clatter.

Blue snorted in annoyance, and I patted his cheek in agreement. This kid wasn't going to last long with me. Maybe I could get him lost in the fields on 'accident'...

"Will, where are you dear?" my mother's voice called from the porch. I glanced up to see her hurrying toward us with my father and brothers at her side.

"There you both are!" she continued, "Will, this is my husband," she gestured to my father who shook hands with the city kid unenthusiastically. My father wasn't a very emotional person, unlike my mother, and getting him excited about anything was a difficult task. He came across much older than he actually was; probably because of working hard in the fields all of his life.

"And this is Benny," she shoved my 14 year old brother forward, and he simply nodded, eyeing Will's choice of clothing just like I had. Benny reminded me very much of Dale. One, because they looked very much alike; with the shaggy brown hair and puppy dog eyes. And two, because they both had carefree attitudes.

"And these are the twins," my mother continued, nudging my 10 year old twin brothers forward, "Neil and Liam,"

The boys stumbled forward with mischievious grins on their faces, and I knew what they were plotting. The two were little blonde headed tricksters; always getting into trouble. They pranked anyone and everyone, which meant that Will was next on the list for sure.

"We are missing one...but he's away at college," my mother added sullenly as she thought of the eldest child, Riley. He was 19, just two years older than me.

Throughout this entire process, Will just nodded to each of my brothers politely. His expression was unreadable, and I suddenly wished I could read his mind to see what he thought of my family. Were we just as weird to him as he was to us?

"Did Dale throw you in the mud again, Shay?" Benny asked suddenly, grinning at me.

Before I could answer, my mother cut in, "Shay, dear, would you please go clean up for dinner?" she asked calmly, though her tone was authoritive.

I offered a false smile and headed toward the front door, "Of course, ma,"

As I hurried up the porch steps, I could hear my mother rounding up the family, "Alright boys, y'all need to wash up for dinner, too. You included, Will. We'll get you settled into your room afterwards,"

I found myself snickering as I traveled up the stairs to my room. I just kept picturing the look on Will's face as my mother immediately treated him like one of her own children. All I could think about was how much that city kid's life was going to change now that he was a part of the Littleton household.