New Step Brother, New Family, New Life? Thanks for Nothing, Dad

"Hurry up! He's getting away!" Smokey called, though I was already cantering on Dalila towards the escaped calf. The two dogs, Rider (Border Collie) and Lady (Brittany) were on either side of me as I rode.

"Almost got him," I whispered to myself. Dalila and I were quickly gaining on the small bull, though he had a long head start. Once near enough, I swerved in a huge arc around the calf, making him turning a 180 and continue his "escape" back to the corral. Rider was on his heels in a heartbeat, pursuing the male calf into the pen with the others.

Smokey, on her Quarter Horse named Danger, pulled the gate shut. It locked with a light click. "That was some riding you did," she said, turning to me with a smile. "I thought for sure he was gonna get away."

I could only laugh and shrug once. My mother had taught me how to ride when I was really young. Maybe four or so on an old mare we had named Rosie. That horse, however, died not long after Mom did. Sometimes it's hard to think about them...

We dismounted, tying up our horses. I climbed up to the top of the fence surrounding the . calves and stared down at them. Today, we would be tagging them. Daddy doesn't believe in branding. He thinks it's mean and cruel.

In case you are wondering, the milking went perfectly fine this morning. The dairy cows were calm and gave a lot of milk, so I passed the buckets on to Dad and Ethan for standardizing (in a way, making the milk less thick).

I would have loved to stay and see that process unfold. Haha.

Smokey had climbed up next to me on the metal bar fence. "Your dad should be joining us soon. But it's best if we go ahead and start," she said. I nodded and hopped down from the fence into the pen.

Smokey soon followed, landing at my side. The dogs both appeared suddenly, ready to do their job. "I guess I'll herd them into the other half of the enclosure with Rider. You and Lady can tag and herd out of the pen back to the pasture.

"Sounds good to me," she said, already heading to the second half of the pen with Lady on her heels. "Ready when you are!" Smokey called.

"Ok!" I shouted back, trying to find the easiest calf to force towards Smokey's side of the fenced in area. A young cow waited, not to far from the gate. I whistled to Rider and pointed at the calf. My faithful Border Collie ran at the calf, immediately scaring it to Smokey. She easily tag the cow in its ear. Lady then herded it back to the pasture just outside the enclosure.

This process continued eleven more times with the eleven remaining baby cows. They were cute and all, but the smell of the cows and the sweat from chasing them under the sun wasn't as amusing. I also noticed that Dad never came out to help. He must have been held up helping Ethan... Hehe.

"Well, I want some lemonade. Anne said she would be making some so let's head inside," Smokey said, turning to face our house in the distance. It was probably some five acres away.

"Want to race?" I asked, untying Dalila and climbing up on to her saddle. Smokey did the same and smirked at me.

"If you think you can handle me and Danger, why not?" We laughed together for a moment before becoming serious again. "What's the bet?" she asked.

"Hmm... Milking duty for a month?" I asked, knowing the high stakes. Smokey thought for a moment, glancing at the distance a few times before deciding.

"Ok," she finally agreed. We lined up with a fence post. "One..." Smokey said. We both leaned forward on our horses over one side of their necks.

"Two..." I continued, raising myself from the saddle into a sort of hovering position.

"Three!" we shouted in unison, giving a gentle tap to the horses thigh. Both Danger and Dalila took off sprinting over the green grass of the pasture. We were neck and neck for about an acre or two. I leaned a bit further forward, gripping the reins so tight my knuckles turned white.

We were quickly approaching an opened pasture in between two forest/creek type areas, the open pasture path leading away from the house then swerving back towards it in a wide arc. I wasn't about to take that long path.

So, I turned Dalila towards the forest area blocking the house. My horse was hesitant at first, but she trusted me and continued I noticed Smokey stare after me in confusion.

The forest was dense in a few places, making it hard to navigate. But it was definitely a rush. Especially when Dalila jumped over fallen trees laying in her path. I loved the wind in my hair.

