Kingsley Ranch

Chapter 4- I Hate Them With A Passion

It's been a long day and it's not even lunchtime, we are on our way to the horses which I'm excited to see but Hailey hasn't stopped talking the whole time we've been walking, it's been two hours. I did find out she has a twin brother Zander but he's at a friend's house. Finding out there are two of them is frightening. She tried to get me to skip and hold my hand but I shut that down immediately. She showed me the giant greenhouse and I liked it there even though it was humid and smelled like dirt. It was made of glass and connected by black beams and had raised flower beds with several kinds of vegetables. We stopped at the pole barn which was a simple metal building filled with hay. The storage barn matched the house and the horse barn; it was white wood with black trim. There were several four-wheelers, other ATVs, tractors, and two horse trailers. She said there are more but they are probably being used at the moment, good grief. There was a shed that was filled with wheelbarrows, shovels, and lots of other types of tools. We went to the area where the pigs were. There were 40 of them and it was gross and they smelled, I learned the only form of pigs I like are the cooked kind. Hailey just continued to smile along. We then went to what I considered my own personal hell, the chicken coop. I don't just dislike chicken, I hate them with a passion. I'm not just prejudiced against chickens either, it's also ducks, geese, almost all birds really. There were so many, too 80 in fact, and another 20 rosters. When I asked why so many Hailey said Jack will use around six dozen eggs for breakfast so they needed a lot of chickens. First, that's a lot of damn eggs, and second, who wants to deal with that many chickens? I couldn't leave there fast enough so that led us towards the horse barn.

It was huge, probably the biggest barn I've seen. Connor's cousin had a few horses and we spent some time at his house helping with the horses but this barn is probably four times the size. We walked into the main door and I was blown away. It was nice and of course fancy. There was more than one walkway and a loft around the outside. If I counted correctly 24 stalls, a storage/feed room, Luke's office, a shower stall, and a room for their saddles. The stalls were all empty which was disappointing. Hailey said the ones that weren't being used by the ranch hands were probably out grazing in the big pasture off the barn.

We walked out and headed toward one of the corrals. I could see Wyatt leading around a huge light-colored horse, I later learned it was a palomino horse. It was pretty. Its two back legs had white on them and they almost looked like socks. Colt was there along with Lucas. Hailey immediately climbed on the railing and sat down talking excitedly about the horse. It was new and they were still training it. Wyatt's old horse Rocky was getting up in age so they wanted to add another horse. I eventually climbed up to sit and watch. It was interesting watching Wyatt work with the horse, someone so big being so gentle. I don't think I'd believe it if I wasn't watching with my own eyes. Hailey after begging for several minutes finally convinced them to let her help. I was going to start begging on her behalf soon just so she would stop.

My phone vibrated in my pocket taking it out. I see it's a text in the group chat I have with Connor and Liam. I can't help but smile. I'm used to seeing them every day and I haven't seen them since yesterday morning. We continue to text back and forth as I start to explain everything that has happened after we last talked yesterday afternoon.

Colt's POV:

I watched as the girls walked up and I heard Hailey before I saw them. You could hear that girl a mile away. When they walked to the fence I noticed the look on Charlotte's face. I forced myself not to chuckle. She looked miserable with a scowl on her face as she slumped on the railing. Of course several feet from the rest of us. I asked Hailey's mom yesterday if she could bring Hailey up so my sister had someone to hang out with. After spending some time with my sister I realized she and Hailey could not be any more different. While my sister wears almost all black Hailey is covered in pink. Hailey has always been a talker and my sister surprisingly keeps to herself another trait she shares with Brady. I was hoping they could be friends but we'll have to wait on that one. Turning back to continue to watch Wyatt and his new horse Sheriff.