Jon’s POV

            I changed into the sweatpants and sweatshirt that I was wearing the day I was booked into prison and handed the prison uniform back to the guard on the way out of the bathroom; it was weird being back in normal clothes again, I can only imagine what its going to feel like once I step foot out those doors. I collected my wallet and watch from the front desk and the woman behind the counter wished me luck as I took my last few steps toward freedom. Walking out the California sun hit me full force and I rolled up the sleeves on my sweatshirt before heading in the direction of the bus stop; luckily I still had a few dollars in my wallet to pay for the ride to the bus terminal where I would get my first of four tickets to Texas. I only had to wait about ten minutes before the bus arrived but it was another forty minute ride around the city before it stopped at the bus terminal and I could get off to catch the next one.

            I got off the city bus and made my way up to the main office at the bus terminal; just as Thomas said there were four greyhound tickets waiting there for me, I took the tickets and went to the waiting area to sit down while I waited for the correct bus to arrive; the first bus would take me to the edge of Arizona, the second across Arizona to the edge of New Mexico, the third across New Mexico to the edge of Texas and the last bus would take me to the town where I would meet Thomas. All in all the trip would take me two full days so I was scheduled to show up on Saturday afternoon if everything went as planed. When my bus arrived I climbed on and headed to the back to find a seat; I made myself comfortable and allowed myself to fall asleep a few minutes into the ride.

            I slept most of the first bus ride and after we stopped at the next terminal I walked around for a few minutes and stopped at a vending machine to get some chips and a drink; it was only an hour later when the next bus showed up and once I was loaded I passed the time reading a magazine that was left in the seat by someone else and enjoying the view. It was dark out by the time that bus stopped and I just walked around for a while in the terminal while I waited for the next one to show up; being bored out of my mind I decided to just go back to sleep for the long ride across New Mexico. The driver announced that we were at the terminal waking me up and I was surprised to find that it was daylight again; I stopped at the vending machines to get some more snacks and another drink and the next bus arrived about thirty minutes later.

            The last bus ride wasn’t nearly as long as the first three but after two full days of riding buses I was ready for the trip to be over; I hopped off the bus and went to the waiting area to wait for Thomas to arrive to get me. The waiting area slowly cleared out as everyone else made their way to their waiting cars or called people to come pick them up; the bus was running ahead of schedule so I figured I still had a good thirty minutes before Thomas would get there. I was about to get up from my seat to go see if there was anything good in the nearby vending machines when someone with a thick southern accent called my name from behind me; I turned around to see a tall man with light brown hair, green eyes, and a light brown cowboy hat standing next to the doorway.

“Jon King?” He asked again when I turned around.

“Yeah, that’s me.” I replied walking up to meet him by the door.

“Nice to meet you son, my name is Thomas Walker.”

“Nice to meet you too.” We shook hands before he led me out to his waiting truck.

            The hot Texas air greeted us as we exited the building and I suddenly hated the fact that the only clothing I had to wear were my sweats; looking over Thomas was in blue jeans and a long sleeved button up shirt but he didn’t look like the heat was bothering him at all, maybe it was just something that you get used to after a while. When we got in the truck and he started it up the ice cold air-conditioning rushed out of the vents to cool down my body; I could already tell that air-conditioning was going to be my new best friend. Don’t get me wrong its hot in Cali too but the heat here in Texas was a lot more intense, maybe it was the fact that there wasn’t an ocean nearby to help cool off the air temperature like there was in LA.

“How was the trip?” Thomas asked when we were a few minutes into the drive.

“Really long but it wasn’t that uncomfortable.” I replied; I wouldn’t have cared if he made me ride in the back of a semi-truck all the way here, I was just happy to be out of prison on the track to a better life.

“Well that’s good to hear. You hungry?” He asked looking over at me for a moment before returning his attention back to the road; as if on cue my stomach growled giving him his answer.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He chuckled lightly before turning off onto another road.

“I really appreciate everything that you are doing for me.” I had already thanked him multiple times in the letters we wrote back and forth but I wanted to make sure that he knew how grateful I really was for everything.

“It’s no problem son; your daddy was a great man and a dear friend to me, it’s an honor to have you stay with us.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze before pulling into a parking lot of a small diner. We walked into the diner and after the waitress greeted us she took our drink orders and gave us some time to look over the menu; I ordered the biggest burger on the menu while Thomas just ordered some fries.

“So what exactly is it that you do on the farm?” I asked curiously as we waited for our food to arrive.