When we reached the creek, I pulled Dalila to a slow halt. I examined the incline on the other side. After analyzing my limited options, I descended slowly into the creek. Dalila splashed into the water. I nudged her into a trot so we could successfully make it up the other side.

After reaching flat solid ground, we were home free. Cantering to the barn, I dismounted and looked for Danger or Smokey. They were no where in sight. So, I led Dalila into the barn, took off her saddle and bridle, put them in the tack room, and began to brush my horse.

"Hey," I heard from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw Ethan standing in the doorway to the barn.

"Hey," I said simply, turning back to concentrate on brushing my horse. I noticed Ethan come up next to me. I stopped brushing for a moment, watching him pet Dalila. Since he didn't seem to start a conversation anytime soon, I sighed.

"So how was your part of the farm work today?" I asked him, crouching to get at Dalila belly. I heard him groan.

"It was horrible! I had to lug those buckets of milk to the giant machine thingy, get two buckets back and then carry them different places! It was so much work!" Ethan complained, leaning against the gate of the stable beside me. I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sounds like so much work," I replied sarcastically, standing up to look at him. I reached around him to the grooming supplies, put back the brush and then grabbed a hoof pick. I turned back around, pulling one of Dalila hooves onto my bent knee. I gently scraped the dirt from it and continued on to the next hoof.

"Stop checking out my ass, Ethan," I said calmly, walking around the back of the horse to pick the dirt and mud from the other two hooves. I heard him cough a bit, as in surprise.

In a hurry to change the subject, Ethan asked, "Don't horses kick if you walk around behind them?" I finished, returned the hoof pick to its spot. I pulled the gate labeled with Dalila's name open. The AraAppaloosa walked obediently inside. I let go of the gate and it closed on its own, locking. I turned and leaned against the stable wall beside Ethan.

"Not--" I started to answer, but was cut off by Smokey leading Danger into the barn.

"How did you get back so fast? Is there a secret shortcut through the creek or something?" Smokey exclaimed, unloading the saddle from Danger back along with the saddle blanket. Ethan walked over to her.

"Nope, not that I know of anyway. We just rode straight through. I guess that means I win!" I replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, yeah. I know," Smokey replied grumpily.

"Need help with that?" Ethan asked Smokey, gesturing to the saddle. He didn't seem to care at all about what Smokey and I were discussing. Probably better for us, saved some explaining.

"Do you want your arms to be covered in horse sweat?" Smokey countered, tilting her head to look at him. Ethan's eyes widen and he shook his head, backing away. Smokey shrugged and went into the tack room to put her equipment up. I rolled my eyes and moved over to Danger, slowly petting his nose.

I felt Ethan move next to me. "This big brute is Danger. He usually will only ride with Smokey. He's kind of weird that way," I said softly. I reached for the reins and replaced them with a lead rope. I then tied Danger to one of the wood posts. Unlike Dalila, Danger would run off the second his bridle was off if he had the chance.

I saw Ethan nod. Smokey came back, brushed Danger and put him up. "Let's head back to the house. It's way hot out here," she said, brushing her hair back over her shoulder.

"Sure," Ethan and I replied in strange unison. "Jinx you owe me a coke!" I automatically shouted. Ethan stared at me questioningly. I smirked and nodded enthusiastically. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Whatever let's just get going," Ethan said. He turned on his heels and headed to the house, not even waiting for us.

"So much for being a gentleman," Smokey muttered. I chuckled and started off to the big white farmhouse.

Once I was inside, I noticed Dad and Anne were no where to be found. A note on the table said they had gone to start on some wedding plans. Smokey headed upstairs to the bathroom for a shower and Ethan disappeared to who knows where. I was in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. I half-pranced, half-skipped into the foyer and pulled open the door...

Only to freeze and stare, wide-eyed at who was standing behind it.