Chapter 1
“Penny, what are you looking at?”
“I don’t know. Do you see all that dust up ahead? What is that?”
The driver of the car looked through the windshield and then turned off on a side road suddenly. “You got good eyes. I wouldn’t have seen it for at least another couple of miles.”
Penny braced her hands to the dash board and the door frame as he swerved the car off into a dirty road that had more potholes that flat spot. The truck bounced hard and she feared her head hitting the top. She made a noise, but no words were able to come out. The man had gone crazy, she decided. Just as soon as he began, he stopped under a small bridge and closed the windows.
“What are you doing?”
“That is a dust storm. You don’t want to be on the road for one of those things. Gets dirt all in the engine and some cars get in wrecks. Best when you see it to pull over and get as much coverage as possible. Sorry about the driving, I remembered this bridge was out here and those are the best coverage.”
Penny nodded her head and noticed the darkening in the sky. She had read about the dust storms and figured that she would never actually see one. It was bigger and a bit scarier than she had first anticipated. Being in it with a strange man she had only just met, made it even worse.
When it passed, Tommy got out and checked under the hood and then started the truck back up. It didn’t bode well for her new adventure. It was almost like a bad omen on her way to her new job. Penny just hoped that it would all end okay. This was her dream job that she was on her way to and she couldn’t think of anything else that could go wrong on the trip. After almost a week of traveling the slow way, Penny was only a few miles from her destination and she was far more nervous than she had been in a long time.
“So Tommy, have you heard of the Ashton’s?”
“Oh sure. Everyone has. They got more money than God I hear. Is that who you are going to work for?”
“Yeah. They needed a horse trainer and they have the best breeds you could possibly work with.”
“I bet. You look a bit young to be a trainer already.”
“Well I started young. Got my first one when I was about five.
Been working with them ever since.”
“You must be good to get a job with the Ashtons. Where did you say you were coming from?”
“East Coast, North Carolina. This is a bit different than what I am used to.”
“I guess so.”
The man looked ahead and there was nothing but dirt everywhere. Grass was just about as sparse as trees for a time then some nice lush green came into view. With every green spot, it was speckled with grazing animals by the hundreds. She was definitely in a different place than she was used to. Penny was already missing the water, but like he said, it was a really good job opportunity. It was a way to get her name out there and one day start her own training ranch.
She was moving ahead of herself of course. First she had to prove her skills to Ted Ashton and his business partner Jaxon Brooks. They were two of the best in the business and they were the first people that she had to make happy and prove herself to. She was a bit young to be where she was, but Penny had put in a lot of applications with all of the top breeders and trainers, Ashton’s called back, so she was there to try her hand in the real world training. It just seemed much more unique out west.
Tommy turned down another dirt road, but there was a huge ranch and stables at the end of that road. The faded white letters on the sign told her where she was and Penny sat up to get a look at all of the horses in the stables. They were beautiful and she was starting to feel more excited than nervous.
“Thanks for the ride Tommy.”
“No problem. I hope it works out for you Penny.”
She got out of the vehicle and insisted that she could get her own pack. She brought no more than she could carry. It had been the only way, especially when half of the traveling time had been layovers in various cities. The bus was the longest she had ever traveled at one time and she had already decided half way there that she would definitely take the train on her way back east.
Walking up the last couple hundred feet was a bit much for her senses and she was thankful that there was no one out to see her. She needed time to take in the area and it wasn’t disappointing. She didn’t know where she was going to stay, but she knew that she sure had her work cut out for her. There were tons of horses and the place got bigger as she walked up. There was just so much to see that Penny did not see the man standing on the porch.
“You must be Penny.’
She jumped slightly and then blushed, embarrassed that she had made such a girly startled noise. She had not been expecting anyone to pop up like that.
“Yes I am Penny and you are?”
“Your boss.”
“Which one?”
The man pushed away from the column he was leaning on. “I’m Ted. Jaxon is second.”
“I see. Well nice to meet you Sir.”
“Please call me Ted.”
“Okay. So where do you want me?”
Ted’s dark eyes squinted towards her and she looked away, unable to hold his gaze any longer. She had heard many things about the two partners, but she had not heard about how handsome they were. It was a shame, because she would have made better effort to look nicer.
Her red hair was a mess, frazzled in the braid she had put it in that morning and the only thing she could do was smile and shake the hand that was stuck out.
“So Penny because of your hair?”
She shrugged, “I guess so. Not very unique I suppose.”
She was rambling and Penny was surprised that he guessed that. While it seemed obviously most people thought that her mother had one of those creative minds. Nope. She saw her copper red hair and that was her name. Lily was a close second, but Penny got the first thing that popped in her head when she was born. Her mind was as bad as her mouth and she tried to wait for him to tell her one way or another to go. Ted seemed to be having his own issues and he looked at her for several more moments before shaking his head.
“This way. We have you in the main house, because well the bunk house is full of a bunch of rowdy men.”
“Well you don’t have to go to any trouble for me. I can stay there.”
“Do you want to stay in a house full of men?”
“Aren’t there all men in this house as well?”
Ted chuckled for a minute. “I guess there is. Not a lot of women try for these kinds of jobs. Certainly none that look like you.”
“Where ever is fine. I have no real preferences, just happy for the opportunity.”
“Hold that thank you till you have been here a week.”