“We breed, break and sell thoroughbred race and show horses.” Thomas replied proudly.

“What will I be doing?”

“You will be a farm hand; mostly just cleanin’ stalls, feedin’ and carin’ for the horses. Once you’re used to how things work I will start trainin’ you on shoes and breedin‘. How much experience do you have with horses?” He asked.

“Umm… I rode one at a fair when I was like six.” I replied; really other than that one time I haven’t seen a horse other than on TV.

“Well, I guess you’re in for a surprise then.” He chuckled lightly and our waitress brought over our meals.

            I didn’t hesitate digging into my food; other then the few snacks I had gotten from the vending machine this was my first real meal in two days. Well really it was more like my first real meal in a year and a half; I’m not sure that you can actually consider prison food a meal, hell, I wasn’t even sure if it was actually even food half the time. Most of the time I would just stick whatever muck they tossed on the tray between two slices of bread and eat it as quickly as possible in hopes that I wouldn’t have to taste it; the burger and fries were like heaven on a plate compared to what I was used to. We finished our meals and headed back to the truck for the hour long drive back to the farm.

            When we pulled up to the driveway there were two large wooden posts on either side of the drive with another wooden post across the top; hanging down from the top post was a large all wood sign with the words ‘Walker Stables’ carved out and stained darker than the rest of the wood so the letters stood out. The gravel drive had to be a few miles long and there was a white wooden fence on both sides; as we got closer I could see five large barns and a large white farm house with light blue shutters and a wrap around covered porch. Thomas stopped the truck next to the barn furthest away from the house; we got out and walked up to the door that had a wooden sign on top that read ‘Main Office’, it was the same carved out wood as the big sign that was hanging over the drive when we entered but on a much smaller scale.

            When we walked through the door we entered an office area with a large wooden desk with two leather chair sitting in front on the far right side of the room; the walls were rusty red colored wooden boards much like the outside of the barn with pictures of horses lining almost every inch of the surface. A few more leather chairs sat against the wall to the left and there was a door with a large window directly across from the one we entered through that led out into the main part of the barn. Thomas took a seat behind the desk and motioned to one of the leather chairs across from him for me to sit down too; once I was seated he picked up the phone on his desk and pressed a few buttons before speaking into the receiver.

“Kat to the office, Kat to the office.” He called through the line and I could hear his voice echo through speakers that must have been set up in the barn on the other side of the wall.

“I’m going to have my daughter take ya’ into town and get you some work clothes and other things that you might need. You will be stayin’ in the apartment above us where your father used to live; there is a full kitchen and bath up there for ya’ too. We serve breakfast at the main house at 7:00 every mornin’, lunch at 1:00 and dinner at 7:00; be there on time or early or don’t show up at all, punctuality is important ‘round here. You will start work after breakfast and work until 5:00 each night unless you are needed longer; you will have Saturday and Sunday off and Sunday service is at 8:00. If you need anything don’t be afraid to ask; if ya’ just press and hold one on the phone in the apartment you will be connected to our home line. Any questions?” Thomas asked getting straight to the point with everything; it was a lot to take in and I only hoped that I could remember everything he said.

“No, I think I got it.” I replied right before the door to the office opened and someone walked in.

            I turned around to see a girl that was maybe around my age walk through the door; she was short, maybe only about 5’2 with long dark brown hair and the same sea foam green eyes as Thomas had. Her skin had a natural tan tone and looking her over if I had to guess I would say that she was part Mexican; I could only assume that this was Thomas’s daughter so maybe she got her looks from her mother. She wore tight dark jeans and a checkered light blue button up shirt over her tiny build; she smiled brightly at me as she passed and walked over to her father.

“Hey Kit-Kat.” He greeted her once she was in the room.

“Hi daddy.” She replied placing a kiss on his cheek before moving to stand behind him and place her hands on his shoulders.

“This here is Jon.” He said motioning over to me with his hand.

“Hi Jon, it’s nice to finally meet ya’.” She leaned over the desk and held out her hand.

“Nice to meet you too.” I replied taking her hand in mine and shaking it; her hand was just as small as the rest of her and I was afraid if I squeezed too hard it might break.

“I need you to take Jon into town and get him some work clothes for the week, some Sunday clothes, and some off day clothes along with whatever else it is that he may need.” Thomas said as he pulled a credit card from his wallet and handed it to her. “When ya’ get back show him to his apartment and let him get settled.” He continued after she slipped the credit card in her back pocket. “Oh and before I forget here’s your keys.” He pulled a set of keys out of one of the drawers on the desk and tossed them over to me; I caught them before shoving them in the pocket of my sweatpants.

