The next morning, after my horses landed at their connection state, my mom and I were boarding ours as well. I settled into my seat and grabbed my headphones, closing my eyes. I had only just started to fall asleep when I felt someone drop into the seat next to me. My mom had been bumped to first class and I stayed in economy, so of course I had to sit next to a random person.
I open my eyes to see a young man guiding his dog into the seat next to him. I gasped excitedly and reached out to the little rottweiler puppy.
"Can I pet him?" I asked the man.

He smiled at me and responded in a deep voice.

"Sure. she loves people".

I reached for the puppy and she climbed over his lap to sit with me. I snuggled her close to me and she licked my nose. I grimaced, giggling quietly, as he pulled her away. The pilot came over the intercom and said we'd be taking off soon so he settled her into her seat and she fell asleep in a few short seconds. He smiled and patted her head before turning to me.

"Im Colt" he says quietly as the lights dim.

"I'm Violet," I said, smiling.

We made small talk for a while before falling asleep for the majority of the flight.
I woke up to the sound of a whining puppy. I opened my eyes to see an old man yanking on the puppy's ear, Colt yelling at him, trying to unbuckle his seatbelt. I got there faster and ripped the man's hands off of her ear, pulling her away. After what seemed like forever, we landed and Colt rushed off the plane with his dog in tow. I followed quickly and saw him talking to security. The puppy jumped excitedly when she saw me walk off the plane, pulling her leash from Colt. She runs towards me as Colt runs after her. She jumps into my arms as Colt slows to a walk, a smile on his face. I smile back before noticing my mom walking towards us. She rushes over to us and yanks my arm lightly.

"We need to go get our bags and get on the road. The horses are going to be at the house soon."

I nod, smiling at Colt as we walk away. We collect our bags and go to pick up our car.
A few hours later, we are pulling into the driveway of our new home. The horses would be arriving soon and I needed to go check the fences and clean the stalls. I jumped on the fourwheeler and drove around the pasture before going to clean the stalls. A few hours later I was hosing down my legs and arms before walking up to the driveway. I saw a car and the trailer pull into the drive and stood waiting for them to park. I walked over to the trailer and opened the doors.
I was about to walk into the trailer when a familiar puppy rushed over to me and ran around my legs. I looked up and saw Colt getting out of the car talking to the driver. I smiled, reaching down to grab the puppy's leash before she tripped me with it. I walked her over to Colt and handed her leash to him. He barely looked at me so I turned around and walked to the horses. I started by getting Cruise out first, putting him in the pasture, then getting the boys out and putting them in their stalls. When I walked back to get Bossy out, I saw all the drivers and Colt yelling at each other and backing away from the trailer. I walked over and realized the problem. They had tried to get Bossy out on their own. I walked in front of them, glaring at Bossy.

"Cuidate La Jefa".

I pointed at her nose sternly and she calmed down, lowering her head. I untied the leadrope and led her towering body into the stall. I patted her barrel before taking off the halter and walking outside again. The grooms, drivers, and Colt were all gaping down at me as I walked to them. I looked at them calmly before pulling their payment out of my back pocket. The driver snatched it quickly, closing the trailer and getting into the driver's seat. Everyone got into their cars and drove away, still watching me in their mirrors. Colt walked up behind me and handed me a check. I looked at him and frowned. He smiled

"I'm your first boarder. My little sister rides horses." he said, explaining my confusion.

I took the check from him and called my mom to come to the office. After about an hour of contracts and rules, he left, promising he'd be here tomorrow with the horse.
The next morning I got up early and cleaned out two stalls, like my mom had told me too. About thirty minutes after cleaning the stalls, Colt walked into the barn with a girl and a large paint gelding in tow.

"tu lindo niño" I said, walking over to the gelding and leading him to the stall I assigned him. "Caballo bien educado" I muttered as I shut the door.

I walked back to Colt and his sister, whose name was Eden, and handed her the halter. She thanked me and went to her horse. I stood and watched them for a while, standing beside Colt. He was watching me, I noticed. I looked up at him and smiled. He smiled down at me, threading his fingers through mine.
Just as he squeezed my hand, my mom  walked in leading a large chestnut thoroughbred. Colt pulled his hand out of mine, stepping away from me. I ignore him and walk to my mom.

"This is Borealis. He's a new eventing horse that was just dropped off. Get him settled before you ride today." she said to me before handing him to me and leaving again.

