Trip to Town

All three friends were riding along the trails, but Gunner had to leave. His father texted him, needing help in his ranch. He had to be there to get the horses ready for his next rodeo. 

“Do you want me to drop you off at home?” He asked Faith, who was looking at her friend, curiously. She shook her head, politely rejecting his offer. 

“No, I will stay with Palmer for a little longer,” she replied and Gunner pulled his horse near hers. He raised his hand and put a strand of hair behind her ear, causing goosebumps on her skin as she felt his hands brush her earlobe gently.

“Take care,” Gunner said before he headed towards Wright's ranch to drop the horse off. As he was riding away, Faith couldn’t stop staring at him. She couldn’t deny how handsome the track star looked on that horse. Why was she fighting her feelings for him? 

She didn’t want him to know, at least not yet. It was fun to argue with him and to play hard to get. But she was also afraid to not be able to hide her feelings for much longer, or to think it could be too late by the time she finally admits to him she likes him.

With a sigh, Faith caught up to Palmer. They both chatted while enjoying the beautiful, sunny day and the fresh countryside air. 

“So, are you planning on meeting that mysterious new student?” 

Palmer shrugged her shoulders and gave her a smile. Faith smiled, shaking her head at her friend’s perseverance. 

“Of course I am. I won’t give up,” she replied, giving Trigger a little tug so he could stop and graze. 

“Be careful, Palmer. You don't want to scare the poor boy away,” Faith said with a frown on her face. Palmer waited for Trigger to finish before she got him to trot again, staying silent for the rest of the ride as she thought about Faith’s words.

Once back at the ranch, they dismounted the horses. James walked out of the barn, wiping his hands clean. He was taking care of one of the pregnant mares inside the stall.

    “Hey, dad. Were you checking on Misty?” Palmer asked, excitedly. 

“Yes, sweetheart. She’s close to giving birth, so we have to keep an eye on her. I was wondering if you wanted to take turns when you arrived home from school. After doing your homework of course.”

She squealed and hugged him. “Of course I would want to! There is no way I am missing it.”

After the wave of excitement, Faith and Palmer put the horses and the saddles away, before she offered Faith to stay for lunch. Of course, her friend wouldn’t say no. She was a fan of Daisy’s cooking.

Daisy had made some delicious spicy beef and onion pastry, Palmer and James’ favorite. They all sat down, not wasting any time, digging into the food with gusto.

“So, are you girls excited for the pep rally tomorrow?” she asked and the girls nodded, not being able to talk with their mouths full. Palmer swallowed her food.

“Yes, mom. I am nervous, let’s just hope they can perform well.”

    They spent some time chatting, mostly about Misty and her foal. When they were done, James offered to take Faith home since he was heading to town anyway, and her house was on the way there. 

Palmer helped her mom wash the dishes while she put away the leftovers in the refrigerator. 

“Did you have a good ride?” She asked. Palmer shrugged one shoulder and stayed silent. The ride didn’t go as she expected. 

“What happened?”

“Nothing. I wanted to meet Christopher, but his mom said he couldn’t come out to meet us. Maybe he’s just too embarrassed to be seen the way he is.”

“You have to understand. They’re saying in town he was mistreated for his condition, so give him time. He might surprise you and want to get to know you. Although knowing you, I’m sure you won’t give up on trying to be his friend.”

Palmer shook her head, “Of course not, mom. He needs a friend and I am the perfect person for it.”

“Well I am proud of you, and let’s hope he accepts your friendship, and who knows, maybe something more?”

Palmer looked at her mother as if she had grown two heads. There was no way she could fall in love. She was still young and wanted to focus on her dancing and singing, along with her studies. 

“You never know. Trust that in the future, love will knock on the door. You just need to teach him our ways. City folk are not used to this kind of life,” Daisy mentioned as she handed Palmer a plate for her to dry. For a minute, she was deep in thought about the whole situation.

“He won’t even let us see him. I think he’s too shy,” she scowled, drying the plate in an angry manner, making Daisy think she would break it.