“Thanks.” I replied and he nodded his head at me.

“Ready?” Thomas’s daughter asked heading for the door.

“Yep.” I replied as I got up to follow her; I waved goodbye to Thomas as we headed outside.

            I followed her over to the line of cars parked next to the barn and fully expected her to stop at the little silver sports car parked at the end, I was surprised when she walked past it and stopped in front of a dark blue Ford F350 Super Duty; the tires on the thing were taller than the sports car next to it and on top of that it had at least a six inch lift. She reached up on her tippy-toes and pulled the handle opening the door then proceeded to stick one leg up on the nerf bar before launching herself into the truck; I shook my head in disbelief that such a small girl had such a big truck, not to mention the fact that she could even get into it without a ladder. I went to the other side of the truck and jumped in next to her; she started the truck and put it in gear then looked over at me like she was waiting for something, when I didn’t move she spoke up.

“Seatbelt.” She demanded; I reached over and pulled the belt over me before clicking it in place.

            She pulled out of the spot and started down the driveway before turning the volume up on the radio and country music filled the cab; I instantly sighed and rolled my eyes at her choice of music but she didn’t seem to notice. She strummed her fingers in tune with the beat against the steering wheel; I closed my eyes and leaned back in the seat trying my best to tune out the torturous music. I only made it about five minutes into the drive before I just couldn’t stand it anymore; in the small amount of time we listened the man singing I had to suffer through his dog dying, his truck breaking down and his wife leaving him. It was depressing to say the least and I couldn’t listen to another second of it; reaching over I turned down the volume so only silence filled the cab, well for a few seconds at least.

“Hey! What the hell? I was listenin’ to that.” Kit-Kat complained from the drivers’ seat and I rolled my eyes in response. What kind of a name was that anyways; who names their kid after a candy bar? She reached forward and turned the volume back up a little louder than it was before.

“No, I can’t stand to listen to this crap anymore.” I reached back up and turned it back down.

“My truck, my music.” She pointed to herself then the radio as if to prove her point.

“Can we please just listen to something else?” I basically begged; anything had to be better than what we were listening to.

“Fine.” She turned the volume back up before pressing one of the preset buttons and oldies music started humming through the speakers. Ok, so maybe I was wrong, there was something worse than country.

“Try again.” I said rubbing my temples out of frustration.

“Ah, you have no taste in music.” She huffed before pressing a different button; this time a classic rock song came on and I relaxed in the seat. Not exactly what I was looking for but it was better than the last two choices.

“Better?” She asked raising her eyebrows.

“Yep.”

            We stopped talking after that and were driving for another ten minutes when she sat up taller in her seat and focused on something ahead; I looked up to see what it was she was staring at but all I saw a dead raccoon on the side of the road. As we approached the road kill she slowed the truck and pulled it to the side coming to a stop a few feet in front of the animal; looking through the back window I could see that it was still moving, trying its best to scurry away but getting no where with its two back legs broken. I was about to ask her what she planned on doing when she reached over and popped open the glove box; I sat back in the seat as she pulled out a handgun.

            Without a word she opened her door and jumped out of the truck; I turned around in the seat again and watched her as she walked back to the raccoon. She cocked the gun to load it and taking aim she fired; she stood there and studied the carcass to ensure it was dead before coming back to the truck. I sat back in my seat again slightly terrified of the girl with the gun next to me; she released the clip from the gun before pulling back the slide and ejecting the single bullet that was still in the chamber. She caught the bullet that was released before it had time to fall to the ground and using her thumb loaded it back into the clip; she slid the clip back in before tossing it back in the glove box and shutting it.

            Pulling on her seatbelt she put the truck back in gear and after a quick glance in the mirror we were back on the road. Holy fuck! What the hell was that? Was that just a normal thing that happened in Texas? Does everyone carry around firearms in the glove box? I don’t know if I was more surprised by what just happened or by the fact that the tiny little female next to me was the one to do it. I would have never expected her to even have a gun, let alone know how to use it; the way she handled it told me that it wasn’t her first time, no; it was more like she used it quite often. I didn’t say a word for the rest of the ride and neither did she; it was another fifteen minutes before we pulled up in the parking lot of a small shopping mall.

**A/N - This is a new story that I wrote, it's finished and I will be posting as often as I can but it won't be my normal daily postings with this one. Please let me know what you think and if I should continue posting. Thanks for taking the time to read and for all your support! Hope you all enjoy! **