I walked him to the last stall in the row and put him away. I gave him a calming supplement and shut the door.
I walked to the tack room, Colt following closely behind. I walked around collecting my tack and put it in the wheeling rack to bring it to the grooming stall outside. I talked to myself as i walked

"Demasiados caballos, poco tiempo. Pero a quién le importa, puedo hacer cualquier cosa según mamá." i growled as i wheeled my things out. Colt looked at me weirdly. I glared at him.

I walked to the paddock and called Flash.

"¡Flash, ven ahora!"

I saw him turn around at the bottom of the hill, galloping up to me.

"Más despacio ahora" i yelled to him.

He slowed down and trotted to me. I unhooked the gate and he followed me out. I shut the gate and walked to the grooming stall. He followed me the whole way.
When we got to the barn, I noticed Colt and Eden pulling away. Colt stuck his head out the window and yelled to me.

"I'll be back later!"

I nodded and kept walking. I spent about an hour grooming and tacking up Flash. I whispered kind words in Spanish to him as I worked. He stood lazily until I led him over to the arena and mounted up. He perked his ears and I started my ride.
After doing his warmup I set up some jumps and he cleared them easily. After about thirty minutes of jumping, we walked back to the barn. Colt still hasn't come back and I ignored the sad feeling creeping up my throat. I untacked and moved to my other horses.

A few months later, I went to ride bossy after doing Borealis' training. I set up a jump as high as I felt comfortable jumping and steered her towards it. She honed in on the jump and sped up a little, clearing it with ease. I landed smoothly and she went back to her usual feat of bucking and kicking. I rode it quietly, not scolding her, and cooled her off calmly.
I looked over at the fence to see Colt and another boy watching me. The boy seemed familiar. I gazed at him for a while before recognizing him as a boy I used to ride with in competitions. He had moved away years ago. I finished my ride and ran over to them, hugging him tightly, Bossy snuffling at him happily. I pulled away and only then did I realize how much he had grown.

"Wow you've surely grown from the 5'4 junior high kid I remember!" I laughed, ruffling his hair.

"Well I'm a senior now so I hope I have!" He tugged on my ponytail lightly.

I looked over his shoulder to see Colt watching us. He seemed...angry? No. furious. He glared at me and I turned them towards each other.

"Colt, this is Roman. Roman, this is Colt." I smiled.

They shook each other's hands before Roman turned back to me.

"So I assume you met borealis? He's my new horse." he said.

I gasped and began to ask him questions about his riding career and his new horse. We walked back to the barn to put Bossy away, Colt following quietly behind.
After an hour or so of talking and laughing, Roman climbs into his truck and drives away. I wave as he leaves, turning back to Colt who is glaring at me.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"Nothing" he mutters before turning and walking to the barn. I follow him ind grab his elbow.

"Wait, seriously, what's wrong?" I demand.

He sighs and mutters something to himself in French. He runs his fingers through his hair before turning to me quickly and pressing his lips to mine. I gasp, my body tensing in his hold. He sighs into my mouth and brushes his tongue across my lips. I relax into him and part my lips, his tongue tangling with mine. He wraps his arms around me tightly just as my phone rings on my pocket. I pull away from him and pull my phone out of my pocket, answering with a perky greeting.

"Hello this is Violet! What can I do for you?"

A snicker came from the other side.

"I knew you'd break first."

I groaned. "Hello Eva"

Colt looked at me questioningly. I shook my head.

"Hey bestie. Where are you? Prom is in three days and you aren't in town."

I frowned. "Eva. I'm in Colorado."

She giggled. "So? Just find a hot rich guy to pay for your ticket."

I had put the phone on speaker and at this comment, Colt began jumping up and down pointing at himself.

I shushed him and replied "I don't have a dress. And I don't want to go."

I had told her this weeks ago.

She sniffled. "Fine. Whatever. It's not like Ryan was going to ask you to dance anyway."

I heard a click and the line went dead. I groaned. I was obviously going to have to find a way to go. I looked up and saw Colt grinning.

"What?" I muttered.

"I'm a hot rich guy! I'll take you." He smiled proudly.

"And how do you plan to do that?" I asked.

"Buying you a dress and a plane ticket and going with you to your schools dance." He smirks.

"No. No you aren't escorting me to a dance filled with a bunch of egotistical moneybags" I shake my head and walk out of the barn