“You’ll see him at school. He’ll want to be friends eventually. Don’t lose hope.”

They both finished the dishes and Daisy told Palmer to go with her to town and pick some groceries. She  got in the truck and they drove off. The trip might take the thoughts away.

~~~~~~

Christopher looked out the window as the three friends disappeared from sight. Grace walked inside when she saw him and stood right behind him, staring at the horizon like he was.

“You know, she was very excited to meet you. Why didn’t you want to come out?” 

“I was scared, mom. What if they made fun of me?” he asked, walking away from the window and heading to the kitchen to get some water. The day was hot and it wasn’t even noon.

“Well, she doesn’t seem to be the type to judge, Christopher. So how are you supposed to know if she will make fun of you, if you don’t give her a chance to meet you?” 

“I guess I’ll meet her at school on Monday, mom. There’s no need to rush it.”

Grace took a deep breath when her cell phone rang and to her dismay, it was Bill, her ex-husband.

“Hello, Bill,” she answered with an unhappy tone. She wasn’t expecting for him to call and to be honest, she wasn’t looking forward to it. 

“Hello, Grace. I called you because I came by your apartment and I was told you were gone. Where are you?” 

She walked out to the porch to continue with the call. There was no way she could let Christopher listen to their conversation.

“How dare you call me, huh? We kicked you out of our lives and now you think I would want to talk to you? What were you doing at the apartment?” she asked, her voice rising.

“I just want to apologize, baby. You have the right to be mad at me. I was a jerk with you and Chris, but I want to make it up to you. Please, tell me where you are, so I can find you and we can talk in person.” Grace couldn’t help but laugh. That kind of laugh that would tell you to screw yourself. 

“We don’t need you in our lives, and please don’t call anymore. It is time for me and my son to start fresh, and I won’t let you come and ruin it for us.”

Grace hung up, not giving Bill a chance to talk anymore, when Christopher appeared behind her.

“It was him, wasn’t it?” he asked and Grace nodded with a sad smile. All Christopher wanted was for his stepfather to accept him. After his own father died, he was looking forward to having some quality time with her mother’s husband, to feel that fatherly love.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. But I don’t want him in our lives. He was pretending to come and make amends. You come first, I won’t let him or any man come in between us, okay?” 

Christopher nodded, he didn’t want his mother to be alone forever. He just wanted someone worthy of her love. Someone who could accept him as his own son without looking at his physical appearance, but at how much he could offer.

“Now, what do you say we go to town and ask around to see where we can find some hens? I heard fresh eggs are the best to have,” she said, trying to lighten the mood. Christopher smiled a real smile for the first time in years. Grace was surprised to see him happy, but she wouldn’t complain. She waited for it to happen for years.

He hurried to his room, applied some sunscreen on his delicate skin and put on a hat and some sunglasses before they drove to town. 

As soon as they arrived, Grace parked her car in front of a garden shop and decided to buy some flowers and plants for her front porch. She also asked around about where she could find the hens, and the store attendant was happy to tell her.

Outside, Christopher was waiting for her in the car when a few boys approached him. Curious to see who the kid in hat and glasses was, why he was hiding his face. 

“Look, Hunter. Someone let Casper out of the haunted house,” one of the boys said.

Hunter approached the car and Christopher didn’t dare look at them. Praying his mother would come out of the store already.

“Hello, you must be the new guy in town. Name’s Hunter, what’s yours?” he greeted, extending his hand. Christopher ignored him. They all looked at each other with shock, no one dared ignore Hunter and left without crying. 

“It’s okay guys, I’m sure we’ll be seeing him around school. Won’t we, Casper?”

“What the hell, Hunter?” Palmer appeared out of nowhere with her arms crossed on her chest and her foot tapping on the ground. She was upset and she didn’t tolerate bullying.

“What? We are just having some fun. Aren’t we, whoever you’re called?” he said and Christopher nodded before they finally left. Palmer tried to turn around and see Christopher, but Grace came out of the store, catching her attention and waving at her before she got in the car. All Palmer could see was the bottom half of his face before they drove away.